Cortisol secretion in depressed, and at-risk adults
Open accessAbstract
Distinct patterns of cortisol secretion have been associated with depression in past research, but it remains unclear whether individuals at-risk for depression may also have similar patterns of cortisol secretion. This is the first study to date of both naturalistic diurnal cortisol secretion and cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial laboratory stressor in depressed and at-risk adults. Cortisol secretion patterns were compared for 57 currently depressed, at-risk (based on trait-level positive and negative affect), and control participants over 5 days and in response to a laboratory stressor. After controlling for potentially confounding biobehavioral variables, the depressed group had a larger cortisol awakening response (CAR) and higher average diurnal cortisol compared to control participants. Individuals at-risk for depression also had significantly higher waking cortisol levels than control participants. Results for the psychosocial laboratory stressor did not show the predicted elevations in cortisol for depressed and at-risk participants compared to controls. The at-risk group recovered more quickly when compared to the depressed group both in levels of cortisol and concurrent measures of negative affect. The at-risk and depressed participants were similar on the diurnal cortisol measures, but differed on response to the laboratory social stressor, suggesting divergence in cortisol secretion patterns between currently depressed and temperamentally at-risk individuals. Further investigation of HPA functioning of individuals at-risk for depression may clarify the stress processes involved in risk for depression onset.
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Women currently suffering from depression have significantly higher average cortisol levels throughout the day and a significantly higher CAR than non-depressed women.
“Another study found similar associations: women suffering currently from depression had significantly higher average cortisol levels throughout the day, as well as a significantly higher CAR, than the non-depressed group [115].”
From The Role of Cortisol in Chronic Stress, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Psychological Disorders (2023) · cites this paper as [115]
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References 88 · Cited by 128
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Kirschbaum C Hellhammer DH Fink G Salivary cortisol Encyclopedia of Stress 2000 3 San Diego Academic Press 379 383
- Authors
- Dienes, K. A., Hazel, N. A., & Hammen, C. L.
- Affiliations
- Roosevelt University (US)
- University of Colorado Denver (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Corresponding author
- Dienes, Kimberly A.
- ORCID
- Dienes, Kimberly A.
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-06
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 927-940
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4451064
- OpenAlex
- W2127072890
- Semantic Scholar
- 0bd1b307c8b387a52abd2216be1169b6e1fc2344
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 88
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 1.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Sigma Xia
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
- Keywords
- cortisol secretion, depression, cortisol awakening response, diurnal cortisol, laboratory stressor, psychosocial stress, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, positive affect, negative affect, trait affect, stress recovery
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Circadian Rhythm, Depression, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Pituitary-Adrenal Function Tests, Saliva, Stress, Psychological, Wakefulness, Case-Control Studies, Young Adult
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