determination of salivary cortisol in healthy children and adolescents

recognized as a reliable tool for assessing the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (hpa) axis, measurement of salivary cortisol plays an important role in both the clinical and research settings. to establish a normative data, which forms the basis for the usage of this valuable parameter, we gathered 8:00 h saliva samples from 94 healthy individuals aged 6-14 years. cortisol levels were measured by radioimmunoassay technique, using orion diagnostica's coated tube technology. based on mean±2sd, we established a normal range for salivary cortisol concentrations in this age group: 1.69 - 12.81nmol/l. considering a confidence interval for upper and lower limits, there was an upper limit equal to 11.42 -14.29 nmol/l and a lower limit of 1.21 - 2.25 nmol/l. regarding the results of this study, cortisol levels were age dependent, and although with a low correlation coefficient, there was a positive correlation between cortisol levels and weight and height. there was no correlation with bmi and no sex difference was found.