TY - JOUR
T1 - Chronic stress, salivary cortisol, and α-amylase in children with asthma and healthy children
AU - Wolf, Jutta M.
AU - Nicholls, Erin
AU - Chen, Edith
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR).
PY - 2008/4
Y1 - 2008/4
N2 - The present study examined whether chronic stress is related to daily life levels of salivary α-amylase (sAA), a marker for sympathetic activity, and cortisol in healthy children versus children with asthma. Children's sAA and cortisol levels were measured repeatedly over 2 days. Chronic stress measures included interviews with children about chronic home life stress and interviews with parents about one marker of socioeconomic status, parental education. Among children with asthma, higher chronic stress was associated with lower daily sAA output, while among healthy children, higher chronic stress was associated with flatter cortisol slopes. In conclusion, chronically stressed children with asthma showed lower salivary α-amylase output, indicating lower sympathetic activity, and implying a possible mechanism for increased susceptibility to symptom exacerbations. In contrast, higher cortisol levels in healthy children with chronic stress may indicate, for example, an increased risk for infectious diseases. This dichotomy emphasizes the different biological effects of chronic stress depending on illness status.
AB - The present study examined whether chronic stress is related to daily life levels of salivary α-amylase (sAA), a marker for sympathetic activity, and cortisol in healthy children versus children with asthma. Children's sAA and cortisol levels were measured repeatedly over 2 days. Chronic stress measures included interviews with children about chronic home life stress and interviews with parents about one marker of socioeconomic status, parental education. Among children with asthma, higher chronic stress was associated with lower daily sAA output, while among healthy children, higher chronic stress was associated with flatter cortisol slopes. In conclusion, chronically stressed children with asthma showed lower salivary α-amylase output, indicating lower sympathetic activity, and implying a possible mechanism for increased susceptibility to symptom exacerbations. In contrast, higher cortisol levels in healthy children with chronic stress may indicate, for example, an increased risk for infectious diseases. This dichotomy emphasizes the different biological effects of chronic stress depending on illness status.
KW - Childhood asthma
KW - Chronic stress
KW - Cortisol
KW - Salivary α-amylase
KW - Socioeconomic status
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U2 - 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.12.004
DO - 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.12.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 18243483
AN - SCOPUS:41149148504
SN - 0019-493X
VL - 78
SP - 20
EP - 28
JO - Biological Psychology
JF - Biological Psychology
IS - 1
ER -
