RESULTS suggest that ruminating on stressors may sustain CRP and cortisol responses, whereas distraction may diminish them. Findings have implications for understanding potential risk and protective factors for stress-related activation.

Consistent with predictions, greater reductions in HR variability (HRV) in response to a stressor and greater cortisol output during the study session were associated with shorter relative buccal telomere length (i.e. greater cellular aging). However, the relationship between cortisol output and buccal telomere length became non-significant when adjusting for medication use. Contrary to past findings and study hypotheses, associations between cortisol, blood pressure, and HR reactivity and relative buccal telomere length were not significant. Overall, these findings may indicate there are limited and mixed associations between stress reactivity and telomere length across physiological systems.

These findings expand on the current literature by showing that changes in HF-HRV predict and precede changes in circulating inflammatory cytokines in humans and may have implications for treatment of inflammatory diseases.

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Disclosure to family members uniquely predicted cortisol AUCg. Therefore, these results suggest that effects of disclosure on diurnal cortisol and its associated health outcomes may occur in the context of familial relationships.