The DOI matches its Crossref record; 11 of the 11 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Long‐term stability of salivary cortisol
Abstract
The measurement of salivary cortisol provides a simple, non-invasive, and stress-free measure frequently used in studies of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. In research projects, samples are often required to be stored for longer periods of time either because of the protocol of the project or because of lack of funding for analysis. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of long-term storage of samples on the amounts of measurable cortisol. Ten pools of saliva were collected on polyester Salivette tampons from five subjects. After centrifugation the samples were either stored in small vials or spiked to polyester Salivette tampons before analysis for cortisol using Spectria RIA kits. The effects of storage were evaluated by a linear regression model (mixed procedure) on a logarithmic scale. No effects on cortisol concentrations were found after storage of saliva at 5 degrees C for up to 3 months or at -20 degrees C and -80 degrees C for up to one year. In contrast, concentrations of cortisol were found to decrease by 9.2% (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.8%; 14.3%) per month in samples stored at room temperature. Repeated freezing and thawing of samples up to four times before analysis did not affect the measured concentrations of cortisol. The coefficient of residual variation (CVresid) for samples stored on Salivette tampons were twice the CVresid for samples stored in separate vials after centrifugation. In conclusion, centrifuged saliva samples for analysis of cortisol may be stored at 5 degrees C for up to 3 months or at -20 degrees C or -80 degrees C for at least one year. However, long-term storage at room temperature cannot be recommended. Repeated cycles of freezing and thawing did not appear to affect the concentrations of cortisol.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Limitations are the long and variable storage duration at -80 °C for up to 5 years, but cortisol in saliva has previously been shown to be stable for up to 1 year at -80 °C [49] and local tests have shown good stability of both salivary cortisol and cortisone for up to 6 years.”
From Salivary cortisol and cortisone in diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome: a comparison of six different analytical methods (2023) · cites this paper as [49]
Citations
Cites
Salivary Cortisol in Psychobiological Research: An Overview
Kirschbaum, C., & Hellhammer, D. H. (2008) · Neuropsychobiology · doi:10.1159/000118611 · Cited by 1,532
Cortisol in Saliva - Reference Ranges and Relation to Cortisol in Serum
Aardal, E., & Holm, A.-C. (1995) · Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) · doi:10.1515/cclm.1995.33.12.927 · Cited by 402
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SALIVARY CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS IN FROZEN VERSUS MAILED SAMPLES
Clements, A. D., & Parker, C. (1998) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/s0306-4530(98)00031-6 · Cited by 220
Salivary cortisol: A practical method for evaluation of adrenal function
Kahn, J., Rubinow, D. R., Davis, C. L., Kling, M. A., & Post, R. M. (1988) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/0006-3223(88)90284-3 · Cited by 181
Stability of salivary steroids: the influences of storage, food and dental care
Gröschl, M. (2001) · Steroids · doi:10.1016/s0039-128x(01)00111-8 · Cited by 176
Sluiter, J. K., Frings‐Dresen, M. H. W., Meijman, T. F., & van der Beek, A. J. (2000) · Occupational and Environmental Medicine · doi:10.1136/oem.57.5.298 · Cited by 145
Hansen, Å. M., Garde, A. H., Christensen, J., Eller, N. H., & Netterstrøm, B. (2003) · Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation · doi:10.1080/00365510310001942 · Cited by 120
Self-citationKirschbaum, C., Strasburger, C. J., Jammers, W., & Hellhammer, D. H. (1989) · Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior · doi:10.1016/0091-3057(89)90269-4 · Cited by 104
Long-Term Storage of Salivary Cortisol Samples at Room Temperature
Chen, Y., Cintrón, N. M., & Whitson, P. A. (1992) · Clinical Chemistry · doi:10.1093/clinchem/38.2.304 · Cited by 66
Aardal-Eriksson, E., Eriksson, T., Holm, A.-C., & Lundin, T. (1999) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(98)00381-3 · Cited by 61
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Aardal E., 1995, Eur J Clin Chem Clin Biochem, 33, 927
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Measuring stress in wildlife: techniques for quantifying glucocorticoids
Sheriff, M. J., Dantzer, B., Delehanty, B., Palme, R., & Boonstra, R. (2011) · Oecologia · doi:10.1007/s00442-011-1943-y · Cited by 919
Saliva specimen: A new laboratory tool for diagnostic and basic investigation
Chiappin, S., Antonelli, G., Gatti, R., & De Palo, E. F. (2007) · Clinica Chimica Acta · doi:10.1016/j.cca.2007.04.011 · Cited by 828
James, K. A., Stromin, J., Steenkamp, N., & Combrinck, M. I. (2023) · Frontiers in Endocrinology · doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1085950 · Cited by 479
Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life Based on Salivary Biomarkers
Hunter, M. R., Gillespie, B. W., & Chen, S. Y.-P. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722 · Cited by 358
Interrupting the Workplace: Examining Stressors in an Information Technology Context
Galluch, P. S., Grover, V., & Thatcher, J. B. (2015) · Journal of the Association for Information Systems · doi:10.17705/1jais.00387 · Cited by 322
Metadata
- Authors
- Garde, A. H., & Hansen, Å. M.
- Affiliations
- Danish National Institute of Public Health (DK)
- Venue
- Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2005-01
- Volume
- 65
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 433-436
- ISSN
- 0036-5513 (ISSN-L)
- 1502-7686
- OpenAlex
- W2064810136
- Cited by
- 260
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 3.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Nordisk Ministerråd
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Medical Laboratory Technology › Clinical Laboratory Practices and Quality Control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
- Keywords
- salivary cortisol, sample storage stability, long-term storage, freeze-thaw cycles, room temperature storage, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, cortisol measurement
- MeSH terms
- Freezing, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Saliva, Specimen Handling, Temperature
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
