The relationship between growth hormone (GH) response to clonidine and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was assessed in 20 major depressive inpatients. GH response to clonidine was negatively correlated with the depression, the psychasthenia as well as the social introversion MMPI scale scores, and positively correlated with the hypomania scale scores. In contrast, the Carroll depression scale did not exhibit any relationship with either GH response to clonidine or MMPI depression scale. These findings support the role of the clonidine test and several MMPI scales as trait markers for depressive illness.
