TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of age, sex and body mass index on cortisol secretion in 143 healthy adults
AU - Roelfsema, Ferdinand
AU - Van Heemst, Diana
AU - Iranmanesh, Ali
AU - Takahashi, Paul
AU - Yang, Rebecca
AU - Veldhuis, Johannes D.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported in part via R01 AG019695, R01 DK073148, R01 AG029362, R01 AG031763 and P30 DK050456 (Metabolic Studies Core of the Minnesota Obesity Center) from the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA). Matlab versions of ApEn and deconvolution methodology are available from Veldhuis.johannes@mayo.edu. The project described was supported by UL1 TR000135 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and 60NANB10D005Z from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of any federal institution.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The authors Published by Bioscientifica Ltd.
PY - 2017/10/1
Y1 - 2017/10/1
N2 - Context: Studies on 24-h cortisol secretion are rare. The impact of sex, age and adiposity on cortisol levels, often restricted to one or a few samples, are well recognized, but conflicting. Objective: To investigate cortisol dynamics in 143 healthy men and women, spanning 7 decades and with a 2-fold body mass index (BMI) range with different analytic tools. Setting: Clinical Research Unit. Design: Cortisol concentrations in 10-min samples collected for 24 h. Outcomes were mean levels, deconvolution parameters, approximate entropy (ApEn, regularity statistic) and 24-h rhythms. Results: Total 24-h cortisol secretion rates estimated by deconvolution analysis were sex, age and BMI independent. Mean 24-h cortisol concentrations were lower in premenopausal women than those in men of comparable age (176 ± 8.2 vs 217 ± 9.4 nmol/L, P = 0.02), but not in subjects older than 50 years. This was due to lower daytime levels in women, albeit similar in the quiescent overnight period. Aging increased mean cortisol by 10 nmol/L per decade during the quiescent secretory phase and advanced the acrophase of the diurnal rhythm by 24 min/decade. However, total 24-h cortisol secretion rates estimated by deconvolution analysis were sex, age and BMI independent. ApEn of 24-h profiles was higher (more random) in premenopausal women than those in men (1.048 ± 0.025 vs 0.933 ± 0.023, P = 0.001), but not in subjects older than 50 years. ApEn peaked during the daytime. Conclusion: Sex and age jointly determine the 24-h cortisol secretory profile. Sex effects are largely restricted to age <50 years, whereas age effects elevate concentrations in the late evening and early night and advance the timing of the peak diurnal rhythm.
AB - Context: Studies on 24-h cortisol secretion are rare. The impact of sex, age and adiposity on cortisol levels, often restricted to one or a few samples, are well recognized, but conflicting. Objective: To investigate cortisol dynamics in 143 healthy men and women, spanning 7 decades and with a 2-fold body mass index (BMI) range with different analytic tools. Setting: Clinical Research Unit. Design: Cortisol concentrations in 10-min samples collected for 24 h. Outcomes were mean levels, deconvolution parameters, approximate entropy (ApEn, regularity statistic) and 24-h rhythms. Results: Total 24-h cortisol secretion rates estimated by deconvolution analysis were sex, age and BMI independent. Mean 24-h cortisol concentrations were lower in premenopausal women than those in men of comparable age (176 ± 8.2 vs 217 ± 9.4 nmol/L, P = 0.02), but not in subjects older than 50 years. This was due to lower daytime levels in women, albeit similar in the quiescent overnight period. Aging increased mean cortisol by 10 nmol/L per decade during the quiescent secretory phase and advanced the acrophase of the diurnal rhythm by 24 min/decade. However, total 24-h cortisol secretion rates estimated by deconvolution analysis were sex, age and BMI independent. ApEn of 24-h profiles was higher (more random) in premenopausal women than those in men (1.048 ± 0.025 vs 0.933 ± 0.023, P = 0.001), but not in subjects older than 50 years. ApEn peaked during the daytime. Conclusion: Sex and age jointly determine the 24-h cortisol secretory profile. Sex effects are largely restricted to age <50 years, whereas age effects elevate concentrations in the late evening and early night and advance the timing of the peak diurnal rhythm.
KW - Approximate entropy
KW - Circadian rhythms
KW - Cortisol
KW - Deconvolution
KW - Human
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U2 - 10.1530/EC-17-0160
DO - 10.1530/EC-17-0160
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85029673199
VL - 6
SP - 500
EP - 509
JO - Endocrine Connections
JF - Endocrine Connections
SN - 2049-3614
IS - 7
ER -