Crewther BT, Obmiński Z, Orysiak J, Al-Dujaili EAS. The utility of salivary testosterone and cortisol concentration measures for assessing the stress responses of junior athletes during a sporting competition.
J Clin Lab Anal 2017;
32. [PMID:
28295634 DOI:
10.1002/jcla.22197]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2016] [Accepted: 02/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
This study examined the utility of salivary testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) concentration measures for assessing the acute stress responses of junior athletes during a sporting competition.
METHODS
Paired capillary blood and saliva samples were taken from 71 junior athletes (45 males, 26 females) before and after a simulated Olympic weightlifting competition. The concentration measures of salivary T and C were referenced against blood total T (TT) and C (TC) concentrations. All hormones were tested by immunoassay.
RESULTS
The competition promoted an increase in the blood TT concentrations of the male (10.1%±18.7%) and female (12.9%±19.9%) athletes (P<.05), with TC also rising in females (37.5%±69%) and tending to increase in males (23.2%±56.1%). No significant changes in salivary T or C were identified. Locally-weighted regression revealed that salivary T was strongly related to blood TT in males (r2 =.84), but not females (r2 =-.15), whereas salivary C was moderately related to blood TC in both sexes (r2 =.43, r2 =.48), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
A short, high-intensity competition promoted a predictable stress-induced rise in blood TT and TC concentrations. We observed no hormonal stress responses in saliva under the current format, which could be explained by individual variability and blood-saliva differences in hormone kinetics. Still, the salivary T and C measures did show a moderate to strong ability to track individual blood TT (males only) and TC (both sexes) concentrations in a young athletic cohort across a broad physiological range. Recommendations for researchers and practitioners are presented.
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