Is there an association between fibromyalgia and below-normal levels of urinary cortisol?

• Main Authors: Serrano–Ostariz Enrique, Pavón–Romero Lenin, Bancalero–Flores Jose, Bocos–Terraz Julia, Izquierdo–Álvarez Silvia, de Miquel Cayetano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2008-12-01
• Series: BMC Research Notes
• Online Access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1756-0500/1/134

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adynamia in fibromyalgia (FM) may be an expression of a functional deficit of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and be associated with below-normal levels of urinary cortisol. Our aim was to demonstrate that urinary cortisol was lower in patients with FM than in healthy subjects.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We measured urinary cortisol levels for a sample of 47 women aged 29 to 64 years (mean age 53 years), diagnosed with FM 2–3 years previously, and compared the results with those for a control sample of 58 healthy women of a similar age. Samples of 24-hour urine were appropriately collected and levels of urinary cortisol were measured using the fluorescence polarization immunoassay method. The mean cortisol value for the women with FM was 65.40 ± 27.10 μg/L, significantly lower than the mean cortisol level for the control group, at 90.83 ± 38.17 μg/L (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study confirms that women with FM have significantly lower urinary cortisol levels than healthy women.</p>