Morning Cortisol is Not Associated with Truncal Fatness or Resting Blood Pressure in Children: Cross-Sectional and 1-2 Year Follow-Up Analyses

Objective: To evaluate the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships of morning cortisol with trunk fat and resting blood pressure (BP) in children. Methods: Participants included 72 children aged 4-10 years (mean 7.4 yrs) for the cross-sectional analysis and 58 for the longitudinal analysis. Height, weight, waist circumference, body fat by dual x-ray absorptiometry, and resting BP measures were obtained during a laboratory visit. Saliva samples were collected at home on a single morning and assayed for cortisol. Results: Approximately 21% were overweight (15.3%) or obese (5.6%). Mean morning cortisol was 0.25 0.12 g/dL (6.99 3.46 nmol/L). There were no significant correlations between morning cortisol and any of the measures of fatness (r