Production rates of cortisol in obesity.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the metabolic clearance rates (MCRs) and endogenous production rates (PRs) of cortisol (F) in grades 2 and 3 obese men (n = 9) and women (n = 6).


METHODS
The MCRs and the endogenous PRs of cortisol (F) were determined in grades 2 and 3 obese men (n = 9) and women (n = 6) using the stable isotope dilution technique and mass spectrometry.


RESULTS
In obese women, endogenous PRs of F (0.6 +/- 0.4 mg/h) were similar to those of nonobese women, but MCRs of F were higher in obese women (9 +/- 4 L/h) compared with nonobese women (5 + 2 L/h; p < 0.05). The MCR of F was correlated with the ratio of excreted cortisone to F metabolites. Furthermore, obese women were characterized by an increased ratio of androsterone to etiocholanolone (p < 0.01). In obese men, the MCRs (11 +/- 6 L/h) and the endogenous PRs of F (0.6 +/- 0.3 mg/h) were both similar to those of nonobese men, but the MCR of F was directly correlated with the ratio of excreted cortisone to F metabolites (r = 0.7833, p = 0.012).


CONCLUSIONS
These data demonstrate sex-specific differences in F metabolism in obesity. The rise in MCRs of F is more pronounced in obese women than in men. However, the increase in the MCR of F is moderate in both genders and exceeds the normal range only in a subgroup of obese individuals.
Clinical Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine III, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, A-1090 Wien, Austria. h.vierhapper@akh-wien.ac.at.
Heinrich
H
Vierhapper
Peter
P
Nowotny
Werner
W
Waldhäusl
D000328:Adult; D000738:Androsterone / Q000652:urine; D005043:Etiocholanolone / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D007201:Indicator Dilution Techniques; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013760:Tetrahydrocortisol / Q000652:urine; D013761:Tetrahydrocortisone / Q000652:urine
D013761:Tetrahydrocortisone; D013760:Tetrahydrocortisol; D005043:Etiocholanolone; D000738:Androsterone; D006854:Hydrocortisone