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Validation Of A Non-Invasive Physiological Stress Assessment: Agreement Of Salivary And Blood Cortisol Among Firefighters, Caiti Dodge, Hunter Martaindale, Steven E. Martin, Lisa C. Colvin, Drew E. Gonzalez, Matthew J. Mcallister

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

Salivary cortisol has been used as an indicator of stress exposure among tactical personnel (i.e., firefighters). Assessing cortisol concentrations, whether via blood or saliva samples, can provide valuable insight into the physiological stress load placed upon the firefighter. Cortisol levels provide a reflection of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Salivary cortisol is unbound and has been suggested to provide a better reflection of HPA axis activity compared to blood cortisol, which is bound to soluble corticosteroid-binding globulin. Importantly, the use of salivary biosample collection also offers a more practical and non-invasive method to assess physiological stress biomarkers when blood sample …