Abstract
Salivary free cortisol and total serum cortisol were evaluated in healthy volunteers (n = 12) and depressed patients (n = 57). The diurnal rhythm of salivary cortisol demonstrated maximum at 8 a.m. and minimums at 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. In both healthy volunteers and depressed patients at 8 a.m., salivary and serum cortisol demonstrate a positive correlation. Mean cortisol level was higher in both serum and saliva of depressed patients. The saliva-to-serum ratio of cortisol was significantly lower in the patients group, while the dispersion was higher as compared to the controls. The results of this study and the data reported by other groups suggest that if the protocol of saliva sampling and cortisol evaluation is rigorously standardized and the internal standard for salivary cortisol is established in the clinical lab, salivary cortisol test may become the basis for a valid dynamic test for the assessment of stress-reactivity in depressed patients.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Pretorius, C.J., Galligan, J.P., McWhinney, B.C., Briscoe, S.E., and Ungerer J.P, Clin. Chim. Acta, 2011, vol. 412, pp. 1043–1047.
Zhang, Q., Dou, J., Gil, W., Yang, G., and Lu, J., J. Int. Med. Res., 2013, vol. 1, pp. 1387–1394.
Clements, A.D., Dev. Psychobiol., 2013, vol. 55, pp. 205–220.
Hunter, A.L., Minnis, H., and Wilson, P., Stress, 2011, vol. 14, pp. 614–626.
Maas, C., Ringwald, C., Weber, K., Engel, C., Poets, C.F., Binder, G., and Bassler, D., Neonatology, 2014, vol. 105, pp. 312–318.
Hellhammer, D.H., Wüst, S., and Kudielka, B.M., Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2009, vol. 34, pp. 163–171.
Marques, A.H., Silverman, M.N., and Sternberg, E.M., Neuroimmunomodulation, 2010, vol. 17, pp. 205–208.
Obayashi, K., Clin. Chim. Acta, 2013, vol. 425, pp. 196–201.
Bosch, J.A., Monogr. Oral Sci., 2014, vol. 24, pp. 99–108.
Knorr, U., Vinberg, M., Kessing, L.V., and Wetterslev, J., Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2010, vol. 35, pp. 1275–1286.
Inder, W.J., Dimeski, G., and Russell, A., Clin. Endocrinol. (Oxf.), 2012, vol. 77, pp. 645–651.
Hansen, A.M., Garde, A.H., and Persson, R., Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest., 2008, vol. 68, pp. 448–458.
Golden, S.H., Wand, G.S., Malhotra, S., Kamel, I., and Horton, K., Eur. J. Epidemiol., 2011, vol. 26, pp. 511–525.
Freiman, S.V., Onufriev, M.V., Druzhkova, T.A., Yakovlev, A.A., Pochigaeva, K.I., Chepelev, A.V., Grishkina, M.N., Gudkova, A.A., Guekht, A.B., and Gulyaeva, N.V., Neurochem. J., 2015, vol. 9, pp. 146–148.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Published in Russian in Neirokhimiya, 2015, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 334–338.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Druzhkova, T.A., Pochigaeva, K.I., Guekht, A.B. et al. Free cortisol assessment in saliva: Saliva-to-serum ratio in depressed patients. Neurochem. J. 9, 315–318 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1819712415040078
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1819712415040078