Recently, renewed interest has developed in the concept of anxious dep
ression. Using an operational definition of ''anxious depression'' bas
ed on the SADS interview, 25 patients with major depressive disorder w
ere separated into anxious (n = 14) and nonanxious (n = II) subtypes,
These two patient groups and normal control subjects received an intra
venous corticotropin-releasing hormone challenge test, Adrenocorticotr
opic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol responses were compared among the thr
ee groups. Patients with anxious depression had significant attenuatio
n of ACTH response when compared to nonanxious patients and normal con
trol subjects.