Table 2. Characteristics of participants at entry.
| Characteristic | Escitalopram (N = 41) | Placebo (N = 39) | All Participants (N = 80) |
| Age – yr, mean ± SD | 32±11 | 31±11 | 32±10 |
| Women – N (%) | 15 (37) | 14 (36) | 29 (36) |
| Proband was / – N (%) | |||
| sibling | 18 (44) | 15 (39) | 33 (41) |
| parent | 23 (56) | 24 (62) | 47 (59) |
| Caucasian – (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Education – mean ± SD | |||
| Years of school | 11±1 | 11±1 | 11±1 |
| Years of further education | 3±2 | 3±2 | 3±2 |
| Employment status – N (%) | |||
| Employed | 30 (73) | 26 (67) | 56 (70) |
| Student | 11 (27) | 11 (28) | 22 (28) |
| Unemployed | 0 (0) | 2 (5) | 2 (3) |
| Marital status – N (%) | |||
| Single | 15 (37) | 23 (59) | 38 (48) |
| Married or cohabiting* | 26 (63) | 16 (41) | 42 (52) |
| First degree relatives of patient with a history of major depressive disorder ……………..– median (quartiles)** | 1 (1;2) | 1 (1;2) | 1 (1;2) |
| Second degree relatives with a history of major depressive disorder – median (quartiles) | 0 (0;1) | 0 (0;1) | 0 (0;1) |
| 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale Score, . – median (quartiles) (range) | 1 (0;3) (0–7) | 1 (0;3) (0–7) | 1 (0;3) (0–7) |
| 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Scale Score, – median (quartiles) (range) | 1 (0;2)… (0–9) | 1 (0;2) (0–6) | 1 (0;2) (0–9) |
| Beck Depression Inventory, 21-item, depression median (quartiles) | 2 (0;4) | 2 (0;3) | 2 (0;5) |
| Beck Depression Inventory, 14-item, anxiety – median (quartiles) | 1 (0;4) | 2 (0;3) | 1 (0;3) |
| Body Mass Index – kg/m2, mean ± SD | 25±4 | 26±5 | 26±4 |
| Numbers of daily cigarettes - median (quartiles) | 0 (0;11) | 0 (0;10) | 0 (0;10) |
| Package years – median (quartiles) | 1 (0;10) | 2 (0;7) | 1.75 (0;8) |
| Daily medicine – N (%) | 2 (5) | 4 (10) | 6 (8) |
| Plasma cortisol AUCtotal - nmol/l×min/l, mean ± SD, median (quartiles) | 9045±12829 4691 (2864;8277) | 15126±17542 9974 (2549;18336) | 12005±15506 5095 (2669;13833) |
| Plasma ACTH AUCtotal - pmol/l×min/l, mean ± SD, median (quartiles) | 324±272 255 (209;304) | 365±197 306 (233;426) | 343±239 263 (215;263) |
| Plasma cortisol BASAL - nmol/l, mean ± SD, median (quartiles) | 15±15 13 (8;17) | 24±37 15 (10;20) | 19±28 14 (9;18) |
| Plasma cortisol PEAK - nmol/l, mean ± SD, median (quartiles) | 90±124 41 (22;82) | 137±153 86 (19;191) | 112±140 52 (20;136) |
Notes: Two smoked cannabis more than two months prior to the investigation. Three were previously abusing alcohol. One participant had generalized anxiety.
*Eight were living with their parents.
**quartiles reported, are the 25 and 75 quartiles.
There was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) between the escitalopram and the placebo group for any of the hormone measures. AUCtotal = Area under the curve after administration of CRH corrected for baseline equivalent, BASAL = mean of five measurements at the baseline after pre-treatment with deametasone 1.5 mg and before the administration of CRH, PEAK = the highest measurement following CRH administration.