Abstract
Salivary cortisol measures are increasingly being incorporated into large-scale, population-based, or epidemiological research, in which participants are selected to be representative of particular communities or populations of interest, and sample sizes are in the order of hundreds to tens of thousands of participants. These approaches to studying salivary cortisol provide important advantages but pose a set of challenges. The representative nature of sampling, and large samples sizes associated with population-based research offer high generalizability and power, and the ability to examine cortisol functioning in relation to: (a) a wide range of social environments; (b) a diverse array individuals and groups; and (c) a broad set of pre-disease and disease outcomes. The greater importance of high response rates (to maintain generalizability) and higher costs associated with this type of large-scale research, however, requires special adaptations of existing ambulatory cortisol protocols. These include: using the most efficient sample collection protocol possible that still adequately address the specific cortisol-related questions at hand, and ensuring the highest possible response and compliance rates among those individuals invited to participate. Examples of choices made, response rates obtained, and examples of results obtained from existing epidemiological cortisol studies are offered, as are suggestions for the modeling and interpretation of salivary cortisol data obtained in large-scale epidemiological research.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1423-1436 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Psychoneuroendocrinology |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2009 |
Funding
Whitehall II study has been supported by grants from the Medical Research Council; Economic and Social Research Council; British Heart Foundation; Health and Safety Executive; Department of Health; National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (HL36310), US, NIH: National Institute on Aging (AG13196), US, NIH; Agency for Health Care Policy Research (HS06516); and the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation Research Networks on Successful Midlife Development and Socioeconomic Status and Health. The CHASRS study was supported by National Institute of Aging P01 AG1891 and the John Templeton Foundation. These funding bodies had no further role in the gathering of data, writing of the report or decision to submit the paper for publication. Dr. Adam's time on this manuscript was partially supported by a Faculty Fellowship from the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, and by a Scholar Award from the William T. Grant Foundation. Dr Kumari's time on this manuscript was partially supported by the Economic and Social research council (RES-596-28-0001).
Keywords
- Epidemiology
- Measurement
- Modeling
- Population-based
- Salivary cortisol
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Biological Psychiatry
- Endocrinology
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
