title: Relation between the urinary cortisol:creatinine ratio and hypoglycaemia.
abstract: The relationships between (i) urinary free cortisol and urinary creatinine concentrations and (ii) the urinary cortisol/creatinine ratio (UCCR) and various glycaemic levels were studied in three groups--normal, insulin-stressed and insulin-treated diabetic subjects. In non-hypoglycaemic subjects, there was a significant positive linear correlationship between urinary free cortisol and urinary creatinine excretion, but in the presence of hypoglycaemia, this relationship was lost. The highest mean urinary cortisol/creatinine ratio (UCCR) was found in subjects after an insulin tolerance test (ITT). The mean post-ITT UCCR was significantly greater than the mean for the pre-ITT samples. There was a significant negative correlation between capillary blood glucose levels at 03.00 and the UCCR of the overnight urine samples of insulin-treated diabetic subjects. We conclude that there is a definite increase in the UCCR after hypoglycaemia in subjects with adequate adrenocortical response to hypoglycaemia and that determination of the UCCR could be helpful in the detection of nocturnal hypoglycaemia.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D003404:Creatinine / Q000652:urine*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000652:urine*; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D003404:Creatinine; D006854:Hydrocortisone