Susceptibility of reproduction in female pigs to impairment by stress or elevation of cortisol

It is generally agreed that stress can impair reproduction. Furthermore, it is often thought that cortisol, which is secreted during stress as a result of activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis, is associated with this stress-induced impairment of reproduction. It has been hypothesized...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Domestic animal endocrinology 2005-08, Vol.29 (2), p.398-410
Main Authors: Turner, A.I., Hemsworth, P.H., Tilbrook, A.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acute stress
adverse effects
animal reproduction
animal stress
Animals
chronic stress
Cortisol
Estrus
Female
Female pigs
females
Handling (Psychology)
hormone secretion
Housing, Animal
Hydrocortisone - blood
Hydrocortisone - physiology
literature reviews
Ovulation
Population Density
Pregnancy
Reproduction
Reproduction - physiology
Stress
Stress, Physiological - veterinary
Swine
Swine Diseases - physiopathology
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Summary:It is generally agreed that stress can impair reproduction. Furthermore, it is often thought that cortisol, which is secreted during stress as a result of activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis, is associated with this stress-induced impairment of reproduction. It has been hypothesized that reproduction in females is particularly susceptible to disruption by acute stress during the series of endocrine events that induce estrus and ovulation. Nevertheless, we found no support for this conjecture when we subjected female pigs to repeated acute stress or repeated acute elevation of cortisol during the period leading up to estrus and ovulation. Conversely, studies have demonstrated that prolonged stress and sustained elevation of cortisol can disrupt reproductive processes in female pigs. Nevertheless, in each study that demonstrated this effect, there were some animals subjected to the prolonged stressor or the sustained elevation of cortisol in which the reproductive parameters that were measured were not affected by the treatment. We propose that reproduction in female pigs is resistant to the effects of acute or repeated acute stress or acute or repeated acute elevation of cortisol even if these occur during the series of endocrine events that induce estrus and ovulation. Furthermore, while reproductive processes in some individuals are compromised, reproduction in a proportion of female pigs appears to be resistant to the effects of prolonged stress or sustained elevation of cortisol.
ISSN:0739-7240
1879-0054
DOI:10.1016/j.domaniend.2005.02.031