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Short courses of corticosteroids, such as prednisone, are frequently prescribed for dermatologic disease. Psychiatric side effects, such as mania, depression, and psychosis, are well known but not well characterized. Sixty outpatients with asthma (44 women; mean age, 47) participated in a study of the psychiatric effects of corticosteroids. For the study, a course of prednisone was defined as at least 40 mg daily for at least 7 days. Patients were excluded if they had heavy alcohol use, illicit drug use, or disease with significant central nervous system involvement. Subjects taking medication for mood disorders were enrolled, but no changes in dosage were allowed during the study. Multiple psychiatric questionnaires were administered to de…