Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, London, UK.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2010 Sep;35(8):1245-52. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.02.014. Epub 2010 Mar 21.
The current study examined intra-individual relationships between the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and state sleep-related and psychosocial variables in a pooled design study. 12 healthy female participants (age range: 22-41 years.) were examined on 12 study days each, occurring at three-day intervals. Quantitative diaries capturing state sleep-related and psychosocial variables were filled out on the evening before each study day as well as 45 min post-awakening on the study day. On each study day, salivary free cortisol was determined at 0, 15, 30, and 45 min post-awakening. Relationships between cortisol measures and psychosocial variables were analysed using dummy-variable linear regression models. State variability in the CAR (area under increase curve; AUC(I)) was found to be inversely related to simultaneous variability in awakening time (beta=-.29, p<.005) and positively related to variability in adverse psychosocial states of stress (beta=.22, p<.01) and tension (beta=.32, p<.001) measured 45 min post-awakening. In addition, levels of the CAR were also found to decrease linearly over the study period across participants (beta=-.19, p<.01) and this time trend could not be explained through a relationship between the CAR and any of the examined variables. The results are discussed within the context of previous evidence and potential implications for cross-sectional research are highlighted.
本研究采用 pooled 设计方案，考察了个体内皮质醇觉醒反应（CAR）与状态睡眠相关和心理社会变量之间的关系。共有 12 名健康女性参与者（年龄范围：22-41 岁），在 12 个研究日中各进行了 12 次检查，间隔 3 天。在每个研究日的前一天晚上以及研究日的觉醒后 45 分钟，参与者填写了记录状态睡眠相关和心理社会变量的定量日记。在每个研究日，分别在觉醒后 0、15、30 和 45 分钟测定唾液游离皮质醇。使用哑变量线性回归模型分析皮质醇测量值与心理社会变量之间的关系。CAR 的状态变异性（增加曲线下面积；AUC(I)）与觉醒时间的同时变异性呈负相关（β=-.29，p<.005），与觉醒后 45 分钟测量的应激（β=.22，p<.01）和紧张（β=.32，p<.001）等不良心理社会状态的变异性呈正相关。此外，研究期间参与者的 CAR 水平也呈线性下降（β=-.19，p<.01），且这种时间趋势无法通过 CAR 与任何检查变量之间的关系来解释。该研究结果在先前证据的背景下进行了讨论，并强调了其对横断面研究的潜在影响。
