Cortisol Levels In Women Research Articles

Smelling a Single Component of Male Sweat Alters Levels of Cortisol in Women

Rodents use chemosignals to alter endocrine balance in conspecifics. Although responses to human sweat suggest a similar mechanism in humans, no particular component of human sweat capable of altering endocrine balance in conspecifics has yet been isolated and identified. Here, we measured salivary levels of the hormone cortisol in women after smelling pure androstadienone (4,16-androstadien-3-one), a molecule present in the sweat of men that has been suggested as a chemosignal in humans. We found that merely smelling androstadienone maintained significantly higher levels of the hormone cortisol in women. These results suggest that, like rodents, humans can influence the hormonal balance of conspecifics through chemosignals. Critically, this study identified a single component of sweat, androstadienone, as capable of exerting such influence. This result points to a potential role for synthetic human chemosignals in clinical applications.

Perceived stress in women with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

Objective. Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) has become very common. The aim of this study was to evaluate if women with RVVC perceive more signs of chronic stress than healthy control subjects.Study design. Thirty-three women with RVVC and 28 healthy control subjects completed a questionnaire about perceived stress at work and in private life, and a health questionnaire. A comparison of the results was performed with the one-way ANOVA test.Results. More women with RVVC than control subjects reported signs of burnout (p < 0.001), emotional symptoms of stress (p < 0.005), impaired balance between work and leisure time (p = 0.01), bodily symptoms of stress (p < 0.05), worrying factors at work (p < 0.05), and presented type D-personality (p < 0.05).Conclusions. The results of this pilot study showed higher degree of perceived stress in women with RVVC compared with healthy controls. These results are in line with our earlier findings of blunted morning rise cortisol and lower mean levels of cortisol in women with RVVC compared with healthy controls.

Breast Cancer-Specific Intrusions are Associated with Increased Cortisol Responses to Daily Life Stressors in Healthy Women Without Personal or Family Histories of Breast Cancer

Studies indicate that women fear breast cancer more than any other disease and that women's levels of breast cancer-specific intrusions are related to their perceived risk of breast cancer. Here, we explore possible biological consequences of higher breast cancer risk perceptions and intrusions in healthy women without personal or family histories of the disease. We hypothesized that women with higher perceived risk would have more intrusions about breast cancer, which would constitute a background stressor sufficient to increase hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) responsivity to daily stress. HPA responses to an ordinary life stressor (work) were assessed in 141 employed women (age = 37.2+/-9.2) without personal or family histories of breast cancer. Urinary cortisol excretion rates were assessed with timed sample collections at work, home, and during sleep. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant Group by Time interaction with higher work cortisol levels in women with breast cancer-specific intrusions compared to women without intrusions (p < 0.02). Regression analyses revealed a significant association between risk perceptions and intrusions (p < 0.001). Regression analysis with intrusions and risk perceptions predicting work cortisol indicated a significant contribution of intrusions (p < 0.04), but not risk perceptions (p = 0.53). Overestimation of breast cancer risk is associated with higher levels of breast cancer-specific intrusions that can result in increased cortisol responsivity to daily stressors. This heightened responsivity could have long-term negative health implications.

Prolactin and cortisol levels in women with endometriosis

Endometriosis is a progressive estrogen-dependent disease affecting women during their reproductive years. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether endometriosis is associated with stress parameters. We determined cortisol and prolactin levels in serum, peritoneal and follicular fluid from infertile women with endometriosis and fertile women without the disease. The extent of the disease was staged according to the revised American Fertility Society classification (1997). Serum and peritoneal fluid were collected from 49 women aged 19 to 39 years undergoing laparoscopy. Eighteen women had stage I-II endometriosis and 10 had stage III-IV. Controls were 21 women undergoing laparoscopy for tubal sterilization. Follicular fluid was obtained from 39 women aged 25-39 years undergoing in vitro fertilization (21 infertile women with endometriosis and 18 infertile women without endometriosis). Serum prolactin levels were significantly higher in infertile women with stage III-IV endometriosis (28.9 +/- 2.1 ng/mL) than in healthy controls (13.2 +/- 2.1 ng/mL). Serum cortisol levels were significantly higher in infertile women with stage III-IV endometriosis (20.1 +/- 1.3 ng/mL) than in controls (10.5 +/- 1.4 ng/mL). Cortisol and prolactin levels in follicular fluid and peritoneal fluid did not differ significantly between groups. The high levels of cortisol and prolactin in the serum from women with endometriosis might contribute to the subfertility frequently associated with the disease. Moreover, since higher levels of cortisol and prolactin are often associated with stress, it is probable that stress might contribute to the development of endometriosis and its progression to advanced stages of the disease.

431: Genome-Wide Screen Identifies Two Novel Loci Associated with Morning Serum Cortisol Levels in Women

431: Genome-Wide Screen Identifies Two Novel Loci Associated with Morning Serum Cortisol Levels in Women

Sex Differences in the Genetic Basis of Morning Serum Cortisol Levels: Genome-Wide Screen Identifies Two Novel Loci Specific to Women

Relatively little is known about the influence of specific genes on cortisol levels, particularly morning cortisol levels. The objective of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci associated with morning serum cortisol levels. We carried out a genome screen for morning serum cortisol using linkage and association methods tailored for use in large pedigrees. We conducted these analyses both in the whole sample and partitioned by sex. This study was conducted on nine communal Hutterite farms in South Dakota. The Hutterites are a young founder population who practice a communal, farming lifestyle in the western United States and in Canada. Hutterites (n = 504, 53% female) aged 11-89 yr from a single pedigree participated in this study. The main outcome measures were markers significantly linked or associated with variation in morning serum cortisol levels. One genome-wide significant association was identified in the whole sample on 11p (D11S1981, P = 0.000092). Results of sex-partitioned analyses indicated that this association was restricted to females (females, P = 0.000084; males, P = 0.20). The 146-bp allele at this locus accounted for 7% of the variance in morning cortisol values in females, and females homozygous for the allele had an 89% increase in morning cortisol levels compared with female noncarriers. A second genome-wide significant association in females was identified on 14q (D14S74, P = 0.000091). Our results suggest that the genetic determinants of morning cortisol levels may be different for men and women and that loci on 11p and 14q influence morning cortisol levels in women.

Cortisol and GH secretory dynamics, and their interrelationships, in healthy aged women and men.

We studied 130 healthy aged women (n = 57) and men (n = 73), age 65-88 yr, with age-related reductions in insulin-like growth factor I and gonadal steroid levels to assess the interrelationships between cortisol and growth hormone (GH) secretion and whether these relationships differ by sex. Blood was sampled every 20 min from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM; cortisol was measured by RIA and GH by immunoradiometric assay, followed by deconvolution analyses of hormone secretory parameters and assessment of approximate entropy (ApEn) and cross-ApEn. Cortisol mass/burst, cortisol production rate, and mean and integrated serum cortisol concentrations (P < 0.0005), and overnight basal GH secretion (P < 0.05), were elevated in women vs. men. Integrated cortisol concentrations were directly related to most measures of GH secretion in women (P < 0.01) and with mean and integrated GH concentrations in men (P < 0.05). Integrated GH concentrations were directly related to mean and integrated cortisol levels in women (P < 0.005) and men (P < 0.05), with no sex differences. There were no sex differences in cortisol or GH ApEn values; however, the cross-ApEn score was greater in women (P < 0.05), indicating reduced GH-cortisol pattern synchrony in aged women vs. men. There were no significant relationships of integrated cortisol secretion with GH ApEn, or vice versa, in either sex. Thus postmenopausal women appear to maintain elevated cortisol production in patterns that are relatively uncoupled from those of GH, whereas mean hormone outputs remain correlated.

Acute post-rape plasma cortisol, alcohol use, and PTSD symptom profile among recent rape victims.

This study presents the acute post-rape plasma cortisol alcohol use and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom profile among 37 recent female rape victims. Subjects were victims of rape who reported the crime to the police and who received forensic medical examinations within 72 hours post-rape. A total of 15 (41%) women reported alcohol use not related to PTSD status. Cortisol was significantly negative associated with the time of post-rape. A nonsignificant association was seen for the main effect of alcohol use and in the interaction of alcohol use and prior history of assault. The association of history for assault with lower cortisol levels showed a significant effect for the history of assault. Apparent levels were found among newly assaulted women using alcohol. Women with assault histories irrespective of alcohol use showed low levels of cortisol. About 22 (71%) women met the cutoff criteria for PTSD. A main effect was observed in the presence of crime-related PTSD associated with cortisol showing a higher cortisol level. Basing from the results it can be concluded that alcohol use is associated with high levels of cortisol in women with no rape history. Moreover cortisol levels were lower in both alcohol users and nonusers which have been victimized.

Individual differences in repressive-defensiveness predict basal salivary cortisol levels.

Prior studies assessing the relation between negative affective traits and cortisol have yielded inconsistent results. Two studies assessed the relation between individual differences in repressive-defensiveness and basal salivary cortisol levels. Experiment 1 assessed midafternoon salivary cortisol levels in men classified as repressors, high-anxious, or low-anxious. In Experiment 2, more rigorous controls were applied as salivary cortisol levels in women and men were assessed at 3 times of day on 3 separate days. In both studies, as hypothesized, repressors and high-anxious participants demonstrated higher basal cortisol levels than low-anxious participants. These findings suggest that both heightened distress and the inhibition of distress may be independently linked to relative elevations in cortisol. Also discussed is the possible mediational role of individual differences in responsivity to, or mobilization for, uncertainty or change.

Obstetric short communications: Companionship to modify the clinical birth environment: no measurable effect on stress hormone levels

SummaryIntroductionThe roles of catecholamines and cortisol in human labour are poorly understood. Plasma levels of these hormones increase during labour and are reported to correlate with maternal anxiety and pain (Lederman et al., 1978). Review of 11 random allocation trials of support from a caregiver during labour has shown a wide range of beneficial effects (Hodnett, 1994), including considerable shortening of the duration of labour and reduced incidence of perinatal complications (Sosa et al., 1980; Klaus et al., 1986). To test the hypothesis that companionship in labour may be associated with reduced stress hormone levels, we have measured plasma adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine levels and serum cortisol levels in women enrolled in a random trial of companionship during labour.

Preliminary evidence for reduced cortisol responsivity to psychological stress in women using oral contraceptive medication

In two studies, saliva cortisol responses to the psychological stress of public speaking and mental arithmetic were investigated in women using oral contraceptives (OC; n = 28) and in control women (n = 29). While no significant differences in baseline levels were observed, altered adrenocortical responses were found in OC users. These women showed significantly attenuated cortisol responses to the experimental stressor in both studies, with peak cortisol levels only slightly elevated above baseline levels. These differences could not be attributed to affective responses as indicated in ratings on visual analogue scales assessing subjective stress responses (Study 2). A comparison between control women and men (n = 19) again revealed the previously reported result of larger cortisol responses to psychological stress in males. We conclude that the use of OC may interfere with the adrenocortical response to psychological stress and should therefore be viewed as an important intervening variable. While it appears that differences at a supra-adrenal site is responsible for the observed cortisol hyporesponsiveness in OC users, the physiological mechanisms remain to be elucidated.

Tryptophan metabolism and cortisol levels in women with early breast cancer referred for radiotherapy

Tryptophan metabolism and cortisol levels in women with early breast cancer referred for radiotherapy

A marathon: The immediate effect on female runners' luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, prolactin, testosterone, and cortisol levels

This study was designed to measure the changes that occur in luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin, testosterone, and cortisol levels in women at the immediate conclusion of a marathon and to compare the results with those in women on the United States Women's Water Polo Team at the conclusion of a strenuous practice session. Thirty-one women runners were included in this study, and each woman served as her own control. Thirteen women were studied from the United States Women's Water Polo Team. In the postmarathon group, cortisol levels showed a mean increase of 211% (p = <0.005), FSH levels were unchanged; LH levels, contrary to other published reports, were reduced by 36% (p = <0.005); and prolactin levels showed a mean increase of 327% (p = <0.005). These results were analyzed in the age groups 20 to 30, 30 to 40, and 41 +. All age groups had similar changes. In members of the United States Women's Water Polo Team, there were no significant changes in cortisol, FSH, LH, or testosterone levels. Prolactin levels showed an average increase of 70% (p = <0.002). These data indicate that acute exercise by running a marathon does alter the immediate hormonal profile. The data also indicate that acute exercise in an aquatic program results in a different response.