Abstract
Objectives
The objective of this study was to compare the diurnal variations in cortisol and cortisone concentrations in serum and saliva among extremely preterm (EPT), very preterm (VPT), and full-term (FT) children, all born appropriate for gestational age (AGA).
Methods
EPT, VPT, and FT children, all born AGA, were recruited from two healthcare centers. Cortisol and cortisone concentrations in serum and saliva were measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC‒MS). Statistical analysis was performed using nonparametric tests.
Results
A total of 101 children (5.0–8.9 years old) were included in this study: EPT=18, VPT=43 and FT=40. All groups had similar distributions in terms of age, birth weight standard deviation score (SDS) and BMI (SDS), showing no differences in serum ACTH, cortisol, or cortisone levels. Additionally, salivary cortisol and cortisone concentrations decreased significantly throughout the day (p-values<0.0001). Salivary cortisol concentrations were below the limit of detection (0.55 nmol/L) before dinner and before bedtime in approximately one-third and two-thirds of all children, respectively. Salivary cortisone was detectable in all but one sample.
Conclusions
The diurnal cortisol rhythm was preserved in all preterm children, regardless of their gestational age, and no differences in cortisol concentrations among the groups were found. This may have significant implications for the clinical management and follow-up of preterm individuals.
Funding source: Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cientifico y Tecnologico
Award Identifier / Grant number: 1160836
Award Identifier / Grant number: 1190346
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Ms. Rosario Muñoz and Zunny Pizarro Otárola for their invaluable technical support during this study. We are also deeply grateful to the participating children and their parents for their willingness to contribute to this research. Without their generous participation, this study would not have been possible.
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Research ethics: The local Institutional Review Board deemed the study exempt from review. The study procedure adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Project ID: 16–050). The parents or legal guardians of the children signed informed consent forms before they participated in the study.
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Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission. Gonzalo Dominguez-Menendez: Conceptualisation (lead), formal analysis (equal), and writing – review & editing (supporting). Helena Poggi: Conceptualisation (supporting), project administration (lead), supervision (lead), writing – original draft (equal), and writing – review & editing (lead). Fernanda Ochoa-Molina: Conceptualisation (equal), writing – original draft (equal), Ivonne D’Apremont: Data curation (lead), resources (equal), and validation (equal). Rosario Moore: Data curation (lead), resources (equal), and validation (equal). Fidel Allende: Formal analysis (supporting) and project administration (supporting). Sandra Solari: Formal analysis (supporting) and project administration (supporting). Alejandro Martinez-Aguayo: Conceptualisation (lead), data curation (lead), formal analysis (lead), funding acquisition (lead), investigation (equal), methodology (equal), project administration (equal), resources (lead), supervision (lead), validation (lead), writing – original draft (lead) and editing (lead).
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Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT) and Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cientifico y Tecnologico (FONDECYT) supported this work (grant numbers 1160836 and 1190346, respectively).
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