Immunoassay overestimates progesterone in blood, but no studies have tested whether this occurs in saliva. We measured progesterone in saliva using immunoassay and mass spectrometry. We tested the immunoassay for cross reactivity with dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone (17α-OHP). Progesterone was significantly higher in immunoassay compared to mass spectrometry. Immunoassay progesterone levels increased in when incremental levels of 17α-OHP standard was added. This effect was not observed with the addition of DHEA-S. Research using salivary progesterone immunoassay techniques should be wary, particularly with individuals taking steroid supplementation or with high levels of progesterone metabolites.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	progesterone, immunoassay, mass spectrometry, saliva, DHEA-S, 17a-OHP
Research Division:	Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Research Group:	Clinical sciences
Research Field:	Clinical chemistry (incl. diagnostics)
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Clinical health
Objective Field:	Diagnosis of human diseases and conditions
UTAS Author:	Ney, LJ (Mr Luke Ney)
UTAS Author:	Nichols, D (Dr David Nichols)
ID Code:	141756
Year Published:	2020
Web of Science® Times Cited:	3
Deposited By:	Central Science Laboratory
Deposited On:	2020-11-17
Last Modified:	2021-02-22
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