Weather conditions: a neglected factor in human salivary cortisol research?

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Milas, Goran; Šupe-Domić, Daniela; Drmić-Hofman, Irena; Rumora, Lada; Klarić, Irena Martinović

2018-02-01

There is ample evidence that environmental stressors such as extreme weather conditions affect animal behavior and that this process is in part mediated through the elevated activity of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis which results in an increase in cortisol secretion. This relationship has not been extensively researched in humans, and weather conditions have not been analyzed as a potential confounder in human studies of stress. Consequently, the goal of this paper was to assess the relationship between salivary cortisol and weather conditions in the course of everyday life and to test a possible moderating effect of two weather-related variables, the climate region and timing of exposure to outdoors conditions. The sample consisted of 903 secondary school students aged 18 to 21 years from Mediterranean and Continental regions. Cortisol from saliva was sampled in naturalistic settings at three time points over the course of a single day. We found that weather conditions are related to salivary cortisol concentration and that this relationship may be moderated by both the specific climate and the anticipation of immediate exposure to outdoors conditions. Unpleasant weather conditions are predictive for the level of salivary cortisol, but only among individuals who anticipate being exposed to it in the immediate future (e.g., in students attending school in the morning shift). We also demonstrated that isolated weather conditions or their patterns may be relevant in one climate area (e.g., Continental) while less relevant in the other (e.g., Mediterranean). Results of this study draw attention to the importance of controlling weather conditions in human salivary cortisol research.

The effect of storage conditions on salivary cortisol concentrations using an enzyme immunoassay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nalla, Anjana A; Thomsen, Gerda; Knudsen, Karen Birgitte Moos

2015-01-01

it was stored at - 80°C. The last tube was stored directly at - 80°C and served as the 'gold standard'. The saliva samples were assayed using Salivary Cortisol Diagnostic EIA. Differences in cortisol measurements between each of the five conditions and the 'gold standard' (- 80°C) were evaluated by one-sample t...

Long-term stability of salivary cortisol

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garde, A H; Hansen, Åse Marie

2005-01-01

either stored in small vials or spiked to polyester Salivette tampons before analysis for cortisol using Spectria RIA kits. The effects of storage were evaluated by a linear regression model (mixed procedure) on a logarithmic scale. No effects on cortisol concentrations were found after storage of saliva......The measurement of salivary cortisol provides a simple, non-invasive, and stress-free measure frequently used in studies of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. In research projects, samples are often required to be stored for longer periods of time either because of the protocol...... of the project or because of lack of funding for analysis. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of long-term storage of samples on the amounts of measurable cortisol. Ten pools of saliva were collected on polyester Salivette tampons from five subjects. After centrifugation the samples were...

Effect of chewing betel nut (Areca catechu) on salivary cortisol measurement.

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Konečná, Martina; Urlacher, Samuel S

2015-09-01

Cultural practices may compromise the accuracy of salivary hormone measurements and must be considered when designing human biology research protocols. This study aims to evaluate the acute effect of one common human practice-chewing betel nut-on the measurement of salivary cortisol levels under field conditions. Data were collected from 17 adult habitual betel nut users (males = 11; females = 6; mean age = 32.8 years) from a small rural community in Papua New Guinea. Saliva was collected in time series from each participant before and at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 min after chewing betel nut. Samples were analyzed by radioimmunoassay and cortisol levels were compared across time using linear mixed effects modeling. Measured mean cortisol concentration fell nearly 40% immediately following betel nut use and remained significantly below baseline levels for the following 45 min (all P  0.16). Chewing betel nut is associated with a transient but significant reduction in measured levels of salivary cortisol. Future research must take this into account in populations where betel nut use is prevalent. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Salivary cortisol and sleep problems among civil servants

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Hansen, Åse Marie; Thomsen, Jane Frølund; Kaergaard, Anette

2012-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The present study used information from a field study conducted among 4489 civil servants (70% women) in Denmark in 2007. The purpose was to examine the association between sleep problems and salivary cortisol by using a cross-sectional design with repeated measures in a subsample three...... during the past four weeks were associated with low morning and evening saliva cortisol concentrations: [-3.1% per score of disturbed sleep (p=.009); and -4.7% per score of awakening problems (p...

Salivary cortisol as a tool for physiological studies and diagnostic strategies

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Castro M.

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Salivary cortisol is an index of plasma free cortisol and is obtained by a noninvasive procedure. We have been using salivary cortisol as a tool for physiological and diagnostic studies, among them the emergence of circadian rhythm in preterm and term infants. The salivary cortisol circadian rhythm in term and premature infants was established between 8 and 12 postnatal weeks. In the preterm infants the emergence of circadian rhythm was parallel to the onset of sleep rhythm. We also studied the use of salivary cortisol for screening for Cushing's syndrome (CS in control and obese outpatients based on circadian rhythm and the overnight 1 mg dexamethasone (DEX suppression test. Salivary cortisol was suppressed to less than 100 ng/dl after 1 mg DEX in control and obese patients. A single salivary cortisol measurement at 23:00 h and again after 1 mg DEX above the 90th percentile of the obese group values had sensitivity and specificity of 93 and 93% (23:00 h, and 91 and 94% (after DEX, respectively. The sensitivity improved to 100% when we combined both parameters. We also studied 11 CS children and 21 age-matched primary obese children for whom salivary cortisol sensitivity and specificity were 100/95% (23:00 h, and 100/95% (1 mg DEX, respectively. Similar to adults, sensitivity and specificity of 100% were obtained by combining 23:00 h and 1 mg DEX. The measurement of salivary cortisol is a useful tool for physiological studies and for the diagnosis of CS in children and adults on an outpatient basis.

Correlations of hair level with salivary level in cortisol and cortisone.

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Zhang, Quan; Chen, Zheng; Chen, Shenghuo; Yu, Tian; Wang, Juxia; Wang, Weiwen; Deng, Huihua

2018-01-15

Contrary findings exist on the consistency between hair cortisol and salivary cortisol in assessing the basal activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The mismatches in temporal characteristic and the indices of hair and salivary cortisol might be potential reasons for the inconsistency. The aim of this study was to investigate the consistency between hair and salivary levels in cortisol and cortisone by directly examining the correlation between hair level and salivary level with different temporal characteristics (acute, short-term and long-term levels) and reflecting different HPA functions (basal level and reactivity level) in the well-matched time span. A longitudinal design within a five-week period was conducted in a sample of 44 healthy female college students (mean age: 18.8yrs.; age range: 18-22yrs) of Han nationality with the exclusion criteria, such as use of oral contraceptives or glucocorticoids and bleached hairs, etc. Four saliva samples (awakening, awakening+30min, awakening+4h and awakening+9h) were collected from an identical participant on three separate days with an interval of one week and 1-cm hair segment nearest to the scalp was collected two weeks later after completing saliva collection. Cortisol and cortisone in saliva and hair were simultaneously measured with high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. There were significantly moderate correlations in cortisol and cortisone between hair level and three-day average of single-day salivary level, but low to moderate correlations between hair level and single-point and single-day salivary level. Hair cortisol and cortisone were unrelated to single-day level and three-day average of diurnal slope and cortisol awakening response of salivary cortisol and cortisone, respectively. The considerable consistency between hair level and long-term salivary level in cortisol and cortisone implies that cortisol and cortisone in hair are valid biomarkers of

The Association between Midnight Salivary Cortisol and Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Adults

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Yun-Mi Jang

2012-06-01

Full Text Available BackgroundThe common characteristics of metabolic syndrome (MetS and Cushing's syndrome suggest that excess cortisol may be involved in the pathogenesis of MetS. Salivary cortisol measurements are simple and can be surrogates for plasma free cortisol, which is the most biologically active form. We evaluated the association between levels of midnight salivary cortisol and MetS in Korean adults.MethodsA total of 46 subjects, aged 20 to 70 years, who visited the Health Care Center at Konkuk University Hospital from August 2008 to August 2009 were enrolled. We compared the levels of midnight salivary cortisol in subjects with MetS with those in subjects without MetS. We analyzed the associations between midnight salivary cortisol levels and components of MetS.ResultsMidnight salivary cortisol levels were higher in the MetS group (70±42.4 ng/dL, n=12 than that in the group without MetS (48.1±36.8 ng/dL, n=34 (P=0.001. Positive correlations were observed between midnight salivary cortisol levels and waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. The risk for MetS was significantly higher in subjects with midnight salivary cortisol levels ≥100 ng/dL than in those with levels <50 ng/dL (odds ratio, 5.9; 95% confidence interval, 2.35 to 36.4.ConclusionThe results showed a positive correlation between midnight salivary cortisol levels and MetS, suggesting that hypercortisolism may be related to MetS.

No effect of caloric restriction on salivary cortisol levels in overweight men and women.

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Tam, Charmaine S; Frost, Elizabeth A; Xie, Wenting; Rood, Jennifer; Ravussin, Eric; Redman, Leanne M

2014-02-01

The effect of weight loss by diet or diet and exercise on salivary cortisol levels, a measure of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal activity, in overweight individuals is not known. The objective was to test the hypothesis that 24 weeks of moderate caloric restriction (CR) (25%) by diet or diet and aerobic exercise would alter morning and diurnal salivary cortisol levels. Randomized control trial in an institutional research center. Thirty-five overweight (BMI: 27.8±0.7 kg/m(2)) but otherwise healthy participants (16 M/19 F). Participants were randomized to either calorie restriction (CR: 25% reduction in energy intake, n=12), calorie restriction+exercise (CR+EX: 12.5% reduction in energy intake+12.5% increase in exercise energy expenditure, n=12) or control (healthy weight-maintenance diet, n=11) for 6 months. Salivary cortisol measured at 8:00, 8:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:30, 13:00, 16:00 and 16:30. Morning cortisol was defined as the mean cortisol concentration at 08:00 and 08:30. Diurnal cortisol was calculated as the mean of the 8 cortisol measures across the day. In the whole cohort, higher morning and diurnal cortisol levels were associated with impaired insulin sensitivity (morning: P=0.004, r(2)=0.24; diurnal: P=0.02, r(2)=0.15). Using mixed model analysis, there was no significant effect of group, time or sex on morning or diurnal cortisol levels. A 10% weight loss with a 25% CR diet alone or with exercise did not impact morning or diurnal salivary cortisol levels. © 2013.

Development of Salivary Cortisol Circadian Rhythm and Reference Intervals in Full-Term Infants.

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Ivars, Katrin; Nelson, Nina; Theodorsson, Annette; Theodorsson, Elvar; Ström, Jakob O; Mörelius, Evalotte

2015-01-01

Cortisol concentrations in plasma display a circadian rhythm in adults and children older than one year. Earlier studies report divergent results regarding when cortisol circadian rhythm is established. The present study aims to investigate at what age infants develop a circadian rhythm, as well as the possible influences of behavioral regularity and daily life trauma on when the rhythm is established. Furthermore, we determine age-related reference intervals for cortisol concentrations in saliva during the first year of life. 130 healthy full-term infants were included in a prospective, longitudinal study with saliva sampling on two consecutive days, in the morning (07:30-09:30), noon (10:00-12:00) and evening (19:30-21:30), each month from birth until the infant was twelve months old. Information about development of behavioral regularity and potential exposure to trauma was obtained from the parents through the Baby Behavior Questionnaire and the Life Incidence of Traumatic Events checklist. A significant group-level circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol secretion was established at one month, and remained throughout the first year of life, although there was considerable individual variability. No correlation was found between development of cortisol circadian rhythm and the results from either the Baby Behavior Questionnaire or the Life Incidence of Traumatic Events checklist. The study presents salivary cortisol reference intervals for infants during the first twelve months of life. Cortisol circadian rhythm in infants is already established by one month of age, earlier than previous studies have shown. The current study also provides first year age-related reference intervals for salivary cortisol levels in healthy, full-term infants.

0268 Is perceived stress related to an increase in salivary cortisol

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Fink, Samuel; Peter Bonde, Jens; Agergaard Vammen, Marianne

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Perceived Stress is a suspected cause of many psychological and physical illnesses. However it remains to be discovered what physiological measures are involved. While it is widely known that acute stress leads to an increase in cortisol levels, the findings in prolonged stress research...... have not been consistent. This study explores the association between Perceived Stress and salivary cortisol levels using the largest population ever used in this field. METHOD: 4467 public employees in the PRISME cohort in 2007. 3217 of those did a similar follow up study in 2009. A 4-item Danish...... version of the PSS-scale was used to measure perceived stress and operationalized as the average score. Salivary cortisol samples were taken at 30 min post awakening and at 8 pm. A mean value of cortisol was calculated. In our analysis we applied logarithmic transformation to the concentrations. RESULTS...

Plasma, salivary and urinary cortisol levels following physiological and stress doses of hydrocortisone in normal volunteers.

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Jung, Caroline; Greco, Santo; Nguyen, Hanh H T; Ho, Jui T; Lewis, John G; Torpy, David J; Inder, Warrick J

2014-11-26

Glucocorticoid replacement is essential in patients with primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency, but many patients remain on higher than recommended dose regimens. There is no uniformly accepted method to monitor the dose in individual patients. We have compared cortisol concentrations in plasma, saliva and urine achieved following "physiological" and "stress" doses of hydrocortisone as potential methods for monitoring glucocorticoid replacement. Cortisol profiles were measured in plasma, saliva and urine following "physiological" (20 mg oral) or "stress" (50 mg intravenous) doses of hydrocortisone in dexamethasone-suppressed healthy subjects (8 in each group), compared to endogenous cortisol levels (12 subjects). Total plasma cortisol was measured half-hourly, and salivary cortisol and urinary cortisol:creatinine ratio were measured hourly from time 0 (between 0830 and 0900) to 5 h. Endogenous plasma corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) levels were measured at time 0 and 5 h, and hourly from time 0 to 5 h following administration of oral or intravenous hydrocortisone. Plasma free cortisol was calculated using Coolens' equation. Plasma, salivary and urine cortisol at 2 h after oral hydrocortisone gave a good indication of peak cortisol concentrations, which were uniformly supraphysiological. Intravenous hydrocortisone administration achieved very high 30 minute cortisol concentrations. Total plasma cortisol correlated significantly with both saliva and urine cortisol after oral and intravenous hydrocortisone (P cortisol and urinary cortisol:creatinine ratio may provide useful alternatives to plasma cortisol measurements to monitor replacement doses in hypoadrenal patients.

Psychosocial factors at home and at work and levels of salivary cortisol

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eller, Nanna Hurwitz; Netterstrøm, Bo; Hansen, Ase Marie

2006-01-01

Salivary cortisol as a physiological measure of stress has attracted great interest in recent years.......Salivary cortisol as a physiological measure of stress has attracted great interest in recent years....

Salivary Cortisol Reactivity in Preterm Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care: An Integrative Review

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Evalotte Mörelius

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Recently, more and more researchers have been using salivary cortisol reactivity to evaluate stress in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU. The aim of this integrative literature review was to summarize the evidence of interventions leading to a change in salivary cortisol from the baseline in preterm infants in the NICU. The electronic databases of PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched for relevant studies. The inclusion criteria were studies with preterm infants exposed to an intervention evaluated by salivary cortisol reactivity before discharge from the NICU, which were published in English. In total, 16 studies were included. Eye-screening examination and heel lance provoked an increase in the salivary cortisol level. Music, prone position, and co-bedding among twins decreased the salivary cortisol level. Several studies reported a low rate of successful saliva sampling or did not use control groups. Future studies need to focus on non-painful interventions in order to learn more about salivary cortisol regulation in preterm infants. Moreover, these studies should use study designs comprising homogenous gestational and postnatal age groups, control groups, and reliable analysis methods that are able to detect cortisol in small amounts of saliva.

Dental anxiety and salivary cortisol levels before urgent dental care.

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Kanegane, Kazue; Penha, Sibele S; Munhoz, Carolina D; Rocha, Rodney G

2009-12-01

Dental anxiety is still prevalent, despite advances in treatment, and affects the utilization of health care services. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine if patients with different degrees of dental anxiety and pain undergoing emergency dental care have different stress reactions as measured by salivary cortisol. Seventy three patients completed the modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS), and described any previous dental traumatic experience. Their socio-demographic characteristics were also recorded. They also rated pain intensity on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). A saliva sample was collected before the procedure, and analyzed by enzyme immunoassay. Thirty patients were dentally anxious and forty one complained of pain. In this sample, dental anxiety was not related to gender, age, educational level and family income; however, a previous traumatic event was related to dental anxiety. There was no association between salivary cortisol concentrations and gender or dental anxiety. Patients with pain showed higher cortisol levels. When gathering patient information, the dentist should note patients' negative dental experiences in order to provide more effective, less traumatic treatment.

Choke or thrive? The relation between salivary cortisol and math performance depends on individual differences in working memory and math-anxiety.

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Mattarella-Micke, Andrew; Mateo, Jill; Kozak, Megan N; Foster, Katherine; Beilock, Sian L

2011-08-01

In the current study, we explored how a person's physiological arousal relates to their performance in a challenging math situation as a function of individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and math-anxiety. Participants completed demanding math problems before and after which salivary cortisol, an index of arousal, was measured. The performance of lower WM individuals did not depend on cortisol concentration or math-anxiety. For higher WM individuals high in math-anxiety, the higher their concentration of salivary cortisol following the math task, the worse their performance. In contrast, for higher WM individuals lower in math-anxiety, the higher their salivary cortisol concentrations, the better their performance. For individuals who have the capacity to perform at a high-level (higher WMs), whether physiological arousal will lead an individual to choke or thrive depends on math-anxiety. 2011 APA, all rights reserved

The Evaluation of Psychological Factor and Salivary Cortisol and IgA Levels in

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Fateme Arbabi-Kalati

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP is a chronic immunological disorder with unknown etiology. The aim of this study was to determine psychological factors and salivary cortisol, IgA level in patients with oral lichen planus. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study 20 patients with OLP and healthy person were admitted to this study. Saliva samples were collected between - Am. saliva cortisol, IgA level was detected by ELIZA method. In this study, patients with anxiety and depression were measured using the SCL-90 questionnaire. Data analyzed by t-test. Results: The mean salivary cortisol level in patients with OLP was 3.2±1.9 ng/mL and the mean saliva cortisol level in healthy person was 3.5±1.9 ng/mL. Significant difference was observed in the salivary cortisol levels in the 2 study groups (p=0.04. The mean salivary IgA level in patients with OLP was 0.69±0.29 ng/mL and the mean saliva IgA level in healthy person was 0.9±0.43 ng/mL but no significant difference was observed in the salivary cortisol levels in the 2 study groups. Results showed that anxiety levels in patients with oral lichen planus were slightly higher than controls but there was no significant difference between healthy subjects. Conclusion: Finding revealed the mean salivary cortisol level in patient with OLP less than healthy persons. Significant difference was observed in the salivary cortisol levels in the 2 study groups. Based on the t-student test, no significant difference was observed in the salivary IgA levels in the 2 study groups. Anxiety levels in patients with oral lichen planus were slightly higher than controls.

Salivary cortisol and α-amylase: subclinical indicators of stress as cardiometabolic risk.

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Cozma, S; Dima-Cozma, L C; Ghiciuc, C M; Pasquali, V; Saponaro, A; Patacchioli, F R

2017-02-06

Currently, the potential for cardiovascular (CV) stress-induced risk is primarily based on the theoretical (obvious) side effects of stress on the CV system. Salivary cortisol and α-amylase, produced respectively by the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic-adrenomedullary (SAM) system during stress response, are still not included in the routine evaluation of CV risk and require additional and definitive validation. Therefore, this article overviews studies published between 2010 and 2015, in which salivary cortisol and α-amylase were measured as stress biomarkers to examine their associations with CV/CMR (cardiometabolic risk) clinical and subclinical indicators. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus electronic databases was performed, and 54 key articles related to the use of salivary cortisol and α-amylase as subclinical indicators of stress and CV/CMR factors, including studies that emphasized methodological biases that could influence the accuracy of study outcomes, were ultimately identified. Overall, the biological impact of stress measured by salivary cortisol and α-amylase was associated with CV/CMR factors. Results supported the use of salivary cortisol and α-amylase as potential diagnostic tools for detecting stress-induced cardiac diseases and especially to describe the mechanisms by which stress potentially contributes to the pathogenesis and outcomes of CV diseases.

Transformation techniques for cross-sectional and longitudinal endocrine data: application to salivary cortisol concentrations.

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Miller, Robert; Plessow, Franziska

2013-06-01

Endocrine time series often lack normality and homoscedasticity most likely due to the non-linear dynamics of their natural determinants and the immanent characteristics of the biochemical analysis tools, respectively. As a consequence, data transformation (e.g., log-transformation) is frequently applied to enable general linear model-based analyses. However, to date, data transformation techniques substantially vary across studies and the question of which is the optimum power transformation remains to be addressed. The present report aims to provide a common solution for the analysis of endocrine time series by systematically comparing different power transformations with regard to their impact on data normality and homoscedasticity. For this, a variety of power transformations of the Box-Cox family were applied to salivary cortisol data of 309 healthy participants sampled in temporal proximity to a psychosocial stressor (the Trier Social Stress Test). Whereas our analyses show that un- as well as log-transformed data are inferior in terms of meeting normality and homoscedasticity, they also provide optimum transformations for both, cross-sectional cortisol samples reflecting the distributional concentration equilibrium and longitudinal cortisol time series comprising systematically altered hormone distributions that result from simultaneously elicited pulsatile change and continuous elimination processes. Considering these dynamics of endocrine oscillations, data transformation prior to testing GLMs seems mandatory to minimize biased results. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparing Dental Stress in New Child Patients and Returning Patients Using Salivary Cortisol, Immunoglobulin-A and Alpha- Amylase.

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Alaki, Sumer M; Safi, Ayman; Ouda, Soliman; Nadhreen, Alaa

this study was aimed at comparing dental stress in children having their first dental visit to those returning for dental treatment using salivary biomarkers of stress including salivary cortisol (s-cortisol), Immunoglobulin-A (s-IgA) and alpha-amylase (s-α-amylase). Additionally, the study was aimed at monitoring the change in stress in new patients as they progressed from the waiting to the clinical areas. salivary samples were collected from 40 children who had not been to a dentist before and similar samples were collected from 40 children who were returning for completion of dental treatment. Salivary cortisol, s-IgA and s-α-amylase concentrations were obtained by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). salivary cortisol levels were higher for new patients at the waiting area compared to that at the dental chair (p=0.05). Salivary alpha-amylase significantly increased in new patients while being seated in the dental chair. Returning patients had higher s-α-amylase (p=0.001) and s-IgA (p=0.016) compared to new patients. Returning patients had the lowest level of s-cortisol when providers were faculty pediatric dentists than with students and interns (p=0.035). children coming in for their first dental visit may experience dental stress at the waiting area before being seated for dental examination. Returning children may experience higher levels of stress compared to new child patients possibly due to previous dental exposure.

Development of Indirect Competitive Immuno-Assay Method Using SPR Detection for Rapid and Highly Sensitive Measurement of Salivary Cortisol Levels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tahara, Yusuke; Huang, Zhe; Kiritoshi, Tetsuro; Onodera, Takeshi; Toko, Kiyoshi

2014-01-01

The monitoring of salivary cortisol as a key biomarker of an individual’s stress response has been increasingly focused on. This paper describes the development of a novel cortisol immuno-assay method based on an indirect competitive method using a commercially available surface plasmon resonance instrument. The surface of an Au chip was modified with PEG6-COOH aromatic dialkanethiol self-assembled monolayers and hydrocortisone 3-(O-carboxymethyl) oxime (hydrocortisone 3-CMO) as a cortisol analog. A detection limit of 38 ppt range with a measurement range of 10 ppt–100 ppb was accomplished without the incubation of a mixing solution consisting of standard cortisol and an anti-cortisol antibody, and the time for quantification of cortisol concentration was 8 min from the sample injection. We experimentally compared our immuno-assay with a commercialized salivary cortisol enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit using human saliva samples. It was found that the results obtained by the cortisol immuno-assay had a good correlation with those obtained by ELISA assay (R = 0.96). Our findings indicate the potential utility of the cortisol immuno-assay for measurements of human salivary cortisol levels.

Development of Indirect Competitive Immuno-Assay Method Using SPR Detection for Rapid and Highly Sensitive Measurement of Salivary Cortisol Levels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tahara, Yusuke; Huang, Zhe; Kiritoshi, Tetsuro [Graduate School of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Onodera, Takeshi [Research and Development Center for Taste and Odor Sensing, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Toko, Kiyoshi, E-mail: toko@ed.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); Research and Development Center for Taste and Odor Sensing, Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan)

2014-05-30

The monitoring of salivary cortisol as a key biomarker of an individual’s stress response has been increasingly focused on. This paper describes the development of a novel cortisol immuno-assay method based on an indirect competitive method using a commercially available surface plasmon resonance instrument. The surface of an Au chip was modified with PEG6-COOH aromatic dialkanethiol self-assembled monolayers and hydrocortisone 3-(O-carboxymethyl) oxime (hydrocortisone 3-CMO) as a cortisol analog. A detection limit of 38 ppt range with a measurement range of 10 ppt–100 ppb was accomplished without the incubation of a mixing solution consisting of standard cortisol and an anti-cortisol antibody, and the time for quantification of cortisol concentration was 8 min from the sample injection. We experimentally compared our immuno-assay with a commercialized salivary cortisol enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit using human saliva samples. It was found that the results obtained by the cortisol immuno-assay had a good correlation with those obtained by ELISA assay (R = 0.96). Our findings indicate the potential utility of the cortisol immuno-assay for measurements of human salivary cortisol levels.

Relationship between psychosocial stress dimensions and salivary cortisol in military police officers

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Juliana Petri Tavares

Full Text Available Abstract Objective: to analyze the relationship between psychosocial stress dimensions and salivary cortisol in military police officers. Method: cross-sectional and analytical study with 134 military police officers. The Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI Model scale has been used to assess psychosocial stress. Salivary cortisol was collected in three samples. The following tests were used: Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney, ANOVA, Bonferroni, Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn. Pearson and Spearman correlation methods were used, as well as multiple linear regression. Cortisol at night showed an ascending statistical association with the psychosocial reward (p=0.004 and a descending association with the effort-impairment scores (p=0.017. Being part of the Special Tactical Operations Group (GATE and the diastolic blood pressure explained 13.5% of the variation in cortisol levels on waking up. The sectors GATE, Special Patrol of the Elite Squad of the Military Police and Motorcyclists explained 21.9% of the variation in cortisol levels 30-minute after awakening. The variables GATE sector and Effort Dimension explained 27.7% of the variation in cortisol levels at night. Conclusion: it was evidenced that salivary cortisol variation was influenced by individual, labor and psychosocial variables.

Relationship between psychosocial stress dimensions and salivary cortisol in military police officers.

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Tavares, Juliana Petri; Lautert, Liana; Magnago, Tânia Solange Bosi de Souza; Consiglio, Angélica Rosat; Pai, Daiane Dal

2017-04-20

to analyze the relationship between psychosocial stress dimensions and salivary cortisol in military police officers. cross-sectional and analytical study with 134 military police officers. The Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) Model scale has been used to assess psychosocial stress. Salivary cortisol was collected in three samples. The following tests were used: Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney, ANOVA, Bonferroni, Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn. Pearson and Spearman correlation methods were used, as well as multiple linear regression. Cortisol at night showed an ascending statistical association with the psychosocial reward (p=0.004) and a descending association with the effort-impairment scores (p=0.017). Being part of the Special Tactical Operations Group (GATE) and the diastolic blood pressure explained 13.5% of the variation in cortisol levels on waking up. The sectors GATE, Special Patrol of the Elite Squad of the Military Police and Motorcyclists explained 21.9% of the variation in cortisol levels 30-minute after awakening. The variables GATE sector and Effort Dimension explained 27.7% of the variation in cortisol levels at night. it was evidenced that salivary cortisol variation was influenced by individual, labor and psychosocial variables.

Salivary Cortisol as a Biomarker to Explore the Role of Maternal Stress in Early Childhood Caries

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Sharat Chandra Pani

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To compare salivary cortisol levels of children with ECC and their mothers with those of caries free children from a similar sociodemographic cohort. Design. Sixty-four college-educated, working mothers from middle income families with no history of anxiety disorders and their first born children aged between 48 and 71 months were included in the study. Salivary cortisol levels were analyzed using electrochemiluminescence (ECL immunoassay. Statistical Analyses. Significance of difference between the cortisol levels of children with ECC and control children and of their mothers was analyzed using the Student’s t- test. The intraclass correlation coefficient was used to measure the significance of correlation of cortisol levels between the mother and the child with logistic regression to explore possible associations. Results. Mothers of children with ECC had significantly higher levels of salivary cortisol ( than mothers of caries free children. The salivary cortisol levels of children with ECC were significantly higher than caries free children (. A significant correlation existed between the salivary cortisol level of the mother and that of the child (. Conclusion. While salivary cortisol levels of the child seem to have a direct impact on the incidence of ECC, maternal stress seems to have an indirect effect.

Measurement of salivary cortisol--effects of replacing polyester with cotton and switching antibody

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Ase Marie; Garde, Anne Helene; Persson, Roger

2008-01-01

measurements in our laboratory were affected by: 1) changes in the tampon material and 2) changes in the antibody of the analytical kit. In study 1, saliva from healthy subjects (n = 19) was split and spiked to Salivette polyester and cotton tampons, respectively, and treated as ordinary samples before being...... analysed for cortisol using a Spectria RIA kit for cortisol. In study 2, 68 anonymous saliva samples were analysed with the Spectria Cortisol RIA kit both before and after the manufacturer changed the antibody. The change from polyester to cotton tampons reduced the measured concentration of salivary...

Multiple Salivary Cortisol Measurements Are a Useful Tool to Optimize Metyrapone Treatment in Patients with Cushing's Syndromes Treatment: Case Presentations.

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Yoshida, Kenichi; Fukuoka, Hidenori; Odake, Yukiko; Nakajima, Shinsuke; Tachibana, Mariko; Ito, Jun; Hosokawa, Yusei; Yamada, Tomoko; Miura, Hiroshi; Suematsu, Natsu; Matsumoto, Ryusaku; Bando, Hironori; Suda, Kentaro; Nishizawa, Hitoshi; Iguchi, Genzo; Ogawa, Wataru; Takahashi, Yutaka

2017-01-01

Measuring salivary cortisol is both convenient and non-invasive for patients; however, its usefulness as a marker for monitoring medical therapy has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of multiple salivary cortisol measurements in patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) during medical therapy. Six patients with CS (three with cortisol-secreting adrenocortical adenoma and three with ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma) were recruited. Samples for morning serum cortisol, urinary free cortisol (UFC), and multiple salivary cortisol levels were collected before and during metyrapone treatment. The area under the curve (AUC) and mean value (MV) of daily salivary cortisol levels were calculated. In five out of six patients, UFC were normalized; however, multiple salivary cortisol measurements revealed an impaired diurnal cortisol rhythm in these patients. To verify the usefulness of multiple salivary cortisol measurements, we performed a prospective case study of a patient in whom the excess secretion of cortisol was not controlled (UFC 211 μg/day) with 2,250 mg/day in four divided doses of metyrapone. Multiple measurements of salivary cortisol revealed that cortisol levels elevated before the next administration. Accordingly, we shortened the interval by increasing the number of administration from four to five times per day, with a slight increment of daily dose of 2,500 mg. These optimizations resulted in a drastic improvement of diurnal pattern as well as UFC level (101 μg/day). Changes in both the MV and AUC of salivary cortisol levels were more correlated with those in UFC levels (Correlation coefficient 0.75, p  = 0.007, and 0.70, p  = 0.017) than those in the morning serum cortisol levels (0.42, p  = 0.200), indicating that multiple salivary cortisol measurements reflect more precisely the excess secretion of cortisol. Our preliminary data suggest that multiple salivary cortisol measurements can be a useful

Intimate Partner Violence Exposure, Salivary Cortisol, and Childhood Asthma

Science.gov (United States)

Bair-Merritt, Megan H.; Johnson, Sara B.; Okelo, Sande; Page, Gayle

2012-01-01

Parents were given supplies to collect 3 child salivary cortisol samples (awakening, 30-min after awakening, bedtime) at home on a typical day, and return them via mail. Medical records also were abstracted. Results: Fifty-three percent (n = 29) returned child salivary samples. Families who returned samples typically returned them within 2 weeks,…

Poverty-alleviation program participation and salivary cortisol in very low-income children.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernald, Lia C H; Gunnar, Megan R

2009-06-01

Correlational studies have shown associations between social class and salivary cortisol suggestive of a causal link between childhood poverty and activity of the stress-sensitive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system. Using a quasi-experimental design, we evaluated the associations between a family's participation in a large-scale, conditional cash transfer program in Mexico (Oportunidades, formerly Progresa) during the child's early years of life and children's salivary cortisol (baseline and responsivity). We also examined whether maternal depressive symptoms moderated the effect of program participation. Low-income households (income Mexico were enrolled in a large-scale poverty-alleviation program between 1998 and 1999. A comparison group of households from demographically similar communities was recruited in 2003. Following 3.5 years of participation in the Oportunidades program, three saliva samples were obtained from children aged 2-6 years from intervention and comparison households (n=1197). Maternal depressive symptoms were obtained using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Results were that children who had been in the Oportunidades program had lower salivary cortisol levels when compared with those who had not participated in the program, while controlling for a wide range of individual-, household- and community-level variables. Reactivity patterns of salivary cortisol did not differ between intervention and comparison children. Maternal depression moderated the association between Oportunidades program participation and baseline salivary cortisol in children. Specifically, there was a large and significant Oportunidades program effect of lowering cortisol in children of mothers with high depressive symptoms but not in children of mothers with low depressive symptomatology. These findings provide the strongest evidence to date that the economic circumstances of a family can influence a child's developing stress

Increase in salivary oxytocin and decrease in salivary cortisol after listening to relaxing slow-tempo and exciting fast-tempo music.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuuki Ooishi

Full Text Available Relaxation and excitation are components of the effects of music listening. The tempo of music is often considered a critical factor when determining these effects: listening to slow-tempo and fast-tempo music elicits relaxation and excitation, respectively. However, the chemical bases that underlie these relaxation and excitation effects remain unclear. Since parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve activities are facilitated by oxytocin and glucocorticoid, respectively, we hypothesized that listening to relaxing slow-tempo and exciting fast-tempo music is accompanied by increases in the oxytocin and cortisol levels, respectively. We evaluated the change in the salivary oxytocin and cortisol levels of participants listening to slow-tempo and fast-tempo music sequences. We measured the heart rate (HR and calculated the heart rate variability (HRV to evaluate the strength of autonomic nerve activity. After listening to a music sequence, the participants rated their arousal and valence levels. We found that both the salivary oxytocin concentration and the high frequency component of the HRV (HF increased and the HR decreased when a slow-tempo music sequence was presented. The salivary cortisol level decreased and the low frequency of the HRV (LF to HF ratio (LF/HF increased when a fast-tempo music sequence was presented. The ratio of the change in the oxytocin level was correlated with the change in HF, LF/HF and HR, whereas that in the cortisol level did not show any correlation with indices of autonomic nerve activity. There was no correlation between the change in oxytocin level and self-reported emotions, while the change in cortisol level correlated with the arousal level. These findings suggest that listening to slow-tempo and fast-tempo music is accompanied by an increase in the oxytocin level and a decrease in the cortisol level, respectively, and imply that such music listening-related changes in oxytocin and cortisol are involved in

Increase in salivary oxytocin and decrease in salivary cortisol after listening to relaxing slow-tempo and exciting fast-tempo music

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Ken; Kawato, Suguru; Kashino, Makio

2017-01-01

Relaxation and excitation are components of the effects of music listening. The tempo of music is often considered a critical factor when determining these effects: listening to slow-tempo and fast-tempo music elicits relaxation and excitation, respectively. However, the chemical bases that underlie these relaxation and excitation effects remain unclear. Since parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve activities are facilitated by oxytocin and glucocorticoid, respectively, we hypothesized that listening to relaxing slow-tempo and exciting fast-tempo music is accompanied by increases in the oxytocin and cortisol levels, respectively. We evaluated the change in the salivary oxytocin and cortisol levels of participants listening to slow-tempo and fast-tempo music sequences. We measured the heart rate (HR) and calculated the heart rate variability (HRV) to evaluate the strength of autonomic nerve activity. After listening to a music sequence, the participants rated their arousal and valence levels. We found that both the salivary oxytocin concentration and the high frequency component of the HRV (HF) increased and the HR decreased when a slow-tempo music sequence was presented. The salivary cortisol level decreased and the low frequency of the HRV (LF) to HF ratio (LF/HF) increased when a fast-tempo music sequence was presented. The ratio of the change in the oxytocin level was correlated with the change in HF, LF/HF and HR, whereas that in the cortisol level did not show any correlation with indices of autonomic nerve activity. There was no correlation between the change in oxytocin level and self-reported emotions, while the change in cortisol level correlated with the arousal level. These findings suggest that listening to slow-tempo and fast-tempo music is accompanied by an increase in the oxytocin level and a decrease in the cortisol level, respectively, and imply that such music listening-related changes in oxytocin and cortisol are involved in physiological

Increase in salivary oxytocin and decrease in salivary cortisol after listening to relaxing slow-tempo and exciting fast-tempo music.

Science.gov (United States)

Ooishi, Yuuki; Mukai, Hideo; Watanabe, Ken; Kawato, Suguru; Kashino, Makio

2017-01-01

Relaxation and excitation are components of the effects of music listening. The tempo of music is often considered a critical factor when determining these effects: listening to slow-tempo and fast-tempo music elicits relaxation and excitation, respectively. However, the chemical bases that underlie these relaxation and excitation effects remain unclear. Since parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve activities are facilitated by oxytocin and glucocorticoid, respectively, we hypothesized that listening to relaxing slow-tempo and exciting fast-tempo music is accompanied by increases in the oxytocin and cortisol levels, respectively. We evaluated the change in the salivary oxytocin and cortisol levels of participants listening to slow-tempo and fast-tempo music sequences. We measured the heart rate (HR) and calculated the heart rate variability (HRV) to evaluate the strength of autonomic nerve activity. After listening to a music sequence, the participants rated their arousal and valence levels. We found that both the salivary oxytocin concentration and the high frequency component of the HRV (HF) increased and the HR decreased when a slow-tempo music sequence was presented. The salivary cortisol level decreased and the low frequency of the HRV (LF) to HF ratio (LF/HF) increased when a fast-tempo music sequence was presented. The ratio of the change in the oxytocin level was correlated with the change in HF, LF/HF and HR, whereas that in the cortisol level did not show any correlation with indices of autonomic nerve activity. There was no correlation between the change in oxytocin level and self-reported emotions, while the change in cortisol level correlated with the arousal level. These findings suggest that listening to slow-tempo and fast-tempo music is accompanied by an increase in the oxytocin level and a decrease in the cortisol level, respectively, and imply that such music listening-related changes in oxytocin and cortisol are involved in physiological

Salivary cortisol levels are associated with outcomes of weight reduction therapy in obese Japanese patients.

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Himeno, Akihiro; Satoh-Asahara, Noriko; Usui, Takeshi; Wada, Hiromichi; Tochiya, Mayu; Kono, Shigeo; Yamada-Goto, Nobuko; Katsuura, Goro; Hasegawa, Koji; Nakao, Kazuwa; Shimatsu, Akira

2012-02-01

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the detailed relationships of HPA axis activity with weight reduction and CVD risk factors in obese patients have not been examined. This study was designed to elucidate the associations of salivary cortisol levels with weight reduction and CVD risk factors in obese patients. As a marker of HPA axis activity, we measured the morning salivary cortisol levels of 83 obese Japanese outpatients. We also examined metabolic parameters, inflammatory markers, and indicators of arterial stiffness, that is, the pulse wave velocity and cardio-ankle vascular index. All 83 obese patients underwent 3-month weight reduction therapy with lifestyle modification. At the baseline, multivariate regression analysis revealed that only logarithmic transformation of C-reactive protein (β = 0.258, P cortisol levels. However, other metabolic parameters were not significantly associated with the salivary cortisol levels. In addition, lower salivary cortisol levels and higher body weight at the baseline were the only independent determinants of successful weight loss through the weight reduction therapy (P cortisol levels are significantly associated with the levels of an inflammatory marker, arterial stiffness, and successful weight reduction in obese patients. Therefore, salivary cortisol could be a useful marker for assessing and managing body weight and CVD risk factors in obese patients. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measurements of salivary alpha amylase and salivary cortisol in hominoid primates reveal within-species consistency and between-species differences.

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Verena Behringer

Full Text Available Salivary alpha amylase (sAA is the most abundant enzyme in saliva. Studies in humans found variation in enzymatic activity of sAA across populations that could be linked to the copy number of loci for salivary amylase (AMY1, which was seen as an adaptive response to the intake of dietary starch. In addition to diet dependent variation, differences in sAA activity have been related to social stress. In a previous study, we found evidence for stress-induced variation in sAA activity in the bonobos, a hominoid primate that is closely related to humans. In this study, we explored patterns of variation in sAA activity in bonobos and three other hominoid primates, chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan to (a examine if within-species differences in sAA activity found in bonobos are characteristic for hominoids and (b assess the extent of variation in sAA activity between different species. The results revealed species-differences in sAA activity with gorillas and orangutans having higher basal sAA activity when compared to Pan. To assess the impact of stress, sAA values were related to cortisol levels measured in the same saliva samples. Gorillas and orangutans had low salivary cortisol concentrations and the highest cortisol concentration was found in samples from male bonobos, the group that also showed the highest sAA activity. Considering published information, the differences in sAA activity correspond with differences in AMY1 copy numbers and match with general features of natural diet. Studies on sAA activity have the potential to complement molecular studies and may contribute to research on feeding ecology and nutrition.

Relation between salivary amylase and cortisol respnses to different stress tasks: Impact of sex

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Stegeren, A.H.; Wolf, O.T.; Kindt, M.

2008-01-01

Neuro-endocrine markers such as salivary alpha amylase (sAA) and cortisol (CORT) play an important role in establishing human responses to stressful events. Whereas sAA levels reflect sympathetic system activity, salivary cortisol appears to be a valid measure for HPA axis activity. Although many

The diagnostic value of late-night salivary cortisol for diagnosis of subclinical Cushing's syndrome.

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Kuzu, Idris; Zuhur, Sayid Shafi; Demir, Nazan; Aktas, Gokce; Yener Ozturk, Feyza; Altuntas, Yuksel

2016-01-01

Late-night salivary cortisol is a frequently used and easily implemented diagnostically valuable test for the diagnosis of overt Cushing's syndrome. The use of late-night salivary cortisol in the diagnosis of subclinical Cushing's syndrome is somewhat controversial. In this study, we aimed to determine the diagnostic value of late-night salivary cortisol in diagnosing subclinical Cushing's syndrome and compare it with 24-hour urinary free cortisol levels (UFC). The study consisted of 33 cases of subclinical Cushing's syndrome, 59 cases of non-functioning adrenal adenoma, and 41 control subjects. Late-night salivary cortisol and UFC were measured in all the cases. The diagnosis of subclinical Cushing's syndrome was based on combined results of 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test > 1.8 μg/dL and ACTH Cushing's syndrome were significantly higher than in subjects with non-functioning adrenal adenoma and the control group (p Cushing's syndrome were determined as 82% and 60%, respectively. Using a cut-off value of 137 μg/day, the sensitivity and specificity of UFC was determined as 18% and 90%, respectively. Because the sensitivity of late-night salivary cortisol for the diagnosis of subclinical Cushing's syndrome is limited, using it as the sole screening test for subclinical Cushing's syndrome may lead to false negative results. However, using it as an adjunct test to other tests may be beneficial in the diagnosis of subclinical Cushing's syndrome. (Endokrynol Pol 2016; 67 (5): 487-492).

Maternal mood and concordant maternal and infant salivary cortisol during heel lance while in kangaroo care.

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Castral, T C; Warnock, F; Dos Santos, C B; Daré, M F; Moreira, A C; Antonini, S R R; Scochi, C G S

2015-03-01

Maternal kangaroo care (MKC) is a naturalistic intervention that alleviates neonatal pain, and mothers are assumed to play a stress regulatory role in MKC. Yet, no MKC infant pain study has examined relationship between maternal and infant stress reactivity concurrently, or whether post-partum depression and/or anxiety (PPDA) alters maternal and neonatal stress response and the regulatory effects of MKC. To examine the concordance of salivary cortisol reactivity between 42 mothers and their stable preterm infants during routine infant heel lance (HL) while in MKC and to compare salivary cortisol between groups of mothers with and without PPDA and their infants. Maternal and infant salivary cortisol samples were collected pre-HL and 20 min post-HL with two additional maternal samples at night and in the morning. Mothers and infants were allocated to with PPDA versus without PPDA study groups on the basis of maternal post-natal mental health assessment scores. Higher mothers' cortisol pre-HL was weakly associated with higher infants' salivary cortisol in response to the HL procedure. Maternal depression and/or anxiety were not associated with infants' cortisol. During HL, both groups of mothers and infants showed no change in salivary cortisol. Concordance between mother and infant salivary cortisol supports the maternal stress regulatory role in MKC. MKC may have stress regulatory benefits for mothers and their preterm infants during HL independent of PPDA. Future MKC studies that target mothers with altered mood will help to build on these findings. © 2014 European Pain Federation - EFIC®

Multiple Salivary Cortisol Measurements Are a Useful Tool to Optimize Metyrapone Treatment in Patients with Cushing’s Syndromes Treatment: Case Presentations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenichi Yoshida

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Measuring salivary cortisol is both convenient and non-invasive for patients; however, its usefulness as a marker for monitoring medical therapy has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of multiple salivary cortisol measurements in patients with Cushing’s syndrome (CS during medical therapy. Six patients with CS (three with cortisol-secreting adrenocortical adenoma and three with ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma were recruited. Samples for morning serum cortisol, urinary free cortisol (UFC, and multiple salivary cortisol levels were collected before and during metyrapone treatment. The area under the curve (AUC and mean value (MV of daily salivary cortisol levels were calculated. In five out of six patients, UFC were normalized; however, multiple salivary cortisol measurements revealed an impaired diurnal cortisol rhythm in these patients. To verify the usefulness of multiple salivary cortisol measurements, we performed a prospective case study of a patient in whom the excess secretion of cortisol was not controlled (UFC 211 μg/day with 2,250 mg/day in four divided doses of metyrapone. Multiple measurements of salivary cortisol revealed that cortisol levels elevated before the next administration. Accordingly, we shortened the interval by increasing the number of administration from four to five times per day, with a slight increment of daily dose of 2,500 mg. These optimizations resulted in a drastic improvement of diurnal pattern as well as UFC level (101 μg/day. Changes in both the MV and AUC of salivary cortisol levels were more correlated with those in UFC levels (Correlation coefficient 0.75, p = 0.007, and 0.70, p = 0.017 than those in the morning serum cortisol levels (0.42, p = 0.200, indicating that multiple salivary cortisol measurements reflect more precisely the excess secretion of cortisol. Our preliminary data suggest that multiple salivary cortisol measurements can be a

Maternal salivary cortisol levels during pregnancy are positively associated with overweight children.

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Hohwü, Lena; Henriksen, Tine B; Grønborg, Therese K; Hedegaard, Morten; Sørensen, Thorkild I A; Obel, Carsten

2015-02-01

Animal and human studies suggest that programing of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may be involved in the development of obesity, but human studies of biological indicators of HPA axis activity are lacking. We studied the association between levels of the stress hormone cortisol during pregnancy and overweight offspring during childhood into adolescence. Salivary samples from 655 Danish pregnant women with singleton pregnancies (1989-1991) were collected once in the morning and once in the evening in their second and third trimester. We followed the offspring from two to 16 years of age with at least one measurement of height and weight, and classified their body mass index into overweight and normal weight. The adjusted relative difference in median salivary cortisol (with 95% confidence interval (CI)) during pregnancy (the four samples), in second and third trimester (morning and evening samples) between overweight and normal weight offspring was estimated. Furthermore, the adjusted median ratio between morning and evening maternal salivary cortisol level was estimated for normal weight and overweight children. All the analyses were stratified into the equal age groups: 2-6, 7-11, and 12-16 years. We found non-significant higher maternal cortisol levels during pregnancy in offspring that were overweight at the age of 2-6, 7-11 and 12-16 years than in normal weight peers; adjusted relative difference in median salivary cortisol 11% (95% CI: -2; 25), 6% (95% CI: -7; 20), and 9% (95% CI: -4; 24), respectively. A statistically significantly higher level of maternal cortisol was found in the second trimester in 2-6-year-old and 12-16-year-old overweight offspring; relative difference 19% (95% CI: 3; 37), and 20% (95% CI: 3; 41), respectively. The median ratio between morning and evening maternal salivary cortisol level was similar for overweight and normal weight children; e.g. at age 2-6 years in third trimester 4.31 (95% CI: 4.05; 4.60)nmol/l and 4

Salivary Cortisol and Cortisone do not Appear to be Useful Biomarkers for Monitoring Hydrocortisone Replacement in Addison's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, I L; Lacerda, M; Pillay, T S; Blom, D J; Johannsson, G; Dave, J A; Levitt, N S; Haarburger, D; van der Walt, J-S

2016-12-01

Salivary cortisol has been used to monitor hydrocortisone replacement in patients with Addison's disease (AD). Since salivary cortisol is metabolised to salivary cortisone, it may be an adjunctive analyte to assess adequacy of hydrocortisone replacement in patients with AD. We aimed to characterise the exposure of salivary cortisol and cortisone in patients and healthy controls. We measured salivary cortisol and cortisone by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and constructed a day curve (08:00 until 24:00 h) with 16 time points in 25 AD patients taking their usual hydrocortisone dose and in 26 healthy controls. The median (interquartile range) area under the curve (AUC) for cortisol was not different for patients, compared with controls [55.63 (32.91-151.07) nmol*min*l -1 vs. 37.49 (27.41-52.00) nmol*min*l -1 ; p=0.098, respectively], whereas the peak cortisol C max was higher in patients [32.61 (5.75-146.19) nmol/l vs. 8.96 (6.96-12.23) nmol/l; p=0.013], compared with controls. The AUC for cortisone [23.65 (6.10-54.76) nmol*min*l -1 vs. 227.73 (200.10-280.52) nmol*min*l -1 ; p≤ 0.001, respectively], and peak cortisone C max was lower in patients than in controls [11.11 (2.91-35.85) nmol/l vs. 33.12 (25.97-39.95) nmol/l; p=0.002]. The AUC for salivary cortisol and salivary cortisone were not correlated with any measures of hydrocortisone dose. The time-course and AUC of salivary cortisol were similar between Addison's patients and healthy controls. Patients had substantially lower salivary cortisone AUC, compared to healthy controls. Salivary cortisol AUC and pharmacokinetics were not related to hydrocortisone dose and thus are not likely useful markers for the adequacy of hydrocortisone replacement. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Bioavailability of Oral Hydrocortisone Corrected for Binding Proteins and Measured by LC-MS/MS Using Serum Cortisol and Salivary Cortisone.

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Johnson, T N; Whitaker, M J; Keevil, B; Ross, R J

2018-01-01

The assessment absolute bioavailability of oral hydrocortisone is complicated by its saturable binding to cortisol binding globulin (CBG). Previous assessment of bioavailability used a cortisol radioimmunoassay which has cross reactivity with other steroids. Salivary cortisone is a measure of free cortisol and LC-MS/MS is the gold standard method for measuring steroids. We here report the absolute bioavailability of hydrocortisone calculated using serum cortisol and salivary cortisone measured by LC-MS/MS. 14 healthy male dexamethasone suppressed volunteers were administered 20 mg hydrocortisone either intravenously or orally by tablet. Samples of serum and saliva were taken and measured for cortisol and cortisone by LC-MS/MS. Serum cortisol was corrected for saturable binding using published data and pharmacokinetic parameters derived using the program WinNonlin. The mean (95% CI) bioavailability of oral hydrocortisone calculated from serum cortisol, unbound serum cortisol and salivary cortisone was 1.00 (0.89-1.14); 0.88 (0.75-1.05); and 0.93 (0.83-1.05), respectively. The data confirm that, after oral administration, hydrocortisone is completely absorbed. The data derived from serum cortisol corrected for protein binding, and that from salivary cortisone, are similar supporting the concept that salivary cortisone reflects serum free cortisol levels and that salivary cortisone can be used as a non-invasive method for measuring the pharmacokinetics of hydrocortisone.

Gender differences in acculturation, stress, and salivary cortisol response among former Soviet immigrants.

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Nicholson, Lisa M; Miller, Arlene Michaels; Schwertz, Dorie; Sorokin, Olga

2013-06-01

Post-immigration adaptation is characterized by chronic and acute acculturative stressors. Salivary cortisol is a commonly used hormonal marker of stress, but few studies have investigated its use as an indicator of acculturative stress and adjustment in immigrants. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among predictors of adjustment (environmental and language mastery), self-reported stress outcomes (depressive symptoms, perceived stress, alienation), and salivary cortisol response in immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The sample included 137 married men and women aged 42-80 who lived in the U.S. for 1-13 years. Results indicated that while men and women had similar values for cortisol response, relationships among adjustment measures, stress outcomes, and cortisol differed by gender. Among men, environmental mastery significantly reduced depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and cortisol response. Among women, environmental mastery also reduced depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and alienation, but language mastery increased cortisol response and decreased alienation.

Planned Missing Data Designs for Spline Growth Models in Salivary Cortisol Research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hogue, C.M.; Pornprasertmanit, S.; Fry, M.D.; Rhemtulla, M.; Little, T.D.

2013-01-01

Salivary cortisol is often used as an index of physiological and psychological stress in exercise science and psychoneuroendocrine research. A primary concern when designing research studies examining cortisol stems from the high cost of analysis. Planned missing data designs involve intentionally

Are changes in workplace bullying status related to changes in salivary cortisol?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gullander, Maria; Grynderup, Matias; Hansen, Åse Marie

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate whether incident workplace bullying and its dicontinuance is related to subsequent change in morning and evening saliva cortisol concentrations. METHODS: Participants came from two Danish cohort studies, the PRISME cohort (n=4489) and the Workplace...... Bullying and Harassment Cohort (n=3707). At baseline and follow-up exposure to bullying was measured by a single question on bullying (preceded by a definition). Two saliva samples to measure cortisol were collected during a work-day (30min after awakening and at 8p.m.). All participants responding...... to the item on workplace bullying, giving saliva samples and participated at both baseline and follow-up were included. The reference group consisted of non-bullied respondents at both baseline and follow-up. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions were used to test for changes in salivary cortisol after...

Relation between salivary cortisol as stress biomarker and dietary pattern in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Michels, Nathalie; Sioen, Isabelle; Braet, Caroline; Huybrechts, Inge; Vanaelst, Barbara; Wolters, Maike; De Henauw, Stefaan

2013-09-01

Psychological stress has been suggested to result in hormonal effects (e.g. changes in cortisol pattern) that may change food selection in unhealthy ways. This study examines whether children's dietary pattern is indeed related to salivary cortisol levels. In 323 children (5-10 years old) participating in the Belgian ChiBS study, salivary cortisol samples, a biomarker for stress, was sampled when waking up, 30 and 60 min after wake up and in the evening on two consecutive weekdays. Data on the children's dietary pattern (frequency of sweet foods, fatty foods, snacks, fruit and vegetables) was collected with a food frequency questionnaire. Multilevel time modelling was used with adjustments for sex, age, body mass index, parental education and wake up time. Higher overall cortisol levels and a large cortisol awakening response (CAR) were associated with more frequent consumption of sweet foods. A steeper diurnal cortisol decline was associated with a higher sweet, fatty and snack food consumption frequency. No associations with fruit and vegetables consumption were found. High cortisol levels were linked to an unhealthier dietary pattern (more fatty food, snacks and especially sweet food). This supports the theory of cortisol-induced comfort food preference and strengthens the stress-diet relation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship among Periodontal Disease, Insulin Resistance, Salivary Cortisol, and Stress Levels during Pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Seraphim, Ana Paula Castilho Garcia; Chiba, Fernando Yamamoto; Pereira, Renato Felipe; Mattera, Maria Sara de Lima Coutinho; Moimaz, Suzely Adas Saliba; Sumida, Doris Hissako

2016-01-01

Pregnancy is a period involving important metabolic changes that enable the maintenance of the mother's health and development of the fetus. This study aimed to assess the relationship among periodontal disease, insulin resistance, salivary cortisol concentration and level of perceived stress in pregnant women. This was a cross-sectional study. The sample comprised 96 pregnant women between the fifth and seventh month of pregnancy registered at the Basic Health Units of the Unified Health System (SUS). The periodontal condition was assessed after obtainment free and informed consent from the participants. Participants were divided into three groups: control subjects with a healthy periodontal condition (CN; n=46), patients with gingivitis (GI; n=26), and patients with periodontitis (PI; n=24). Saliva and blood samples were collected for evaluation of salivary cortisol concentration, glycemia, insulinemia and Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance index. A validated survey for the assessment of perceived stress levels was also performed. PI group showed significantly higher (pperiodontal disease during pregnancy. This study emphasizes the importance of preventing periodontitis in order to avoid insulin resistance and stress during pregnancy since these can cause systemic complications for the mother and the fetus.

Cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase and children's perceptions of their social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Ponzi, Davide; Muehlenbein, Michael P; Geary, David C; Flinn, Mark V

2016-01-01

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of social network analysis in biobehavioral research. Despite the well-established importance of social relationships in influencing human behavior and health, little is known about how children's perception of their immediate social relationships correlates with biological parameters of stress. In this study we explore the association between two measures of children's personal social networks, perceived network size and perceived network density, with two biomarkers of stress, cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase. Forty children (mean age = 8.30, min age = 5, and max age = 12) were interviewed to collect information about their friendships and three samples of saliva were collected. Our results show that children characterized by a lower pre-interview cortisol concentration and a lower salivary alpha-amylase reactivity to the interview reported the highest density of friendships. We discuss this result in light of the multisystem approach to the study of children's behavioral outcomes, emphasizing that future work of this kind is needed in order to understand the cognitive and biological mechanisms underlying children's and adolescents' social perceptual biases.

Salivary cortisol and explicit memory in postmenopausal women using hormone replacement therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hampson, Elizabeth; Duff-Canning, Sarah J

2016-02-01

Circulating cortisol levels are known to influence explicit memory in humans and other primates. The present study investigated salivary cortisol and its association with explicit memory performance in 99 postmenopausal women (64 treated with conjugated equine estrogens or estradiol, and 35 matched controls not using any form of hormone therapy). Controls were compared with treated women taking estrogens alone (n=39), or taking estrogens in combination with a progestin (n=25). Mean time on hormone therapy was approximately 5 years, with initiation of treatment in close proximity to the onset of menopause. Explicit memory was assessed with the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). Saliva was collected before (basal or resting sample) and after (post-test sample) completing a set of cognitive tasks. Cortisol was measured using a high-sensitivity radioimmunoassay. Treated women were found to have higher resting cortisol concentrations than controls matched for time of day. Basal cortisol was a modest predictor of learning and memory on the CVLT. Higher cortisol was associated with better recall and fewer memory errors, which is consistent with experimental studies examining explicit memory under small increases in circulating cortisol load. Potential cumulative effects on the central nervous system of sustained exposure to mildly increased cortisol in conjunction with the long-term use of oral estrogens are discussed in the context of aging and dementia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Planned Missing Data Designs for Spline Growth Models in Salivary Cortisol Research

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Hogue, Candace M.; Pornprasertmanit, Sunthud; Fry, Mary D.; Rhemtulla, Mijke; Little, Todd D.

2013-01-01

Salivary cortisol is often used as an index of physiological and psychological stress in exercise science and psychoneuroendocrine research. A primary concern when designing research studies examining cortisol stems from the high cost of analysis. Planned missing data designs involve intentionally omitting a random subset of observations from data…

Religiousness, Spirituality, and Salivary Cortisol in Breast Cancer Survivorship: A Pilot Study.

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Hulett, Jennifer M; Armer, Jane M; Leary, Emily; Stewart, Bob R; McDaniel, Roxanne; Smith, Kandis; Millspaugh, Rami; Millspaugh, Joshua

Psychoneuroimmunological theory suggests a physiological relationship exists between stress, psychosocial-behavioral factors, and neuroendocrine-immune outcomes; however, evidence has been limited. The primary aim of this pilot study was to determine feasibility and acceptability of a salivary cortisol self-collection protocol with a mail-back option for breast cancer survivors. A secondary aim was to examine relationships between religiousness/spirituality (R/S), perceptions of health, and diurnal salivary cortisol (DSC) as a proxy measure for neuroendocrine activity. This was an observational, cross-sectional study. Participants completed measures of R/S, perceptions of health, demographics, and DSC. The sample was composed of female breast cancer survivors (n = 41). Self-collection of DSC using a mail-back option was feasible; validity of mailed salivary cortisol biospecimens was established. Positive spiritual beliefs were the only R/S variable associated with the peak cortisol awakening response (rs = 0.34, P = .03). Poorer physical health was inversely associated with positive spiritual experiences and private religious practices. Poorer mental health was inversely associated with spiritual coping and negative spiritual experiences. Feasibility, validity, and acceptability of self-collected SDC biospecimens with an optional mail-back protocol (at moderate temperatures) were demonstrated. Positive spiritual beliefs were associated with neuroendocrine-mediated peak cortisol awakening response activity; however, additional research is recommended. Objective measures of DSC sampling that include enough collection time points to assess DSC parameters would increase the rigor of future DSC measurement. Breast cancer survivors may benefit from nursing care that includes spiritual assessment and therapeutic conversations that support positive spiritual beliefs.

Salivary cortisol in unaffected twins discordant for affective disorder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinberg, Maj; Bennike, Bente; Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm

2008-01-01

. In conclusion, a high genetic liability to affective disorder was associated with a higher evening cortisol level, but not with awakening cortisol level. Future prospective family, high-risk and twin studies are needed to decide whether abnormalities in the HPA axis can be identified as an endophenotype......Dysfunction in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been proposed as a biological endophenotype for affective disorders. In the present study the hypothesis that a high genetic liability to affective disorder is associated with higher cortisol levels was tested in a cross......-sectional high-risk study. Healthy monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins with (High-Risk twins) and without (Low-Risk twins) a co-twin history of affective disorder were identified through nationwide registers. Awakening and evening salivary cortisol levels were compared between the 190 High- and Low...

Comparison of Salivary Cortisol and α-amylase Levels and Psychological Profiles in Patients with Burning Mouth Syndrome.

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Nosratzehi, Tahereh; Salimi, Saeedeh; Parvaee, Azadeh

2017-05-01

The aim of the study was to compare salivary cortisol and α-amylase levels and psychological profiles in patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS) and healthy subjects. Spitting method was used to collect unstimulated salivary. Salivary cortisol and α-amylase levels were determined using ELISA and the Caraway starch-iodine technique. SLC-90 questionnaire was used to determine the psychological profiles. The difference between mean of salivary cortisol levels in patients with BMS and in healthy subjects was not significant (4.50 ± 3.68 ng/mL vs. 3.69 ± 3.07 ng/mL, p = 0.377). The difference between mean of α-amylase levels in the BMS patients and healthy subjects was significant (351.68 ± 142.5 and 146.22 ± 130.4, p = 0.001). Note that, 83.4% and 18% of the patients in the case and control groups had psychological problems (p = 0.001). The results showed higher salivary levels of cortisol and α-amylase in patients with BMS compared to healthy individuals. Psychological problem was prevalent in patients. © 2017 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

INFLUENCE OF MUSIC TYPE LISTENING ON ANAEROBIC PERFORMANCE AND SALIVARY CORTISOL IN MALES ATHLETES

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Mohammad Ghaderi.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Music has been widely recommended as a technique to enhance the psychophysical state of participants in sport and exercise. However, there is scant scientific evidence to clarify its proposed benefits. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of fast and slow rhythm of music on anaerobic performance and salivary cortisol concentration in trained men. Thirty male physical education college students (ages: 25.66±3.89 yr, height: 176.65 ± 7.66 cm, body mass: 78.45±16.20 kg voluntary participated in this study and divided to three groups: fast music, slow music, and no music(control. All subjects performed the coninghum test following a 20% grate and 14.3km/h speed on the treadmill. For measuring of cortisol, not stimulated samples of saliva collected, 15 minutes befor and immediately 5 and 30 minute after the exercise. No significant differences were found in anaerobic performance among the three groups in pretest indicating homogeneity of the groups. However, salivary cortisol no significant in anaerobic performance 5 and 30 minute after exercise as well. Summarily, Music doed not have a positive effect on performance, this study provided some support for the hypothesis that listening fast and slow music not significantly impacted during supramaximal exercise.

Radioimmunoassay method suitable for analysis of salivary cortisol in patients with breast cancer in treatment by teletherapy - a preliminary study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souza, Kellen Verena S.; Santos, Jane Lima dos

2011-01-01

Determination of salivary cortisol using radioimmunoassay and the relationship between stress levels were investigated before and after of the psychological intervention of 21 patients during teletherapy treatment of breast cancer. The benefits of psychological intervention during cancer treatment has been observed in some studies and evidence show that the patient's emotional state directly influences adherence to treatment, good prognosis and under stress. Thus, in present study 21 patients aged 50-70 years, females in the treatment of breast cancer at the Radiotherapy Service of Santa Casa de Misericordia in Belo Horizonte, were divided randomly into two groups: control (without psychological intervention) and Group TCC (with psychological intervention). Salivary cortisol concentrations are reportedly about 5.10% of those in serum, the levels has been used as an objective marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and avoided the confounding effects of venepuncture stress on cortisol levels. The assessment of cortisol in saliva has proven a valid and reliable measure of unbound steroid in the circulation. The salivary cortisol measured by radioimmunoassay in control patients and TCC showed no significant differences. The radioimmunoassay method show be suitable for analysis of salivary cortisol because allows measure low detection limits and have high sensibility. The values of TCC group and Control group were higher than reference values, except for one patient of the control group. At the beginning of treatment, both groups were homogeneous for Teletherapy. Both the TCC group as the control group had . 80% of participants in phase with stress. It was observed in the TCC group after radiotherapy showing a reversal 60% of participants without stress. The data show that cognitive-behavioral therapy has benefits for the control of psychological stress and enhance relevance of the psychologist to provide reduction or stress control during

Radioimmunoassay method suitable for analysis of salivary cortisol in patients with breast cancer in treatment by teletherapy - a preliminary study

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Souza, Kellen Verena S. [Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Pampulha, MG (Brazil); Santos, Jane Lima dos [Departamento de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilheus, BA (Brazil)

2011-07-01

Determination of salivary cortisol using radioimmunoassay and the relationship between stress levels were investigated before and after of the psychological intervention of 21 patients during teletherapy treatment of breast cancer. The benefits of psychological intervention during cancer treatment has been observed in some studies and evidence show that the patient's emotional state directly influences adherence to treatment, good prognosis and under stress. Thus, in present study 21 patients aged 50-70 years, females in the treatment of breast cancer at the Radiotherapy Service of Santa Casa de Misericordia in Belo Horizonte, were divided randomly into two groups: control (without psychological intervention) and Group TCC (with psychological intervention). Salivary cortisol concentrations are reportedly about 5.10% of those in serum, the levels has been used as an objective marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and avoided the confounding effects of venepuncture stress on cortisol levels. The assessment of cortisol in saliva has proven a valid and reliable measure of unbound steroid in the circulation. The salivary cortisol measured by radioimmunoassay in control patients and TCC showed no significant differences. The radioimmunoassay method show be suitable for analysis of salivary cortisol because allows measure low detection limits and have high sensibility. The values of TCC group and Control group were higher than reference values, except for one patient of the control group. At the beginning of treatment, both groups were homogeneous for Teletherapy. Both the TCC group as the control group had . 80% of participants in phase with stress. It was observed in the TCC group after radiotherapy showing a reversal 60% of participants without stress. The data show that cognitive-behavioral therapy has benefits for the control of psychological stress and enhance relevance of the psychologist to provide reduction or stress control during

Prenatal and Postpartum Evening Salivary Cortisol Levels in Association with Peripartum Depressive Symptoms

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Iliadis, Stavros I.; Comasco, Erika; Sylvén, Sara; Hellgren, Charlotte; Sundström Poromaa, Inger; Skalkidou, Alkistis

2015-01-01

Background The biology of peripartum depression remains unclear, with altered stress and the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal axis response having been implicated in its pathophysiology. Methods The current study was undertaken as a part of the BASIC project (Biology, Affect, Stress, Imaging, Cognition), a population-based longitudinal study of psychological wellbeing during pregnancy and the postpartum period in Uppsala County, Sweden, in order to assess the association between evening salivary cortisol levels and depressive symptoms in the peripartum period. Three hundred and sixty-five pregnant women from the BASIC cohort were recruited at pregnancy week 18 and instructed to complete a Swedish validated version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at the 36th week of pregnancy as well as the sixth week after delivery. At both times, they were also asked to provide evening salivary samples for cortisol analysis. A comprehensive review of the relevant literature is also provided. Results Women with postpartum EPDS score ≥ 10 had higher salivary evening cortisol at six weeks postpartum compared to healthy controls (median cortisol 1.19 vs 0.89 nmol/L). A logistic regression model showed a positive association between cortisol levels and depressive symptoms postpartum (OR = 4.1; 95% CI 1.7–9.7). This association remained significant even after controlling for history of depression, use of tobacco, partner support, breastfeeding, stressful life events, and sleep problems, as possible confounders (aOR = 4.5; 95% CI 1.5–14.1). Additionally, women with postpartum depressive symptoms had higher postpartum cortisol levels compared to both women with depressive symptoms antenatally and controls (p = 0.019 and p = 0.004, respectively). Conclusions Women with depressive symptoms postpartum had higher postpartum cortisol levels, indicating an altered response of the HPA-axis in postpartum depression. PMID:26322643

The effort-reward imbalance work-stress model and daytime salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) among Japanese women.

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Ota, Atsuhiko; Mase, Junji; Howteerakul, Nopporn; Rajatanun, Thitipat; Suwannapong, Nawarat; Yatsuya, Hiroshi; Ono, Yuichiro

2014-09-17

We examined the influence of work-related effort-reward imbalance and overcommitment to work (OC), as derived from Siegrist's Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) model, on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. We hypothesized that, among healthy workers, both cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) secretion would be increased by effort-reward imbalance and OC and, as a result, cortisol-to-DHEA ratio (C/D ratio) would not differ by effort-reward imbalance or OC. The subjects were 115 healthy female nursery school teachers. Salivary cortisol, DHEA, and C/D ratio were used as indexes of HPA activity. Mixed-model analyses of variance revealed that neither the interaction between the ERI model indicators (i.e., effort, reward, effort-to-reward ratio, and OC) and the series of measurement times (9:00, 12:00, and 15:00) nor the main effect of the ERI model indicators was significant for daytime salivary cortisol, DHEA, or C/D ratio. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that none of the ERI model indicators was significantly associated with area under the curve of daytime salivary cortisol, DHEA, or C/D ratio. We found that effort, reward, effort-reward imbalance, and OC had little influence on daytime variation patterns, levels, or amounts of salivary HPA-axis-related hormones. Thus, our hypotheses were not supported.

Stress, depression, quality of life and salivary cortisol levels in community health agents.

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Knuth, Berenice Scaletzky; Cocco, Rafaela Abreu; Radtke, Vinicius Augusto; Medeiros, João Ricardo Carvalho; Oses, Jean Pierre; Wiener, Carolina David; Jansen, Karen

2016-06-01

To determine the prevalence of and factors associated with depression and stress with perceived quality of life and the salivary cortisol levels in Community Health Agent (CHA). Materials and Methods Cross-sectional descriptive study of CHAs in Pelotas-RS, Brazil. Data collection, including sociodemographic information and factors related to work and health. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) II was used to assess depressive symptoms, Inventory of Stress Symptoms Lipp (ISSL) was used for the analysis of stress and the WHOQOL-BREF was used to investigate quality of life. Salivary cortisol was quantified via ELISA test. The assessments showed that 71.0% are in a state of stress resistance, 30.5% were in the alert state of stress and 32.8% were in the stress state of exhaustion. Depressive episodes (BDI≥12) were observed in 28.2%. The environmental domain had the lowest score for quality of life. We observed significantly higher salivary cortisol levels in CHAs with less than 1 year of service and with the lowest quality of life scores in the environmental subsection. A high prevalence of stress and depression was observed in this sample of CHAs. In addition, the worst levels of quality of life were identified in the environmental subsection. Cortisol levels corroborate these findings regarding quality of life within the environmental domain and began working less than a year previously.

The effect of escitalopram versus placebo on perceived stress and salivary cortisol in healthy first-degree relatives of patients with depression-A randomised trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knorr, Ulla; Vinberg, Maj; Gether, Ulrik

2012-01-01

The effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) on healthy individuals remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that escitalopram decreases perceived stress and salivary cortisol. The trial has a randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel-group design. After informed consent 80...... intervals for the next hour, and at 12:00, 18:00 and 23:00. The salivary cortisol awakening response, all day salivary cortisol, and scale scores on sleep, pain, aggression, quality of life, and perceived stress assessed at entry were compared to values following 4 weeks of intervention. Statistically...... significant decreases were found in awakening salivary cortisol (P=0.04) and in all day salivary cortisol (P=0.02) in the escitalopram group compared with the placebo group. There were no statistically significant differences in perceived stress between the intervention groups. These findings from...

The Effort-reward Imbalance work-stress model and daytime salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) among Japanese women

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Ota, Atsuhiko; Mase, Junji; Howteerakul, Nopporn; Rajatanun, Thitipat; Suwannapong, Nawarat; Yatsuya, Hiroshi; Ono, Yuichiro

2014-01-01

We examined the influence of work-related effort–reward imbalance and overcommitment to work (OC), as derived from Siegrist's Effort–Reward Imbalance (ERI) model, on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis. We hypothesized that, among healthy workers, both cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) secretion would be increased by effort–reward imbalance and OC and, as a result, cortisol-to-DHEA ratio (C/D ratio) would not differ by effort–reward imbalance or OC. The subjects were 115 healthy female nursery school teachers. Salivary cortisol, DHEA, and C/D ratio were used as indexes of HPA activity. Mixed-model analyses of variance revealed that neither the interaction between the ERI model indicators (i.e., effort, reward, effort-to-reward ratio, and OC) and the series of measurement times (9:00, 12:00, and 15:00) nor the main effect of the ERI model indicators was significant for daytime salivary cortisol, DHEA, or C/D ratio. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that none of the ERI model indicators was significantly associated with area under the curve of daytime salivary cortisol, DHEA, or C/D ratio. We found that effort, reward, effort–reward imbalance, and OC had little influence on daytime variation patterns, levels, or amounts of salivary HPA-axis-related hormones. Thus, our hypotheses were not supported. PMID:25228138

Associations of salivary cortisol with cognitive function in the Baltimore memory study.

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Lee, Brian K; Glass, Thomas A; McAtee, Matthew J; Wand, Gary S; Bandeen-Roche, Karen; Bolla, Karen I; Schwartz, Brian S

2007-07-01

The stress responses of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis can produce adverse effects on the brain. Previous studies have concluded that an elevated level of cortisol is a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction and decline in aging but have been limited by sex exclusion, restricted cognitive batteries, and small sample sizes. To examine associations among salivary cortisol metrics and cognitive domain scores in an urban adult population. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from a longitudinal study involving 1140 Baltimore, Maryland, residents aged 50 to 70 years. Four salivary cortisol samples were obtained from 967 participants across 1 study visit (before, during, and after cognitive testing as well as at the end of the visit) from which 7 cortisol metrics were created. We examined associations of cortisol metrics with cognitive performance using multiple linear regression. Performance on 20 standard cognitive tests was measured and combined to form summary measures in 7 domains (language, processing speed, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning, verbal memory and learning, visual memory, and visuoconstruction). Higher levels of pretest and mean cortisol as well as the area under the curve of cortisol over the study visit were associated with worse performance (P executive functioning, verbal memory and learning, and visual memory). For instance, an interquartile range increase in the area under the curve was equivalent to a decrease in the language score expected from an increase in 5.6 (95% confidence interval, 4.2-7.1) years of age. Elevated cortisol was associated with poorer cognitive function across a range of domains in this large population-based study. We believe the findings are consistent with the hypothesis that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation may be a risk factor for poorer cognitive performance in older persons.

Effects of prolonged intensive training on the resting levels of salivary immunoglobulin A and cortisol in adolescent volleyball players.

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Li, T L; Lin, H C; Ko, M H; Chang, C K; Fang, S H

2012-10-01

Concerns have been raised regarding the effects of prolonged intensive training on adolescent athletes. This study investigated the differences in mucosal immune functions and stress responses between intensively trained male adolescent volleyball players and age-matched sedentary controls. Twelve male volleyball players (16.5 [0.7] years of age) and sixteen healthy sedentary male volunteers (17.1 [0.6] years of age) participated in this study. Volleyball players were engaged in regular and year-round training. Unstimulated saliva samples were collected from volleyball players during the high-intensity training period and from the counterparts at the same timepoints after at least 18 hours of rest. Concentrations of salivary total protein, secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), cortisol, and lactoferrin were measured. Results of this study revealed that the SIgA concentrations and the ratio of SIgA/total protein in volleyball players were significantly lower compared with those in sedentary controls. However, the salivary cortisol concentrations and the ratio of cortisol/total protein in volleyball players were markedly higher compared with those in sedentary controls. No significant difference was observed in lactoferrin levels between volleyball players and sedentary controls. The findings of this study suggest that the prolonged intensive training may elicit a sustained stress and induce a suppressive effect on mucosal immunity in regularly and intensively trained adolescent athletes.

Diurnal Salivary Cortisol, Glycemia and Insulin Resistance: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

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Joseph, Joshua J.; Wang, Xu; Spanakis, Elias; Seeman, Teresa; Wand, Gary; Needham, Belinda; Golden, Sherita Hill

2015-01-01

Summary Hypercortisolism is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and diabetes mellitus (DM); however, to our knowledge prior studies have not examined the association of diurnal cortisol curve features with measures of glycemia or IR in a population-based setting. Using log-transformed salivary cortisol data on 850 ethnically diverse men and women from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, we investigated the cross-sectional association of cortisol curve features with (1) glycemia in those with and without DM and (2) IR, in non-diabetic subjects. The log-transformed salivary cortisol curve features included wake-up cortisol, cortisol awakening response (CAR), early decline slope (30 minutes to 2 hours post-awakening), late decline slope (2 hours post-awakening to bedtime), overall decline slope (0 minutes to bedtime, excluding 30 minute cortisol), bedtime cortisol and total area under the curve (AUC). Overall, following multivariable adjustment, among those with diabetes mellitus (DM), early decline slope, overall decline slope, bedtime cortisol, and AUC were significantly and positively associated with a 5.4% (95% CI: 1.3, 9.7), 54.7% (95% CI: 12.4, 112.9), 4.0% (95% CI: 1.6, 6.4), and 6.8% (95% CI: 3.3, 10.4) higher HbA1c per 1 unit increase in log cortisol feature, respectively. Cortisol curve features were not associated with HbA1c among non-diabetic participants; however, wake-up cortisol and AUC were associated with a 8.2% lower (95% CI: −13.3, −2.7) and 7.9% lower (95% CI: −14.6, −0.6) log HOMA-IR, respectively. This was attenuated by adjustment for waist circumference. Among participants with DM, cortisol curve parameters suggestive of higher hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and dysfunction were associated with higher HbA1c. In non-diabetic participants, greater HPA activity was paradoxically associated with lower insulin resistance. PMID:26356041

The relationship between objectively measured physical activity, salivary cortisol, and the metabolic syndrome score in girls.

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DuBose, Katrina D; McKune, Andrew J

2014-08-01

The relationship between physical activity levels, salivary cortisol, and the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) score was examined. Twenty-three girls (8.4 ± 0.9 years) had a fasting blood draw, waist circumference and blood pressure measured, and wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for 5 days. Saliva samples were collected to measure cortisol levels. Previously established cut points estimated the minutes spent in moderate, vigorous, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. A continuous MetSyn score was created from blood pressure, waist circumference, high-density-lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride, and glucose values. Correlation analyses examined associations between physical activity, cortisol, the MetSyn score, and its related components. Regression analysis examined the relationship between cortisol, the MetSyn score, and its related components adjusting for physical activity, percent body fat, and sexual maturity. Vigorous physical activity was positively related with 30 min post waking cortisol values. The MetSyn score was not related with cortisol values after controlling for confounders. In contrast, HDL was negatively related with 30 min post waking cortisol. Triglyceride was positively related with 30 min post waking cortisol and area under the curve. The MetSyn score and many of its components were not related to cortisol salivary levels even after adjusting for physical activity, body fat percentage, and sexual maturity.

Education and levels of salivary cortisol over the day in US adults.

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Dowd, Jennifer B; Ranjit, Nalini; Do, D Phuong; Young, Elizabeth A; House, James S; Kaplan, George A

2011-02-01

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is hypothesized to be an important pathway linking socioeconomic position and chronic disease. This paper tests the association between education and the diurnal rhythm of salivary cortisol. Up to eight measures of cortisol (mean of 5.38 per respondent) over 2 days were obtained from 311 respondents, aged 18-70, drawn from the 2001-2002 Chicago Community Adult Health Study. Multi-level models with linear splines were used to estimate waking level, rates of cortisol decline, and area-under-the-curve over the day, by categories of education. Lower education (0-11 years) was associated with lower waking levels of cortisol, but not the rate of decline of cortisol, resulting in a higher area-under-the-curve for more educated respondents throughout the day. This study found evidence of lower cortisol exposure among individuals with less education and thus does not support the hypothesis that less education is associated with chronic over-exposure to cortisol.

Low positive predictive value of midnight salivary cortisol measurement to detect hypercortisolism in type 2 diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steffensen, Maria Charlotte; H Thomsen, Henrik; Dekkers, Olaf M

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Hypercortisolism is prevalent in type 2 diabetes (T2D), but analytical and functional uncertainties prevail. Measurement of salivary cortisol is considered an expedient screening method for hypercortisolism, but its usefulness in the context of T2D is uncertain. AIM: To compare late......-night salivary cortisol (LNSC) with the 1 mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test (DST), which was considered 'reference standard', in T2D. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 382 unselected and recently diagnosed patients with T2D underwent assessment of LNSC and DST, and the test outcome was related to age...... and clinical studies are needed to substantiate the relevance of cortisol status in T2D....

Assessment of the changes in the stress-related salivary cortisol levels to the various dental procedures in children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharmila J Patil

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Fear and pain are the factors producing stress and there is evidence that dental fear acquired in childhood may persist to influence adult behavior. Dental treatment is often considered as anxiety producing and stressful. Aim: To assess the levels of stress displayed by the healthy children undergoing routine dental procedures like oral examination, restoration, and extraction by analyzing salivary levels of cortisol before, during, and after the procedures. Materials and Methods: Twenty healthy children aged between 4 and 8 years having their first dental visit and requiring at least one restoration and one extraction were selected. In each patient, three procedures were carried out: (i Routine dental examination, (ii restoration, and (iii extraction. Unstimulated salivary samples were collected 10 min before, during the procedure, and 30 min after each procedure at three different visits for comparison of cortisol production in response to anxiety and stress over time. Total 180 samples were collected to determine salivary cortisol levels using UBI-MAGIWEL TM kit and the readings were noted. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS software with paired t-test, two independent sample t-tests, and analysis of variance (ANOVA were used to analyze the findings. Results: A correlation between salivary cortisol and stress in dental procedure was noticed. Cavity preparation is more stressful procedure in children, so alternative methods can be used in anxious children. Stress associated with extraction persists to a postoperative period. No correlation exists in between Corah′s anxiety scale and salivary cortisol.

Sex differences in salivary cortisol reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST): A meta-analysis.

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Liu, Jenny J W; Ein, Natalie; Peck, Katlyn; Huang, Vivian; Pruessner, Jens C; Vickers, Kristin

2017-08-01

Some, but not all studies using the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) have demonstrated evidence in support of sex differences in salivary cortisol. The aim of the current meta-analysis is to examine sex differences in salivary cortisol following exposure to the TSST. We further explored the effects of modifications to the TSST protocol and procedural variations as potential moderators. We searched articles published from January, 1993 to February, 2016 in MedLine, PsychINFO, and ProQuest Theses and Dissertations. This meta-analysis is based on 34 studies, with a total sample size of 1350 individuals (640 women and 710 men). Using a random effects model, we found significant heterogeneity in salivary cortisol output across sexes, such that men were observed to have higher cortisol values at peak and recovery following the TSST compared to women. Modifications to the sampling trajectory of cortisol (i.e., duration of acclimation, peak sampling time, and duration of recovery) significantly moderated the heterogeneity across both sexes. Further, there are observed sex differences at various time points of the reactive cortisol following the TSST. Lastly, current results suggest that these sex differences can be, at least in part, attributed to variations in methodological considerations across studies. Future research could advance this line of inquiry by using other methods of analyses (e.g., area under the curve; AUC), in order to better understand the effects of methodological variations and their implications for research design. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a radioimmunoassay and establishment of a reference interval for salivary cortisol in healthy subjects in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Åse Marie; Garde, A H; Christensen, J M

2003-01-01

leave during the past year, and smoking habits was established. Reference intervals for salivary cortisol in 120 healthy individuals performing their routine work were established according to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Federation of Clinical...... min after awakening. Salivary cortisol was not affected by age, body mass index, gender, smoking habits or days of sick leave during the past year....

A pilot study: Horticulture-related activities significantly reduce stress levels and salivary cortisol concentration of maladjusted elementary school children.

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Lee, Min Jung; Oh, Wook; Jang, Ja Soon; Lee, Ju Young

2018-04-01

The effects of three horticulture-related activities (HRAs), including floral arranging, planting, and flower pressing were compared to see if they influenced changes on a stress scale and on salivary cortisol concentrations (SCC) in maladjusted elementary school children. Twenty maladjusted elementary school children were randomly assigned either to an experimental or control group. The control group carried out individual favorite indoor activities under the supervision of a teacher. Simultaneously, the ten children in the experimental group participated in a HRA program consisting of flower arrangement (FA), planting (P), and flower pressing (PF) activities, in which the other ten children in the control group did not take part. During nine sessions, the activities were completed as follows: FA-FA-FA, P-P-P, and PF-PF-PF; each session lasted 40 min and took place once a week. For the quantitative analysis of salivary cortisol, saliva was collected from the experimental group one week before the HRAs and immediately after the activities for 9 consecutive weeks at the same time each session. In the experimental group, stress scores of interpersonal relationship, school life, personal problems, and home life decreased after the HRAs by 1.3, 1.8, 4.2, and 1.3 points, respectively. In particular, the stress score of school life was significantly reduced (P < 0.01). In addition, from the investigation of the SCCs for the children before and after repeating HRAs three times, it was found that flower arrangement, planting, and flower pressing activities reduced the SCCs by ≥37% compared to the SCCs prior to taking part in the HRAs. These results indicate that HRAs are associated with a reduction in the stress levels of maladjusted elementary school children. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol responsiveness following electrical stimulation stress in major depressive disorder patients.

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Tanaka, Yoshihiro; Ishitobi, Yoshinobu; Maruyama, Yoshihiro; Kawano, Aimi; Ando, Tomoko; Okamoto, Shizuko; Kanehisa, Masayuki; Higuma, Haruka; Ninomiya, Taiga; Tsuru, Jusen; Hanada, Hiroaki; Kodama, Kensuke; Isogawa, Koichi; Akiyoshi, Jotaro

2012-03-30

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is often associated with dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis by chronic stress. In comparison, psychosocial stress-induced activation of salivary α-amylase (sAA) functions as a marker of sympathoadrenal medullary system (SAM) activity. However, in contrast to salivary cortisol, sAA has been less extensively studied in MDD patients. The present study measured sAA and salivary cortisol levels in patients with MDD. The authors determined Profile of Mood State (POMS) and State-Trait anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores, Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and sAA and salivary cortisol levels in 88 patients with MDD and 41 healthy volunteers following the application of electrical stimulation stress. Patients with major depressive disorder were 8 points or more on Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) scores. Tension-Anxiety, Depression-Dejection, Anger-Hostility, Fatigue, and Confusion scores in patients with major depressive disorder were significantly increased compared to healthy controls. In contrast, Vigor scores in patients with MDD were significantly decreased compared with healthy controls. There was no difference in heart rate variability measures between MDD patients and healthy controls. The threshold of electrical stimulation applied in MDD patients was lower than that in healthy controls. SAA levels in female MDD patients were significantly elevated relative to controls both before and after electrical stimulation. Finally, there were no differences in salivary cortisol levels between major depressive patients and controls. In the present study only three time points were explored. Furthermore, the increased secretion of sAA before and after stimulation could allude to an increased responsiveness of novel and uncontrollable situations in patients with MDD. These preliminary results suggest that sAA might be a useful biological marker of MDD. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Music therapy-induced changes in salivary cortisol level are predictive of cardiovascular mortality in patients under maintenance hemodialysis

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Hou YC

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Yi-Chou Hou,1 Yen-Ju Lin,2 Kuo-Cheng Lu,1 Han-Sun Chiang,3 Chia-Chi Chang,4 Li-King Yang1 1Department of Internal Medicine, Cardinal Tien Hospital, School of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, 2Department of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, 3Graduate Institute of Basic Medicine, College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, 4School of Gerontology Health Management, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Background: Music therapy has been applied in hemodialysis (HD patients for relieving mental stress. Whether the stress-relieving effect by music therapy is predictive of clinical outcome in HD patients is still unclear.Methods: We recruited a convenience sample of 99 patients on maintenance HD and randomly assigned them to the experimental (n=49 or control (n=50 group. The experimental group received relaxing music therapy for 1 week, whereas the control group received no music therapy. In the experimental group, we compared cardiovascular mortality in the patients with and without cortisol changes.Results: The salivary cortisol level was lowered after 1 week of music therapy in the experimental group (−2.41±3.08 vs 1.66±2.11 pg/mL, P<0.05, as well as the frequency of the adverse reaction score (−3.35±5.76 vs −0.81±4.59, P<0.05, the severity of adverse reactions score (−1.93±2.73 vs 0.33±2.71, P<0.05, and hemodialysis stressor scale (HSS score (−6.00±4.68 vs −0.877±7.08, P<0.05. The difference in salivary cortisol correlated positively with HD stress score scales (r=0.231, P<0.05, systolic blood pressure (r=0.264, P<0.05, and respiratory rates (r=0.369, P<0.05 and negatively with finger temperature (r=−0.235, P<0.05 in the total study population. The 5-year cardiovascular survival in the experimental group was higher in patients whose salivary cortisol lowered by <0.6 pg/mL than that in patients whose salivary cortisol lowered by >0.6 pg/mL (83.8% vs

Using salivary cortisol to measure the effects of a Wilbarger protocol-based procedure on sympathetic arousal: a pilot study.

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Kimball, Judith G; Lynch, Keara M; Stewart, Kelli C; Williams, Nicole E; Thomas, Meghan A; Atwood, Kam D

2007-01-01

This study investigated changes in salivary cortisol, the stress hormone, after administration of a procedure based on the Wilbarger protocol to children diagnosed with sensory defensiveness (SD), a type of sensory modulation dysfunction. Using a single-subject design across participants, we studied 4 boys with SD ages 3 to 5 years. Each participant completed four sessions consisting of the collection of a saliva sample, administration of a procedure based on the Wilbarger protocol, 15 min of quiet neutral activities to allow time for any changes in cortisol level to manifest in the saliva, and the second collection of saliva. Saliva samples were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Salivary cortisol levels in all participants changed after each of four applications of a procedure based on the Wilbarger protocol. The cortisol levels of 2 children whose levels were relatively higher on pretest decreased at each posttest. The levels of 1 child whose cortisol was higher on pretest three times decreased those three times and increased the one time the pretest cortisol was lower. The levels of 1 child who had the lowest cortisol levels of any of the children increased each time. Therefore, in all participants, cortisol moved in the direction of modulation. In these 4 boys, a procedure based on the Wilbarger protocol modulated cortisol levels toward a middle range. This pilot study indicates that there is an association between sympathetic nervous system response and the Wilbarger protocol-based procedure, as indicated by salivary cortisol levels.

The associations between workplace bullying, salivary cortisol, and long-term sickness absence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grynderup, Matias Brødsgaard; Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Lange, Theis

2017-01-01

two Danish cohort studies, the "Psychosocial RIsk factors for Stress and MEntal disease" (PRISME) cohort and the "Workplace Bullying and Harassment" (WBH) cohort (n = 5418). Information about exposure to workplace bullying and morning and evening salivary cortisol was collected at three time points......BACKGROUND: Workplace stressors, such as bullying, are strongly related to subsequent long-term sickness absence, but little is known of the possible physiological mechanisms linking workplace stressors and sickness absence. The primary aim of this study was to investigate to what extent cortisol...... levels were associated with subsequent sickness absence and if cortisol mediated the association between workplace bullying and sickness absence. We additionally investigated possible bidirectional associations between bullying, cortisol, and long-term sickness absence. METHODS: Participants came from...

Relationship between plasma and salivary melatonin and cortisol investigated by LC-MS/MS.

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van Faassen, Martijn; Bischoff, Rainer; Kema, Ido P

2017-08-28

Disturbance of the circadian rhythm has been associated with disease states, such as metabolic disorders, depression and cancer. Quantification of the circadian markers such as melatonin and cortisol critically depend on reliable and reproducible analytical methods. Previously, melatonin and cortisol were primarily analyzed separately, mainly using immunoassays. Here we describe the validation and application of a high-throughput liquid chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the combined analysis of melatonin and cortisol in plasma and saliva. The LC-MS/MS method was validated according to international validation guidelines. We used this method to analyze total plasma, free plasma (as obtained by equilibrium dialysis) and saliva melatonin and cortisol in healthy adults. Validation results for plasma and saliva melatonin and cortisol were well within the international validation criteria. We observed no difference between saliva collected by passive drooling or Salivette. Moreover, we noted a significant difference in saliva vs. free plasma melatonin. We observed on average 36% (95% CI: 4%-60%) higher salivary melatonin levels in comparison to free plasma melatonin, suggestive of local production of melatonin in the salivary glands. The novel outcome of this study is probably due to the high precision of our LC-MS/MS assay. These outcomes illustrate the added value of accurate and sensitive mass spectrometry based methods for the quantification of neuroendocrine biomarkers.

Mindfulness training attenuates the increase in salivary cortisol concentration associated with competition in highly trained wheelchair-basketball players.

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MacDonald, Luke A; Minahan, Clare L

2018-02-01

This study determined the effect of 8 wk of mindfulness training (MT) on salivary cortisol (sCort) and rate of salivary Immunoglobulin-A (sIgA) secretion in wheelchair-basketball players during a competition period. The mindful group completed 8 weeks of MT in addition to training and competition. sCort and rate of sIgA secretion were measured at baseline, at 2-week intervals, the end and 2 weeks following the intervention. A significant time and group interaction was observed for sCort (F = 3.297, P = 0.040, ES = 0.191); sCort increased in the control group from MT-BL to MT-2wk (P = 0.001) and remained significantly elevated at MT-4wk (P = 0.013) and MT-6wk (P = 0.002). sCort decreased from MT-6wk to MT-8wk (P  0.05). Mindful group sCort increased from MT-BL to MT-2wk (P = 0.042) but decreased to concentrations no different to MT-BL for the rest of the intervention period (P > 0.05). There were no group differences in rate of sIgA secretion during the intervention (P = 0.810). It was concluded that 8 weeks of MT attenuated the increase in sCort associated with the competition period.

Imbalance in the diurnal salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio in men with severe obstructive sleep apnea: an observational study.

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Ghiciuc, Cristina Mihaela; Dima-Cozma, Lucia Corina; Bercea, Raluca Mihaela; Lupusoru, Catalina Elena; Mihaescu, Traian; Cozma, Sebastian; Patacchioli, Francesca Romana

2016-01-01

The complex relationship between sleep disorders and hormones could lead to alterations in the production of cortisol and testosterone in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the diurnal trajectories of salivary free-testosterone, free-cortisol and their ratio (T/C). Ten subjects newly diagnosed with OSA, based on nocturnal polysomnography evaluation and excessive daytime sleepiness, and seven matched controls were consecutively recruited. Cortisol and testosterone were measured in salivary samples collected upon awakening, at noon and in the evening. The psychometric evaluation of anxiety/depression and referred sexual function disturbances was performed to evaluate the presence of neuropsychological comorbidities. The main finding was that OSA subjects displayed hypocortisolism upon awakening and a significant reduction in testosterone concentration in the evening in comparison with the control group, which has maintained the physiological testosterone and cortisol diurnal fluctuation, with higher hormone concentrations in the morning and lower concentrations in the evening. The use of data from multiple diurnal measurements rather than a single point allowed the detection of T/C ratio changes of opposite signs at the beginning and end of the day: the OSA subjects had a higher T/C ratio than the controls in the morning, while their T/C ratio was significantly lower than that of the controls in the evening. The imbalances in the anabolic-catabolic diurnal equilibrium suggest that OSA is associated with a dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axes, potentially an underlying cause of some of the neuropsychological comorbidities observed in OSA patients. Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

An exploratory study of salivary cortisol changes during chamomile extract therapy of moderate to severe generalized anxiety disorder.

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Keefe, John R; Guo, Wensheng; Li, Qing S; Amsterdam, Jay D; Mao, Jun J

2018-01-01

Dysfunctions in stress biology are hypothesized to contribute to anxiety disorders, and to be ameliorated during successful treatment, but limited clinical data exist to support this hypothesis. We evaluated whether increases in morning cortisol and the diurnal cortisol slope, markers of stress biology, are associated with clinical response to chamomile therapy among subjects with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Among 45 subjects with DSM-IV diagnosed GAD in an open-label clinical trial of chamomile, salivary cortisol was assessed for three days each pre- and post-treatment, at 8am, 12pm, 4pm, and 8pm. Mixed model analyses assessed whether GAD symptom change predicted the degree to which cortisol levels changed during treatment. Symptom improvement during treatment was significantly associated with pre-to-post treatment changes in cortisol. Subjects who experienced more symptomatic improvement experienced significant increases in their morning salivary cortisol (β = 0.48, p < 0.001), and a greater decrease in cortisol from morning to the rest of the day (β = 0.55, p < 0.001). In addition, at baseline a lower cortisol level (β = -0.24, p = 0.023) and a lesser decrease in cortisol after morning (β = 0.30, p = 0.003) were associated with greater symptomatic improvement. Increases in morning salivary cortisol and the diurnal cortisol slope are associated with symptom improvement in chamomile treatment of GAD. Response to treatment for GAD could partially stem from normalization of stress biology dysfunction, but further work involving establishing abnormalities within-sample, ruling out of confounds (e.g., sleep), and a placebo control is necessary to conclude an amelioration effect. NCT01072344. URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01072344. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Parental history of depression and higher basal salivary cortisol in unaffected child and adolescent offspring.

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Zhang, Jihui; Lam, Siu Ping; Li, Shirley Xin; Liu, Yaping; Chan, Joey Wing Yan; Chan, Michael Ho Ming; Ho, Chung Shun; Li, Albert Martin; Wing, Yun Kwok

2018-07-01

There are contradictory findings regarding the associations of parental depression on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity of their offspring. We aimed to explore the associations of parental depression on the diurnal salivary cortisol profile in their child and adolescent offspring. A total of 189 unaffected child and adolescent offspring as determined by structured clinical interview were divided into 3 groups according to their parental history of depression, namely current parental depression (CPD, n = 27), past parental depression (PPD, n = 57), and no parental depression (NPD, n = 105). Diurnal saliva samples were collected to measure the cortisol awakening response and diurnal cortisol profile. CPD group had significantly higher basal cortisol level (mean ± SE = 11.9 ± 0.80 nmol/dl) than PPD group (mean ± SE = 9.7 ± 0.73 nmol/dl, post hoc p = .024) and NPD group (mean ± SE = 10.2 ± 0.52 nmol/dl, post hoc p = .031) and lower cortisol level at noon, but comparable cortisol levels in other time points. The cortisol awakening response reference to increase (AUCi) were significantly blunted in CPD group when compared with PPD and NPD (post hoc p < .01). Adjustment for potential confounding factors did not change major findings. Further analyses revealed that main influences were derived from current maternal depression. A single day of saliva sample. Current but not past (lifetime) parental depression is associated with higher basal salivary cortisol and blunted cortisol awakening response in their children and adolescents. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison between Salivary Cortisol Release in Rest and Training Days in Male Fitness Trainee

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Ardalan Shariat

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The aim behind the current study was a comparison between salivary cortisol release in rest and training days in male fitness trainers. Methods: In such balanced crossover research, 15 healthy fitness-trained participants (with the mean age, weight and Height of 20.35 ± 1.20 years, 74.15 ± 3.20 kg and 177.30 ± 3.45 cm, respectively who had a four-year-previous experience in fitness exercise were chosen. While performing the research, the subjects were involved in a fitness training. The protocol contained three times of fitness training in a week, which would totally be alternative days of “rest” and “exercise” in the period of training. It means that they did training on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and rested on the other days. To ensure the validity of this study, the participants were selected randomly, in both control and experimental groups. In the meantime, the protocol for fitness exercise was made up of four sets of 15 repetitions utilizing 65% of 1 repetition maximum (1 RM. Within each testing time, saliva samples were taken once in two hours for a maximum of 16 hours. In this study, the ANOVA was followed by a Post-hoc LSD test. Also, the significance level was deemed as (P≤0.05. Results: It was shown that there was a statistically significant addition in the salivary cortisol level right away after the fitness exercise session (P ≤ 0.05. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between exercise and control days in the circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol (P > 0.05. Conclusion: The present research demonstrated that while there was a significant influence of fitness exercise on cortisol right away after exercise, no statistically significant effect has been observed on the circadian secretion of cortisol in fitness sportsmen.

Daytime Secretion of Salivary Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase in Preschool-Aged Children with Autism and Typically Developing Children

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Kidd, Sharon A.; Corbett, Blythe A.; Granger, Douglas A.; Boyce, W. Thomas; Anders, Thomas F.; Tager, Ira B.

2012-01-01

We examined daytime salivary cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) secretion levels and variability in preschool-aged children with autism (AUT) and typically developing children (TYP). Fifty-two subjects (26 AUT and 26 TYP) were enrolled. Salivary samples were obtained at waking, midday, and bedtime on two consecutive days at three phases…

Associations between sociodemographic, sampling and health factors and various salivary cortisol indicators in a large sample without psychopathology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vreeburg, Sophie A.; Kruijtzer, Boudewijn P.; van Pelt, Johannes; van Dyck, Richard; DeRijk, Roel H.; Hoogendijk, Witte J. G.; Smit, Johannes H.; Zitman, Frans G.; Penninx, Brenda

Background: Cortisol levels are increasingly often assessed in large-scale psychosomatic research. Although determinants of different salivary cortisol indicators have been described, they have not yet been systematically studied within the same study with a Large sample size. Sociodemographic,

Salivary Cortisol as a Biomarker of Stress in Mothers and their Low Birth Weight Infants and Sample Collecting Challenges

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Janevski Milica Ranković

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Salivary cortisol measurement is a non-invasive method suitable for use in neonatal research. Mother-infant separation after birth represents stress and skin-to-skin contact (SSC has numerous benefits. The aim of the study was to measure salivary cortisol in mothers and newborns before and after SSC in order to assess the effect of SSC on mothers’ and infants’ stress and to estimate the efficacy of collecting small saliva samples in newborns.

The associations between workplace bullying, salivary cortisol, and long-term sickness absence: a longitudinal study.

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Grynderup, Matias Brødsgaard; Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Lange, Theis; Conway, Paul Maurice; Bonde, Jens Peter; Garde, Anne Helene; Gullander, Maria; Kaerlev, Linda; Persson, Roger; Rugulies, Reiner; Vammen, Marianne Agergaard; Høgh, Annie; Hansen, Åse Marie

2017-09-16

Workplace stressors, such as bullying, are strongly related to subsequent long-term sickness absence, but little is known of the possible physiological mechanisms linking workplace stressors and sickness absence. The primary aim of this study was to investigate to what extent cortisol levels were associated with subsequent sickness absence and if cortisol mediated the association between workplace bullying and sickness absence. We additionally investigated possible bidirectional associations between bullying, cortisol, and long-term sickness absence. Participants came from two Danish cohort studies, the "Psychosocial RIsk factors for Stress and MEntal disease" (PRISME) cohort and the "Workplace Bullying and Harassment" (WBH) cohort (n = 5418). Information about exposure to workplace bullying and morning and evening salivary cortisol was collected at three time points with approximately two years in between. After each data collection, all participants were followed for two years in registers, and cases with long-term sickness absence lasting 30 or more consecutive days were identified. The association between cortisol levels and subsequent sickness absence was assessed by logistic regression, while the extent to which the association between bullying and sickness absence was mediated by cortisol was quantified through natural direct and indirect effects. High evening cortisol was associated with a decreased risk of sickness absence (OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.68-0.99), but we did not find that high morning cortisol levels (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.81-1.18) or high morning-to-evening slope (OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.82-1.18) were associated with subsequent sickness absence. We also tested for reverse causation and found that long-term sickness absence, but not salivary cortisol, was a strong risk factor for subsequent workplace bullying. There was no indication that cortisol mediated the association between workplace bullying and sickness absence. We found no

Restoring the salivary cortisol awakening response through nasal continuous positive airway pressure therapy in obstructive sleep apnea.

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Ghiciuc, Cristina Mihaela; Dima Cozma, Lucia Corina; Bercea, Raluca Mihaela; Lupusoru, Catalina Elena; Mihaescu, Traian; Szalontay, Andreea; Gianfreda, Angela; Patacchioli, Francesca Romana

2013-10-01

Partial and largely conflicting data are currently available on the interplay between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) activity in adult obese men. This study was performed to evaluate the daily trajectories of salivary cortisol, specifically with respect to the salivary cortisol awakening response (CAR), a common method used to assess HPA axis activity. The main findings of this study were that adult male obese subjects who were newly diagnosed with severe OSA showed the following: (1) a flattening of the CAR; (2) levels of cortisol at awakening that were lower than those of the controls; and (3) maintenance of the physiological circadian activity of the HPA axis, with the highest hormone concentrations produced in the morning and the lowest in the evening. This study was also designed to investigate the effects of 3 and 6 mos of treatment with continuous airways positive pressure (CPAP). CPAP use resulted in a significant recovery of the sleep patterns disrupted by OSA; moreover, mild neuropsychological signs of depression and anxiety in severe OSA patients were concomitantly progressively improved by CPAP treatment. Furthermore, this study reports that 3 and 6 mos of CPAP therapy restored the presence of CAR and was able to significantly reduce the difference in the morning cortisol levels between the OSA and control groups. In conclusion, we report here that compared with obese nonapneic matched controls, OSA patients present a dysregulation of HPA axis activity, as shown by the flattening of the diurnal pattern of cortisol production in response to repeated challenge due to hypoxia and sleep fragmentation. This dysregulation was especially detectable in the first hour after awakening and restored after 3 and 6 mos of treatment with CPAP.

Salivary cortisol: a possible biomarker in evaluating stress and effects of interventions in young foster children?

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van Andel, Hans W H; Jansen, Lucres M C; Grietens, Hans; Knorth, Erik J; van der Gaag, Rutger Jan

2014-01-01

Young foster children undergo an early separation from their caregiver(s) and often experience severe stress before placement. However, a considerable part of the children do not show apparent signs of distress, making it difficult for the foster carer to be aware of the amount of stress in their foster child. Potential evidence for using salivary cortisol levels as a dimension to evaluate the amount of stress in young foster children is reviewed. Moreover, the applicability of salivary cortisol in the evaluation of stress-reducing interventions for young foster children is discussed. A systematic review was performed using the databases Medline, Psychinfo, Embase, Ebscohost, and Academic Search Premier. Nine studies were traced in which salivary cortisol was used to measure stress in children placed in family foster care or in adoptive families. Stress in general but also neglect, early loss of a caregiver, a younger age at first placement, and a higher number of placements were associated with an altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in foster children. Moreover, four studies on the effect of stress-reducing interventions on HPA-axis functioning of young foster children were found. These studies suggest that caregiver-based interventions can actually help to normalize the HPA-axis function in foster children, and that such changes co-occur with improved behavioral functioning. Although the results from the papers discussed in this review suggest that diurnal cortisol with a wake up and a bedtime measurement may be a relevant tool to evaluate stress in young foster children, this cannot yet be concluded from the present studies, because statistical data from the studies on foster care and adoption in this review were not robust and researchers used different methods to collect the salivary cortisol. Still, it is noteworthy that all studies did find the same pattern of reduced levels in relation to chronic stress (caused by maltreatment and

SALIVARY CORTISOL RESPONSES AND PERCEIVED EXERTION DURING HIGH INTENSITY AND LOW INTENSITY BOUTS OF RESISTANCE EXERCISE

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Alison D. Egan

2004-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to measure the salivary cortisol response to different intensities of resistance exercise. In addition, we wanted to determine the reliability of the session rating of perceived exertion (RPE scale to monitor resistance exercise intensity. Subjects (8 men, 9 women completed 2 trials of acute resistance training bouts in a counterbalanced design. The high intensity resistance exercise protocol consisted of six, ten-repetition sets using 75% of one repetition maximum (RM on a Smith machine squat and bench press exercise (12 sets total. The low intensity resistance exercise protocol consisted of three, ten-repetition sets at 30% of 1RM of the same exercises as the high intensity protocol. Both exercise bouts were performed with 2 minutes of rest between each exercise and sessions were repeated to test reliability of the measures. The order of the exercise bouts was randomized with least 72 hours between each session. Saliva samples were obtained immediately before, immediately after and 30 mins following each resistance exercise bout. RPE measures were obtained using Borg's CR-10 scale following each set. Also, the session RPE for the entire exercise session was obtained 30 minutes following completion of the session. There was a significant 97% increase in the level of salivary cortisol immediately following the high intensity exercise session (P<0.05. There was also a significant difference in salivary cortisol of 145% between the low intensity and high intensity exercise session immediately post-exercise (P<0.05. The low intensity exercise did not result in any significant changes in cortisol levels. There was also a significant difference between the session RPE values for the different intensity levels (high intensity 7.1 vs. low intensity 1.9 (P<0.05. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the session RPE measure was 0.95. It was concluded that the session RPE method is a valid and reliable method of

A comparison of the use of urinary cortisol to creatinine ratios and nocturnal salivary cortisol in the evaluation of cyclicity in patients with Cushing's syndrome.

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Graham, U M; Hunter, S J; McDonnell, M; Mullan, K R; Atkinson, A B

2013-01-01

Cyclical Cushing's syndrome is detected in our center by collecting sequential early morning urine (EMU) samples for cortisol to creatinine ratio over 28 d. The Endocrine Society suggests that nocturnal salivary cortisol (NSC) may be used to assess patients for cyclical Cushing's. However, there is only very limited evidence that it correlates with EMU testing or that it demonstrates cycling over 28 d. We sought to correlate NSC with EMU results collected the following morning and to determine whether NSC could be used to detect cyclical Cushing's. An observation study of 28-d collections for NSC and EMU was performed in a tertiary referral center over 1 yr. A 28-d collection of NSC and EMU was performed in 10 patients with confirmed or suspected Cushing's syndrome. The main outcome of the study was the correlation of salivary and urinary cortisol with graphical assessment of results for cycling. Eleven collections were performed. One patient with cyclical Cushing's completed the collection before and after cabergoline therapy. Two hundred seventy matched salivary and urinary results were correlated (r = 0.79; P Cushing's, EMU and NSC followed a similar cyclical pattern. In one patient with recurrent cyclical Cushing's, cortisol was elevated in both saliva and urine but with more prominent cycles in saliva. NSC correlated well with EMU. NSC detected all cases of cyclical Cushing's. Therefore, NSC may prove to be an additional option or replacement for EMU in detecting cyclical Cushing's syndrome.

Variability of Late-Night Salivary Cortisol in Cushing Disease: A Prospective Study.

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Sandouk, Zahrae; Johnston, Philip; Bunch, Dustin; Wang, Sihe; Bena, James; Hamrahian, Amir; Kennedy, Laurence

2018-03-01

The frequency of variable hormonogenesis in patients with Cushing disease (CD) but without cyclical symptoms is unclear. To assess the frequency of variable hormonogenesis in patients presenting with CD. Over a 6-month period, patients with confirmed or suspected CD provided late-night salivary samples for up to 42 consecutive nights. Of 19 patients confirmed to have CD, 16 provided at least 7 consecutive salivary samples, and 13 provided at least 21; these 16 patients are the subjects of this report. Twelve patients had at least three peak and two trough levels of late-night salivary cortisol (LNSC) but in only two patients were strict criteria for cyclical hormonogenesis fulfilled; variation was assessed as random in the others. Eight patients had de novo CD, and eight had recurrent/persistent disease. All patients with recurrent/persistent CD had two or more normal results, and in four of these patients, >50% of LNSC were normal. In six patients with de novo disease with at least one normal LNSC level, the maximum levels ranged from 1.55 to 15.5 times the upper limit of normal. Extreme fluctuations of cortisol production, measured by sequential LNSC, are common in CD. In newly diagnosed disease, this may only occasionally impair diagnostic ability, whereas in most patients with recurrent/persistent disease after pituitary surgery, LNSC is frequently within the reference range, with potential to cause diagnostic problems.

Changes in blood glucose and salivary cortisol are not necessary for arousal to enhance memory in young or older adults.

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Gore, Jane B; Krebs, Desiree L; Parent, Marise B

2006-06-01

Emotional arousal enhances memory, and this memory-enhancing effect may involve neurochemicals released by arousal, such as glucose and cortisol. Physiological consequences of arousal change with age, and these changes may contribute to age-related memory decline. The present study examined whether emotionally arousing pictures would affect glucose and cortisol levels and enhance memory in young and older adults. Blood glucose and salivary cortisol were measured once before and six times after young and old adults viewed either 60 highly arousing or 60 relatively neutral pictures. Recall for the stimuli was measured 75 min later. The results indicated that recall was impaired in older adults. Arousal as measured by self-report enhanced recall in both young and older adults. However, arousal did not affect glucose or cortisol levels in either group. These findings demonstrate that changes in blood glucose or salivary cortisol levels are not necessary for arousal to enhance memory.

Work family balance, stress, and salivary cortisol in men and women academic physicians.

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Bergman, B; Ahmad, F; Stewart, D E

2008-01-01

The stress of medical practice has been recurrently studied, but work- and family-related determinants of health by gender remain under researched. To test the hypothesis that cortisol excretion would be affected by the perceived severity of total workload imbalance. By hierarchical regression analysis, the associations between work-family balance and diurnal salivary cortisol levels by sex in academic physicians (n = 40) were investigated. Men physicians reported more paid work hours per week than women physicians and women more time in childcare, but their total working hours were similar. Controlling for sex and age, the mean of the diurnal cortisol release was associated with a combined effect of sex and responsibility at home. When morning cortisol, sex, and children at home were held constant, cortisol levels in the evening were associated with responsibility at home without significant gender interaction. With increasing responsibility at home, women and men reacted differently with regard to cortisol responses over the day. However, in the evening, controlling for the morning cortisol, these gender differences were not as obvious. These findings highlight traditional gender patterns among both women and men physicians in the challenge of finding a balance between work and family.

Sex Differences in Salivary Cortisol, Alpha-Amylase, and Psychological Functioning Following Hurricane Katrina

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Vigil, Jacob M.; Geary, David C.; Granger, Douglas A.; Flinn, Mark V.

2010-01-01

The study examines group and individual differences in psychological functioning and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity among adolescents displaced by Hurricane Katrina and living in a U.S. government relocation camp (n = 62, ages 12-19 years) 2 months postdisaster. Levels of salivary cortisol, salivary…

The effects of a three-week resistance exercise plus whole body vibration (WBV on the testosterone-free cortisole ratio differences and activity of the α-salivary amylase enzyme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MohammadAli Fathi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Researchers have already reported the hormonal responses of the effects of isolated resistance exercise or whole body vibration (WBV. However, no documents are available on the combination of the resistance exercise plus WBV on biomarkers, particularly salivary α-amylase activity as well as free testosterone to cortisol ratio (FTCR. Materials and Methods: To discover this, thirty young football players were randomly allocated into three WBV (n=10, resistance exercise (n=10, and a combination of both (n=10. The subjects took nine sessions of exercise during a three-week period. The WBV included one minute exercise followed by one minute rest for 10 minutes with 50 Hz frequency, four mm. transverse translation and in semi-squat standing condition. The resistive exercise included three-period exercises with 70% one-maximal repetition with a two-minute rest interval. The third group carried out the resistance exercise firstly and then WBV. The pre / post salivary samples were collected. Results: It showed that the concentration of the cortisol and the salivary α-amylaseactivity increased significantly. The testosterone increased among all groups following the first session, but significantly decreased at the last session. The statistical analysis showed a significant increase in cortisol concentration only in WBV group (p=0.004. Conclusion: The results confirmed that hormone secretion requires an acceptable threshold of both intensity and duration of training. In addition, secretion of the α-salivary amylase responses to various physiologic stresses immediately. In submaximal exercises, there is probably no difference among training techniques, WHB and strengthening exercises. The current study also emphasizes on salivary α-amylaseactivity immediately following physiological stresses.

The associations between workplace bullying, salivary cortisol, and long-term sickness absence: a longitudinal study

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Matias Brødsgaard Grynderup

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Workplace stressors, such as bullying, are strongly related to subsequent long-term sickness absence, but little is known of the possible physiological mechanisms linking workplace stressors and sickness absence. The primary aim of this study was to investigate to what extent cortisol levels were associated with subsequent sickness absence and if cortisol mediated the association between workplace bullying and sickness absence. We additionally investigated possible bidirectional associations between bullying, cortisol, and long-term sickness absence. Methods Participants came from two Danish cohort studies, the “Psychosocial RIsk factors for Stress and MEntal disease” (PRISME cohort and the “Workplace Bullying and Harassment” (WBH cohort (n = 5418. Information about exposure to workplace bullying and morning and evening salivary cortisol was collected at three time points with approximately two years in between. After each data collection, all participants were followed for two years in registers, and cases with long-term sickness absence lasting 30 or more consecutive days were identified. The association between cortisol levels and subsequent sickness absence was assessed by logistic regression, while the extent to which the association between bullying and sickness absence was mediated by cortisol was quantified through natural direct and indirect effects. Results High evening cortisol was associated with a decreased risk of sickness absence (OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.68–0.99, but we did not find that high morning cortisol levels (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.81–1.18 or high morning-to-evening slope (OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.82–1.18 were associated with subsequent sickness absence. We also tested for reverse causation and found that long-term sickness absence, but not salivary cortisol, was a strong risk factor for subsequent workplace bullying. There was no indication that cortisol mediated the association

Hair cortisol concentrations and cortisol stress reactivity predict PTSD symptom increase after trauma exposure during military deployment.

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Steudte-Schmiedgen, Susann; Stalder, Tobias; Schönfeld, Sabine; Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich; Trautmann, Sebastian; Alexander, Nina; Miller, Robert; Kirschbaum, Clemens

2015-09-01

Previous evidence on endocrine risk markers for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been inconclusive. Here, we report results of the first prospective study to investigate whether long-term hair cortisol levels and experimentally-induced cortisol stress reactivity are predictive of the development of PTSD symptomatology in response to trauma during military deployment. Male soldiers were examined before deployment to Afghanistan and at a 12-month post-deployment follow-up using dimensional measures for psychopathological symptoms. The predictive value of baseline (i) hair cortisol concentrations (HCC, N=90) and (ii) salivary cortisol stress reactivity (measured by the Trier Social Stress Test, N=80) for the development of PTSD symptomatology after being exposed to new-onset traumatic events was analyzed. Baseline cortisol activity significantly predicted PTSD symptom change from baseline to follow-up upon trauma exposure. Specifically, our results consistently revealed that lower HCC and lower cortisol stress reactivity were predictive of a greater increase in PTSD symptomatology in soldiers who had experienced new-onset traumatic events (explaining 5% and 10.3% of variance, respectively). Longitudinal analyses revealed an increase in HCC from baseline to follow-up and a trend for a negative relationship between HCC changes and the number of new-onset traumatic events. Additional pre-deployment analyses revealed that trauma history was reflected in lower HCC (at trend level) and that HCC were negatively related to stressful load. Our data indicate that attenuated cortisol secretion is a risk marker for subsequent development of PTSD symptomatology upon trauma exposure. Future studies are needed to confirm our findings in other samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Salivary cortisol day curves in Addison's disease in patients on hydrocortisone replacement.

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Ross, I L; Levitt, N S; Van der Walt, J S; Schatz, D A; Johannsson, G; Haarburger, D H; Pillay, T S

2013-01-01

Using salivary cortisol (SC) measurements, cortisol exposure in Addison's disease patients on hydrocortisone replacement was determined and compared with healthy controls. Cortisol pharmacokinetics was assessed in 31 patients with Addison's disease on replacement hydrocortisone doses (median daily dose 20 mg; range 5-50 mg) and 30 healthy control subjects. Saliva samples (n=16) were collected between 08:00 and 00:00 h in 1 day, using a passive drool technique. Cortisol exposure was evaluated by noncompartmental approach. In the patients, cortisol exposure was significantly higher than in controls: median inter-quartile range (IQR) peak cortisol (C(max)) 174.5 (59.3-837.0) vs. 6.50 (4.7-19.3) nmol/l, p=0.0001; area under the curve (AUC) 390.1 (177.1-928.9) vs. 21.4 (14.6-28.4) minutes*nmol/l, p=0.0001, trough cortisol level (C(min)) 0.49 (0.49-0.96) vs. 0.49 (0.49-0.49) nmol/l, p=0.02, occurring at 480.0 (0.1-660.0) vs. 405.0 (180.0-570.0) min, p=0.56. First peak cortisol was 174.5 (53.0-754.7) vs. 6.27 (3.90-8.47) nmol/l, p=0.0001 and second peak cortisol 18.90 (5.22-76.9) vs. 3.12 (1.76-4.79) nmol/l, p=0.0001. The time to first peak cortisol differed between the 2 groups, 30 (30-75) vs. 0.1 (0.1-30) minutes; p=0.0001. At doses studied, hydrocortisone replacement therapy results in cortisol pharmacokinetics being markedly different from endogenous cortisol profiles in healthy control subjects. Addison's disease patients had significantly higher SC levels compared to healthy control subjects. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Relationship between salivary levels of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone levels in saliva and chronic periodontitis

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Siddhi Mudrika

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim was to investigate the association between cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA levels in patients with periodontitis and healthy controls. Materials and Methods: Cortisol and DHEA levels in saliva were determined in 20 subjects, with clinical examinations including oral hygiene index, sulcus bleeding index (Muhlemann and Son and probing depth was also performed. Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed with the help of SPSS software package (version 7.0, and the significance level was set at 95% confidence interval. Mann-Whitney test and t-test were used to see the correlation between the groups. Results: In cortisol and DHEA the mean and standard deviation of periodontitis group were (2.6 ± 0.37 and (66.7 ± 8.7 respectively. Conclusion: This shows there is an increase in the mean value of cortisol and DHEA in periodontitis than the control group. Salivary cortisol and DHEA level were found to be increased in concordance with disease severity. This was statistically significant with P < 0.001.

Salivary cortisol as an indicator of adrenocortical function in healthy infants, using massage therapy

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Monalisa de Cássia Fogaça

Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The evaluation of adrenocortical function with the use of therapeutic massage has been little studied in Brazil. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the salivary cortisol levels before and after Shantala massage therapy on healthy infants. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective case series, in a public nursery, in São Paulo. METHODS: Saliva was obtained from 11 infants at the times of 8:00-9:00 a.m. and 4:00-5:00 p.m. in a nursery and 9:00-10:00 p.m. at home. They received a 15-minute therapeutic massage on two consecutive days, and saliva was collected before and after the massage. The procedure was repeated after a one-week interval. Cortisol values (intra-assay < 5%; inter-assay < 10% at different times of the day were compared by ANOVA. RESULTS: The mean cortisol values (nmol/l ± SD on the first day were: morning (M = 14.1 ± 5.7, afternoon (A = 8.3 ± 2.7, night (N = 3.3 ± 1.1; after two consecutive days of therapeutic massage: M = 22.3 ± 13.5, A = 13.4 ± 6.0, N = 5.8 ± 3.5; after a one-week interval: M = 15.8 ± 7.7, A = 14.3 ± 7.7, N = 3.4 ± 2.0. CONCLUSION: There was a modification in the salivary cortisol values following massage, thus reflecting possible adaptation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Longitudinal and Immediate Effect of Kundalini Yoga on Salivary Levels of Cortisol and Activity of Alpha-Amylase and Its Effect on Perceived Stress.

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García-Sesnich, Jocelyn N; Flores, Mauricio Garrido; Ríos, Marcela Hernández; Aravena, Jorge Gamonal

2017-01-01

Stress is defined as an alteration of an organism's balance in response to a demand perceived from the environment. Diverse methods exist to evaluate physiological response. A noninvasive method is salivary measurement of cortisol and alpha-amylase. A growing body of evidence suggests that the regular practice of Yoga would be an effective treatment for stress. To determine the Kundalini Yoga (KY) effect, immediate and after 3 months of regular practice, on the perception of psychological stress and the salivary levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase activity. To determine the psychological perceived stress, levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase activity in saliva, and compare between the participants to KY classes performed for 3 months and a group that does not practice any type of yoga. The total sample consisted of 26 people between 18 and 45-year-old; 13 taking part in KY classes given at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile and 13 controls. Salivary samples were collected, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to quantify cortisol and kinetic reaction test was made to determine alpha-amylase activity. Perceived Stress Scale was applied at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Statistical analysis was applied using Stata v11.1 software. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine data distribution. The paired analysis was fulfilled by t -test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. T -test or Mann-Whitney's test was applied to compare longitudinal data. A statistical significance was considered when P < 0.05. KY practice had an immediate effect on salivary cortisol. The activity of alpha-amylase did not show significant changes. A significant decrease of perceived stress in the study group was found. KY practice shows an immediate effect on salivary cortisol levels and on perceived stress after 3 months of practice.

Cortisol, hedonics, and maternal responsiveness in human mothers.

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Fleming, A S; Steiner, M; Corter, C

1997-10-01

New mothers are more attracted to the body odor of newborn infants than are nonmothers. In this study we investigated the relation of postpartum hormones and of prior experience with infants to this enhanced maternal attraction to infant odors. New mothers were asked to complete a hedonics task, using a pleasantness scale to provide an attraction score to different odorants presented on a cotton substrate in a 1-pt Baskin-Robbins container. Mothers were "blind" to the contents of the container. Participants also completed an extensive set of 100-item likert scales concerning their attitudes toward infants, care taking, own maternal adequacy, and other interpersonal relations. Mothers were videotaped interacting with their infants and provided salivary samples prior to the interaction. Salivary samples were assayed by radioimmunoassay (RIA) for salivary concentrations of cortisol, progesterone, and testosterone. Results show that first-time mothers with higher cortisol concentrations were more attracted to their own infant's body odor. Mothers with higher cortisol levels were also better able to recognize their own infants' odors. While cortisol was not related to attitudinal measures of maternal responsiveness, mothers with more prior experience interacting with infants exhibited both more attraction to infant odors and more positive maternal attitudes. Together, prior maternal experience and postpartum cortisol explain a significant proportion of the variance in mothers' attraction to newborn infant odors. These relations are discussed in terms of the variety of "meanings" cortisol could have during the postpartum period. Copyright 1997 Academic Press.

Noninvasive evaluation of the chronic influence of local air velocity from an air conditioner using salivary cortisol and skin caspase-14 as biomarkers of psychosomatic and environmental stress.

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Yamaguchi, M; Nishimiya, H

2012-01-01

To demonstrate the possibility of evaluating the chronic influence of local air velocity from an air conditioner using noninvasive biomarkers. Over a consecutive 5-day period, 16 healthy young male adults were exposed to air flow from a whole ceiling-type air conditioner (low local air velocity) and from a commercial concentrated exhaust air conditioner (high local air velocity). Salivary cortisol was used as an index of the psychological effects and caspase-14, collected from the stratum corneum, was used as a marker of environmental stress on the skin. Local air velocity generated from the whole ceiling-type air conditioner where the subject's head was positioned was one-seventh that of the exhaust air conditioner. After exposure to the exhaust air conditioner for 5 days, salivary cortisol decreased significantly from morning to evening and skin caspase-14 gradually increased during the day. A significant increase in hydration index from the morning to the evening was found with the whole ceiling-type air conditioner. The effects of chronic exposure to air movement generated by an air conditioner may be quantified by measurement of salivary cortisol and skin caspase-14.

Mothers' parenting stress is associated with salivary cortisol profiles in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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Korpa, Terpsichori; Pervanidou, Panagiota; Angeli, Eleni; Apostolakou, Filia; Papanikolaou, Katerina; Papassotiriou, Ioannis; Chrousos, George P; Kolaitis, Gerasimos

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to explore the relation between mothers' parenting stress and the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA), as expressed by daily salivary cortisol concentrations, in their children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Seventy-five children aged 6-11 years diagnosed with ADHD predominant hyperactive-impulsive/combined (ADHD-HI/C, N = 49) and inattentive symptoms (ADHD-I, N = 26) and 45 healthy peers and their mothers participated in the study. Μothers completed measures assessing their children's ADHD status, perceived parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index - Short Form, PSI-SF), mothers' symptoms of psychopathology, social support and socioeconomic status. Children's salivary cortisol samples were collected at six different time points on a single day. Mothers of children with ADHD-HI/C reported higher levels of parenting stress than mothers of children with ADHD-I and controls. All PSI-SF subscales showed significant associations with children's cortisol awakening response (CAR) in both ADHD groups, with the exception of the parental distress subscale in the ADHD-I group. In both ADHD groups, the parent-child dysfunctional interaction subscale, the difficult child subscale and the PSI total score were significantly associated with children's CAR. An interrelation is revealed between mothers' high levels of parenting stress and HPAA functioning in children with ADHD. In this population, CAR has been identified as a sensitive peripheral measure of HPAA functioning in children. Lay summaryThis study showed that in families of children diagnosed with ADHD, there is a complex relation between the mothers' high levels of parenting stress and children's atypical hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning.

The diurnal salivary cortisol pattern of adolescents from families with single, ill and healthy parents

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Sieh, D.S.; Visser-Meily, J.M.A.; Oort, F.J.; Meijer, A.M.

2012-01-01

Objective: Adolescents of single and/or chronically ill parents (target groups) reportedly have elevated psychological stress. However, their salivary cortisol pattern as part of the physiological stress system has not been compared to controls. The aim of this study is to examine differential

Diurnal Salivary Cortisol is Associated With Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

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Champaneri, Shivam; Xu, Xiaoqiang; Carnethon, Mercedes R.; Bertoni, Alain G.; Seeman, Teresa; DeSantis, Amy S.; Roux, Ana Diez; Shrager, Sandi; Golden, Sherita Hill

2012-01-01

Neuroendocrine abnormalities, such as activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, are associated with obesity; however, few large-scale population-based studies have examined HPA axis and markers of obesity. We examined the cross-sectional association of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and diurnal salivary cortisol curve with obesity. The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Stress Study includes 1,002 White, Hispanic, and Black men and women (mean age 65±9.8 years) who collected up to 18 salivary cortisol samples over 3 days. Cortisol profiles were modeled using regression spline models that incorporated random parameters for subject-specific effects. Cortisol curve measures included awakening cortisol, CAR (awakening to 30 minutes post-awakening), early decline (30 minutes to 2 hours post-awakening), late decline (2 hours post-awakening to bedtime), and the corresponding areas under the curve (AUC). Body-mass-index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were used to estimate adiposity. For the entire cohort, both BMI and WC were negatively correlated with awakening cortisol (p<0.05), AUC during awakening rise and early decline and positively correlated to the early decline slope (p<0.05) after adjustments for age, race/ethnicity, gender, diabetes status, socioeconomic status, beta blockers, steroids, hormone replacement therapy and smoking status. No heterogeneities of effects were observed by gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Higher BMI and WC are associated with neuroendocrine dysregulation, which is present in a large population sample, and only partially explained by other covariates. PMID:23404865

Relationships of salivary cortisol and melatonin rhythms to sleep quality, emotion, and fatigue levels in patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer.

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Chang, Wen-Pei; Lin, Chia-Chin

2017-08-01

After being diagnosed with lung cancer, patients often experience sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. These symptoms may occur because of changes in neurotransmitter secretion caused by tumors. This study investigated the correlation of cortisol and melatonin rhythms with sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and fatigue levels in patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. We conducted a case-control study and recruited 40 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer and 40 healthy adults. The patient group had a lower salivary melatonin level and flatter slope (p cortisol level and steeper slope (p cortisol slope (p = 0.005) and fatigue score (p = 0.032) predicted the sleep quality score (p = 0.011). Overall, the patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer had poorer sleep quality, higher depression levels, lower salivary melatonin levels, higher cortisol levels, and flatter melatonin and cortisol slopes than did the controls. The fatigue level and cortisol slope significantly predicted sleep quality. Therefore, the assessment of cortisol and melatonin rhythms and levels could provide crucial information that may be beneficial for managing symptoms in patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Peer Victimization and Aggression: Moderation by Individual Differences in Salivary Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase

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Rudolph, Karen D.; Troop-Gordon, Wendy; Granger, Douglas A.

2010-01-01

This research examined whether variations in salivary measures of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (cortisol) and autonomic nervous system (alpha amylase [sAA]) contribute to individual differences in the association between peer victimization and aggression. Children (N = 132; M age = 9.46 years, SD = 0.33) completed a measure of peer…

The diurnal salivary cortisol pattern of adolescents from families with single, ill and healthy parents

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Sieh, Dominik S.; Visser-Meily, Johanna M. A.; Oort, Frans J.; Meijer, Anne Marie

2012-01-01

Adolescents of single and/or chronically ill parents (target groups) reportedly have elevated psychological stress. However, their salivary cortisol pattern as part of the physiological stress system has not been compared to controls. The aim of this study is to examine differential outcomes in the

Salivary cortisol and binge eating disorder in obese women after surgery for morbid obesity.

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Larsen, Junilla K; van Ramshorst, Bert; van Doornen, Lorenz J P; Geenen, Rinie

2009-01-01

Binge eating episodes characterized by loss of control are hypothesized to be accompanied by changes in hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. Cortisol is an end product of this neuroendocrine stress system. The aim of this study was to examine the cortisol levels and the awakening cortisol response (ACR) in obese persons showing binge eating after surgery for morbid obesity. Sixteen obese women with binge eating disorder (BED) and 18 obese women without BED participated in the study. Means+/-SD: age 43 +/- 15, body mass index 40 +/- 8. Salivary cortisol, anthropometric assessments, and the eating disorder examination interview were taken. Women with BED showed a significantly lower waist-to-hip ratio and cortisol levels during the day than women without BED, whereas the ACR did not differ. Our cross-sectional study in a small sample generates the hypothesis that neuroendocrine regulation differs between obese women with and without BED after obesity surgery. This finding needs replication in future studies that should also examine the causal direction of the observed association.

Lifestyle, mental health status and salivary secretion rates.

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Toda, Masahiro; Morimoto, Kanehisa; Fukuda, Sanae; Hayakawa, Kazuo

2002-01-01

The relations between salivary variables, lifestyle and mental health status were investigated for 61 healthy female university students. The salivary secretion rates were significantly higher in the good lifestyle groups compared with the poor lifestyle groups. Among the 8 lifestyle items tested. "eating breakfast" and "mental stress" were significantly related to the salivary secretion rates. The present findings suggest that the acquisition of a good lifestyle is also very important from the viewpoint of the prevention of oral disease.A highly significant correlation (r=0.97; p<0.01) between the salivary cortisol levels and the cortisol secretion rates when controlled for the salivary secretion rates was also observed. This suggests that there is a high correlation between the intact salivary cortisol levels and the total cortisol quantity per unit time. Therefore, both these values can be used as a good index for the salivary cortisol determination.

Relationship between salivary cortisol levels and regional cerebral glucose metabolism in nondemented elderly subjects

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Kwak, Young Bin; Cho, Sang Soo; Lee, Sung Ha; Chey, Jean Yung; Kim, Sang Eun

2004-01-01

Cortisol is a primary stress hormone for flight-or-fight response in human. Increased levels of cortisol have been associated with memory and learning impairments. However, little is known about the role of cortisol on brain/cognitive functions in older adults. We compared regional cerebral glucose metabolism between elderly subjects with high and low cortisol levels using FDG PET. Salivary cortisol levels were measured four times during a day, and an average of the four measurements was used as the standard cortisol level for the analyses. From a population of 120 nondemented elderly subjects, 19 (mean age, 70.1±4.9 y: 2 males and 17 females) were identified as the high (> mean + 1 SD of the total population) cortisol subjects (mean cortisol, 0.69±0.09 μ g/dL), while 14 (mean age, 67.2±4.5 y: all females) as the low (< mean 1 SD) cortisol (mean cortisol, 0.27±0.03 μ g/dL). A voxel-wise comparison of FDG PET images from the high and low cortisol subjects was performed using SPM99. When compared with the low cortisol group, the high cortisol group had significant hypometabolism in the right middle temporal gyrus, left precuneus, right parahippocampal gyrus, right inferior temporal and superior temporal gyri (P < 0.01 uncorrected, k = 100). There was no significant increase of glucose metabolism in the high cortisol group compared with the low cortisol group (P < 0.01 uncorrected, k = 100). The high cortisol elderly subjects had hypometabolism in the parahippocampal and temporal gyri and precuneus, regions involved in memory and other cognitive functions. This may represent the preclinical metabolic correlates of forthcoming cognitive dysfunction associated with stress in the elderly. Longitudinal studies of brain metabolism and cognitive function are warranted

Relationship between salivary cortisol levels and regional cerebral glucose metabolism in nondemented elderly subjects

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Kwak, Young Bin; Cho, Sang Soo; Lee, Sung Ha; Chey, Jean Yung; Kim, Sang Eun [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2004-07-01

Cortisol is a primary stress hormone for flight-or-fight response in human. Increased levels of cortisol have been associated with memory and learning impairments. However, little is known about the role of cortisol on brain/cognitive functions in older adults. We compared regional cerebral glucose metabolism between elderly subjects with high and low cortisol levels using FDG PET. Salivary cortisol levels were measured four times during a day, and an average of the four measurements was used as the standard cortisol level for the analyses. From a population of 120 nondemented elderly subjects, 19 (mean age, 70.1{+-}4.9 y: 2 males and 17 females) were identified as the high (> mean + 1 SD of the total population) cortisol subjects (mean cortisol, 0.69{+-}0.09 {mu} g/dL), while 14 (mean age, 67.2{+-}4.5 y: all females) as the low (< mean 1 SD) cortisol (mean cortisol, 0.27{+-}0.03 {mu} g/dL). A voxel-wise comparison of FDG PET images from the high and low cortisol subjects was performed using SPM99. When compared with the low cortisol group, the high cortisol group had significant hypometabolism in the right middle temporal gyrus, left precuneus, right parahippocampal gyrus, right inferior temporal and superior temporal gyri (P < 0.01 uncorrected, k = 100). There was no significant increase of glucose metabolism in the high cortisol group compared with the low cortisol group (P < 0.01 uncorrected, k = 100). The high cortisol elderly subjects had hypometabolism in the parahippocampal and temporal gyri and precuneus, regions involved in memory and other cognitive functions. This may represent the preclinical metabolic correlates of forthcoming cognitive dysfunction associated with stress in the elderly. Longitudinal studies of brain metabolism and cognitive function are warranted.

Longitudinal and immediate effect of Kundalini Yoga on salivary levels of cortisol and activity of alpha-amylase and its effect on perceived stress

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Jocelyn N García-Sesnich

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Stress is defined as an alteration of an organism's balance in response to a demand perceived from the environment. Diverse methods exist to evaluate physiological response. A noninvasive method is salivary measurement of cortisol and alpha-amylase. A growing body of evidence suggests that the regular practice of Yoga would be an effective treatment for stress. Aims: To determine the Kundalini Yoga (KY effect, immediate and after 3 months of regular practice, on the perception of psychological stress and the salivary levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase activity. Settings and Design: To determine the psychological perceived stress, levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase activity in saliva, and compare between the participants to KY classes performed for 3 months and a group that does not practice any type of yoga. Subjects and Methods: The total sample consisted of 26 people between 18 and 45-year-old; 13 taking part in KY classes given at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Chile and 13 controls. Salivary samples were collected, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to quantify cortisol and kinetic reaction test was made to determine alpha-amylase activity. Perceived Stress Scale was applied at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was applied using Stata v11.1 software. Shapiro–Wilk test was used to determine data distribution. The paired analysis was fulfilled by t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. T-test or Mann–Whitney's test was applied to compare longitudinal data. A statistical significance was considered when P< 0.05. Results: KY practice had an immediate effect on salivary cortisol. The activity of alpha-amylase did not show significant changes. A significant decrease of perceived stress in the study group was found. Conclusions: KY practice shows an immediate effect on salivary cortisol levels and on perceived stress after 3 months of practice.

Salivary Cortisol Mediates Effects of Poverty and Parenting on Executive Functions in Early Childhood

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Blair, Clancy; Granger, Douglas A.; Willoughby, Michael; Mills-Koonce, Roger; Cox, Martha; Greenberg, Mark T.; Kivlighan, Katie T.; Fortunato, Christine K.

2011-01-01

In a predominantly low-income population-based longitudinal sample of 1,292 children followed from birth, higher level of salivary cortisol assessed at ages 7, 15, and 24 months was uniquely associated with lower executive function ability and to a lesser extent IQ at age 3 years. Measures of positive and negative aspects of parenting and…

Infant cortisol concentrations do not differ by group in a randomized controlled trial of lipid based nutrient supplements among mothers and infants in Malawi

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Background: Prenatal malnutrition and stress have been associated with the regulation of the offspring hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Objective: To evaluate whether maternal and infant nutritional supplementation was associated with salivary cortisol concentrations in Malawian infants. ...

Biological aspects of salivary hormones in male half-marathon performance

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Radosavljević Branimir B.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Physical effort is known to alter the blood levels of many hormones, but there are only a few studies about the biological changes of salivary hormones. The aim of this work was to determine whether salivary testosterone and salivary cortisol levels, measured two weeks before a half-marathon race, relate to running performance in male recreational athletes. A group of eleven male recreational athletes preparing for a half-marathon was included in the study. Saliva for testosterone and cortisol determinations was collected before and immediately after a 15-km training run, two weeks before the half-marathon. Individual official half-marathon times, expressed in hours, were used as a measure of performance. Mean testosterone concentrations were 1.07±0.33 nmol/L before the run and 0.88±0.35 nmol/L after the run (p<0.05. Mean cortisol concentrations were 12.28±8.46 nmol/L before the run and 38.08±19.63 nmol/L after the run (p<0.05. The pre-run salivary testosterone levels marginally correlated with the corresponding half-marathon running times (p=0.068, 95% bootstrap CI for slope -0.40 to -0.06. However, post-run salivary testosterone levels significantly correlated with the corresponding half-marathon running times (p=0.011, 95% bootstrap CI for slope -0.41 to -0.16, even considering correlations with the runners’ age. Salivary cortisol levels, either pre- or post-run, did not correlate with the corresponding half-marathon running times. The results of this study suggest that post-exercise salivary testosterone levels could have the potential to predict performance in endurance running, at least in recreational athletes. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 175036

Levels of salivary stress markers in patients with anxiety about halitosis.

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Fukui, Makoto; Hinode, Daisuke; Yokoyama, Masaaki; Yoshioka, Masami; Kataoka, Kosuke; Ito, Hiro-O

2010-11-01

To investigate the relationship between salivary stress markers and mental stress states in patients complaining of oral malodour. The utility of the salivary stress markers in assessment of mental conditions of those patients was also investigated. The study population included 74 patients, aged 20-59 years, who complained of oral malodour and were referred to the Breath Odor Clinic at Tokushima University Hospital. Patients were classified into two groups, genuine halitosis (GH) and psychosomatic halitosis (PH), according to the results of organoleptic rating measurement. All patients were subjected to examination by the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) Health Questionnaire. Resting saliva was collected and levels of salivary IgA, cortisol and chromogranin A were determined by ELISA. Twenty-three volunteers not complaining of halitosis were included as the control group. Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney's U-test were used for statistical analysis. A significant increase was observed in the concentrations of salivary cortisol in the PH group as compared with GH and control groups (psalivary cortisol concentrations were found in CMI scale III and IV (tendency towards neurosis) than in scale I and II (normal) (psalivary cortisol reflects a status of chronic stress condition, psychosomatic halitosis might be closely related to this state of chronic stress. Determination of cortisol levels in saliva may provide useful information for evaluating the mental status of patients complaining of halitosis. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled crossover trial on the effects of L-ornithine on salivary cortisol and feelings of fatigue of flushers the morning after alcohol consumption

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Kokubo Takeshi

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Residual alcohol effects on physiological and psychological symptoms are commonly experienced the morning after alcohol consumption. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of L-ornithine on subjective feelings and salivary stress markers the morning after alcohol consumption and to investigate whether L-ornithine acutely accelerates ethanol metabolism. Methods This study had a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked crossover design. Subjects were all healthy Japanese adults with the ‘flusher’ phenotype for alcohol tolerance. In experiment 1, 11 subjects drank 0.4 g/kg body weight alcohol 1.5 h before their usual bedtime. Half an hour after drinking, they ingested either a placebo or 400 mg ornithine. The next morning on awakening, subjects completed a questionnaire containing a visual analog scale (VAS, the Oguri-Shirakawa-Azumi sleep inventory MA version (OSA-MA, and a profile of mood states (POMS and collected a saliva sample for measurement of salivary stress markers (cortisol, secretory immunoglobulin A, and α-amylase. In experiment 2, placebo or 400 mg ornithine were administrated to 16 subjects both before and after drinking, and the feeling of drunkenness, breath ethanol concentration and one-leg standing time were repeatedly investigated until 180 min after alcohol consumption. Results There were significant decreases in “awareness”, “feeling of fatigue” and “lassitude” VAS scores and in “anger-hostility” and “confusion” POMS scores and a significant increase in “sleep length” in the OSA-MA test. Salivary cortisol concentrations on awakening were reduced after ornithine supplementation. There were no differences between ornithine and placebo in any of the subjective or physiological parameters of acute alcohol metabolism. Conclusions Taking 400 mg ornithine after alcohol consumption improved various negative feelings and decreased the salivary stress marker cortisol the

Salivary hormones and anxiety in winners and losers of an international judo competition.

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Papacosta, Elena; Nassis, George P; Gleeson, Michael

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the responses of salivary hormones and salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and anxiety in winners and losers during an international judo competition. Twenty-three trained, male, national-level judo athletes provided three saliva samples during a competition day: morning, in anticipation of competition after an overnight fast, mid-competition, and post-competition within 15 min post-fight for determination of salivary cortisol, salivary testosterone, salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio, SIgA absolute concentrations, SIgA secretion rate and saliva flow rate. The competitive state anxiety inventory questionnaire was completed by the athletes (n = 12) after the first saliva collection for determination of somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety and self-confidence. Winners were considered 1-3 ranking place (n = 12) and losers (n = 11) below third place in each weight category. Winners presented higher anticipatory salivary cortisol concentrations (p = 0.03) and a lower mid-competition salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio (p = 0.003) compared with losers with no differences for salivary testosterone. Winners tended to have higher SIgA secretion rates (p = 0.07) and higher saliva flow rates (p = 0.009) at mid-competition. Higher levels of cognitive anxiety (p = 0.02) were observed in the winners, without differences according to the outcome in somatic anxiety and self-confidence. The results suggest that winners experienced higher levels of physiological arousal and better psychological preparedness in the morning, and as the competition progressed, the winners were able to control their stress response better.

Cortisol and somatization.

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Rief, W; Auer, C

2000-05-01

Somatization symptoms are frequently associated with depression, anxiety, and feelings of distress. These features interact with the activity of the HPA-axis. Therefore we investigated relationships between somatization symptoms and cortisol. Seventy-seven participants were classified into three groups: somatization syndrome (at least eight physical symptoms from the DSM-IV somatization disorder list), somatization syndrome combined with major depression, and healthy controls. The following data were collected: salivary cortisol at three time points (morning, afternoon, evening), nighttime urinary cortisol, serum cortisol after the dexamethasone suppression test (DST), and psychological variables such as depression, anxiety, somatization, and hypochondriasis. Salivary cortisol showed typical diurnal variations. However, the groups did not differ on any of the cortisol variables. A possible explanation may be counteracting effects of somatization and depression. Exploratory correlational analyses revealed that associations between cortisol and psychopathological variables were time-dependent. DST results correlated with psychological aspects of somatization, but not with the number of somatoform symptoms per se.

Direct immune-detection of cortisol by chemiresistor graphene oxide sensor.

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Kim, Yo-Han; Lee, Kyungmin; Jung, Hunsang; Kang, Hee Kyung; Jo, Jihoon; Park, In-Kyu; Lee, Hyun Ho

2017-12-15

In this study, a biosensor to detect a stress biomarker of cortisol using cortisol monoclonal antibody (c-Mab) covalently immobilized on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) channel as electrical sensing element was demonstrated. Highly specific immune-recognition between the c-Mab and the cortisol was identified and characterized on a basis of resistance change at the rGO channel based chemiresistor sensor achieving the limit of detection of 10pg/mL (27.6 pM). In addition, cortisol concentrations of real human salivary sample and buffer solution of rat adrenal gland acute slices, which could secret the cortisol induced by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), were directly measured by the chemiresistor corresponding to the specific sensing of the cortisol. The rGO chemiresistor could selectively measure the cortisol levels in spite of diverse neuroendocrine's existence. The potential perspective of this study can be a protocol of new cortisol sensor development, which will be applicable to point-of-care testing (POCT) targeted for salivary cortisol, in vitro psychobiological study on cortisol induction, and implantable sensor chip in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Late-pregnancy salivary cortisol concentrations of Ghanaian women participating in a randomized controlled trial of prenatal lipid-based nutrient supplements

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Background: High maternal circulating cortisol in pregnancy is associated with miscarriage, preterm birth, and low birth weight. Research in non-pregnant individuals suggests that reducing nutritional deficiencies may lower cortisol concentrations. It is unknown whether nutritional supplementation d...

The 10:00-11:00 pm urine cortisol/creatinine ratio. An alternative to late-night salivary cortisol for the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome.

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Bruno, Oscar D; Rossi, María A; Juárez-Allen, Lea; Serra, Héctor A; Albiero, María C

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate interchangeability of two tests to diagnose Cushing's syndrome. We compared 10:00-11:00 PM urinary free cortisol/creatinine ratio (UFC/Cr) with late night 11:00 PM salivary cortisol (LNSC) in normal and obese controls vs. patients with Cushing's syndrome. Mean UFC/Cr did not differ between 69 normal and 62 obese controls (9.9 ± 7.9 vs. 9.7 ± 9.3) whereas 116 Cushing's patients had significantly higher values (277.0 ± 318.0; z: -11.1 and -10.2, respectively; p Cushing's patients (24.8 ± 23.3; z: -7.22 and -6.96, respectively, p Cushing's syndrome.

Parenting stress and salivary cortisol in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder: Longitudinal variations in the context of a service dog's presence in the family.

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Fecteau, Stéphanie-M; Boivin, Louise; Trudel, Marcel; Corbett, Blythe A; Harrell, Frank E; Viau, Robert; Champagne, Noël; Picard, Frédéric

2017-02-01

A significant portion of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder report high levels of stress related to parenting responsibilities, which have been linked to abnormal cortisol patterns. This study seeks to better understand the parents' adaptation to caregiving demands and use of a service dog, by taking into account longitudinal variations in salivary cortisol and perception of parental stress. Salivary cortisol was collected one day per week for 15 weeks by 98 primary caregivers of children with ASD. Overall, parents perceived high levels of stress at baseline. Mean morning cortisol increase was below expected levels for healthy adults, and perception of stress predicted morning cortisol activity. Hypocorticolism related to chronic stress may be present in parents of children with ASD. Longitudinal analysis revealed that the presence of a service dog in the family had an effect on parenting stress, wakening and morning cortisol levels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Salivary cortisol day curves in assessing glucocorticoid replacement therapy in Addison's disease.

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Smans, Lisanne; Lentjes, Eef; Hermus, Ad; Zelissen, Pierre

2013-01-01

Patients with Addison's disease require lifelong treatment with glucocorticoids. At present, no glucocorticoid replacement therapy (GRT) can exactly mimic normal physiology. As a consequence, under- and especially overtreatment can occur. Suboptimal GRT may lead to various side effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of salivary cortisol day curves (SCDC) in the individual adjustment of GRT in order to approach normal cortisol levels as closely as possible, reduce over- and underreplacement and study the short-term effects on quality of life (QoL). Twenty patients with Addison's disease were included in this prospective study. A SCDC was obtained and compared to normal controls; general and disease specific QoL-questionnaires were completed. Based on SCDC assessment of over- and undertreatment (calculated as duration (h) × magnitude (nmol/L) at different time points, glucocorticoid dose and regime were adjusted. After 4 weeks SCDC and QoL assessment were repeated and the effect of adjusting GRT was analysed. At baseline, underreplacement was present in 3 and overreplacement in 18 patients; total calculated overreplacement was 32.8 h.nmol/L. Overreplacement decreased significantly to 13.3 h. nmol/L (p =0.005) after adjustment of GRT. Overreplacement was found particularly in the afternoon and evening. After reducing overreplacement in the evening, complaints about sleep disturbances significantly decreased. Individual adjustment of GRT based on SCDC to approach normal cortisol concentrations during the day can reduce overreplacement, especially in the evening. This can lead to a reduction of sleep disturbances and fatigue in patients with Addison's disease. A SCDC is a simple and patient-friendly tool for adjusting GRT and can be useful in the follow-up of patients with Addison's disease.

Associations among daily stressors and salivary cortisol: findings from the National Study of Daily Experiences.

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Stawski, Robert S; Cichy, Kelly E; Piazza, Jennifer R; Almeida, David M

2013-11-01

While much research has focused on linking stressful experiences to emotional and biological reactions in laboratory settings, there is an emerging interest in extending these examinations to field studies of daily life. The current study examined day-to-day associations among naturally occurring daily stressors and salivary cortisol in a national sample of adults from the second wave of the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE). A sample of 1694 adults (age=57, range=33-84; 44% male) completed telephone interviews detailing their stressors and emotions on eight consecutive evenings. Participants also provided saliva samples upon waking, 30min post-waking, before lunch and before bed, on four consecutive interview days resulting in 5995 days of interview/cortisol data. Analyses revealed three main findings. First, cortisol AUC was significantly higher on stressor days compared to stressor-free days, particularly for arguments and overloads at home, suggesting that daily stressors are associated with increased cortisol output, but that not all daily stressors have such an influence. Second, individuals reporting a greater frequency of stressor days also exhibited a steeper diurnal cortisol slope. Finally, daily stressor-cortisol associations were unaltered after adjustment for daily negative affect and physical symptoms. Our discussion focuses on the influence of naturally occurring daily stressors on daily cortisol and the role of daily diary approaches for studying healthy cortisol responses to psychosocial stressors outside of traditional laboratory settings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Associations among Daily Stressors and Salivary Cortisol: Findings from the National Study of Daily Experiences

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Stawski, Robert S.; Cichy, Kelly E.; Piazza, Jennifer R.; Almeida, David M.

2013-01-01

While much research has focused on linking stressful experiences to emotional and biological reactions in laboratory settings, there is an emerging interest in extending these examinations to field studies of daily life. The current study examined day-to-day associations among naturally-occurring daily stressors and salivary cortisol in a national sample of adults from the second wave of the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE). A sample of 1,694 adults (Age=57, Range=33–84; 44% male) completed telephone interviews detailing their stressors and emotions on eight consecutive evenings. Participants also provided saliva samples upon waking, 30 minutes post-waking, before lunch and before bed, on four consecutive interview days resulting in 5,995 days of interview/cortisol data. Analyses revealed three main findings. First, cortisol AUC was significantly higher on stressor days compared to stressor-free days, particularly for arguments and overloads at home, suggesting that daily stressors are associated with increased cortisol output, but that not all daily stressors have such an influence. Second, individuals reporting a greater frequency of stressor days also exhibited a steeper diurnal cortisol slope. Finally, daily stressor-cortisol associations were unaltered after adjustment for daily negative affect and physical symptoms. Our discussion focuses on the influence of naturally-occurring daily stressors on daily cortisol and the role of daily diary approaches for studying healthy cortisol responses to psychosocial stressors outside of traditional laboratory settings. PMID:23856186

The Effects of Mind Subtraction Meditation on Depression, Social Anxiety, Aggression, and Salivary Cortisol Levels of Elementary School Children in South Korea.

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Yoo, Yang-Gyeong; Lee, Duck-Joo; Lee, In-Soo; Shin, Namin; Park, Ju-Yeon; Yoon, Mi-Ra; Yu, Boas

2016-01-01

This study analyzed the effects of a school-based mind subtraction meditation program on depression, social anxiety, aggression, and salivary cortisol levels of 42 elementary school children in South Korea. The research design was a nonequivalent group comparison with pretest and post-test. The experimental group was given 8weeks of the meditation program. The results showed social anxiety, aggression, and salivary cortisol levels were significantly lowered in the experimental group. This demonstrated that the school-based mind subtraction meditation program could be effective in improving psychosocial and behavioral aspects of mental health in elementary school children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of supplemental fish oil on resting metabolic rate, body composition, and salivary cortisol in healthy adults

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Pabon Vanessa A

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To determine the effects of supplemental fish oil (FO on resting metabolic rate (RMR, body composition, and cortisol production in healthy adults. Methods A total of 44 men and women (34 ± 13y, mean+SD participated in the study. All testing was performed first thing in the morning following an overnight fast. Baseline measurements of RMR were measured using indirect calorimetry using a facemask, and body composition was measured using air displacement plethysmography. Saliva was collected via passive drool and analyzed for cortisol concentration using ELISA. Following baseline testing, subjects were randomly assigned in a double blind manner to one of two groups: 4 g/d of Safflower Oil (SO; or 4 g/d of FO supplying 1,600 mg/d eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA and 800 mg/d docosahexaenoic acid (DHA. All tests were repeated following 6 wk of treatment. Pre to post differences were analyzed using a treatment X time repeated measures ANOVA, and correlations were analyzed using Pearson's r. Results Compared to the SO group, there was a significant increase in fat free mass following treatment with FO (FO = +0.5 ± 0.5 kg, SO = -0.1 ± 1.2 kg, p = 0.03, a significant reduction in fat mass (FO = -0.5 ± 1.3 kg, SO = +0.2 ± 1.2 kg, p = 0.04, and a tendency for a decrease in body fat percentage (FO = -0.4 ± 1.3% body fat, SO = +0. 3 ± 1.5% body fat, p = 0.08. No significant differences were observed for body mass (FO = 0.0 ± 0.9 kg, SO = +0.2 ± 0.8 kg, RMR (FO = +17 ± 260 kcal, SO = -62 ± 184 kcal or respiratory exchange ratio (FO = -0.02 ± 0.09, SO = +0.02 ± 0.05. There was a tendency for salivary cortisol to decrease in the FO group (FO = -0.064 ± 0.142 μg/dL, SO = +0.016 ± 0.272 μg/dL, p = 0.11. There was a significant correlation in the FO group between change in cortisol and change in fat free mass (r = -0.504, p = 0.02 and fat mass (r = 0.661, p = 0.001. Conclusion 6 wk of supplementation with FO significantly increased

Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Salivary Cortisol in Healthy Adults: A Meta-Analytical Review.

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Sanada, Kenji; Montero-Marin, Jesus; Alda Díez, Marta; Salas-Valero, Montserrat; Pérez-Yus, María C; Morillo, Héctor; Demarzo, Marcelo M P; García-Toro, Mauro; García-Campayo, Javier

2016-01-01

Objective: The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effects of Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on salivary cortisol levels in healthy adult populations. Method: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published between January 1980 and June 2015 in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and the Cochrane library. The PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines were followed. The pooled effect sizes were calculated with the random-effects model, using Hedges' g -values, and heterogeneity was measured using the I 2 statistic. The contribution of different characteristics of participants and programmes were assessed by meta-regression models, using beta coefficients. Results: Five RCTs with 190 participants in total were included in this systematic review. The overall effect size (ES) for improving the state of health related to cortisol levels was moderately low ( g = 0.41; p = 0.025), although moderate heterogeneity was found ( I 2 = 55; p = 0.063). There were no significant differences between active ( g = 0.33; p = 0.202) and passive ( g = 0.48; p = 0.279) controls, but significant differences were found when comparing standard ( g = 0.81; p = 0.002) and raw ( g = 0.03; p = 0.896) measures. The percentage of women in each study was not related to ES. Nevertheless, age (beta = -0.03; p = 0.039), the number of sessions (beta = 0.33; p = 0.007) and the total hours of the MBI (beta = 0.06; p = 0.005) were significantly related to ES, explaining heterogeneity ( R 2 = 1.00). Conclusions: Despite the scarce number of studies, our results suggest that MBIs might have some beneficial effect on cortisol secretion in healthy adult subjects. However, there is a need for further RCTs implemented in accordance with standard programmes and measurements of salivary cortisol under rigorous strategies in healthy adult populations.

Effects of Mindfulness-based interventions on salivary cortisol in healthy adults: a meta-analytical review

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Kenji Sanada

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Objective. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the effects of Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs on salivary cortisol levels in healthy adult populations. Method. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs, published between January 1980 and June 2015 in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and the Cochrane library. The PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines were followed. The pooled effect sizes were calculated with the random-effects model, using Hedges’ g values, and heterogeneity was measured using the I2 statistic. The contribution of different characteristics of participants and programmes were assessed by meta-regression models, using beta coefficients. Results. Five RCTs with 190 participants in total were included in this systematic review. The overall effect size (ES for improving the state of health related to cortisol levels was moderately low (g=0.41; p=0.025, although moderate heterogeneity was found (I2=55; p=0.063. There were no significant differences between active (g=0.33; p=0.202 and passive (g=0.48; p=0.279 controls, but significant differences were found when comparing standard (g=0.81; p=0.002 and raw (g=0.03; p=0.896 measures. The percentage of women in each study was not related to ES. Nevertheless, age (beta=-0.03; p=0.039, the number of sessions (beta=0.33; p=0.007 and the total hours of the MBI (beta=0.06; p=0.005 were significantly related to ES, explaining heterogeneity (R2=1.00. Conclusions. Despite the scarce number of studies, our results suggest that MBIs might have some beneficial effect on cortisol secretion in healthy adult subjects. However, there is a need for further RCTs implemented in accordance with standard programmes and measurements of salivary cortisol under rigorous strategies in healthy adult populations.

Are changes in workplace bullying status related to changes in salivary cortisol? A longitudinal study among Danish employees.

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Gullander, Maria; Grynderup, Matias; Hansen, Åse Marie; Hogh, Annie; Persson, Roger; Kolstad, Henrik Albert; Mors, Ole; Kaerlev, Linda; Bonde, Jens Peter

2015-11-01

This study aims to investigate whether incident workplace bullying and its dicontinuance is related to subsequent change in morning and evening saliva cortisol concentrations. Participants came from two Danish cohort studies, the PRISME cohort (n=4489) and the Workplace Bullying and Harassment Cohort (n=3707). At baseline and follow-up exposure to bullying was measured by a single question on bullying (preceded by a definition). Two saliva samples to measure cortisol were collected during a work-day (30 min after awakening and at 8 p.m.). All participants responding to the item on workplace bullying, giving saliva samples and participated at both baseline and follow-up were included. The reference group consisted of non-bullied respondents at both baseline and follow-up. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions were used to test for changes in salivary cortisol after newly onset of and discontinuance of workplace bullying. All analyses were adjusted for the potentially confounding effect of differences from baseline to follow-up in education, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, cohort, sampling waves, time of awakening, and time of sampling. We found no indication of statistically significant difference in saliva cortisol, neither when participants changed their self-labelling from not bullied at baseline to being bullied at follow-up, nor when they at follow-up two years later reported discontinuance of bullying. This longitudinal study on the impact of changes in bullying status on change in cortisol levels showed consistent lack of associations with onset and discontinuance of workplace bullying. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A statistical method to calculate blood contamination in the measurement of salivary hormones in healthy women.

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Behr, Guilherme A; Patel, Jay P; Coote, Marg; Moreira, Jose C F; Gelain, Daniel P; Steiner, Meir; Frey, Benicio N

2017-05-01

Previous studies have reported that salivary concentrations of certain hormones correlate with their respective serum levels. However, most of these studies did not control for potential blood contamination in saliva. In the present study we developed a statistical method to test the amount of blood contamination that needs to be avoided in saliva samples for the following hormones: cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone and oxytocin. Saliva and serum samples were collected from 38 healthy, medication-free women (mean age=33.8±7.3yr.; range=19-45). Serum and salivary hormonal levels and the amount of transferrin in saliva samples were determined using enzyme immunoassays. Salivary transferrin levels did not correlate with salivary cortisol or estradiol (up to 3mg/dl), but they were positively correlated with salivary testosterone, progesterone and oxytocin (phormones in order to determine the level of blood contamination that might affect specific hormonal salivary concentrations. Copyright © 2016 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The association between perceived emotional support, maternal mood, salivary cortisol, salivary cortisone, and the ratio between the two compounds in response to acute stress in second trimester pregnant women.

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La Marca-Ghaemmaghami, Pearl; La Marca, Roberto; Dainese, Sara M; Haller, Marina; Zimmermann, Roland; Ehlert, Ulrike

2013-10-01

Little is known about the effect of social support on the reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis during pregnancy. Moreover, when investigating the HPA axis most studies do not consider the activity of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2), an enzyme within the salivary glands that inactivates cortisol to cortisone. This study explores the association between perceived emotional support and the maternal psychobiological stress response to a standardized naturalistic stressor by assessing maternal mood and the reactivity of salivary cortisol (SalF), salivary cortisone (SalE), and the SalE/(E+F) ratio as a marker of 11β-HSD2 activity. Repeated saliva samples and measures of maternal mood were obtained from 34 healthy second trimester pregnant women undergoing amniocentesis which served as a psychological stressor. The pregnant women additionally responded to a questionnaire of perceived emotional support and provided sociodemographic (e.g., maternal educational degree) and pregnancy-specific data (e.g., planned versus unplanned pregnancy). Perceived emotional support neither showed a significant effect on mood nor on the SalF or SalE response to stress. However, a moderately strong positive association was found between perceived emotional support and SalE/(E+F) (r=.49). Additionally, the final regression analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between educational degree, planned/unplanned pregnancy and SalE/(E+F). Findings suggest a higher metabolization of cortisol to cortisone in pregnant women with higher emotional support. In contrast, higher maternal education and unplanned pregnancy appear to be associated with decreased salivary 11β-HSD2 activity. The current study emphasizes the importance of taking the activity of 11β-HSD2 into account when examining SalF. © 2013.

Salivary cortisol levels: the importance of clown doctors to reduce stress

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Flávia G. Saliba

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This study was designed to correlate entertainment of clown-doctors (CD activities on hospitalized children and aphysiological biomarker. For this purpose we collected saliva samples and verified children satisfaction with these activities by using a visual analog scale (VAS. Children from 6 to 7 years-old, with diagnosis of any acute pathology, interned in the Pediatric Ward of the Botucatu Medical School Hospital (São Paulo, Brazil were interviewed. Two groups were taken into consideration: lunchCD and dinnerCD. The following protocol was applied in each group (lunch and dinner: collection of the first saliva sample and presentation of VAS prior to CD activities, followed by collection of a second saliva sample and another VAS assessment after CD activities. The salivary cortisol was reduced in both groups comparing the first saliva sample. The satisfaction of the intervention was evident for lunchCD. The CD intervention is effective in decreasing an important physiological biomarker of stress factor, cortisol, in hospitalized children, been effective for the healing process.

Diurnal patterns of salivary cortisol and DHEA using a novel collection device: electronic monitoring confirms accurate recording of collection time using this device.

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Laudenslager, Mark L; Calderone, Jacqueline; Philips, Sam; Natvig, Crystal; Carlson, Nichole E

2013-09-01

The accurate indication of saliva collection time is important for defining the diurnal decline in salivary cortisol as well as characterizing the cortisol awakening response. We tested a convenient and novel collection device for collecting saliva on strips of filter paper in a specially constructed booklet for determination of both cortisol and DHEA. In the present study, 31 healthy adults (mean age 43.5 years) collected saliva samples four times a day on three consecutive days using filter paper collection devices (Saliva Procurement and Integrated Testing (SPIT) booklet) which were maintained during the collection period in a large plastic bottle with an electronic monitoring cap. Subjects were asked to collect saliva samples at awakening, 30 min after awakening, before lunch and 600 min after awakening. The time of awakening and the time of collection before lunch were allowed to vary by each subjects' schedule. A reliable relationship was observed between the time recorded by the subject directly on the booklet and the time recorded by electronic collection device (n=286 observations; r(2)=0.98). However, subjects did not consistently collect the saliva samples at the two specific times requested, 30 and 600 min after awakening. Both cortisol and DHEA revealed diurnal declines. In spite of variance in collection times at 30 min and 600 min after awakening, the slope of the diurnal decline in both salivary cortisol and DHEA was similar when we compared collection tolerances of ±7.5 and ±15 min for each steroid. These unique collection booklets proved to be a reliable method for recording collection times by subjects as well as for estimating diurnal salivary cortisol and DHEA patterns. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Morning salivary cortisol and cognitive function in mid-life: evidence from a population-based birth cohort.

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Geoffroy, M C; Hertzman, C; Li, L; Power, C

2012-08-01

The hormone 'cortisol' has been associated with cognitive deficits in older ages, and also with childhood cognition. The extent to which the associations of cortisol with cognitive deficits in later life reflect associations with childhood cognition ability is unclear. This study aimed to assess associations between adult cortisol levels and subsequent cognitive functions, while considering childhood cognition and other lifetime covariates. Data are from the 1958 British Birth Cohort. Two morning salivary cortisol samples were obtained at 45 years: 45 min after waking (t1) and 3 h later (t2). Standardized tests assessing immediate and delayed verbal memory, verbal fluency and speed of processing were administered at 50 years. Information on cortisol, cognitive outcomes and covariates [e.g., birthweight, lifetime socio-economic position (SEP), education, smoking and drinking habits, body mass index (BMI), menopausal status, and depression/anxiety] was obtained for 4655 participants. Worse immediate and delayed verbal memory and verbal fluency at 50 years were predicted by elevated t2 cortisol at 45 years. For instance, for 1 standard deviation (s.d.) increase in t2 cortisol, individuals scored -0.05 s.d. lower on verbal memory and fluency tests. Childhood cognition explained about 30% of these associations, but associations with adult cognition remained. This study suggests that higher cortisol levels in late morning at 45 years are associated with poorer verbal memory and fluency at 50 years, with a contribution from childhood cognition to these associations.

Evaluation of a radioimmunoassay and establishment of a reference interval for salivary cortisol in healthy subjects in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Åse Marie; Garde, A H; Christensen, J M

2003-01-01

A commercial radioimmunoassay (RA) for salivary cortisol was evaluated using certified reference material in water and spiked to pooled saliva in the range 2.1-89.1 nmol/L. A variance component model for describing the effects of age, body mass index (BMI), diurnal variation, gender, days of sick...

Modulatory effects of aromatherapy massage intervention on electroencephalogram, psychological assessments, salivary cortisol and plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

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Wu, Jin-Ji; Cui, Yanji; Yang, Yoon-Sil; Kang, Moon-Seok; Jung, Sung-Cherl; Park, Hyeung Keun; Yeun, Hye-Young; Jang, Won Jung; Lee, Sunjoo; Kwak, Young Sook; Eun, Su-Yong

2014-06-01

Aromatherapy massage is commonly used for the stress management of healthy individuals, and also has been often employed as a therapeutic use for pain control and alleviating psychological distress, such as anxiety and depression, in oncological palliative care patients. However, the exact biological basis of aromatherapy massage is poorly understood. Therefore, we evaluated here the effects of aromatherapy massage interventions on multiple neurobiological indices such as quantitative psychological assessments, electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectrum pattern, salivary cortisol and plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. A control group without treatment (n = 12) and aromatherapy massage group (n = 13) were randomly recruited. They were all females whose children were diagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and followed up in the Department of Psychiatry, Jeju National University Hospital. Participants were treated with aromatherapy massage for 40 min twice per week for 4 weeks (8 interventions). A 4-week-aromatherapy massage program significantly improved all psychological assessment scores in the Stat-Trait Anxiety Index, Beck Depression Inventory and Short Form of Psychosocial Well-being Index. Interestingly, plasma BDNF levels were significantly increased after a 4 week-aromatherapy massage program. Alpha-brain wave activities were significantly enhanced and delta wave activities were markedly reduced following the one-time aromatherapy massage treatment, as shown in the meditation and neurofeedback training. In addition, salivary cortisol levels were significantly reduced following the one-time aromatherapy massage treatment. These results suggest that aromatherapy massage could exert significant influences on multiple neurobiological indices such as EEG pattern, salivary cortisol and plasma BDNF levels as well as psychological assessments. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Lower immunglobulin A levels but not lower cortisol or α-amylase activity in children with chronic tension-type headache.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-de-Las-Peñas, César; Fernández-Mayoralas, Daniel M; Arroyo-Morales, Manuel; Ambite-Quesada, Silvia; Rivas-Martínez, Inés; Ortega-Santiago, Ricardo; Díaz-Rodríguez, Lourdes; Pareja, Juan A

2011-03-01

The study was designed to investigate the differences in salivary cortisol (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical [HPA] axis), immunoglobulin A (IgA) (immune system) concentrations and α-amylase (sympathetic nervous system [SNS]) activity between children with chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) and healthy children. Thirty-six children, 10 boys and 26 girls (age: 9 ± 2 years) with CTTH and 36 age- and sex-matched healthy children were recruited. Salivary cortisol, α-amylase activity, salivary flow rate, IgA concentration and IgA rate were collected from non-stimulated saliva. A headache diary was used for collecting data on intensity, frequency and duration of headache for four weeks. Children with CTTH showed lower IgA concentration (p = .008) and IgA rate (p = .039), but not lower cortisol concentration (p = .447), salivary flow rate (p = .289) or α-amylase activity (p = .559), as compared to healthy children. Neither age (p > .582) nor gender (p > .227) influenced salivary markers. A significant association between the number of years with headache and IgA concentration (r(s) = - 0.385; p = .023) was found: the greater the number of years with headache, the lower the IgA concentration. These results suggest that children with CTTH present with deficits in the immune system, but not dysfunction in the HPA axis or SNS. Future studies are needed to elucidate the direction of these relationships.

Melatonin and cortisol profiles in the absence of light perception

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aubin, S.; Kupers, R.; Ptito, M.

2017-01-01

As light plays an important role in the synchronisation of the internal biological clock to the environmental day/night schedule, we compared the 24-h profiles of biological circadian markers in blind and normal sighted individuals. Salivary melatonin and cortisol concentrations were collected...... every two hours in eleven blind subjects, reporting no conscious light perception, and eleven age- and sex-matched normal sighted controls. Timing of melatonin onset and associated cortisol quiescence period confirm an increased incidence of abnormal circadian patterns in blindness. Additionally, blind...... subjects showed a greater overall melatonin concentration throughout the 24-h period. Cortisol profiles, including concentration and morning cortisol peaks, on the other hand, did not differ between blind and sighted individuals. These findings support previous reports of an increase in abnormal circadian...

Pain-related stress in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and salivary cortisol reactivity to socio-emotional stress in 3-month-old very preterm infants.

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Provenzi, Livio; Giusti, Lorenzo; Fumagalli, Monica; Tasca, Hilarj; Ciceri, Francesca; Menozzi, Giorgia; Mosca, Fabio; Morandi, Francesco; Borgatti, Renato; Montirosso, Rosario

2016-10-01

Very preterm (VPT) infants are hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and exposed to varying levels of skin-breaking procedures (pain-related stress), even in absence of severe clinical conditions. Repeated and prolonged pain exposure may alter hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity in VPT infants. During the post-discharge period, altered HPA axis reactivity has been documented in response to non-social stressors, using salivary cortisol as a biomarker. However, little is known about the effects of NICU pain-related stress on subsequent HPA axis reactivity to socio-emotional stress in infants. We examined the relationship between pain-related stress in NICU and HPA axis reactivity (i.e., salivary cortisol reactivity) to an age-appropriate socio-emotional condition in 37 healthy VPT infants compared to 53 full-term (FT) controls. The number of skin-breaking procedures was obtained across NICU stay for VPT infants. At 3 months (corrected age for prematurity), all infants participated in the maternal Face-to-Face Still-Face (FFSF) procedure, in order to assess HPA axis reactivity to socio-emotional stress (i.e., maternal unresponsiveness). VPT infants exhibited a blunted salivary cortisol reactivity, which was associated with the amount of skin-breaking procedures during NICU: greater pain-related stress predicted lower salivary cortisol reactivity, adjusting for neonatal confounders. These findings further advance our knowledge of how early exposure to pain-related stress in NICU contributes to the programming of an altered HPA axis reactivity to socio-emotional stress in 3-month-old VPT infants, even in the absence of major perinatal complications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Salivary oxytocin concentrations in response to running, sexual self-stimulation, breastfeeding and the TSST: The Regensburg Oxytocin Challenge (ROC) study.

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Jong, Trynke R de; Menon, Rohit; Bludau, Anna; Grund, Thomas; Biermeier, Verena; Klampfl, Stefanie M; Jurek, Benjamin; Bosch, Oliver J; Hellhammer, Juliane; Neumann, Inga D

2015-12-01

Intranasal oxytocin (OXT) application is emerging as a potential treatment for socio-emotional disorders associated with abnormalities in OXT system (re-) activity. The crucial identification of patients with such abnormalities could be streamlined by the assessment of basal and stimulus-induced OXT concentrations in saliva, using a simple, stress-free sampling procedure (i.e. an OXT challenge test). We therefore established the Regensburg Oxytocin Challenge (ROC) test to further validate salivary OXT concentrations as a practical, reliable and sensitive biomarker. OXT concentrations were quantified by radioimmunoassay in samples collected at home by healthy adult male and female volunteers before and after running ("Run") or sexual self-stimulation ("Sex"). In lactating women, salivary OXT concentrations were quantified before, during and after breastfeeding. Salivary OXT along with salivary cortisol and heart rate were monitored in healthy adult participants undergoing the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). The home-based "Run" and "Sex" challenges as well as the laboratory-based TSST caused quantifiable, rapid, and consistent increases in salivary OXT (approximately 2.5-fold after 10-15min), which were similar for men and women. Breastfeeding did not result in measurably increased salivary OXT levels, probably because the short pulses of OXT release characteristic for lactation were missed. Taken together, ROC tests reliably assess the responsiveness of the OXT system (i.e., the increase in salivary OXT concentrations as compared to basal levels) to challenges such as "Run" and "Sex" at home or psychosocial stress (TSST) in the laboratory. Further studies with larger sample numbers are essentially needed in order to reveal individual differences in ROC test outcomes depending on, for example, genetic or environmental factors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The relationship between the menstrual cycle and cortisol secretion: Daily and stress-invoked cortisol patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Montero-López, Eva; Santos-Ruiz, Ana; García-Ríos, M Carmen; Rodríguez-Blázquez, Manuel; Rogers, Heather L; Peralta-Ramírez, María Isabel

2018-03-29

The menstrual cycle involves significant changes in hormone levels, causing physical and psychological changes in women that are further influenced by stress. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between menstrual cycle phase and salivary cortisol patterns during the day as well as the salivary cortisol response to the Virtual Reality Version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-VR). Forty two women not taking oral contraceptives (24 in follicular phase and 18 in luteal phase) participated in the study. Five samples of salivary cortisol collected during the day and another five samples of cortisol during the TSST-VR were analyzed. Psychological stress measures and psychopathological symptomatology were also evaluated. A 2 × 4 mixed ANCOVA showed an interaction between the two groups on the TSST-RV invoked cortisol response to the [F(3,42) = 3.681; p = 0.023) where women in luteal phase showed higher cortisol post exposure levels (5.96 ± 3.76 nmol/L) than women in follicular phase (4.31 ± 2.23 nmol/L). No other significant differences were found. Our findings provide evidence that menstrual cycle phase tended to influence cortisol response to laboratory-induced mental stress, with more reactivity observed in the luteal phase. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prenatal maternal cortisol concentrations predict neurodevelopment in middle childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Elysia Poggi; Head, Kevin; Buss, Claudia; Sandman, Curt A

2017-01-01

Glucocorticoids (cortisol in humans) are the end product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and are proposed as a key mechanism for programming fetal brain development. The present prospective longitudinal study evaluates the association between prenatal maternal cortisol concentrations and child neurodevelopment. Participants included a low risk sample of 91 mother-child pairs. Prenatal maternal plasma cortisol concentrations were measured at 19 and 31 gestational weeks. Brain development and cognitive functioning were assessed when children were 6-9 years of age. Structural magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired and cortical thickness was determined. Child cognitive functioning was evaluated using standardized measures (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children IV and Expressive Vocabulary Test, Second Edition). Higher maternal cortisol concentrations during the third trimester were associated with greater child cortical thickness primarily in frontal regions. No significant associations were observed between prenatal maternal cortisol concentrations and child cortical thinning. Elevated third trimester maternal cortisol additionally was associated with enhanced child cognitive performance. Findings in this normative sample of typically developing children suggest that elevated maternal cortisol during late gestation exert lasting benefits for brain development and cognitive functioning 6-9 years later. The benefits of fetal exposure to higher maternal cortisol during the third trimester for child neurodevelopment are consistent with the role cortisol plays in maturation of the human fetus. It is plausible that more extreme elevations in maternal cortisol concentrations late in gestation, as well as exposure to pharmacological levels of synthetic glucocorticoids, may have neurotoxic effects on the developing fetal brain. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Is salivary cortisol moderating the relationship between salivary testosterone and hand-grip strength in healthy men?

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Crewther, Blair T; Thomas, Andrew G; Stewart-Williams, Steve; Kilduff, Liam P; Cook, Christian J

2017-03-01

This study examined the moderating effect of cortisol (C) on the relationship between testosterone (T) and hand-grip strength (HGS) in healthy young men. Sixty-five males were monitored for salivary T, C and HGS before and 15 min after a short bout (5 × 6-s trials) of sprint cycling exercise. Sprint exercise promoted (p moderating variable. The pre-test combination of high C and low T levels favoured absolute HGS, whereas low pre-test C levels and a smaller T change were linked to larger HGS changes. These associations suggest that, in the current format, T is not necessarily anabolic to muscle strength in healthy young men. Such complexities could also explain some of the inconsistent T relationships with physical performance in lesser trained male populations.

Diurnal salivary cortisol in relation to perceived stress at home and at work in healthy men and women.

Science.gov (United States)

Sjörs, Anna; Ljung, Thomas; Jonsdottir, Ingibjörg H

2014-05-01

This study investigated the association between diurnal salivary cortisol profile and perceived stress at work and at home. Healthy participants (N=180, 52% women) collected saliva cortisol samples immediately after waking up, 15 min later, 30 min later, and at 9:00, 12:00, 15:00, 18:00 and 21:00. The area under the cortisol awakening curve with respect to ground (AUCgCAR) and increase (AUCiCAR), and diurnal slope between 9:00 and 21:00 were analyzed. Perceived stress at work and at home was measured with the Stress-Energy Questionnaire. Participants reporting stress at home had significantly lower AUCgCAR and a flatter diurnal slope. When performing separate analyses for men and women, this association was only significant among women. Perceived stress at work was not associated with any cortisol measure. This study highlights the importance of stress outside the workplace. The sex differences may indicate an increased vulnerability to non-work stress in women. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive control moderates parenting stress effects on children's diurnal cortisol

OpenAIRE

Raffington, Laurel; Schmiedek, Florian; Heim, Christine; Shing, Yee Lee

2018-01-01

This study investigated associations between parenting stress in parents and self-reported stress in children with children's diurnal cortisol secretion and whether these associations are moderated by known stress-regulating capacities, namely child cognitive control. Salivary cortisol concentrations were assessed from awakening to evening on two weekend days from 53 6-to-7-year-old children. Children completed a cognitive control task and a self-report stress questionnaire with an experiment...

Salivary cortisol and testosterone responses to resistance and plyometric exercise in 12- to 14-year-old boys.

Science.gov (United States)

Klentrou, Panagiota; Giannopoulou, Angeliki; McKinlay, Brandon J; Wallace, Phillip; Muir, Cameron; Falk, Bareket; Mack, Diane

2016-07-01

This study examined changes in salivary testosterone and cortisol following resistance and plyometric exercise protocols in active boys. In a crossover experimental design, 26 peri-pubertal (12- to 14-year-old) soccer players performed 2 exercise trials in random order, on separate evenings, 1 week apart. Each trial included a 30 min control session followed by 30 min of either resistance or plyometric exercise. Saliva was collected at baseline, post-control (i.e., pre-exercise), and 5 and 30 min post-exercise. There were no significant differences in the baseline hormone concentrations between trials or between weeks (p > 0.05). A significant effect for time was found for testosterone (p = 0.02, [Formula: see text] = 0.14), which increased from pre-exercise to 5 min post-exercise in both the resistance (27% ± 5%) and plyometric (12% ± 6%) protocols. Cortisol decreased to a similar extent in both trials (p = 0.009, [Formula: see text] = 0.19) from baseline to post-control and then to 5 min post-exercise, following its typical circadian decrease in the evening hours. However, a significant protocol-by-time interaction was observed for cortisol, which increased 30 min after the plyometrics (+31% ± 12%) but continued to decrease following the resistance protocol (-21% ± 5%). Our results suggest that in young male athletes, multiple modes of exercise can lead to a transient anabolic state, thus maximizing the beneficial effects on growth and development, when exercise is performed in the evening hours.

Cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress test among Chinese adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Jiling; Weng, Tingting; Tao, Fangbiao

2012-01-01

To compare obese and non-obese adolescents in terms of their salivary cortisol response to the Trier Socia l Stress Test ( TSST). This is a cross - sectional study involving 41 healthy adolescents aged 12-14 years in the city of Shenyang, China. The TSST response was determined using salivary cortisol measurements, and measurements were repeated after the test period. Repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to compare salivary cortisol levels between groups. The male group comprised of 16 individuals (10 obese and 6 non-obese), and the female group comprised 25 individuals ( 13 obese and 12 non-obese). ANOVA with repeated measures demonstrated that weight status (obese or non-obese) had a significant main effect on the measures of salivary cortisol levels during the TSST among females but not males. The finding suggested that weight status is associated with cortisol response to psychological stress among Chinese adolescent girls.

Chronotype, sleep loss, and diurnal pattern of salivary cortisol in a simulated daylong driving.

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Oginska, Halszka; Fafrowicz, Magdalena; Golonka, Krystyna; Marek, Tadeusz; Mojsa-Kaja, Justyna; Tucholska, Kinga

2010-07-01

The study focused on chronotype-related differences in subjective load assessment, sleepiness, and salivary cortisol pattern in subjects performing daylong simulated driving. Individual differences in work stress appraisal and psychobiological cost of prolonged load seem to be of importance in view of expanding compressed working time schedules. Twenty-one healthy, male volunteers (mean +/- SD: 27.9 +/- 4.9 yrs) were required to stay in semiconstant routine conditions. They performed four sessions (each lasting approximately 2.5 h) of simulated driving, i.e., completed chosen tasks from computer driving games. Saliva samples were collected after each driving session, i.e., at 10:00-11:00, 14:00-15:00, 18:00-19:00, and 22:00-23:00 h as well as 10-30 min after waking (between 05:00 and 06:00 h) and at bedtime (after 00:00 h). Two subgroups of subjects were distinguished on the basis of the Chronotype Questionnaire: morning (M)- and evening (E)-oriented types. Subjective data on sleep need, sleeping time preferences, sleeping problems, and the details of the preceding night were investigated by questionnaire. Subjective measures of task load (NASA Task Load Index [NASA-TLX]), activation (Thayer's Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List [AD ACL]), and sleepiness (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale [KSS]) were applied at times of saliva samples collection. M- and E-oriented types differed significantly as to their ideal sleep length (6 h 54 min +/- 44 versus 8 h 13 min +/- 50 min), preferred sleep timing (midpoint at 03:19 versus 04:26), and sleep index, i.e., 'real-to-ideal' sleep ratio, before the experimental day (0.88 versus 0.67). Sleep deficit proved to be integrated with eveningness. M and E types exhibited similar diurnal profiles of energy, tiredness, tension, and calmness assessed by AD ACL, but E types estimated higher their workload (NASA-TLX) and sleepiness (KSS). M types exhibited a trend of higher mean cortisol levels than E types (F = 4.192, p < .056) and

Salivary Alpha Amylase and Cortisol Levels in Children with Global Developmental Delay and Their Relation with the Expectation of Dental Care and Behavior during the Intervention

Science.gov (United States)

dos Santos, Marcio Jose Possari; Bernabe, Daniel Galera; Nakamune, Ana Claudia de Melo Stevanato; Perri, Silvia Helena Venturoli; de Aguiar, Sandra Maria Herondina Coelho Avila; de Oliveira, Sandra Helena Penha

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the alpha-amylase (sAA) and cortisol levels in children with Global developmental delay (GDD) before and after dental treatment and its association with the children's behavior during treatment. The morning salivary cortisol levels and activity of sAA of 33 children with GDD were evaluated before and after…

Radioimmunological determination of apparent free cortisol concentration: Some physiological and clinical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clerico, A.; Del Chicca, M.G.; Ghione, S.; Zucchelli, G.C.

1979-01-01

A new method has been developed for the determination of the apparent free plasma cortisol concentration by means of direct radioimmunological measurement of dialyzed cortisol. This method is characterized by a sufficient degree of reproducibility and high sensitivity. Apparent free cortisol concentration in 40 control subjects of both sexes (blood drawn at 8 a.m.) was 9.00 +- 4.6 ng/ml. The mean value of free cortisol concentration in blood samples drawn at 11-12 p.m. from 21 of these subjects was highly significantly different (2.3 +- 1.6 ng/ml, p < 0.001). In addition, in 13 of these subjects circadian variation of the apparent free cortisol concentration showed a pattern similar to that of total cortisol concentration. The mean free cortisol concentration found in a group of women during normal pregnancy was significant higher than in non-pregnant women. Patients with renal insufficiency do not show a significant difference in free cortisol plasma levels, whereas higher values were found in hepatic cyrrhosis. (Auth.)

Effects of prolonged stress on salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone: a study of a two-week teaching practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Izawa, Shuhei; Saito, Keisuke; Shirotsuki, Kentaro; Sugaya, Nagisa; Nomura, Shinobu

2012-06-01

This study investigated variations in salivary levels of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in a prolonged stressful situation (a two-week teaching practice). Thirty-three women for whom a two-week teaching practice at a kindergarten was scheduled were asked to collect saliva samples at awakening, 30 min after awakening, and bedtime at four time points: two weeks before the practice, the first week of the practice, the second week of the practice, and a few days after the practice. In addition, they completed questionnaires for assessing perceived stress and subjective moods on each day. A linear mixed model indicated that cortisol levels significantly increased during the first and second week of the practice compared with those before and after the practice period, and that DHEA levels significantly decreased after the practice period compared with those at the other time points. Further, cortisol awakening response after the practice period significantly reduced compared with that at the other time points. Scores of perceived stress and negative moods were also higher during the practice period. This study showed that prolonged stress affected cortisol and DHEA secretion during as well as after the stress period. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feasibility of a Research Protocol to Investigate the Effect of the TherapressureTM Program Using Salivary Cortisol

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Scott Weeks

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Background: There is an absence of high quality research to support the use of the Therapressure ProgramTM. This pilot study aimed at developing appropriate research protocols to investigate the effectiveness of the Therapressure ProgramTM on the stress response in children with sensory overresponsivity. Method: A one-group pre-test/post-test repeated measures design was conducted using a convenience sample. Six children (6-8 years of age with sensory overresponsivity received 14 consecutive days of the Therapressure ProgramTM by their parents at home. Parents concurrently collected salivary cortisol samples from their children. Results: Children with sensory overresponsivity displayed both hyper- and hypo-cortisolism at baseline. All of the children’s cortisol levels shifted toward a normative range after intervention. Aspects have been identified related to the data collection protocol. Conclusion: When testing children with sensory overresponsivity who are constantly activating their stress response system, we raise awareness of the need to check for both hyper- and hypo-cortisolism during statistical analysis. Preliminary pilot data may also show modulation of sympathetic arousal following the intervention. Further research is warranted and recommendations are made related to data collection protocols.

Increased Cortisol and Cortisone Levels in Overweight Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Lanling; Shen, Kangwei; Liu, Ping; Ye, Kan; Wang, Yu; Li, Chen; Kang, Xuejun; Song, Yuan

2017-02-09

BACKGROUND It has been unclear whether relatively high cortisol and cortisone levels are related to overweight in childhood, parental body mass index (BMI), and family dietary habits. The aim of this study was to compare cortisol and cortisone levels in urine and saliva from overweight and normal children, as well as correlations between children's BMI, parental BMI and family dietary behavior questionnaire score (QS). MATERIAL AND METHODS We analyzed the data from 52 overweight children and 53 age- and sex-matched normal-weight children aged 4-5 years. The concentrations of salivary cortisol (SF), salivary cortisone (SE), urinary cortisol (UF) and urinary cortisone (UE) were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The family dietary behavior QS was answered by the parent mainly responsible for the family diet. RESULTS Average cortisol and cortisone levels were significantly higher in overweight children. There was no significant difference in the ratio of cortisol to cortisone (Rcc) and the marker of 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) activities. The results displayed correlations among cortisol, cortisone, and Rcc. Positive correlations were weak-to-moderate between BMI and SF, SE, UF, and UE. There were correlations between BMI and maternal BMI (mBMI), and BMI was significantly associated with QS. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that cortisol and cortisone levels are associated with overweight in children, but the 11β-HSD2 activities showed no significant differences. Unhealthy family diet was associated with higher BMI, UF, and UE, and families with maternal overweight or obesity had a higher prevalence of children's overweight or obesity.

Working hours, sleep, salivary cortisol, fatigue and neuro-behavior during Mars analog mission: five crews study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, Balwant; Foing, Bernard H; Kaur, Jasdeep

2012-05-16

The buoyancy of humans in exploring extreme space environments has been established during missions to the moon. Long duration missions like mission to Mars however, requires humans to adapt to systemic and complex environments beyond the human body's capacity. Astronauts will encounter both physiological and psychological extremes during this trip. Very few studies are conducted on effect of long duration work and sleepiness on cognitive performance. So, this study was planned to find out effects of leadership responsibility, sleepiness and long duration working hours on cognitive performance. The 30 members (leadership: normal; 10:20) were selected from MDRS crews (Mars Desert Research Station, USA). Neurobehavioral test performance, self-ratings of fatigue and sleepiness, and salivary cortisol levels were evaluated during first day, mid and end day of mission. The leadership group did not show any signs of reduced test performance, even in elevated fatigue and sleepiness. The leadership group had faster reaction times on end of mission as compared to first and after 7 day of mission. Salivary cortisol levels were significantly higher in leadership group as compared to normal group. The results suggest that long duration work and sleepiness does not affect the cognitive performance of crew member. Further study is required while taking into account all factors and large sample size to prove this fact. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship between the cortisol awakening response and other features of the diurnal cortisol rhythm: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

OpenAIRE

Golden, Sherita Hill; Sánchez, Brisa N.; Wu, Meihua; Champaneri, Shivam; Diez Roux, Ana V.; Seeman, Teresa; Wand, Gary S.

2013-01-01

Cumulative cortisol burden is known to influence neuropsychiatric and metabolic disorders. To better understand the relationship between daily cortisol exposure and measures of the diurnal circadian cortisol rhythm, we examined the cross-sectional association of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) with wake-up cortisol, bedtime cortisol, diurnal slope, and total cortisol area under the curve (AUC). Up to 18 salivary cortisol samples were collected over 3 days from 935 White, Hispanic, and B...

Salivary glucose concentration and excretion in normal and diabetic subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Jurysta, Cedric; Bulur, Nurdan; Oguzhan, Berrin; Satman, Ilhan; Yilmaz, Temel M; Malaisse, Willy J; Sener, Abdullah

2009-01-01

The present report aims mainly at a reevaluation of salivary glucose concentration and excretion in unstimulated and mechanically stimulated saliva in both normal and diabetic subjects. In normal subjects, a decrease in saliva glucose concentration, an increase in salivary flow, but an unchanged glucose excretion rate were recorded when comparing stimulated saliva to unstimulated saliva. In diabetic patients, an increase in salivary flow with unchanged salivary glucose concentration and glucose excretion rate were observed under the same experimental conditions. Salivary glucose concentration and excretion were much higher in diabetic patients than in control subjects, whether in unstimulated or stimulated saliva. No significant correlation between glycemia and either glucose concentration or glucose excretion rate was found in the diabetic patients, whether in unstimulated or stimulated saliva. In the latter patients, as compared to control subjects, the relative magnitude of the increase in saliva glucose concentration was comparable, however, to that of blood glucose concentration. The relationship between these two variables was also documented in normal subjects and diabetic patients undergoing an oral glucose tolerance test.

The Cortisol Paradox of Trauma-Related Disorders: Lower Phasic Responses but Higher Tonic Levels of Cortisol Are Associated with Sexual Abuse in Childhood.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inga Schalinski

Full Text Available Inconsistent findings exist for the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis in patients with stress related disorders. Recent studies point towards early life stress as a potential modulator.We investigated the impact of childhood sexual abuse on phasic (saliva cortisol reactivity and tonic (hair cortisol regulation. Furthermore, we assessed predictors on cortisol accumulation in hair. Women (N = 43 with stress-related disorders underwent a standardized assessment of idiographic adverse and traumatic experiences and psychopathology, while measuring salivary cortisol and, heart rate and blood pressure.Comparing women with and without childhood sexual abuse revealed lower rates of responders and distinct levels of salivary cortisol to the interview in conjunction with a lower heart rate for the abused group. Childhood adversities, traumatic experiences, and depression contributed to higher hair cortisol levels.Our finding of lower response rate and distinct salivary cortisol pattern in individuals with childhood sexual abuse compared to individuals without early sexual abuse supports the role of environmental programming for the HPA axis. Both, childhood adversities and traumatic stress emerge as crucial factors for long-term cortisol secretion. Lower or suppressed phasic cortisol responses to trauma-related stimuli may therefore be associated with higher tonic values. Thus, early exposure to adversities may result in a biological distinct phenotype in adult patients with stress-related disorders.

The Cortisol Paradox of Trauma-Related Disorders: Lower Phasic Responses but Higher Tonic Levels of Cortisol Are Associated with Sexual Abuse in Childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Schalinski, Inga; Elbert, Thomas; Steudte-Schmiedgen, Susann; Kirschbaum, Clemens

2015-01-01

Inconsistent findings exist for the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in patients with stress related disorders. Recent studies point towards early life stress as a potential modulator. We investigated the impact of childhood sexual abuse on phasic (saliva cortisol reactivity) and tonic (hair cortisol) regulation. Furthermore, we assessed predictors on cortisol accumulation in hair. Women (N = 43) with stress-related disorders underwent a standardized assessment of idiographic adverse and traumatic experiences and psychopathology, while measuring salivary cortisol and, heart rate and blood pressure. Comparing women with and without childhood sexual abuse revealed lower rates of responders and distinct levels of salivary cortisol to the interview in conjunction with a lower heart rate for the abused group. Childhood adversities, traumatic experiences, and depression contributed to higher hair cortisol levels. Our finding of lower response rate and distinct salivary cortisol pattern in individuals with childhood sexual abuse compared to individuals without early sexual abuse supports the role of environmental programming for the HPA axis. Both, childhood adversities and traumatic stress emerge as crucial factors for long-term cortisol secretion. Lower or suppressed phasic cortisol responses to trauma-related stimuli may therefore be associated with higher tonic values. Thus, early exposure to adversities may result in a biological distinct phenotype in adult patients with stress-related disorders.

Salivary cortisol differs with age and sex and shows inverse associations with WHR in Swedish women: a cross-sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lindblad Ulf

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Most studies on cortisol have focused on smaller, selected samples. We therefore aimed to sex-specifically study the diurnal cortisol pattern and explore its association with abdominal obesity in a large unselected population. Methods In 2001–2004, 1811 men and women (30–75 years were randomly selected from the Vara population, south-western Sweden (81% participation rate. Of these, 1671 subjects with full information on basal morning and evening salivary cortisol and anthropometric measurements were included in this cross-sectional study. Differences between groups were examined by general linear model and by logistic and linear regression analyses. Results Morning and Δ-cortisol (morning – evening cortisol were significantly higher in women than men. In both genders older age was significantly associated with higher levels of all cortisol measures, however, most consistently with evening cortisol. In women only, age-adjusted means of WHR were significantly lower in the highest compared to the lowest quartile of morning cortisol (p = 0.036 and Δ-cortisol (p Conclusion In summary, our findings of generally higher cortisol levels in women than men of all ages are novel and the stronger results seen for Δ-cortisol as opposed to morning cortisol in the association with WHR emphasise the need of studying cortisol variation intra-individually. To our knowledge, the associations in this study have never before been investigated in such a large population sample of both men and women. Our results therefore offer important knowledge on the descriptive characteristics of cortisol in relation to age and gender, and on the impact that associations previously seen between cortisol and abdominal obesity in smaller, selected samples have on a population level.

Cortisol Modulation by Ayahuasca in Patients With Treatment Resistant Depression and Healthy Controls

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Ana C. de Menezes Galvão

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Major depression is a highly prevalent mood disorder, affecting about 350 million people, and around 30% of the patients are resistant to currently available antidepressant medications. Recent evidence from a randomized controlled trial (RCT supports the rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of ayahuasca on plasma cortisol and awakening salivary cortisol response, in the same group of treatment-resistant patients (MD and in healthy volunteers (C. Subjects received a single dose of ayahuasca or placebo (dosing session, and both plasma and awakening salivary cortisol response were measured at baseline (before dosing session and 48 h after the dosing session. Baseline assessment (D0 showed blunted awakening salivary cortisol response and hypocortisolemia in patients, with respect to healthy controls. Salivary cortisol was also measured during dosing session, and we observed higher increases for both C and MD that ingested ayahuasca than placebo. After 48 h from the dosing session with ayahuasca, patients' awakening salivary cortisol response is similar to the ones detected in controls. No significant changes in plasma cortisol levels were observed 48 h after the sessions. Therefore, these findings point to new evidence on the modulation of salivary cortisol levels as a result of an ayahuasca session, both in healthy and depressive volunteers. Considering that cortisol acts in regulation of distinct physiological pathways, emotional and cognitive processes, it is assumed to be critically involved to the etiology of depression and its regulation seems to be important for the treatment and remission of major depression, ayahuasca use as antidepressant should be further investigated. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of psychedelics in the treatment of human mental disorders.

High self-perceived stress and many stressors, but normal diurnal cortisol rhythm, in adults with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).

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Hirvikoski, Tatja; Lindholm, Torun; Nordenström, Anna; Nordström, Anna-Lena; Lajic, Svetlana

2009-03-01

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults is associated with significant impairment in many life activities and may thus increase the risk of chronic stress in everyday life. We compared adults with a DSM-IV ADHD diagnosis (n=28) with healthy controls (n=28) regarding subjective stress and amounts of stressors in everyday life, diurnal salivary cortisol in the everyday environment and salivary cortisol before and after cognitive stress in a laboratory setting. The association between cortisol concentrations and impulsivity was also investigated. Consistent with assumptions, individuals with ADHD reported significantly more self-perceived stress than controls, and subjective stress correlated with the amount of stressors in everyday life. The two groups were comparable with respect to overall diurnal cortisol levels and rhythm, as well as in pre- and post-stress cortisol concentrations. Post-stress cortisol (but not baseline cortisol) concentration was positively correlated with impulsivity. The group with high post-stress cortisol also reported more symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as self-perceived stress and stressors in every-day life. The diagnosis of ADHD significantly increased the risk of belonging to the group with high post-stress cortisol levels. The results in this study warrant a focus not only on the primary diagnosis of ADHD, but also calls for a broader assessment of stressors and subjective stress in everyday life, as well as support comprising stress management and coping skills.

Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels during an assessment procedure correlate differently with risk-taking measures in male and female police recruits

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Ruud eVan Den Bos

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Recent laboratory studies have shown that men display more risk-taking behaviour in decision-making tasks following stress, whilst women are more risk-aversive or become more task-focussed. In addition, these studies have shown that sex differences are related to levels of the stress hormone cortisol (indicative of activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical-axis: the higher the levels of cortisol the more risk-taking behaviour is shown by men, whereas women generally display more risk-aversive or task-focussed behaviour following higher levels of cortisol. Here, we assessed whether such relationships hold outside the laboratory, correlating levels of cortisol obtained during a job-related assessment procedure with decision-making parameters in the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT in male and female police recruits. The CGT allows for discriminating different aspects of reward-based decision-making. In addition, we correlated levels of alpha-amylase (indicative for activation of the sympatho-adrenomedullary-axis and decision-making parameters. In line with earlier studies men and women only differed in risk-adjustment in the CGT. Salivary cortisol levels correlated positively and strongly with risk-taking measures in men, which was significantly different from the weak negative correlation in women. In contrast, and less strongly so, salivary alpha-amylase levels correlated positively with risk-taking in women, which was significantly different from the weak negative correlation with risk-taking in men. Collectively, these data support and extend data of earlier studies indicating that risky decision-making in men and women is differently affected by stress hormones. The data are briefly discussed in relation to the effects of stress on gambling.

Cortisol in schizophrenia: No association with tobacco smoking, clinical symptoms or antipsychotic medication.

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Nedic Erjavec, Gordana; Uzun, Suzana; Nikolac Perkovic, Matea; Kozumplik, Oliver; Svob Strac, Dubravka; Mimica, Ninoslav; Hirasawa-Fujita, Mika; Domino, Edward F; Pivac, Nela

2017-07-03

Cigarette smoking is associated with higher cortisol levels in healthy subjects. In schizophrenia this relationship is not clear. There are divergent results on the association between cortisol with smoking, clinical symptoms and medication in schizophrenia. This study evaluated this association in 196 Caucasian inpatients with schizophrenia (51.30±26.68years old), subdivided into 123 smokers and 73 non-smokers. Basal salivary cortisol levels were measured twice, at 08.00 and 09.00AM, 90-120min after awakening. The effect of smoking on cortisol was evaluated according to current smoking status, the number of cigarettes/day and the nicotine addiction intensity. The influence of clinical symptoms and/or antipsychotic medication on cortisol was determined using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and chlorpromazine equivalent doses. Non-smokers were older, received lower doses of antipsychotics, had higher PANSS scores, and had longer duration of illness than smokers. Salivary cortisol was similar in schizophrenic patients subdivided according to the smoking status, the number of cigarettes/day and nicotine addiction intensity. No significant correlation was found between salivary cortisol and PANSS scores, chlorpromazine equivalent doses, age of onset or the duration of illness. The findings revealed no association between salivary cortisol and smoking, nicotine addiction intensity, or clinical symptoms. Our preliminary data showed no correlation between salivary cortisol and chlorpromazine equivalent doses and/or antipsychotic medication. Our findings suggest that smoking does not affect the cortisol response in schizophrenic patients as it has been shown in healthy individuals. Future studies should investigate a possible desensitization of the stress system to smoking. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Perceived stress, recurrent pain, and aggregate salivary cortisol measures in mid-adolescent girls and boys.

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Lindfors, Petra; Folkesson Hellstadius, Lisa; Östberg, Viveca

2017-02-01

Measures of perceived stress have been criticized for theoretical inconsistency. However, the validated pressure activation stress scale has been suggested as a theoretically sound alternative. But it is unclear how pressure and activation stress relate to objective and subjective measures including commonly used aggregate cortisol measures and health complaints respectively. Specifically, this study aimed at investigating how pressure and activation stress were related to aggregate salivary cortisol measures and recurrent pain in mid-adolescent girls and boys. Mid-adolescents (119 girls and 56 boys) provided self-reports in questionnaires on activation and pressure stress and recurrent pain (headache, stomach ache, neck/shoulder and back pain). Additionally, adolescents sampled saliva during an ordinary school day: (1) immediately at awakening; (2) 30 minutes after waking up; (3) 60 minutes after waking up, and (4) at 8 p.m. These samples were analyzed for cortisol. Hierarchical regressions showed no statistically significant associations between activation and pressure stress and cortisol, neither for girls nor for boys. However, activation and pressure stress were significantly associated with recurrent pain but only for girls. The findings may relate to subjective and objective measures reflecting distinct aspects of stress-related functioning. However, the study participants included mid-adolescents whose bodily systems are flexible and still relatively unaffected by the strain of their daily stress perceptions. To conclude, the non-significant relationships between activation and pressure stress and commonly used aggregate measures of cortisol adds to the understanding of how perceived stress may relate to physiological functioning in the daily life of adolescents when using such aggregate measures. © 2017 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sleep and Salivary Cortisol

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Garde, Anne Helene; Karlson, Bernt; Hansen, Åse Marie

2011-01-01

The aim of the present chapter was to analyze whether measures of cortisol in saliva were associated with measures of sleep and to explore if divergent results were related to underlying differences in theoretic assumptions and methods. Measures of sleep quality included sleep duration, overall...... sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, disturbed sleep, and sleep deprivation. Twenty-three papers were found to fulfill the inclusion criteria. Cortisol measures were grouped into single time points at different times during the day, deviations at different time periods during the day, reactivity...... and recovery after a standardized laboratory test, area under the curve and response to dexamethasone test. A large proportion of the studies included showed non-significant findings, which, in several cases, may be a result of low power. The most consistent results were a positive association between sleep...

The influence of a motivational climate intervention on participants' salivary cortisol and psychological responses.

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Hogue, Candace M; Fry, Mary D; Fry, Andrew C; Pressman, Sarah D

2013-02-01

Research in achievement goal perspective theory suggests that the creation of a caring/task-involving (C/TI) climate results in more advantageous psychological and behavioral responses relative to an ego-involving (EI) climate; however, research has not yet examined the physiological consequences associated with psychological stress in relation to climate. Given the possible health and fitness implications of certain physiological stress responses, it is critical to understand this association. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether an EI climate procures increases in the stress-responsive hormone cortisol, as well as negative psychological changes, following the learning of a new skill, compared with a C/TI climate. Participants (n = 107) were randomized to a C/TI or an EI climate in which they learned how to juggle for 30 min over the course of 2 hr. Seven salivary cortisol samples were collected during this period. Results indicated that EI participants experienced greater cortisol responses after the juggling session and significantly greater anxiety, stress, shame, and self-consciousness relative to C/TI participants. In contrast, the C/TI participants reported greater enjoyment, effort, self-confidence, and interest and excitement regarding future juggling than the EI participants. These findings indicate that motivational climates may have a significant impact on both the physiological and psychological responses of participants.

Endocrine and emotional response to exclusion among women and men; cortisol, salivary alpha amylase, and mood.

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Helpman, Liat; Penso, Julia; Zagoory-Sharon, Orna; Feldman, Ruth; Gilboa-Schechtman, Eva

2017-05-01

Social exclusion is ubiquitous and painful. Evolutionary models indicate sex differences in coping with social stress. Recent empirical data suggest different sex patterns in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) reactivity. The present study sought to test this hypothesis. We examined differences in endocrine and emotional response to exclusion by using a virtual ball tossing paradigm (Cyberball). Saliva samples and mood ratings were collected to reflect levels before, and repeatedly following, exclusion. The sample included 21 women and 23 men. Cortisol and salivary alpha amylase (sAA), biomarkers of the HPA and SAM systems, respectively, were used as indices of two arms of stress response. Following exclusion, all participants experienced mood worsening followed by mood improvement, with men reporting less distress than women. Women evinced decline in cortisol following the Cyberball task, whereas men's cortisol levels showed a non-significant rise, and then decline, following exclusion. Our results concur with previous findings showing SAM reactivity to be gender-neutral and HPA reactivity to be gender-divergent. Additional studies are needed to examine sex-specific response to social exclusion. Implications for individual differences in recovery from stress are discussed.

Melatonin and cortisol profiles in late midlife and their association with age-related changes in cognition

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Waller, Katja Linda; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Avlund, Kirsten

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported an association between circadian disturbances and age-related cognitive impairment. The aim was to study the 24-hour profiles of melatonin and cortisol in relation to cognitive function in middle-aged male subjects. Fifty healthy middle-aged males born in 1953 were...... recruited from a population-based cohort based on previous cognitive assessments in young adulthood and late midlife. The sample included 24 cognitively high-functioning and 26 cognitively impaired participants. Saliva samples were collected every 4 hours over a 24-hour period and analyzed for cortisol...... and melatonin levels by immunoassay. All participants exhibited clear circadian rhythms of salivary melatonin and cortisol. Salivary melatonin concentrations had a nocturnal peak at approximately 4 am. The median nocturnal melatonin response at 4 am was significantly lower in the cognitively impaired group than...

Relationship between effort-reward imbalance and hair cortisol concentration in female kindergarten teachers.

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Qi, Xingliang; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Yapeng; Ji, Shuang; Chen, Zheng; Sluiter, Judith K; Deng, Huihua

2014-04-01

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and hair cortisol concentration among teachers to examine whether hair cortisol can be a biomarker of chronic work stress. Hair samples were collected from 39 female teachers from three kindergartens. Cortisol was extracted from the hair samples with methanol, and cortisol concentrations were measured with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Work stress was measured using the effort-reward imbalance scale. The ratio of effort to reward showed significantly positive association with hair cortisol concentration. The cortisol concentration in the system increases with the effort-reward imbalance. Measurement of hair cortisol can become a useful biomarker of chronic work stress. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Blood pressure, salivary cortisol, and inflammatory cytokine outcomes in senior female cancer survivors enrolled in a tai chi chih randomized controlled trial.

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Campo, Rebecca A; Light, Kathleen C; O'Connor, Kathleen; Nakamura, Yoshio; Lipschitz, David; LaStayo, Paul C; Pappas, Lisa M; Boucher, Kenneth M; Irwin, Michael R; Hill, Harry R; Martins, Thomas B; Agarwal, Neeraj; Kinney, Anita Y

2015-03-01

Older cancer survivors are a vulnerable population due to an increased risk for chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease) compounded with treatment late-effects and declines in physical functioning. Therefore, interventions that reduce chronic disease risk factors (i.e., blood pressure, chronic inflammation, and cortisol) are important in this population. Tai chi chih (TCC) is a mind-body exercise associated with reductions in chronic disease risk factors, but has not been examined with older cancer survivors. In a feasibility randomized controlled trial of TCC, we examined secondary outcomes of blood pressure, salivary cortisol, and inflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12, tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-10, IL-4) due to their implications in chronic diseases. Sixty-three senior female cancer survivors (M age = 67 years, SD = 7.15) with physical functioning limitations (SF-12 physical functioning ≤80 or role-physical ≤72) were randomized to 12-weeks (60-min, three times a week) of TCC or Health Education control (HEC) classes. Resting blood pressure, 1-day salivary cortisol samples, and fasting plasma samples for cytokine multiplex assays were collected at baseline and 1-week post-intervention. Controlling for baseline values, the TCC group had significantly lower systolic blood pressure (SBP, p = 0.002) and cortisol area-under-curve (AUC, p = 0.02) at post-intervention than the HEC group. There was no intervention effect on inflammatory cytokines (p's > 0.05). This TCC feasibility trial was associated with significant reductions in SBP and cortisol AUC in senior female cancer survivors. Larger, definitive trials are needed to confirm these findings. Senior survivors' have an increased risk for chronic diseases; however, TCC interventions may help reduce associated risk factors.

Circulating cortisol levels after exogenous cortisol administration are higher in women using hormonal contraceptives: data from two preliminary studies.

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Gaffey, Allison E; Wirth, Michelle M; Hoks, Roxanne M; Jahn, Allison L; Abercrombie, Heather C

2014-07-01

Exogenous cortisol administration has been used to test the influence of glucocorticoids on a variety of outcomes, including memory and affect. Careful control of factors known to influence cortisol and other endogenous hormone levels is central to the success of this research. While the use of hormonal birth control (HBC) is known to exert many physiological effects, including decreasing the salivary cortisol response to stress, it is unknown how HBC influences circulating cortisol levels after exogenous cortisol administration. To determine those effects, we examined the role of HBC on participants' cortisol levels after receiving synthetic cortisol (hydrocortisone) in two separate studies. In Study 1, 24 healthy women taking HBC and 26 healthy men were administered a 0.1 mg/kg body weight intravenous dose of hydrocortisone, and plasma cortisol levels were measured over 3 h. In Study 2, 61 participants (34 women; 16 were on HBC) received a 15 mg hydrocortisone pill, and salivary cortisol levels were measured over 6 h. Taken together, results from these studies suggest that HBC use is associated with a greater cortisol increase following cortisol administration. These data have important methodological implications: (1) when given a controlled dose of hydrocortisone, cortisol levels may increase more dramatically in women taking HBC versus women not on HBC or men; and (2) in studies manipulating cortisol levels, women on hormonal contraceptives should be investigated as a separate group.

Diurnal patterns and associations among salivary cortisol, DHEA and alpha-amylase in older adults.

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Wilcox, Rand R; Granger, Douglas A; Szanton, Sarah; Clark, Florence

2014-04-22

Cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are considered to be valuable markers of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, while salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) reflects the autonomic nervous system. Past studies have found certain diurnal patterns among these biomarkers, with some studies reporting results that differ from others. Also, some past studies have found an association among these three biomarkers while other studies have not. This study investigates these patterns and associations in older adults by taking advantage of modern statistical methods for dealing with non-normality, outliers and curvature. Basic characteristics of the data are reported as well, which are relevant to understanding the nature of any patterns and associations. Boxplots were used to check on the skewness and presence of outliers, including the impact of using simple transformations for dealing with non-normality. Diurnal patterns were investigated using recent advances aimed at comparing medians. When studying associations, the initial step was to check for curvature using a non-parametric regression estimator. Based on the resulting fit, a robust regression estimator was used that is designed to deal with skewed distributions and outliers. Boxplots indicated highly skewed distributions with outliers. Simple transformations (such as taking logs) did not deal with this issue in an effective manner. Consequently, diurnal patterns were investigated using medians and found to be consistent with some previous studies but not others. A positive association between awakening cortisol levels and DHEA was found when DHEA is relatively low; otherwise no association was found. The nature of the association between cortisol and DHEA was found to change during the course of the day. Upon awakening, cortisol was found to have no association with sAA when DHEA levels are relatively low, but otherwise there is a negative association. DHEA was found to have a positive association with s

A nonlinear relationship of generalized and central obesity with diurnal cortisol secretion in the Whitehall II study.

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Kumari, Meena; Chandola, Tarani; Brunner, Eric; Kivimaki, Mika

2010-09-01

Evidence for an association of measures of generalized and central obesity with salivary cortisol secretion is equivocal. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and salivary cortisol. The design was a cross-sectional study of BMI, waist circumference, and salivary cortisol from phase 7 (2002-2004) of the Whitehall II study. The occupational cohort was originally recruited in 1985-1988. Participants included 2915 men and 1041 women aged 50-74 yr with complete information on height, weight and waist circumference, and cortisol secretion. Saliva samples were taken on waking, waking plus 0.5, 2.5, 8, and 12 h, and bedtime for the assessment of cortisol. The cortisol awakening response and slope in diurnal secretion were calculated. After adjustment for age, sex, social position, waking time, and time since waking of sample collection, increasing central and generalized obesity was associated with lower waking cortisol (P = 0.001). U-shaped associations were apparent between diurnal slope in salivary cortisol and both BMI and waist circumference (P cortisol were associated with highest (>31 kg/m(2)) and lowest (levels of BMI, and the steepest slopes were apparent for those with BMI of 26 kg/m(2), independently of the 12 covariates examined. No associations were apparent for the cortisol awakening response (P > 0.05). The associations of measures of generalized and central obesity with diurnal slope in salivary cortisol are not linear in older adults. These nonlinear associations may explain previously described mixed findings.

Biobehavioral Factors in Child Health Outcomes: The Roles of Maternal Stress, Maternal-Child Engagement, Salivary Cortisol, and Salivary Testosterone.

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Clowtis, Licia M; Kang, Duck-Hee; Padhye, Nikhil S; Rozmus, Cathy; Barratt, Michelle S

2016-01-01

Exposure to high levels of maternal stress and ineffective maternal-child engagement (MC-E) may adversely affect child health-related outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of maternal stress and MC-E on maternal and child biological responses (salivary cortisol and testosterone) and child health outcome in mother-child dyads of preschool children (3-5.9 years) in a low socioeconomic setting. Observational and biobehavioral data were collected from 50 mother-child dyads in a preschool setting. Assessments included maternal stress with the Perceived Stress Scale, child health outcomes with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and MC-E with videotaped mother-child interactions and scored with the Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale. Morning and evening saliva samples were collected from mother and child for biological assays. Maternal stress was negatively correlated with MC-E (r = -.32, p health outcome (r = -.33, p health outcome. Maternal stress and MC-E during mother-child interactions play a significant role in the regulation of child stress physiology and child health outcome. Elevated cortisol and testosterone related to high maternal stress and low MC-E may increase the child's vulnerability to negative health outcomes-if sustained. More biobehavioral research is needed to understand how parent-child interactions affect child development and health outcomes in early childhood.

The salivary microbiome is altered in the presence of a high salivary glucose concentration.

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J Max Goodson

Full Text Available Type II diabetes (T2D has been associated with changes in oral bacterial diversity and frequency. It is not known whether these changes are part of the etiology of T2D, or one of its effects.We measured the glucose concentration, bacterial counts, and relative frequencies of 42 bacterial species in whole saliva samples from 8,173 Kuwaiti adolescents (mean age 10.00 ± 0.67 years using DNA probe analysis. In addition, clinical data related to obesity, dental caries, and gingivitis were collected. Data were compared between adolescents with high salivary glucose (HSG; glucose concentration ≥ 1.0 mg/d, n = 175 and those with low salivary glucose (LSG, glucose concentration < 0.1 mg/dL n = 2,537.HSG was associated with dental caries and gingivitis in the study population. The overall salivary bacterial load in saliva decreased with increasing salivary glucose concentration. Under HSG conditions, the bacterial count for 35 (83% of 42 species was significantly reduced, and relative bacterial frequencies in 27 species (64% were altered, as compared with LSG conditions. These alterations were stronger predictors of high salivary glucose than measures of oral disease, obesity, sleep or fitness.HSG was associated with a reduction in overall bacterial load and alterations to many relative bacterial frequencies in saliva when compared with LSG in samples from adolescents. We propose that hyperglycemia due to obesity and/or T2D results in HSG and subsequent acidification of the oral environment, leading to a generalized perturbation in the oral microbiome. This suggests a basis for the observation that hyperglycemia is associated with an increased risk of dental erosion, dental caries, and gingivitis. We conclude that HSG in adolescents may be predicted from salivary microbial diversity or frequency, and that the changes in the oral microbial composition seen in adolescents with developing metabolic disease may the consequence of hyperglycemia.

Reduced Cortical Excitability, Neuroplasticity, and Salivary Cortisol in 11–13-Year-Old Children Born to Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

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Jago M. Van Dam

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Children exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM in utero are at increased risk of neurodevelopmental difficulties, including autism and impaired motor control. However, the underlying neurophysiology is unknown. Methods: Using transcranial magnetic stimulation, we assessed cortical excitability, long-term depression (LTD-like neuroplasticity in 45 GDM-exposed and 12 control children aged 11–13 years. Data were analysed against salivary cortisol and maternal diabetes severity and treatment (insulin [N = 22] or metformin [N = 23] during pregnancy. Findings: GDM-exposed children had reduced cortical excitability (p = .003, LTD-like neuroplasticity (p = .005, and salivary cortisol (p < .001 when compared with control children. Higher maternal insulin resistance (IR before and during GDM treatment was associated with a blunted neuroplastic response in children (p = .014 and this was not accounted for by maternal BMI. Additional maternal and neonatal measures, including fasting plasma glucose and inflammatory markers, predicted neurophysiological outcomes. The metformin and insulin treatment groups had similar outcomes. Interpretation: These results suggest that GDM can contribute to subtle differences in child neurophysiology, and possibly cortisol secretion, persisting into early adolescence. Importantly, these effects appear to occur during second trimester, before pharmacologic treatment typically commences, and can be predicted by maternal insulin resistance. Therefore, earlier detection and treatment of GDM may be warranted. Metformin appears to be safe for these aspects of neurodevelopment. Keywords: Transcranial magnetic stimulation, Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, Neurodevelopment, Hyperglycaemia, Metformin, Insulin

A Comparative Randomised Controlled Trial of the Effects of Brain Wave Vibration Training, Iyengar Yoga, and Mindfulness on Mood, Well-Being, and Salivary Cortisol

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Deborah Bowden

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This randomised trial compared the effects of Brain Wave Vibration (BWV training, which involves rhythmic yoga-like meditative exercises, with Iyengar yoga and Mindfulness. Iyengar provided a contrast for the physical components and mindfulness for the “mental” components of BWV. 35 healthy adults completed 10 75-minute classes of BWV, Iyengar, or Mindfulness over five weeks. Participants were assessed at pre- and postintervention for mood, sleep, mindfulness, absorption, health, memory, and salivary cortisol. Better overall mood and vitality followed both BWV and Iyengar training, while the BWV group alone had improved depression and sleep latency. Mindfulness produced a comparatively greater increase in absorption. All interventions improved stress and mindfulness, while no changes occurred in health, memory, or salivary cortisol. In conclusion, increased well-being followed training in all three practices, increased absorption was specific to Mindfulness, while BWV was unique in its benefits to depression and sleep latency, warranting further research.

The diurnal patterns of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in relation to intense aerobic exercise in recreationally trained soccer players.

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Labsy, Z; Prieur, F; Le Panse, B; Do, M C; Gagey, O; Lasne, F; Collomp, K

2013-03-01

Diurnal patterns of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) secretion, the two main peripheral secretory products of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal neuroendocrine stress axis, have been well characterized in rest conditions but not in relation to physical exercise. The purpose of this investigation was therefore to determine the effects of an intense 90-min aerobic exercise on the waking diurnal cortisol and DHEA cycles on three separate days [without exercise, with morning exercise (10:00-11:30 h), and with afternoon exercise (14:00-15:30 h)] in nine recreationally trained soccer players. Saliva samples were collected at awakening, 30 min after awakening, and then every 2 h from 08:00 to 22:00 h. A burst of secretory activity was found for cortisol (p exercise days under all conditions. However, there was a significant increase in salivary cortisol concentrations on the morning-exercise and afternoon-exercise days at, respectively, 12:00 h (p exercise was not evident for DHEA. The results of this investigation indicate that 90 min of intense aerobic exercise does not affect the circadian pattern of salivary adrenal steroids in recreationally trained athletes over a 16-h waking period, despite a transitory increase in post-exercise cortisol concentration. Further studies are necessary to determine whether these results are applicable to elite athletes or patients with cortisol or DHEA deficiency.

Music therapy-induced changes in salivary cortisol level are predictive of cardiovascular mortality in patients under maintenance hemodialysis.

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Hou, Yi-Chou; Lin, Yen-Ju; Lu, Kuo-Cheng; Chiang, Han-Sun; Chang, Chia-Chi; Yang, Li-King

2017-01-01

Music therapy has been applied in hemodialysis (HD) patients for relieving mental stress. Whether the stress-relieving effect by music therapy is predictive of clinical outcome in HD patients is still unclear. We recruited a convenience sample of 99 patients on maintenance HD and randomly assigned them to the experimental (n=49) or control (n=50) group. The experimental group received relaxing music therapy for 1 week, whereas the control group received no music therapy. In the experimental group, we compared cardiovascular mortality in the patients with and without cortisol changes. The salivary cortisol level was lowered after 1 week of music therapy in the experimental group (-2.41±3.08 vs 1.66±2.11 pg/mL, P 0.6 pg/mL (83.8% vs 63.6%, P predict cardiovascular mortality in patients under maintenance HD.

Effort reward imbalance, and salivary cortisol in the morning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eller, Nanna Hurwitz; Nielsen, Søren Feodor; Blønd, Morten

2012-01-01

Effort reward imbalance (ERI) is suggested to increase risk for stress and is hypothesized to increase cortisol levels, especially the awakening cortisol response, ACR.......Effort reward imbalance (ERI) is suggested to increase risk for stress and is hypothesized to increase cortisol levels, especially the awakening cortisol response, ACR....

Changes in Salivary Hormones Concentration during the Preparation and Competition Period in Olympic Weightlifters

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Kováč Milan

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Endogenous hormones are essential for physiological reactions and influence the adaptation to weightlifting training by modulating anabolic and catabolic processes. It seems that testosterone and cortisol are playing a key role in anabolic and catabolic processes in resistance training. Eight elite Czech and Slovak weightlifters volunteered in present study. The testosterone and cortisol were measured in 4 testing sessions over 18 weeks during preparation and competition period. The training protocol consisted of three specific weightlifting exercises. The saliva samples were collected in 4 testing sessions, pre and 5 min, 15 min and 30 min after protocol, respectively. The basal level of salivary testosterone and cortisol remains unchanged during preparation and competition period. Also, acute testosterone response was not observed over the monitored period. However, acute decrease of cortisol were found between pre intervention and post 5 (p ≤ 0.01, 15 (p ≤ 0.01, and 30 min (p ≤ 0.05 during preparation periods. While in competition period was found significant decrease (p ≤ 0.05 only 5 min after testing protocol. The testosterone/cortisol ratio significantly increased during preparation periods (p ≤ 0.01, but not in competition period. Results indicated that the routine assessment of testosterone and cortisol may provide an effective way to monitor acute and chronic adaptive response to weightlifting training. Our results suggest that cortisol, not the testosterone is an important component of adaptation during elite weightlifting training.

Friendship network position and salivary cortisol levels.

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Kornienko, Olga; Clemans, Katherine H; Out, Dorothée; Granger, Douglas A

2013-01-01

We employed a social network analysis approach to examine the associations between friendship network position and cortisol levels. The sample consisted of 74 first-year students (93% female, ages 22-38 years, M = 27) from a highly competitive, accelerated Nursing program. Participants completed questionnaires online, and the entire group met at one time to complete a series of sociometric nominations and donated a saliva sample. Saliva was later assayed for cortisol. Metrics derived from directed friendship nominations indexed each student's friendship network status regarding popularity, gregariousness, and degree of interconnectedness. Results revealed that (1) individuals with lower gregariousness status (i.e., lowest number of outgoing ties) had higher cortisol levels, and (2) individuals with higher popularity status (i.e., higher numbers of incoming ties) had higher cortisol levels. Popularity and gregariousness-based network status is significantly associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Implications for prevailing theories of the social determinants of individual differences in biological sensitivity and susceptibility to context are discussed.

Radioimmunological analysis of circadian rhythms of cortisol and melatonin in saliva

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demel, A.W.

1990-12-01

Since blood cortisol (F) and melatonin (MLT) display a circadian secretion pattern and since the saliva concentration of this hormones is an excellent indicator of its blood levels the measurement of salivary F and MLT may be used for examining circadian rhythmicity. In this study the relationship between salivary F and MLT was explored. For this purpose it was necessary first to establish and validate a radioimmunoassay for F in saliva: salivary F was determined by a direct radioimmunoassay using cortisol-3-(O-carboxymethyl) oximino-(2-( 125 I)iodohistamin) as tracer and cortisol-3-CMO-BSA antiserum. The parallel measurement of F levels in saliva and serum of adults gave an excellent correlation (r=0.87, p 0.00956x ). Serum F was assayed on the Abott TDX-System using a radioimmunofluorescence method. Secondly, using this assay the circadian saliva F pattern was determined as well as the pattern of salivary MLT in 9 young, healthy volunteers. For saliva MLT estimations a previously published method was applied (Schulz et al 1990). Using a computerized program (RHYTHM) written by Eve v. Cauter (1979), the hormone data of each individuum were examined for circadian rhythmicity and its acrophase (time of occurrence of the maximum of a sinusoid fitted to the data). The F acrophase occurred between 7:00 and 12:00 h (mean: 3:33 h, SD: 104.4 min). The easy stress-free non invasive nature of saliva collection makes saliva to one of the most accessible body fluids and of high value in studying the circadian system in healthy humans as well as in infants, children, pregnant women and anaemic patients. Measurements of salivary F and MLT may help to elucidate not only the circadian rhythms of these hormones under normal and pathological conditions but it may also provide insight in physiology and pathology of the circadian system in general. (author)

Free cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase levels during a six-hour-water immersion in healthy young men

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Rohleder, N.; Wirth, D.; Fraßl, W.; Kowoll, R.; Schlemmer, M.; Vogler, S.; Kirsch, K. A.; Kirschbaum, C.; Gunga, H.-C.

2005-08-01

Limited data are available on the response of stress systems to microgravity. Increased activity of stress systems is reported during space flight, but unchanged or decreased activity during simulated microgravity. We here investigated the impact of head-out water immersion on the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system.Eight healthy young men were exposed to a six-hour water immersion in a thermo neutral bath and a control condition. Saliva samples were taken before, during, and after interventions to assess cortisol as an index for HPA axis activity, and salivary α-amylase as an index for SAM system activity.Cortisol levels uniformly decreased during both conditions. Amylase levels increased during both conditions, but were significantly lower during the first half of water immersion compared to the control condition.In conclusion, the HPA axis is not influenced by simulated microgravity, while SAM system activity shows initial decreases during water immersion.

Effects of exposure to GSM mobile phone base station signals on salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and immunoglobulin A.

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Augner, Christoph; Hacker, Gerhard W; Oberfeld, Gerd; Florian, Matthias; Hitzl, Wolfgang; Hutter, Jörg; Pauser, Gernot

2010-06-01

The present study aimed to test whether exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) emitted by mobile phone base stations may have effects on salivary alpha-amylase, immunoglobulin A (IgA), and cortisol levels. Fifty seven participants were randomly allocated to one of three different experimental scenarios (22 participants to scenario 1, 26 to scenario 2, and 9 to scenario 3). Each participant went through five 50-minute exposure sessions. The main RF-EMF source was a GSM-900-MHz antenna located at the outer wall of the building. In scenarios 1 and 2, the first, third, and fifth sessions were "low" (median power flux density 5.2 microW/m(2)) exposure. The second session was "high" (2126.8 microW/m(2)), and the fourth session was "medium" (153.6 microW/m(2)) in scenario 1, and vice versa in scenario 2. Scenario 3 had four "low" exposure conditions, followed by a "high" exposure condition. Biomedical parameters were collected by saliva samples three times a session. Exposure levels were created by shielding curtains. In scenario 3 from session 4 to session 5 (from "low" to "high" exposure), an increase of cortisol was detected, while in scenarios 1 and 2, a higher concentration of alpha-amylase related to the baseline was identified as compared to that in scenario 3. IgA concentration was not significantly related to the exposure. RF-EMF in considerably lower field densities than ICNIRP-guidelines may influence certain psychobiological stress markers. Copyright © 2010 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Work hours and cortisol variation from non-working to working days.

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Marchand, Alain; Durand, Pierre; Lupien, Sonia

2013-07-01

This study aims at modelling the relationship between the number of work hours per week and cortisol variation across 3 days by comparing non-working day to working day in a population of day-shift workers. Questionnaire data and saliva samples for cortisol analysis were collected on 132 day-shift workers employed in 13 workplaces in Canada. Consenting workers provided 5 saliva samples a day (awaking, 30 min after awaking, 2 p.m., 4 p.m., bedtime) repeated 3 times (Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday) over a week, to provide measures at work and non-work times and settings. Multilevel regression models were estimated from cortisol measurements at each occasion within a day at level-1, days at level-2 and workers at level-3. Controlling for gender and age, results revealed significant variations in salivary cortisol concentration between sample, day and worker levels. Cortisol increases linearly from non-working day to work days and work hours per week interacted with days, revealing a positive association between the number of work hours per week and cortisol concentrations during these days. Work hours per week did not interact with awaking, 30 min after awaking, 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and bedtime cortisol concentrations. Gender and age had neither main effects nor interaction effects. No significant cortisol variations were found between workplaces. These results suggest that work hours act as a stressor that is associated with significant variations in cortisol concentrations over working days. Non-working days may contribute to stress reduction in workers who experience longer work hours.

Circadian variation in serum cortisol during hydrocortisone replacement is not attributable to changes in cortisol-binding globulin concentrations.

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Chung, T T; Gunganah, K; Monson, J P; Drake, W M

2016-04-01

Patients taking hydrocortisone (HC) replacement for primary or secondary adrenal failure require individual adjustment of their dose. In addition to modifying the administered doses of HC for each patient, physicians are increasingly interested in variations in the bioavailability of glucocorticoid replacement. One potential determinant of the bioavailability of replaced HC is a variation in serum cortisol-binding globulin (CBG) concentration, which may, in turn, affect interpretation of cortisol profiles and individual dose selection for patients on hydrocortisone replacement therapy. To investigate the hypothesis that there is a circadian variation in CBG levels. A total of 34 male patients divided into 3 groups (10 patients with non-somatotroph structural pituitary disease on HC replacement, 11 patients with treated acromegaly on HC replacement and 13 patients with treated acromegaly not on HC replacement) and 10 healthy volunteers were included. Cortisol and CBG levels were measured at 6 time points (0800, 1100, 1300, 1500, 1700 and 1900). No significant circadian variation in CBG concentration was found in any of the 4 groups. Circadian variation in serum cortisol during hydrocortisone replacement is not attributable to changes in cortisol-binding globulin concentration. Changes in serum cortisol levels may thus be explained by other factors including 11 β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 activity or circadian changes in the binding properties of CBG. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cortisol concentration in the saliva of horses subjected to different kinds of exercise

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Katarzyna Strzelec

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to characterize the stress level in sport horses subjected to exercise by measuring the cortisol concentration in their saliva. The experiment was conducted on 5 groups of horses (49 animals: one control and four groups undergoing different types of exercises. The saliva samples were collected 3 × a day: late at night (between 20:00 and 23:00 h, early in the morning (between 5:00 and 8:00 h and directly after the exercise. The concentration of cortisol was measured by the enzyme-immunoassay programme. The highest cortisol concentration was observed for the horses participating in 3-day events (8.93 nmol/dm3, whereas in the control group it was only 0.28 nmol/dm3. When compared to the cortisol concentration of other horse groups, this suggests that the stress level as measured by the cortisol concentration in saliva increases with increasing exercise intensity and its duration. The obtained results do not confirm the existence of a day rhythm of the cortisol concentration in horses. Moreover, the results may help in choosing the appropriate system of training and in improving horse welfare during competitions.

Supporting the Health of College Solo Singers: The Relationship of Positive Emotions and Stress to Changes in Salivary IgA and Cortisol during Singing

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Beck, Robert J.; Gottfried, Terry L.; Hall, David J.; Cisler, Caitlin A.; Bozeman, Kenneth W.

2006-01-01

Singers appear to experience health benefits from singing, but their art makes physical demands that may leave them prone to health problems. The study sought to measure singers' immunocompetence under practice and performance conditions. Salivary IgA and cortisol measurements were assayed from multiple pre-post saliva samples obtained from 10…

Gender differences in automatic thoughts and cortisol and alpha-amylase responses to acute psychosocial stress in patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

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Kanehisa, Masayuki; Kawashima, Chiwa; Nakanishi, Mari; Okamoto, Kana; Oshita, Harumi; Masuda, Koji; Takita, Fuku; Izumi, Toshihiko; Inoue, Ayako; Ishitobi, Yoshinobu; Higuma, Haruka; Ninomiya, Taiga; Akiyoshi, Jotaro

2017-08-01

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) has a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfection, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency. The aims of the present study were to explore the relationship between OCPD and psychological stress and psychological tests. We evaluated 63 OCPD patients and 107 healthy controls (HCs). We collected saliva samples from patients and controls before and after a social stress procedure, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), to measure the concentrations of salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and salivary cortisol. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Profile of Mood State (POMS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS), and Depression and Anxiety Cognition Scale (DACS) were administered to patients and HCs. Following TSST exposure, the salivary amylase and cortisol levels were significantly decreased in male patients compared with controls. Additionally, OCPD patients had higher CTQ, POMS, STAI, and BDI scores than HCs and exhibited significantly higher anxiety and depressive states. OCPD patients scored higher on future denial and threat prediction as per the DACS tool. According to a stepwise regression analysis, STAI, POMS, and salivary cortisol responses were independent predictors of OCPD. Our results suggested that attenuated sympathetic and parasympathetic reactivity in male OCPD patients occurs along with attenuated salivary amylase and cortisol responses to the TSST. In addition, there was a significant difference between OCPD patients and HCs in child trauma, mood, anxiety, and cognition. The finding support the modeling role of cortisol (20min) on the relationships between STAI trait and depression among OCPD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of VIDAS and Radioimmunoassay Methods for Measurement of Cortisol Concentration in Bovine Serum

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Daniela Proverbio

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Radioimmunoassay (RIA is the “gold standard” method for evaluation of serum cortisol concentration. The VIDAS cortisol test is an enzyme-linked fluorescent assay designed for the MiniVidas system. The aim of this study was to compare the VIDAS method with RIA for measurement of bovine serum cortisol concentration. Cortisol concentrations were evaluated in 40 cows using both VIDAS and RIA methods, the latter as the reference method. A paired Student’s -test, Pearson’s correlation analysis, Bland-Altman plot, and Deming regression analysis were used to compare the two methods. There was no statistically significant difference between mean serum cortisol concentrations measured by VIDAS or RIA methods (. Both methods were able to detect significant differences in mean low and high cortisol concentrations ( RIA and VIDAS. The correlation coefficient was low, but a Bland-Altman plot and Deming regression analysis show neither constant nor proportional error. The VIDAS method produced slightly higher values than RIA, but the difference was small and in no case did the mean value move the normal range. Results suggest that VIDAS method is suitable for the determination of bovine serum cortisol concentration in studies of large numbers of animals.

Morning Cortisol Levels and Perceived Stress in Irregular Shift Workers Compared with Regular Daytime Workers

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Harri Lindholm

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The 24/7 work environment and irregular shifts may markedly enhance the psychological pressure of media work. Changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reflect adaptation to stress. We analysed the correlation between subjective stress, sleep, salivary cortisol, and melatonin hormones among Finnish media workers with regular daytime work (RDW and with irregular shift work (ISW while controlling confounders. From 874 employees with regular daytime work or with irregular shift work, 70 employees from both groups were randomly selected. The final number of employees with a complete salivary cortisol profile was 66 in the RDW group and 65 in the ISW group. Five saliva samples were gathered from each subject before and during a working day. The salivary cortisol level of the sample taken 60 minutes after awakening (T1 was compared to the salivary cortisol level taken immediately after awakening (T0, T1/T0 ratio. The ratio was higher in the ISW group than in RDW group. Irregular shift work (P<0.001, severe stress (P<0.05, and less sleep (P<0.05 were independently associated with an augmented cortisol response after awakening. A stressful work environment and irregular shift work enhance cortisol excretion after waking. In the long run, this may become detrimental to health.

Maximal strength and cortisol responses to psyching-up during the squat exercise.

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McGuigan, Michael R; Ghiagiarelli, Jamie; Tod, David

2005-07-01

We studied the effect of psyching-up on one-repetition maximum (1-RM) performance and salivary cortisol responses during the squat exercise. Ten men (age 21.6+/-1.4 years; mean+/-s) and ten women (age 22.4+/-2.8 years) with weight training experience of 4.5+/-2.0 years participated in this study. One-repetition maximum squats were performed on a Smith machine during each of two different intervention conditions that were counterbalanced and consisted of a free choice psych-up and a cognitive distraction. Saliva samples were obtained at the beginning of each test session and immediately after the final 1-RM attempt. No significant difference in 1-RM was identified between psyching-up (104+/-50 kg) and cognitive distraction (106+/-52 kg). Performing a 1-RM in the squat exercise significantly increased salivary cortisol concentrations during both conditions (Psquat exercise in strength-trained individuals.

Changes in salivary testosterone concentrations and subsequent voluntary squat performance following the presentation of short video clips.

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Cook, Christian J; Crewther, Blair T

2012-01-01

Previous studies have shown that visual images can produce rapid changes in testosterone concentrations. We explored the acute effects of video clips on salivary testosterone and cortisol concentrations and subsequent voluntary squat performance in highly trained male athletes (n=12). Saliva samples were collected on 6 occasions immediately before and 15 min after watching a brief video clip (approximately 4 min in duration) on a computer screen. The watching of a sad, erotic, aggressive, training motivational, humorous or a neutral control clip was randomised. Subjects then performed a squat workout aimed at producing a 3 repetition maximum (3RM) lift. Significant (Psquats across all video sessions (Pfree hormone concentrations and the relative changes in testosterone closely mapped 3RM squat performance in a group of highly trained males. Thus, speculatively, using short video presentations in the pre-workout environment offers an opportunity for understanding the outcomes of hormonal change, athlete behaviour and subsequent voluntary performance. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interleukin-1 Antagonism Decreases Cortisol Levels in Obese Individuals.

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Urwyler, Sandrine Andrea; Schuetz, Philipp; Ebrahimi, Fahim; Donath, Marc Y; Christ-Crain, Mirjam

2017-05-01

Increased cortisol levels in obesity may contribute to the associated metabolic syndrome. In obesity, the activated innate immune system leads to increased interleukin (IL)-1β, which is known to stimulate the release of adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH). We hypothesized that in obesity IL-1 antagonism would result in downregulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, leading to decreased cortisol levels. In this prospective intervention study, we included 73 patients with obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥30 kg/m2) and at least one additional feature of the metabolic syndrome. The primary end point was change in morning cortisol from baseline to after the administration of the IL-1 receptor antagonist (anakinra/Kineret®, total dose 3 × 100 mg). Secondary end points were effects on salivary cortisol and ACTH. Median age was 56 years, 50.7% of patients were female, and median BMI was 36.3 kg/m2. Median morning serum cortisol levels (nmol/L) decreased significantly after IL-1 antagonism [from baseline, 452 to 423; absolute difference, -38.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), -64 to -13.4; P = 0.0019]. Similar effects were found for salivary cortisol levels (-2.8; 95% CI, -4.4 to -1.3; P = 0.0007), ACTH levels (-2.2; 95% CI; -4.2 to -0.1; P = 0.038), systolic blood pressure (-5.2, 95% CI, -8.5 to -1.8; P = 0.0006), and heart rate (-2.9; 95% CI, -4.7 to -1.0; P = 0.0029). IL-1 antagonism in obese individuals with features of the metabolic syndrome leads to a decrease in serum cortisol, salivary cortisol, and ACTH levels along with a reduction in systolic blood pressure and heart rate. Copyright © 2017 Endocrine Society

Overnight social isolation in pigs decreases salivary cortisol but does not impair spatial learning and memory or performance in a decision making task

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F. Josef evan der Staay

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Pigs in modern farming practice may be exposed to a number of stressors, including social stressors such as mixing or isolation. This may potentially affect both cognitive abilities and stress physiology of the animals. We tested the hypothesis that overnight social isolation in pigs impairs performance in a cognitive Holeboard (HB task (Experiment 1 and the Pig Gambling Task (PGT (Experiment 2, a decision making task inspired by the Iowa Gambling Task. In addition, we tested the effect of overnight social isolation on salivary cortisol levels. A within-subjects approach was used in which performance in the two behavioral tasks and cortisol levels were first determined during normal social housing, followed by performance and cortisol levels after experiencing stress induced by overnight social isolation. A total of nineteen female pigs with a birthweight closest to their respective litter average was selected from 10 different litters and placed in two pens after weaning. Following habituation, pigs were trained in the HB task, starting at 10 weeks of age. Then, the pigs were isolated overnight, five individuals per night, at 15, 16 and 17 weeks of age. Between these three isolations, social housing and training in the HB continued. Starting 6 weeks after the end of the HB experiment, at approximately 23 weeks of age, the pigs were trained in the PGT. The effects of overnight social isolation on performance in this task were assessed once, when the pigs were 25 weeks old. Salivary cortisol was measured from samples collected 15 minutes after the start of isolation and at the end of the isolation period, and compared to baseline values collected before the start of social isolation. Our results did not confirm the hypothesis that isolation impaired HB performance and decision making in the PGT. Unexpectedly, overnight social isolation decreased cortisol levels below baseline values, an effect that was not associated with changes in performance

Overnight Social Isolation in Pigs Decreases Salivary Cortisol but Does Not Impair Spatial Learning and Memory or Performance in a Decision-Making Task.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Staay, F Josef; Schoonderwoerd, Annelieke J; Stadhouders, Bo; Nordquist, Rebecca E

2015-01-01

Pigs in modern farming practice may be exposed to a number of stressors, including social stressors such as mixing or isolation. This may potentially affect both cognitive abilities and stress physiology of the animals. We tested the hypothesis that overnight social isolation in pigs impairs performance in a cognitive holeboard (HB) task (Experiment 1) and the Pig Gambling Task (PGT) (Experiment 2), a decision-making task inspired by the Iowa Gambling Task. In addition, we tested the effect of overnight social isolation on salivary cortisol levels. A within-subjects approach was used in which performance in the two behavioral tasks and cortisol levels were first determined during normal social housing, followed by performance and cortisol levels after experiencing stress induced by overnight social isolation. A total of 19 female pigs with a birth weight closest to their respective litter average was selected from 10 different litters and placed in two pens after weaning. Following habituation, pigs were trained in the HB task, starting at 10 weeks of age. Then, the pigs were isolated overnight, five individuals per night, at 15, 16, and 17 weeks of age. Between these three isolations, social housing and training in the HB continued. Starting 6 weeks after the end of the HB experiment, at approximately 23 weeks of age, the pigs were trained in the PGT. The effects of overnight social isolation on performance in this task were assessed once, when the pigs were 25 weeks old. Salivary cortisol was measured from samples collected 15 min after the start of isolation and at the end of the isolation period and compared to baseline values collected before the start of social isolation. Our results did not confirm the hypothesis that isolation impaired HB performance and decision-making in the PGT. Unexpectedly, overnight social isolation decreased cortisol levels below baseline values, an effect that was not associated with changes in performance of the

Concordance of the late night salivary cortisol in patients with Cushing's syndrome and elevated urine-free cortisol.

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Doi, Suhail A R; Clark, Justin; Russell, Anthony W

2013-04-01

The concordance of the late night salivary cortisol (LNSC) results with the 24-h urine-free cortisol (UFC) results in the biochemical screening for Cushing's syndrome is unknown. We investigated this in a population of Cushing's syndrome subjects. We used meta-analytic methods to pool proportions of LNSC-positive subjects from diagnostic evaluations of Cushing's syndrome subjects where both tests were performed and the UFC was elevated (any level). Cushing's syndrome was confirmed in all subjects by two out of three conventional tests. LNSC was collected between 22:00 to 24:00 h and measured around the same time period as the UFC. Minimum cutoffs of ≥4 and ≥10 nmol/L were used to determine concordance with the UFC and studies were limited to those that used radioimmunoassays or electrochemiluminiscence immunoassays for LNSC. The concordance of LNSC ≥4 nmol/L was 97 % (95 % CI 95-99 %) and studies were homogeneous. With LNSC ≥10 nmol/L, there was heterogeneity and two groups were discernible with a pooled concordance of 69 % (95 % CI 60-77 %) and 95 % (95 % CI 92-97 %). Within these sub-groups, studies were homogeneous and there was no difference between them in collection methods, assays used, geographic location, year of publication, or the quality of the underlying studies. The LNSC at a very specific cutoff detects at best 95 % of cases and at worst 69 % of cases of Cushing's syndrome that are UFC positive. The two tests become equivalent at the more sensitive cutoff (>4 nmol/L). We conclude that, given its many benefits and the currently documented equivalence to the UFC, the LNSC should replace the conventional 24-h UFC as the frontline test when screening for Cushing's syndrome.

Physical activity, job demand-control, perceived stress-energy, and salivary cortisol in white-collar workers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Åse Marie; Blangsted, Anne Katrine; Hansen, Ernst Albin

2010-01-01

The aim of the present study is to examine the association between physical activity and perceived job demand, job control, perceived stress and energy, and physiological arousal reflected by morning and evening concentrations of cortisol in saliva among white-collar workers.......The aim of the present study is to examine the association between physical activity and perceived job demand, job control, perceived stress and energy, and physiological arousal reflected by morning and evening concentrations of cortisol in saliva among white-collar workers....

Differences in cortisol profiles and circadian adjustment time between nurses working night shifts and regular day shifts: A prospective longitudinal study.

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Niu, Shu-Fen; Chung, Min-Huey; Chu, Hsin; Tsai, Jui-Chen; Lin, Chun-Chieh; Liao, Yuan-Mei; Ou, Keng-Liang; O'Brien, Anthony Paul; Chou, Kuei-Ru

2015-07-01

This study explored the differences in the circadian salivary cortisol profiles between nurses working night shifts and regular day shifts following a slow rotating shift schedule to assess the number of days required for adjusting the circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol levels in nurses working consecutive night shifts and the number of days off required to restore the diurnal circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol levels. This was a prospective, longitudinal, parallel-group comparative study. The participants were randomly assigned to night and day-shift groups, and saliva samples were collected to measure their cortisol levels and circadian secretion patterns. Significant differences were observed in the overall salivary cortisol pattern parameters (cortisol awakening response, changes in cortisol profiles between 6 and 12h after awakening, and changes in cortisol profiles between 30 min and 12 h after awakening) from Days 2 to 4 of the workdays between both groups. However, on Day 2 of the days off, both groups exhibited similar cortisol profiles and the cortisol profiles in the night-shift group were restored. Nurses working night shifts require at least 4 days to adjust their circadian rhythms of cortisol secretions. Moreover, on changing from night shift to other shifts, nurses must be allowed more than 2 days off work. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radioimmunological analysis of circadian rhythms of cortisol and melatonin in saliva

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demel, A.W.

1990-12-01

Since blood cortisol (F) and melatonin (MLT) display a circadian secretion pattern and since the saliva concentration of this hormones is an excellent indicator of its blood levels the measurement of salivary F and MLT may be user for examining circadian rhythmicity. In this study the relationship between salivary F and MLT was explored. For this purpose it was necessary first to establish and validate a radioimmunoassay for F in saliva: salivary F was determined by a direct radioimmunoassay using cortisol-3-(O-carb oxymethyl) oximino-(2-( 125 I)iodohistamin) as tracer and cortisol-3-CMO-BSA antiserum. The parallel measurement of F levels in saliva and serum of adults gave an excellent correlation (r=0.87, p 0.00956x ). Serum F was assayed on the Abott TDX-System using a radioimmunofluorescence method. Secondly, using this assay the circadian saliva F pattern was determined as well as the pattern of salivary MLT in 9 young, healthy volunteers. For saliva MLT estimations a previously published method was applied (SCHULZ et al 1990). Using a computerized program (RHYTHM) written by EVE v. CAUTER (1979), the hormone data of each individuum were examined for circadian rhythmicity and its acrophase (time of occurence of the maximum of a sinusoid fitted to the data). The F acrophase occured between 7:00 and 12:00 h (Mean: 3:33 h, SD: 104.4 min). The easy stress-free non invasive nature of saliva collection makes saliva to one of the most accessible body fluids and of high value in studying the circadian system in healthy humans as well as in infants, children, pregnant women and anaemic patients. Measurements of salivary F and MLT may help to elucidate not only the circadian rhythms of these hormones under normal and pathological conditions but it may also provide insight in physiology and pathology of the circadian system in general. (author)

Variation in absorption and half-life of hydrocortisone influence plasma cortisol concentrations.

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Hindmarsh, Peter C; Charmandari, Evangelia

2015-04-01

Hydrocortisone therapy should be individualized in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) patients to avoid over and under replacement. We have assessed how differences in absorption and half-life of cortisol influence glucocorticoid exposure. Forty-eight patients (21 M) aged between 6·1 and 20·3 years with CAH due to CYP21A2 deficiency were studied. Each patient underwent a 24-h plasma cortisol profile with the morning dose used to calculate absorption parameters along with an intravenous (IV) hydrocortisone (15 mg/m(2) body surface area) bolus assessment of half-life. Parameters derived were maximum plasma concentration (Cmax ), time of maximum plasma concentration (tmax ), time to attaining plasma cortisol concentration cortisol. Mean half-life was 76·5 ± 5·2 (range 40-225·3) min, Cmax 780·7 ± 61·6 nmol/l and tmax 66·7 (range 20-118) min. Time taken to a plasma cortisol concentration less than 100 nmol/l was 289 (range 140-540) min. Those with a fast half-life and slow tmax took longest to reach a plasma cortisol concentration less than 100 nmol/l (380 ± 34·6 min), compared to those with a slow half-life and fast tmax (298 ± 34·8 min) and those with a fast half-life and fast tmax (249·5 ± 14·4 min) (One-way anovaF = 4·52; P = 0·009). Both rate of absorption and half-life of cortisol in the circulation play important roles in determining overall exposure to oral glucocorticoid. Dose regimens need to incorporate estimates of these parameters into determining the optimum dosing schedule for individuals. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Exhaustion measured by the SF-36 vitality scale is associated with a flattened diurnal cortisol profile

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindeberg, Sara I; Eek, Frida; Lindbladh, Eva

2008-01-01

cortisol profile. The study population included 78 working individuals. The study group was dichotomised into exhausted and non-exhausted groups by means of the SF-36 vitality scale. Salivary cortisol was measured at three times during 1 workday: at awakening, 30min after awakening, and in the evening....... The results showed that diurnal cortisol variation was significantly reduced in exhausted individuals. The difference in cortisol variation was mainly due to lowered morning cortisol in the exhausted group. Differences in cortisol levels at each sampling time or in mean diurnal output of cortisol were...... not statistically significant. The results would support the notion that exhaustion is associated with HPA axis hypoactivity as assessed by salivary cortisol. Furthermore, the SF-36 vitality provides a measure of exhaustion that may be useful in epidemiological studies in order to explore long-term health effects...

Ambulatory assessed implicit affect is associated with salivary cortisol

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Joram eMossink

2015-02-01

Full Text Available One of the presumed pathways linking negative emotions to adverse somatic health is an overactive HPA-axis, usually indicated by elevated cortisol levels. Traditionally, research has focused on consciously reported negative emotions. Yet, given that the majority of information processing occurs without conscious awareness, stress physiology might also be influenced by affective processes that people are not aware of. In a 24-hour ambulatory study we examined whether cortisol levels were associated with two implicit measures. Implicit affect was assessed using the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test, and implicit negative memory bias was assessed with the word fragment completion tasks. In 55 healthy participants, we measured subjective stress levels, worries, implicit and explicit affect each hour during waking hours. Also, saliva samples were collected at three fixed times during the day, as well as upon waking and 30 minutes thereafter (cortisol awakening response. Multilevel analyses of the daytime cortisol levels revealed that the presence of an implicit negative memory bias was associated with increased cortisol levels. Additionally, implicit PA and, unexpectedly, implicit NA were negatively associated with cortisol levels. Finally, participants demonstrating higher levels of implicit sadness during the first measurement day, had a stronger cortisol rise upon awakening at the next day. Contrary to previous research, no associations between explicit affect and cortisol were apparent. The current study was the first to examine the concurrent relation between implicit measures and stress physiology in daily life. The results suggest that the traditional focus on consciously reported feelings and emotions is limited, and that implicit measures can add to our understanding of how stress and emotions contribute to daily physiological activity and, in the long term, health problems.

Changes In Men’s Salivary Testosterone And Cortisol Levels, And In Sexual Desire After Smelling Female Axillary And Vulvar Scents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo eMondragón-Ceballos

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Several studies have shown that a woman’s vaginal or axillary odors convey information on her attractivity. Yet, whether such scents induce psychoneuroendocrinological changes in perceivers is still controversial. We studied if smelling axillary and vulvar odors collected in the periovulatory and late luteal phases of young women modify salivary testosterone and cortisol levels, as well as sexual desire in men. Forty-five women and 115 men, all of them college students and unacquainted with each other, participated in the study. Female odors were collected on pads affixed to the axilla and on panty protectors both worn the entire night before experiments. Men provided five saliva samples, a basal one before the smelling procedure, and four more 15, 30, 60 and 75 min after exposure to odors. Immediately after smelling the odor source, men answered a questionnaire rating hedonic qualities of scents, and after providing the last saliva sample they answered questionnaire on sexual desire. We found that periovulatory axillary and vulvar odors increased testosterone and cortisol levels, with vulvar scents producing a more prolonged effect. Luteal axilla odors decreased testosterone and cortisol levels, while luteal vulva odors increased cortisol. Periovulatory axilla and vulva scents accounted for a general increase of interest in sex. These odors were also rated as more pleasant and familiar, while luteal vulvar odors were perceived as intense and unpleasant.

Cognitive ability across the life course and cortisol levels in older age.

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Harris, Mathew A; Cox, Simon R; Brett, Caroline E; Deary, Ian J; MacLullich, Alasdair M J

2017-11-01

Elevated cortisol levels have been hypothesized to contribute to cognitive aging, but study findings are inconsistent. In the present study, we examined the association between salivary cortisol in older age and cognitive ability across the life course. We used data from 370 members of the 36-Day Sample of the Scottish Mental Survey 1947, who underwent cognitive testing at age 11 years and were then followed up at around age 78 years, completing further cognitive tests and providing diurnal salivary cortisol samples. We hypothesized that higher cortisol levels would be associated with lower cognitive ability in older age and greater cognitive decline from childhood to older age but also lower childhood cognitive ability. Few of the tested associations were significant, and of those that were, most suggested a positive relationship between cortisol and cognitive ability. Only 1 cognitive measure showed any sign of cortisol-related impairment. However, after correcting for multiple comparisons, no results remained significant. These findings suggest that cortisol may not play an important role in cognitive aging across the life course. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Bullying as a Stressor in Mid-Adolescent Girls and Boys–Associations with Perceived Stress, Recurrent Pain, and Salivary Cortisol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viveca Östberg

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Bullying involves repeated exposure to negative actions while also invoking a power asymmetry between the involved parties. From a stress perspective, being bullied can be seen as a severe and chronic stressor, and an everyday social-evaluative threat, coupled with a shortage of effective social resources for dealing with this particular stressor. The aim of this study was to investigate whether exposure to bullying among mid-adolescent girls and boys is associated with subjective and objective stress-related outcomes in terms of perceived stress, recurrent pain, and salivary cortisol. The data came from the School Stress and Support Study (TriSSS including students in grades 8–9 in two schools in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2010 (study sample n = 392; cortisol subsample n = 198. Bullying was self-reported and measured by multiple items. The statistical analyses included binary logistic and linear (OLS regression. Being bullied was associated with greater perceived stress and an increased risk of recurrent pain, among both boys and girls. Also, bullied students had lower cortisol output (AUCG and lower cortisol awakening response (CARG as compared to those who were not bullied. Gender-stratified analyses demonstrated that these associations were statistically significant for boys but not for girls. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that being bullied was related to both subjective and objective stress markers among mid-adolescent girls and boys, pointing to the necessity of continuously working against bullying.

Bullying as a Stressor in Mid-Adolescent Girls and Boys-Associations with Perceived Stress, Recurrent Pain, and Salivary Cortisol.

Science.gov (United States)

Östberg, Viveca; Låftman, Sara B; Modin, Bitte; Lindfors, Petra

2018-02-20

Bullying involves repeated exposure to negative actions while also invoking a power asymmetry between the involved parties. From a stress perspective, being bullied can be seen as a severe and chronic stressor, and an everyday social-evaluative threat, coupled with a shortage of effective social resources for dealing with this particular stressor. The aim of this study was to investigate whether exposure to bullying among mid-adolescent girls and boys is associated with subjective and objective stress-related outcomes in terms of perceived stress, recurrent pain, and salivary cortisol. The data came from the School Stress and Support Study (TriSSS) including students in grades 8-9 in two schools in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2010 (study sample n = 392; cortisol subsample n = 198). Bullying was self-reported and measured by multiple items. The statistical analyses included binary logistic and linear (OLS) regression. Being bullied was associated with greater perceived stress and an increased risk of recurrent pain, among both boys and girls. Also, bullied students had lower cortisol output (AUC G ) and lower cortisol awakening response (CAR G ) as compared to those who were not bullied. Gender-stratified analyses demonstrated that these associations were statistically significant for boys but not for girls. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that being bullied was related to both subjective and objective stress markers among mid-adolescent girls and boys, pointing to the necessity of continuously working against bullying.

Relationship Between Salivary Pepsin Concentration and Esophageal Mucosal Integrity in Patients With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yu-Wen; Sifrim, Daniel; Xie, Chenxi; Chen, Minhu; Xiao, Ying-Lian

2017-10-30

Increased salivary pepsin could indicate an increase in gastro-esophageal reflux, however, previous studies failed to demonstrate a correlation between salivary pepsin concentrations and 24-hour esophageal acid exposure. This study aims to detect the salivary pepsin and to evaluate the relationship between salivary pepsin concentrations and intercellular spaces (IS) in different gastroesophageal reflux disease phenotypes in patients. A total of 45 patients and 11 healthy volunteers were included in this study. All subjects underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, 24-hour ambulatory multichannel impedance-pH (MII-pH) monitoring, and salivary sampling at 3-time points during the 24-hour MII-pH monitoring. IS were measured by transmission electron microscopy, and salivary pepsin concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The IS measurements were greater in the esophagitis (EE), non-erosive reflux disease (NERD), and hypersensitive esophagus (HO) groups than in the functional heartburn (FH) and healthy volunteer groups, and significant differences were indicated. Patients with NERD and HO had higher average pepsin concentrations compared with FH patients. A weak correlation was determined between IS and salivary pepsin among patients with NERD ( r = 0.669, P = 0.035). We confirmed the presence of a higher level of salivary pepsin in patients with NERD than in patients with FH. Salivary pepsin concentrations correlated with severity of mucosal integrity impairment in the NERD group. We suggest that in patients with NERD, low levels of salivary pepsin can help identify patients with FH, in addition the higher the pepsin concentration, the more likely the severity of dilated IS.

Effects of shampoo and water washing on hair cortisol concentrations.

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Hamel, Amanda F; Meyer, Jerrold S; Henchey, Elizabeth; Dettmer, Amanda M; Suomi, Stephen J; Novak, Melinda A

2011-01-30

Measurement of cortisol in hair is an emerging biomarker for chronic stress in human and nonhuman primates. Currently unknown, however, is the extent of potential cortisol loss from hair that has been repeatedly exposed to shampoo and/or water. Pooled hair samples from 20 rhesus monkeys were subjected to five treatment conditions: 10, 20, or 30 shampoo washes, 20 water-only washes, or a no-wash control. For each wash, hair was exposed to a dilute shampoo solution or tap water for 45 s, rinsed 4 times with tap water, and rapidly dried. Samples were then processed for cortisol extraction and analysis using previously published methods. Hair cortisol levels were significantly reduced by washing, with an inverse relationship between number of shampoo washes and the cortisol concentration. This effect was mainly due to water exposure, as cortisol levels following 20 water-only washes were similar to those following 20 shampoo treatments. Repeated exposure to water with or without shampoo appears to leach cortisol from hair, yielding values that underestimate the amount of chronic hormone deposition within the shaft. Collecting samples proximal to the scalp and obtaining hair washing frequency data may be valuable when conducting human hair cortisol studies. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantification of hair cortisol concentration in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and tufted capuchins (Cebus apella).

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Phillips, Kimberley A; Tukan, Alyson N; Rigodanzo, Anna D; Reusch, Ryan T; Brasky, Kathleen M; Meyer, Jerrold S

2018-06-04

Quantifying cortisol concentration in hair is a non-invasive biomarker of long-term hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation, and thus can provide important information on laboratory animal health. Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and capuchins (Cebus apella) are New World primates increasingly used in biomedical and neuroscience research, yet published hair cortisol concentrations for these species are limited. Review of the existing published hair cortisol values from marmosets reveals highly discrepant values and the use of variable techniques for hair collection, processing, and cortisol extraction. In this investigation we utilized a well-established, standardized protocol to extract and quantify cortisol from marmoset (n = 12) and capuchin (n = 4) hair. Shaved hair samples were collected from the upper thigh during scheduled exams and analyzed via methanol extraction and enzyme immunoassay. In marmosets, hair cortisol concentration ranged from 2,710 to 6,267 pg/mg and averaged 4,070 ± 304 pg/mg. In capuchins, hair cortisol concentration ranged from 621 to 2,089 pg/mg and averaged 1,092 ± 338 pg/mg. Hair cortisol concentration was significantly different between marmosets and capuchins, with marmosets having higher concentrations than capuchins. The incorporation of hair cortisol analysis into research protocols provides a non-invasive measure of HPA axis activity over time, which offers insight into animal health. Utilization of standard protocols across laboratories is essential to obtaining valid measurements and allowing for valuable future cross-species comparisons. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gambling pathology is associated with dampened cortisol response among men and women.

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Paris, J J; Franco, C; Sodano, R; Frye, C A; Wulfert, E

2010-02-09

Pathological gambling has many similarities to pharmacological addiction. Notably, both pathological gambling and drug addiction are characterized by aberrations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responding. As well, there are indications that gender differences may play a role in these processes. Whether gender and/or HPA response are associated with pathological gambling was of interest. Recreational and pathological gamblers (15 men and 6 women per group) had the HPA factor, cortisol, assessed in saliva before and after watching a video of their preferred mode of gambling (slot machines, horse race betting, scratch-off tickets, blackjack, video poker, craps, sports betting, online casino games, or lottery tickets), and a video of neutral stimuli (a rollercoaster ride). Basal levels of salivary cortisol did not significantly differ among recreational and pathological gamblers. However, recreational gamblers demonstrated significantly increased salivary cortisol levels after the gambling and rollercoaster videos, whereas pathological gamblers demonstrated no salivary cortisol increase in response to either video stimulus. There was also a non-significant trend for women to have a greater cortisol response to video stimuli compared to men. These data suggest that pathological gambling is associated with hypoactive HPA response to gambling stimuli, similar to chronic drug exposure, and gender may contribute to this effect. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Salivary pH as a marker of plasma adiponectin concentrations in Women.

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Tremblay, Monique; Loucif, Yacine; Methot, Julie; Brisson, Diane; Gaudet, Daniel

2012-02-03

Plasma adiponectin is a significant correlate of the pro-inflammatory cardiometabolic risk profile associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Salivary pH is influenced by several cardiometabolic risk components such as inflammation, oxidation and numerous oral and systemic health modulators, including the menopausal status. This study aimed to assess the association between plasma adiponectin concentrations and salivary pH in women according to the menopausal status. Unstimulated saliva collection was performed in 151 Caucasian women of French-Canadian origin (53 premenopausal women (PMW) and 98 menopausal women (MW)). Student's t test, ANOVA and linear regression models were used to assess the association between plasma adiponectin concentrations and salivary pH. Plasma adiponectin levels increased as a function of salivary pH in the whole sample and among MW (r = 0.29 and r = 0.36, p salivary pH (R2) was 10.8% (p salivary pH quartiles (p = 0.005). These results suggest that salivary pH is a significant correlate of plasma adiponectin levels in women. With the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity, new technologies should be developed to more easily monitor health status, disease onset and progression. Salivary pH, a simple, inexpensive and non-invasive measure, could be a very promising avenue.

Relationship between effort-reward imbalance and hair cortisol concentration in female kindergarten teachers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Qi, Xingliang; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Yapeng; Ji, Shuang; Chen, Zheng; Sluiter, Judith K.; Deng, Huihua

2014-01-01

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and hair cortisol concentration among teachers to examine whether hair cortisol can be a biomarker of chronic work stress. Hair samples were collected from 39 female teachers from three kindergartens. Cortisol was

Hair cortisol as a biomarker of stress in the 2011 Libyan war.

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Etwel, Fatma; Russell, Evan; Rieder, Michael J; Van Uum, Stan H; Koren, Gideon

2014-12-01

There is a substantial body of research that utilizes saliva cortisol levels to examine wartime stress; however, there is a paucity of literature that utilizes hair cortisol levels, which allows for long-term assessment of chronic stress, to investigate the stress of war. The present study aimed to evaluate changes in hair cortisol concentrations before, during, and after the 2011 Libyan war. This study examined hair cortisol concentrations of young adult women who were living in Tripoli, Libya during the 2011 war. The participants were recruited at the campus of Tripoli University. Participants needed to have at least 24 cm of hair and to have resided in Tripoli before, during and after the 2011 Libyan war. Hair was sectioned to reflect 3 month windows of cortisol exposure corresponding to periods before, during and after the war. Hair cortisol concentrations were quantified using a modified salivary ELISA test. The women were also asked to complete the Perceived Stress Scale pertaining to the post-war period. Median hair cortisol concentrations in the post-war period (226.11 ng/g; range 122.95-519.85 ng/g) were significantly higher than both the pre-war (180.07 ng/g; 47.13-937.85 ng/g) and wartime (186.65 ng/g; 62.97-771.79 ng/g) periods (Pwar period appears to have been more stressful than the war itself. This is consistent with the fact that during the war the civilian participants were not directly involved with warfare, nor were they targeted by the international coalition fighting Gaddafi. In contrast, the post-war period was characterized by chaos and total lack of authority, with the participants exposed to injury, lack of food and destruction. This study documents the utility of hair cortisol levels to retrospectively assess stress before, during, and after an armed conflict.

Relationships between oral MUC1 expression and salivary hormones in burning mouth syndrome.

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Kang, Jeong-Hyun; Kim, Yoon-Young; Chang, Ji-Youn; Kho, Hong-Seop

2017-06-01

To investigate possible relationships among oral mucosal epithelial MUC1 expression, salivary female gonadal hormones and stress markers, and clinical characteristics in patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS). Thirty post-menopausal female patients with BMS (60.0±5.0 years) were included. Clinical and psychological evaluations were performed and the expression level of oral mucosal epithelial MUC1 was analyzed. The levels of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), 17β-estradiol, progesterone, chromogranin A, and blood contamination were determined from unstimulated whole saliva (UWS) and stimulated whole saliva (SWS) samples. Salivary progesterone level had significant positive correlations with oral mucosal epithelial MUC1 expression level and with salivary cortisol and DHEA levels. The salivary level of 17β-estradiol showed significant positive correlations with period of symptom duration, severity of effects of oral complaints on daily life, and results from psychological evaluations. Cortisol level in UWS and cortisol/DHEA ratio in UWS and SWS had negative correlations with severity of oral burning sensation significantly. The severity of taste disturbance had positive correlations with results from psychometry significantly. Dysregulated psychoendocrinological interactions might affect oral mucosal MUC1 expression and severity of oral burning sensation in post-menopausal BMS patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hair cortisol levels as a retrospective marker of hypothalamic-pituitary axis activity throughout pregnancy: Comparison to salivary cortisol

OpenAIRE

D’Anna-Hernandez, Kimberly L.; Ross, Randal G.; Natvig, Crystal L.; Laudenslager, Mark L.

2011-01-01

Maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with negative maternal/child outcomes. One potential biomarker of the maternal stress response is cortisol, a product of activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This study evaluated cortisol levels in hair throughout pregnancy as a marker of total cortisol release. Cortisol levels in hair have been shown to be easily quantifiable and may be representative of total cortisol release more than single saliva or serum measures. Hair corti...

Hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations in naturally Taenia solium infected pigs in Tanzania

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trevisan, Chiara; Montillo, Marta; Prandi, Alberto

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to measure hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentrations in naturally Taenia solium infected and non-infected control pigs and assess the effect of an environmental change on the aforementioned parameters. Three hair patches were obtained from 13 T. solium...... infected and 15 non-infected controls sows, respectively corresponding to 3 time points (prior to, at and approximately two weeks after arrival at the research facility). Cortisol and DHEA were extracted using methanol and analysed by radio immune assay. Mean hair cortisol concentrations were significantly...

Hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations in naturally Taenia solium infected pigs in Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Trevisan, Chiara; Montillo, Marta; Prandi, Alberto; Mkupasi, Ernatus M; Ngowi, Helena A; Johansen, Maria V

2017-05-15

The aim of this study was to measure hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentrations in naturally Taenia solium infected and non-infected control pigs and assess the effect of an environmental change on the aforementioned parameters. Three hair patches were obtained from 13 T. solium infected and 15 non-infected controls sows, respectively corresponding to 3 time points (prior to, at and approximately two weeks after arrival at the research facility). Cortisol and DHEA were extracted using methanol and analysed by radio immune assay. Mean hair cortisol concentrations were significantly lower (psolium infected (4.7±3.0pg/mg) compared to control pigs (9.0±3.7pg/mg) prior to arrival at the research facility, however no significant difference was observed between the two groups at arrival and after approximately two weeks. Similar patterns were also observed for DHEA concentrations (infected pigs 253.9±82.3pg/mg, control pigs 387.7±116.4pg/mg) (p<0.001). Results showed that lean animals had significantly higher cortisol concentrations in both groups, infected and controls pigs, while DHEA was not significantly different between lean and normal animals. Results of this study have shown that an environmental change could have an effect on pigs' hormonal levels suggesting an undergoing adaptation process. After the pigs were kept under the same conditions, fed and watered ad libitum, no significant differences were observed between the groups, but a drop in DHEA concentrations was observed in all the pigs. Weight however had an effect on cortisol levels as lean animals had significantly higher cortisol concentrations in both groups, compared to normal pigs. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Radioimmunological analysis of circadian rhythms of cortisol and melatonin in saliva

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demel, A.W.

1990-12-01

Since blood cortisol (F) and melatonin (MTL) display a circadian secretion pattern and since the saliva concentration of these hormones is an excellent indicator of its blood levels the measurement of salivary F and MLT may be used for examining circadian rhythmicity. In these study the relationship between salivary F and MLT was explored. For this purpose it was necessary first to establish and validate a radioimmunoassay for F in saliva: salivary F was determined by a direct radioimmunoassay using cortisol-3-(O-carboxymethyl) oximino-(2- ( 125 I)iodohistamin) as tracer and cortisol-3-CMO-BSA antiserum. The parallel measurement of F levels in saliva and serum of adults gave an excellent correlation (r=0.87, p 0.00956x ). Serum F was assayed on the Abott TDX-System using a radioimmunofluorescence method. Secondly, using this assay the circadian saliva F pattern was determined as well as the pattern of salivary MLT in 9 young, healthy volunteers. For saliva MLT estimations a previously published method was applied (SCHULZ et al 1990). Using a computerized program (RHYTHM) written by EVE v. CAUTER (1979), the hormone data of each individuum were examined for circadian rhythmicity and its acrophases (time of occurrence of the maximum of a sinusoid fitted to the data). The F acrophase occured between 7:00 and 12:00 h (Mean: 8:06 h, SD: 93.8 min). The acrophase for MLT was found between 0:00 and 6:00 h (Mean: 3:33 h, SD: 104.4 min). There was a phase difference between both hormones of 3 to 7 hours (Mean: 292.5 min, SD: 74.7 min). The easy stress-free non-invasive nature of saliva collection makes saliva to one of the most accessible body fluids and of high value in studying the circadian system in healthy humans as well as in infants, children, pregnant women and anaemic patients. Measurements of salivary F and MLT may help to elucidate not only the circadian rhythms of these hormones under normal and pathological conditions but it may also provide insight in

The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism: relation to familiar risk of affective disorder, BDNF levels and salivary cortisol.

Science.gov (United States)

Vinberg, Maj; Trajkovska, Viktorija; Bennike, Bente; Knorr, Ulla; Knudsen, Gitte M; Kessing, Lars V

2009-10-01

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are considered to play an important role in the pathophysiology of affective disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with a familiar risk of affective disorder and whether these genotypes affect whole blood BDNF level and salivary cortisol. In a high-risk study, healthy monozygotic and dizygotic twins with and without a co-twin (high- and low-risk twins, respectively) history of affective disorder were identified through nationwide registers. Familiar predisposition to unipolar and bipolar disorder was not associated with any specific genotype pattern of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism, not in this sample of 124 val/val, 58 val/met and 8 met/met individuals. However, the combination of having a high familiar risk of affective disorder and the met allele was associated with a higher whole blood BDNF (p=0.02) and a higher evening cortisol level (p=0.01), but not with awakening cortisol. Individuals at high risk of affective disorders and who are carriers of the met allele of the Val66Met polymorphism may present with an enhanced stress response. The presence of a specific genotype alone may not enhance the risk of developing an affective episode. Rather, the altered stress response may be expressed only in combination with other risk variants through interactions with the environment.

Sex determines cortisol and alpha-amylase responses to acute physical and psychosocial stress in patients with avoidant personality disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Yoshihiro; Ishitobi, Yoshinobu; Inoue, Ayako; Oshita, Harumi; Okamoto, Kana; Kawashima, Chiwa; Nakanishi, Mari; Aizawa, Saeko; Masuda, Koji; Maruyama, Yoshihiro; Higuma, Haruka; Kanehisa, Masayuki; Ninomiya, Taiga; Akiyoshi, Jotaro

2016-08-01

Avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) has excessive and pervasive anxiety and discomfort in social situations. The aims of this study were to explore the relationship between AVPD and physical and psychological stress and psychological tests. We evaluated 93 AVPD patients and 355 nonpatient controls by salivary amylase and cortisol responses during exposure to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and electrical stimulation stress. Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI), Profile of Mood State (POMS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Depression and Anxiety Cognition Scale (DACS), and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) were administered. Following electrical stimulation, salivary cortisol levels in female AVPD decreased significantly less than that in female's controls, but salivary cortisol levels did not show a difference between male AVPD patients and controls. Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) levels did not show a difference between females or male AVPD patients and controls. Following TSST exposure, sAA levels did not show a difference between females or male AVPD patients and controls. Salivary cortisol levels did not show a difference between females or male AVPD patients and controls. In the AVPD patients, POMS scores were significantly higher compared with the controls. STAI, BDI, DACS scores, and CTQ significantly increased in the AVPD patients compared with the controls. LF in heart rate variability in AVPD significantly increased more compared with controls. These results suggest that heightened sympathetic reactivity in female AVPD co-occurs with attenuated salivary cortisol responses to electric stimulation stress and there is a significant difference between AVPD and controls in mood, anxiety, social cognition, and automatic nerve systems.

Trait Rumination Predicts Elevated Evening Cortisol in Sexual and Gender Minority Young Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Zoccola, Peggy M; Manigault, Andrew W; Figueroa, Wilson S; Hollenbeck, Cari; Mendlein, Anna; Woody, Alex; Hamilton, Katrina; Scanlin, Matt; Johnson, Ryan C

2017-11-09

Stress may contribute to illness through the impaired recovery or sustained activity of stress-responsive biological systems. Rumination, or mental rehearsal of past stressors, may alter the body's stress-responsive systems by amplifying and prolonging exposure to physiological mediators, such as cortisol. The primary aim of the current investigation was to test the extent to which the tendency to ruminate on stress predicts diminished diurnal cortisol recovery (i.e., elevated evening cortisol) in a sample of sexual and gender minority young adults. Participants included 58 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender young adults ( M age = 25.0, SD = 4.1) who completed an initial online survey that assessed trait rumination and current depressed mood. Participants completed daily evening questionnaires and provided salivary cortisol samples at wake, 45 min post-wake, 12 h post-wake, and at bedtime over seven consecutive days. Trait rumination predicted significantly higher cortisol concentrations at bedtime, but was unrelated to other cortisol indices (e.g., morning cortisol, diurnal slope, total output). The association with trait rumination was not accounted for by daily negative affect, and was largely independent of depressed mood. These results have implications for identifying and treating those who may be at risk for impaired diurnal cortisol recovery and associated negative health outcomes.

Trait Rumination Predicts Elevated Evening Cortisol in Sexual and Gender Minority Young Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peggy M. Zoccola

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Stress may contribute to illness through the impaired recovery or sustained activity of stress-responsive biological systems. Rumination, or mental rehearsal of past stressors, may alter the body’s stress-responsive systems by amplifying and prolonging exposure to physiological mediators, such as cortisol. The primary aim of the current investigation was to test the extent to which the tendency to ruminate on stress predicts diminished diurnal cortisol recovery (i.e., elevated evening cortisol in a sample of sexual and gender minority young adults. Participants included 58 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender young adults (Mage = 25.0, SD = 4.1 who completed an initial online survey that assessed trait rumination and current depressed mood. Participants completed daily evening questionnaires and provided salivary cortisol samples at wake, 45 min post-wake, 12 h post-wake, and at bedtime over seven consecutive days. Trait rumination predicted significantly higher cortisol concentrations at bedtime, but was unrelated to other cortisol indices (e.g., morning cortisol, diurnal slope, total output. The association with trait rumination was not accounted for by daily negative affect, and was largely independent of depressed mood. These results have implications for identifying and treating those who may be at risk for impaired diurnal cortisol recovery and associated negative health outcomes.

Cortisol, obesity, and the metabolic syndrome: a cross-sectional study of obese subjects and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, S B; Rubino, D; Sinaii, N; Ramsey, S; Nieman, L K

2013-01-01

Circulating cortisol and psychosocial stress may contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS). To evaluate these relationships, a cross-sectional study of 369 overweight and obese subjects and 60 healthy volunteers was performed and reviewed the previous literature. Overweight and obese subjects had at least two other features of Cushing's syndrome. They underwent measurements representing cortisol dynamics (24 h urine cortisol excretion (UFC), bedtime salivary cortisol, 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test) and metabolic parameters (BMI, blood pressure (BP); fasting serum triglycerides, HDL, insulin, and glucose). Subjects also completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). UFC, salivary cortisol, and weight from 60 healthy volunteers were analyzed. No subject had Cushing's syndrome. UFC and dexamethasone responses were not associated with BMI or weight. However, salivary cortisol showed a trend to increase as BMI increased (P cortisol levels were weak to moderately correlated with fasting insulin (rs = -0.31, P = 0.01) and HOMA-IR (rs = -0.31, P = 0.01) in men and systolic (rs = 0.18, P = 0.02) and diastolic BP (rs = 0.20, P = 0.009) in women. PSS results were higher in obese subjects than controls, but were not associated with cortisol or metabolic parameters. As expected, WC correlated with fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and systolic BP (adjusted for BMI and gender; P cortisol and metabolic parameters. Taken together, these data do not support a strong relationship between systemic cortisol or stress and obesity or MS. Copyright © 2013 The Obesity Society.

Effect of breed on plasma endothelin-1 concentration, plasma renin activity, and serum cortisol concentration in healthy dogs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Höglund, K.; Lequarré, A.-S.; Ljungvall, I.

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: There are breed differences in several blood variables in healthy dogs. OBJECTIVE: Investigate breed variation in plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentration, plasma renin activity, and serum cortisol concentration. ANIMALS: Five-hundred and thirty-one healthy dogs of 9 breeds examined...... at 5 centers (2-4 breeds/center). METHODS: Prospective observational study. Circulating concentrations of ET-1 and cortisol, and renin activity, were measured using commercially available assays. Absence of organ-related or systemic disease was ensured by thorough clinical investigations, including...

Salivary glucose concentration exhibits threshold kinetics in normal-weight, overweight, and obese children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hartman ML

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Mor-Li Hartman,1 J Max Goodson,1 Roula Barake,2 Osama Alsmadi,3 Sabiha Al-Mutawa,4 Jitendra Ariga,4 Pramod Soparkar,1 Jawad Behbehani,5 Kazem Behbehani,6 Francine Welty7 1Department of Applied Oral Sciences, The Forsyth Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA; 2Department of Nutrition, The Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman, Kuwait; 3Genome Center, The Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman, Kuwait; 4Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, Kuwait; 5Faculty of Dentistry, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait; 6The Dasman Diabetes Institute, Dasman, Kuwait; 7Division of Cardiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA Background: Metabolic syndrome in childhood predicts the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes (T2D in adulthood. Testing for features of metabolic syndrome, such as fasting plasma glucose concentration, requires blood sampling which can be difficult in children. Here we evaluated salivary glucose concentration as a surrogate measurement for plasma glucose concentration in 11-year-old US children. Methods: Children from Portland, Maine, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a mean age of 10.6±0.2 years provided 6-hour fasting samples of both blood and whole saliva. Salivary glucose levels were measured with a high-sensitivity assay (sensitivity =0.002 mg/dL. Plasma glucose levels were determined by a commercial clinical laboratory. Blood pressure, salivary flow rate, height, and weight were also measured. Results: Of the 65 children enrolled, there were two underweight children (3.1%, 30 normal-weight children (46.2%, 12 overweight children (18.4%, and 21 obese children (32.3%. The mean overall glucose concentrations were 0.11±0.02 mg/dL in saliva and 86.3±0.8 mg/dL in plasma, and these did not differ significantly by body–weight groups. By regression analysis, the plasma concentration equaled 13.5 times the saliva concentration, with a threshold level of 84.8 mg/dL. Salivary glucose values less than threshold plasma

Sleep Characteristics and Daytime Cortisol Levels in Older Adults.

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Morgan, Ethan; Schumm, L Philip; McClintock, Martha; Waite, Linda; Lauderdale, Diane S

2017-05-01

Older adults frequently report sleep problems and are at increased risk of cardiometabolic disruption. Experimental sleep restriction of younger adults has suggested that cortisol may be on the pathway between sleep restriction and cardiometabolic disease. We investigated whether the natural variation in sleep among older adults is associated with daytime cortisol level. Salivary cortisol samples and actigraphy sleep data were collected from a random subsample of participants in the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a nationally representative probability sample of adults aged 62-90 (N = 672). Salivary cortisol was measured with 3 timed samples at the beginning, middle, and end of a 2-hr in-home interview. Sleep characteristics were derived from wrist actigraphy (fragmentation, wake after sleep onset [WASO], and duration) and from survey responses about usual sleep duration and sleep problems. For each individual, a single summary daytime cortisol level was estimated by fitting a marginal longitudinal model for the 3 time-stamped cortisol samples. The resulting estimates were then regressed on each sleep measure, adjusting for sociodemographics, health behaviors, and comorbidities. From actigraphy, both higher fragmentation score (β = 0.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.00 to 0.03) and longer WASO (β = 0.27; 95% CI = 0.04 to 0.51) were significantly associated with higher daytime cortisol; sleep duration was not. Self-reported sleep duration and sleep problems were also not associated with cortisol. Actigraph measures of sleep disturbance are associated with higher daytime cortisol among older adults. However, cross-sectional data cannot distinguish causal direction or whether cortisol and sleep disruption have a common cause. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effect of Paneer and Cheese Consumption on Salivary Acidogenicity and Calcium Concentration: A Comparative Study.

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Somaraj, Vinej; Shenoy, Rekha P; Panchmal, Ganesh Shenoy; Jodalli, Praveen S; Sonde, Laxminarayan; Nagaraj, Kundapur

2018-01-01

To assess and compare the salivary pH reversal phenomenon and calcium concentration in subjects consuming paneer and cheese after an acidogenic challenge and also to compare the salivary pH measurements using pH strips and a portable pen-type pH meter. Sixty caries free undergraduate students were randomly selected and divided into two group: 1. paneer; 2. cheese. After determining the resting salivary pH using pH strips and a pen-type pH meter, participants were subjected to an acidogenic challenge (10% sucrose). Following consumption of test foods (10-gram cubes), salivary pH was measured at intervals of 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 min to record the time taken for the salivary pH to return to baseline. Colorimetric salivary calcium concentration was estimated (Biochemical Analyzer) at baseline and after 60 min of test food consumption. The statistical tests used were Shapiro-Wilk's test for normality, repeated measures ANOVA, and the independent t-test. Test meals reversed the fall in pH after acidogenic challenge starting at 5 min and returning to baseline values after 30 min in both groups (p = 1.000). Colorimetric estimates showed higher salivary calcium concentrations with paneer (p pH meter showed superior efficiency in terms of time (p pH strips. The salivary pH reversal phenomenon was evident after consumption of both paneer and cheese following the acidogenic challenge. Consumption of paneer significantly increased salivary calcium concentration. The pen-type pH meter proved to be more efficient.

Salivary pH as a marker of plasma adiponectin concentrations in Women

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Tremblay Monique

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Plasma adiponectin is a significant correlate of the pro-inflammatory cardiometabolic risk profile associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Salivary pH is influenced by several cardiometabolic risk components such as inflammation, oxidation and numerous oral and systemic health modulators, including the menopausal status. This study aimed to assess the association between plasma adiponectin concentrations and salivary pH in women according to the menopausal status. Method Unstimulated saliva collection was performed in 151 Caucasian women of French-Canadian origin (53 premenopausal women (PMW and 98 menopausal women (MW. Student's t test, ANOVA and linear regression models were used to assess the association between plasma adiponectin concentrations and salivary pH. Results Plasma adiponectin levels increased as a function of salivary pH in the whole sample and among MW (r = 0.29 and r = 0.36, p 2 was 10.8% (p Conclusions These results suggest that salivary pH is a significant correlate of plasma adiponectin levels in women. With the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity, new technologies should be developed to more easily monitor health status, disease onset and progression. Salivary pH, a simple, inexpensive and non-invasive measure, could be a very promising avenue.

Diurnal and seasonal cortisol, testosterone, and DHEA rhythms in boys and girls during puberty.

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Matchock, Robert L; Dorn, Lorah D; Susman, Elizabeth J

2007-01-01

Diurnal and seasonal rhythms of cortisol, testosterone, and DHEA were examined, as little is known about the relationship between these rhythmicities and pubertal development. Salivary samples were obtained from 60 boys and 60 girls at approximately 07:45, 08:00, 08:30, 12:00, 16:50, and 21:00 h. The participants' ages ranged from 8-14 yrs, and each participant was tested three times at six-month intervals. The study was conducted at a General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and at the homes of the participants. All hormones showed diurnal fluctuations. The acrophase (peak time) of cortisol occurred earlier than for testosterone or DHEA and showed a seasonal effect, with the acrophase occurring earlier in spring than in summer. The cortisol acrophase also occurred later in the day for boys than for girls during later puberty. Seasonal effects were found only for cortisol with higher concentrations in the spring and summer. Cortisol concentrations were relatively stable across pubertal maturation, but significantly lower concentrations were observed at pubertal stage 3 compared to the other stages. Morning cortisol levels were also higher in boys at pubertal stage 2. Testosterone concentrations were higher in boys at pubertal stages 3 and 4, and DHEA was lower at pubertal stage 1 than 3 and 4 for both boys and girls. For the total sample, there was a positive correlation between DHEA and testosterone during early puberty (stages 1-3) but not later puberty (stages 4-5). Awakening secretory activity correlated with daytime secretory activity for testosterone and DHEA, but not for cortisol. These data provide novel chronobiological information on cortisol, testosterone, and DHEA as it relates to sexual maturation and encourage further study on both normal and abnormal endocrine rhythms.

Increased cortisol bioavailability, abdominal obesity, and the metabolic syndrome in obese women.

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Duclos, Martine; Marquez Pereira, Patricia; Barat, Pascal; Gatta, Blandin; Roger, Patrick

2005-07-01

This study was conducted to obtain a detailed profile of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and reactivity and its differential relationships with body fat distribution and total fat mass in premenopausal obese women. Cortisol responses to stimulation (awakening, food intake, exercise) and suppression (0.25 mg dexamethasone), cortisol metabolism, and tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids were studied in 53 premenopausal obese women grouped according to their waist-to hip ratio: women with abdominal body fat distribution (A-BFD; n = 31) and women with peripheral fat distribution (P-BFD; n = 22). Comparatively, A-BFD women had 1) lower awakening salivary cortisol levels; 2) increased salivary responsiveness to a standardized lunch; 3) similar pituitary sensitivity to dexamethasone but decreased sensitivity of monocytes to dexamethasone; 4) similar 24-hour urinary free cortisol but increased 24-hour urinary ratio of cortisone-to-cortisol; and 5) no difference in corticosteroid binding protein parameters. Although abdominal obesity is not very different from generalized obesity in terms of HPA function, subtle variations in HPA axis activity and reactivity are evidenced in A-BFD premenopausal obese women.

Individual differences in the cortisol and salivary α-amylase awakening responses in early childhood: relations to age, sex, and sleep.

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Bright, Melissa A; Frick, Janet E; Out, Dorothee; Granger, Douglas A

2014-09-01

Recent studies have examined post-waking changes in cortisol as a marker of HPA functioning, but questions remain about the stability of this response, as well as its relation to sleep and other ANS markers. The purposes of this study were to a) examine the presence and developmental changes in the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and salivary α-amylase awakening (sAA-AR) in a toddler sample and b) determine whether and how sleep relates to these responses in this age group. We measured cortisol and sAA upon awakening (and 30 min post-waking) and sleep characteristics using actigraphy (e.g., total sleep time, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings) in toddlers (N = 47; 36% female, ages 12-24 months). Forty-six percent of toddlers demonstrated a CAR and 52% demonstrated a sAA-AR. Strength of either response did not change linearly with age. Additionally, likelihood of demonstrating the CAR and sAA-AR was unrelated to age, sex, awakening time, time between samples, and time since feeding. Higher waking cortisol levels were associated with a shorter total sleep time and an earlier awakening. No associations were observed between sleep characteristics and the sAA-AR, ps > .05. Our findings suggest that these awakening responses function independently of sleep in toddlers. Additionally, the lack of change in percentage of children showing a CAR or sAA-AR across these ages suggests that these responses are stable and not emerging reliably across the second year of life. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Salivary calcium concentration and periodontal health of young adults in relation to tobacco smoking.

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Sutej, Ivana; Peros, Kristina; Benutic, Anica; Capak, Krunoslav; Basic, Kresimir; Rosin-Grget, Kata

2012-01-01

To evaluate the effect of tobacco smoking and salivary calcium on the periodontal status of young adults. Plaque index, gingival bleeding on probing, supragingival calculus, DMFT index, salivary flow, pH and salivary calcium in unstimulated salivary samples were recorded in smokers and nonsmokers. There were no significant differences between smokers and nonsmokers with respect to salivary flow (P = 0.08) and calcium level (P = 0.09). Significant correlations (P smoking of tobacco cigarettes in young healthy subjects may not have a significant impact on salivary flow or calcium concentrations in unstimulated saliva, but an association exists between an increased level of salivary calcium and development of periodontal disease.

Biological aspects of salivary hormones in male half-marathon performance

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Radosavljević Branimir B.; Žarković Miloš P.; Ignjatović Svetlana D.; Dajak Marijana M.; Milinković Neda Lj.

2016-01-01

Physical effort is known to alter the blood levels of many hormones, but there are only a few studies about the biological changes of salivary hormones. The aim of this work was to determine whether salivary testosterone and salivary cortisol levels, measured two weeks before a half-marathon race, relate to running performance in male recreational athletes. A group of eleven male recreational athletes preparing for a half-marathon was included in the study....

SALIVARY ANTIMICROBIAL PROTEIN RESPONSE TO PROLONGED RUNNING

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Suzanne Schneider

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Prolonged exercise may compromise immunity through a reduction of salivary antimicrobial proteins (AMPs. Salivary IgA (IgA has been extensively studied, but little is known about the effect of acute, prolonged exercise on AMPs including lysozyme (Lys and lactoferrin (Lac. Objective: To determine the effect of a 50-km trail race on salivary cortisol (Cort, IgA, Lys, and Lac. Methods: 14 subjects: (6 females, 8 males completed a 50km ultramarathon. Saliva was collected pre, immediately after (post and 1.5 hrs post race ( 1.5. Results: Lac concentration was higher at 1.5 hrs post race compared to post exercise (p0.05. IgA concentration, secretion rate, and IgA/Osm were lower 1.5 hrs post compared to pre race (p<0.05. Cort concentration was higher at post compared to 1.5 (p<0.05, but was unaltered from pre race levels. Subjects finished in 7.81 ± 1.2 hrs. Saliva flow rate did not differ between time points. Saliva Osm increased at post (p<0.05 compared to pre race. Conclusions: The intensity could have been too low to alter Lys and Lac secretion rates and thus, may not be as sensitive as IgA to changes in response to prolonged running. Results expand our understanding of the mucosal immune system and may have implications for predicting illness after prolonged running.

Effects of saliva collection using cotton swab on cortisol enzyme immunoassay.

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Kozaki, Tomoaki; Hashiguchi, Nobuko; Kaji, Yumi; Yasukouchi, Akira; Tochihara, Yutaka

2009-12-01

Cotton swabs are among the most commonly used devices for collecting saliva, but various studies have reported that their use impacts the results of salivary cortisol assays. These studies, however, estimated this impact by comparing the average of the concentration and/or scatter plots. In the present study, we estimated the impact of cotton swabs on the results of salivary cortisol enzyme immunoassay (EIA) by Bland-Altman plot. Eight healthy males (aged 20-23 years) provided four saliva samples on different days to yield a total of 32 samples. Saliva samples were collected directly in plastic tubes using plastic straws and then pipetted onto cotton swabs (cotton saliva collection) and into clear sterile tubes (passive saliva collection). There was a lower correlation between cotton and passive saliva collection. Individually, four subjects showed a negative correlation between passive and cotton saliva collection. A Bland-Altman plot indicated that cotton swabs causes a proportional bias on the EIA assay result. Our findings indicate a considerable effect of using cotton swabs for saliva collection, and subject-specific variability in the impact. A Bland-Altman plot further suggests possible reasons for this effect.

Differences in cortisol concentrations in adolescents with eating disorders: a systematic review.

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Luz Neto, Laércio Marques da; Vasconcelos, Flávia Maria Nassar de; Silva, Jacqueline Elineuza da; Pinto, Tiago Coimbra Costa; Sougey, Éverton Botelho; Ximenes, Rosana Christine Cavalcanti

2018-04-12

To perform a systematic review of the literature for scientific evidence of possible differences in cortisol concentrations in adolescents with eating disorders. Electronic searches were conducting in the PubMed, Scientific Electronic Library Online, Virtual Health Library, and Science Direct databases for articles published between 2007 and 2017 using the keywords, cortisol, hydrocortisone; eating disorders, bulimia, bulimia nervosa, anorexia, anorexia nervosa; adolescence, adolescent, adolescents. A total of 192 articles were found. After the analysis of the eligibility criteria using the PRISMA method, 19 articles were selected for the present review. Most studies were conducted in Europe. Adolescents diagnosed with anorexia nervosa were evaluated in all studies, except one, when other eating disorders were investigated. Blood was the means used for the determination of cortisol. In ten studies, cortisol levels were higher in the group with anorexia than the control group and a reduction in cortisol levels occurred in the adolescents after being submitted to nutritional recovery. Patients with eating disorders may have several clinical consequences, such as changes in body fat distribution, changes in bone mineral density, worsening of neurocognitive ability, and endocrine changes (e.g., hypercortisolemia), which in turn can lead to hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, hypertension, and increased risk of infections. The findings demonstrate that adolescents with eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa, have increased cortisol levels, which are reduced after the treatment period. Further studies on differences in cortisol concentrations in adolescents with other eating disorders are needed, using different methods. Copyright © 2018 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Hair cortisol concentration and glycated hemoglobin in African American adults.

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Lehrer, H Matthew; Dubois, Susan K; Maslowsky, Julie; Laudenslager, Mark L; Steinhardt, Mary A

2016-10-01

African Americans have higher diabetes prevalence compared to Whites. They also have elevated cortisol levels - indicating possible HPA axis dysregulation - which may raise blood glucose as part of the biological response to physiological and psychosocial stress. Little is known about chronic cortisol levels in African Americans, and even less about the role of chronically elevated cortisol in type 2 diabetes development in this racial group. We used analysis of cortisol in hair to examine associations of long-term (∼3months) cortisol levels with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in a group of African American adults. In exploratory analyses, we also studied the relationship of hair dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) with HbA1c. Participants were 61 community-dwelling African American adults (85% female; mean age 54.30 years). The first 3cm of scalp-near hair were analyzed for cortisol and DHEA concentration using enzyme-linked immunoassay analysis. Glycated hemoglobin was assessed, and regression analyses predicting HbA1c from hair cortisol and DHEA were performed in the full sample and in a subsample of participants (n=20) meeting the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disease (NIDDK) criteria for type 2 diabetes (HbA1c≥6.5%). In the full sample, HbA1c increased with hair cortisol level (β=0.22, p=0.04, f(2)=0.10), independent of age, sex, chronic health conditions, diabetes medication use, exercise, and depressive symptoms. In the subsample of participants with an HbA1c≥6.5%, hair cortisol was also positively related to HbA1c (β=0.45, p=0.04, f(2)=0.32), independent of diabetes medication use. Glycated hemoglobin was unrelated to hair DHEA in both the full sample and HbA1c≥6.5% subsample. Long-term HPA axis dysregulation in the form of elevated hair cortisol is associated with elevated HbA1c in African American adults. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Salivary IgA concentration in diabetic patients compared to healthy controls

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Farimah Sardari

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The alterations in salivary flow rate and its compositions could affect the development, symptoms, and severity of oral changes in diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to assess the concentration of salivary IgA in type I in comparison with type II diabetic patients and healthy controls. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 25 patients with type I diabetes, 25 patients with type II diabetes, and 25 control subjects (12 subjects for the type I and 13 subjects for the type II were enrolled. Unstimulated saliva samples were collected by spitting method and the concentration of salivary IgA was measured byenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA method. Results: The mean of salivary IgA in type I diabetic patients was 148.3 ± 38.7 μg/ml and in their controls was 65.8 ± 17.4 μg/ml (P < 0.001. In type II diabetic patients the mean of salivary IgA was 67.3 ± 20.6 μg/ml and in their controls was 63.3 ± 15.2 μg/ml. There was no significant difference between patients with type II diabetes and controls (P = 0.54. The mean of salivary IgA in patients with type I diabetes was significantly higher than in patients with type II diabetes (148.3 ± 38.7 versus 67.3 ± 20.6 μg/ml, respectively, P < 0.001. Conclusions: Level of salivary IgA in type II diabetic patients in comparison with their healthy control did not show any significant difference, but in type I diabetic patients was higher than that of healthy controls and type II diabetic patients.

Changes in cortisol release and heart rate and heart rate variability during the initial training of 3-year-old sport horses.

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Schmidt, Alice; Aurich, Jörg; Möstl, Erich; Müller, Jürgen; Aurich, Christine

2010-09-01

Based on cortisol release, a variety of situations to which domestic horses are exposed have been classified as stressors but studies on the stress during equestrian training are limited. In the present study, Warmblood stallions (n=9) and mares (n=7) were followed through a 9 respective 12-week initial training program in order to determine potentially stressful training steps. Salivary cortisol concentrations, beat-to-beat (RR) interval and heart rate variability (HRV) were determined. The HRV variables standard deviation of the RR interval (SDRR), RMSSD (root mean square of successive RR differences) and the geometric means standard deviation 1 (SD1) and 2 (SD2) were calculated. Nearly each training unit was associated with an increase in salivary cortisol concentrations (pHRV variables SDRR, RMSSD and SD1 decreased in response to training and lowest values were reached during mounting of a rider (pHRV variables increased again. In contrast, SD2 increased with the beginning of lunging (p<0.05) and no changes in response to mounting were detectable. In conclusion, initial training is a stressor for horses. The most pronounced reaction occurred in response to mounting by a rider, a situation resembling a potentially lethal threat under natural conditions. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlation Between Resting Testosterone/Cortisol Ratio and Sound-Induced Vasoconstriction at Fingertip in Men.

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Ooishi, Yuuki

2018-01-01

A sound-induced sympathetic tone has been used as an index for orienting responses to auditory stimuli. The resting testosterone/cortisol ratio is a biomarker of social aggression that drives an approaching behavior in response to environmental stimuli, and a higher testosterone level and a lower cortisol level can facilitate the sympathetic response to environmental stimuli. Therefore, it is possible that the testosterone/cortisol ratio is correlated with the sound-induced sympathetic tone. The current study investigated the relationship between the resting testosterone/cortisol ratio and vasoconstriction induced by listening to sound stimuli. Twenty healthy males aged 29.0 ± 0.53 years (mean ± S.E.M) participated in the study. They came to the laboratory for 3 days and listened to one of three types of sound stimuli for 1 min on each day. Saliva samples were collected for an analysis of salivary testosterone and cortisol levels on the day of each experiment. After the collecting the saliva sample, we measured the blood volume pulse (BVP) amplitude at a fingertip. Since vasoconstriction is mediated by the activation of the sympathetic nerves, the strength of the reduction in BVP amplitude at a fingertip was called the BVP response (finger BVPR). No difference was observed between the sound-induced finger BVPR for the three types of sound stimuli ( p = 0.779). The correlation coefficient between the sound-induced finger BVPR and the salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio within participants was significantly different from no correlation ( p = 0.011) and there was a trend toward a significance in the correlation between the sound-induced finger BVPR and the salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio between participants ( r = 0.39, p = 0.088). These results suggest that the testosterone/cortisol ratio affects the difference in the sound-evoked sympathetic response.

Salivary serotonin does not correlate with central serotonin turnover in adult phenylketonuria (PKU patients

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Joseph Leung

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Phenylketonuria (PKU is an inborn error of metabolism associated with an increased risk of behavioural and mood disorders. There are currently no reliable markers for monitoring mood in PKU. The purpose of this study was to evaluate salivary serotonin as a possible non-invasive marker of long-term mood symptoms and central serotonin activity in patients with PKU. Methods: 20 patients were recruited from our Adult Metabolic Diseases Clinic. Age, sex, plasma phenylalanine (Phe level, DASS (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales depression score, DASS anxiety score, BMI, salivary serotonin, salivary cortisol, 2-year average Phe, 2-year average tyrosine (Tyr, and 2-year average Phe:Tyr ratio were collected for each patient. Spearman's ρ correlation analysis was used to determine if there was any relationship between any of the parameters. Results: There were positive correlations between DASS anxiety and DASS depression scores (Spearman's ρ = 0.8708, p-value < 0.0001, BMI and plasma Phe level (Spearman's ρ = 0.6228, p-value = .0034, and 2-year average Phe and BMI (Spearman's ρ = 0.5448, p-value = .0130. There was also a negative correlation between salivary cortisol and plasma Phe level (Spearman's ρ = −0.5018, p-value = .0338. All other correlations were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Salivary serotonin does not correlate with peripheral phenylalanine levels, DASS depression scale scores, or DASS anxiety scale scores, implying that salivary serotonin does not reflect central serotonin turnover. Additionally, this study suggests that salivary serotonin is not a suitable marker for monitoring dietary control, mood, or anxiety in PKU. Synopsis: Salivary serotonin does not correlate with peripheral phenylalanine levels, DASS depression scale scores, or DASS anxiety scale scores, suggesting that salivary serotonin is not a suitable marker for monitoring dietary control, mood, or anxiety in PKU

The acute salivary ghrelin response to a psychosocial stress is enhanced in symptomatic patients with bulimia nervosa: a pilot study.

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Monteleone, Palmiero; Tortorella, Alfonso; Scognamiglio, Pasquale; Serino, Ismene; Monteleone, Alessio Maria; Maj, Mario

2012-01-01

Stress is a precipitating factor for both binge eating and bulimia nervosa (BN); however, the biological mechanisms through which it may trigger binge eating are poorly understood. There is evidence that the adrenal hormone cortisol and the gastric peptide ghrelin might be involved in stress-induced food ingestion. We hypothesized that symptomatic patients with BN might disclose deranged responses of ghrelin and/or cortisol to stressors and that this could be related to their binge-eating behaviour. Here we investigated salivary cortisol and ghrelin responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in 10 women with acute BN and 10 age-matched healthy females. Eating-related psychopathology and behaviours were assessed by self-report measures. No significant differences emerged between bulimic patients and healthy controls in the pre-stress salivary levels of both cortisol and ghrelin. The BN patients displayed normal cortisol but enhanced ghrelin responses to TSST. No significant correlations emerged between stress-induced salivary hormone changes and self-report measures of binge eating. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing deranged salivary ghrelin reactivity to a psychosocial stressor in symptomatic patients with BN. The extent to which this could contribute to the binge-eating behaviour of BN subjects awaits clarification. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Burnout and Hypocortisolism - A Matter of Severity? A Study on ACTH and Cortisol Responses to Acute Psychosocial Stress.

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Lennartsson, Anna-Karin; Sjörs, Anna; Währborg, Peter; Ljung, Thomas; Jonsdottir, Ingibjörg H

2015-01-01

Common consequences of long-term psychosocial stress are fatigue and burnout. It has been suggested that burnout could be associated with hypocortisolism, thus, inability to produce sufficient amounts of cortisol. This study aimed to investigate whether patients with clinical burnout exhibit aberrant ACTH and cortisol responses under acute psychosocial stress compared with healthy individuals. Nineteen patients (9 men and 10 women) and 37 healthy subjects (20 men and 17 women), underwent the Trier Social Stress Test. Blood samples and saliva samples were collected before, after, and during the stress test for measurements of plasma ACTH, serum cortisol, and salivary cortisol. Several statistical analyses were conducted to compare the responses between patients and controls. In addition, in order to investigate the possibility that burnout patients with more severe symptoms would respond differently, sub-groups of patients reporting higher and lower burnout scores were compared. In both patients and healthy controls, we observed elevated levels of ACTH and cortisol after exposure to the stressor. There were no differences in responses of ACTH, serum cortisol, or salivary cortisol between patients and controls. Patients reporting higher burnout scores had lower salivary cortisol responses than controls, indicating that patients with more severe burnout symptoms may be suffering from hypocortisolism. In addition, patients with more severe burnout symptoms tended to have smaller ACTH responses than the other patients. However, there was no corresponding difference in serum cortisol. This study indicates that hypocortisolism is not present in a clinical burnout patient group as a whole but may be present in the patients with more severe burnout symptoms.

A population-based study of salivary lysozyme concentrations and candidal counts.

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Yeh, C K; Dodds, M W; Zuo, P; Johnson, D A

1997-01-01

The relationship between salivary lysozyme concentration and oral candida load was examined in 595 adults. Unstimulated whole saliva, and citrate-stimulated parotid and submandibular/sublingual saliva were collected from each participant. Candida colony-forming units (c.f.u.) in unstimulated whole saliva were determined. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for lysozyme using commercially available antibodies was developed. This assay showed a linear relation of salivary lysozyme concentrations from 0.5 to 4.0 ng/ml. Significant negative relations were observed between lysozyme concentration and flow rate: r = -0.16 (p candida counts (r = 0.18: p candida in whole saliva revealed that lysozyme concentrations were higher in the high candida (> or = 1000 c.f.u./ml) group than in the zero and moderate candida categories in stimulated parotid saliva (p candida load increases.

Momentary relationship between cortisol secretion and symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia.

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McLean, Samuel A; Williams, David A; Harris, Richard E; Kop, Willem J; Groner, Kimberly H; Ambrose, Kirsten; Lyden, Angela K; Gracely, Richard H; Crofford, Leslie J; Geisser, Michael E; Sen, Ananda; Biswas, Pinaki; Clauw, Daniel J

2005-11-01

To compare the momentary association between salivary cortisol levels and pain, fatigue, and stress symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia (FM), and to compare diurnal cycles of cortisol secretion in patients with FM and healthy control subjects in a naturalistic environment. Twenty-eight patients with FM and 27 healthy control subjects completed assessments on salivary cortisol levels and pain, fatigue, and stress symptoms, 5 times a day for 2 consecutive days, while engaging in usual daily activities. Only those participants who adhered to the protocol (assessed via activity monitor) were included in the final analyses. Twenty FM patients and 16 healthy control subjects adhered to the protocol. There were no significant differences in cortisol levels or diurnal cortisol variation between FM patients and healthy controls. Among women with FM, a strong relationship between cortisol level and current pain symptoms was observed at the waking time point (t = 3.35, P = 0.008) and 1 hour after waking (t = 2.97, P = 0.011), but not at the later 3 time points. This association was not due to differences in age, number of symptoms of depression, or self-reported history of physical or sexual abuse. Cortisol levels alone explained 38% and 14% of the variation in pain at the waking and 1 hour time points, respectively. No relationship was observed between cortisol level and fatigue or stress symptoms at any of the 5 time points. Among women with FM, pain symptoms early in the day are associated with variations in function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Stress, breakfast cereal consumption and cortisol.

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Smith, A P

2002-04-01

Recent research has shown that regular consumption of breakfast cereal is associated with lower stress levels and reports of better physical and mental health. The present study examined this issue using an objective indicator of stress, salivary cortisol. The results showed that stress was associated with higher cortisol levels and daily consumption of breakfast cereal was associated with lower cortisol levels. Although it was not possible to rule out all the alternative explanations of the association between breakfast cereal consumption and cortisol, analyses did show that the effect could not be accounted for by general health or nutritional status. The effects of breakfast cereal consumption and stress were also independent, which shows that the effects of breakfast found here cannot be due to stress buffering. Further research manipulating the nutrient content of the breakfast cereal is now required to provide further information about the mechanisms underlying this effect.

Salivary Cortisol Levels and Depressive Symptomatology in Consumers and Nonconsumers of Self-Help Books: A Pilot Study.

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Raymond, Catherine; Marin, Marie-France; Hand, Anne; Sindi, Shireen; Juster, Robert-Paul; Lupien, Sonia J

2016-01-01

The self-help industry generates billions of dollars yearly in North America. Despite the popularity of this movement, there has been surprisingly little research assessing the characteristics of self-help books consumers, and whether this consumption is associated with physiological and/or psychological markers of stress. The goal of this pilot study was to perform the first psychoneuroendocrine analysis of consumers of self-help books in comparison to nonconsumers. We tested diurnal and reactive salivary cortisol levels, personality, and depressive symptoms in 32 consumers and nonconsumers of self-help books. In an explorative secondary analysis, we also split consumers of self-help books as a function of their preference for problem-focused versus growth-oriented self-help books. The results showed that while consumers of growth-oriented self-help books presented increased cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor compared to other groups, consumers of problem-focused self-help books presented higher depressive symptomatology. The results of this pilot study show that consumers with preference for either problem-focused or growth-oriented self-help books present different physiological and psychological markers of stress when compared to nonconsumers of self-help books. This preliminary study underlines the need for additional research on this issue in order to determine the impact the self-help book industry may have on consumers' stress.

Salivary Cortisol Levels and Depressive Symptomatology in Consumers and Nonconsumers of Self-Help Books: A Pilot Study

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Catherine Raymond

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The self-help industry generates billions of dollars yearly in North America. Despite the popularity of this movement, there has been surprisingly little research assessing the characteristics of self-help books consumers, and whether this consumption is associated with physiological and/or psychological markers of stress. The goal of this pilot study was to perform the first psychoneuroendocrine analysis of consumers of self-help books in comparison to nonconsumers. We tested diurnal and reactive salivary cortisol levels, personality, and depressive symptoms in 32 consumers and nonconsumers of self-help books. In an explorative secondary analysis, we also split consumers of self-help books as a function of their preference for problem-focused versus growth-oriented self-help books. The results showed that while consumers of growth-oriented self-help books presented increased cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor compared to other groups, consumers of problem-focused self-help books presented higher depressive symptomatology. The results of this pilot study show that consumers with preference for either problem-focused or growth-oriented self-help books present different physiological and psychological markers of stress when compared to nonconsumers of self-help books. This preliminary study underlines the need for additional research on this issue in order to determine the impact the self-help book industry may have on consumers’ stress.

Possible Contribution of PTSD to Altered Cortisol Activity in Young Adult Obese African-American Women.

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Taylor, Teletia R; Van Kirk, Kendra; Tapscott, Denia; Bernard, Monet; Llano, Juliana; Mellman, Thomas A

2015-06-01

African-Americans have been found to experience increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obesity, and flatter diurnal cortisol slopes compared to other demographic groups. Further exploration, however, is needed to understand how PTSD impacts diurnal cortisol activity in obese African-American women. The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between salivary cortisol levels and PTSD in a sample of obese young adult African-American women and to examine how depression and insomnia influence the relationship. Thirty-four young adult African-American women (mean age = 24.0 years; mean BMI = 37.4 kg/m(2), 6/34 of the sample had a score of 40 or above on the PTSD Checklist (PCL) representing clinically significant PTSD) filled out questionnaires assessing PTSD, lifetime exposure to traumatic events, insomnia severity, and depression. A home-based assessment of salivary cortisol was provided upon awakening at 30 min and 1, 3, 6, and 12 h. There was a significant interaction between PTSD status and diurnal cortisol activity (p cortisol levels at awakening (p cortisol was attenuated by co-varying for depression and insomnia (p > 0.05). PTSD, influenced by depression and insomnia symptoms, has an impact on diurnal cortisol activity in obese young adult African-American women.

Melatonin and cortisol profiles in late midlife and their association with age-related changes in cognition

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Waller KL

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Katja Linda Waller,1,2 Erik Lykke Mortensen,2,3 Kirsten Avlund,2,3,†, Merete Osler,3,4 Birgitte Fagerlund,5 Martin Lauritzen,2,6 Steen Gammeltoft,7 Poul Jennum1,2 1Danish Center for Sleep Medicine, Clinic of Clinical Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 2Center for Healthy Aging, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 3Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 4Research Center for Prevention and Health, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark; 5Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR, Lundbeck Foundation Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS, Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark; 6Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark; 7Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark †Kirsten Avlund passed away on June 15, 2012 Abstract: Previous studies have reported an association between circadian disturbances and age-related cognitive impairment. The aim was to study the 24-hour profiles of melatonin and cortisol in relation to cognitive function in middle-aged male subjects. Fifty healthy middle-aged males born in 1953 were recruited from a population-based cohort based on previous cognitive assessments in young adulthood and late midlife. The sample included 24 cognitively high-functioning and 26 cognitively impaired participants. Saliva samples were collected every 4 hours over a 24-hour period and analyzed for cortisol and melatonin levels by immunoassay. All participants exhibited clear circadian rhythms of salivary melatonin and cortisol. Salivary melatonin concentrations had a nocturnal peak at approximately 4 am. The median nocturnal melatonin response at 4 am was significantly lower in the cognitively impaired group than in the high-functioning group (−4.6 pg/mL, 95% CI: −7.84, −1.36, P=0.006. The 24

Comparative study of the concentration of salivary and blood glucose in type 2 diabetic patients.

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Vasconcelos, Ana Carolina U; Soares, Maria Sueli M; Almeida, Paulo C; Soares, Teresa C

2010-06-01

The objective of the present study was to comparatively evaluate the concentrations of blood and salivary glucose as well as salivary flow and xerostomia in type 2 diabetic and non-diabetic patients. The mean salivary glucose level in diabetic patients was 14.03 +/-16.76 mg/dl and 6.35 +/- 6.02 mg/dl (P = 0.036) in the control group. The mean capillary blood glucose level in diabetic patients was 213 +/- 88 mg/dl, while that in non-diabetic patients was 99 +/- 14 mg/dl (P = 0.000). The mean value for resting salivary flow was 0.21 +/- 0.16 ml/min in diabetic patients and 0.33 +/- 0.20 ml/min in the control group (P = 0.002). The stimulated salivary flow was lower in the group of diabetic patients, with a mean of 0.63 +/- 0.43 ml/min, whereas the control group showed a mean of 1.20 +/- 0.70 ml/min (P = 0.000). Of the diabetic patients, 45% exhibited hyposalivation, in contrast to 2.5% of the non-diabetic patients (P = 0.000). Xerostomia was reported in 12.5% of diabetic patients and 5% of non-diabetic patients (P = 0.23). We can conclude that salivary glucose concentration was significantly higher in the experimental group and that there was no correlation between salivary and blood glucose concentrations in diabetic patients. The total salivary flow was significantly reduced in diabetic patients and there was no significant difference as to the presence of xerostomia in both groups.

Relationship of concentrations of cortisol in hair with health, biomarkers in blood, and reproductive status in dairy cows.

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Burnett, Tracy A; Madureira, Augusto M L; Silper, Bruna F; Tahmasbi, Abdolmansour; Nadalin, Audrey; Veira, Douglas M; Cerri, Ronaldo L A

2015-07-01

Hair cortisol has been used to measure chronic stress in dairy cows as it offers the advantage of being noninvasive, fast, and able to indicate levels of cortisol over long periods. The aim of this study was to determine the associations between hair cortisol with clinical disorders, reproductive status, and the development of subclinical endometritis in dairy cows. Furthermore, we aimed to determine the association between hair cortisol concentrations and blood markers associated with metabolic status and acute inflammation. In experiment 1, cows (n=64) were hair sampled every 3wk from the tail switch beginning at calving (d 0) until d 126 for cortisol analysis; blood samples were collected every 3wk from d 0 until 42 for β-hydroxybutyrate and glucose analysis. In experiment 2, cows (n=54) were chosen retrospectively by diagnosis of subclinical endometritis (END), subclinical endometritis and at least 1 clinical disease (END+CLIN), or as healthy (control) using a cytobrush and ultrasonography at 30±3d in milk. At the same time, animals were hair sampled for cortisol analysis and blood sampled for haptoglobin and ceruloplasmin analysis. Health records were recorded throughout both experimental periods. Animals with clinical disease presented higher cortisol concentrations than clinically healthy animals in experiment 1 [geometric mean (95% confidence interval); 8.8 (7.8, 9.9) vs. 10.7 (9.6, 12.0) pg/mg]; however, animals diagnosed with subclinical endometritis in experiment 2 did not differ in hair cortisol concentrations [11.7 (9.8, 14.0), 12.2 (9.3, 15.9), 10.5 (8.1, 13.6) pg/mg for control, END, and END+CLIN, respectively]. In experiment 1, an effect of sample day was noted, where d 21 had higher cortisol concentrations than d 42, 84, and 126, but not from d 0 for both parities. Within both experiments, a parity effect was present where multiparous animals consistently had higher cortisol concentrations than primiparous animals. Multiparous cows that became

Aging, health behaviors, and the Diurnal rhythm and awakening response of salivary cortisol

OpenAIRE

Heaney, Jennifer L. J.; Phillips, Anna C.; Carroll, Douglas

2012-01-01

This study compared the awakening response and diurnal rhythm of cortisol in young versus older adults in relation to health behaviours. Older adults displayed significantly reduced cortisol upon awakening, a lower cortisol awakening response and a flatter diurnal profile represented by a reduced area under the curve and cortisol slope. There was also a significant interaction of age, cortisol and diet; younger adults with a higher fat and lower fruit and vegetable intake exhibited the flatte...

Impact of an auditory stimulus on baseline cortisol concentrations in clinically normal dogs.

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Gin, T E; Puchot, M L; Cook, A K

2018-03-19

Baseline cortisol concentrations are routinely used to screen dogs for hypoadrenocorticism (HOC); this diagnosis must then be confirmed with an ACTH stimulation test. A baseline cortisol concentration less than 55 nmol/L (2 μg/dL) is highly sensitive for HOC but lacks specificity, with a false positive rate >20%. Many dogs with nonadrenal disease are therefore subjected to unnecessary additional testing. It was hypothesized that exposure to an unpleasant auditory stimulus before sample collection would improve the specificity of baseline cortisol measurements in dogs with nonadrenal disease by triggering cortisol production. Twenty-eight healthy client-owned dogs were included in the study, with a median age of 4 yr (range 2-9 yr) and a median weight of 20 kg (range 10-27 kg). Dogs were ineligible for inclusion if they had received short- or long-acting glucocorticoids within the previous 30 and 90 d, respectively. Dogs were randomly assigned to group 1 (control; no noise; n = 7), group 2 (brief noise: n = 10), or group 3 (long noise: n = 11). Each dog and owner were directed to a secluded area for approximately 15 min. Group 1 sat in relative quiet, exposed only to the background sounds of a veterinary hospital. Group 2 were exposed to the sound of a wet-dry vacuum in an adjacent hallway during the first 3 min of this period. Group 3 were exposed to random bursts of wet-dry vacuum noise during this period. At the end of the test interval, each dog was escorted to an adjacent examination room for blood collection. Samples were processed within 15 min; serum was frozen at -80°C before measurement of cortisol concentrations. Median serum cortisol concentrations and the proportion of dogs with results dogs with apparently normal adrenal function was therefore rejected. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pregnancy Anxiety and Prenatal Cortisol Trajectories

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Kane, Heidi S.; Schetter, Christine Dunkel; Glynn, Laura M.; Hobel, Calvin J.; Sandman, Curt A.

2014-01-01

Pregnancy anxiety is a potent predictor of adverse birth and infant outcomes. The goal of the current study was to examine one potential mechanism whereby these effects may occur by testing associations between pregnancy anxiety and maternal salivary cortisol on 4 occasions during pregnancy in a sample of 448 women. Higher mean levels of pregnancy anxiety over the course of pregnancy predicted steeper increases in cortisol trajectories compared to lower pregnancy anxiety. Significant differences between cortisol trajectories emerged between 30 to 31 weeks of gestation. Results remained significant when adjusted for state anxiety and perceived stress. Neither changes in pregnancy anxiety over gestation, nor pregnancy anxiety specific to only a particular time in pregnancy predicted cortisol. These findings provide support for one way in which pregnancy anxiety may influence maternal physiology and contribute to a growing literature on the complex biological pathways linking pregnancy anxiety to birth and infant outcomes. PMID:24769094

Effects of essential oil exposure on salivary estrogen concentration in perimenopausal women.

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Shinohara, Kazuyuki; Doi, Hirokazu; Kumagai, Chizu; Sawano, Erika; Tarumi, Wataru

2017-01-01

The menopausal transition is the time from the onset of menstrual changes until one year after the final menstrual period. During this phase, perimenopausal women experience a variety of health-related symptoms, which seemingly derive from declining level of estrogen secretion. It has long been recognized that some essential oils have the efficacy of alleviating menopausal symptoms. On the basis of this, it is possible that these essential oils have the potency to facilitate estrogen secretion in women. The present study investigated this possibility by examining if the olfactory exposure to the essential oil increase salivary estrogen concentration. We tested the effect of ten essential oils; clary sage, frankincense, geranium, lavender, jasmine absolute, neroli, rose otto, ylang ylang, orange and roman chamomile, which are thought to relieve perimenopasal symptoms. The results have shown increase of salivary estrogen concentration induced by exposure to geranium and rose otto compared to control odor. Together with the previous studies, the present study may give support to the notion that olfactory exposure to some essential oils can influence salivary concentration of estrogen.

Changes in cortisol release and heart rate variability in sport horses during long-distance road transport.

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Schmidt, A; Biau, S; Möstl, E; Becker-Birck, M; Morillon, B; Aurich, J; Faure, J-M; Aurich, C

2010-04-01

It is widely accepted that transport is stressful for horses, but only a few studies are available involving horses that are transported regularly and are accustomed to transport. We determined salivary cortisol immunoreactivity (IR), fecal cortisol metabolites, beat-to-beat (RR) interval, and heart rate variability (HRV) in transport-experienced horses (N=7) in response to a 2-d outbound road transport over 1370 km and 2-d return transport 8 d later. Salivary cortisol IR was low until 60 min before transport but had increased (PHRV variable standard deviation 2 (SD2) occurred (PHRV, which is indicative of stress. The degree of these changes tended to be most pronounced on the first day of both outbound and return transport. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Burnout and hypocortisolism – a matter of severity? A study on ACTH and cortisol responses to acute psychosocial stress

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Anna-Karin eLennartsson

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Common consequences of long-term psychosocial stress are fatigue and burnout. It has been suggested that burnout could be associated with hypocortisolism, thus, inability to produce sufficient amounts of cortisol. This study aimed to investigate whether patients with clinical burnout exhibit aberrant ACTH and cortisol responses under acute psychosocial stress compared with healthy individuals. Methods: Nineteen patients (9 men and 10 women and 37 healthy subjects (20 men and 17 women, underwent the Trier Social Stress Test. Blood samples and saliva samples were collected before, after and during the stress test for measurements of plasma ACTH, serum cortisol and salivary cortisol. Several statistical analyses were conducted to compare the responses between patients and controls. In addition, in order to investigate the possibility that burnout patients with more severe symptoms would respond differently, sub-groups of patients reporting higher and lower burnout scores were compared. Results: In both patients and healthy controls, we observed elevated levels of ACTH and cortisol after exposure to the stressor. There were no differences in responses of ACTH, serum cortisol or salivary cortisol between patients and controls. Patients reporting higher burnout scores had lower salivary cortisol responses than controls, indicating that patients with more severe burnout symptoms may be suffering from hypocortisolism. In addition patients with more severe burnout symptoms tended to have smaller ACTH responses than the other patients. There was no corresponding difference in serum cortisol however. Conclusion: This study indicates that hypocortisolism is not present in a clinical burnout patient group as a whole but may be present in the patients with more severe burnout symptoms.

Relationship between the cortisol awakening response and other features of the diurnal cortisol rhythm: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

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Golden, Sherita Hill; Sánchez, Brisa N; Wu, Meihua; Champaneri, Shivam; Diez Roux, Ana V; Seeman, Teresa; Wand, Gary S

2013-11-01

Cumulative cortisol burden is known to influence neuropsychiatric and metabolic disorders. To better understand the relationship between daily cortisol exposure and measures of the diurnal circadian cortisol rhythm, we examined the cross-sectional association of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) with wake-up cortisol, bedtime cortisol, diurnal slope, and total cortisol area under the curve (AUC). Up to 18 salivary cortisol samples were collected over 3 days from 935 White, Hispanic, and Black individuals (mean age 65 ± 9.8 years) in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Outcome measures included awakening cortisol, CAR (awakening to 30 min post-awakening), early decline (30 min to 2h post-awakening), late decline (2h post-awakening to bedtime), and the corresponding AUCs. Total cortisol AUC was a summary measure of cumulative cortisol exposure. Higher CAR was associated with significantly lower wake-up cortisol (β=-0.56; 95% CI: -0.59 to -0.53) and a higher early decline AUC (β=0.38; 95% CI: 0.34-0.42) but was not associated with total cortisol AUC (β=0.04; 95% CI: -0.01 to 0.09), or other diurnal cortisol curve components following multivariable adjustment. Total cortisol AUC was significantly and positively associated with wake-up cortisol (β=0.36; 95% CI: 0.32-0.40), bedtime cortisol (β=0.61; 95% CI: 0.58-0.64), and other AUC measures, following multivariable adjustment. Associations were similar by sex, race/ethnicity, and age categories. We conclude that bedtime cortisol showed the strongest correlation with total cortisol AUC, suggesting it may be a marker of daily cortisol exposure. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavioral, psycho-physiological and salivary cortisol modifications after short-term alprazolam treatment in patients with recent myocardial infarction.

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Pruneti, Carlo; Giusti, Mariarosa; Boem, Adriano; Luisi, Michele

2002-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the behavioral and physiological effects of the central nervous system depressant alprazolam on a group of cardiac patients. Immediately after hospital discharge, the Crown and Crisp Experiential Index (CCEI) was administered, the salivary cortisol was detected and a psycho-physiological profile was recorded in 52 subjects who had suffered from myocardial infarction. Half of the subjects represented the experimental group and the remaining 26 individuals acted as a control group not undergoing treatment. The benzodiazepine alprazolam (0.25 mg) was administered twice daily to the treated group only. With the exception of the administration of the drug, all recruited subjects underwent the same clinical evaluation. The CCEI data of the treated group showed significant decreases for the following scales: free floating anxiety (p anxiety (p < 0.01), somatic complaints (p < 0.05), and depression (p < 0.01). In the same group, with regard to the physiological parameters, the skin conductance response significantly decreased during the baseline phase (p < 0.01), and almost all parameters showed decreased values during mental stress test administration. Cortisol levels also decreased during the recovery phase of the psycho-physiological profile assessment. Alprazolam seems to be able to reduce sympathetic discharge and some stress-related behavioral and physiological responses. This could be of benefit for selected cardiac patients for whom increases in sympathetic tone may constitute a risk factor.

The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism: relation to familiar risk of affective disorder, BDNF levels and salivary cortisol

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinberg, Maj; Trajkovska, Viktorija; Bennike, Bente

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are considered to play an important role in the pathophysiology of affective disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated...... with a familiar risk of affective disorder and whether these genotypes affect whole blood BDNF level and salivary cortisol. METHOD: In a high-risk study, healthy monozygotic and dizygotic twins with and without a co-twin (high- and low-risk twins, respectively) history of affective disorder were identified...... through nationwide registers. RESULTS: Familiar predisposition to unipolar and bipolar disorder was not associated with any specific genotype pattern of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism, not in this sample of 124 val/val, 58 val/met and 8 met/met individuals. However, the combination of having a high...

Salivary Biomarkers and Training Load during Training and Competition in Paralympic Swimmers.

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Sinnott-O'Connor, Ciara; Comyns, Tom; Nevill, Alan M; Warrington, Giles

2017-11-28

Stress responses in athletes can be attributed to training and also competition, where increased physiological and psychological stress may negatively impact on performance and recovery. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between training load and salivary biomarkers IgA, alpha-amylase (AA) and cortisol across a 16-week preparation phase and 10-day competition phase in Paralympic swimmers. Four Paralympic swimmers provided bi-weekly saliva samples during three training phases - 1) normal training, 2) intensified training and 3) taper as well as daily saliva samples in the 10 day Paralympic competition (2016 Paralympic Games). Training load (TL) was measured using session-RPE. Multi-level analysis identified a significant increase in sIgA (94.98 (27.69) μg.ml -1 ), sAA (45.78 (19.07) μg.ml -1 ) and salivary cortisol (7.92 (2.17) ng.ml) during intensified training concurrent with a 38.3% increase in TL. During taper phase, a 49.5% decrease in TL from the intensified training phase resulted in decrease in sIgA, sAA and salivary cortisol; however, all three remained higher than baseline levels. A further significant increase was observed during competition in sIgA (168.69(24.19) μg.ml -1 ), sAA (35.86(16.67) μg.ml -1 ) and salivary cortisol (10.49(1.89) ng.ml) despite a continued decrease (77.8%) in TL from taper phase. Results demonstrate performance in major competition such as Paralympic Games despite a noticeable reduction in TL induces a stress response in athletes. Due to elevated stress response observed, modifications to individual post-race recovery protocols may be required to enable athletes to maximise performance across all ten days of competition.

Cortisol Measures Across the Weight Spectrum.

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Schorr, Melanie; Lawson, Elizabeth A; Dichtel, Laura E; Klibanski, Anne; Miller, Karen K

2015-09-01

There are conflicting reports of increased vs decreased hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation in obesity; the most consistent finding is an inverse relationship between body mass index (BMI) and morning cortisol. In anorexia nervosa (AN), a low-BMI state, cortisol measures are elevated. This study aimed to investigate cortisol measures across the weight spectrum. This was a cross-sectional study at a clinical research center. This study included 60 women, 18-45 years of age: overweight/obese (OB; N = 21); AN (N = 18); and normal-weight controls (HC; N = 21). HPA dynamics were assessed by urinary free cortisol, mean overnight serum cortisol obtained by pooled frequent sampling every 20 minutes from 2000-0800 h, 0800 h serum cortisol and cortisol-binding globulin, morning and late-night salivary cortisol, and dexamethasone-CRH testing. Body composition and bone mineral density (BMD) were assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Cortisol measures demonstrated a U-shaped relationship with BMI, nadiring in the overweight-class I obese range, and were similarly associated with visceral adipose tissue and total fat mass. Mean cortisol levels were higher in AN than OB. There were weak negative linear relationships between lean mass and some cortisol measures. Most cortisol measures were negatively associated with postero-anterior spine and total hip BMD. Cortisol measures are lowest in overweight-class I obese women-lower than in lean women. With more significant obesity, cortisol levels increase, although not to as high as in AN. Therefore, extreme underweight and overweight states may activate the HPA axis, and hypercortisolemia may contribute to increased adiposity in the setting of caloric excess. Hypercortisolemia may also contribute to decreased BMD and muscle wasting in the setting of both caloric restriction and excess.

Genetic Moderation of Cortisol Secretion in Holocaust Survivors: A Pilot Study on the Role of ADRA2B

Science.gov (United States)

Fridman, Ayala; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Sagi-Schwartz, Abraham; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.

2012-01-01

In the current study we tested whether "ADRA2B" moderates stress regulation of Holocaust survivors as indexed by their diurnal cortisol secretion and cortisol reactivity to a stressor. Salivary cortisol levels of 54 female Holocaust survivors and participants in the comparison group were assessed during a routine day and in response to a…

Evaluation of Autonomic Nervous System, Saliva Cortisol Levels, and Cognitive Function in Major Depressive Disorder Patients

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Sukonthar Ngampramuan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Major depressive disorder (MDD is associated with changes in autonomic nervous system (ANS and cognitive impairment. Heart rate variability (HRV and Pulse pressure (PP parameters reflect influences of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Cortisol exerts its greatest effect on the hippocampus, a brain area closely related to cognitive function. This study aims to examine the effect of HRV, PPG, salivary cortisol levels, and cognitive function in MDD patients by using noninvasive techniques. We have recruited MDD patients, diagnosed based on DSM-V-TR criteria compared with healthy control subjects. Their HRV and PP were measured by electrocardiogram (ECG and photoplethysmography (PPG. Salivary cortisol levels were collected and measured on the same day. MDD patients exhibited elevated values of mean HR, standard deviation of HR (SDHR, low frequency (LF power, low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF ratio, mean PP, standard deviation of pulse pressure (SDPP, and salivary cortisol levels. Simultaneously, they displayed lower values of mean of R-R intervals (mean NN, standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDNN, high frequency (HF power, and WCST scores. Results have shown that the ANS of MDD patients were dominated by the sympathetic activity and that they have cognitive deficits especially in the domain of executive functioning.

Effects of interpersonal violence-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on mother and child diurnal cortisol rhythm and cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor involving separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordero, Maria I; Moser, Dominik A; Manini, Aurelia; Suardi, Francesca; Sancho-Rossignol, Ana; Torrisi, Raffaella; Rossier, Michel F; Ansermet, François; Dayer, Alexandre G; Rusconi-Serpa, Sandra; Schechter, Daniel S

2017-04-01

Women who have experienced interpersonal violence (IPV) are at a higher risk to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and impaired social behavior. Previously, we had reported impaired maternal sensitivity and increased difficulty in identifying emotions (i.e. alexithymia) among IPV-PTSD mothers. One of the aims of the present study was to examine maternal IPV-PTSD salivary cortisol levels diurnally and reactive to their child's distress in relation to maternal alexithymia. Given that mother-child interaction during infancy and early childhood has important long-term consequences on the stress response system, toddlers' cortisol levels were assessed during the day and in response to a laboratory stressor. Mothers collected their own and their 12-48month-old toddlers' salivary samples at home three times: 30min after waking up, between 2-3pm and at bedtime. Moreover, mother-child dyads participated in a 120-min laboratory session, consisting of 3 phases: baseline, stress situation (involving mother-child separation and exposure to novelty) and a 60-min regulation phase. Compared to non-PTSD controls, IPV-PTSD mothers - but not their toddlers, had lower morning cortisol and higher bedtime cortisol levels. As expected, IPV-PTSD mothers and their children showed blunted cortisol reactivity to the laboratory stressor. Maternal cortisol levels were negatively correlated to difficulty in identifying emotions. Our data highlights PTSD-IPV-related alterations in the HPA system and its relevance to maternal behavior. Toddlers of IPV-PTSD mothers also showed an altered pattern of cortisol reactivity to stress that potentially may predispose them to later psychological disorders. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gestational and Postnatal Cortisol Profiles of Women With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and the Dissociative Subtype.

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Seng, Julia S; Li, Yang; Yang, James J; King, Anthony P; Kane Low, Lisa M; Sperlich, Mickey; Rowe, Heather; Lee, Hyunhwa; Muzik, Maria; Ford, Julian D; Liberzon, Israel

2018-01-01

To test the hypothesis that women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have greater salivary cortisol levels across the diurnal curve and throughout gestation, birth, and the postpartum period than women who do not have PTSD. Prospective, longitudinal, biobehavioral cohort study. Prenatal clinics at academic health centers in the Midwest region of the United States. Women expecting their first infants who fit with one of four cohorts: a nonexposed control group, a trauma-exposed control group, a group with PTSD, and a group with the dissociative subtype of PTSD. In the first half of pregnancy, 395 women provided three salivary cortisol specimens on a single day for diurnal data. A subsample of 111 women provided three salivary cortisol specimens per day, 12 times, from early pregnancy to 6 weeks postpartum for longitudinal data. Trauma history, PTSD, and dissociative symptoms were measured via standardized telephone diagnostic interviews with the use of validated epidemiologic measures. Generalized estimating equations were used to determine group differences. Generalized estimating equations showed that women with the dissociative subtype of PTSD had the highest and flattest gestational cortisol level curves. The difference was greatest in early pregnancy, when participants in the dissociative subtype group had cortisol levels 8 times greater in the afternoon and 10 times greater at bedtime than those in the nonexposed control group. Women with the dissociative subtype of PTSD, a complex form associated with a history of childhood maltreatment, may have toxic levels of cortisol that contribute to intergenerational patterns of adverse health outcomes. Copyright © 2018 AWHONN, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Salivary flow rate, buffer capacity, and urea concentration in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

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Saes Busato, Ivana Maria; Antoni, Carlos Cesar De; Calcagnotto, Thiago; Ignácio, Sérgio Aparecido; Azevedo-Alanis, Luciana Reis

2016-12-01

The objective of the study was to analyze salivary flow rate, urea concentration, and buffer capacity in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (type 1 DM) in two different stages. This study was performed on adolescents (14-19 years), allocated between two groups: type 1 DM group comprised 32 adolescents with type 1 DM, and non-type 1 DM group comprised 32 nondiabetics. The adolescents in type 1 DM group were evaluated at a baseline (T0) and after 15 months (T1), and those in non-type 1 DM group were only evaluated at T0. Diabetic status was determined by glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb) and capillary glucose tests. Measurement of salivary flow was performed by means of stimulated saliva (SSFR) collection. The buffer capacity (BC) was determined, and analysis of urea salivary concentration was performed using the colorimetric method. At T0, there were significant differences between diabetics and nondiabetics for SSFR and BC (pdiabetics, SSFR was 0.790 mL/min in T0 and 0.881 mL/min in T1 (p>0.05). BC at T0 was 4.8, and at T1, it was 3.9 (p=0.000). Urea concentration mean value had a significant decrease at T1 (28.13) compared with T0 (34.88) (p=0.013). There was a negative correlation between SSFR and urea salivary concentration at both T0 (r=-0.426, p≤0.05) and T1 (r=-0.601, p≤0.01). In adolescents with type 1 DM, hyposalivation at T0 was associated with an increase in urea salivary concentration. At T1, hyposalivation was associated with a reduction in BC, and an increase in salivary urea.

Long-term stability of diurnal salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase secretion patterns.

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Skoluda, Nadine; La Marca, Roberto; Gollwitzer, Mario; Müller, Andreas; Limm, Heribert; Marten-Mittag, Birgitt; Gündel, Harald; Angerer, Peter; Nater, Urs M

2017-06-01

This study aimed to investigate long-term stability and variability of diurnal cortisol and alpha-amylase patterns. Diurnal cortisol and alpha-amylase secretion patterns were assessed on a single workday with three waves of measurement across a total time period of 24months in 189 participants. Separate hierarchical linear models were analyzed, with and without a number of potential predictor variables (age, BMI, smoking, chronic stress, stress reactivity). While low long-term stability was found in diurnal cortisol, the stability of diurnal alpha-amylase was moderate across the time period of 24months. Several predictor variables had a positive impact on diurnal cortisol and alpha-amylase secretion patterns averaged across waves. Our findings underpin the notion that long-term stability is not necessarily warranted in longitudinal studies. It is important to choose an appropriate study design when attempting to disentangle clinically and biologically relevant changes from naturally occurring variations in diurnal cortisol and alpha-amylase. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cortisol, obesity and the metabolic syndrome: A cross-sectional study of obese subjects and review of the literature

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Abraham, SB; Rubino, D; Sinaii, N; Ramsey, S; Nieman, LK

2013-01-01

Circulating cortisol and psychosocial stress may contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity and metabolic syndrome. To evaluate these relationships, we performed a cross-sectional study of 369 overweight and obese subjects and 60 healthy volunteers and reviewed the previous literature. Overweight and obese subjects had at least two other features of Cushing?s syndrome. They underwent measurements representing cortisol dynamics (24h urine cortisol excretion (UFC), bedtime salivary cortisol, 1 m...

Psychobiological Factors Affecting Cortisol Variability in Human-Dog Dyads.

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Iris Schöberl

Full Text Available Stress responses within dyads are modulated by interactions such as mutual emotional support and conflict. We investigated dyadic psychobiological factors influencing intra-individual cortisol variability in response to different challenging situations by testing 132 owners and their dogs in a laboratory setting. Salivary cortisol was measured and questionnaires were used to assess owner and dog personality as well as owners' social attitudes towards the dog and towards other humans. We calculated the individual coefficient of variance of cortisol (iCV = sd/mean*100 over the different test situations as a parameter representing individual variability of cortisol concentration. We hypothesized that high cortisol variability indicates efficient and adaptive coping and a balanced individual and dyadic social performance. Female owners of male dogs had lower iCV than all other owner gender-dog sex combinations (F = 14.194, p<0.001, whereas owner Agreeableness (NEO-FFI scaled positively with owner iCV (F = 4.981, p = 0.028. Dogs of owners high in Neuroticism (NEO-FFI and of owners who were insecure-ambivalently attached to their dogs (FERT, had low iCV (F = 4.290, p = 0.041 and F = 5.948, p = 0.016, as had dogs of owners with human-directed separation anxiety (RSQ or dogs of owners with a strong desire of independence (RSQ (F = 7.661, p = 0.007 and F = 9.192, p = 0.003. We suggest that both owner and dog social characteristics influence dyadic cortisol variability, with the human partner being more influential than the dog. Our results support systemic approaches (i.e. considering the social context in science and in counselling.

Idle behaviors of the hippocampus reflect endogenous cortisol levels in youth.

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Thomason, Moriah E; Tocco, Maria A; Quednau, Kelly A; Bedway, Andrea R; Carré, Justin M

2013-06-01

Compelling evidence indicates that disruption in functional connectivity (FC) in brain networks underlies many psychiatric and developmental disorders. Current theory posits that biological (i.e., cortisol) and environmental (i.e., stress) experiences in early life are strong determinants in the development of functional brain systems and formative in the genesis of such disorders. The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which individual differences in cortisol concentrations during FC magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) would map onto variability in hippocampal to default mode network (DMN) connectivity in typically developing youth. Salivary cortisol and FC MRI data were collected concurrently in 33 scan-naive 7- to 15-year-old participants. Twenty-nine of these participants previously completed the Trier Social Stress Test. Hippocampal to DMN FC and endogenous cortisol variability during MRI were examined. A possible association between MRI cortisol and cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test during the preceding visit or a participant's ratings of anxiety during MRI was tested. There were significant positive relations between MRI cortisol levels and measurements in the following 3 areas: hippocampal to DMN FC during the resting state, cortisol levels during the Trier Social Stress Test, and fear/anxiety ratings during MRI. Fear/anxiety ratings during MRI also related to self-reported anxiety on standardized measurements. This study shows for the first time that FC of the hippocampus is altered with changing cortisol responsivity in youth. Altered FC during the resting state may represent altered alertness or monitoring resulting from variation in glucocorticoid function in youth, which carries implications for the effect of stress on response monitoring and decision making. Copyright © 2013 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Plasma cortisol and faecal cortisol metabolites concentrations in stereotypic and non-stereotypic horses: do stereotypic horses cope better with poor environmental conditions?

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Fureix Carole

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Stereotypic behaviours, i.e. repetitive behaviours induced by frustration, repeated attempts to cope and/or brain dysfunction, are intriguing as they occur in a variety of domestic and captive species without any clear adaptive function. Among the different hypotheses, the coping hypothesis predicts that stereotypic behaviours provide a way for animals in unfavourable environmental conditions to adjust. As such, they are expected to have a lower physiological stress level (glucocorticoids than non-stereotypic animals. Attempts to link stereotypic behaviours with glucocorticoids however have yielded contradictory results. Here we investigated correlates of oral and motor stereotypic behaviours and glucocorticoid levels in two large samples of domestic horses (NStudy1 = 55, NStudy2 = 58, kept in sub-optimal conditions (e.g. confinement, social isolation, and already known to experience poor welfare states. Each horse was observed in its box using focal sampling (study 1 and instantaneous scan sampling (study 2. Plasma samples (collected in study 1 but also non-invasive faecal samples (collected in both studies were retrieved in order to assess cortisol levels. Results Results showed that 1 plasma cortisol and faecal cortisol metabolites concentrations did not differ between horses displaying stereotypic behaviours and non-stereotypic horses and 2 both oral and motor stereotypic behaviour levels did not predict plasma cortisol or faecal cortisol metabolites concentrations. Conclusions Cortisol measures, collected in two large samples of horses using both plasma sampling as well as faecal sampling (the latter method minimizing bias due to a non-invasive sampling procedure, therefore do not indicate that stereotypic horses cope better, at least in terms of adrenocortical activity.

Diurnal Cortisol Patterns and Dexamethasone Suppression Test Responses in Healthy Young Adults Born Preterm at Very Low Birth Weight.

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Nina Kaseva

Full Text Available Early life stress, such as painful and stressful procedures during neonatal intensive care after preterm birth, can permanently affect physiological, hormonal and neurobiological systems. This may contribute to altered programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA and provoke changes in HPAA function with long-term health impacts. Previous studies suggest a lower HPAA response to stress in young adults born preterm compared with controls born at term. We assessed whether these differences in HPAA stress responsiveness are reflected in everyday life HPAA functioning, i.e. in diurnal salivary cortisol patterns, and reactivity to a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test (DST, in unimpaired young adults born preterm at very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g.The participants were recruited from the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults cohort study. At mean age 23.3 years (2.1 SD, 49 VLBW and 36 controls born at term participated in the study. For cortisol analyzes, saliva samples were collected on two consecutive days at 0, 15, 30 and 60 min after wake-up, at 12:00 h, 17:00 h and 22:00 h. After the last salivary sample of the first study day the participants were instructed to take a 0.5 mg dexamethasone tablet.With mixed-effects model no difference was seen in overall diurnal salivary cortisol between VLBW and control groups [13.9% (95% CI: -11.6, 47.0, P = 0.31]. Salivary cortisol increased similarly after awakening in both VLBW and control participants [mean difference -2.9% (29.2, 33.0, P = 0.85]. Also reactivity to the low-dose DST (awakening cortisol ratio day2/day1 was similar between VLBW and control groups [-1.1% (-53.5, 103.8, P = 0.97].Diurnal cortisol patterns and reactivity to a low-dose DST in young adulthood were not associated with preterm birth.

Toxicokinetics and correlation of carbamazepine salivary and serum concentrations in acute poisonings

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Đorđević Snežana

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. Saliva is a body fluid which, like serum, can be used for determination of concentrations of certain drugs, both in pharmacotherapy as well as in acute poisonings. The aim of this study was to determine carbamazepine concentrations in both saliva and serum in acute poisoning in order to show if there is a correlation between the obtained values, as well as to monitor toxicokinetics of carbamazepine in body fluides. Methods. Saliva and serum samples were obtained from 26 patients treated with carbamazepine and 20 patients acutely poisoned by the drug immediately after their admission in the Emergency Toxicology Unit. Determination of salivary and serum carbamazepine concentrations was performed by the validated high pressure liquid chromatographyultraviolet (HPLC-UV method. Results. A significant correlation of salivary and serum carbamazepine concentrations in both therapeutic application and acute poisoning (r = 0.9481 and 0.9117, respectively was confirmed. In acute poisonings the mean ratio between salivary and serum concentrations of carbamazepine (0.43 was similar to the mean ratio after its administration in therapeutic doses (0.39, but there were high inter-individual variations in carbamazepine concentrations in the acutely poisoned patients, as a consequence of different ingested doses of the drug. In acute poisoning the halftime of carbamazepine in saliva and serum was 12.57 h and 6.76 h, respectively. Conclusion. Our results suggest a possible use of saliva as an alternative biological material for determination of carbamazepine concentrations in therapeutic application and acute poisoning as well, and a possible extrapolation of the results obtained in saliva to serum concentrations of carbamazepine.

Temporal concentrations of cortisol and LH in virgin ewes acutely exposed to rams during the transition into the breeding season.

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McCosh, R B; Berry, E M; Wehrman, M E; Redden, R R; Hallford, D M; Berardinelli, J G

2015-03-01

The objectives of this study were to determine if exposing seasonally anovular ewes to rams would alter patterns of cortisol concentrations, and if these changes are associated with changes in characteristics of LH concentrations. Seasonally anestrous ewes were assigned to be exposed to rams (RE; n=11) or wethers (NE; n=12). Blood samples were collected at 15-min intervals beginning 120 min before introduction of males (time=0 min), and continued for 360 min after male exposure. Characteristics of cortisol and LH concentrations included: mean and baseline concentrations, pulse amplitude, duration, frequency, and time to first pulse. Mean and baseline cortisol concentrations, and cortisol pulse amplitude, frequency, and time to first pulse after male exposure did not differ between RE and NE ewes. Cortisol pulse duration was longer (Pewes than in NE ewes. Mean LH and LH pulse amplitude, duration, and time to first pulse after male exposure did not differ between RE and NE ewes. Baseline LH concentrations and LH pulse frequency were greater (Pewes. In RE ewes, but not NE ewes, LH pulse frequency tended to increase (P=0.06) as pulse frequency of cortisol decreased. In conclusion, exposing ewes to mature rams during the transition into the breeding season increased LH pulse frequency which hastened ovulatory activity. However, the results do not support the hypothesis that changes in cortisol concentrations plays a significant role in the 'ram effect'. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effort-reward imbalance at work and pre-clinical biological indices of ill-health: the case for salivary immunoglobulin A.

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Bathman, Lauren Marjorie; Almond, Jacinta; Hazi, Agnes; Wright, Bradley James

2013-10-01

Physiological indices of stress and ill-health (cortisol and salivary immunoglobulin A) were assessed to determine if they were predicted by Siegrist's effort-reward imbalance model (ERI) with an aim of identifying employees at risk of illness. Male Australian dairy farmers (N=66) completed the Perceived Stress Scale, Work related Questions II & III, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised--Short and demographic questions and provided morning saliva samples (at awakening and 30 min post awakening) on a working day, which were subsequently analysed for cortisol and salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) concentration levels. A high percentage (45.5%) of the sample reported an imbalance between efforts and rewards in the workplace that may place them 'at risk' for ill-health. After controlling for disposition, sIgA scores were more successfully predicted by the ERI than the cortisol assessments. Although both efforts and rewards were significantly associated with sIgA, efforts were most strongly associated. The dispositional trait overcommitment, did not moderate the experience of stress on the physiologic indices. The current investigation supports the continued use of sIgA in studies that use biomarkers to assess occupational stress. ERI ratio scores >1 aligned with previous findings that suggest elevated risk of illness for these employees. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cortisol and politics: variance in voting behavior is predicted by baseline cortisol levels.

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French, Jeffrey A; Smith, Kevin B; Alford, John R; Guck, Adam; Birnie, Andrew K; Hibbing, John R

2014-06-22

Participation in electoral politics is affected by a host of social and demographics variables, but there is growing evidence that biological predispositions may also play a role in behavior related to political involvement. We examined the role of individual variation in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis parameters in explaining differences in self-reported and actual participation in political activities. Self-reported political activity, religious participation, and verified voting activity in U.S. national elections were collected from 105 participants, who were subsequently exposed to a standardized (nonpolitical) psychosocial stressor. We demonstrated that lower baseline salivary cortisol in the late afternoon was significantly associated with increased actual voting frequency in six national elections, but not with self-reported non-voting political activity. Baseline cortisol predicted significant variation in voting behavior above and beyond variation accounted for by traditional demographic variables (particularly age of participant in our sample). Participation in religious activity was weakly (and negatively) associated with baseline cortisol. Our results suggest that HPA-mediated characteristics of social, cognitive, and emotional processes may exert an influence on a trait as complex as voting behavior, and that cortisol is a better predictor of actual voting behavior, as opposed to self-reported political activity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cortisol and Politics: Variance in Voting Behavior is Predicted by Baseline Cortisol Levels

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French, Jeffrey A.; Smith, Kevin B.; Alford, John R.; Guck, Adam; Birnie, Andrew K.; Hibbing, John R.

2014-01-01

Participation in electoral politics is affected by a host of social and demographics variables, but there is growing evidence that biological predispositions may also play a role in behavior related to political involvement. We examined the role of individual variation in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis parameters in explaining differences in self-reported and actual participation in political activities. Self-reported political activity, religious participation, and verified voting activity in U.S. national elections were collected from 105 participants, who were subsequently exposed to a standardized (nonpolitical) psychosocial stressor. We demonstrated that lower baseline salivary cortisol in the late afternoon was significantly associated with increased actual voting frequency in six national elections, but not with self-reported non-voting political activity. Baseline cortisol predicted significant variation in voting behavior above and beyond variation accounted for by traditional demographic variables (particularly age of participant in our sample). Participation in religious activity was weakly (and negatively) associated with baseline cortisol. Our results suggest that HPA-mediated characteristics of social, cognitive, and emotional processes may exert an influence on a trait as complex as voting behavior, and that cortisol is a better predictor of actual voting behavior, as opposed to self-reported political activity. PMID:24835544

Momentary work worries, marital disclosure, and salivary cortisol among parents of young children.

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Slatcher, Richard B; Robles, Theodore F; Repetti, Rena L; Fellows, Michelle D

2010-11-01

To investigate whether worries about work are linked to people's own cortisol levels and their spouses' cortisol levels in everyday life and whether marital factors may moderate these links. Although research has shown that satisfying marriages can buffer the physiological effects of everyday stress, the specific mechanisms through which marriage influences the processing and transmission of stress have not yet been identified. Thirty-seven healthy married couples completed baseline measures and then provided saliva samples and indicated their worries about work for six times a day from a Saturday morning through a Monday evening. Wives' cortisol levels were associated positively with their own work worries (p = .008) and with their husbands' work worries (p = .006). Husbands' cortisol levels were associated positively only with their own work worries (p = .015). Wives low in both marital satisfaction and disclosure showed a stronger association between work worries and cortisol compared with wives reporting either high marital satisfaction and/or high marital disclosure. These results suggest that momentary feelings of stress affect not only one's own cortisol levels but affect close others' cortisol levels as well. Furthermore, they suggest that, for women, the stress-buffering effects of a happy marriage may be partially explained by the extent to which they disclose their thoughts and feelings with their spouses.

Lower stress-reactive cortisol in female veterans associated with military status but not PTSD.

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Pierce, Meghan E; Pritchard, Laurel M

2016-09-01

Female veterans are a growing yet understudied population. Currently, 14.6% of all troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq are female. Military service is associated with an increased risk for trauma exposure and subsequent development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is frequently associated with PTSD. Few studies have examined females diagnosed with PTSD and only one study, to our knowledge, has examined HPA-axis dysregulation in female veterans. This study examined salivary cortisol in 52 female veterans and civilians both with and without PTSD. We collected saliva samples at bedtime and awakening, as well as in response to the Trier social stress test (TSST). We found that female veterans had blunted cortisol concentrations at all time points during the TSST compared to female civilians, regardless of PTSD status. Even though all groups showed the expected diurnal decline in cortisol, the difference between awakening and bedtime samples were significant only in civilians without PTSD. The results of our study suggest that stressors specific to the military may lead to lower than normal cortisol, which may not be associated with the expressions of PTSD.

Effects of resistance training periodization on performance and salivary immune-endocrine responses of elite female basketball players.

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Nunes, J A; Crewther, B T; Viveiros, L; De Rose, D; Aoki, M S

2011-12-01

The aim of this paper was to examine the effects of resistance training periodization on the performance and salivary hormone-immune responses of elite female basketball players. Twelve female athletes were monitored across a 50 day period of resistance training that emphasized strength, endurance and power. One repetition maximum (1RM) strength, maximal repetitions at 50% 1RM and vertical jump performance was assessed pre- and post-training. Saliva samples were also collected at 0700, 0930, 1100 and 1730 hours and analyzed for testosterone (T), cortisol (C) and immunoglobulin A (IgA). Improvements in 1RM strength, maximal repetitions and vertical jump performance were identified post-training (PTraining had no effect on salivary T and C concentrations, but the T:C ratio increased at 0730 hours (Ptraining) in strength and T concentrations were positively correlated at 0730 hours (Ptraining increased muscle performance in elite female basketball players, but only minor changes in the salivary T:C ratio and IgA were noted. Correlational analysis identified a possible role for early morning changes in T as a regulator of individual strength changes.

Salivary cortisol and depression in public sector employees

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Vammen, Marianne Agergaard; Mikkelsen, Sigurd; Hansen, Åse Marie

2014-01-01

Increased cortisol levels have been suggested to play a role in the development of depression. An association has been shown in some studies but not consistently. The timing of an association is uncertain, and long-term follow-up studies may miss associations in narrower time windows. In the pres...

Temporal relationships between awakening cortisol and psychosocial variables in inpatients with anorexia nervosa - A time series approach.

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Wild, Beate; Stadnitski, Tatjana; Wesche, Daniela; Stroe-Kunold, Esther; Schultz, Jobst-Hendrik; Rudofsky, Gottfried; Maser-Gluth, Christiane; Herzog, Wolfgang; Friederich, Hans-Christoph

2016-04-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the characteristics of the awakening salivary cortisol in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) using a time series design. We included ten AN inpatients, six with a very low BMI (high symptom severity, HSS group) and four patients with less severe symptoms (low symptom severity, LSS group). Patients collected salivary cortisol daily upon awakening. The number of collected saliva samples varied across patients between n=65 and n=229 (due to the different lengths of their inpatient stay). In addition, before retiring, the patients answered questions daily on the handheld regarding disorder-related psychosocial variables. The analysis of cortisol and diary data was conducted by using a time series approach. Time series showed that the awakening cortisol of the AN patients was elevated as compared to a control group. Cortisol measurements of patients with LSS essentially fluctuated in a stationary manner around a constant mean. The series of patients with HSS were generally less stable; four HSS patients showed a non-stationary cortisol awakening series. Antipsychotic medication did not change awakening cortisol in a specific way. The lagged dependencies between cortisol and depressive feelings became significant for four patients. Here, higher cortisol values were temporally associated with higher values of depressive feelings. Upon awakening, the cortisol of all AN patients was in the standard range but elevated as compared to healthy controls. Patients with HSS appeared to show less stable awakening cortisol time series compared to patients with LSS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of a Classroom-Based Yoga Intervention on Cortisol and Behavior in Second- and Third-Grade Students: A Pilot Study

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Butzer, Bethany; Day, Danielle; Potts, Adam; Ryan, Connor; Coulombe, Sarah; Davies, Brandie; Weidknecht, Kimberly; Ebert, Marina; Flynn, Lisa; Khalsa, Sat Bir S.

2015-01-01

This uncontrolled pilot study examined the effects of a classroom-based yoga intervention on cortisol concentrations and perceived behavior in children. A 10-week Yoga 4 Classrooms® intervention was implemented in one second- and one third-grade classroom. Students’ salivary cortisol responses were assessed at three time points. Classroom teachers also documented their perceptions of the effects of the intervention on students’ cognitive, social and emotional skills. Second, but not third, graders showed a significant decrease in baseline cortisol from before to after the intervention. Second and third graders both showed significant decreases in cortisol from before to after a cognitive task, but neither grade showed additional decreases from before to after a single yoga class. The second-grade teacher perceived significant improvements in several aspects his/her students’ behavior. The third-grade teacher perceived some, but fewer, improvements in his/her students’ behavior. Results suggest that school-based yoga may be advantageous for stress management and behavior. PMID:25412616

Different levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and cortisol in healthy heavy smokers.

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Neves, C D C; Lacerda, A C R; Lima, L P; Lage, V K S; Balthazar, C H; Leite, H R; Mendonça, V A

2017-10-19

Studies suggest that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis modulate dopaminergic activity in response to nicotine and that the concentrations of BDNF and cortisol seem to be dependent on the amount and duration of smoking. Therefore, we investigated BDNF and cortisol levels in smokers ranked by daily cigarette consumption. Twenty-seven adult males (13 non-smokers and 14 smokers) participated in the study. The smokers were divided in two groups: light (n=7) and heavy smokers (n=7). Anthropometric parameters and age were paired between the groups, and plasma BDNF and salivary cortisol levels were measured. Saliva samples were collected on awakening, 30 min after awakening, at 10:00 and 12:00 am, 5:00 and 10:00 pm. Additionally, cotinine serum levels were measured in smokers. Heavy smokers had higher mean values of BDNF compared to the control group (P=0.01), whereas no difference was observed in light smokers. Moreover, heavy smokers presented lower cortisol levels in the last collection (10:00 pm) than the control group (P=0.02) and presented statically higher values of cotinine than the light smokers (P=0.002). In conclusion, changes in BDNF and cortisol levels (10:00 pm) appear to be dependent on heavy cigarette smoking and can be involved in activation and in the relationship between the mesolimbic system and the HPA axis.

Cortisol and prolactin concentrations during repeated blood sample collection from freely moving, mouse-sized mammals (Phodopus spp.).

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Reburn, C J; Wynne-Edwards, K E

2000-04-01

Validation of a method for obtaining blood samples that does not change cortisol or prolactin concentrations yet allows serial blood samples to be collected from animals under anesthesia, without prior handling, from freely interacting social groups of small mammals. Results from five experiments are reported. Male dwarf hamsters (Phodopus spp.) were housed in modified home cages under continuous flow of compressed air that could be switched to isoflurane in O2 vehicle without approaching the cages. Dwarf hamsters respond to manual restraint with behavioral distress and increase in the concentration of the dominant glucocorticoid, cortisol, and decrease in prolactin concentration. Both effects are evident within one minute. In contrast, when this new method was used, neither cortisol nor prolactin changed in response to repeated sample collection (up to 8 successive samples at 2 hour intervals), prolonged isoflurane exposure, or substantial blood volume reduction (30%). Prolactin concentration was suppressed and cortisol concentration was increased in response to stimuli from other hamsters tested without anesthesia. Suppression of prolactin concentration was graded in response to the degree of stress and equaled the pharmacologic reduction caused by bromocryptine mesylate (50 microg of CB154 x 3 days). The technique is superior to alternatives for studies of behavioral endocrinology of freely interacting small mammals.

The anticipatory stress response to sport competition; a systematic review with meta-analysis of cortisol reactivity.

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van Paridon, Kjell N; Timmis, Matthew A; Nevison, Charlotte M; Bristow, Matt

2017-01-01

Athletes anticipating sport competition regularly experience distinct emotional and physiological responses as a result of the expected psychosocial and physical stress. Specifically, cortisol, an indicator of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation, prepares the athlete for the psychological and physiological demands of competition. The objective of this meta-analysis is to analyse the magnitude of the anticipatory cortisol response in athletes preparing to participate in sport competition and to examine the influence of gender, level of competition and data collection time. Systematic review with meta-analysis. Four electronic databases were searched to March 2017: PubMed, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus and Scopus. (1) Athletes participating in real sport competition;(2) salivary cortisol concentration collected before competition in addition to baseline sample(s);(3) original research article published in English language. Data from 25 studies provided 27 effect sizes. A significant anticipatory cortisol response of g=0.85, pstress response. There were no significant differences between level of competition, type of sport or time of competition. Meta-regression indicated that the anticipatory cortisol response is greater when assessed closer to the start of competition (Q=6.85, p=0.009). The anticipatory cortisol response before sport competition reflects moderate cortisol reactivity that prepares athletes optimally for the demands of sport competition via the influence on cognitive processes and attentional control. However, both female athletes and international competitors did not demonstrate a significant anticipatory cortisol response, possibly due to differences in appraisal of the stress of sport competition.

Evaluation of a method to measure long term cortisol levels.

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Manenschijn, Laura; Koper, Jan W; Lamberts, Steven W J; van Rossum, Elisabeth F C

2011-01-01

Elevated levels of cortisol are known to induce various symptoms and diseases, e.g. abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Measuring serum, saliva and urine cortisol is limited to one time point. Measurement of cortisol in scalp hair is a recently developed method to measure long term cortisol levels. The aim of this study was to investigate whether hair cortisol is a feasible parameter to measure cortisol exposure. We collected hair samples of 195 healthy individuals, 9 hypercortisolemic and one hypocortisolemic patient and measured hair cortisol levels. Cortisol was extracted from scalp hair using methanol and cortisol levels were measured using a salivary ELISA kit. Measurement of waist and hip circumferences and blood pressure was performed in 46 healthy subjects. We found a positive correlation between hair cortisol and both waist circumference (r=0.392, p=0.007) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (r=0.425, p=0.003). No correlations were found between hair cortisol levels and BMI, blood pressure or age. There was no decline in cortisol levels in six consecutive hair segments. Hair cortisol levels were elevated in patients with known hypercortisolism (pcortisol was positively correlated with WHR, suggesting that hair cortisol reflects cortisol exposure at tissue level, which was also supported by elevated hair cortisol levels in hypercortisolemic patients and concordance between hair cortisol levels and clinical disease course. Cortisol levels in hair are slightly influenced by hair treatment but not by natural hair colour, use of hair products, gender or age. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Children's diurnal cortisol responses to negative events at school and home.

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Bai, Sunhye; Robles, Theodore F; Reynolds, Bridget M; Repetti, Rena L

2017-09-01

This study examined the within-and between-person associations between daily negative events - peer problems, academic problems and interparental conflict - and diurnal cortisol in school-age children. Salivary cortisol levels were assessed four times per day (at wakeup, 30min later, just before dinner and at bedtime) on eight days in 47 youths ages 8-13 years old (60% female; M age=11.28, SD=1.50). The relative contributions of within- and between-person variances in each stressor were estimated in models predicting same-day diurnal cortisol slope, same-day bedtime cortisol, and next morning wakeup cortisol. Children who reported more peer problems on average showed flatter slopes of cortisol decline from wakeup to bedtime. However, children secreted more cortisol at wakeup following days when they had reported more peer or academic problems than usual. Interparental conflict was not significantly associated with diurnal cortisol. Findings from this study extend our understanding of short-term cortisol responses to naturally occurring problems in daily life, and help to differentiate these daily processes from the cumulative effects of chronic stress. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Recent negative life events increase hair cortisol concentrations in patients with bipolar disorder.

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Staufenbiel, Sabine M; Koenders, Manja A; Giltay, Erik J; Elzinga, Bernet M; Manenschijn, Laura; Hoencamp, Erik; van Rossum, Elisabeth F C; Spijker, Anne T

2014-12-01

Life events induce stress, which is considered to negatively impact the course of disease in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), its effects being predominantly mediated by cortisol. Cortisol in scalp hair has been identified as a biomarker for assessing long-term cortisol levels, and allows clarifying the relation between life events, hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), and clinical course over time. In 71 BD patients, we analyzed the proximal 3 cm of hair, reflecting 3 months of cortisol production, and investigated the association between HCC, the number of life events, the amount of social support, and mood in the 3 months prior to the hair assessment and between HCC and mood in the subsequent 3 months. Although the total number of life events was not associated with HCC (p > 0.05), the number of negative life events was associated with increased HCC (r(2)( )= 0.04, p = 0.02). Social support showed an inverse association with HCC in patients reporting negative life events (r(2)( )= 0.07, p = 0.03). HCC and mood were not associated in the 3 months prior to hair sampling or in the subsequent 3 months. This study indicates that patients who experienced recent negative life events have increased hair cortisol levels, which seem to be attenuated by social support.

Salivary Hormones Response to Preparation and Pre-competitive Training of World-class Level Athletes

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Guilhem, Gaël; Hanon, Christine; Gendreau, Nicolas; Bonneau, Dominique; Guével, Arnaud; Chennaoui, Mounir

2015-01-01

This study aimed to compare the response of salivary hormones of track and field athletes induced by preparation and pre-competitive training periods in an attempt to comment on the physiological effects consistent with the responses of each of the proteins measured. Salivary testosterone, cortisol, alpha-amylase, immunoglobulin A (IgA), chromogranin A, blood creatine kinase activity, and profile of mood state were assessed at rest in 24 world-class level athletes during preparation (3 times in 3 months) and pre-competitive (5 times in 5 weeks) training periods. Total mood disturbance and fatigue perception were reduced, while IgA (+61%) and creatine kinase activity (+43%) increased, and chromogranin A decreased (−27%) during pre-competitive compared to preparation period. A significant increase in salivary testosterone (+9 to +15%) and a decrease in testosterone/cortisol ratio were associated with a progressive reduction in training load during pre-competitive period (P athletics training. PMID:26635619

Resetting the Abnormal Circadian Cortisol Rhythm in Adrenal Incidentaloma Patients With Mild Autonomous Cortisol Secretion.

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Debono, Miguel; Harrison, Robert F; Chadarevian, Rita; Gueroult, Carole; Abitbol, Jean-Louis; Newell-Price, John

2017-09-01

Adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) are found commonly on axial imaging. Around 30% exhibit autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) associated with increased cardiovascular events and death. We hypothesized that AI/ACS patients have an abnormal cortisol rhythm that could be reversed by use of carefully timed short-acting cortisol synthesis blockade, with improvement in cardiovascular disease markers. In a phase 1/2a, prospective study (Eudract no. 2012-002586-35), we recruited six patients with AI/ACS and two control groups of six sex-, age-, and body mass index-matched individuals: (1) patients with AI and no ACS (AI/NoACS) and (2) healthy volunteers with no AI [healthy controls (HC)]. Twenty-four-hour circadian cortisol analysis was performed to determine any differences between groups and timing of intervention for cortisol lowering using the 11β-hydroxylase inhibitor metyrapone. Circadian profiles of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) were assessed. Serum cortisol levels in group AI/ACS were significantly higher than both group AI/NoACS and group HC from 6 pm to 10 pm [area under the curve (AUC) difference: 0.81 nmol/L/h; P = 0.01] and from 10 pm to 2 am (AUC difference: 0.86 nmol/L/h; P cortisol rhythms were reassessed. Postintervention evening serum cortisol was lowered, similar to controls [6 pm to 10 pm (AUC difference: -0.06 nmol/L/h; P = 0.85); 10 pm to 2 am (AUC difference: 0.10 nmol/L/h; P = 0.76)]. Salivary cortisone showed analogous changes. IL-6 levels were elevated before treatment [10 pm to 2 pm (AUC difference: 0.42 pg/mL/h; P = 0.01)] and normalized post treatment. In AI/ACS, the evening and nocturnal cortisol exposure is increased. Use of timed evening doses of metyrapone resets the cortisol rhythm to normal. This unique treatment paradigm is associated with a reduction in the cardiovascular risk marker IL-6. Copyright © 2017 Endocrine Society

Salivary function impairment in type 2 Diabetes patients associated with concentration and genetic polymorphisms of chromogranin A.

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Kogawa, Evelyn Mikaela; Grisi, Daniela Corrêa; Falcão, Denise Pinheiro; Amorim, Ingrid Aquino; Rezende, Taia Maria Berto; da Silva, Izabel Cristina Rodrigues; Silva, Osmar Nascimento; Franco, Octávio Luiz; de Amorim, Rivadávio Fernandes Batista

2016-11-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on salivary function impairments according to glycemic control status and subsequently compare the concentration of chromogranin A (CHGA) with its genetic profile. Thirty-six patients with controlled T2DM, 36 with poorly controlled T2DM, and 38 nondiabetic subjects underwent salivary flow rate measurements by means of unstimulated labial (ULS), unstimulated whole (UWS), and stimulated whole saliva (SWS) collections. CHGA concentrations were determined in saliva and plasma with ELISA, and two CHGA polymorphisms (T-415C and Glu264Asp) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. T2DM patients presented significantly lower ULS and UWS flow rates regardless of glycemic control status compared to controls (P = 0.002 and P = 0.027, respectively). The SWS flow rate in the poorly controlled T2DM was the lowest among the groups (P = 0.026). Significantly higher plasma and salivary CHGA levels were found in T2DM groups (P = 0.019 and P diabetics and control subjects when associated with lower salivary flow and higher salivary CHGA production (P salivary glands. However, poorly controlled T2DM has the most influence on SWS flow rates. Our findings indicate an association between plasma and salivary CHGA levels and T2DM patients. Furthermore, the results suggest that CGHA polymorphisms might be associated with salivary gland hypofunction and higher salivary CHGA production in T2DM patients. Nevertheless, further epidemiological studies are required to elucidate this clinical implication. Salivary impairments and high levels of CHGA are associated with T2DM patients. In addition, CGHA polymorphisms might be associated with salivary gland hypofunction and higher salivary CHGA production in T2DM patients. This could be a significant insight to establish a role for salivary CHGA as a potential clinical biomarker to T2DM.

Stress-related cortisol responsivity modulates prospective memory.

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Glienke, K; Piefke, M

2017-12-01

It is known that there is inter-individual variation in behavioural and physiological stress reactions to the same stressor. The present study aimed to examine the impact of cortisol responsivity on performance in a complex real life-like prospective memory (PM) paradigm by a re-analysis of data published previously, with a focus on the taxonomy of cognitive dimensions of PM. Twenty-one male subjects were stressed with the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test (SECPT) before the planning of intentions. Another group of 20 males underwent a control procedure. Salivary cortisol was measured to assess the intensity of the biological stress response. Additionally, participants rated the subjective experience of stress on a 5-point rating scale. Stressed participants were post-hoc differentiated in high (n = 11) and low cortisol responders (n = 10). Cortisol niveau differed significantly between the two groups, whereas subjective stress ratings did not. PM performance of low cortisol responders was stable across time and the PM performance of controls declined. High cortisol responders showed a nominally weaker PM retrieval across the early trails and significantly improved only on the last trial. The data demonstrate for the first time that participants with a low cortisol responsivity may benefit from stress exposure before the planning phase of PM. PM performance of high cortisol responders shows a more inconsistent pattern, which may be interpreted in the sense of a recency effect in PM retrieval. Alternatively, high cortisol responses may have a deteriorating effect on PM retrieval, which disappeared on the last trials of the task as a result of the decrease of cortisol levels across time. Importantly, the data also demonstrate that the intensity of cortisol responses does not necessarily correspond to the intensity of the mental experience of stress. © 2017 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

Stress contagion in the classroom? The link between classroom teacher burnout and morning cortisol in elementary school students.

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Oberle, Eva; Schonert-Reichl, Kimberly A

2016-06-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the link between classroom teachers' burnout levels and students' physiological stress response. Drawing from a stress-contagion framework, we expected higher levels of teacher burnout to be related to elevated cortisol levels in elementary school students (N = 406, 50% female, Mean age = 11.26, SD = .89). Classroom teacher burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory modified for teachers. Salivary cortisol was collected as an indicator of students' hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) functioning. We collected salivary cortisol in children at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 2 p.m. in the classroom setting. Using Multilevel Modeling, we found that children's morning cortisol levels significantly varied between classrooms (10% variability). Higher levels of classroom teacher burnout significantly predicted the variability in morning cortisol. Teacher burnout reduced the unexplained variability in cortisol at the classroom level to 4.6%. This is the first study to show that teachers' occupational stress is linked to students' physiological stress regulation. We discuss the present findings in the context of potential stress contagion in the classroom, considering empirical and practical relevance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hair cortisol and cortisol awakening response are associated with criteria of the metabolic syndrome in opposite directions.

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Kuehl, Linn K; Hinkelmann, Kim; Muhtz, Christoph; Dettenborn, Lucia; Wingenfeld, Katja; Spitzer, Carsten; Kirschbaum, Clemens; Wiedemann, Klaus; Otte, Christian

2015-01-01

Findings on the association between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and metabolic risk are equivocal. Different methods of measuring HPA activity might indicate adverse vs. beneficial effects of HPA activity on metabolic risk thus contributing to heterogenous findings. In this study, we aimed to determine whether (1) the salivary cortisol awakening response (CAR) as a marker of awakening-induced activation of the HPA axis and (2) hair cortisol as a marker of long-term cortisol secretion are associated with criteria of the metabolic syndrome. Therefore, we recruited 41 healthy individuals (26 women, mean age: 41.2 years) and 44 patients with major depression (28 women, 41.4 years) and assessed CAR and hair cortisol values as well as all criteria of the metabolic syndrome (abdominal obesity, blood pressure, plasma glucose, triglycerides and high-density cholesterol levels) according to the International Diabetes Federation. CAR and hair cortisol values were divided into tertiles. Across groups, participants with hair cortisol or hair cortisone in the highest tertile showed significantly more criteria of the metabolic syndrome compared to participants in the medium or low tertile (F2,64=3.37, p=.04). These results were corroborated by significant positive correlations between mean hair cortisol values with waist circumference (r=.29, p=.03), triglycerides (r=.34, p=.01) and systolic blood pressure (r=.29, p=.04) and between mean hair cortisone and triglycerides (r=.46, pcortisol and hair cortisone levels but lower CAR values are associated with an unfavorable metabolic and cardiovascular risk profile. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Serotonin transporter genotype, salivary cortisol, neuroticism and life events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinberg, Maj; Miskowiak, Kamilla; Kessing, Lars Vedel

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if cortisol alone or in interaction with other risk factors (familial risk, the serotonin transporter genotype, neuroticism and life events (LEs)) predicts onset of psychiatric disorder in healthy individuals at heritable risk. MATRIAL AND METHODS: In a high-risk study...

LATE-NIGHT SALIVARY CORTISOL IS UNALTERED IN PATIENTS WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME (PCOS), IRRESPECTIVE OF DISEASE PHENOTYPE, AND IN OBESE WOMEN, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE PRESENCE OF PCOS.

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Ozkaya, Hande Mefkure; Keskin, Fatma Ela; Tuten, Abdullah; Korkmaz, Ebru; Oktay, Hulya Zeynep; Kadioglu, Pinar

2017-09-01

To determine cutoff values of late-night salivary cortisol (LNSC) using an electrochemiluminescent immunoassay and investigate whether the diagnostic performance of the assay is influenced by the presence of obesity or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A total of 124 subjects comprising 25 patients with Cushing syndrome (CS), 44 with PCOS (22 nonobese and 22 obese), 21 with constitutional obesity (CO), and 34 healthy subjects (HS) were included in the study. Two consecutive LNSC samples were collected from all participants. The median LNSC levels of patients with CS were significantly higher than LNSC levels of HS, patients with CO, and obese and nonobese patients with PCOS, respectively (P.05 for all). The cutoff values and corresponding sensitivity and specificity were similar between the groups. The comparisons of the area under curve of the first LNSC (0.963; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.910 to 0.989), second LNSC (0.954; 95% CI, 0.898 to 0.984), and the mean of two consecutive LNSC (mLNSC) values (0.962; 95% CI, 0.909 to 0.989) did not differ significantly (P>.05 for all). A cutoff value for mLNSC of 7.45 nmol/L yielded a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 87.5% in HS. In conclusion, LNSC is a reliable test with high diagnostic accuracy in both HS and patients with PCOS and obesity. ACTH = adrenocorticotropic hormone AUC = area under the curve BMI = body mass index CO = constitutional obesity CS = Cushing syndrome E2 = estradiol ECLIA = electrochemiluminescent immunoassay FPG = fasting plasma glucose FSH = follicle-stimulating hormone HOMA-IR = homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance HPA = hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal HS = healthy subjects IQR = interquartile range LH = luteinizing hormone LNSC = late-night salivary cortisol LR = likelihood ratio mLNSC = mean of two consecutive LNSC samples PCOS = polycystic ovarian syndrome ROC = receiver operating characteristic UFC = urinary free cortisol WHR = waist-to-hip ratio.

Habitual sleep quality and diurnal rhythms of salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in postmenopausal women.

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Huang, Tianyi; Poole, Elizabeth M; Vetter, Celine; Rexrode, Kathryn M; Kubzansky, Laura D; Schernhammer, Eva; Rohleder, Nicolas; Hu, Frank B; Redline, Susan; Tworoger, Shelley S

2017-10-01

Dysregulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been suggested as a potential mechanism linking sleep and cardiometabolic disorders. However, the associations of two primary outputs of the HPA axis, cortisol and its antagonist dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), with sleep are less well studied. In the Nurses' Health Study II, 233 postmenopausal women provided five timed saliva samples over one day (immediately upon waking, 45min, 4h, and 10h after waking, and prior to going to sleep) to measure cortisol and DHEA. Of these, 209 completed assessment of their habitual sleep patterns using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). We used piecewise linear mixed models to compare cross-sectional associations of slopes reflecting diurnal cortisol and DHEA rhythms with overall sleep quality and with seven sub-components. Overall, we observed no differences in the diurnal patterns of cortisol or DHEA between good versus poor sleepers as assessed by the global PSQI score. However, longer sleep latency was associated with significantly reduced cortisol awakening rise (p=0.02). Poorer subjective sleep quality (p=0.02), shorter sleep duration (p=0.02), and lower sleep efficiency (p=0.03) were associated with slower rate of cortisol decline later in the day. Women reporting daytime dysfunction had a sharper cortisol decline early in the day (p=0.03) but a flattened decline later in the day (p=0.01). The differences in diurnal patterns of DHEA between good versus poor sleepers, though less pronounced, were similar in direction to those of cortisol. Self-reported sleep duration, efficiency, latency and daytime dysfunction were associated with altered diurnal rhythms of cortisol and, to a lesser extent, DHEA. These findings provide support for the interplay between sleep and the HPA axis that may contribute to cardiometabolic disease. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of mobile phone use on salivary concentrations of protein, amylase, lipase, immunoglobulin A, lysozyme, lactoferrin, peroxidase and C-reactive protein of the parotid gland.

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Hashemipour, M S; Yarbakht, M; Gholamhosseinian, A; Famori, H

2014-05-01

The possibility of side effects associated with the electromagnetic waves emitted from mobile phones is a controversial issue. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of mobile phone use on parotid gland salivary concentrations of protein, amylase, lipase, immunoglobulin A, lysozyme, lactoferrin, peroxidase and C-reactive protein. Stimulated salivary samples were collected simultaneously from both parotid glands of 86 healthy volunteers. Salivary flow rate and salivary concentrations of proteins, amylase, lipase, lysozyme, lactoferrin, peroxidase, C-reactive protein and immunoglobulin A, were measured. Data were analysed using t-tests and one-way analyses of variance. Salivary flow rate and parotid gland salivary concentrations of protein were significantly higher on the right side compared to the left in those that predominantly held mobile phones on the right side. In addition, there was a decrease in concentrations of amylase, lipase, lysozyme, lactoferrin and peroxidase. The side of dominant mobile phone use was associated with differences in salivary flow rate and parotid gland salivary concentrations, in right-dominant users. Although mobile phone use influenced salivary composition, the relationship was not significant.

Stress-related cortisol response and laboratory eating behavior in obese women.

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Lorig, Fabian; Kießl, Gundula Rebecca Raphaela; Laessle, Reinhold Gustav

2016-06-01

Stress-related cortisol secretion has been linked to increased appetite and subsequent food intake in overweight individuals. The present study addresses this relationship in a repeated-measures randomized controlled laboratory experiment. Nineteen obese women were compared to 36 normal weight controls with respect to stress-induced salivary cortisol and laboratory eating behavior, measured by a universal eating monitor. The trier social stress test served as stressor. Stress-induced cortisol levels were significantly higher in the obese compared to the normal weight controls. Unexpectedly, a corresponding increase in laboratory food intake was not detected. The results are interpreted and discussed with regard to restrained eating, which was found to be present to a significant degree in the obese women.

Childhood parental divorce and cortisol in young adulthood: evidence for mediation by family income.

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Kraft, Amy J; Luecken, Linda J

2009-10-01

Childhood parental divorce has been linked with negative physical and psychological health in adulthood, potentially due to alterations in adrenocortical activity resulting from chronic stress. The current study evaluated cortisol in 94 young adults (mean age 19.9) from families characterized by parental divorce (n=43) or intact parental marriages (n=51). Salivary cortisol was assessed prior to and at 3 time points after a challenging speech task. Participants from divorced families had significantly lower cortisol across the experimental period than those from intact families, even after controlling for family conflict and current depression and anxiety. Lower family income was also associated with lower cortisol, and partially mediated the relationship between parental divorce and cortisol. Findings suggest that childhood parental divorce is associated with attenuated cortisol in young adulthood, which may be explained by lower income in divorced families.

Relationship between cortisol reactivity to psychosocial stress and declarative memory decline during aging: Impact of age and sex.

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Dos Santos, Aline Talita; Leyendecker, Dayse Maria D; Costa, Ana Lucia Siqueira; de Souza-Talarico, Juliana Nery

2018-01-01

To analyze the relationship between memory performance and the neuroendocrine and cardiovascular response to acute psychosocial stress in healthy older people, and the sex and age impact in this relationship. We randomly selected 100 literate older adults, without cognitive or functional impairment. The neuroendocrine stress response was evaluated by measuring the concentration of salivary cortisol, whereas cardiovascular reactions were determined based on blood pressure and heart rate measures taken before, during and after participant exposure to an acute psychosocial stressor (the Trier social stress test [TSST]). Memory performance was evaluated by applying the word pairs test before and after the TSST. A significant reduction in the word pair test scores was observed after the TSST, and a negative correlation between cortisol concentration and immediate and delayed recall of the word pair. Cortisol concentration associated with age, sex and education explained memory performance variability before and after the TSST. The results showed that the influence of acute stress on memory performance during aging might vary according to age and sex, highlighting potential differences in the vulnerability of older individuals to the neurotoxic effects of stress exposure on memory and consequently on the development of cognitive disorders. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 169-176. © 2017 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Different levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and cortisol in healthy heavy smokers

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C.D.C. Neves

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Studies suggest that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis modulate dopaminergic activity in response to nicotine and that the concentrations of BDNF and cortisol seem to be dependent on the amount and duration of smoking. Therefore, we investigated BDNF and cortisol levels in smokers ranked by daily cigarette consumption. Twenty-seven adult males (13 non-smokers and 14 smokers participated in the study. The smokers were divided in two groups: light (n=7 and heavy smokers (n=7. Anthropometric parameters and age were paired between the groups, and plasma BDNF and salivary cortisol levels were measured. Saliva samples were collected on awakening, 30 min after awakening, at 10:00 and 12:00 am, 5:00 and 10:00 pm. Additionally, cotinine serum levels were measured in smokers. Heavy smokers had higher mean values of BDNF compared to the control group (P=0.01, whereas no difference was observed in light smokers. Moreover, heavy smokers presented lower cortisol levels in the last collection (10:00 pm than the control group (P=0.02 and presented statically higher values of cotinine than the light smokers (P=0.002. In conclusion, changes in BDNF and cortisol levels (10:00 pm appear to be dependent on heavy cigarette smoking and can be involved in activation and in the relationship between the mesolimbic system and the HPA axis.

Sleep habits, alertness, cortisol levels, and cardiac autonomic activity in short-distance bus drivers: differences between morning and afternoon shifts.

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Diez, Joaquín J; Vigo, Daniel E; Lloret, Santiago Pérez; Rigters, Stephanie; Role, Noelia; Cardinali, Daniel P; Chada, Daniel Pérez

2011-07-01

To evaluate sleep, alertness, salivary cortisol levels, and autonomic activity in the afternoon and morning shifts of a sample of short-distance bus drivers. A sample of 47 bus drivers was evaluated. Data regarding subjects and working characteristics, alertness (psychomotor vigilance task), sleep habits (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Actigraphy), endocrine stress response (salivary cortisol), and autonomic activity (heart-rate variability) were collected. Sleep restriction was highly prevalent. Drivers in the morning shift slept 1 hour less than those in the afternoon shift, showed lower reaction time performance, a flattening of cortisol morning-evening difference, and higher overweight prevalence. The differences found between morning and afternoon shifts point out to the need of the implementation of educational strategies to compensate the sleep loss associated with an early work schedule.

Individual differences in the cortisol responses of neglected and comparison children.

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Sullivan, Margaret Wolan; Bennett, David S; Lewis, Michael

2013-02-01

Neglected children's acute hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) reactivity in response to a laboratory visit was contrasted with that of a comparison group. The authors examined initial salivary cortisol response upon entering the laboratory and its trajectory following a set of tasks designed to elicit negative self-evaluation in 64 children (30 with a history of neglect and 34 demographically matched comparison children). Neglected, but not comparison, children showed higher initial cortisol responses. The cortisol response of both groups showed a decline from the sample taken at lab entry, with neglected children's cortisol exhibiting steeper decline. The groups, however, did not differ in their mean cortisol levels at 20 and 35 min post-task. The results are interpreted in terms of the meaning of initial responses as a "baseline" and as evidence for neglected children's heightened HPA-axis reactivity as either a reflection of differences in home levels or the consequence of stress/anxiety associated with arrival at the laboratory.

A Comparison of Salivary Steroid Levels during Diagnostic Tests for Adrenal Insufficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michaela Dušková

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Numerous diagnostic tests are used to evaluate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis. The gold standard is still considered the insulin tolerance test (ITT, but this test has many limitations. Current guidelines therefore recommend the Synacthen test first when an HPA axis insufficiency is suspected. However, the dose of Synacthen that is diagnostically most accurate and sensitive is still a matter of debate. We investigated 15 healthy men with mean/median age 27.4/26 (SD ±4.8 years, and mean/median BMI (body mass index 25.38/24.82 (SD ±3.2 kg/m2. All subjects underwent 4 dynamic tests of the HPA axis, specifically 1 μg, 10 μg, and 250 μg Synacthen (ACTH tests and an ITT. Salivary cortisol, cortisone, pregnenolone, and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone were analysed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. During the ITT maximum salivary cortisol levels over 12.5 nmol/l were found at 60 minutes. Maximum cortisol levels in all of the Synacthen tests were higher than this; however, demonstrating that sufficient stimulation of the adrenal glands was achieved. Cortisone reacted similarly as cortisol, i.e. we did not find any change in the ratio of cortisol to cortisone. Pregnenolone and DHEA were higher during the ITT, and their peaks preceded the cortisol peak. There was no increase of pregnenolone or DHEA in any of the Synacthen tests. We demonstrate that the 10 μg Synacthen dose is sufficient stimulus for testing the HPA axis and is also a safe and cost-effective alternative. This dose also largely eliminates both false negative and false positive results.

Does white matter structure or hippocampal volume mediate associations between cortisol and cognitive ageing?

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Cox, Simon R.; MacPherson, Sarah E.; Ferguson, Karen J.; Royle, Natalie A.; Maniega, Susana Muñoz; Hernández, Maria del C. Valdés; Bastin, Mark E.; MacLullich, Alasdair M.J.; Wardlaw, Joanna M.; Deary, Ian J.

2015-01-01

Elevated glucocorticoid (GC) levels putatively damage specific brain regions, which in turn may accelerate cognitive ageing. However, many studies are cross-sectional or have relatively short follow-up periods, making it difficult to relate GCs directly to changes in cognitive ability with increasing age. Moreover, studies combining endocrine, MRI and cognitive variables are scarce, measurement methods vary considerably, and formal tests of the underlying causal hypothesis (cortisol → brain → cognition) are absent. In this study, 90 men, aged 73 years, provided measures of fluid intelligence, processing speed and memory, diurnal and reactive salivary cortisol and two measures of white matter (WM) structure (WM hyperintensity volume from structural MRI and mean diffusivity averaged across 12 major tracts from diffusion tensor MRI), hippocampal volume, and also cognitive ability at age 11. We tested whether negative relationships between cognitive ageing differences (over more than 60 years) and salivary cortisol were significantly mediated by WM and hippocampal volume. Significant associations between reactive cortisol at 73 and cognitive ageing differences between 11 and 73 (r = −.28 to −.36, p cognition associations (cognitive ageing differences from childhood to the early 70s, partly via brain WM structure. PMID:26298692

Comparison of methanol and isopropanol as wash solvents for determination of hair cortisol concentration in grizzly bears and polar bears.

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Kroshko, Thomas; Kapronczai, Luciene; Cattet, Marc R L; Macbeth, Bryan J; Stenhouse, Gordon B; Obbard, Martyn E; Janz, David M

2017-01-01

Methodological differences among laboratories are recognized as significant sources of variation in quantification of hair cortisol concentration (HCC). An important step in processing hair, particularly when collected from wildlife, is the choice of solvent used to remove or "wash" external hair shaft cortisol prior to quantification of HCC. The present study systematically compared methanol and isopropanol as wash solvents for their efficiency at removing external cortisol without extracting internal hair shaft cortisol in samples collected from free-ranging grizzly bears and polar bears. Cortisol concentrations in solvents and hair were determined in each of one to eight washes of hair with each solvent independently. •There were no significant decreases in internal hair shaft cortisol among all eight washes for either solvent, although methanol removed detectable hair surface cortisol after one wash in grizzly bear hair whereas hair surface cortisol was detected in all eight isopropanol washes.•There were no significant differences in polar bear HCC washed one to eight times with either solvent, but grizzly bear HCC was significantly greater in hair washed with isopropanol compared to methanol.•There were significant differences in HCC quantified using different commercial ELISA kits commonly used for HCC determinations.

Evaluation of muscle activity, bite force and salivary cortisol in children with bruxism before and after low level laser applied to acupoints: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

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Salgueiro, Mônica da Consolação Canuto; Bortoletto, Carolina Carvalho; Horliana, Anna Carolina RattoTempestini; Mota, Ana Carolina Costa; Motta, Lara Jansiski; Motta, Pamella de Barros; MesquitaFerrari, Raquel Agnelli; Fernandes, Kristianne Porta Santos; Bussadori, Sandra Kalil

2017-08-08

Bruxism is a repetitive activity that causes tooth wear, audible sounds, and discomfort. Preventive measures have been studied for conditions that can exert a negative influence on physiological development in children. Low-level laser therapy administered over acupoints is an effective, painless, low-cost treatment option that has achieved good results. Thus, the aim of the proposed study is to evaluate changes in muscle activity, bite force and salivary cortisol in children with bruxism after the application of low-level laser to accupoints. The children will be randomly allocated to four groups of 19 individuals: G1 - low-level laser; G2 - occlusal splint; G3 - placebo laser; and G4 - control (without bruxism). The BTS TMJOINT electromyography will be used to determine muscle activity and a digital gnathodynamometer will be used to measure bite force. Salivary cortisol will be analysed at baseline as well as one and six months after treatment. Two-way ANOVA will be employed and complemented by Tukey's test. Bruxism is a repetitive activity of the masticatory muscles that can have negative consequences if not treated, such as tooth wear, noises, discomfort and anxiety. Thus, control and treatment measures should be taken. Although low-level laser therapy over acupoints has been indicated for children, the effects of this treatment modality have not yet been studied. NCT02757261 on 8 April 2016. This study protocol received a grant from the Brazilian fostering agency São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP: #2015/24731-0).

Mother-adolescent physiological synchrony in naturalistic settings: within-family cortisol associations and moderators.

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Papp, Lauren M; Pendry, Patricia; Adam, Emma K

2009-12-01

In this study, the authors examined parent-adolescent cortisol associations in 45 families with adolescent children (24 girls; M age = 15.78 years, SD = 1.44 years). Family members' salivary cortisol levels were measured seven times a day on 2 typical weekdays. Family members provided reports of demographic and health variables, and adolescents rated parent-child relationship characteristics. After accounting for the effects of time of day and relevant demographic and health control variables on cortisol levels, hierarchical linear models indicated the presence of significant covariation over time in mother-adolescent cortisol (i.e., physiological synchrony). Furthermore, moderating tests revealed that mother-adolescent cortisol synchrony was strengthened among dyads characterized by mothers and adolescents spending more time together, and in families rated higher on levels of parent-youth shared activities and parental monitoring or supervision. Analysis of momentary characteristics indicated that maternal presence at the time of cortisol sampling lowered adolescent cortisol levels but did not account for mother-adolescent cortisol synchrony. Within-family physiological synchrony was amplified in momentary contexts of elevated maternal negative affect and elevated adolescent negative affect.

A matter of perception: Perceived socio-economic status and cortisol on the island of Utila, Honduras.

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García, Angela R; Gurven, Michael; Blackwell, Aaron D

2017-09-10

Numerous studies link low objective and subjective socioeconomic status (SES) to chronic activation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Here, we examine associations between objective and subjective SES and diurnal salivary cortisol, a primary HPA component, as well as demographic and ecological predictors associated with SES perceptions and changes in diurnal cortisol. Participants were residents (age 18-79, n = 61) of Utila, a Honduran island where economic disparities are overt and geographically contained. Objective SES was measured as a composite of income, education, and occupation. Subjective SES was measured with a MacArthur ladder and a perceived lifestyle discrepancy (PLD) scale. Salivary cortisol was collected three times per day for two days. Questions addressing demographic, social, and household characteristics were assessed as predictors of PLD. Assessed independently, objective SES (P = .06) and PLD (P = .003) were associated with the steepness of diurnal cortisol changes, while PLD was also associated with higher cortisol area under the curve (AUC) (P = .036). Modeled together, only PLD predicted diurnal slope and AUC. PLD was associated with household sanitation, immigration status, food scarcity, objective SES, and owing money. Only access to sanitation and owing money had direct associations with cortisol that were not mediated by PLD. For adults on Utila, perceptions of unmet need outweigh other social and economic status factors in predicting cortisol AUC and slope. In addition, the unmediated effects of access to sanitation and owing money on cortisol suggest that these distinct aspects of inequality are important to consider when seeking to understand how inequality can impact HPA function. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Dynamic changes in saliva after acute mental stress

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Naumova, Ella A.; Sandulescu, Tudor; Bochnig, Clemens; Khatib, Philipp Al; Lee, Wing-Kee; Zimmer, Stefan; Arnold, Wolfgang H.

2014-01-01

Stress-related variations of fluoride concentration in supernatant saliva and salivary sediment, salivary cortisol, total protein and pH after acute mental stress were assessed. The hypothesis was that stress reactions have no influence on these parameters. Thirty-four male students were distributed into two groups: first received the stress exposure followed by the same protocol two weeks later but without stress exposure, second underwent the protocol without stress exposure followed by the stress exposure two weeks later. The stressor was a public speech followed by tooth brushing. Saliva was collected before, immediately after stress induction and immediately, at 10, 30 and 120 min. after tooth brushing. Cortisol concentrations, total protein, intraoral pH, and fluoride content in saliva were measured. The data were analyzed statistically. Salivary sediment was ca 4.33% by weight of whole unstimulated saliva. Fluoride bioavailability was higher in salivary sediment than in supernatant saliva. The weight and fluoride concentration was not altered during 2 hours after stress exposure. After a public speech, the salivary cortisol concentration significantly increased after 20 minutes compared to the baseline. The salivary protein concentration and pH also increased. Public speaking influences protein concentration and salivary pH but does not alter the fluoride concentration of saliva. PMID:24811301

A meta-analysis of cortisol concentration, vocalization, and average daily gain associated with castration in beef cattle.

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Canozzi, Maria Eugênia Andrighetto; Mederos, America; Manteca, Xavier; Turner, Simon; McManus, Concepta; Zago, Daniele; Barcellos, Júlio Otávio Jardim

2017-10-01

A systematic review and meta-analysis (MA) were performed to summarize all scientific evidence for the effects of castration in male beef cattle on welfare indicators based on cortisol concentration, average daily gain (ADG), and vocalization. We searched five electronic databases, conference proceedings, and experts were contacted electronically. The main inclusion criteria involved completed studies using beef cattle up to one year of age undergoing surgical and non-surgical castration that presented cortisol concentration, ADG, or vocalization as an outcome. A random effect MA was conducted for each indicator separately with the mean of the control and treated groups. A total of 20 publications reporting 26 studies and 162 trials were included in the MA involving 1814 cattle. Between study heterogeneity was observed when analysing cortisol (I 2 =56.7%) and ADG (I 2 =79.6%). Surgical and non-surgical castration without drug administration compared to uncastrated animals showed no change (P≥0.05) in cortisol level. Multimodal therapy for pain did not decrease (P≥0.05) cortisol concentration after 30min when non-surgical castration was performed. Comparison between surgical castration, with and without anaesthesia, showed a tendency (P=0.077) to decrease cortisol levels after 120min of intervention. Non-surgical and surgical castration, performed with no pain mitigation, increased and tended to increase the ADG by 0.814g/d (P=0.001) and by 0.140g/d (P=0.091), respectively, when compared to a non-castrated group. Our MA study demonstrates an inconclusive result to draw recommendations on preferred castration practices to minimize pain in beef cattle. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Overweight and obese children have lower cortisol levels than normal weight children.

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Kjölhede, E Allansson; Gustafsson, P E; Gustafsson, P A; Nelson, N

2014-03-01

The stress hormone cortisol is vital to survival, and a disturbed circadian rhythm can be deleterious to health. However, little is known about cortisol levels in healthy children. The aim of this study was to examine cortisol levels in relation to body mass index (BMI), age and sex. Salivary samples were collected in early morning, late morning and evening, on four consecutive days, from 342 children aged 6-12 years using Salivette(®) tubes. Samples were analysed using a commercial enzyme immunoassay (EIA). School nurses measured the children's height and weight, and these measurements were used to calculate their BMI. The children displayed a circadian rhythm in cortisol secretion, with morning zeniths and evening nadirs. Average cortisol levels in early morning, late morning and evening were significantly lower in overweight and obese children than in their normal weight counterparts. Cortisol levels did not vary significantly with age or sex. Our findings may suggest cortisol suppression in overweight and obese children. We found no evidence that sex or age influences cortisol levels. These findings highlight the need for further research on the relationship between stress and obesity in children. ©2013 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Socioeconomic Status, Race/Ethnicity, and Diurnal Cortisol Trajectories in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Samuel, Laura J; Roth, David L; Schwartz, Brian S; Thorpe, Roland J; Glass, Thomas A

2018-03-02

Slow afternoon cortisol decline may be a marker of aging. We hypothesize that lower socioeconomic status (SES) and African American race are associated with lower waking cortisol and slower afternoon decline. Six salivary cortisol samples, collected within a 24-hr period from 566 cohort participants aged 56-78 years, were examined in random-effects models. SES measures included socioeconomic vulnerability (household income and assets Accounting for African American race/ethnicity, socioeconomic vulnerability was associated with a 3% faster decline, and education was not associated with cortisol. African Americans had 26% lower average waking cortisol and 1% slower decline than others. African American race/ethnicity, but not lower SES, was associated with lower waking cortisol and slower afternoon decline in middle-aged and older adults. This pattern is likely a marker of earlier biological aging in vulnerable groups. Race/ethnicity may compete with SES as a measure of cumulative vulnerability.

Attachment predicts cortisol response and closeness in dyadic social interaction.

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Ketay, Sarah; Beck, Lindsey A

2017-06-01

The present study examined how the interplay of partners' attachment styles influences cortisol response, actual closeness, and desired closeness during friendship initiation. Participants provided salivary cortisol samples at four timepoints throughout either a high or low closeness task that facilitated high or low levels of self-disclosure with a potential friend (i.e., another same-sex participant). Levels of actual closeness and desired closeness following the task were measured via inclusion of other in the self. Results from multi-level modeling indicated that the interaction of both participants' attachment avoidance predicted cortisol response patterns, with participants showing the highest cortisol response when there was a mismatch between their own and their partners' attachment avoidance. Further, the interaction between both participants' attachment anxiety predicted actual closeness and desired closeness, with participants both feeling and wanting the most closeness with partners when both they and their partners were low in attachment anxiety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cortisol and testosterone increase financial risk taking and may destabilize markets

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Cueva, Carlos; Roberts, R. Edward; Spencer, Tom; Rani, Nisha; Tempest, Michelle; Tobler, Philippe N.; Herbert, Joe; Rustichini, Aldo

2015-01-01

It is widely known that financial markets can become dangerously unstable, yet it is unclear why. Recent research has highlighted the possibility that endogenous hormones, in particular testosterone and cortisol, may critically influence traders’ financial decision making. Here we show that cortisol, a hormone that modulates the response to physical or psychological stress, predicts instability in financial markets. Specifically, we recorded salivary levels of cortisol and testosterone in people participating in an experimental asset market (N = 142) and found that individual and aggregate levels of endogenous cortisol predict subsequent risk-taking and price instability. We then administered either cortisol (single oral dose of 100 mg hydrocortisone, N = 34) or testosterone (three doses of 10 g transdermal 1% testosterone gel over 48 hours, N = 41) to young males before they played an asset trading game. We found that both cortisol and testosterone shifted investment towards riskier assets. Cortisol appears to affect risk preferences directly, whereas testosterone operates by inducing increased optimism about future price changes. Our results suggest that changes in both cortisol and testosterone could play a destabilizing role in financial markets through increased risk taking behaviour, acting via different behavioural pathways. PMID:26135946

Stress, cortisol, and B lymphocytes: a novel approach to understanding academic stress and immune function.

Science.gov (United States)

McGregor, Bonnie A; Murphy, Karly M; Albano, Denise L; Ceballos, Rachel M

2016-01-01

Animal and human in vitro models suggest that stress-related B lymphocyte decrements are due to high levels of glucocorticoids which cause apoptosis of pre-B-cells as they emerge from the bone marrow. The present study sought to explore the relationships among distress, salivary cortisol, and human B lymphocytes in vivo. Distress (perceived stress, negative affect, depressive symptoms), lymphocyte phenotype, and salivary cortisol were assessed among first-year graduate students (n = 22) and a community control sample (n = 30) at the start of classes in the fall and the week immediately before spring preliminary exams. Compared to controls, students reported greater distress on all measures at each time point except baseline perceived stress. Hierarchical linear regression with necessary control variables was used to assess the effect of student status on the three measures of distress, the four measures of lymphocyte phenotype, and cortisol AUC and CAR over time (T1-T2). Student status was associated with a significant decrease in CD19 + B lymphocytes and flattened cortisol awakening response (CAR). Change in CAR was associated with the decrease in CD19 + B lymphocytes. Results indicated that there are significant associations among student status, flattening of CAR, and decrements in CD19 + lymphocytes.

Extraction-free cortisol assay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

A method for determining the concentration of cortisol in a serum sample comprises: (a) incubating the sample, labelled cortisol and an effective amount of deblocking agent in an aqueous medium with a composite comprising anti-cortisol antibodies fixed in active form onto the surfaces of a negatively charged support material, the incubation being carried out at a pH of from 4.0 to 6.5 and under conditions sufficient to result in the formation of immunochemical complexes on the composite, some of which complexes comprise labelled cortisol; (b) separating the composite from the incubation medium; (c) determining the amount of label on the separated composite or in the remaining incubation medium; and (d) relating the determination of (c) to a standard to determine the cortisol concentration in the sample. (author)

Cortisol and secretory immunoglobulin A response to stress in German shepherd dogs.

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Ivona Svobodová

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine whether cortisol and secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA could be used as an indicator of acute stress in both young and adult dogs. Seventeen German shepherd puppies were exposed to the Puppy test (challenge test at the age of seven weeks. This test has been routinely used to assess the future working ability of potential police dogs. In addition, ten adult females were subjected to 4 minutes of defense training under stressful conditions. Saliva was collected from the puppies and adult females before testing and 20 minutes after the start of testing, using a cotton swab held for 1-2 minutes in each dog's mouth. Cortisol concentrations increased after the test compared to the control sample both in puppies and the adult females. However adult females showed a significant decrease in sIgA after defense training while puppies showed a tendency of increase in sIgA. We propose that salivary cortisol could be used as an indicator of stress in puppies during early ontogeny. It is not yet clear whether sIgA could be used as a useful indicator of short-term stress in dogs.

Salivary Cortisol and Binge Eating Disorder in Obese Women After Surgery for Morbid Obesity

OpenAIRE

Larsen, Junilla K.; van Ramshorst, Bert; van Doornen, Lorenz J. P.; Geenen, Rinie

2009-01-01

Background Binge eating episodes characterized by loss of control are hypothesized to be accompanied by changes in hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. Cortisol is an end product of this neuroendocrine stress system. Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the cortisol levels and the awakening cortisol response (ACR) in obese persons showing binge eating after surgery for morbid obesity. Method Sixteen obese women with binge eating disorder (BED) and 18 obese women with...

Contact with attractive women affects the release of cortisol in men

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Meij, Leander; Buunk, Abraham P.; Salvador, Alicia

Previous studies have shown that situations relevant for human mating can affect the levels of many hormones. This study focused on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis by measuring salivary cortisol levels in 84 young men prior to and after a period of short social contact with a woman or man.

Salivary testosterone and immunoglobulin A were increased by resistance training in adults with Down syndrome

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G. Fornieles

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This study was designed to assess the influence of resistance training on salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA levels and hormone profile in sedentary adults with Down syndrome (DS. A total of 40 male adults with DS were recruited for the trial through different community support groups for people with intellectual disabilities. All participants had medical approval for participation in physical activity. Twenty-four adults were randomly assigned to perform resistance training in a circuit with six stations, 3 days per week for 12 weeks. Training intensity was based on functioning in the eight-repetition maximum (8RM test for each exercise. The control group included 16 age-, gender-, and BMI-matched adults with DS. Salivary IgA, testosterone, and cortisol levels were measured by ELISA. Work task performance was assessed using the repetitive weighted-box-stacking test. Resistance training significantly increased salivary IgA concentration (P=0.0120; d=0.94 and testosterone levels (P=0.0088; d=1.57 in the exercising group. Furthermore, it also improved work task performance. No changes were seen in the controls who had not exercised. In conclusion, a short-term resistance training protocol improved mucosal immunity response as well as salivary testosterone levels in sedentary adults with DS.

Test-enhanced learning may be a gender-related phenomenon explained by changes in cortisol level

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kromann, Charles B; Jensen, Morten Lind; Ringsted, Charlotte

2011-01-01

Context Testing increases memory of a topic studied more than additional study or training. The mechanisms by which this occurs are not clearly understood. Testing can be stressful and studies suggest that the stress hormone cortisol has modulating effects on memory, predominantly in men. The aim...... student performance in a CPR scenario using a checklist and a single blinded assessor. We measured salivary cortisol pre-course, half an hour before the end of the course and post-course, and compared learning outcomes and cortisol responses between groups and genders. Results In total, 146 of 202 (72...

Concordance of mother-daughter diurnal cortisol production: Understanding the intergenerational transmission of risk for depression.

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LeMoult, Joelle; Chen, Michael C; Foland-Ross, Lara C; Burley, Hannah W; Gotlib, Ian H

2015-05-01

A growing body of research is demonstrating concordance between mother and child diurnal cortisol production. In the context of maternal history of depression, intergenerational concordance of cortisol production could contribute to hypercortisolemia in children of depressed mothers, which has been shown to increase risk for MDD. The current study is the first to examine concordance in diurnal cortisol production between mothers with a history of depression and their never-depressed, but high-risk, children. We collected salivary cortisol across 2 days from mothers with (remitted; RMD) and without (CTL) a history of recurrent episodes of depression and their never-depressed daughters. As expected, RMD mothers and their daughters both exhibited higher cortisol production than did their CTL counterparts. Moreover, both across and within groups, mothers' and daughters' cortisol production were directly coupled. These findings suggest that there is an intergenerational concordance in cortisol dysregulation that may contribute to hypercortisolemia in girls at familial risk for depression. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Salivary cortisol and immunoglobulin A: responses to stress as predictors of health complaints reported by caregivers of offspring with autistic spectrum disorder.

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De Andrés-García, S; Moya-Albiol, L; González-Bono, E

2012-09-01

In the caregiving model of chronic stress, few studies have been conducted with young middle-aged samples and no data exists about acute stress response in this population. To extend knowledge in this issue, health complaints and psychological, endocrine, and immunological responses to stress have been assessed in a cross-sectional sample of 41 parents of offspring with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison with 37 non-caregiver parents. Salivary cortisol and immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels were measured before, during, and after a mental psychosocial stressor, while mood and state anxiety were evaluated before and after the stress. Health complaints, personality traits, socio-economic status, and characteristics of the care recipient were assessed. Caregivers reported more health complaints showing buffered cortisol and IgA responses and greater increases in fatigue to acute stress than the controls. In terms of predictive power of health complaints, IgA levels, care status, and severity of the care recipient are especially relevant for caregivers. Results strongly suggest a dysregulation in the immune and hormonal stress-induced responses in middle-aged caregivers, with immune component and care characteristics as the main modulators of health complaints. A deficit in the adaptive capability of stress response is plausible in this population, emphasizing the need to consider family approaches when planning protocols for assistance to ASD patients. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cortisol, testosterone and mood state variation during an official female football competition.

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Casanova, Natalina; Palmeira-DE-Oliveira, Ana; Pereira, Ana; Crisóstomo, Luís; Travassos, Bruno; Costa, Aldo M

2016-06-01

Endogenous hormones are essential on the control of physiological reactions and adaptations during sport performance. This study aims to compare the mood state and the salivary levels of cortisol and testosterone during an official female association football tournament. Twenty female football players (22.85±4.2 years) from the Portuguese women's national team were included in the study. Mood, salivary cortisol and testosterone levels were examined in five moments over the championship (M1, neutral measures; M2-M5, on every match day). Saliva samples were collected before breakfast and immediately after each match. Mood was measured by the profile of mood states questionnaire (POMS); hormone levels were measure by immunoassay methods. Iceberg Profiles of POMS were observed during all the moments of evaluation (M2-M5), showing a decrease in vigor and an increase in tension and depression in both team defeats (M2 and M5). There is no relationship between the hormones levels and the outcome of the competition, once cortisol and testosterone decrease from pre-match to post-match in both wins (M2 and M5) and defeats (M3 and M4). For testosterone the observed decrease is significantly different (Pfootball players training systematically and regularly seem to be very well adapted to competition stress effect.

Elevated hair cortisol concentrations in children with adrenal insufficiency on hydrocortisone replacement therapy.

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Noppe, G; van Rossum, E F C; Vliegenthart, J; Koper, J W; van den Akker, E L T

2014-12-01

Glucocorticoid replacement therapy in patients with adrenal insufficiency needs to be tailored to the individual patient based on body composition and clinical signs and symptoms as no objective method for assessment of treatment adequacy is available. Current treatment regimens are often not satisfactory, which is shown by the adverse metabolic profile and doubled mortality rates in treated adrenal insufficiency patients. Measurement of cortisol concentrations in hair reflect the long-term systemic cortisol exposure and may be of use in refinement of hydrocortisone treatment. We aimed to study whether long-term cortisol (hydrocortisone) levels, as measured in scalp hair, are similar in children with adrenal insufficiency and healthy children. We set up a case control study, measuring anthropometric characteristics and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in 54 hydrocortisone substituted children with adrenal insufficiency (AI patients) in the age of 4-18 years and 54 healthy children matched for gender and age. Mean HCC were significantly higher in AI patients compared with healthy controls (mean 13·3 vs 8·2 pg/mg, P = 0·02). AI patients also had a higher BMI (P < 0·001) and waist circumference (WC) (P = 0·02). HCC was significantly associated with BMI (P = 0·002) and WC (P = 0·002). HCC explained 13% of the difference in BMI and 29% of the difference in WC between AI patients and controls. Hydrocortisone-treated AI patients have increased HCC and adverse anthropometric characteristics compared with healthy controls. HCC measurement may be of value in identifying overtreatment and thereby improve hydrocortisone replacement therapy. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Plasma oxytocin concentrations are lower in depressed vs. healthy control women and are independent of cortisol.

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Yuen, Kaeli W; Garner, Joseph P; Carson, Dean S; Keller, Jennifer; Lembke, Anna; Hyde, Shellie A; Kenna, Heather A; Tennakoon, Lakshika; Schatzberg, Alan F; Parker, Karen J

2014-04-01

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) promotes social behavior and attenuates stress responsivity in mammals. Recent clinical evidence suggests OT concentrations may be dysregulated in major depression. This study extends previous research by testing whether: 1) OT concentrations vary systematically in depressive disorders with and without hypercortisolemia, 2) gender differences in OT concentrations are observed in depressed vs. healthy control participants, and 3) OT concentrations are predictive of clinical phenotypes. Plasma OT concentrations of psychotic major depressive (PMD; n = 14: 10 female, 4 male), non-psychotic major depressive (NPMD; n = 17: 12 female, 5 male), and non-depressed, healthy control (n = 19: 11 female, 8 male) participants were assayed at 2000, 2400, 0400, and 0800 h. Plasma cortisol concentrations were quantified at 2300 h, and clinical phenotypes were determined. As expected, PMD participants, compared to NPMD and healthy control participants, showed higher plasma cortisol concentrations. Although both depressed groups showed similar OT concentrations, a significant interaction effect between group and gender was observed. Specifically, depressed females exhibited lower mean OT concentrations than depressed males. Further, depressed vs. healthy control female participants exhibited lower mean OT concentrations, whereas depressed vs. healthy control male participants showed a trend in the opposite direction. OT concentrations were also predictive of desirability, drug dependence, and compulsivity scores as measured by the Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III. All findings were independent of cortisol. These data suggest that OT signaling may provide a mechanism by which to better understand female-biased risk to develop depressive disorders and that plasma OT concentrations may be a useful biomarker of certain clinical phenotypes. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Oral lichen planus: salival biomarkers cortisol, immunoglobulin A, adiponectin.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Jornet, Pia; Cayuela, Cristina Aznar; Tvarijonaviciute, Asta; Parra-Perez, Francisco; Escribano, Damian; Ceron, Jose

2016-03-01

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic mucocutaneous disease, inflammatory and autoimmune in character, in which the pathogenesis is not fully understood. Psychological stress has also been implicated in triggering or exacerbating the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychological profile, sleep, and salivary biological markers-cortisol, immunoglobin A (IgA), and adiponectin - in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP). The sample consisted of 65 patients (33 with OLP and 32 control patients). Patients completed hospital anxiety and depression scales (HADD, HADA). Questionnaires were used to assess sleepiness: the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). A visual analog scale (VAS) was used for rating pain. Unstimulated whole saliva was evaluated, together with total proteins: cortisol, IgA, and adiponectin. Patients with OLP obtained significantly higher HADA and PSQI scores than control subjects (P = 0.001, P = 0.012, respectively). Total salivary protein (flow at rest) analysis found that total proteins were higher in the OLP group (P = 0.001). In the OLP group, IgA was 80.3 ± 51.3 vs. the control group 48.9 ± 32.8 (P = 0.005). Mean cortisol was 0.5 ± 0.3 μg/dl in the OLP group vs. 0.4 ± 0.2 μg/dl in the control group (P = 0.010). The OLP group showed a correlation between the HADA variable and pain (r = 0.358; P = 0.041), HADD (r = 0.568; P = 0.001), and PSQI (r = 0.537; P = 0.001). OLP patients presented worse psychological profiles and sleep disturbances, as well as higher values for IgA, cortisol, and total proteins than control subjects. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cortisol and ghrelin concentrations following a cold pressor stress test in overweight individuals with and without night eating.

Science.gov (United States)

Geliebter, A; Carnell, S; Gluck, M E

2013-08-01

To explore appetite-related hormones following stress in overweight individuals, and their relationship with night eating (NE) status. We measured plasma cortisol and ghrelin concentrations, and recorded ratings of stress and hunger in response to a physiological laboratory stressor (cold pressor test, CPT), in overweight women with (n=11; NE) and without (n=17; non-NE) NE. Following the CPT, cortisol (Plevels increased, as did stress and hunger ratings (all Pcortisol (Plevels than non-NE. NE also had greater cortisol area under the curve (AUC) than non-NE (P=0.019), but not when controlling for baseline cortisol levels. Ghrelin baseline and AUC did not differ between groups. NE showed higher AUC stress (Pcortisol, ghrelin, stress and hunger following a laboratory stressor, and there was some evidence for greater increases in cortisol and subjective stress among NE. The greater AUC cortisol level in NE was due to higher baseline levels, but the group difference in stress was in direct response to the stressor. Our results support a role for cortisol and stress in NE.

The Rise in Cortisol in Family Day Care: Associations with Aspects of Care Quality, Child Behavior, and Child Sex

Science.gov (United States)

Gunnar, Megan R.; Kryzer, Erin; Van Ryzin, Mark J.; Phillips, Deborah A.

2010-01-01

This study examined the increase in salivary cortisol from midmorning to midafternoon in 151 children (3.0-4.5 years) in full-time home-based day care. Compared to cortisol levels at home, increases were noted in the majority of children (63%) at day care, with 40% classified as a stress response. Observations at day care revealed that intrusive,…

Atypical evening cortisol profile induces visual recognition memory deficit in healthy human subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilpin Heather

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Diurnal rhythm-mediated endogenous cortisol levels in humans are characterised by a peak in secretion after awakening that declines throughout the day to an evening trough. However, a significant proportion of the population exhibits an atypical cycle of diurnal cortisol due to shift work, jet-lag, aging, and mental illness. Results The present study has demonstrated a correlation between elevation of cortisol in the evening and deterioration of visual object recognition memory. However, high evening cortisol levels have no effect on spatial memory. Conclusion This study suggests that atypical evening salivary cortisol levels have an important role in the early deterioration of recognition memory. The loss of recognition memory, which is vital for everyday life, is a major symptom of the amnesic syndrome and early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, this study will promote a potential physiologic marker of early deterioration of recognition memory and a possible diagnostic strategy for Alzheimer's disease.

On psychobiology in psychoanalysis - salivary cortisol and secretory IgA as psychoanalytic process parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Euler, Sebastian; Schimpf, Heinrich; Hennig, Jürgen; Brosig, Burkhard

2005-01-01

This study investigates the psychobiological impact of psychoanalysis in its four-hour setting. During a period of five weeks, 20 subsequent hours of psychoanalysis were evaluated, involving two patients and their analysts. Before and after each session, saliva samples were taken and analysed for cortisol (sCortisol) and secretory immunoglobuline A (sIgA). Four time-series (n=80 observations) resulted and were evaluated by "Pooled Time Series Analysis" (PTSA) for significant level changes and setting-mediated rhythms. Over all sessions, sCortisol levels were reduced and sIgA secretion augmented parallel to the analytic work. In one analytic dyad a significant rhythm within the four-hour setting was observed with an increase of sCortisol in sessions 2 and 3 of the week. Psychoanalysis may, therefore, have some psychobiological impact on patients and analysts alike and may modulate immunological and endocrinological processes. PMID:19742067

Psychopathy and Indirect Aggression: The Roles of Cortisol, Sex, and Type of Psychopathy

Science.gov (United States)

Vaillancourt, Tracy; Sunderani, Shafik

2011-01-01

Salivary cortisol was examined in relation to indirect aggression and primary psychopathy (i.e., cold affect and interpersonal manipulation) and secondary psychopathy (i.e., criminal tendencies and erratic lifestyle) in a sample of 154 undergraduate students. Results revealed that although psychopathy and indirect aggression were strongly…

Hair cortisol detection in dairy cattle by using EIA: protocol validation and correlation with faecal cortisol metabolites.

Science.gov (United States)

Tallo-Parra, O; Manteca, X; Sabes-Alsina, M; Carbajal, A; Lopez-Bejar, M

2015-06-01

Hair may be a useful matrix to detect cumulative cortisol concentrations in studies of animal welfare and chronic stress. The aim of this study was to validate a protocol for cortisol detection in hair from dairy cattle by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Seventeen adult Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were used during the milking period. Hair cortisol concentration was assessed in 25-day-old hair samples taken from the frontal region of the head, analysing black and white coloured hair separately. Concentrations of cortisol metabolites were determined in faeces collected twice a week during the same period of time. There was a high correlation between cortisol values in faeces and cortisol in white colour hair samples but such correlation was not significant with the black colour hair samples. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were 4.9% and 10.6%, respectively. The linearity showed R 2=0.98 and mean percentage error of -10.8 ± 1.55%. The extraction efficiency was 89.0 ± 23.52% and the parallelism test showed similar slopes. Cortisol detection in hair by using EIA seems to be a valid method to represent long-term circulating cortisol levels in dairy cattle.

Salivary cortisol and binge eating disorder in obese women after surgery for morbid obesity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Larsen, J.K.; Ramshorst, B. van; Doornen, L.J.P. van; Geenen, R.

2009-01-01

Background Binge eating episodes characterized by loss of control are hypothesized to be accompanied by changes in hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. Cortisol is an end product of this neuroendocrine stress system. Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the cortisol

The importance of the training-induced decrease in basal cortisol concentration in the improvement in muscular performance in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Grandys, M; Majerczak, J; Kulpa, J; Duda, K; Rychlik, U; Zoladz, J A

2016-01-01

Acute exercise-induced changes in cortisol concentration (C) and training related adaptation within hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been widely examined, but their influence on muscle strength performance is at best uncertain. Twenty four young healthy men were randomly assigned to an endurance training group (ET, n=12) or to a non-exercising controls (CON, n=12). ET performed supervised endurance training on cycle ergometer for 20 weeks. Endurance training program improved exercise capacity (14 % increase in power output generated at peak oxygen uptake - VO(2peak)), muscle strength performance (increase in MVC - maximal voluntary contraction - by 9 % and in TTF 50 % MVC - time to fatigue at 50 % MVC - by 21 %) and led to a decrease in basal serum C concentration (P=0.006) and an increase in basal testosterone to cortisol (T/C) and free testosterone to cortisol (fT/C) ratios (P=0.01 and P=0.02, respectively). It was found that the decrease in C concentration (deltaC) was positively correlated to the increase in local muscular endurance (deltaTTF 50 % MVC). No significant hormonal changes were seen in CON group. It is concluded that greater decrease in cortisol concentration after the endurance training is accompanied by poorer improvement in skeletal muscle performance in previously untrained subjects.

Influence of local air velocity from air conditioner evaluated by salivary and skin biomarkers

OpenAIRE

Yamaguchi, Masaki; Takahashi, Takayuki; Yoshino, Yuichiro; Sasaki, Makoto; Nishiyama, Hajime

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to reveal both the psychosomatic and the physical effects of local air velocity from an air conditioner using biomarkers which can be collected noninvasively. Salivary α-amylase activity (SAA) and salivary cortisol were used as the indexes of psychosomatic effects. The total protein (TP) collected from stratum corneum was used as an index of the physical condition of dry skin. A continuous experiment over a 5 days period in summer was conducted using 8 healthy you...

Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Daughters, Katie; Manstead, Antony S R; Hubble, Kelly; Rees, Aled; Thapar, Anita; van Goozen, Stephanie H M

2015-01-01

The use of intranasal oxytocin (OT) in research has become increasingly important over the past decade. Although researchers have acknowledged a need for further investigation of the physiological effects of intranasal administration, few studies have actually done so. In the present double-blind cross-over study we investigated the longevity of a single 24 IU dose of intranasal OT measured in saliva in 40 healthy adult males. Salivary OT concentrations were significantly higher in the OT condition, compared to placebo. This significant difference lasted until the end of testing, approximately 108 minutes after administration, and peaked at 30 minutes. Results showed significant individual differences in response to intranasal OT administration. To our knowledge this is the largest and first all-male within-subjects design study to demonstrate the impact of intranasal OT on salivary OT concentrations. The results are consistent with previous research in suggesting that salivary OT is a valid matrix for OT measurement. The results also suggest that the post-administration 'wait-time' prior to starting experimental tasks could be reduced to 30 minutes, from the 45 minutes typically used, thereby enabling testing during peak OT concentrations. Further research is needed to ascertain whether OT concentrations after intranasal administration follow similar patterns in females, and different age groups.

Salivary Oxytocin Concentrations in Males following Intranasal Administration of Oxytocin: A Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katie Daughters

Full Text Available The use of intranasal oxytocin (OT in research has become increasingly important over the past decade. Although researchers have acknowledged a need for further investigation of the physiological effects of intranasal administration, few studies have actually done so. In the present double-blind cross-over study we investigated the longevity of a single 24 IU dose of intranasal OT measured in saliva in 40 healthy adult males. Salivary OT concentrations were significantly higher in the OT condition, compared to placebo. This significant difference lasted until the end of testing, approximately 108 minutes after administration, and peaked at 30 minutes. Results showed significant individual differences in response to intranasal OT administration. To our knowledge this is the largest and first all-male within-subjects design study to demonstrate the impact of intranasal OT on salivary OT concentrations. The results are consistent with previous research in suggesting that salivary OT is a valid matrix for OT measurement. The results also suggest that the post-administration 'wait-time' prior to starting experimental tasks could be reduced to 30 minutes, from the 45 minutes typically used, thereby enabling testing during peak OT concentrations. Further research is needed to ascertain whether OT concentrations after intranasal administration follow similar patterns in females, and different age groups.

Adverse parenting is associated with blunted salivary cortisol awakening response and altered expression of glucocorticoid receptor β and β2-adrenergic receptor mRNAs in leukocytes in Japanese medical students.

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Kawai, Tomoko; Kuwano, Yuki; Masuda, Kiyoshi; Fujita, Kinuyo; Tanaka, Hiroki; Nishikawa, Tatsuya; Rokutan, Kazuhito; Nishida, Kensei

2017-03-01

Adverse parenting is associated with an increased risk for the development of mood and behavioral disorders. In this study, we assessed the perceived parental bonding of 232 medical students using the parental bonding instrument (PBI) and extracted 22 students who reported their parents' rearing attitudes as affectionless control (LOW; low care, high overprotection). Using the 28-item general health questionnaire, the Zung self-rating depression scale (Zung-SDS), the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), and the Spielberger state-trait-anxiety-inventory (STAI), physical and mental state of the LOW students were compared with those of 30 students who reported their parental bonding as optimal (OPT; high care and low overprotection). These questionnaire measurements demonstrated significantly higher anxiety and depressive mood in the LOW students versus the OPT students. Compared with the OPT students, the LOW students also exhibited a significantly reduced salivary cortisol awakening response (CAR) without changes across the rest of the diurnal salivary cortisol profile. Among glucocorticoid-related genes examined (GR, ADRB2, IκBα, IL10, IL1R2, IL1RN, MR, MC2R, TGFB1, TGFB2 and FASLG), real-time reverse transcription-PCR showed that the LOW students significantly increased expression of a dominant negative glucocorticoid receptor β (GRβ) mRNA and decreased β2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) mRNA levels in circulating leukocytes. These results suggest that negative perception of parents' child-rearing attitudes may be associated with anxiety and depressive mood and altered glucocorticoid signaling even in healthy young adults.

Measurements and signification of unbound cortisol in plasma

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Heyns, W.; Coolens, J.L.; Van Baelen, H.; De Moor, P.

1984-01-01

It is generally accepted that transcortin-bound cortisol in plasma has no direct hormonal activity. For that reason unbound cortisol, rather than total cortisol will reflect hormonal impregnation. In this communication we present a method to calculate unbound cortisol from total cortisol and from the concentration of transcortin based on the binding equilibrium. The results of this technique correlate very well with those obtained by centrifugal ultrafiltration at 37 0 C (R=0.988, y=0.986+0.862xX; n=20) showing the validity of this technique. The diurnal variation of transcortin and of total or unbound cortisol was studied in normal adult volunteers. No diurnal variation was observed for transcortin and the concentration of this protein was identical in normal men [38.3+-3.1(SD)mg/l, n=17] and women (38.9+-4.6 mg/l; n=5) but markedly higher (89.9+-14.6 mg/l, n=9) in estrogen-treated women. As expected both total and unbound cortisol showed marked diurnal variation with relatively high levels at 8 AM (total cortisol 23.5+-2.7 μg% in men and 25.8+-6.1 μg% in women); unbound cortisol 2.3+-0.5 μg% in men; 3.0+-1.6 μg% in women) and low levels at 10 PM (total cortisol 4.9+-3.3 μg% in men, 5.7+-2.8 μg% in women; unbound cortisol 0.2+-0.1 μg% in men; 0.3+-0.1μg% in women). In estrogen-treated women the levels of total cortisol were about twice as high at all timepoints, but the unbound cortisol concentrations were similar. These results indicate that the unbound cortisol is not affected by the changed concentration of transcortin. In patients with Cushing's disease, on the other hand, the unbound cortisol is relatively more elevated than the total cortisol due to a high degree of saturation of this protein, which is often present at relatively low concentrations [fr

Comparing salivary cotinine concentration in non-smokers from the general population and hospitality workers in Spain.

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Martínez-Sánchez, Jose M; Fu, Marcela; Pérez-Ríos, Mónica; López, María J; Moncada, Albert; Fernández, Esteve

2009-12-01

The objective was to compare the pattern of exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) among non-smokers in the general population and in hospitality workers. We used the adult (16-64 years) non-smokers of two independent studies (general population and hospitality workers) in Spain. We assessed the exposure to SHS by means of questionnaire and salivary cotinine concentration. The salivary cotinine concentration by sex, age, educational level, day of week of saliva collection, and exposure to SHS were always higher in hospitality workers than in the general population. Our results indicated that non-smoker hospitality workers have higher levels of exposure to SHS than general population.

Cross-country differences in basal and stress-induced cortisol secretion in older adults.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana N Souza-Talarico

Full Text Available Several studies have emphasized the association between socioeconomic status (SES and inadequate response of the biological stress system. However, other factors related to SES are rarely considered, such as cultural values, social norms, organization, language and communication skills, which raises the need to investigate cross-country differences in stress response. Although some studies have shown differences in cortisol levels between immigrants and natives, there is no cross-country evidence regarding cortisol levels in country-native elders. This is particularly important given the high prevalence of stress-related disorders across nations during aging. The current study examined basal diurnal and reactive cortisol levels in healthy older adults living in two different countries.Salivary cortisol of 260 older adults from Canada and Brazil were analyzed. Diurnal cortisol was measured in saliva samples collected at home throughout two working days at awakening, 30 min after waking, 1400 h, 1600 h and before bedtime. Cortisol reactivity was assessed in response to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST in both populations.Our results showed that even under similar health status, psychological and cognitive characteristics, Brazilian elders exhibited higher basal and stress-induced cortisol secretion compared to the Canadian participants.These findings suggest that country context may modulate cortisol secretion and could impact the population health.

Cross-country differences in basal and stress-induced cortisol secretion in older adults.

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Souza-Talarico, Juliana N; Plusquellec, Pierrich; Lupien, Sonia J; Fiocco, Alexandra; Suchecki, Deborah

2014-01-01

Several studies have emphasized the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and inadequate response of the biological stress system. However, other factors related to SES are rarely considered, such as cultural values, social norms, organization, language and communication skills, which raises the need to investigate cross-country differences in stress response. Although some studies have shown differences in cortisol levels between immigrants and natives, there is no cross-country evidence regarding cortisol levels in country-native elders. This is particularly important given the high prevalence of stress-related disorders across nations during aging. The current study examined basal diurnal and reactive cortisol levels in healthy older adults living in two different countries. Salivary cortisol of 260 older adults from Canada and Brazil were analyzed. Diurnal cortisol was measured in saliva samples collected at home throughout two working days at awakening, 30 min after waking, 1400 h, 1600 h and before bedtime. Cortisol reactivity was assessed in response to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in both populations. Our results showed that even under similar health status, psychological and cognitive characteristics, Brazilian elders exhibited higher basal and stress-induced cortisol secretion compared to the Canadian participants. These findings suggest that country context may modulate cortisol secretion and could impact the population health.

Stress in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, and cortisol levels in older age.

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Harris, Mathew A; Cox, Simon R; Brett, Caroline E; Deary, Ian J; MacLullich, Alasdair M J

2017-03-01

The glucocorticoid hypothesis suggests that overexposure to stress may cause permanent upregulation of cortisol. Stress in youth may therefore influence cortisol levels even in older age. Using data from the 6-Day Sample, we investigated the effects of high stress in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood - as well as individual variables contributing to these measures; parental loss, social deprivation, school and home moves, illness, divorce and job instability - upon cortisol levels at age 77 years. Waking, waking +45 min (peak) and evening salivary cortisol samples were collected from 159 participants, and the 150 who were not using steroid medications were included in this study. After correcting for multiple comparisons, the only significant association was between early-adulthood job instability and later-life peak cortisol levels. After excluding participants with dementia or possible mild cognitive impairment, early-adulthood high stress showed significant associations with lower evening and mean cortisol levels, suggesting downregulation by stress, but these results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Overall, our results do not provide strong evidence of a relationship between stress in youth and later-life cortisol levels, but do suggest that some more long-term stressors, such as job instability, may indeed produce lasting upregulation of cortisol, persisting into the mid-to-late seventies.

Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as a measure for prenatal psychological distress - A systematic review.

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Mustonen, Paula; Karlsson, Linnea; Scheinin, Noora M; Kortesluoma, Susanna; Coimbra, Bárbara; Rodrigues, Ana João; Karlsson, Hasse

2018-06-01

Prenatal environment reportedly affects the programming of developmental trajectories in offspring and the modification of risks for later morbidity. Among the increasingly studied prenatal exposures are maternal psychological distress (PD) and altered maternal hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. Both prenatal PD and maternal short-term cortisol concentrations as markers for HPA axis activity have been linked to adverse child outcomes and it has been assumed that maternal PD affects the offspring partially via altered cortisol secretion patterns. Yet, the existing literature on the interrelations between these two measures is conflicting. The assessment of cortisol levels by using hair cortisol concentration (HCC) has gained interest, as it offers a way to assess long-term cortisol levels with a single non-invasive sampling. According to our review, 6 studies assessing the associations between maternal HCC during pregnancy and various types of maternal PD have been published so far. Measures of prenatal PD range from maternal symptoms of depression or anxiety to stress related to person's life situation or pregnancy. The aim of this systematic review is to critically evaluate the potential of HCC as a biomarker for maternal PD during pregnancy. We conclude that HCC appears to be inconsistently associated with self-reported symptoms of prenatal PD, especially in the range of mild to moderate symptom levels. Self-reports on PD usually cover short time periods and they seem to depict partly different phenomena than HCC. Thus, methodological aspects are in a key role in future studies evaluating the interconnections across different types of prenatal PD and maternal HPA axis functioning. Further, studies including repetitive measurements of both HCC and PD during the prenatal period are needed, as timing of the assessments is one important source of variation among current studies. The significance of prenatal HCC in the context of offspring outcomes

Effect of the emotional freedom technique on perceived stress, quality of life, and cortisol salivary levels in tension-type headache sufferers: a randomized controlled trial.