Cortisol Secretion In Children Research Articles

Effect of nocturnal exposure to screens on cortisol secretion in children

Effect of nocturnal exposure to screens on cortisol secretion in children

Cortisol Impacted on Explicit Learning Encoding, but Not on Storage and Retrieval, and Was Not Associated With Sleep Patterns-Results From the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) Among 9-Years Old Children.

Background: Learning is the relatively permanent change of behavior as a result of experience and tightly related to memory and cognition. Learning is particularly important for children. Further, restoring sleep is associated both with improved learning performance and lower cortisol levels as a proxy of the so-called hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity (HPA-AA). With the present study, we investigated, if and to what extent explicit learning performance was associated with cortisol levels at baseline and under challenge conditions and with objective sleep dimensions among 9-years old children.Methods: A total of 39 children (mean age = 9.5 years; 39% females) took part in the study. Verbal and figural working and long-term memory were tested before and after the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C). Further, children underwent sleep-EEG assessment, and cortisol awakening response (CAR) was assessed.Results: Higher cortisol levels were associated with lower explicit learning encoding (verbal, but not figural learning). Higher verbal and figural working and long-term memory performance predicted lower cortisol secretion under the TSST-C, along with higher verbal and figural working and long-term memory performance after the TSST-C. Cognitive test performances were not mediated by cortisol secretion under the TSST-C. Cognitive performance, cortisol secretion under challenge (TSST-C) and basal conditions (morning) and sleep patterns were unrelated.Conclusions: The pattern of results suggests that among a sample of 9-years old children cortisol secretion and stages of memory processes (encoding, storage, retrieval) are associated in a complex and bi-directional way. Further, it appears that cognitive-emotional processes underlying cognitive performance and its evaluation might impact on subsequent cortisol secretion as a proxy of neuroendocrinological response to cognitive-emotional processes. Last, cognitive performance and cortisol secretion under challenge conditions were not related to objective sleep patterns and baseline cortisol secretion.

Hair cortisol concentration in mothers and their children: roles of maternal sensitivity and child symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Associations between mothers' and children's cortisol secretion parameters are well established. According to the bio-behavioral synchrony model, these associations reflect influences of the mother-child relationship, the child's social adjustment, and might also reflect shared genetic dispositions. From the bio-behavioral synchrony model, we predicted a stronger mother-child hair cortisol concentration (HCC) link in mothers showing highly adequate (compared to those showing less adequate) parenting behaviors and in children showing low (compared to those showing high) ADHD symptoms. From a genetic perspective, no such moderator effects, or a stronger mother-child HCC link in children with high ADHD symptoms, can be expected. The study sample consisted of 111 4-5-year-old children (64 of whom screened positive for increased ADHD symptoms) and their mothers. ADHD symptoms were assessed by a clinical interview and parent and teacher questionnaires. Maternal sensitive/responsive parenting behavior was assessed by an at-home behavior observation procedure. In mothers and children, HCC in the most proximal 3-cm scalp hair segment was analyzed using luminescence immunoassay. Overall HCCs of mothers and their children correlated significantly. Maternal sensitivity/responsiveness and child ADHD symptoms proved to be significant moderator variables of this association: High maternal sensitivity/responsiveness and low ADHD symptoms of the child were associated with a stronger mother-child link in HCC. The findings are in line with the bio-behavioral synchrony model in the mother-child relationship, and are less compatible with a genetic perspective. The results might hint at environmental events influencing the development of stress axis functioning in subgroups of preschoolers with high ADHD symptoms.

Blunted cortisol stress reactivity in low–income children relates to lower memory function

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) environments are marked by higher stress that is hypothesized to alter cortisol secretion in children, thereby damaging hippocampal volume and memory performance. However, empirical evidence demonstrating these putative links is lacking. We assessed the diurnal cortisol awakening response (CAR) on two mornings and cortisol stress reactivity (CSR) with the Trier Social Stress Test for Children in 102 healthy, socio–demographically diverse 6–to–7–year–old children (46% female). Children performed a hippocampal–dependent item–location associative memory task and 60 of these children underwent structural MRI scanning for hippocampal volume. Cortisol values were modeled with latent–change structural equation models to represent overall levels and change. We found lower income is associated with a flatter CAR, blunted reactivity and recovery to acute stress, and smaller hippocampal volume. Furthermore, hyporeactivity in CSR was related to lower memory among lower–income children, whereas there was no reliable association of CSR and memory among higher–income children (an income x cortisol interaction). We found no evidence that smaller hippocampal volume in lower income was associated with poorer memory performance. Notably, hyporeactivity in both CAR and CSR was specific to using income as the SES predictor. The income x cortisol interaction and smaller hippocampal effects, however, were replicated with education and an SES composite score. This suggests that hyporeactivity to acute stress may function as a mediator in SES–cognition associations at the lower end of the SES spectrum, but it does not imply environmental– or genetically–mediated causation.

Cognitive control moderates parenting stress effects on children's diurnal cortisol.

This study investigated associations between parenting stress in parents and self-reported stress in children with children's diurnal cortisol secretion and whether these associations are moderated by known stress-regulating capacities, namely child cognitive control. Salivary cortisol concentrations were assessed from awakening to evening on two weekend days from 53 6-to-7-year-old children. Children completed a cognitive control task and a self-report stress questionnaire with an experimenter, while parents completed a parenting stress inventory. Hierarchical, linear mixed effects models revealed that higher parenting stress was associated with overall reduced cortisol secretion in children, and this effect was moderated by cognitive control. Specifically, parenting stress was associated with reduced diurnal cortisol levels in children with lower cognitive control ability and not in children with higher cognitive control ability. There were no effects of self-reported stress in children on their cortisol secretion, presumably because 6-to-7-year-old children cannot yet self-report on stress experiences. Our results suggest that higher cognitive control skills may buffer the effects of parenting stress in parents on their children’s stress regulation in middle childhood. This could indicate that training cognitive control skills in early life could be a target to prevent stress-related disorders.

Секреция кортизола у детей с ранним опытом пребывания в сиротском учреждении

The article gives an overview of researches devoted to the study of the impact of early institutionalization of children on their neuroendocrine functioning (on an example of researches of secretion of cortisol). The researches were conducted while children resided in an institution (Baby Home) or placed into adoptive families. The problems of the negative impact of early social and emotional deprivation on the physiological rhythm of cortisol secretion in children are considered.

Parent cortisol and family relatedness predict anxious behavior in emerging adults.

Emerging-adult cortisol response during family interaction predicts change in emerging-adult anxious behavior during the transition to college (Gans & Johnson, in press). In the present study, we take an additional step toward integrating family systems research and physiology by including assessment of parent physiology. We collect salivary cortisol from parents and emerging adults during triadic family interaction. Emerging adults (N = 101) between the ages of 17 and 19 years were assessed at 3 time points across their first college year: the summer before college and the Fall and Spring semesters. Two parents accompanied the emerging-adult child to the summer assessment; all family members provided 4 saliva samples each at 20-min intervals. Later assessments of emerging adults included measures of internalizing behaviors. Parents' cortisol secretion patterns during family interaction predict their emerging-adult children's cortisol secretion pattern, parent perceptions of the family environment, and emerging-adult children's internalizing behavior during the college transition. Different patterns of results emerged for mothers' and fathers' cortisol response to family interaction and for families with sons or with daughters. The approach taken by this study provides a first step toward understanding how interrelationships among elements of physiology and family functioning contribute to adjustment during major life transitions. (PsycINFO Database Record

L-Dopa Stimulates Cortisol Secretion through Adrenocorticotropic Hormone Release in Short Children

Background/Aims: We recently showed that <smlcap>L</smlcap>-Dopa administration is a potent stimulator of cortisol secretion in children with short stature. Herein, we examined whether adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is implicated in the mechanism by which cortisol is stimulated during the <smlcap>L</smlcap>-Dopa test. Methods: Nineteen children with short stature who fulfilled the auxological criteria for growth hormone (GH) deficiency and had a subnormal GH response to glucagon stimulation underwent a second GH stimulation test (<smlcap>L</smlcap>-Dopa test). Serum GH, cortisol and plasma ACTH were determined at baseline and every 30 min up to 120 min after oral <smlcap>L</smlcap>-Dopa administration. Peak values of GH >10 ng/ml, cortisol >18 μg/dl and ACTH >52 pg/ml were considered as normal response. Results: Normal response rates were 10.5% (2/19) for GH, 94.7% (18/19) for cortisol and 68.4% (13/19) for ACTH. Among the children with a normal response in ACTH, its concentration increased from a basal value (mean ± standard deviation) of 23.3 ± 9.6 to 290.3 ± 221 pg/ml, almost always 90-120 min after <smlcap>L</smlcap>-Dopa administration. Mean peak cortisol was 36.2 ± 9.1 μg/dl, and it peaked almost simultaneously with ACTH. Conclusion: Our data suggest a stimulatory effect of the dopaminergic system on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Cortisol levels in former preterm children at school age are predicted by neonatal procedural pain-related stress.

Early life stress can alter hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis function. Differences in cortisol levels have been found in preterm infants exposed to substantial procedural stress during neonatal intensive care, compared to infants born full-term, but only a few studies investigated whether altered programming of the HPA axis persists past toddler age. Further, there is a dearth of knowledge of what may contribute to these changes in cortisol. This prospective cohort study examined the cortisol profiles in response to the stress of cognitive assessment, as well as the diurnal rhythm of cortisol, in children (n=129) born at varying levels of prematurity (24-32 weeks gestation) and at full-term (38-41 weeks gestation), at age 7 years. Further, we investigated the relationships among cortisol levels and neonatal procedural pain-related stress (controlling for multiple medical confounders), concurrent maternal factors (parenting stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms) and children's behavioral problems. For each aim we investigate acute cortisol response profiles to a cognitive challenge as well as diurnal cortisol patterns at home. We hypothesized that children born very preterm will differ in their pattern of cortisol secretion from children born full-term, possibly depended on concurrent child and maternal factors, and that exposure to neonatal pain-related stress would be associated with altered cortisol secretion in children born very preterm, possibly in a sex-dependent way. Saliva samples were collected from 7-year old children three times during a laboratory visit for assessment of cognitive and executive functions (pretest, mid-test, end-study day acute stress profile) and at four times over two consecutive non-school days at home (i.e. morning, mid-morning, afternoon and bedtime-diurnal rhythm profile). We found that cortisol profiles were similar in preterm and full-term children, albeit preterms had slightly higher cortisol at bedtime compared to full-term children. Importantly, in the preterm group, greater neonatal procedural pain-related stress (adjusted for morphine) was associated with lower cortisol levels on the study day (p=.044) and lower diurnal cortisol at home (p=.023), with effects found primarily in boys. In addition, child attention problems were negatively, and thought problems were positively, associated with the cortisol response during cognitive assessment on the study day in preterm children. Our findings suggest that neonatal pain/stress contributes to altered HPA axis function up to school-age in children born very preterm, and that sex may be an important factor.

Cortisol secretion in children with symptoms of reactive attachment disorder

Maltreated children with reactive attachment disorder (RAD) have severe problems with social relationships and affect regulation. An association between early maltreatment and changes in the daily rhythm of cortisol secretion has already been reported for maltreated toddlers. We sought to find out whether such changes were apparent in school-age children with symptoms of RAD, who had experienced early maltreatment but were currently adopted in well-functioning families. We recruited 66 children: 34 adopted children, aged 5–12 years, with an early history of maltreatment and with social difficulties such as indiscriminate friendliness; and 32 age- and sex-matched comparison children with no history of maltreatment or social difficulties. Daily rhythms of cortisol production were determined from saliva samples collected over 2 days. The adopted group had significantly lower absolute levels of cortisol compared to the control group, but a typical profile of cortisol secretion. There was no association between cortisol secretion and symptom scores for psychopathology.

Clinical characteristics, timing of peak responses and safety aspects of two dosing regimens of the glucagon stimulation test in evaluating growth hormone and cortisol secretion in adults

Weight-based (WB: 0.03mg/kg) and fixed dose (FD: 1-1.5mg) regimens of the glucagon stimulation test (GST) have been used to evaluate GH and cortisol secretion in children and adults, respectively. However, experience of the WB regimen in assessing GH and cortisol secretion in adults are limited. We describe a multicenter experience using WB and FD regimens in evaluating GH and cortisol secretion in adults suspected of GH deficiency and central adrenal insufficiency. Retrospective case series of GSTs (n=515) performed at five tertiary centers. Peak and nadir glucose, and peak GH and peak cortisol responses occurred later with WB (mean dose: 2.77mg) compared to FD (mean dose: 1.20mg) regimens. Main side-effects were nausea and vomiting, particularly in younger females. Nausea was comparable but vomiting was more frequent in the WB regimen (WB: 10.0% vs FD: 2.4%; P<0.05). Peak and nadir glucose, ΔGH, and peak and Δcortisol were higher in the WB regimen. In both regimens, age correlated negatively with peak cortisol levels, and body mass index (BMI), fasting, peak and nadir glucose correlated negatively with peak GH levels. WB and FD regimens can induce adult GH and cortisol secretion, but peak responses occur later in the WB regimen. Both regimens are relatively safe, and vomiting was more prevalent in the WB regimen. As age, BMI, and glucose tolerance negatively correlated with peak GH and cortisol levels, the WB regimen may be more effective than the FD regimen in older overweight glucose intolerant patients.

Normal spontaneous cortisol secretion in children after autologous bone marrow transplantation

To describe spontaneous cortisol secretion in children after autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for acute leukaemia and lymphoma. Spontaneous cortisol secretion was analysed in 39 children before and after BMT. Thirteen patients were conditioned with chemotherapy only (group 1), and 26 patients also with total body irradiation (TBI). In the TBI group, 14 patients had received no additional irradiation (group 2), whereas 12 patients had received cranial irradiation (CRT) previously (group 3). Before BMT, in comparison with group 1, mean morning cortisol was significantly lower in group 2 (252 vs 415 mmol/l, p = 0.004), but not in group 3 (vs 312 mmol/l, p = 0.12). There was no change in group 1 six months after BMT (to 379 nmol/l), whereas morning cortisol increased significantly in group 2 and group 3 (to 386 and 343 nmol/l, respectively; p < 0.05). The change in mean morning cortisol correlated negatively with pretransplant morning cortisol (r = -0.63, p < 0.001). Neither TBI nor CRT were associated with changes in morning cortisol. Spontaneous cortisol secretion is maintained after BMT irrespective of whether cranial or total body irradiation has been given or not.

Normal spontaneous cortisol secretion in children after autologous bone marrow transplantation

Normal spontaneous cortisol secretion in children after autologous bone marrow transplantation

Correlation between cortisol and insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs) under physiological conditions in children.

A positive correlation between 24-h spontaneous growth hormone (GH) and cortisol secretion was previously reported in children. This observation prompted us to examine the relationship between physiological diurnal cortisol variation and the levels of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) under physiological conditions. Starting at 0800 h, blood was sampled every 20 minutes over 24 h for measurement of GH and cortisol concentration in nine non-GH- deficient boys as part of a protocol for the investigation of short stature. IGFBP-1 and insulin were measured in samples drawn every 4 h over the 24-h period while IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-3 were determined in samples collected at the end of the study. No correlation was observed between IGF-I or IGF-II and mean cortisol levels. IGFBP-1 concentrations showed a marked circadian variation that was superimposed on the circadian rhythm for cortisol while a significant positive correlation was found for single point measurements between IGFBP-1 concentrations and cortisol levels measured in the same sample (r = 0.53) or at the preceding 20 minutes (r = 0.43), 40 minutes (r = 0.47) and 2 h (r = 0.38), suggesting an interplay between cortisol and IGFBP-1. A negative correlation (r = - 0.54) was found between IGFBP-1 and insulin levels determined in the same sample. A negative correlation (r = - 0.93) was also found between IGFBP-2 levels and mean cortisol concentrations during the preceding 12 h. No correlation was observed between plasma IGFBP-3 measured by IRMA and mean cortisol levels. Our data indicate a clear correlation between cortisol and IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-2 levels. Thus, the interplay of spontaneous GH and cortisol secretion in children may involve changes in IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-2 levels.

Relation between growth hormone and Cortisol spontaneous secretion in children

Dual effects of corticoids upon GH release in man have been described: a rapid, potentiating effect and a delayed suppressive one. Many investigators have used pharmacological doses of glucocorticoids in an attempt to detect this interaction of corticoids and GH. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between GH and cortisol spontaneous secretion in children under physiological conditions. Nine children aged 7.5-13.5 years with different growth rates were evaluated over a 24-hour period. Four were of normal stature (+/- 2 SD) and five were below 2 SD (familial or constitutional short stature). Blood samples were obtained at 20-minute intervals over a 24-hour period. GH and cortisol concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in each of the 73 samples collected. A significant correlation was obtained between mean 24-hour cortisol concentration and mean 24-hour GH concentration (r = 0.83; P < 0.01), the sum of 24-hour GH pulse amplitudes (r = 0.85; P < 0.01) and the highest 24-hour GH concentration (r = 0.88; P < 0.01). A significant positive correlation was also detected between mean 24-hour cortisol concentration and the number of GH pulses over a 24-hour period (r = 0.70; P < 0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between mean 24-hour GH concentration and number of cortisol pulses over a 24-hour period. The correlation between number of cortisol pulses and number of GH pulses was also non-significant. These data suggest an interplay of spontaneous GH and cortisol secretion in children. Physiological plasma cortisol levels may play a role in brain-pituitary regulatory mechanisms of GH secretion.

Episodic ACTH and cortisol secretion in normal children.

The aim of this study was to determine the normal relationship between ACTH and cortisol secretion in children. Fourteen children (nine male, five female; median age 11.3 years) were hospitalized and blood samples were taken every 20 min for 24 h. A circadian rhythm was observed with median 0900 h and midnight ACTH values of 1.80 and less than 0.97 pmol/l, and for cortisol 296 and 62 nmol/l respectively. The median (range) areas under the curve for ACTH and cortisol were 29.7 (9.0-53.8) pmol/l/h and 5114 (3562-8630) nmol/l/h respectively. There were no significant differences detected for ACTH and cortisol secretion between males and females, or between prepubertal (n = 9) and pubertal subjects (n = 5). Using a novel form of time series analysis we have shown that both ACTH and cortisol are secreted with a dominant periodicity of 0.7-1.0 h, representing 24-34 secretory episodes of ACTH and cortisol in 24 h. For cortisol, but not ACTH, there is a significant secondary periodicity of 2-3.2 h. To look for shared periodicities we have used the technique of coherency. This reveals that for six of the children ACTH and cortisol are secreted with a significant shared periodicity of 0.8-1.0 h, and for a further five children a similar secondary shared periodicity is present. Therefore in normal children ACTH and cortisol secretion are interdependent and episodic but are not influenced by either pubertal status or gender.

Inhaled beclomethasone decreases cortisol secretion in children

Inhaled beclomethasone decreases cortisol secretion in children

Urinary tetrahydrocortisone and tetrahydrocortisol glucosiduronates in normal newborns, children and adults

Utilizing a simple, highly specific radioimmunoassay (RIA), we measured the excretion of the glucosiduronate conjugates of tetrahydrocortisone (THE-gluc) and tetrahydrocortisol (THF-gluc) in adults (n = 16), children (n = 58) and newborns (n = 5), in order to establish a normal range of values for age and surface area. Both tetrahydrometabolites showed a linear increase with age but became constant for all individuals except newborns when results were calculated per square meter. Newborns excreted disproportionately low levels of these metabolites for their size. In children of similar ages, when 24h urine collections (n = 13) were compared to spot AM specimens (AM-Sp) (n = 45) in which the daily volume was estimated by creatinine excretion, THE-gluc/m2 levels were significantly higher in AM-Sp urines but THF-gluc/m2 levels were similar. Levels of both metabolites were markedly elevated in two patients with hyperadrenal states and low in three patients with hypoadrenal states compared to normal values per m2. These results indicate that the RIA for THE-gluc and THF-gluc can be a useful indirect test of cortisol secretion in children as well as in adults. Although 24h urine collections are more accurate, creatinine corrected AM-Sp urines may be clinically useful when values of these metabolites per m2 are compared to appropriate controls.

Experience with insulin-induced hypoglycemia as a provocative test for growth hormone and cortisol secretion in children.

Insulin-induced hypoglycemia has been used in 109 children with a variety of disorders to assess the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis.The patients were divided into 3 groups: (1) patients with growth retardation and with various disorders where an involvement of the hypothalamo-pituitary region was suspected; (2) obese patients; (3) specific syndromes: spontaneous hypoglycemia, anorexia nervosa, Turner’s syndrome, craniopharyngioma. Glucose, free fatty acids, cortisol and growth hormone were measured before injection of insulin, and at 20-min-intervals thereafter for a period of 2–4 h. The findings, particularly in obesity and in syndromes other than growth disorders have shown, that a series of factors have to be considered for a correct interpretation of the hormonal response to hypoglycemia. The limits for normal, reduced or absent response are given and as a simple screening for growth hormonee deficiency, a growth hormone estimation without stimulation can be used. The test has been found safe under clinical conditions and to provide reliable information about growth hormone and ACTH, respectively cortisol reaction.