Copeptin as a stress marker prior and after a written examination – the CoEXAM study

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of medical students before and after the written examination.

	Before exam	After exam	p Value
BD systole (mmHg)	138 (130–144)	141 (137–144)	0.30
BD diastole (mmHg)	79 (74–84)	82 (73–87)	0.97
Heart rate (/min)	79 (74–96)	71 (62–76)	<0.01
Temperature (°C)	37.8 (37.5–38)	37.6 (37.3–37.9)	0.16
Stress score (0–10)	5 (4–6)	3 (2–3)	<0.01
Copeptin (pmol/l)	3.1 (2.4–4.3)	2.3 (1.7–2.8)	<0.01
Serum cortisol (nmol/l)	561 (386–651)	297 (235–327)	<0.01
Salivary cortisol (nmol/l)	12.5 (8.2–17.1)	6.9 (5.7–8.1)	<0.01
Sodium (mmol/l)	139 (138–141)	143 (142–143)	<0.01
Osmolality (mmol/l)	290 (286–291)	295 (292–297)	<0.01

Figure 1. Cortisol as outcome predictor for examination result. Comparison of cortisol levels in students who had high performance (≥84 points of 119) with students who had poor performance (<84 points) using the Mann–Whitney U-test. Error bars show mean and SD.