Salivary testosterone levels in women with systemic lupus erythematosus

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Abstract
Objective. To measure salivary testosterone in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods. We investigated concentrations of salivary testosterone in 13 women with active SLE and 47 women with inactive SLE, and in 72 healthy female controls. Results. We found a significant decrease in salivary testosterone concentrations in glucocorticoid‐treated SLE patients (mean ± SD 0.06 ± 0.04 nmoles/liter) but no differences in concentrations in untreated patients (0.09 ± 0.03 nmoles/liter), compared with the healthy controls (0.11 ± 0.04 nmoles/liter). Conclusion. Glucocorticoid treatment appears to cause a decrease in the salivary testosterone level. Measurement of salivary testosterone is a simple way of monitoring androgen metabolism in patients with SLE.