Table 4.

Differences in cortisol secretion parameters between patients with no history of suicidal behaviour vs. patients with a history of suicidal ideation vs. patients with a history of suicide attempts, in the 40 years of age or older group

Cortisol secretion parameter	No history of suicidal behaviour (N=19)	History of suicidal ideation (N=33)	History of suicide attempts (N=23)	p
08:00 morning cortisol (blood)	15.69 ± 4.40	17.32 ± 4.48	16.77 ± 4.75	NS1
08:00 morning cortisol (saliva)	3.85 ± 2.44	3.91 ± 2.08	3.40 ± 2.80	NS2
23:00 evening cortisol (saliva)	2.51 ± 3.98	0.80 ± 0.76	1.41 ± 1.98	NS2
Total cortisol output (saliva)	33.99 ± 23.10	28.51 ± 13.53	43.45 ± 42.41	NS2
Total cortisol output decrease post-DST3	31.76 ± 24.75	20.72 ± 12.15	29.42 ± 37.31	NS2

¹ANOVA, 2 Kruskal-Wallis test, 3 Dexamethasone suppression test.