Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA.
J Pediatr Psychol. 2010 Oct;35(9):960-5. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsp139. Epub 2010 Jan 12.
To examine the role of cortisol in posttraumatic stress symptomatology among mothers of children newly diagnosed with cancer.
Mothers (N = 27) completed standardized measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms and provided salivary cortisol samples at the time of their child's cancer diagnosis and then monthly for 1 year.
Random effects regression analyses of 351 person-by-time observations revealed that high levels of cortisol were associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms (B = .12, p < .02). The mothers who exhibited higher cortisol levels at the time of their child's diagnosis showed statistically significant declines in symptomatology from diagnosis to 12 months postdiagnosis (B = .97, p < .0001) compared to mothers who exhibited lower cortisol levels at diagnosis (B = .003, p < .05).
These findings offer some suggestions into possible neurobiological processes underlying posttraumatic stress symptoms and directions for future research and clinical intervention.
探讨皮质醇在儿童新诊断癌症母亲创伤后应激症状中的作用。
母亲(N=27)在孩子癌症诊断时以及随后的 1 年内每月完成创伤后应激症状的标准化测量和唾液皮质醇样本采集。
对 351 个个体-时间观察的随机效应回归分析显示,较高的皮质醇水平与较高的创伤后应激症状水平相关(B=0.12,p<.02)。与诊断时皮质醇水平较低的母亲相比,在孩子诊断时皮质醇水平较高的母亲,从诊断到诊断后 12 个月,症状学表现有显著下降(B=0.97,p<.0001)(B=0.003,p<.05)。
这些发现为创伤后应激症状的可能神经生物学过程提供了一些启示,并为未来的研究和临床干预指明了方向。