Figure 2. Relationship between the resting parasympathetic vagal tone and the evening salivary cortisol in controls, Crohn’s disease (CD) and Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients.

A balance was observed between the parasympathetic tone and the evening salivary cortisol in healthy subjects (control group) but not in CD and IBS patients. Data are expressed as mean ± sem. Comparisons are made between the high and low parasympathetic level subgroups using permutations test.