Adrenocortical activity in at-risk and normally developing adolescents: Individual differences in salivary cortisol basal levels, diurnal variation, and responses to social challenges

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
BONNIE KLIMES–DOUGAN ◽  
PAUL D. HASTINGS ◽  
DOUGLAS A. GRANGER ◽  
BARBARA A. USHER ◽  
CAROLYN ZAHN–WAXLER

The purpose of this study was to examine adrenocortical activity (basal, diurnal variation, and responses to social stressors) in adolescents at risk for psychopathology. Salivary cortisol levels were examined in normally developing and at-risk youth with internalizing and externalizing symptoms ranging from subclinical to clinical levels. Adolescents showed expected patterns of diurnal variation, with high early morning cortisol levels and a pattern of decline throughout the day. Females showed higher midday and late afternoon levels than males, and these patterns interacted with risk status. Internalizing problems sometimes were associated with gradual rather than steep declines in basal cortisol production. Both immediate and delayed cortisol reactivity to a social performance stressor were associated with internalizing symptoms. There was no evidence of relations between externalizing problems and underarousal of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) system. These and other results suggest that gender is an important moderating factor linking psychopathology, development, and context with HPA axis functioning in adolescence.

2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 916-925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koraly Pérez-Edgar ◽  
Louis A. Schmidt ◽  
Heather A. Henderson ◽  
Jay Schulkin ◽  
Nathan A. Fox

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rina Dutta ◽  
George Gkotsis ◽  
Sumithra Velupillai ◽  
Ioannis Bakolis ◽  
Robert Stewart

Abstract Background Rates of suicide attempts and deaths are highest on Mondays and these occur more frequently in the morning or early afternoon, suggesting weekly temporal and diurnal variation in suicidal behaviour. It is unknown whether there are similar time trends on social media, of posts relevant to suicide. We aimed to determine temporal and diurnal variation in posting patterns on the Reddit forum SuicideWatch, an online community for individuals who might be at risk of, or who know someone at risk of suicide. Methods We used time series analysis to compare date and time stamps of 90,518 SuicideWatch posts from 1st December 2008 to 31st August 2015 to (i) 6,616,431 posts on the most commonly subscribed general subreddit, AskReddit and (ii) 66,934 of these AskReddit posts, which were posted by the SuicideWatch authors. Results Mondays showed the highest proportion of posts on SuicideWatch. Clear diurnal variation was observed, with a peak in the early morning (2:00–5:00 h), and a subsequent decrease to a trough in late morning/early afternoon (11:00–14:00 h). Conversely, the highest volume of posts in the control data was between 20:00–23:00 h. Conclusions Posts on SuicideWatch occurred most frequently on Mondays: the day most associated with suicide risk. The early morning peak in SuicideWatch posts precedes the time of day during which suicide attempts and deaths most commonly occur. Further research of these weekly and diurnal rhythms should help target populations with support and suicide prevention interventions when needed most.


2002 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHARON B. ASHMAN ◽  
GERALDINE DAWSON ◽  
HERACLES PANAGIOTIDES ◽  
EMILY YAMADA ◽  
CHARLES W. WILKINSON

Research suggests that disruptions in early caretaking can have long-term effects on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, which mediates the stress response. Children of depressed mothers are at increased risk for developing internalizing problems in part because of disruptions in their caretaking environment. The present study investigated whether children of depressed mothers exhibit elevated salivary cortisol levels. Salivary cortisol samples were collected from 45 7- to 8-year-old children of mothers with a history of depression and 29 children of nondepressed mothers. Samples were collected soon after arrival to the laboratory and after a mild laboratory stressor and at home after wakeup and before bedtime. Children who had elevated levels of internalizing symptoms and whose mothers had a history of depression showed elevated laboratory baseline cortisol levels. Children who were reported to have clinically significant internalizing symptoms were also more likely to show an elevated stress response to a mild laboratory stressor. When the longitudinal history of maternal depression was examined, maternal depression during the child's first 2 years of life was the best predictor of elevations in baseline cortisol at age 7 years. This study provides evidence that internalizing symptoms exist in conjunction with a more reactive hormonal stress system in children of depressed mothers. The results also provide preliminary evidence that exposure to maternal depression in the first 2 years of life may be related to children's cortisol levels later in life.


1991 ◽  
Vol 32 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 181-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Bailey ◽  
Margaret M. Heitkemper

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Levente Kovács ◽  
Fruzsina Luca Kézér ◽  
Szilárd Bodó ◽  
Ferenc Ruff ◽  
Rupert Palme ◽  
...  

AbstractThe intensity and the magnitude of saliva cortisol responses were investigated during the first 48 h following birth in newborn dairy calves which underwent normal (eutocic, EUT, n = 88) and difficult (dystocic, DYS, n = 70) calvings. The effects of parity and body condition of the dam, the duration of parturition, the time spent licking the calf, the sex and birth weight of the calf were also analyzed. Neonatal salivary cortisol concentrations were influenced neither by factors related to the dam (parity, body condition) nor the calf (sex, birth weight). The duration of parturition and the time spent licking the calf also had no effect on salivary cortisol levels. Salivary cortisol concentrations increased rapidly after delivery in both groups to reach their peak levels at 45 and 60 min after delivery in EUT and DYS calves, respectively supporting that the birth process means considerable stress for calves and the immediate postnatal period also appears to be stressful for newborn calves. DYS calves exhibited higher salivary cortisol concentrations compared to EUT ones for 0 (P = 0.022), 15 (P = 0.016), 30 (P = 0.007), 45 (P = 0.003), 60 (P = 0.001) and 120 min (P = 0.001), and for 24 h (P = 0.040), respectively. Peak levels of salivary cortisol and the cortisol release into saliva calculated as AUC were higher in DYS than in EUT calves for the 48-h of the sampling period (P = 0.009 and P = 0.003, respectively). The greater magnitude of saliva cortisol levels in DYS calves compared to EUT ones suggest that difficult parturition means severe stress for bovine neonates and salivary cortisol could be an opportunity for non-invasive assessment of stress during the early neonatal period in cattle.


Author(s):  
Elena Gonzalez Rodriguez ◽  
Pedro Marques-Vidal ◽  
Bérengère Aubry-Rozier ◽  
Georgios Papadakis ◽  
Martin Preisig ◽  
...  

AbstractSarcopenia, similar to hypercortisolism, is characterized by loss of muscle mass and strength. Cortisol circadian rhythm changes with aging (blunted late-day nadir values) were suggested to contribute to this decline. We aimed to explore the relationship between diurnal salivary cortisol values and sarcopenia diagnosis and its components in postmenopausal women. This is a cross-sectional study within the OsteoLaus population-based cohort in Lausanne (Switzerland). Participants had a body composition assessment by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), a grip strength (GS) measure, and salivary cortisol measures (at awakening, 30 min thereafter, 11 AM (sc-11AM) and 8 PM (sc-8PM)). Associations between salivary cortisol and sarcopenia diagnosed by six different criteria (based on appendicular lean mass (ALM) assessed by DXA, and muscle strength by GS), and its components, were analyzed. 471 women aged > 50 years (63.0 ± 7.5) were included. Various definitions identified different participants as sarcopenic, who consistently presented higher salivary cortisol at 11 AM and/or 8 PM. There were no associations between salivary cortisol levels and ALM measures, either absolute or after correction to height squared (ALM index) or body mass index. GS was inversely correlated to sc-11AM (r = − 0.153, p < 0.001) and sc-8PM (r = − 0.118, p = 0.002). Each 10 nmol/l increase of sc-11AM, respectively sc-8PM, was associated with a GS decrease of 1.758 (SE 0.472) kg, respectively 2.929 (SE 1.115) kg. In postmenopausal women, sarcopenia is associated with higher salivary cortisol levels at 11 AM and 8 PM. An increase of daily free cortisol levels in the physiological range could participate to sarcopenia development by decreasing muscle function in postmenopausal women.


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