Hot flashes and midlife symptoms in relation to levels of salivary cortisol

Objectives This study examined the relationship between salivary cortisol levels and hot flashes during midlife. Previous studies have shown that cortisol levels increase with hot flashes in the laboratory, and higher cortisol levels have been associated with more severe hot flashes. Salivary cortisol levels were also examined in relation to total number of midlife symptoms. Methods Women aged 40–60 years (n = 109) reported the presence or absence of 23 symptoms, including hot flashes, during the previous 2 weeks. Salivary samples were collected at waking, 30 min after waking, 1 h before bedtime, and at bedtime. The cortisol awakening response (CAR), cortisol daily decline (CDD), log transformed salivary cortisol levels at each time point, and mean cortisol levels were compared by hot flash report using t-tests. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between each cortisol measure and the presence or absence of hot flashes, after controlling for potential covariates. Results Salivary cortisol levels were not significantly associated with hot flashes or sum of symptoms. Hot flash report did not differentiate women who had a positive CAR from those who did not, or women who showed strong CDD from those who did not. Conclusion Symptomatic women – defined by hot flash report or symptom total – were not found to have higher salivary cortisol levels.