Elzinga Bernet M, Roelofs Karin, Tollenaar Marieke S, Bakvis Patricia, van Pelt Johannes, Spinhoven Philip
Department of Clinical, Health and NeuroPsychology, University of Leiden, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2008 Feb;33(2):227-37. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2007.11.004. Epub 2007 Dec 21.
Animal and human studies have found that prior stressful events can result in an altered reactivity in the HPA axis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of adverse events in childhood on cortisol reactivity to psychosocial stress in young healthy subjects (n=80).
Salivary cortisol levels were measured before, during and after exposure to a psychosocial stress task in healthy men and women with high (n=33) and low (n=47) exposure to adverse childhood events.
A significant blunted cortisol response was found in individuals with a history of adverse events compared to individuals with no adverse life events, with no differences in baseline cortisol levels. This finding appeared to be primarily driven by men. The groups did not differ on any other physiological or subjective stress measure, including heart rate, blood pressure, and subjective tension.
These findings suggest that, at least in healthy young males, adverse childhood events are associated with changes in HPA-axis functioning. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate whether the blunted cortisol response is a risk factor in the etiology of psychiatric disorders or rather reflects resiliency with regard to the development of psychopathology.
动物和人体研究发现，既往的应激事件可导致下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴反应性改变。本研究旨在调查童年不良事件对年轻健康受试者（n = 80）心理社会应激时皮质醇反应性的作用。
在经历心理社会应激任务之前、期间和之后，测量有高（n = 33）、低（n = 47）童年不良事件暴露史的健康男性和女性的唾液皮质醇水平。
与无不良生活事件的个体相比，有不良事件史的个体皮质醇反应显著减弱，而基线皮质醇水平无差异。这一发现似乎主要由男性驱动。两组在任何其他生理或主观应激指标上均无差异，包括心率、血压和主观紧张感。
这些发现表明，至少在健康年轻男性中，童年不良事件与HPA轴功能变化有关。需要进行纵向研究，以调查皮质醇反应减弱是精神疾病病因中的一个危险因素，还是反映了对精神病理学发展的恢复力。
