Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jan;78(1):114-9.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2012.04458.x.

Cortisol secretory parameters in young exercisers in relation to LH secretion and bone parameters

Kathryn E Ackerman  1 , Kamal T Patel, Gabriela Guereca, Lisa Pierce, David B Herzog, Madhusmita Misra
Affiliations

Cortisol secretory parameters in young exercisers in relation to LH secretion and bone parameters

Kathryn E Ackerman et al. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2013 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: Amenorrhoea and low bone density are common in excessive exercisers, yet endocrine factors that differentiate adolescent amenorrhoeic exercisers (AE) from eumenorrhoeic exercisers (EE) are unclear. We have previously reported that high ghrelin and low leptin predict lower LH secretion in AE. Leptin and ghrelin impact cortisol secretion, and hypercortisolaemia can inhibit LH pulsatility. We hypothesized that higher cortisol secretion in young endurance weight-bearing AE compared with EE and nonexercisers predicts lower LH secretion, lower levels of a bone formation marker and higher levels of a bone resorption marker.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Subjects: We studied 21 AE, 18 EE and 20 nonexercisers aged 14-21 years (BMI 10th-90th%iles).

Measurements: Subjects underwent frequent sampling (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) to assess cortisol, ghrelin, leptin and LH secretory dynamics. Fasting levels of a bone formation (P1NP) and bone resorption (CTX) marker were measured.

Results: BMI did not differ among groups. Cortisol pulse amplitude, mass, half-life and area under the curve (AUC) were highest in AE (P = 0.04, 0.007, 0.04 and 0.003) and were associated inversely with fat mass (r = -0.29, -0.28 and -0.35, P = 0.03, 0.04 and 0.007). We observed inverse associations between cortisol and LH AUC (r = -0.36, P = 0.008), which persisted after controlling for fat mass, leptin and ghrelin AUC. Cortisol correlated positively with CTX in EE and inversely with P1NP in nonexercisers.

Conclusions: Higher cortisol secretion in AE compared with EE and nonexercisers is associated with lower LH secretion. Effects of leptin and ghrelin on LH secretion may be mediated by increased cortisol.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cortisol concentrations over the sampling period in an amenorrhoeic exerciser, an eumenorrhoeic exerciser and a non- exerciser
Figure 2
Figure 2
Associations between cortisol area under the curve (AUC) with LH AUC for the group as a whole and within amenorrhoeic exercisers. The figure shows the inverse association of cortisol AUC with LH AUC for all subjects (left) and amenorrhoeic exercisers (right). Correlation coefficients and p values are indicated in the figure
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Nichols JF, Rauh MJ, Lawson MJ, Ji M, Barkai HS. Prevalence of the female athlete triad syndrome among high school athletes. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:137–142. - PubMed
    1. Nichols JF, Rauh MJ, Barrack MT, Barkai HS, Pernick Y. Disordered eating and menstrual irregularity in high school athletes in lean-build and nonlean-build sports. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2007;17:364–377. - PubMed
    1. De Souza MJ, Leidy HJ, O’Donnell E, Lasley B, Williams NI. Fasting ghrelin levels in physically active women: relationship with menstrual disturbances and metabolic hormones. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004;89:3536–3542. - PubMed
    1. Kaufman BA, Warren MP, Dominguez JE, Wang J, Heymsfield SB, Pierson RN. Bone density and amenorrhoea in ballet dancers are related to a decreased resting metabolic rate and lower leptin levels. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002;87:2777–2783. - PubMed
    1. Christo K, Cord J, Mendes N, Miller K, Goldstein M, Klibanksi A, Misra M. Acylated Ghrelin and Leptin in Adolescent Athletes with Amenorrhoea, Eumenorrheic Athletes and Controls: A Cross-sectional Study. Clin Endocrinol. 2008;69:628–633. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types