Stress through the mind of the beholder: preliminary differences in child and maternal perceptions of child stress in relation to child cortisol and cardiovascular activity.

The present study examined associations among parent and child reports of youth's stressful life events (SLEs), perceived stress, and biological measures of stress activity (i.e. cortisol and cardiovascular activity). Examining these aspects of youth stress presents several challenges. Unlike adult studies of individual differences in which information regarding SLEs, perceptions of events, and biological activity are gathered from one individual, assessment of individual differences among children usually involves other informants (e.g. parent). However, parent and child reports of SLEs and the child's psychological response to such events are often discordant. Moreover, examinations of youth perception of stress are hampered by limitations of child cognitive processes, as well as parents' limited knowledge of their child's perception of stress. In a preliminary effort to unscramble the complex effects of youth SLEs and perceived stress in relation to biological response to acute stressors, this study examined 51 boys and girls aged 7-16, with no history of psychopathology or medical concerns. Contrary to hypotheses, findings revealed that compared to actual experiences of stress, perceived stress has greater associations with both cortisol and cardiovascular activity. That is, perceived stress is more biologically salient relative to actual stress. Results also suggest that informant differences may explain some previous inconsistent findings in studies of youth's stress reactivity. The current findings mirror the adult studies that show appraisal and perception of traumatic and stressful events may be more predictive of negative health and mental health outcomes than the severity of the events. Further studies are needed to understand the impact of youth's perceptions of stress on their biological stress reactions and later health outcomes such as clinical disorders.

Effects of intranasal oxytocin on steroid hormones in men and women.

BACKGROUND: Recent interest in the social and cognitive effects of intranasal oxytocin prompts a need for understanding its physiological effects in humans. Few studies have examined the effects of intranasal oxytocin on steroid hormones. Filling this gap is especially important given the evidence that steroid hormones participate in some of the same behavioral functions as oxytocin, e.g. in stress, processing of emotional stimuli, aggression, trust, empathy, and parental care. METHODS: In randomized, double-blind experiments, we administered oxytocin (24 IU) or saline placebo to 97 healthy participants. Saliva samples were collected before and at several time points after the oxytocin/placebo administration to assess the levels of cortisol, progesterone, and testosterone. RESULTS: Oxytocin had no effects on testosterone, progesterone, or cortisol in women or men. CONCLUSION: Acute intranasal oxytocin does not affect the levels of cortisol, testosterone or progesterone in humans, at least in the absence of a stressful context. These data suggest that acute oxytocin does not have a direct impact on the human hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal or hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axes under nonstressful circumstances. This knowledge helps rule out potential mechanisms for some of the effects of oxytocin in humans and adds to the generally limited body of knowledge on the basic physiological or psychological effects of intranasal oxytocin in human beings.

Circulating cortisol levels after exogenous cortisol administration are higher in women using hormonal contraceptives: data from two preliminary studies.

Exogenous cortisol administration has been used to test the influence of glucocorticoids on a variety of outcomes, including memory and affect. Careful control of factors known to influence cortisol and other endogenous hormone levels is central to the success of this research. While the use of hormonal birth control (HBC) is known to exert many physiological effects, including decreasing the salivary cortisol response to stress, it is unknown how HBC influences circulating cortisol levels after exogenous cortisol administration. To determine those effects, we examined the role of HBC on participants' cortisol levels after receiving synthetic cortisol (hydrocortisone) in two separate studies. In Study 1, 24 healthy women taking HBC and 26 healthy men were administered a 0.1 mg/kg body weight intravenous dose of hydrocortisone, and plasma cortisol levels were measured over 3 h. In Study 2, 61 participants (34 women; 16 were on HBC) received a 15 mg hydrocortisone pill, and salivary cortisol levels were measured over 6 h. Taken together, results from these studies suggest that HBC use is associated with a greater cortisol increase following cortisol administration. These data have important methodological implications: (1) when given a controlled dose of hydrocortisone, cortisol levels may increase more dramatically in women taking HBC versus women not on HBC or men; and (2) in studies manipulating cortisol levels, women on hormonal contraceptives should be investigated as a separate group.

Establishing a Global Standard for Wearable Devices in Sport and Exercise Medicine: Perspectives from Academic and Industry Stakeholders.

Millions of consumer sport and fitness wearables (CSFWs) are used worldwide, and millions of datapoints are generated by each device. Moreover, these numbers are rapidly growing, and they contain a heterogeneity of devices, data types, and contexts for data collection. Companies and consumers would benefit from guiding standards on device quality and data formats. To address this growing need, we convened a virtual panel of industry and academic stakeholders, and this manuscript summarizes the outcomes of the discussion. Our objectives were to identify (1) key facilitators of and barriers to participation by CSFW manufacturers in guiding standards and (2) stakeholder priorities. The venues were the Yale Center for Biomedical Data Science Digital Health Monthly Seminar Series (62 participants) and the New England Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting (59 participants). In the discussion, stakeholders outlined both facilitators of (e.g., commercial return on investment in device quality, lucrative research partnerships, and transparent and multilevel evaluation of device quality) and barriers (e.g., competitive advantage conflict, lack of flexibility in previously developed devices) to participation in guiding standards. There was general agreement to adopt Keadle et al.'s standard pathway for testing devices (i.e., benchtop, laboratory, field-based, implementation) without consensus on the prioritization of these steps. Overall, there was enthusiasm not to add prescriptive or regulatory steps, but instead create a networking hub that connects companies to consumers and researchers for flexible guidance navigating the heterogeneity, multi-tiered development, dynamicity, and nebulousness of the CSFW field.

Sexual well-being and diurnal cortisol after prostate cancer treatment.

Sexual dysfunction and psychological distress are common after prostate cancer. Research has not examined the role of neuroendocrine markers of stress (e.g. cortisol). This study examines whether sexual functioning or sexual bother is associated with diurnal cortisol. Men treated for prostate cancer completed the University of California-Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index and provided saliva samples four times daily for cortisol assessment. Higher sexual bother, but not sexual functioning, was associated with steeper cortisol slope. Better sexual functioning, and not sexual bother, was significantly associated with the cortisol awakening response. Assessment of stress and stress-reducing interventions might be warranted in sexual rehabilitation after prostate cancer.

Aging and the HPA axis: Stress and resilience in older adults.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function may change over the course of aging, and altered diurnal or stress-induced secretion of the hormone cortisol could predispose older adults to negative health outcomes. We propose that psychological resilience may interact with diurnal cortisol to affect health outcomes later in life. Emotion regulation and social support are two constructs that contribute to resilience and exhibit age-specific patterns in older adults. Determining how the use of resilience resources interacts with age-related diurnal cortisol will improve our understanding of the pathways between stress, resilience, and well-being. In this review, we assess published studies evaluating diurnal cortisol in older adults to better understand differences in their HPA axis functioning. Evidence thus far suggests that diurnal cortisol may increase with age, although cross-sectional studies limit the conclusions that can be drawn. We also review extant evidence connecting age-specific signatures of emotion regulation and social support with diurnal cortisol. Conclusions are used to propose a preliminary model demonstrating how resilience resources may modulate the effects of cortisol on health in aging.