Diurnal secretion of growth hormone, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone in pre- and perimenopausal women with active rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot case-control study

Table 2 GH secretory parameters and morning serum concentrations of IGF-I and IGFBPs in rheumatoid arthritis patients and control subjects

Variables	Rheumatoid arthritis (n = 7)	Controls (n = 10)	P value
GH basal secretion (μg/liter per minute)	0.02 ± 0.00	0.01 ± 0.00	NS
GH mass/burst (μg/liter)	6.12 ± 1.03	6.71 ± 1.20	NS
GH burst frequency (number/24 hours)	13.7 ± 1.9	9.8 ± 1.2	NS
GH amplitude (μg/liter per minute)	0.430 ± 0.10	0.29 ± 0.06	NS
GH total production rate (μg/liter per 24 hours)	114 ± 26	73 ± 74	0.28
Mean GH (μg/liter)	0.91 ± 0.14	1.20 ± 0.17	NS
Integrated GH (μg/liter per minute)	1,316 ± 201	1,717 ± 245	NS
GH half-life (minutes)	9.2 ± 1.2	14.6 ± 0.9	0.0037
GH approximate entropy	0.75 ± 0.07	0.70 ± 0.09	NS
IGF-I (ng/ml)	129 ± 27	205 ± 25	0.05
IGFBP-1 (ng/ml)	42.1 ± 16	8.3 ± 2	0.066
IGFBP-3 (ng/ml)	2.2 ± 0.2	2.6 ± 0.1	0.058

Values are presented as mean ± standard error. P value indicates the significance of the difference in each parameter value between patients and control subjects. See 'Statistical analysis' section for details. GH, growth hormone; IGF-I, insulin-like growth factor-1; IGFBP, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein; NS, not significant (p > 0.10 when not explicitly reported).

ISSN: 1478-6362