Effects of Health Behavior Interventions on Psychosocial Outcomes and Cortisol Regulation Among Chronically Stressed Midlife and Older Adults.
Int J Behav Med
; 28(5): 627-640, 2021 Oct.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33495978
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Altered cortisol dynamics have been associated with increased risk for chronic health problems among midlife and older adults (≥ 45 years of age). Yet, studies investigating the impact of health behavior interventions on cortisol activity in this age group are limited. OBJECTIVE ANDMETHODS:
The current study examined whether 48 midlife and older adults (50% family caregivers, 69% women) randomized to one of four telephone-based health behavior interventions (stress management (SM), exercise (EX), nutrition (NUT), or exercise plus nutrition (EX+NUT)) showed improvements in their perceived stress, mood, and cortisol dynamics at 4 months post-intervention. Participants collected four salivary cortisol samples (waking, 30 min after waking, 4 p.m., and bedtime) across two collection days at baseline and at 4 months post-intervention to assess for total cortisol, cortisol awakening response (CAR), and diurnal cortisol slope.RESULTS:
Participants in SM showed lower levels of total cortisol and a smaller CAR compared with those in EX, NUT, or EX+NUT from baseline to 4 months post-intervention. Participants in EX showed lower levels of perceived stress, depression, and anxiety compared with those in NUT or SM. Finally, participants in NUT showed a greater diurnal decline in cortisol and lower levels of anxiety compared with those in SM.CONCLUSIONS:
These findings provide support for the efficacy of telephone-based, health behavior interventions in improving different stress outcomes among chronically stressed midlife and older adults and suggest the need to test the longer-term effects of these interventions for improving health outcomes in this population.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article