Morning cortisol level and morning salivary cortisol response to awakening in polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective To assess the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) patients by measuring the concentration of morning cortisol and morning salivary cortisol response to awakening.Methods Morning serum cortisol at 8 am was determined in 24 PCOS patients(PCOS group) and 25 non-obese healthy women(control group).On an ordinary working day,salivary cortisol samples were collected immediately at awakening and 15min thereafter.The 15min salivary cortisol level minus the salivary cortisol at awakening calculated the morning cortisol response.Results(1) PCOS group had higher BMI and WHR(P0.01).(2) Both salivary cortisol at different points and serum cortisol were significantly lower in PCOS group(P0.01).BMI and WHR were negatively correlated with serum cortisol in PCOS group.There was no significant difference in morning salivary cortisol response between the two groups.(3) After adjustment the influence of obesity,the non-obese PCOS group still had higher WHR(P0.01)and lower salivary cortisol concentration at different points(P0.05).Conclusion PCOS patients show some abnormalities of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis function with lower morning cortisol level,and abdominal obesity may play an important role in this situation.