University of Rochester.
University of Manchester.
Dev Psychopathol. 2017 Dec;29(5):1877-1893. doi: 10.1017/S0954579417001468.
Childhood adversity (CA) is known to predict sensitization to proximal stressors. Researchers have suggested that disruptions in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning may be a biological mechanism. If so, CA may predict altered associations between proximal life stress and markers of cortisol secretion. We examined whether CA moderates associations between recent episodic stress and (a) the cortisol awakening response (CAR), and (b) depressive symptoms, in 241 adolescents aged 14-17 years (cortisol n = 196). Salivary cortisol was sampled at 0, 30, and 60 min postawakening for 2 days. The CAR was calculated as the area under the curve with respect to increase and waking cortisol. CA and episodic stress were assessed using contextual-threat-method-coded objective interviews. CA significantly interacted with episodic stress to predict both the CAR and depression. Among those with low CA, episodic stress predicted increased CAR but did not predict depression. For adolescents with high CA, episodic stress predicted lower CAR and higher depression. These interactions were found only for independent (uncontrollable, fateful) events, and not for dependent (self-generated) stress. Increased allostatic load resulting from CA exposure may interfere with adolescents' ability to optimally regulate their CAR in relation to recent stress, contributing to increased depression risk.
童年逆境（CA）已知可预测对近端应激源的敏感化。研究人员认为，下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴功能的中断可能是一种生物学机制。如果是这样，CA 可能会预测近端生活压力与皮质醇分泌标志物之间的关联发生变化。我们研究了 CA 是否调节了 241 名 14-17 岁青少年（皮质醇 n = 196）近期发作性应激与（a）皮质醇觉醒反应（CAR）和（b）抑郁症状之间的关联。在 2 天内，在唤醒后 0、30 和 60 分钟采集唾液皮质醇样本。CAR 作为与增加和唤醒皮质醇相关的曲线下面积计算。使用上下文威胁方法编码的客观访谈评估 CA 和发作性应激。CA 与发作性应激显著相互作用，可预测 CAR 和抑郁。在 CA 水平较低的青少年中，发作性应激预测 CAR 增加，但不预测抑郁。对于 CA 水平较高的青少年，发作性应激预测 CAR 降低和抑郁增加。这些相互作用仅在独立（不可控、命中注定）事件中发现，而不是在依赖（自我产生）应激中发现。CA 暴露导致的压力过大可能会干扰青少年根据近期压力最佳调节 CAR 的能力，从而增加抑郁风险。
