Assessing estradiol in biobehavioral studies using saliva and blood spots: simple radioimmunoassay protocols, reliability, and comparative validity
Abstract
We developed simple, reliable, and highly sensitive assay modifications of commercially available radioimmunoassay kits to measure estradiol in saliva and blood spot specimens. The saliva assay has average intra- and interassay coefficients of variation (CV) of 6.45 and 9.01%, with average analytical and serial dilution recoveries 100.65 and 89.25%. The blood spot assay has average intra- and interassay CVs of 7.57 and 8.22%, with analytical and serial dilution recoveries of 80.50 and 108.50%. The analytical sensitivity ranges of the saliva (0.25-7.50 pg/ml) and blood spot (2. 00-375 pg/ml) assays are sufficient to determine levels in the majority of pre- and postpubertal males and females. Blood spot assay results are correlated with serum estradiol levels for adult males, r (17) = 0.73, and females, r (18) = 0.96. In contrast, the serum-saliva correlation is only modest for adult females, r (14) = 0.60, and not significant for adult males. Substitution of blood spot assay results for serum values underestimates the known serum estradiol-behavior correlation by only 3.45%, whereas substitution of saliva assay results for serum values underestimates the association by 37.55%. The findings have important implications for the use and potential misuse of noninvasive measures of estradiol in studies of health and human development.
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Testosterone is the most valid measure of gonadal hormones in both boys and girls.
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- Authors
- Shirtcliff, E. A., Granger, D. A., Schwartz, E. B., Curran, M. J., Booth, A., & Overman, W. H.
- Affiliations
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- University of North Carolina Wilmington (US)
- Corresponding author
- Granger, Douglas A.
- Venue
- Hormones and Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2000-09
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 137-147
- ISSN
- 0018-506X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2059529385
- Cited by
- 149
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Hormones and Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Estrogen and related hormone effects
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Keywords
- estradiol, saliva, blood spots, radioimmunoassay, assay modification, assay reliability, serum estradiol, non-invasive hormone measurement, human development
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aging, Behavior, Child, Estradiol, Evaluation Studies as Topic, Female, Humans, Male, Puberty, Radioimmunoassay, Reagent Kits, Diagnostic, Saliva
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