Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2009 Dec;17(12):1077-84. doi: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181bd1be6.
To investigate the cross-sectional association between personality characteristics and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation in older persons.
The study sample consisted of 1,150 participants (mean age 74.8 +/- 7.1 years, 48% male) from the population-based Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. HPA axis activity was measured with salivary cortisol collected after awakening and late in the evening. Outcome measures were awakening and evening cortisol levels (natural log transformed) and the diurnal pattern of cortisol. Determinants were scores on questionnaires assessing neuroticism, mastery, and self-esteem.
Multiple linear regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders did not show significant associations between any of the personality characteristics and any of the cortisol measures. On evening cortisol, a significant interaction was observed between neuroticism and age (B = -0.001; T = -2.50, df = 1,139; p value = 0.01). After stratification in two age groups, the authors observed that high levels of neuroticism were associated with elevated levels of evening cortisol in subjects aged <75 years (B = 0.02; 95% confidence interval: 0.01-0.03; T = 2.15, df = 630, p = 0.03) but not in subjects aged 75 years or older.
The findings of this large population-based study of older persons suggest that the personality characteristics mastery and self-esteem are not associated with HPA axis regulation as measured with salivary awakening and evening cortisol. However, high neuroticism may be associated with elevated levels of evening cortisol in the younger old but not in the older old.
研究老年人个性特征与下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴调节的横断面相关性。
本研究样本包括来自基于人群的阿姆斯特丹纵向老龄化研究的 1150 名参与者（平均年龄 74.8 +/- 7.1 岁，48%为男性）。HPA 轴活性通过觉醒后和深夜采集的唾液皮质醇测量。结局指标为觉醒和傍晚皮质醇水平（自然对数转换）和皮质醇的昼夜模式。测定值为评估神经质、掌控感和自尊的问卷得分。
调整潜在混杂因素的多元线性回归分析显示，个性特征与任何皮质醇测量值之间均无显著关联。在傍晚皮质醇方面，神经质和年龄之间观察到显著的交互作用（B = -0.001；T = -2.50，df = 1,139；p 值 = 0.01）。在分为两个年龄组后，作者观察到，在年龄<75 岁的受试者中，高水平的神经质与傍晚皮质醇水平升高相关（B = 0.02；95%置信区间：0.01-0.03；T = 2.15，df = 630，p = 0.03），但在年龄为 75 岁或以上的受试者中则不然。
这项针对老年人的大型基于人群的研究结果表明，个性特征掌控感和自尊与唾液觉醒和傍晚皮质醇测量的 HPA 轴调节无关。然而，高神经质可能与年轻老年人的傍晚皮质醇水平升高相关，但与老年老年人则无关。
