Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H2X 3P2, Canada; Research Center of the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H1N 3V2, Canada.
Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H2X 3P2, Canada; Research Center of the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H1N 3V2, Canada.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2024 Jun;164:107019. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107019. Epub 2024 Mar 9.
After exposure to a stressful/traumatic event, some individuals will develop post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). In adults, low cortisol levels appear to be a risk factor for the development of PTSS. Indeed, both lower pre-trauma cortisol levels and low cortisol levels in the aftermath of a traumatic event have been associated with greater PTSS. In contrast, studies conducted in children showed that elevated cortisol levels shortly after trauma exposure are associated with more severe post-traumatic stress symptomatology. The few studies that have examined how pre-trauma cortisol levels predict PTSS in children have found no effect. Given that a pandemic can induce PTSS in certain individuals, we investigated whether cortisol secretion prior to and in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec (Canada) predicted PTSS in children. In June 2020, we collected a hair sample from 71 children (8-15 y/o, M = 11.65; 54.93% girls) without a history of psychopathology or exposure to previous traumatic events. Hair samples allowed us to derive cumulative measures of cortisol levels for the months prior to (from mid-December 2019 to mid-March 2020) and at the beginning of the pandemic (from mid-March 2020 to mid-June 2020). PTSS were assessed every 3 months between June 2020 (T1) and March 2021 (T4). The results showed that a greater increase in hair cortisol at the beginning of the pandemic predicted less PTSS at T1, with an increase in these symptoms over time. This study highlights the utility of using hair cortisol during future chronic stressful events to better understand its association with the evolution of distress.
在经历压力/创伤性事件后，一些人会出现创伤后应激症状（PTSS）。在成年人中，皮质醇水平较低似乎是发生 PTSS 的一个风险因素。事实上，较低的创伤前皮质醇水平和创伤后皮质醇水平较低都与更大的 PTSS 相关。相比之下，在儿童中进行的研究表明，创伤暴露后不久皮质醇水平升高与更严重的创伤后应激症状有关。少数研究检查了创伤前皮质醇水平如何预测儿童的 PTSS，发现没有效果。鉴于大流行可能会在某些人身上引发 PTSS，我们调查了魁北克（加拿大）在 COVID-19 大流行之前和早期皮质醇分泌是否预测了儿童的 PTSS。2020 年 6 月，我们从 71 名儿童（8-15 岁，M = 11.65；54.93%为女孩）中采集了头发样本，这些儿童没有精神病史或以前接触过创伤性事件。头发样本使我们能够得出前几个月（从 2019 年 12 月中旬到 2020 年 3 月中旬）和大流行开始时（从 2020 年 3 月中旬到 2020 年 6 月中旬）皮质醇水平的累积测量值。PTSS 每 3 个月评估一次，从 2020 年 6 月（T1）到 2021 年 3 月（T4）。结果表明，大流行开始时头发皮质醇的增加预示着 T1 时 PTSS 较少，随着时间的推移这些症状会有所增加。这项研究强调了在未来慢性应激事件中使用头发皮质醇的效用，以更好地理解其与痛苦演变的关系。
