Cortisol and Metabolic Syndrome Components in Obese and Overweight Young Adults of a Nigerian Private University

Background: Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities which confers upon an individual a substantial increase in cardiovascular disease risk – approximately twice as high as those without the syndrome.

Aim: The study assessed the relationship between serum cortisol and the components of metabolic syndrome among overweight and obese students.

Materials and Methods: A total of ninety (n=90) subjects were recruited for this study which consisted of thirty (30) obese participants, thirty (30) overweight individuals and thirty (30) normal weight individuals who served as controls. About 7 ml of venous blood sample was collected from each participant within the age range of 17-25 years and serum was extracted. Anthropometric measurements were determined using standard methods. Fasting blood glucose, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol were determined using enzymatic methods while serum cortisol was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Data obtained were statistically analyzed using ANOVA, Post-hoc, Pearson’s correlation and P<0.05 was considered significant. In this study, metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) criteria.

Results: There was a significant increase in the level of serum cortisol in overweight and obese subjects in comparison to the control participants. There was also positive significant correlation between cortisol and glucose, cortisol and triglyceride. In contrast, there was a negative correlation between cortisol and HDL cholesterol in both overweight (r=-0.917, P=0.02) and obese (r=-0.365, P=0.04) subjects.

Conclusion: This study revealed that increased serum cortisol level in obese and overweight subjects correlates with more than two components of the metabolic syndrome. Taken together, data from this study revealed a noteworthy relationship between cortisol and metabolic syndrome among Nigerian young adults which suggests that metabolic stress is an underlying factor for elevated cortisol.