Radioimmunoassay and Tandem Mass Spectrometry Measurement of Bedtime Salivary Cortisol Levels: A Comparison of Assays to Establish Hypercortisolism

• Published in: The journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2007-08, Vol.92 (8), p.3102-3107
• Main Authors: Baid, Smita K., Sinaii, Ninet, Wade, Matt, Rubino, Domenica, Nieman, Lynnette K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adrenals. Adrenal axis. Renin-angiotensin system (diseases); Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cushing Syndrome - diagnosis; Endocrinopathies; False Positive Reactions; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Hydrocortisone - analysis; Hydrocortisone - metabolism; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Non tumoral diseases. Target tissue resistance. Benign neoplasms; Obesity - metabolism; Pituitary ACTH Hypersecretion - diagnosis; Pituitary ACTH Hypersecretion - metabolism; Prospective Studies; Radioimmunoassay; Reference Values; Reproducibility of Results; Saliva - chemistry; Saliva - metabolism; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Vertebrates: endocrinology
• ISSN: 0021-972X; 1945-7197
• DOI: 10.1210/jc.2006-2861

Context: Although bedtime salivary cortisol measurement has been proposed as the optimal screening test for the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome, its performance using commercially available assays has not been widely evaluated. Objective: Our objective was to compare RIA and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) measurement of salivary cortisol in obese subjects and healthy volunteers. Design and Setting: We conducted a cross-sectional prospective study of outpatients. Subjects and Methods: We studied 261 obese subjects (186 female) with at least two additional features of Cushing’s syndrome and 60 healthy volunteers (30 female). Subjects provided split bedtime salivary samples for cortisol measurement by commercially available RIA and LC-MS/MS. Results were considered normal or abnormal based on the laboratory reference range. Subjects with abnormal results underwent evaluation for Cushing’s syndrome. Results: In paired samples, RIA gave a lower specificity than LC-MS/MS in obese subjects (86 vs. 94%, P = 0.008) but not healthy volunteers (86 vs. 82%, P = 0.71). Among subjects with at least one abnormal result, both values were abnormal in 44% (confidence interval 26–62%) of obese and 75% (confidence interval 33–96%) of healthy volunteers. In obese subjects, salivary cortisol concentrations were less than 4.0 to 643 ng/dl (