Salivary, total plasma and plasma free cortisol in panic disorder.
BACKGROUND
Research on basal HPA axis activity in patients with panic disorder showed inconsistent results.


METHODS
Basal total plasma, plasma free and salivary cortisol levels were compared in patients with panic disorder (n = 47) and in healthy individuals (n = 23). Correlations between these fractions were calculated.


RESULTS
All three basal cortisol fractions were significantly elevated in patients compared to controls. There were significant correlations between all three cortisol fractions.


CONCLUSIONS
Nonsignificant differences between cortisol levels of patients and healthy controls in previous studies may have been due to inclusion of less severely ill patients or to small sample sizes (96 words).
Wedekind
D
D
Department of Psychiatry, University of Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany.
Bandelow
B
B
Broocks
A
A
Hajak
G
G
Rüther
E
E
D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000097:blood*; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000737:chemistry; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D006854:Hydrocortisone