The SF-36 component for diurnal cortisol profile

Purpose Higher daytime cortisol output has been associated with higher levels of perceived stress and worse mental and physical health outcomes. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, such as elevated secretion of daytime cortisol, occurs in many mental and physical illnesses. Howe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quality of life research 2010-06, Vol.19 (5), p.643-651
Main Authors: Hagger-Johnson, Gareth Edward, Whiteman, Martha C., Wawrzyniak, Andrew J., Holroyd, Warren G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Depressive disorders
Diseases
Health status
Lower of cost or market principle
Modeling
POLICY AND APPLICATIONS
Psychological stress
Saliva
Statistical significance
Statistical variance
Volunteerism
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Summary:Purpose Higher daytime cortisol output has been associated with higher levels of perceived stress and worse mental and physical health outcomes. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, such as elevated secretion of daytime cortisol, occurs in many mental and physical illnesses. However, the nature of the association between functional health status and daytime cortisol production has not been established. Methods Healthy adult volunteers (n = 68, 45 females) provided saliva samples 3, 6, 9 and 12 h after waking, for two consecutive days, in everyday settings. Bivariate correlations between log salivary cortisol concentrations were calculated, and the SF-36 component summary scores were calculated. Latent growth curve modeling was used to model the daytime profile and adjust for covariates (age, sex and waking time). Results Higher PCS scores were not associated with cortisol three hours after waking (cortisol intercept), or the diurnal decline (cortisol slope). Higher MCS scores were correlated with faster cortisol decline across the day (r = — .31, P < .01) but not with cortisol intercepts. In a latent growth curve model adjusting for age, sex and waking time, the association was no longer statistically significant. Conclusions Large scale epidemiological studies involving salivary cortisol would benefit from measuring SF-36 component summary scores. Cortisol intercepts and slopes may be differentially related to the PCS and MCS, although greater statistical power is needed to test this hypothesis more fully. Associations between daytime cortisol and the PCS or MCS could reflect the regulatory competence of bodily systems, common causes or unmeasured confounding factors.
ISSN:0962-9343
1573-2649