Increased Cortisol Reactivity Research Articles

Systematic review: the impact of maternal pre-and postnatal cannabis use on the behavioral and emotional regulation in early childhood.

Prenatal exposure to alcohol and tobacco has been associated with child regulatory abilities and problems, but less is known about the associations with cannabis exposure. This review seeks to address this gap primarily focusing on the effects of maternal cannabis use on the child. Thus, we investigate the association between pre- and postnatal cannabis exposure of the child and regulatory abilities and problems, as well as the underlying neurobiological mechanisms potentially mediating the associations. According to the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature review was performed based on a systematic literature search through Medline (PubMed), Web of Science and PsycInfo, including studies assessing children aged 0-6 years with cannabis exposure in the preconception, pre-or postnatal period (preconception, pre- and postnatal cannabis exposure [PCE]) and investigating child regulatory abilities, regulatory problems or neurobiological mechanisms. Of n = 1061 screened articles, n = 33 were finally included. Diminished regulatory abilities are more likely to be found in infants after PCE, while specific regulatory problems tend tobe more frequently found after two years of age. Possible mechanisms are related to changes in methylation and expression of key genes involved in endocannabinoid, dopaminergic and opioid systems, increased cortisol reactivity and altered Secretory Immunoglobulin A levels. Furthermore, PCE has been associated with changes in brain structure and connectivity. Current findings indicate that PCE is associated with both age-dependent alterations in self-regulation and neurobiological changes in young children. However, evidence is limited due to the number of studies, small sample sizes and lack of control for maternal psychopathology. Longitudinal studies including psychometric data from mothers are needed in order to further understand the implications of PCE.Trial registration: The review is registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023425115).

Within-person bidirectional associations between maternal cortisol reactivity and harsh parenting across infancy and toddlerhood.

To understand transactional associations between mothers' biological stress responsivity and parenting behaviors, we examined bidirectional effects between maternal cortisol reactivity to observing their children during distress-eliciting paradigms and harsh parenting across infancy and toddlerhood using longitudinal data from the Family Life Project (N = 1,292, 41.5% African American). Children completed a series of distress-eliciting laboratory paradigms when they were 7, 15, and 24 months old, and mothers observed their children during the paradigms. Maternal cortisol reactivity was computed as a residualized change score from baseline to 20 min postparadigm, controlling for the time of day the saliva sample was collected. Harsh parenting was measured using five items from the Home Observation Measurement of the Environment inventory. A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model revealed that increases in maternal cortisol reactivity at 15 months predicted subsequent increases in harsh parenting at 24 months. Similarly, increases in harsh parenting at 15 months predicted increases in maternal cortisol reactivity at 24 months. Findings indicate that increased cortisol reactivity to children's distress in early toddlerhood may indicate a risk for harsh parenting in late toddlerhood and that increases in harsh parenting can also negatively impact mothers' stress physiology over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining Reactivity and Recovery Patterns of Pain-Evoked Cortisol and Alpha-Amylase Trajectories: Relations Between Psychological Markers of Risk and Resilience

Chronic low back pain (cLBP) is one of the leading causes of disability globally and represents an enormous burden to aging adults. While numerous factors contribute to cLBP, dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system functioning have been implicated in its pathogenesis. It is well documented that negative psychological states can modulate biological stress responsivity in chronic pain; however, little is known regarding the influence of positive psychological factors in this relationship. The aim of this study was to examine the association between psychological risk and resilience factors with patterns of physiological stress reactivity and recovery in 60 older adults with cLBP. Participants completed measures of hope, optimism, pain catastrophizing, and perceived stress, and underwent psychophysical pain testing assessing responses to painful pressure, heat, and cold stimuli. Salivary samples were obtained prior to pain induction and at 7 time points spanning 90 minutes after pain testing terminated. To examine reactivity and recovery profiles in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system function, samples were assayed for cortisol and alpha-amylase, respectively. Results revealed higher levels of hope and optimism were associated with increased cortisol reactivity (p’s < .003) and more rapid recovery (p’s = .001). Further, pain catastrophizing and perceived stress were associated with cortisol reactivity, with lower levels of these factors predicting larger increases in cortisol from baseline to peak levels (p’s < .04). No significant differences in reactivity or recovery patterns emerged for alpha-amylase. Overall, findings highlight the role of psychological risk and resilience factors in modulating physiological stress reactivity. PerspectiveThis article investigated whether psychosocial risk and resilience factors were associated with stress reactivity and recovery in response to laboratory-based pain testing in older adults with chronic low back pain. Results indicate that high resilience factors may be protective by modulating adrenocortical reactivity and recovery profiles.

From Early Micro-Temporal Interaction Patterns to Child Cortisol Levels: Toward the Role of Interactive Reparation and Infant Attachment in a Longitudinal Study.

Parental mental disorders increase the risk for insecure attachment in children. However, the quality of caregiver–infant interaction plays a key role in the development of infant attachment. Dyadic interaction is frequently investigated via global scales which are too rough to uncover micro-temporal mechanisms. Prior research found that the latency to reparation of uncoordinated dyadic states is associated with infant behavioral and neuroendocrine regulation. We investigated the hypothesis that this interactive mechanism is critical in predicting secure vs. insecure attachment quality in infancy. We also assessed the predictive quality of infant attachment regarding neuroendocrine reactivity later in childhood. A subsample of N = 58 dyads (n = 22 mothers with anxiety disorders, n = 36 controls) from a larger study were analyzed. At 3–8 months postpartum, maternal anxiety disorders were diagnosed via a structured clinical interview as well as dyadic interaction during the Face-to-Face-Still-Face (FFSF) was observed and coded on a micro-temporal scale. Infant attachment quality was assessed with the strange situation paradigm at 12–24 months of age. In an overlapping subsample of N = 39 (n = 13 mothers with anxiety disorder; n = 26 controls), we assessed child cortisol reactivity at 5 to 6 years of age. Generalized linear modeling revealed that longer latencies to interactive reparation during the reunion episode of the FFSF as well as maternal diagnosis at 3–8 months of age predict insecure attachment in children aged 12–24 months. Cox regressions demonstrated that dyads with infants who developed insecure attachment at 12–24 months of age were 48% less likely to achieve an interactive reparation at 3–8 months of age. Mixed models revealed that compared to securely attached children, children who had developed an insecure attachment at 12–24 months of age had an increased cortisol reactivity at 5 to 6 years of age during free play. The results confirm the hypothesis that the development of attachment is affected by experienced micro-temporal interactive patterns besides diagnostic categories. They also showed that infants of mothers with postpartum anxiety disorders have a more than fivefold increased risk of developing an insecure attachment than the infants of the control group. Moreover, results imply that these patterns may influence neurohormonal regulation even in preschool aged children.

Bilingual family communication and the impact of language anxiety on cortisol reactivity

The effects of socially evaluated tasks on stress-related behavior and physiology are often studied under artificial experimental conditions, such as contrived public speaking. Less is known about these behavioral and physiological dimensions under more routine conditions, such as family interactions. Here, we tested whether language anxiety during bilingual family conversations correlated to cortisol reactivity and speech patterns and whether family members' ages moderated this effect. Individuals (N=34) from Spanish-English bilingual families participated in prompted conversations in both languages with their family members and provided saliva that we assayed for cortisol. Participants responded to a survey about language anxiety, and we analyzed their conversations for code switching. We tested whether higher reported anxiety was correlated with increased cortisol reactivity and if participants' age moderated this effect. Participants' reported language anxiety was not significantly correlated with cortisol reactivity after conversations in either language. However, age significantly moderated the effect of English language anxiety. Among younger individuals, higher English language anxiety was correlated with greater cortisol reactivity after the English conversations. Older individuals did not demonstrate this same pattern. Individuals who code-switched during the English conversations had higher English language anxiety than individuals who did not. Similar patterns were not observed for the Spanish conversations. The physiological and verbal responses to English language anxiety may be reflective of the high pressure placed on English use among bilingual families in the U.S., and the greater cortisol reactivity of younger individuals suggests they may face more identity challenging acculturation pressure.

The Effects of Posttraumatic Stress and Trauma-Focused Disclosure on Experimental Pain Sensitivity Among Trauma-Exposed Women.

Previous studies evaluating the impact of trauma history and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on pain sensitivity have yielded inconsistent findings. The presence of trauma-related negative affective states may account for these discrepancies. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of PTSD and trauma-related negative affect on sensory, affective, physiological, and neuroendocrine responses to an experimental pain task. Trauma-exposed adult women (N = 87) with or without probable PTSD underwent an emotional disclosure paradigm during which they wrote about a traumatic event or a neutral topic. Participants then completed a pain induction procedure. Sensory and affective reports of pain, as well as physiological and neuroendocrine reactivity, were assessed. Compared to women without PTSD, those with PTSD demonstrated decreased sensory pain responses, ηp ² = .11, including increased time to pain detection (i.e., threshold) and ability to withstand the pain stimuli (i.e., tolerance) after accounting for relevant covariates. Women with PTSD also demonstrated increased cortisol reactivity following the pain stimulus, ηp ² = .06. The main and interactive effects of PTSD group and writing condition did not significantly predict alterations in affective reports of pain or heart rate reactivity. The results suggest that PTSD symptoms may contribute to alterations in pain sensitivity in trauma-exposed women, but this association is complex and requires further exploration.

Pretreatment cortisol predicts trauma-focused psychotherapy response in youth with (partial) posttraumatic stress disorder

BackgroundDespite availability of effective trauma-focused psychotherapies, treatment non-response in youth with (partial) posttraumatic stress disorder remains substantial. Studies in adult PTSD have suggested that cortisol is associated with treatment outcome. Furthermore, cortisol prior to treatment could be used to predict treatment success. However, there is a lack of comparable studies in youth with (partial) PTSD. The objective of the current study was therefore to test whether cortisol prior to treatment would differ between treatment responders and non-responders and would positively predict the extent of clinical improvement in youth with (partial) PTSD. MethodsYouth aged 8–18 with PTSD (79.2%) or partial PTSD (20.8%) were treated with 8 sessions of either trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Prior to treatment initiation, salivary cortisol was measured in treatment responders (n = 23) and treatment non-responders (n = 30) at 10 and 1 min before and 10, 20 and 30 min after personalized trauma script driven imagery (SDI). The cortisol stress response (>1.5 nmol/L increase from baseline) and basal cortisol secretion was assessed during the SDI procedure. We hypothesized that treatment responders would display higher cortisol levels caused by increased cortisol reactivity prior to trauma-focused psychotherapy relative to psychotherapy non-responders and higher cortisol levels would positively predict the extent of clinical improvement. ResultsScript driven imagery did not induce a cortisol stress response in all but two participants. Prior to treatment responders showed significantly higher basal cortisol secretion during SDI compared to treatment non-responders. This effect remained significant after controlling for gender. Higher pre-treatment basal cortisol secretion further positively predicted the extent of clinical improvement during trauma-focused psychotherapy. ConclusionBecause SDI failed to provoke a cortisol stress response in our sample, the question if cortisol reactivity differs between treatment responders and non-responders remains inconclusive. However, our results do suggest that higher pretreatment basal cortisol secretion forms a potential indicator of prospective trauma-focused psychotherapy response in youth with (partial) PTSD. Although, the amount of uniquely explained variance in clinical improvement by pre-treatment cortisol secretion is limited and still renders insufficient basis for clinical applicability, these findings do suggest directions for future studies to delineate the mechanisms of treatment success in youth with (partial) PTSD

Increased cortisol reactivity predicts cognitive impairment not dementia during aging: a follow-up study

In the present study pistachio by-products (PB) were treated with various doses of electron irradiation (10–100 kGy). The results indicated that applied doses of electron irradiation had no effect on organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and ether extract content of PB. Irradiation increased (P < 0.01) total phenol content; while decreased cell wall compartment, tannin (P = 0.05) and condensed tannin (P = 0.03) contents. Irradiation decreased (P = 0.04) water binding capacity (WBC), but increased (P < 0.05) solubility of dry mater (DM), OM and protein of PB with increasing in irradiation dose. Electron irradiation effectively increased rapidly degradable fraction (a) and decreased potentially degradable fraction (b) of DM and OM of PB in the rumen of sheep compared to the control. The FTIR spectra of samples revealed similar pattern without any changes in the functional group status with a decrease in relative transmittance of peaks in irradiated groups. In conclusion, this study showed that electron irradiating can effectively change physical and chemical; and digestive properties of PB.

Cortisol reactivity and weight gain among adolescents who vary in prenatal drug exposure.

Low inhibitory control is linked with weight gain among youth. Inhibitory problems are associated with disruption to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis cortisol response. Increased cortisol predicts appetite and weight gain (though may be gender specific). This study hypothesized that cortisol reactivity explains the association between inhibition and weight gain while considering the moderating factors of early stressors to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (e.g. prenatal-drug exposure) and gender. Adolescents with prenatal-drug exposure (n=76) and non-exposed comparison adolescents (NE; n=61) completed the Conner's Continuous Performance Test and provided salivary cortisol samples. BMI z-score were measured at the initial and 12-month follow-up evaluations. A bootstrapped moderated mediation analysis was conducted to test for conditional indirect effects of cortisol reactivity. Lower inhibition was associated with increased cortisol reactivity among youth who were NE, and increased cortisol reactivity was associated with weight gain among girls. Cortisol reactivity mediated the relation between inhibition and BMI z-score change for the girls in the group who was NE. Increased cortisol reactivity may play a mechanistic role in predicting weight gain among non-prenatally drug-exposed girls. Cortisol reactivity may be a biomarker for targeted interventions to improve biological regulation and ultimately health risk among girls.

Sexual orientation moderates the association between parental overprotection and stress biomarker profiles

ABSTRACTEarly experiences with parents may be particularly difficult for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals who face stigma that is linked to potentially distinct stress-related biobehavioural profiles. This study examined the association between parental bonding in relation to acute stress (cortisol reactivity) and chronic stress (allostatic load) in LGB and heterosexual individuals. The sample consisted of 87 healthy adults (mean [SD] age = 24.6 [0.6] years; LGB: n = 46, 43% women; and heterosexual n = 41, 49% women). Regressions tested the main effects of retrospectively assessed parental overprotection and care before the age of 16 on stress reactive cortisol (area under the curve) and allostatic load (indexed using 21 neuroendocrine, immune, metabolic and cardiovascular biomarkers), and whether sexual orientation status moderated this association. Results revealed that parental overprotection was associated with increased cortisol reactivity only for LGB participants, but not for heterosexual participants. By contrast, parental overprotection was associated with higher allostatic load only for heterosexual participants, but not for LGB participants. While the functional significance of this requires further study, these preliminary findings suggest that adaptive processes among LGB individuals may mitigate the negative effects of parental overprotection on markers of chronic stress.

Parenting predicts Strange Situation cortisol reactivity among children adopted internationally

The functioning of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis can be altered by adverse early experiences. Recent studies indicate that children who were adopted internationally after experiencing early institutional rearing and unstable caregiving exhibit blunted HPA reactivity to stressful situations. The present study examined whether caregiving experiences post-adoption further modulate children’s HPA responses to stress. Parental sensitivity during naturalistic parent-child play interactions was assessed for 66 children (M age = 17.3 months, SD = 4.6) within a year of being adopted internationally. Approximately 8 months later, children’s salivary cortisol levels were measured immediately before as well as 15 and 30 min after a series of brief separations from the mother in an unfamiliar laboratory setting. Latent growth curve modeling indicated that experiencing more parental sensitivity predicted increased cortisol reactivity to the stressor. Although half the families received an intervention designed to improve parental sensitivity, the intervention did not significantly alter children’s cortisol outcomes. These findings suggest that post-adoption parental sensitivity may help normalize the HPA response to stress among children adopted internationally.

Revenge is sour, but is forgiveness sweet? Psychological health and cortisol reactivity among women with experiences of abuse.

This study examined the relations among women's experiences of abuse, forgiveness, revenge, psychological health, and physiological stress reactivity. Both dispositional (Study 1; N = 103) and state (Study 2; N = 258) forgiveness and vengeance were associated with psychological symptoms. However, the relation between revenge and greater depression was magnified among psychologically abused women, whereas-unexpectedly-the positive link between forgiveness and psychological health was strengthened among physically abused women. Moreover, while revenge coincided with increased cortisol reactivity following any relationship conflict, this was only evident for forgiveness following physical abuse. The complex interactions among these variables are discussed within a stress and coping framework.

Emotion regulation and biological stress responding: associations with worry, rumination, and reappraisal

ABSTRACTIndividual differences in the habitual use of emotion regulation strategies may play a critical role in understanding psychological and biological stress reactivity and recovery in depression and anxiety. This study investigated the relation between the habitual use of different emotion regulation strategies and cortisol reactivity and recovery in healthy control individuals (CTL; n = 33) and in individuals diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD; n = 41). The tendency to worry was associated with increased cortisol reactivity to a stressor across the full sample. Rumination was not associated with cortisol reactivity, despite its oft-reported similarities to worry. Worry and rumination, however, were associated with increased cortisol during recovery from the stressor. The only difference between CTL and SAD participants was observed for reappraisal. In the CTL but not in the SAD group, reappraisal predicted recovery, such that an increased tendency to reappraise was associated with greater cortisol recovery. These results suggest an important role of the habitual use of emotion regulation strategies in understanding biological stress reactivity and recovery.

Boosting recovery rather than buffering reactivity: Higher stress-induced oxytocin secretion is associated with increased cortisol reactivity and faster vagal recovery after acute psychosocial stress

Animal models and human studies using paradigms designed to stimulate endogenous oxytocin release suggest a stress-buffering role of oxytocin. We here examined the involvement of stress-induced peripheral oxytocin secretion in reactivity and recovery phases of the human psychosocial stress response. Healthy male and female participants (N=114) were subjected to a standardized laboratory stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test. In addition to plasma oxytocin, cortisol was assessed as a marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA-) axis activity, alpha-amylase and heart rate as markers of sympathetic activity, high frequency heart rate variability as a marker of vagal tone and self-rated anxiety as an indicator of subjective stress experience. On average, oxytocin levels increased by 51% following psychosocial stress. The stress-induced oxytocin secretion, however, did not reduce stress reactivity. To the contrary, higher oxytocin secretion was associated with greater cortisol reactivity and peak cortisol levels in both sexes. In the second phase of the stress response the opposite pattern was observed, with higher oxytocin secretion associated with faster vagal recovery. We suggest that after an early stage of oxytocin and HPA-axis co-activation, the stress-reducing action of oxytocin unfolds. Due to the time lag it manifests as a recovery-boosting rather than a reactivity-buffering effect. By reinforcing parasympathetic autonomic activity, specifically during stress recovery, oxytocin may provide an important protective function against the health-compromising effects of sustained stress.

Salivary Cortisol Levels and Depressive Symptomatology in Consumers and Nonconsumers of Self-Help Books: A Pilot Study.

The self-help industry generates billions of dollars yearly in North America. Despite the popularity of this movement, there has been surprisingly little research assessing the characteristics of self-help books consumers, and whether this consumption is associated with physiological and/or psychological markers of stress. The goal of this pilot study was to perform the first psychoneuroendocrine analysis of consumers of self-help books in comparison to nonconsumers. We tested diurnal and reactive salivary cortisol levels, personality, and depressive symptoms in 32 consumers and nonconsumers of self-help books. In an explorative secondary analysis, we also split consumers of self-help books as a function of their preference for problem-focused versus growth-oriented self-help books. The results showed that while consumers of growth-oriented self-help books presented increased cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor compared to other groups, consumers of problem-focused self-help books presented higher depressive symptomatology. The results of this pilot study show that consumers with preference for either problem-focused or growth-oriented self-help books present different physiological and psychological markers of stress when compared to nonconsumers of self-help books. This preliminary study underlines the need for additional research on this issue in order to determine the impact the self-help book industry may have on consumers' stress.

Observed parent-child relationship quality predicts antibody response to vaccination in children.

Quality of the parent-child relationship is a robust predictor of behavioral and emotional health for children and adolescents; the application to physical health is less clear. We investigated the links between observed parent-child relationship quality in an interaction task and antibody response to meningococcal conjugate vaccine in a longitudinal study of 164 ambulatory 10-11 year-old children; additional analyses examine associations with cortisol reactivity, BMI, and somatic illness. Observed Negative/Conflict behavior in the interaction task predicted a less robust antibody response to meningococcal serotype C vaccine in the child over a 6 month-period, after controlling for socio-economic and other covariates. Observer rated interaction conflict also predicted increased cortisol reactivity following the interaction task and higher BMI, but these factors did not account for the link between relationship quality and antibody response. The results begin to document the degree to which a major source of child stress exposure, parent-child relationship conflict, is associated with altered immune system development in children, and may constitute an important public health consideration.

Cortisol reactivity to social stress as a mediator of early adversity on risk and adaptive outcomes.

Children chronically exposed to stress early in life are at increased risk for maladaptive outcomes, though the physiological mechanisms driving these effects are unknown. Cortisol reactivity was tested as a mediator of the relation between prenatal substance exposure and/or early adversity on adaptive and maladaptive outcomes. Data were drawn from a prospective longitudinal study of prenatal substance exposure (N=860). Cortisol reactivity was assessed at age 11. Among African Americans, prenatal substance exposure exerted an indirect effect through early adversity and cortisol reactivity to predict externalizing behavior, delinquency, and a positive student-teacher relationship at age 11. Decreased cortisol reactivity was related to maladaptive outcomes, and increased cortisol reactivity predicted better executive functioning and a more positive student-teacher relationship.

Stress-System Genes and Life Stress Predict Cortisol Levels and Amygdala and Hippocampal Volumes in Children

Depression has been linked to increased cortisol reactivity and differences in limbic brain volumes, yet the mechanisms underlying these alterations are unclear. One main hypothesis is that stress causes these effects. This is supported by animal studies showing that chronic stress or glucocorticoid administration can lead to alterations in hippocampal and amygdala structures. Relatedly, life stress is cited as one of the major risk factors for depression and candidate gene studies have related variation in stress-system genes to increased prevalence and severity of depression. The present study tested the hypothesis that genetic profile scores combining variance across 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms from four stress-system genes (CRHR1, NR3C2, NR3C1, and FKBP5) and early life stress would predict increases in cortisol levels during laboratory stressors in 120 preschool-age children (3-5 years old), as well as hippocampal and amygdala volumes assessed with MRI in these same children at school age (7-12 years old). We found that stress-system genetic profile scores positively predicted cortisol levels while the number of stressful/traumatic life events experienced by 3-5 years old negatively predicted cortisol levels. The interaction of genetic profile scores and early life stress predicted left hippocampal and left amygdala volumes. Cortisol partially mediated the effects of genetic variation and life stress on limbic brain volumes, particularly on left amygdala volume. These results suggest that stress-related genetic and early environmental factors contribute to variation in stress cortisol reactivity and limbic brain volumes in children, phenotypes associated with depression in adulthood.

Behavioral responses to social separation stressor change across development and are dynamically related to HPA activity in marmosets.

Psychosocial stressors activate two distinct stress-response systems, a central, behavioral response, and a peripheral, endocrine response. Both behavioral and endocrine responses to stressors are subject to individual and developmental variables, but it is not known whether stressor induced behaviors are stable across development, and how they correspond with changes in the endocrine component of the stress response. We characterized the development and stability of behavioral responses to a mild psychosocial stressor in marmosets (Callithrix geoffroyi), and assessed the degree to which the behavioral and endocrine stress-response systems were co-activated. The behavioral response to stressors was stable within individuals, but only some stressor-induced behaviors changed as the monkeys developed. Overall, there was more variability in the development of behavioral responses compared to stress-induced endocrine profiles found previously [French et al., 2012. Horm Behav 61:196-203]. In young marmosets, only increased alarm calling was correlated with increased cortisol reactivity, and in older marmosets increased cage manipulations and motor activity were associated with poorer post-stressor cortisol regulation. Because these relationships were so few, we conclude that while the behavioral and endocrine systems follow a similar developmental trajectory, each system maintains a level of independence. Furthermore, the relationship between stressor-induced behaviors and HPA activity changes across development.

Cortisol reactivity, delay discounting and percent body fat in Chinese urban young adolescents

The purpose of this study is to test the relation of cortisol reactivity, delay discounting and percent body fat (PBF) in adolescents aged 12–13years (N=87), and evaluate the delay discounting as potential components in models of adolescent obesity. Anthropometry and body composition measurements were assessed in adolescents. The cortisol reactivity to Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) and delay discounting were measured. The result showed increased cortisol reactivity and greater delay discounting were associated with higher PBF in girls. Structural equation modeling supported greater delay discounting as a mediator of relations between increased cortisol reactivity and PBF in adolescent girls. The proposed mediation model indicated that cortisol reactivity is linked to PBF through delay discounting, thereby supporting a significant indirect relationship. The direct relationship between increased cortisol reactivity and higher PBF was significant in a model that did not include delay discounting, and was still significant in the mediation model that included delay discounting. This study provides the first evidence that greater delay discounting may partially account for the relationship of hyperactivity of the HPA-axis and higher PBF in girls.