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Published on: April 29, 2013
Non-invasive measurement of adrenal response after standardized exercise tests in prepubertal children
Sigrid M Heijsman1, Nicoline F Koers, Gianni Bocca
1Department of Paediatrics, Medical Centre Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
Objective:
To determine the feasibility of non-invasive evaluation of adrenal response in healthy prepubertal children by standardized exercise tests.
Methods:
On separate occasions, healthy prepubertal children performed a submaximal cycling test, a maximal cycling test, and a 20-m shuttle-run test. Salivary cortisol levels were determined before exercise, and 1 and 15 min after exercise.
Results:
Immediately after cessation of the cycling and shuttle-run tests, salivary cortisol levels remained unchanged or decreased. Fifteen minutes after the shuttle-run test, salivary cortisol levels increased significantly. This increase in salivary cortisol levels was not observed 15 min after the cessation of the cycling tests.
Conclusion:
The results of this study demonstrate a different response in salivary cortisol levels after standardized cycling and running tests in prepubertal children. The increase in salivary cortisol levels found after a short standardized running test suggests that this may be a practical non-invasive method for evaluating adrenal response in healthy prepubertal children.
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