Summary
To examine the validity of salivary cortisol for monitoring circadian rhythm variation in adrenal activity during shiftwork, saliva and blood samples were collected at 4-h intervals in experimental short-term shifts, i.e., day (work 0830–1600 h; sleep 0030–0800 h), evening (work 1630–2400 h; sleep 0430–1200 h), and night (work 0030–0800 h; sleep 1230–2000 h) shifts over 2 days. Cortisol levels, determined by radioimmunoassay, and the circadian profiles of saliva and sera were compared. The salivary cortisol showed relatively low levels, the 2-day mean value being 3.1%–3.3% that of serum total cortisol through all shifts. Significant differences in the serum to saliva cortisol ratios were noted among shifts and subjects. When expressed as a relative percentage of a 2-day mean value, however, salivary cortisol paralleled the modified circadian profiles of serum total cortisol of the evening and night shifts, with no significant time lag and no difference in magnitude. The cosinor analysis supported this finding. Thus, salivary cortisol appears to be an excellent measure for monitoring circadian rhythm variation in adrenal activity in healthy individuals during shiftwork.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Angeli A, Frajria R, Dogliotti L, Crosazzo C, Rigoli F, Ceresa F (1978) Differences between temporal patterns of plasma cortisol and corticosteroid-binding globulin binding capacity throughout the twenty-four hour day and the menstrual cycle. J Endocrinol Invest 1:31–38
Bassett JR, Marshall PM, Spillane R (1987) The physiological measurement of acute stress (public speaking) in bank employees. Int J Psychophysiol 5:265–273
Burke PM, Reichler RJ, Smith E, Dugaw K, McCauley E, Mitchell J (1985) Correlation between serum and salivary cortisol levels in depressed and nondepressed children and adolescents. Am J Psychiatry 142:1065–1067
Campbell IT, Wilson DW, Walker RF, Griffiths K (1985) The use of salivary steroids to monitor circadian rhythmicity on expeditions in the arctic. Chronobiol Int 2:55–59
Cook NJ, Read GF, Walker RF, Harris B, Riad-Fahmy D (1986) Changes in adrenal and testicular activity monitored by salivary sampling in males throughout marathon runs. Eur J Appl Physiol 55:634–638
Cook NJ, Ng A, Read GF, Harris B, Riad-Fahmy D (1987) Salivary cortisol for monitoring adrenal activity during marathon runs. Horm Res 25:18–23
Fibiger W, Evans O, Singer G (1986) Hormonal responses to a graded mental workload. Eur J Appl Physiol 55:339–343
Forest MG, Pugeat M (1981) Free and bound steroids in plasma: methodology and physiological implications. In: Bizollon CA (ed) Physiological peptides and new trends in radioimmunology. Elsevier/North-Holland, Amsterdam, p 249
Fujiwara S, Shinkai S, Kurokawa Y, Watanabe T (1992) The acute effects of experimental short-term evening and night shifts on human circadian rhythm: the oral temperature, heart rate, serum cortisol and urinary catecholamines levels. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 63:409–418
Hampl R, Foretova L, Sulcova J, Starka L (1990) Daily profiles of salivary cortisol in hydrocortisone treated children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Eur J Pediatr 149:232–234
Hubert W, Moller M, Nieschlag E (1989) Stress reactions in response to the procedure of LHRH tests as measured by salivary and serum cortisol and psychological variables. Horm Res 32:198–202
Kahn J-P, Rubinow DR, Davis CL, Kling M, Post RM (1988) Salivary cortisol: a practical method for evaluation of adrenal function. Biol Psychiatry 23:335–349
Katz FH, Shannon IL (1964) Identification and significance of parotid fluid corticosteroids. Acta Endocrinol 46:393–404
Landon J, Smith DS, Perry LA, Al-Ansari AAK (1982) The assay of salivary cortisol. In: 9th Tenovus Workshop. Alpha-Omega, pp 300–307
Laudat MH, Cerdas S, Fournier C, Guiban D, Guilhaume B, Luton JP (1988) Salivary cortisol measurement: a practical approach to assess pituitary-adrenal function. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 66:343–348
Luthold WW, Marcondes JAM, Wajchenberg BL (1985) Salivary cortisol for the evaluation of Cushing's syndrome. Clin Chim Acta 151:33–39
McCracken JT, Poland RE (1989) Saliva and serum cortisol dynamics following intravenous dexamethasone in normal volunteers. Life Sci 45:1781–1785
Meulenberg PMM, Holman JA (1990) Differences between concentrations of salivary cortisol and cortisone and of free cortisol and cortisone in plasma during pregnancy and postpartum. Clin Chem 36:70–75
Mori K (1982) Circadian variation of cortisol and catecholamines following shifted wake-sleep schedules. J Human Ergol [Suppl] 11:21–32
Nelson W, Tong YL, Lee JK, Halberg F (1979) Methods for cosinor-rhythmometry. Chronobiologica 6:305–323
O'Connor PJ, Corrigan DL (1987) Influence of short-term cycling on salivary cortisol levels. Med Sci Sports Exerc 19:224–228
Poland RE, Rubin RT (1982) Saliva cortisol levels following dexamethasone administration in endogenously depressed patients. Life Sci 30:177–181
Riad-Fahmy D, Read GF, Walker RF (1983) Salivary steroid assays for assessing variation in endocrine activity. J Steroid Biochem 19:265–272
Smith JB, Nolan G, Jubiz W (1980) The relationship between unbound and total cortisol: its usefulness in detecting CBG abnormalities. Clin Chim Acta 108:435–445
Umeda T, Hiramatsu R, Iwaoka T, Shimada T, Miura F, Sato T (1981) Use of saliva for monitoring unbound free corticol levels in serum. Clin Chim Acta 110:245–253
Vining RF, McGinley RA (1982) Transport of steroid from blood to saliva. In: 9th Tenovus Workshop. Alpha-Omega, pp 56–63
Vining RF, McGinley RA, Maksvytis JF, Ho KY (1983) Salivary cortisol: a better measure of adrenal cortisol function than serum cortisol. Ann Clin Biochem 20:329–335
Wilkinson CW (1989) The adrenal cortex. In: Patton HD, Fuchs AF, Hille B, Scher AM, Steiner R (eds) Textbook of physiology: circulation, respiration, body fluids, metabolism and endocrinology, vol 2. Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 1501–1521
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shinkai, S., Watanabe, S., Kurokawa, Y. et al. Salivary cortisol for monitoring circadian rhythm variation in adrenal activity during shiftwork. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 64, 499–502 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381098
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381098