ArticleObesity facts2025
Cortisol Secretion in Obesity Revisited: Lower Basal Serum and Salivary Cortisol with Diminished Cortisol Response to the Low Dose ACTH Challenge.
Article in Obesity facts, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Adipokine, endocrine, and fibrinolysis-related alterations across abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome phenotypes in young adults.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Article
- "Impaired adrenal responsiveness in hemodialysis patients: a low-dose ACTH stimulation test study".Endocrine · 2025Article
- Effects of Lifestyle, Diet, and Body Composition on Free Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in Young Men.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Phenomenon of hypocortisolism in individuals with obesity.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionSome clinical resemblance may exist between obesity, particularly abdominal obesity, and Cushing's syndrome. This has stimulated ongoing interest in the role of cortisol's secretion pattern, control, and metabolism in obesity. GOALS: The aim of the study was to investigate whether basal and stimulated levels of cortisol differ between healthy people with obesity and individuals with normal weight.
methodsTotal, free, and salivary cortisol was tested at baseline state and after 1 μg ACTH stimulation in 60 healthy subjects with obesity and 54 healthy lean controls.
resultsBaseline total cortisol was lower in subjects with obesity compared to lean controls (347 [265-452] nmol/L vs. 422 [328-493] nmol/L, respectively; p < 0.05). Similarly, basal salivary cortisol was significantly lower in subjects with obesity (7.5 [5.2-9.7] nmol/L vs. 10.7 [7.5-17.6] nmol/L; p < 0.05). Upon challenge with ACTH, total peak serum and salivary peak cortisol responses were significantly lower in people with obesity than in lean subjects (665.16 ± 151.8 vs. 728.64 ± 124.2 nmol/L; p < 0.05 and 31.66 [19-38.64] vs. 40.05 [31.46-46.64] nmol/L; p < 0.05, respectively). Additionally, baseline total cortisol and salivary cortisol were inversely related to BMI (r = -0.24, r = -0.27; p < 0.05 for both) and waist circumference (r = -0.27, r = -0.34; p < 0.05 for both).
conclusionBaseline as well as peak stimulated total serum and salivary cortisol were significantly lower in subjects with obesity. It thus appears that obesity is not associated with enhanced basal or ACTH-stimulated cortisol.
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