Association of serum cortisol levels with parameters of metabolic syndrome in men and women

Abstract

Association of serum cortisol levels with parameters of metabolic syndrome in men and women Abstract Purpose: Central fat distribution is signi cantly associated with an increased cortisol levels. We hypothesized that men with metabolic syndrome have a higher serum cortisol levels compared to women. e purpose of this study was to compare serum cortisol levels, and its correlation with serum leptin levels, between men and women with and without metabolic syndrome.Methods: A cross sectional study was performed with 120 untreated patients with metabolic syndrome and 165 healthy volunteers as controls. Serum lipid pro le, fasting blood sugar, insulin, cortisol and leptin levels were measured for both groups.Results: Men with metabolic syndrome had a higher serum cortisol levels, while serum leptin levels were signi cantly higher in women. e higher serum cortisol level in men with metabolic syndrome was signi cant a er multiple adjustments for age, BMI and waist circumference (17.74±5.1 vs 14.07±4.3; p<0.05) using general linear model; however, these di erence were no longer signi cant when the waist-to-hip ratio was added as one of the adjustment factors (16.7±1.2 vs. 14.9±0.5; p<0.2). Serum cortisol levels was signicantly correlated with serum leptin (r=0.33, p<0.05), cholesterol (r=0.35, p<0.05), triglyceride (r=0.25, p<0.05), waist circumference (r=0.41, p<0.01) and waist-to-hip ratio (r=0.32, p<0.01) in women with metabolic syndrome, a er controlling for age and BMI.Conclusion: Serum cortisol levels are signi cantly higher in men with metabolic syndrome. is e ect is independent of waist circumference. ORIGINAL RESEARCH © 2011 CIMClin In E131 Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes [1]. e major components of metabolic syndrome include excess abdominal fat, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hyperglycemia and increased in ammatory state [1]. For any given body mass index (BMI), mortality is higher if fat is distributed centrally, which is the major component of metabolic syndrome [2]. Cross-sectional studies showed that morning cortisol levels are signi cantly correlated with the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, such as visceral obesity, high blood pressure and a poor lipid pro le [3][4][5]. Further studies suggest that metabolic syndrome is a less profound form of Cushing's syndrome, which is characterized by a rise in serum cortisol levels [4,[6][7][8][9].is hypothesis is based on the simple observation that patients with Cushing's syndrome develop central obesity, which improves with the resolution of hypercortisolism [10,11].It is known that men with metabolic syndrome are more frequently a ected with android obesity. Central fat distribution is signi cantly associated with increased cortisol levels [12,13], so it could be hypothesized that men with metabolic syndrome have a higher serum cortisol levels, due to increased abdominal obesity compared with women. On the other hand, adipose tissue is known as an endocrine organ, producing a number...

Interday variation and effect of transportation on indirect blood pressure measurements, plasma endothelin-1 and serum cortisol in Standardbred and Icelandic horses

“…There are studies that have shown that patients with MS have higher circulating concentrations of cortisol, but there are also studies that have failed to find this relationship [10,11]. To our knowledge there are no studies that have measured serum cortisol concentrations in horses diagnosed with EMS, and the question remains whether horses with EMS differ in cortisol concentration compared to controls.…”

Salivary Cortisol, Perceived Stress, and Metabolic Syndrome: A Matched Case-Control Study in Female Shift Workers

“…In a Korean study, cortisol levels were not associated with MetS in women after adjustment for socioeconomic status, smoking, alcohol drinking, and daily physical activity [15]. Similarly, in an Iranian case-control study of adult patients with MetS from a diabetes clinic and healthy controls, the cortisol levels of controls did not differ significantly from those of MetS cases after multiple adjustments [14].…”

“…This lack of association ▶Table 1 General characteristics of cases of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and matched controls in female shift workers (n = 250), Southern Brazil, 2011. considered different cortisol parameters than we did. Some studies used the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria for MetS [12][13][14] and/or having received medical treatment for diabetes, hypertension, or elevated triglycerides [12], whereas others used NCEP-ATP III Asian guidelines [15]. These studies considered various salivary cortisol measures: including measures over 3 days [13], 24-h urine cortisol excretion, bedtime salivary cortisol and the 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test [12], and fasting plasma cortisol [14,15].…”

“…Alterations in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis lead to increased secretion of stress-related glucocorticoid hormones such as cortisol, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of MetS [6,7]. However, the scientific literature is inconsistent and controversial; some studies have reported positive associations between cortisol and MetS [8][9][10][11], whereas others have reported no such association [12][13][14][15]. Similar inconsistencies have been observed in relation to perceived stress levels, with some studies reporting an association with MetS [12,16], and others reporting no association [17][18][19].…”

Endocrine, Lifestyle, and Genetic Factors in the Development of Metabolic Syndrome

“…According to a number of reports (19,22,25) HSD1 in obese subjects (29,30). Together with excess glucocorticoid secretion by the HPA axis (through increased peripheral glucocorticoidal signalling and cortisol reactivation) this may contribute to higher cortisol level observed in MetS.…”