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Calvi JL, Chen FR, Benson VB, Brindle E, Bristow M, De A, Entringer S, Findlay H, Heim C, Hodges EA, Klawitter H, Lupien S, Rus HM, Tiemensma J, Verlezza S, Walker CD, Granger DA. Measurement of cortisol in saliva: a comparison of measurement error within and between international academic-research laboratories. BMC Res Notes 2017; 10:479. [PMID: 28903752 PMCID: PMC5598071 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-017-2805-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 09/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Hundreds of scientific publications are produced annually that involve the measurement of cortisol in saliva. Intra- and inter-laboratory variation in salivary cortisol results has the potential to contribute to cross-study inconsistencies in findings, and the perception that salivary cortisol results are unreliable. This study rigorously estimates sources of measurement variability in the assay of salivary cortisol within and between established international academic-based laboratories that specialize in saliva analyses. One hundred young adults (Mean age: 23.10 years; 62 females) donated 2 mL of whole saliva by passive drool. Each sample was split into multiple- 100 µL aliquots and immediately frozen. One aliquot of each of the 100 participants’ saliva was transported to academic laboratories (N = 9) in the United States, Canada, UK, and Germany and assayed for cortisol by the same commercially available immunoassay. Results 1.76% of the variance in salivary cortisol levels was attributable to differences between duplicate assays of the same sample within laboratories, 7.93% of the variance was associated with differences between laboratories, and 90.31% to differences between samples. In established-qualified laboratories, measurement error of salivary cortisol is minimal, and inter-laboratory differences in measurement are unlikely to have a major influence on the determined values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Calvi
- Salivary Bioscience Laboratory, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA.
| | - Frances R Chen
- Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA
| | - Victoria Brann Benson
- Biobehavioral Laboratory, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7460, USA
| | - Eleanor Brindle
- Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Matt Bristow
- Department of Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK
| | - Alpana De
- Department of Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK
| | - Sonja Entringer
- Department of Medical Psychology, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117, Berlin, Germany.,Development, Health, and Disease Research Program, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92868, USA
| | - Helen Findlay
- Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Montreal Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, H1N 3V2, Canada
| | - Christine Heim
- Department of Medical Psychology, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Eric A Hodges
- Biobehavioral Laboratory, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7460, USA
| | - Heiko Klawitter
- Department of Medical Psychology, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sonia Lupien
- Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Montreal Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, H1N 3V2, Canada
| | - Holly M Rus
- Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, 95343, USA
| | - Jitske Tiemensma
- Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, 95343, USA
| | - Silvanna Verlezza
- The Douglas Hospital Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada
| | | | - Douglas A Granger
- Salivary Bioscience Laboratory, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA.,Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.,School of Nursing, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.,School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.,Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697-7085, USA
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