Roy M P, Kirschbaum C, Steptoe A
Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, PR1 2HE, Preston, UK.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2001 May;26(4):375-91. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4530(00)00061-5.
The relationship of free salivary cortisol stress recovery and basal cortisol with psychological, cardiovascular and metabolic factors was investigated in 82 healthy young men. Blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol and mood were assessed during a single laboratory session involving mental arithmetic and speech tasks, and lipid profiles were analysed from a fasting blood sample. Participants were divided into high (n=31) and low (n=51) cortisol stress recovery groups on the basis of the magnitude of changes between the peak cortisol responses to tasks and the lowest levels recorded at the end of a 30 min post-stress rest period. The high recovery group showed consistent increases in cortisol following each of the tasks, while the low recovery group showed little change across the session. Cortisol levels in the two groups did not differ at the end of the post-stress recovery period. The groups were indistinguishable in age, body mass index, smoking and alcohol consumption, and did not differ in psychological characteristics including anxiety, depression and perceived social support. However, the high stress recovery group had elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein ratios, suggesting raised cardiovascular disease risk. The high stress recovery group also reported greater psychological activation during tasks, and greater recent minor life stress, than did the low recovery group. There was no association between rate of cortisol recovery and cardiovascular responses to tasks. But resting cortisol was related to blood pressure stress reactivity, suggesting that cortisol played a permissive role in augmenting sympathetically-driven cardiovascular responses. The results suggest that the rate of cortisol stress recovery is associated with variations in metabolic risk, and with differences in psychological state but not trait characteristics.
在82名健康年轻男性中，研究了游离唾液皮质醇应激恢复和基础皮质醇与心理、心血管及代谢因素之间的关系。在一次涉及心算和言语任务的实验室环节中评估血压、心率、皮质醇和情绪，并从空腹血样中分析血脂谱。根据任务期间皮质醇峰值反应与应激后30分钟休息期结束时记录的最低水平之间的变化幅度，将参与者分为高皮质醇应激恢复组（n = 31）和低皮质醇应激恢复组（n = 51）。高恢复组在每项任务后皮质醇持续升高，而低恢复组在整个环节中变化不大。应激恢复期末两组的皮质醇水平无差异。两组在年龄、体重指数、吸烟和饮酒方面无差异，在焦虑、抑郁和感知社会支持等心理特征方面也无差异。然而，高应激恢复组的低密度脂蛋白胆固醇和总胆固醇/高密度脂蛋白比值升高，提示心血管疾病风险增加。高应激恢复组在任务期间也报告了更高的心理激活水平，以及近期更大的轻微生活压力。皮质醇恢复率与任务期间的心血管反应之间无关联。但静息皮质醇与血压应激反应性相关，提示皮质醇在增强交感神经驱动的心血管反应中起允许作用。结果表明，皮质醇应激恢复率与代谢风险的变化以及心理状态的差异有关，但与特质特征无关。
