Zhang Huihui, Yao Zhuxi, Lin Li, Sun Xiaofang, Shi Xia, Zhang Liang
Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Psych J. 2019 Sep;8(3):353-362. doi: 10.1002/pchj.278. Epub 2019 Apr 1.
Repeated exposure to stress during early life has a lifetime impact on physical and psychological functions. Our study investigated the long-term effects of early life stress (ELS; measured retrospectively) on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system functions under psychosocial stress among healthy adults. Fifty healthy volunteers (33 male, 17 female, mean age 22.6 ± 1.8 years) underwent a standardized psychosocial stress protocol (the Trier Social Stress Test), with the collection of salivary cortisol, heart rates, and positive and negative affect. The results showed increases in cortisol, heart rate, and negative affect after the stress inducement. More importantly, a significant negative correlation was found between the severity of ELS and the increase of cortisol to the stress. The severity of stress in one's early life predicted his/her cortisol reactivity to the stress in adulthood. Neither the heart rate reactivity nor the affective reactivity shows significant association with ELS. The blunted cortisol reactivity reflects the alteration of the HPA axis, which may confer the risk for certain stress-related disorders.
早年反复暴露于压力之下会对身体和心理功能产生终生影响。我们的研究调查了早年生活压力（ELS；通过回顾性测量）对健康成年人在心理社会压力下下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴和交感神经系统功能的长期影响。五十名健康志愿者（33名男性，17名女性，平均年龄22.6±1.8岁）接受了标准化的心理社会压力方案（特里尔社会压力测试），同时收集唾液皮质醇、心率以及积极和消极情绪。结果显示，压力诱导后皮质醇、心率和消极情绪均有所增加。更重要的是，发现ELS的严重程度与应激状态下皮质醇的增加之间存在显著负相关。一个人早年生活中的压力严重程度可预测其成年后对应激的皮质醇反应性。心率反应性和情感反应性均与ELS无显著关联。皮质醇反应迟钝反映了HPA轴的改变，这可能会增加患某些与压力相关疾病的风险。
