The impact of the severity of early life stress on diurnal cortisol: The role of puberty.
The impact of the severity of early life stress on diurnal cortisol: The role of puberty.
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DOI：
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.11.024
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发表时间：
2017-03
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Gotlib IH
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
King LS;Colich NL;LeMoult J;Humphreys KL;Ordaz SJ;Price AN;Gotlib IH
研究人员已经记录了经历过早期生活压力（ELS）的儿童和青少年的下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴的失调。然而，这种失调的确切性质一直难以辨别。事实上，在暴露于更严重ELS的儿童和青少年中，皮质醇的昼夜调节模式既有升高的，也有减弱的，包括皮质醇水平的降低和升高，以及全天皮质醇的变化。这些不同的发现可能是由于ELS和hpa轴功能之间关系的发育变化。本研究旨在研究青春期在ELS严重程度对日常皮质醇调节的影响中的作用。从低风险社区招募的9-13岁的男孩和女孩（N=145）完成了关于他们的ELS经历和每日在家收集皮质醇的访谈。ELS经历的严重程度被客观地编码，儿童的青春期发展水平用Tanner分期来测量。多层次分段混合效应模型检验了ELS严重程度和青春期阶段对醒来时皮质醇水平、皮质醇觉醒反应（CAR）和白天皮质醇斜率的影响。虽然我们没有发现青春期阶段和ELS严重程度对清醒时皮质醇水平或白天皮质醇斜率的显著相互作用，但研究结果表明，青春期阶段与ELS严重程度相互作用，可以预测皮质醇觉醒反应（CAR）。具体来说，在青春期早期，与较低的ELS相比，较高的ELS与钝化的CAR相关；相反，在青春期后期，与较低的ELS相比，较高的ELS与较高的CAR相关。ELS严重程度和CAR之间的关系差异是由青春期而不是年龄决定的。通过考虑和检查青春期的作用，目前的研究为先前的不同发现提供了一个发育的解释，即ELS后皮质醇的昼夜变化模式变钝或升高。这些结果表明，在得出关于皮质醇昼夜失调的性质的结论之前，应仔细关注儿童的青春期状态。
Researchers have documented dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in children and adolescents who experienced early life stress (ELS). The precise nature of this dysregulation, however, has been difficult to discern. In fact, both elevated and blunted patterns of diurnal cortisol regulation have been reported in children and adolescents exposed to greater ELS, including both reduced and heightened cortisol levels and change in cortisol across the day. These divergent findings may be due to developmental changes in the relation between ELS and HPA-axis functioning. The present study was designed to examine the role of puberty in the impact of the severity of ELS on the regulation of diurnal cortisol. Boys and girls (N=145) ages 9–13 years recruited from lower-risk communities completed an interview about their ELS experiences and at-home collection of diurnal cortisol. ELS experiences were objectively coded for severity, and children’s level of pubertal development was measured using Tanner Staging. Multi-level piecewise mixed-effects models tested the effects of ELS severity and pubertal stage on cortisol levels at waking, the cortisol awakening response (CAR), and the daytime cortisol slope. While we found no significant interactive effects of pubertal stage and ELS severity on cortisol levels at waking or the daytime cortisol slope, findings indicated that pubertal stage interacted with ELS severity to predict the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Specifically, in earlier puberty, higher ELS was associated with a blunted CAR compared to lower ELS; in contrast, in later puberty, higher ELS was associated with a heightened CAR compared to lower ELS. Differences in the relation between ELS severity and the CAR were uniquely determined by puberty, and not by age. By considering and examining the role of puberty, the current study provides a developmental explanation for previous divergent findings of both blunted and heightened patterns of diurnal cortisol following ELS. These results indicate that careful attention should be given to children’s pubertal status before drawing conclusions concerning the nature of diurnal cortisol dysregulation.