Effort reward imbalance, and salivary cortisol in the morning

Background

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

Methods

In 2006 and 2008, 480 individuals collected saliva samples at awakening and 30 min post-awakening. Mixed effects models with subject as a random effect and appropriate covariates were used to evaluate associations between the Effort Reward Model, and salivary cortisol at awakening (S0), and ACR.

Results

ERI was negatively and significantly associated with S0 for women and positively associated with ACR. S0 and ACR increased significantly from 2006 to 2008.

Conclusion

ERI was significantly associated with cortisol levels at awakening (inverse association) for women, and positively associated with ACR. The population experienced a significant increase in morning cortisol levels and ACR from 2006 to 2008, which may originate in a re-organization of the included work places.     

Positive affect is associated with cardiovascular reactivity, norepinephrine level, and morning rise in salivary cortisol

Positive affect was examined as a predictor of (1) cardiovascular reactivity during a sadness and an anger recall task and recovery following the protocol, (2) epinephrine (EPI) and norepinephrine (NOREPI) reactivity and level during the recall protocol, and (3) the diurnal pattern of salivary cortisol. Sample was 328 individuals. Negative affect, age, race, sex, smoking status, income, and BMI were adjusted. During sadness recall, positive affect was inversely related to systolic blood pressure ( p =.007) and diastolic blood pressure ( p =.049) reactivity, and unrelated to heart rate ( p =.226). Positive affect was unrelated to reactivity during anger recall ( p s>.19), and was unrelated to recovery at the end of the recall protocol. Positive affect was inversely related to the mean level of NOREPI ( p =.046), and unrelated to EPI ( p =.149). Positive affect was inversely related to the increase in cortisol 30 min post awakening ( p =.042), and unrelated to the evening decline in cortisol levels ( p =.174). Positive emotions may be relevant to good health.     

The relationship between long-term job strain and morning and evening saliva cortisol secretion among white-collar workers

The objective of this study was to assess long-term job strain impact on morning and evening salivary cortisol secretion. In all 77 white-collar workers (31% women; sample mean age, 42 years at baseline) volunteered to sample morning (immediately after waking up) and evening (10 p.m.) salivary cortisol for 7 consecutive days. By median split on aggregated self-reported isostrain from three consecutive questionnaires distributed in a period of approximately 3.5 years the participants were classified into a high or low long-term isostrain condition. Regardless of strain condition, there was a significant reduction in morning salivary cortisol secretion from the working week to the weekend, whereas evening salivary cortisol secretion showed no significant variation during the week. Although chronic isostrain did not affect the morning saliva cortisol measures, evening cortisol secretion was significantly elevated in the chronic high isostrain group throughout the whole week. The elevated evening cortisol measures associated with chronic high strain are concordant with the findings in other studies on long-term strain.     

Sequence and seasonal effects of salivary cortisol

Assessments of cortisol levels in saliva have been widely used by both researchers and clinicians as an index of adrenal functioning. Quarterly measurements of morning and evening cortisol levels were determined in a longitudinal study of 147 participants (72 women and 75 men) followed for 1 year each. The analysis of salivary cortisol revealed no significant gender or age differences in the sample. There was a sequence effect in quarterly cortisol values with a progressive decrease in serial measurements, especially notable in the morning values; as well as a seasonal variation in cortisol levels with significantly higher levels found in winter and fall, compared with spring and summer. The findings in this study suggest that repeated saliva sampling and seasonal variation in cortisol levels may independently affect adrenal response and, therefore, need to be accounted for in longitudinal studies.     

Morningness-eveningness and early-morning salivary cortisol levels.

The purposes of this exploratory study were: (1) to describe a 2-h segment of the early-morning salivary cortisol levels of morning (M) and evening (E) types of healthy, day-active adults on one morning; and (2) to compare selected demographic and sleep characteristics. The sample consisted of 20 subjects, aged 23-39 years, 10 of each type. Measures included: morningness-eveningness questionnaire score, demographic information, self-report sleep characteristics, and self-report of well-being. Beginning with time of arising, seven salivary samples were collected at approximately 20-min intervals. Among the sleep variables, bedtime (p = 0.005), time of mid-sleep (p = 0.002), and arising time (p = 0.043) were later in the E group as compared to the M group. Six M and one E subject awoke spontaneously on the morning of sampling without an awakening aid (p = 0.018). Even though total hours of sleep were comparable between groups, E subjects reported feeling less rested in the morning (p = 0.019). Although mean M group salivary cortisol levels were greater than mean E group levels for each sampling time, there were no significant group differences. Eight M subjects reached a sampling period salivary cortisol peak by 50 min after arising, contrasted with six E subjects who reached their peak at that time. These preliminary findings suggest that E types demonstrate lower morning arousal and a delay in their early-morning peak of salivary cortisol relative to M types. Further study is needed to explore the relationship between M and E types, their sleep-wake patterns, and cortisol secretion patterns.     

Relationship between salivary cortisol and progesterone levels in humans

In four studies, each with multiple hormone assessments before and after positive emotion-arousing laboratory manipulations, salivary progesterone positively correlated with salivary cortisol in men and women taking hormonal contraceptives but not in freely cycling women. This is consistent with the idea that progesterone in men is largely adrenal in origin, whereas in women its sources are both ovarian and adrenal. In addition, bi-partial correlations revealed that change in cortisol was positively related to change in progesterone levels; this effect was stronger in men than in women. These findings suggest that progesterone is released from the adrenal along with cortisol in humans, due to general adrenal activation and/or possibly as an additional negative feedback mechanism to down-regulate the stress response.     

Job strain and psychiatric morbidity

BACKGROUND: This study examined the association between job strain and psychiatric morbidity using interview-based assessments of mental health. We assessed the prevalence of neurotic disorder in high job strain (high demand, low control) and low job strain (low demand, high control) school teachers, and compared these rates with data from individuals with similar educational qualifications from the National Psychiatric Morbidity Survey of Great Britain. METHODS: One hundred and sixty primary and secondary school teachers were selected from a larger survey on the basis of high or low job strain, and were assessed for psychiatric morbidity using the Revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R). The prevalence of neurotic symptoms and a total psychiatric morbidity score were calculated. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, gender and occupational grade, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was greater in high job strain than low job strain individuals. The prevalence of severe anxiety, worry and fatigue symptoms was significantly greater in the high job strain teachers. In comparison with the British psychiatric morbidity survey, the prevalence of neurotic disorders was greater in the high job strain, but not in low job strain teachers. Individuals in the low job strain group were more likely to report severe anxiety, irritability and fatigue in the week prior to interview, than comparably educated individuals in the national survey. CONCLUSION: Job strain is associated with psychiatric morbidity. The high levels of neurotic psychopathology among teachers is consistent with previous research that has found teaching to be a highly stressful occupation.     

Optimism,positive affectivity,and salivary cortisol

Objectives. Research on stress and salivary cortisol has focused almost exclusively on the effects of negative psychological conditions or emotional states. Little attention has been drawn to the impact associated with positive psychological conditions, which have been shown recently to have significant influences on neuroendocrine regulation. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of optimism and positive affect on salivary cortisol with the effects of their negative counterparts controlled for. Design. Optimism and pessimism, and positive and negative affectivity were studied in relation to the diurnal rhythm of salivary cortisol in a group of 80 Hong Kong Chinese, who provided six saliva samples over the course of a day on two consecutive days. The separate effects of optimism and positive affect on two dynamic components of cortisol secretion, awakening response, and diurnal decline were examined. Methods. Optimism and pessimism were measured using the Chinese version of the revised Life Orientation Test while generalized affects and mood states were assessed by the Chinese Affect Scale. An enzyme‐linked immunoabsorbent assay kit (EIA) developed for use in saliva was adopted for the biochemical analysis of cortisol. Testing of major group differences associated with positive psychological conditions was carried out using two‐way (group by saliva collection time) ANOVAs for repeated measures with negative psychological conditions and mood states as covariates. Results. Participants having higher optimism scores exhibited less cortisol secretion in the awakening period when the effect of pessimism and mood were controlled. This effect was more apparent in men than in women who had higher cortisol levels in the awakening period. Optimism did not have similar effect on cortisol levels during the underlying period of diurnal decline. On the other hand, higher generalized positive affect was associated with lower cortisol levels during the underlying period of diurnal decline after the effects of negative affect and mood states had been controlled. Generalized positive affect did not significantly influence cortisol secretion during the awakening period. Conclusions. These findings suggest that positive psychological resources including optimism and generalized positive affect had higher impact on cortisol secretion than their negative counterparts, and point to the need for increased attention to the potential contribution of positive mental states to well‐being.     

大学生自尊对愤怒与愤怒表达的影响

考察大学生自尊对状态愤怒、特质愤怒和愤怒表达的影响。结果:①大学生的自尊存在性别差异,女生的自尊要高于男生;大学生愤怒也存在性别差异,男生的状态愤怒、内部表达愤怒和外部表达愤怒高于女生。②大学生自尊存在生源地的差异,城市大学生的自尊要高于农村大学生;大学生愤怒也存在生源地的差异,来自城市大学生控制内部表达愤怒和控制外部表达愤怒要高于农村大学生。③大学生是否为独生子女间的自尊存在差异,独生子女的自尊要高于非独生子女。④大学生自尊和愤怒显著相关,大学生自尊能够负向预测状态愤怒、特质愤怒、内部表达愤怒和外部表达愤怒,能够正向预测控制内部表达愤怒和控制外部表达愤怒。结论:大学生的自尊对愤怒及其愤怒表达有重要影响。     

Low salivary cortisol levels and externalizing behavior problems in youth

Research linking basal cortisol levels with internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in youths has yielded inconsistent results. We hypothesize that the high moment to moment variation in adrenocortical activity requires an analytical strategy that separates variance in cortisol levels attributable to "stable traitlike" versus "state or situationally specific" sources. Early morning saliva samples were obtained from 724 youths (M age = 13.5 years; range = 6-16 years in Year 1) on 2 successive days 1 year apart. Latent state-trait modeling revealed that 70% of the variance in cortisol levels could be attributed to statelike sources, and 28% to traitlike sources. For boys only, higher levels of externalizing problem behaviors were consistently associated with lower cortisol attributable to traitlike sources across 3 years of behavioral assessment. The inverse association between individual differences in cortisol and externalizing problem behavior has previously only been reported in studies of at-risk or clinical groups. The present findings suggest the relationship is a stable phenomenon that spans both normative and atypical child development. Studies are needed to reveal the biosocial mechanisms involved in the establishment and maintenance of this phenomenon, and to decipher whether individual differences in this hormone-behavior link confers risk or resilience.     

Diurnal cycle in salivary cortisol levels in common marmosets

A noninvasive method of saliva sampling was used to assess the diurnal cortisol rhythm from 0900 to 1700 hr in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). The levels of cortisol were highest in the morning and declined significantly over the day. Individual marmosets varied in the magnitude of the cycle, and the greatest individual variability occurred in the morning levels. The decrease in cortisol levels was more rapid after than before the midday feeding period in subordinate marmosets (aged 53-63 months) compared to dominant marmosets (aged 79-80 months), and overall, the levels of cortisol were higher in the subordinate marmosets. We found no effect of sex on cortisol levels across the cycle.     

Poor sleep quality and exaggerated salivary cortisol reactivity to the cold pressor task predict greater acute pain severity in a non-clinical sample

Poor sleep is often independently associated with greater pain sensitivity and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (e.g., greater basal cortisol and exaggerated stress-induced cortisol reactivity). However, the interactions among sleep, pain, and the HPA axis have not been adequately evaluated. In this study, 40 healthy adults provided self-report regarding perceived sleep quality over the past month prior to completion of an acute noxious physical stressor (i.e., cold pressor task; CPT). Following the CPT, they reported on the severity of pain experienced. Salivary cortisol was sampled before, immediately following, and during recovery from CPT. Using bootstrapped confidence intervals with a bias correction, results showed that poor sleep quality was significantly associated with greater reports of CPT-induced pain severity and greater cortisol reactivity (i.e., increase from baseline). Furthermore, greater cortisol reactivity to the CPT was found to significantly mediate the relationship between poor sleep and pain severity.     

Early life adversity and depressive symptoms predict cortisol in pregnancy

Archives of Women's Mental Health - Evidence suggests that exposure to early life adversity (ELA) programs the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to influence responses to later...     

Traumatic brain injury and adrenal insufficiency: morning cortisol and cosyntropin stimulation tests

Introduction

Adrenal insufficiency (AI) has a great impact on the prognosis of patients with traumatic brain injury. There is a lack of consensus regarding the diagnostic criteria of AI. In these patients with acute stress we compared fasting cortisol, low and high dose cosyntropin stimulation tests to assess adrenal function in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.

Material and methods

This multicenter, cross-sectional study recruited 50 consecutive patients (aged between 15 and 70 years old) with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury who survived more than 5 days after the event. The patients’ adrenal function was assessed using the fasting cortisol, 1 and 250-µg ACTH stimulation tests.

Results

More cases of AI were detected by the 1-µg ACTH stimulation test compared to those detected by the basal serum cortisol level and 250-µg ACTH stimulation test. The κ test showed no agreement between these tests. The incidence of AI in the first 10 days after traumatic brain injury varied from 34% to 82% according to the various definitions of AI. The incidence of hypotension and need for vasopressors was higher in the patients diagnosed by the 250-µg ACTH stimulation test (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

The incidence of secondary AI in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury seems to be high. A combination of stimulation test (either 250 or 1 µg) and basal cortisol level may improve diagnostic ability compared to either test alone. Hence performing both tests for the assessment of adrenal function in patients with traumatic brain injury is recommended.     

Age, gender and early morning highway accidents

Accident register data, time budget studies and road traffic flow data were used to compute the age and gender-dependent relative risk [odds ratio (OR)] of being involved in a driving accident in which the driver was injured or killed. Alcohol-related accidents were excluded from the analysis. The results showed that the night-time risk, compared with that of the forenoon, was dramatically increased (OR=5) for young drivers (18--24 years) and reduced for old (65+) drivers. In direct comparison, the young drivers had 5-10 times higher risk of being involved in an accident during late night than during the forenoon, with the excess risk during the daytime being considerably lower. Women had a less pronounced night-time peak than men. In direct comparison, men had twice as high a risk as women during the late night hours. The results clearly demonstrate a strong effect of young age on night-time accident risk, together with a moderate effect of (male) gender.     

Inverse relation between cortisol and anger and their relation to performance and explicit memory

Cortisol has been found to increase in response to social evaluative threat. However, little is known about the cortisol response to induced anger. Thus, in the present study, we investigated the cortisol response to anger induction and its effects on performance and explicit memory. A variant of the Montreal Stress Imaging Task (MIST; Dedovic et al., 2005) was used to induce anger in 17 male and 17 female students. Consistent with previous observations, a significant decrease in cortisol was found from pre to post manipulation which was inversely related to increases in subjective anger. Moreover, whereas anger increase was related to impairments in performance, cortisol reduction was inversely related to cognitive performance and explicit memory (recall and recognition of persons' features in a social memory task). The adaptive value of an increase in cortisol in response to fear or uncontrollability and of a decrease in cortisol in response to anger will be discussed.     

Social support and salivary cortisol in women with metastatic breast cancer

OBJECTIVE: This study used a cross-sectional design to examine the relationships between social support, both quantity (number of people) and quality (appraisal, belonging, tangible, and self-esteem), and neuroendocrine function (mean and slope of diurnal salivary cortisol) among women with metastatic breast cancer. METHODS: Participants (N = 103) were drawn from a study (N = 125) of the effects of group therapy on emotional adjustment and health in women with metastatic breast cancer. They completed the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List and the Yale Social Support Index and provided saliva samples for assessment of diurnal cortisol levels on each of 3 consecutive days. Diurnal mean levels were calculated using log-transformed cortisol concentrations, and the slope of diurnal cortisol variation was calculated by regression of log-transformed cortisol concentrations on sample collection time. RESULTS: Mean salivary cortisol was negatively related to the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List subscales of appraisal, belonging, and tangible social support. No association was found between quantitative support or the esteem subscale of the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List and mean salivary cortisol. Measures of qualitative and quantitative social support were not associated with the diurnal cortisol slope. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that greater quality of social support is associated with lower cortisol concentrations in women with metastatic breast cancer, which is indicative of healthier neuroendocrine functioning. These results may have clinical implications in the treatment of breast cancer.