Salivary cortisol in children: correlations with serum values and effect of psychotropic drug administration.

This study compares the paired serum and salivary cortisol levels of 60 children and adolescents, obtained while performing a routine Dexamethasone Suppression Test. The results reveal significant correlations between serum and salivary cortisol levels in both drug-free (r = 0.90, p less than .001) and medicated patients (r = 0.81, p less than .001). Multiple regression analysis suggests that, while the slopes of the two regression curves are parallel (0.15 less than p less than 0.20), the intercepts are significantly different (p less than 0.05). This study supports the use of salivary measures of cortisol for children and adolescents. The authors suggest care in the use these measures while the patient is taking psychotropic medication.