title: Sleep problems predict cortisol reactivity to stress in urban adolescents.
abstract: This study examined the role of sleep problems and sleep duration on stress-related HPA axis reactivity among urban, low income adolescents. A total of 84 adolescents (M age 13.36 years; 50% male; 95% African American) and their parents provided information on adolescents' sleep problems and sleep quantity. Adolescents completed a standardized social stress test in the laboratory (the Trier Social Stress Test; TSST). Saliva samples collected before and after the TSST yielded measures of cortisol pre-test, 15 min post-test, and 55 min post-test, as well as overall cortisol secretion and its increase (AUCG and AUCI). More sleep problems and longer sleep duration predicted higher cortisol reactivity to the TSST, particularly among females. Self-reports of sleep were more consistently related to stress-related cortisol reactivity than parent reports. Sleep problems and longer sleep duration may place adolescents at risk for HPA axis hyper-reactivity to stress, contributing to academic, behavioral and health problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1720 2nd Ave South, Birmingham, AL 35294, United States. Electronic address: smrug@uab.edu.
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mrug
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1720 2nd Ave South, Birmingham, AL 35294, United States.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tyson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1720 2nd Ave South, Birmingham, AL 35294, United States.
authors.forename: Bulent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Turan
authors.affiliation: Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States; Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, United States.
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Granger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D057566:Self Report; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Adolescence; Cortisol; Sleep; Stress reactivity