title: Socioeconomic and race/ethnic differences in daily salivary cortisol profiles: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.
abstract: It has often been hypothesized that stress and its biological consequences mediate the relationship between low socioeconomic status (SES) or minority status and poor cardiovascular disease outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine if daily cortisol patterns, a biomarker of the stress response, differ by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Data were collected from 935 Black, White and Hispanic adults age 48-90 years old. Salivary cortisol samples were collected six times per day over 3 days: at awakening, 30min later, at 1000h, noon, 1800h and at bedtime. Blacks and Hispanics had lower levels of wake-up cortisol and less steep early declines, while Blacks had flatter and Hispanics steeper late day declines relative to Whites. Similarly the low socioeconomic status group also had lower levels of wake-up cortisol and less steep decline during the early part of the day. These patterns remained after adjustment for health behaviors and psychosocial factors. This study finds an association between salivary cortisol and race/ethnicity and SES in a multi-ethnic study population. Further work is needed to determine the health consequences of these differences.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, 109 Observatory, 3rd Floor Tower, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, United States. ahajat@umich.edu
authors.forename: Anjum
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hajat
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diez-Roux
authors.forename: Tracy G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Franklin
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seeman
authors.forename: Sandi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shrager
authors.forename: Nalini
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ranjit
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Karol
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Brisa
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kirschbaum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone