BMC Res Notes. 2008 Dec 22;1(1):134. [Epub ahead of print]

Izquierdo Alvarez S, Bocos Terraz JP, Bancalero Flores JL, Pavon 

Romero L, Serrano Ostariz E, Alegre de Miquel C.

PMID: 19102778

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND: Adynamia in fibromyalgia (FM) may be an expression of a 

functional deficit of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and be 

associated with below-normal levels of urinary cortisol. Our aim was 

to demonstrate that urinary cortisol was lower in patients with FM 

than in healthy subjects.

FINDINGS: We measured urinary cortisol levels for a sample of 47 

women aged 29 to 64 years (mean age 53 years), diagnosed with FM 2-3 

years previously, and compared the results with those for a control 

sample of 58 healthy women of a similar age. Samples of 24-hour urine 

were appropriately collected and levels of urinary cortisol were 

measured using the fluorescence polarization immunoassay method. The 

mean cortisol value for the women with FM was 65.40+/-27.10 microg/L, 

significantly lower than the mean cortisol level for the control 

group, at 90.83+/-38.17 microg/L (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that women with FM have significantly 

lower urinary cortisol levels than healthy women.