title: Neurobiological and psychological evidence of chronic stress in prostate cancer patients.
abstract: To measure the prevalence and severity of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), hypo- and hypercortisolaemia, and their association in a sample of prostate cancer (PCa) patients, 97 Australian PCa patients completed a background questionnaire and the GAD-7, and provided a sample of saliva collected 30-45 min after waking. The mean GAD7 score was 9.67 (SD = 3.09), and prevalence rates for current anxiety were higher than those reported for non-PCa males of a similar age. Mean salivary cortisol concentrations (30.78 nmol/L, SD = 13.97 nmol/L) were also higher than for age-comparative non-PCa men. There was a significant inverse correlation between GAD and cortisol (r = -. 209, p < .05), and four subgroups of GAD-cortisol patients were able to be identified, with evidence of both hyper- and hypocortisolaemia. These findings provide initial neurobiological evidence of the chronic and profound nature of stress experienced by PCa patients, and also suggest a possible measure that might be used to identify most at-risk PCa patients.
authors.affiliation: Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: C F
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7922-4848
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Sharpley
authors.affiliation: Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.|Genesiscare, Tugun, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: D R H
authors.initials: DRH
authors.lastname: Christie
authors.affiliation: Centre for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Bond University, Robina, Qld, Australia.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bitsika
authors.affiliation: Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Agnew
authors.affiliation: Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Andronicos
authors.affiliation: Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: McMillan
authors.affiliation: Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Richards
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: male cancers; prostate cancer; psychological