Relations between recurrent trauma exposure and recent life stress and salivary cortisol among children

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 257-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Bevans ◽  
Arleen Cerbone ◽  
Stacy Overstreet
Keyword(s):  
Urban Youth ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Trauma Exposure ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Basal Cortisol ◽  
Previous Trauma ◽  
Cortisol Levels ◽  
Exposure To Trauma

AbstractThe present study evaluated the independent and cumulative effects of recent life stress, previous trauma, and recent trauma exposure on salivary cortisol levels among school-aged children. Sixty-eight children (mean age = 10.7 years) reported their exposure to life stressors and traumatic events in the 12 months preceding the study. Children and their caregivers reported frequency of exposure to trauma earlier in life. Exposure to life stress within the past 12 months was related to higher afternoon cortisol levels. Exposure to high levels of recent trauma in combination with frequent exposure to trauma earlier in life was related to both lower morning cortisol levels and higher afternoon cortisol levels. Results suggest that frequency, duration, and severity of exposure to stress and trauma played key roles in the prediction of basal cortisol levels in a community sample of urban youth.

Heritability of Cortisol Regulation in Children

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 553-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per A. Gustafsson ◽  
Per E. Gustafsson ◽  
Henrik Anckarsäter ◽  
Paul Lichtenstein ◽  
Therese Ljung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Rhythm ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Normal Development ◽  
Genetic Regulation ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Genetic Influence ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Basal Cortisol ◽  
Cortisol Levels

Background: The normal development of cortisol regulation during childhood is thought to be influenced by a complex interplay between environmental and genetic factors. Method: The aim of this study was to estimate genetic and environmental influences on basal cortisol levels in a sample of 151 twin pairs aged 9–16 years. Salivary cortisol was collected on two consecutive days when the children attended school — immediately after awakening, 30 min post-awakening and at bedtime. Results: Heritability was highest (60%) for cortisol levels about 30 min after awakening. For samples taken immediately at awakening heritability was less pronounced (28%) and in the evening low (8%). Conclusion: The limited genetic influence on evening levels, moderate on cortisol at awakening and high on awakening response, might imply two genetic regulation patterns, one specifically for awakening response and one for the circadian rhythm proper. These findings could explain divergent results in previous studies and highlight the importance of taking the circadian rhythm into account in studies of cortisol levels in children.

scholarly journals Marital status as a predictor of diurnal salivary cortisol levels and slopes in a community sample of healthy adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 68-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Chin ◽  
Michael L.M. Murphy ◽  
Denise Janicki-Deverts ◽  
Sheldon Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Marital Status ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Cortisol Levels

Morning Serum Basal Cortisol Levels Are Affected by Age and Pubertal Maturation in School-Aged Children and Adolescents

2015 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Botelho Barra ◽  
Ivani Novato Silva ◽  
T�nia Maria Barreto Rodrigues ◽  
Jovita Lane Soares Santos ◽  
Enrico Ant�nio Colosimo
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Pubertal Maturation ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Basal Cortisol ◽  
Cortisol Levels

scholarly journals Animal Visitation Program (AVP) Reduces Cortisol Levels of University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285841985259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Pendry ◽  
Jaymie L. Vandagriff
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Stress Relief ◽  
Basal Cortisol ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Cortisol Levels ◽  
Time Awake

University students report high levels of stress. Although causal work is limited, one popular approach to promote stress relief is animal visitation programs (AVPs). We conducted a randomized trial (N = 249) examining effects of a 10-minute AVP on students’ salivary cortisol levels. Undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: hands-on AVP (petting cats and dogs; n = 73), AVP observation (watching others pet animals; n = 62), AVP slideshow (viewing images of same animals; n = 57), or AVP waitlist (n = 57). Participants collected salivary cortisol upon waking, and two samples were collected 15 and 25 minutes after the 10-minute condition, reflecting cortisol levels at the beginning and end of the intervention. Controlling for students’ basal cortisol, time awake, and circadian pattern, students in the hands-on condition had lower posttest cortisol compared to slideshow (β = .150, p = .046), waitlist (β = .152, p = .033), and observation (β = .164, p = .040). A 10-minute college-based AVP providing hands-on petting of cats and dogs provides momentary stress relief.

scholarly journals Relationships Between Pain, Life Stress, Sociodemographics, and Cortisol: Contributions of Pain Intensity and Financial Satisfaction

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 247054702097575
Author(s):  
Angela M. Mickle ◽  
Cynthia Garvan ◽  
Chelsea Service ◽  
Ralisa Pop ◽  
John Marks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Knee Osteoarthritis ◽  
Pain Intensity ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Financial Satisfaction ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Clinical Pain ◽  
Cortisol Levels

Objective The relationship between psychosocial stress and chronic pain is bidirectional. An improved understanding regarding the relationships among chronic pain, life stress, and ethnicity/race will inform identification of factors contributing to health disparities in chronic pain and improve health outcomes. This study aims to assess relationships between measures of clinical pain, life stress, sociodemographics, and salivary cortisol levels. Methods A cross-sectional analysis involving data from 105 non-Hispanic White (NHW) and non-Hispanic Black (NHB) participants aged 45–85 years old with or at risk for knee osteoarthritis. Data included sociodemographics, clinical pain, psychosocial stress, and salivary cortisol across five time points over an approximate 12-hour period. Non-parametric correlation analysis, sociodemographic group comparisons, and regression analyses were performed. Results Clinical pain and psychosocial stress were associated with salivary cortisol levels, particularly morning waking and the evening to morning awakening slope. With the inclusion of recognized explanatory variables, the Graded Chronic Pain Scale characteristic pain intensity and financial satisfaction were identified as the primary pain and psychosocial measures associated with cortisol levels. Sociodemographic group differences were indicated such that NHB participants reported higher pain-related disability, higher levels of discrimination, lower financial and material satisfaction, and showed higher evening salivary cortisol levels compared to NHW participants. In combined pain and psychosocial stress analyses, greater financial satisfaction, lower pain intensity, and lower depression were associated with higher morning waking saliva cortisol levels while greater financial satisfaction was the only variable associated with greater evening to morning awakening slope. Conclusion Our findings show relationships among clinical pain, psychosocial stress, sociodemographic factors, and salivary cortisol levels. Importantly, with inclusion of recognized explanatory variables, financial satisfaction remained the primary factor accounting for differences in morning waking cortisol and evening to morning awakening cortisol slope in an ethnic/racially diverse group of middle aged and older adults with or at risk for knee osteoarthritis.

Can poverty get under your skin? Basal cortisol levels and cognitive function in children from low and high socioeconomic status

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 653-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. LUPIEN ◽  
S. KING ◽  
M. J. MEANEY ◽  
B. S. MCEWEN
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
School Transition ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Cortisol Secretion ◽  
Basal Cortisol ◽  
Cortisol Levels ◽  
Ses Differences

It is well known that individuals from more advantaged social classes enjoy better mental and physical health than do individuals within lower classes. Various mechanisms have been evoked to explain the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health. One mechanism that has received particular attention in recent years is stress. It has been shown that individuals lower in SES report greater exposure to stressful life events and a greater impact of these events on their life than individuals higher in SES. In order to measure whether the development of the relationship between SES and mental health is sustained by exposure to high levels of glucocorticoids, we measured morning salivary cortisol levels as well as cognitive function (memory, attention, and language) in 307 children (from 6 to 16 years of age) from low versus high SES in the Montreal area in Canada. The results revealed that low SES children from 6 to 10 years old present significantly higher salivary cortisol levels when compared to children from high SES. This difference disappears at the time of school transition, and no SES differences are observed in salivary cortisol levels during high school. However, children from low and high SES do not differ with regard to memory or to attentional and linguistic functions. Also, mothers of low SES children reported higher feelings of depression and more unhealthy behaviors, while mothers of high SES children reported higher stress related to work or family transitions. Altogether, these results show that low SES in young children is related to increased cortisol secretion, although the impact of SES on cortisol secretion is absent after transition to high school. These data are interpreted within the context of the equalization process of class patterning. Four social explanatory factors are suggested to explain the disappearance of SES differences in basal cortisol levels after school transition, taking into account the influence of family environment on the child's secretion of stress hormones.

scholarly journals Salivary cortisol levels and mood vary by lifetime trauma exposure in a sample of healthy women

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 689-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara L. Ganzel ◽  
John J. Eckenrode ◽  
Pilyoung Kim ◽  
Elaine Wethington ◽  
Eric Horowitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Trauma Exposure ◽  
Healthy Women ◽  
Lifetime Trauma ◽  
Cortisol Levels

Correlation of Serum and Salivary Cortisol Levels in Prepubertal School-Aged Children

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 748-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN F. BOBER ◽  
ELIZABETH B. WELLER ◽  
RONALD A. WELLER ◽  
ALISON TAIT ◽  
MARY A. FRISTAD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Cortisol Levels

scholarly journals Salivary cortisol as a non-invasive approach to assess stress in dystocic dairy calves

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Levente Kovács ◽  
Fruzsina Luca Kézér ◽  
Szilárd Bodó ◽  
Ferenc Ruff ◽  
Rupert Palme ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Dairy Calves ◽  
Birth Process ◽  
Invasive Approach ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Saliva Cortisol ◽  
Cortisol Levels

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.

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