title: Cortisol response to acute stress in asthma: Moderation by depressive mood.
abstract: Both individuals with asthma and depression show signs of a dysregulated hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. However, little is known about the cortisol response to stress in the context of co-occurring asthma and depressive mood. Thirty-nine individuals with asthma and 41 healthy controls underwent a combined speech and mental arithmetic stressor. During the course of the laboratory session, salivary cortisol was collected 5 times, with 1 sample at 0min before the stressor and 4 samples at 0, 15, 30 and 45min after the stressor. Depressive mood in the past week was assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale at the beginning of the session. Depressive symptoms moderated cortisol response to the acute stressor, but only among asthmatic patients. Higher depressive mood was associated with a significant increase in cortisol, whereas low depressive mood was associated with no cortisol response. In healthy participants, depressive mood had no substantial effect on cortisol response to the stressor. These findings suggest that depressive mood and chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma can interact to augment cortisol response to stress.
authors.affiliation: Brain and Behavior Laboratory, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador; Deparment of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, United States. Electronic address: atrueba@usfq.edu.ec.
authors.forename: Ana F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Trueba
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, United States; National Center for PTSD-Dissemination and Training Division, Palo Alto VA Healthcare System, Menlo Park, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Auchus
authors.affiliation: Deparment of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ritz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Asthma; Cortisol; Depressive Mood; Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis; Stress