Cortisol Levels and Their Association with Workplace Stress in IT Workers

Cortisol rhythm disruptions predict early mortality in renal, colorectal, lung, and metastatic breast cancer. In head and neck cancer (HNC), various cortisol indices are known to correlate with adverse psychological and biological (e.g., inflammatory) outcomes, but links to mortality have yet to be demonstrated. We hypothesize that the prognostic value of diurnal cortisol aberrations will hold in HNC. Prior work leads us to predict that flattened or elevated diurnal cortisol profiles will be associated with elevations of serum inflammatory and tumor-promoting cytokines in this population, and that these immune markers would themselves predict poor progression-free survival. We prospectively recruited a pilot sample of HNC patients (N=40) at a multidisciplinary HNC clinic. Most patients presented with late-stage oral/oropharyngeal cancer, were older than 50, male, and subsequently received combined-modality (surgery and/or radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy) treatment with curative intent. Saliva was collected twice daily for six days to assess diurnal slope, mean, waking, and evening cortisol levels. Serum was assayed for an exploratory panel of inflammatory and tumor-promoting cytokines. Two years post study-entry, disease progression and survivorship status were abstracted from medical records. Bivariate correlations, linear regressions, and Cox Proportional Hazards models tested hypotheses. Elevations of evening cortisol and diurnal mean levels were each associated with shorter progression-free survival (evening: Hazard Ratio [HR]=1.848, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=1.057-3.230, p=.031; diurnal mean: HR=2.662, 95% CI=1.115-6.355, p=.027). Bivariate correlations revealed that higher levels of the serum inflammatory marker interferon (IFN)-γ were linked with elevated evening (r=.405, p=.014) and mean (r=.459, p=.004) cortisol. Higher expression of IFN-γ also predicted poorer progression-free survival (HR=4.671, 95% CI=1.409-15.484, p=.012). Elevated evening and diurnal mean cortisol were both prognostic; suggesting cortisol secretion is both dysregulated and elevated among patients who subsequently experienced accelerated disease progression. These exploratory data from 40 HNC patients mirror relationships between cortisol and survival identified among patients with numerous other tumor types. This pilot study highlights the need for research on effects of cortisol rhythm disruption among HNC patients. Future research in larger samples should also examine the role of inflammatory and tumor-promoting factors-both systemically and within the tumor microenvironment-as potential mediators of cortisol rhythm disruption.

Salivary cortisone strongly correlates with serum cortisol, and since it is less invasive to measure salivary cortisone than serum cortisol and easier than to measure cortisol in saliva, as its concentrations are much lower, we wanted to compare salivary cortisone and cortisol levels as markers of noise-induced stress reaction. The study included 104 participants aged 19-30 years, 50 of whom were exposed to occupational noise ≥85 dB(A) and 54 non-exposed, control students. All participants took samples of their saliva with Salivette® Cortisol synthetic swabs on three consecutive working days first thing in the morning. Salivary cortisone and cortisol levels were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography. In addition, they completed a 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) questionnaire, and occupationally noise-exposed participants also completed the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) questionnaire on occupational psychosocial risks. The exposed participants had significantly higher cortisone (P<0.001) and cortisol (P<0.001) levels than controls, and the correlation between cortisone and cortisol levels in the exposed participants was strong (ϱ =0.692, P<0.001), which suggests that salivary cortisone can replace cortisol measurements in saliva as a more reliable method than salivary cortisol and less invasive than serum cortisol. However, the level of perceived stress scored on PSS-10 in the exposed participants did not differ significantly from stress reported by controls, but correlated negatively with cortisone levels, which is contrary to our expectations and raises questions as to why.

Context:Stress had been associated with the development of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). The study was designed to evaluate the effect of stress on other risk factors of CSC such as serum cortisol levels, serum homocysteine levels, and blood pressure (BP) in CSC patients.Aims:To compare stress scores, serum cortisol and serum homocysteine levels, and BP of CSC patients with that of control population and to correlate stress scores of CSC patients with BP, serum cortisol levels, and serum homocysteine levels.Materials and Methods:Stress scores, serum morning and evening cortisol levels, serum homocysteine levels, systolic and diastolic BP of 54 CSC patients were measured and compared with that of 54 age- and sex-related controls using Student's t-test. Stress scores of CSC patients were correlated with systolic and diastolic BP, serum morning and evening cortisol levels and serum homocysteine levels and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) were calculated.Results:Stress scores, serum homocysteine levels, serum morning and evening cortisol levels, and systolic and diastolic BP were all elevated in CSC patients as compared with age- and sex-related controls (P < 0.05). Stress scores of CSC patients were found to correlate strongly with serum homocysteine levels, serum morning and evening cortisol levels, and systolic and diastolic BP, with r values 0.82, 0.8, 0.8, 0.8, and 0.81, respectively (P < 0.0001).Conclusions:Stress scores were elevated in CSC patients and were strongly correlated with serum homocysteine and cortisol levels and BP.

Drawing on the findings of a recent national survey, this article examines the extent to which higher education institutions in the United Kingdom meet the minimum standards recommended by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for the management of work‐related stressors. A comparison is also made between the average weekly working hours reported in the current survey with those found in two previous studies of the higher education sector (1998 and 2004). A sample of 9,740 academic and academic‐related employees working in higher education institutions in the UK completed a measure of seven job‐related stressors (or psychosocial hazards) (that is, demands, control, support from colleagues and managers, interpersonal relationships, role clarity and involvement in organisational change). With one exception (job control), levels of job‐related stressors in the higher education sector exceeded the benchmarks stipulated by the HSE. Stressors relating to change, role, job demands and managerial support were particularly high. Recommendations made by the HSE for interim and longer‐term targets to be achieved for the management of each stressor category are provided. Findings also revealed that average working hours remain high in the sector, with many employees continuing to exceed the weekly limit set by the UK Working Time Directive. The utility of the HSE approach in higher education institutions and ways in which the sector might work towards meeting the HSE management standards and consequently enhance employee well‐being are considered.

Patent foramen ovale and decompression illness in divers

Association Between Serum Bdnf and Cortisol Levels in Drug-naive Patients with Depression Treated with Yoga Therapy or Antidepressants

Background: Cortisol is a steroid hormone, in the glucocorticoid class of hormones that functions to increase blood sugar through gluconeogenesis. Diabetogenic hormones such as cortisol play a role in the complications of diabetes mellitus and abnormally high cortisol exerts anti-insulin effect that leads to reduction in insulin sensitivity which is a major factor contributing to development of type2 diabetes mellitus. Aim: This study aimed at evaluating the serum level of Cortisol in type-2 diabetes mellitus patients. Materials and Methods: Samples from thirty (30) confirmed drug treated type2 diabetic subjects attending clinic at federal teaching hospital Abakaliki and fifteen (15) non-diabetic volunteers were analyzed of serum cortisol level using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The data generated was analyzed using statistical software IBM SPSS version 20.0. The results were expressed as mean+ SEM. Data from this study was analyzed using T-paired test analysis. Results and Discussion: This study showed that the serum cortisol level was normal and had no significant difference (p=0.13) in treated type2 diabetic subjects (2.94+0.73nmol/l) compared to that of the control subjects (1.83+0.06). Also, the mean levels of serum cortisol in comparison with the duration of treatment showed that type2 diabetic subjects with treatment duration of 1-2years showed higher significant difference (P=0.03) in their mean levels of cortisol (2.51+0.54) compared to subjects with treatment duration of 6-10years (0.82+0.05). Conclusion: Serum cortisol level in a well drug treated type2 diabetic subjects was observed to be normal with an inverse correlation with duration of treatment.

Guidance on the use of respiratory and facial protection equipment

Effects of gender-affirming hormones on diurnal cortisol concentrations: A prospective study

IntroductionBefore the 2014, Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, healthcare workers (HCWs) faced many challenges. Workload and personal risk of HCWs increased but their experiences of these have not been well...

Aims: To investigate if salivary cortisol can be used as an alternative to serum cortisol in the management of diabetes mellitus. Study Design: The design of the study was cross sectional. Place and Duration of Study: Diabetic Clinic of the Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital between June 2009 and July 2010. Original Research Article Bassey et al.; BJMMR, 9(7): 1-7, 2015; Article no.BJMMR.19286 2 Methodology: Fifty five (55) type II diabetic patients and thirty three (33) non-diabetic controls (45 men, 43 women; age range 30 69 years) were recruited for this study. The levels of salivary cortisol, serum cortisol, fasting plasma glucose and glycated haemoglobin were determined. Serum and salivary cortisol was determined using enzyme immunoassay; fasting plasma glucose using colorimetric method and glycated haemoglobin using cation-exchange resin separation method. Results: The mean serum and salivary cortisol levels were significantly higher (p=0.000) in diabetics as compared to the controls. The salivary cortisol was about 70% lower than the serum cortisol in each group. There was no significant difference between the percentage difference between the serum and salivary cortisol levels in both the diabetics and controls. There was a significant positive correlation between serum cortisol and salivary cortisol in both the diabetic subjects (r = 0.362, p=0.007) and controls (r =0.406, p= 0.019). Conclusion: Cortisol levels in saliva reflected those in serum in both diabetics and controls therefore salivary cortisol may be used in place of serum cortisol in the management of diabetes.

Management of the UK HSE failure rate and event data

BackgroundThe relationship between acute gastrointestinal symptoms and cortisol or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels has rarely been reported. We hypothesized that the elevation of serum cortisol or ACTH levels may be correlated with the severity of the acute gastrointestinal injury grade (AGI).MethodsThis study was an observational study. All patients were admitted to the ICU between 2019.1.1 and 2020.1.1.. Serum ACTH and cortisol levels and clinical data were collected from the electronic medication records. The highest AGI grade during the ICU stay was the major endpoint to observe. The patient was treated in a standard procedure in the ICU.ResultsA total of 235 patients were included in our study, 132 of whom developed AGI. In univariate regression, cortisol level was found to be a risk factor for 28-day mortality. Serum cortisol and ACTH levels correlated with APACHE II, AGI grade, PCT, and CRP levels. Spearman analysis and partial correlation analysis indicated that cortisol and ACTH levels were correlated with AGI grade.ConclusionThe ACTH and cortisol levels were positively correlated with the higher severity of AGI grade. The cortisol level may be a useful way to access the GI injury.

We measured basal Cortisol levels in 15 children with kwashiorkor, 15 children with marasmic kwashiorkor, and 21 children with marasmus, before and after nutritional rehabilitation, as wel...

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