Relationships between 24-hour urinary free cortisol concentrations and metabolic syndrome in obese children

Abstract

Context: Clinical features of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and Cushing's Syndrome are similar, suggesting a pathogenetic role of hypothalamus-pituitary- adrenal axis in MetS. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine whether MetS diagnosis and specific clusters of MetS components (waist circumference, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and impaired glucose metabolism) are associated with serum cortisol (SC) or 24-h urinary free cortisol (UFC) levels. Design and Setting: We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from our obesity cohort. We studied 264 obese children (age, 11.0±2.8 years; male, 48%; BMI, 28.2±5.4 kg/m2). We examined UFC, SC, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), and features of MetS (waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting lipids, and glucose). Results: Slightly increased UFC concentrations were measured in 30.7% of the children. Obese children with MetS had significantly (P = .003) higher UFC levels compared with obese children without MetS. Girls demonstrated significantly higher UFC concentrations compared with boys independent of pubertal stage. UFC and SC levels were significantly related to features of MetS, but the associations were stronger for UFC. In multivariate analyses adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index, none of the features of MetS but HOMA index was correlated with UFC, whereas SC demonstrated no significant association to any parameter of MetS or HOMA. Conclusions: Our findings support the hypothesis that changes in the hypothalamus-pituitary- adrenal axis are related to MetS in obesity. UFC seems to be a suitable marker for this relationship. Norm values for UFC adapted to obese children may help to avoid unnecessary dexamethasone suppression tests. Copyright © 2014 by the Endocrine Society.