NORMAL URINARY FREE CORTISOL AND POSTDEXAMETHASONE CORTISOL IN SOCIALPHOBIA - COMPARISON TO NORMAL VOLUNTEERS

In primates, social stress is associated with activation of the hypoth alamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Social phobia is a common, often disabling, form of pathological anxiety characterized by marked distre ss in situations involving possible scrutiny or evaluation. Little is known about HPA function in patients with social phobia. We examined 2 4-hour excretion of urinary free cortisol (UFC) in 54 patients with so cial phobia and post-dexamethasone cortisol levels in 64 patients with social phobia and found no evidence of HPA-axis overactivity compared to normal controls, despite pathological levels of anxiety.