Early-life adversity and dysregulation of adult diurnal cortisol rhythm

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. S21
Author(s):  
Arun S. Karlamangla ◽  
Sharon Stein Merkin ◽  
David M. Almeida ◽  
Esther M. Friedman ◽  
Jacqueline A. Mogle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Diurnal Cortisol

Experiences of adversity in childhood and adolescence and cortisol in late adolescence

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Courtenay L. Kessler ◽  
Suzanne Vrshek-Schallhorn ◽  
Susan Mineka ◽  
Richard E. Zinbarg ◽  
Michelle Craske ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Late Adolescence ◽  
Developmental Timing ◽  
Cortisol Awakening Response ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Childhood Adversities ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Diurnal Cortisol

Abstract Early life adversity influences the diurnal cortisol rhythm, yet the relative influence of different characteristics of adversity remains unknown. In this study, we examine how developmental timing (childhood vs. adolescence), severity (major vs. minor), and domain of early life adversity relate to diurnal cortisol rhythms in late adolescence. We assessed adversity retrospectively in early adulthood in a subsample of 236 participants from a longitudinal study of a diverse community sample of suburban adolescents oversampled for high neuroticism. We used multilevel modeling to assess associations between our adversity measures and the diurnal cortisol rhythm (waking and bedtime cortisol, awakening response, slope, and average cortisol). Major childhood adversities were associated with flatter daily slope, and minor adolescent adversities were associated with greater average daily cortisol. Examining domains of childhood adversities, major neglect and sexual abuse were associated with flatter slope and lower waking cortisol, with sexual abuse also associated with higher cortisol awakening response. Major physical abuse was associated with higher waking cortisol. Among adolescent adversities domains, minor neglect, emotional abuse, and witnessing violence were associated with greater average cortisol. These results suggest severity, developmental timing, and domain of adversity influence the association of early life adversity with stress response system functioning.

scholarly journals Early-Life Adversity and Dysregulation of Adult Diurnal Cortisol Rhythm

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun S Karlamangla ◽  
Sharon Stein Merkin ◽  
David M Almeida ◽  
Esther M Friedman ◽  
Jacqueline A Mogle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Family Welfare ◽  
Cortisol Secretion ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Diurnal Cortisol ◽  
Welfare Dependence ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Diurnal Dynamic

Abstract Objectives Exposure to life stresses can lead to diminution in the capacity of stress response systems to mount a robust response to new challenges, with blunting of dynamic range—the spread between maximal attainable and minimal resting levels. We investigate the association between early-life adversity and the dynamic range of adult diurnal cortisol secretion. Method In 35- to 86-year-old adults, cortisol assayed from 16 saliva samples over 4 consecutive days was used to compute diurnal dynamic range and area under the curve (AUC). Economic adversity in childhood was indexed by recalled parental education, family welfare dependence, and perceived financial status; and childhood social adversity by parental separation, death, and abuse. Results Adjusted for age, gender, and race/ethnicity, both childhood adversities were strongly associated with smaller adult cortisol diurnal dynamic range, but not with AUC. The association with cortisol dynamic range was explained by adult social and economic variables. Discussion Early-life adversity appears to leave a long-term imprint on cortisol secretion dynamics, reducing diurnal dynamic range without increasing total secretion. This points to the importance of examining the adaptation capacity of physiological systems when studying the impact of early-life and chronic stresses on adult health.

scholarly journals Early maternal loss affects diurnal cortisol slopes in immature but not mature wild chimpanzees

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cédric Girard-Buttoz ◽  
Patrick J. Tkaczynski ◽  
Liran Samuni ◽  
Pawel Fedurek ◽  
Cristina Gomes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Urinary Cortisol ◽  
Maternal Loss ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Diurnal Cortisol ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Cortisol Levels

AbstractIn mammals, early life adversity negatively affects survival and reproductive success. A key causal mechanism is proposed by the biological embedding model which posits that adversity experienced early in life has deleterious consequences on individual physiology across the lifespan. In particular, early life adversity is expected to be a severe stressor leading to long-term alteration of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Here we tested this idea by assessing whether, as in humans, maternal loss had short and long-term impacts on orphan chimpanzee urinary cortisol levels and diurnal urinary cortisol slopes, as an indicator of the HPA axis functioning. We used 18 years of data on 50 immature and 28 mature male wild chimpanzees belonging to four communities in Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. Immature orphans who experienced early maternal loss had diurnal cortisol slopes characterised by higher early morning and late afternoon cortisol levels indicative of high activation of the HPA axis. Recently orphaned immatures had higher cortisol levels than other immatures, possibly reflecting social and nutritional stress. However, unlike in humans, we did not find significantly different cortisol profiles in orphan and non-orphan adult male chimpanzees. Our study highlights that long-term alteration of stress physiology related to early life adversity may not be viable in some wild animal populations and/or that chimpanzees, as humans, may have access to mechanisms that buffer this physiological stress, such as adoption. Our results suggest that biological embedding of altered HPA axis function is unlikely to be a mechanism contributing to the demonstrated long-term fitness consequences of maternal loss, such as reduced reproductive success, in wild long-lived mammals.

scholarly journals Effects of Early-Life Adversity on Hippocampal Structures and Associated HPA Axis Functions

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte Dahmen ◽  
Vanessa B. Puetz ◽  
Wolfgang Scharke ◽  
Georg G. von Polier ◽  
Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Hippocampal Volume ◽  
Granule Cell Layer ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Stress System ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Diurnal Cortisol ◽  
Hippocampal Subfields

Early-life adversity (ELA) is one of the major risk factors for serious mental and physical health risks later in life. ELA has been associated with dysfunctional neurodevelopment, especially in brain structures such as the hippocampus, and with dysfunction of the stress system, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Children who have experienced ELA are also more likely to suffer from mental health disorders such as depression later in life. The exact interplay of aberrant neurodevelopment and HPA axis dysfunction as risks for psychopathology is not yet clear. We investigated volume differences in the bilateral hippocampus and in stress-sensitive hippocampal subfields, behavior problems, and diurnal cortisol activity in 24 children who had experienced documented ELA (including out-of-home placement) in a circumscribed duration of adversity only in their first 3 years of life in comparison to data on 25 control children raised by their biological parents. Hippocampal volumes and stress-sensitive hippocampal subfields (Cornu ammonis [CA]1, CA3, and the granule-cell layer of the dentate gyrus [GCL-DG]) were significantly smaller in children who had experienced ELA, taking psychiatric diagnoses and dimensional psychopathological symptoms into account. ELA moderated the relationship between left hippocampal volume and cortisol: in the control group, hippocampal volumes were not related to diurnal cortisol, while in ELA children, a positive linear relationship between left hippocampal volume and diurnal cortisol was present. Our findings show that ELA is associated with altered development of the hippocampus, and an altered relationship between hippocampal volume and HPA axis activity in youth in care, even after they have lived in stable and caring foster family environments for years. Altered hippocampal development after ELA could thus be associated with a risk phenotype for the development of psychiatric disorders later in life.

Resilience in Adolescence: Prospective Self Moderates the Association of Early Life Adversity with Psychopathology

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Elizabeth Zinn ◽  
Edward Huntley ◽  
Daniel Keating
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Externalizing Behavior ◽  
Early Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Externalizing Behavior Problems ◽  
Developmental Period ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Latent Construct

Introduction. Early life adversity (ELA) can result in negative health-outcomes, including psychopathology. Evidence suggests that adolescence is a critical developmental period for processing ELA. Identity formation, which is crucial to this developmental period, may moderate the effect between ELA and psychopathology. One potential moderating variable associated with identity formation is Prospective Self, a latent construct comprised of future-oriented attitudes and behaviors.Methods. Participants are from the first wave of an ongoing longitudinal study designed to characterize behavioral and cognitive correlates of risk behavior trajectories. A community sample of 10th and 12th grade adolescents (N = 2017, 55% female) were recruited from nine public school districts across eight Southeastern Michigan counties in the United States. Data were collected in schools during school hours or after school via self-report, computer-administered surveys. Structural equation modeling was used in the present study to assess Prospective Self as a latent construct and to evaluate the relationship between ELA, psychopathology, and Prospective Self.Results. Preliminary findings indicated a satisfactory fit for the construct Prospective Self. The predicted negative associations between Prospective Self and psychopathology were found and evidence of moderation was observed for externalizing behavior problems, such that the effects of ELA were lower for individuals with higher levels of Prospective Self. Conclusion. These results support the role of Prospective Self in conferring resilience against externalizing behavior problems associated with ELA among adolescents. Keywords: Adolescence, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Psychopathology, Self-concept, Adolescent Health, Early Life Adversity

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document