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Table 5 Mean and SD of salivary cortisol rhythm

From: Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis Functioning in Overtraining Syndrome: Findings from Endocrine and Metabolic Responses on Overtraining Syndrome (EROS)—EROS-HPA Axis

Salivary cortisol (ng/dL)

OTS athletes (OTS) (n = 14)

Healthy athletes (ATL) (n = 25)

Non-active subjects (NCS) (n = 12)

Awakening

329 (± 222)

337 (± 131)

266 (± 149)

30′ after awakening

324*** (± 116)

500& (± 168)

393 (± 149)

4 PM

166 (± 113)

144 (± 83)

130 (± 57)

11 PM

94 (± 39)

95 (± 38)

83 (± 11)

Cortisol awakening response (CAR) %

32.4

62.2

79.08

  1. Differences between OTS and ATL: ***p < 0.005;
  2. Differences between ATL and NCS: & p < 0.05
  3. SD standard deviation