Department of Medicine, McGill University, 687 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2010 Feb;16(1):13-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2009.06.004. Epub 2009 Jul 4.
While much attention has been devoted to examining the beneficial effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs on patients' ability to cope with various chronic medical conditions, most studies have relied on self-report measures of improvement. Given that these measures may not accurately reflect physiological conditions, there is a need for an objective marker of improvement in research evaluating the beneficial effects of stress management programs. Cortisol is the major stress hormone in the human organism and as such is a promising candidate measure in the study of the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programs. In conjunction with other biological measures, the use of cortisol levels as a physiological marker of stress may be useful to validate self-reported benefits attributed to this program. In the current manuscript, we review the available literature on the role of cortisol as a physiological marker for improvement with regards to mindfulness practice, and make recommendations for future study designs.
虽然已经有很多研究关注于考察正念减压项目对患者应对各种慢性疾病能力的有益影响，但大多数研究都依赖于自我报告的改善措施。由于这些措施可能无法准确反映生理状况，因此需要一种客观的改善标志物，以评估压力管理项目的有益效果。皮质醇是人体中的主要应激激素，因此它是研究正念减压项目效果的一个很有前途的候选测量指标。结合其他生物学指标，皮质醇水平作为应激的生理标志物的使用可能有助于验证归因于该项目的自我报告的益处。在当前的手稿中，我们回顾了关于皮质醇作为正念练习的生理改善标志物的作用的现有文献，并为未来的研究设计提出了建议。
