Premium
Children with asthma have significantly lower long‐term cortisol levels in their scalp hair than healthy children
Author(s) -
Kamps Arvid W.A.,
Molenmaker Marco,
Kemperman Ramses,
Veen Betty S.,
Bocca Gianni,
Veeger Nic J.G.M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.12685
Subject(s) - medicine , asthma , scalp , saliva , morning , endocrinology , hydrocortisone , cortisol awakening response , hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis , hormone , surgery
Aim Noninvasive measurement of long‐term cortisol levels is a useful way of evaluating the effect of chronic disease on the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis in children. The aim of this pilot study was to compare hair cortisol levels in children using inhaled corticosteroids for asthma and healthy children and to determine the association with short‐term salivary cortisol levels. Methods Cortisol levels were measured in the scalp hair and saliva of prepubertal children with asthma (n = 10) and without asthma (n = 10). Asthma control was assessed using an asthma questionnaire and pulmonary function tests. Results The median (95% CI ) cortisol level in the scalp hair of the children with asthma (2.0 pg/mg; 1.4–4.1) was significantly lower than the healthy children (4.3 pg/mg; 1.8–5.9). Morning salivary cortisol levels were significantly lower for the children with asthma (5.9 nmol/L; 3.2–11.1) than the healthy children (9.0 nmol/L; 4.4–31.6). There was no significant association between cortisol levels in hair and saliva. Conclusion Long‐term cortisol levels were significantly lower in children with asthma than healthy children. Measuring long‐term cortisol levels in scalp hair is an attractive, noninvasive tool that can evaluate the effect of asthma and its treatment on the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis.