Table 1.

Baseline (cortisol, DHEA, and DHEA-S) and LDC-stimulated (cortisol and DHEA) serum levels in the three groups

	IMPAIRED-HPA	NL-HPA	Healthy subjects	P value: IMPAIRED-HPA vs. NL-HPA	P value: IMPAIRED-HPA vs. healthy subjects
Cortisol (μg/dl)
Baseline	5.6 ± 2.3	11.0 ± 4.4	10.9 ± 5.6	<0.001	<0.001
LDC stimulated	17.1 ± 4.6	27.7 ± 6.7	28.1 ± 6.0	<0.001	<0.001
DHEA (ng/ml)
Baseline	1.0 ± 0.7	3.3 ± 1.9	3.3 ± 2.2	<0.001	<0.001
LDC stimulated	2.1 ± 1.7	7.6 ± 4.9	8.4 ± 4.8	<0.001	<0.001
DHEA-S (μg/dl)
Baseline	24.78 ± 19.6	73.7 ± 77.1	96.5 ± 81.3	<0.001	<0.001

Baseline and LDC-stimulated serum cortisol, DHEA, and DHEA-S levels in three groups of subjects: those with IMPAIRED-HPA (impaired HPA function); those with normal HPA function (NL-HPA); and healthy subjects. Baseline serum cortisol, DHEA, and DHEA-S serum levels in patients with NL-HPA were similar to those of healthy subjects. The LDC-stimulated serum cortisol and DHEA levels in patients with NL-HPA were similar to those of healthy subjects.