A Comparison of Capillary, Venous, and Salivary Cortisol Sampling After Intense Exercise

Fryer, Simon M ORCID: 0000-0003-0376-0104, Dickson, Tabitha, Hillier, Stephen, Stoner, Lee, Scarrott, Carl and Draper, Nick (2014) A Comparison of Capillary, Venous, and Salivary Cortisol Sampling After Intense Exercise. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 9 (6). pp. 973-977. doi:10.1123/ijspp.2013-0341

Preview

Text (as accepted for publication) A Comparison of Capillary, Venous, and Salivary Cortisol Sampling.pdf - Accepted Version Download (332kB) | Preview

Abstract

Venipuncture is expensive, invasive, and impractical for many sport-science and clinical-based settings. Salivary free cortisol is often cited as a noninvasive practical alternative. However, when cortisol concentrations exceed the corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) point of 500 nmol/L, a lack of agreement between salivary and venous blood cortisol has been found. Alternatively, capillary blood may present a minimally invasive, cost-effective, and practical surrogate for determining cortisol concentration. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine whether cortisol concentrations sampled from capillary blood and saliva accurately reflect those found in venous blood across a large range of concentrations after intense exercise. METHODS: Eleven healthy aerobically trained male subjects were recruited. Capillary, salivary, and venous blood samples were collected before and after (immediately and 5, 10, 15, and 20 min after) a treadmill VO(2) max test. RESULTS: Capillary and venous concentrations increased at a similar rate after exercise (Cohen d.14-.33), increasing up to 15 min postexercise before a decline was seen. Salivary cortisol values increased at a slower rate than venous and capillary cortisol but continued to increase 15 min postexercise (Cohen d .19-.47 and .09-.72, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Capillary cortisol accurately reflects concentrations assayed from venous blood across a range of values below and above the CBG binding point. Capillary sampling provides a minimally invasive, cost-effective, practical surrogate for assessment of hypothalamic-pituitary-gland function.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science
Research Priority Areas:	Health, Life Sciences, Sport and Wellbeing
Depositing User:	Anne Pengelly
Date Deposited:	20 Jul 2015 13:30
Last Modified:	31 Aug 2023 09:09
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/2470

University Staff: Request a correction | Repository Editors: Update this record