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Daytime Secretion of Salivary Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase in Preschool-Aged Children with Autism and Typically Developing Children

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Abstract

We examined daytime salivary cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) secretion levels and variability in preschool-aged children with autism (AUT) and typically developing children (TYP). Fifty-two subjects (26 AUT and 26 TYP) were enrolled. Salivary samples were obtained at waking, midday, and bedtime on two consecutive days at three phases (baseline, 3 months later, 6 months later). There were modest increases in waking cortisol and sAA levels in AUT relative to TYP, but the increases were not statistically significant. Important differences were observed in cortisol and sAA variability between AUT and TYP. There was also a graded response among AUT by functional status—cortisol and sAA secretion levels were higher when IQ was lower.

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Acknowledgments

The most heartfelt thank you goes to the families and their children who generously participated in the study. We also would like to thank the research staff on the Sleep in Children with Autism Study (Karen Tang, Anny Wu, Stephanie Sitnick, Sara Waters, and Shacunda Burton) who graciously assisted with the families. Melissa Amacher volunteered her time on data entry and other tasks. We are grateful for the management of samples by Mary Curran at Salimetrics, LLC and Alan Hubbard for statistical advice on causal methodology. Some of the infrastructure support for the study was provided by NIMH RO1 MH068232 (PI: Thomas Anders) and the M.I.N.D. Institute. This paper was prepared in part from the dissertation of the corresponding author.

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Author notes

  1. Sharon A. Kidd

    Present address: National Fragile X Foundation, 1615 Bonanza Street, Suite 202, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596, USA

  2. Blythe A. Corbett

    Present address: Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, PMB 40, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA

  3. Douglas A. Granger

    Present address: Center for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research, School of Nursing and Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, University of California, 101 Haviland Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Sharon A. Kidd & Ira B. Tager

  2. M.I.N.D. Institute, University of California at Davis Medical Center, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA

    Blythe A. Corbett & Thomas F. Anders

  3. Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Douglas A. Granger

  4. College for Interdisciplinary Studies and Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T-123, Canada

    W. Thomas Boyce

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Correspondence to Sharon A. Kidd.

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Kidd, S.A., Corbett, B.A., Granger, D.A. et al. Daytime Secretion of Salivary Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase in Preschool-Aged Children with Autism and Typically Developing Children. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 2648–2658 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1522-z

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