Emotional stress, cortisol response, and cortisol rhythm in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review

Linden, Kim van der; Simons, Claudia; Amelsvoort, Thérèse van

doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2022.102039

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…The present study examined the association between stereotypies and cortisol levels in people with severe ID; when ASD and non-ASD groups were examined separately, a correlation between high stereotypies scores and high serum cortisol levels was demonstrated. This supports hypothesis 1 and was similar to studies of stereotypies in animals 18 , 19 .Anumber of previous studies have examined the association between stereotypies and cortisol levels in ASD 15 , 16 . However, only a limited number have examined the association between stereotypies and cortisol levels in people with severe ID, with or without ASD.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…There have been several studies on how the presence of ASD affects cortisol levels, but nothing conclusive is known yet 15 , 16 . In addition, there are few studies comparing people with severe ID.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is produced when a person is under stress and reflects the activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) system 14 . Previous neurobiological studies have not conclusively linked stereotypy to cortisol 15 – 17 . Animal studies have shown a positive association between stereotypy and cortisol 18 , 19 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…blood, saliva, etc. ), participant heterogeneity, and issues with the assessment method 15 – 17 . To eliminate the influence of variables, some attempts have been made to measure the area under the cortisol curve (AUC) and account for the effects of diurnal variation 21 , or to assess uniform participants by direct observation alone 17 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relationship between serum cortisol levels, stereotypies, and the presence of autism spectrum disorder in patients with severe intellectual disability

Ohtsubo,

Mizoguchi,

Aita

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Stereotypies are one of the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are common to both ASD and intellectual disability (ID). Previous studies have been inconclusive, with some showing a positive correlation between stereotypies and cortisol, while others have shown a negative correlation. We hypothesised and investigated the presence of ASD as one of the variables involved in this discrepancy. We tested the following hypotheses on serum cortisol in a total of 84 hospitalised patients with severe ID and ASD with severe ID. Hypothesis (1) Higher levels of stereotypies are associated with higher levels of serum cortisol. Hypothesis (2) The presence of ASD will moderate the association between stereotypies and high serum cortisol levels. The results of the analysis supported hypotheses (1) and (2). We also found that in the population with ID, serum cortisol levels were significantly lower in the ASD group compared to the non-ASD group. The present findings that the association between stereotypies and serum cortisol levels in people with severe ID is moderated by the presence of ASD suggest that the stress response system may function differently in people with ID and ASD than in the general population.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Relationship between serum cortisol levels, stereotypies, and the presence of autism spectrum disorder in patients with severe intellectual disability

Ohtsubo,

Mizoguchi,

Aita

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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“…The systematic review by Van der Linden et al (2022) was undertaken to assess and explore data supporting higher levels of emotional stress and different biological response or rhythm to stress, diurnal rhythm or cortisol awakening response (CAR) in individuals with ASD compared to samples control. This research reviewed the literature up to December 2020 where MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and SAGE journals were searched.…”

Section: Stress and Anxiety Activation In Children With Asdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assistive technology for autism spectrum disorder children that experiences stress and anxiety

Pergantis,

Drigas

2023

Braz. J. of Sci.

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With the development of current technology and influences that have been made by the Industry 4.0 utilizing ICTs, IoT, smart systems and products and many others, Assistive Technology (AT) is an important and integral part of the daily life of many people who experience disabilities. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a special category of disorder that can greatly benefit from its use. The purpose of this research is to collect data of Assistive Technology aimed at the detection, prevention and improvement of anxiety and stress (a characteristic of which has been proven to exist and is expressed in various ways in people with ASD). In the introduction, basic definitions regarding the neurobiology of stress and ASD are analyzed. In the main part AT, stress and anxiety correlations are made with ASD and AT devices are described and documented regarding their use for anxiety and stress in children and adolescents with ASD. The Assistive equipment and devices are divided into 2 main categories, 1) Low-tech and 2) Mid-High tech. The results of the research reveal a significant research gap in the use of AT to combat stress and anxiety and the difficulty of many promising options (especially in the domain of Mid-High tech) to be an easy and economical solution in integrating them into the daily life of people with ASD.

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Diurnal cortisol profiles in autistic adolescents and young adults: Associations with social difficulties and internalizing mental health symptoms

Ilen,

Delavari,

Feller

et al. 2024

Autism Research

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Several autism‐related characteristics, such as social difficulties, may contribute to high perceived stress and increased exposure to stressful life events in some autistic individuals. Repeated exposure to stress might lead to the dysfunction of the hypothalamic–pituitary‐adrenocortical‐axis and be a vulnerability factor for developing mental health difficulties. Previous studies show contradictory findings on salivary cortisol in autism. In the current study, we investigated diurnal cortisol profiles in autistic adolescents and young adults, as well as their associations with social difficulties, stress exposure, and mental health symptoms. Autistic (n = 48, Mage = 17.6) and nonautistic (n = 51, Mage = 18.4) participants collected salivary cortisol at home six times a day for 2 days. Social difficulties, exposure to stressful life events/bullying, and mental health symptoms were assessed with questionnaires and clinical interviews. Similar diurnal cortisol slopes (DCS) and cortisol awakening responses were observed between the groups, but autistic participants showed higher total cortisol output (AUCG, area under the curve with respect to ground) during the day (b = 19.09, p = 0.009). In the autistic group, more severe social difficulties were associated with flatter DCS (b = 0.01, p = 0.007). Finally, cortisol alterations were associated with self‐reported mental health symptoms, especially in autistic females in analyses uncorrected for multiple comparisons. In conclusion, our results do not indicate autism‐related group‐level alterations in most diurnal cortisol measures, but autistic youth showed higher total cortisol (AUCG) compared with nonautistic peers. More detailed investigation of interindividual variability in cortisol profiles within autistic people might give us important insights into vulnerability to developing stress‐related mental health difficulties.

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Emotional stress, cortisol response, and cortisol rhythm in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review

Cited by 6 publications

References 67 publications

Relationship between serum cortisol levels, stereotypies, and the presence of autism spectrum disorder in patients with severe intellectual disability

Relationship between serum cortisol levels, stereotypies, and the presence of autism spectrum disorder in patients with severe intellectual disability

Assistive technology for autism spectrum disorder children that experiences stress and anxiety

Diurnal cortisol profiles in autistic adolescents and young adults: Associations with social difficulties and internalizing mental health symptoms

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