Ethnicity, education, and the cortisol response to awakening: A preliminary investigation

Bennett, Gary G.; Merritt, Marcellus M.; Wolin, Kathleen Y.

doi:10.1080/1355785042000285366

Cited by 48 publications

(50 citation statements)

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“…These studies show that African Americans mount higher ACTH but similar cortisol responses to an exercise test or following corticotropin-releasing factor administration compared to Caucasians. However, in another study, salivary cortisol response to awakening was heightened in Caucasians with higher education compared to lower educated Caucasians and all African-American participants (Bennett et al, 2004). In our study, African Americans had minimal but significant cortisol responses to the TSST.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 64%

Hormonal Responses to Psychological Stress and Family History of Alcoholism

Uhart

Oswald

McCaul

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

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The present study was designed to determine whether stress hormones and subjective responses to a psychological stressor were different in nonalcoholic offspring from families with a history of alcohol dependence (family history positive, FHP) than in nonalcoholic offspring without a family history of alcohol dependence (family history negative, FHN). Forty-five healthy subjects (17 FHP, 28 FHN), between the ages of 18 and 29 years, completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). The TSST consisted of 5 min of public speaking followed by 5 min of mental arithmetic. Three baseline and five post-TSST blood samples were drawn. Pre-and post-TSST self-report measures of anxiety were obtained. Cortisol, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), and prolactin significantly increased in response to the TSST in the entire study sample (F (1,187) ¼ 70.22, po0.001, F (1,143) ¼ 33, po0.001, and F (1,134) ¼ 14.37, po0.001, respectively). Cortisol responses were influenced by an interaction between racial composition and family history of alcoholism (F (1,57) ¼ 4.50, p ¼ 0.038). Among Caucasian subjects, FHP subjects had greater cortisol response to the TSST compared to FHN subjects (F (1,57) ¼ 4.45, p ¼ 0.039). No family history effect was identified in African-American subjects. Adrenocorticotropin responses did not differ between FHP and FHN subjects. Adrenocorticotropin response was positively associated with baseline ACTH levels in FHN subjects (t ¼ 5.02, p ¼ o0.001), but not in FHP subjects. Prolactin responses did not differ between FHP and FHN subjects. Anxiety response scores (post-TSST scores minus pre-TSST scores) were higher in FHP subjects compared with FHN subjects (z ¼ À2.67, p ¼ 0.007). In addition, anxiety response scores were positively associated with cortisol response levels to the TSST in FHN subjects (t ¼ 4.52, po0.001). In contrast, anxiety responses were negatively associated with cortisol responses in FHP subjects (t ¼ À2.30, p ¼ 0.024). Our findings are consistent with theories that greater reactivity to stress is associated with greater risks for alcoholism. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the association between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hormonal response and the subjective perception of stress might be deranged in offspring of alcoholics.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 64%

Hormonal Responses to Psychological Stress and Family History of Alcoholism

Uhart

Oswald

McCaul

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…Also, given the difference in ethnic distribution between groups, the possibility of other, more ethnicity-specific polymorphisms that influence HPA axis function cannot be ruled out. The direct influence of ethnicity on basal and stress-induced cortisol levels has been studied with conflicting results, which indicates that ethnicity alone may not influence cortisol; however, disparities in socioeconomic factors, which are often along ethnic lines may explain these conflicting results (eg Bennett et al, 2004;Masi et al, 2004). This study was not large enough to control for demographic factors such as socioeconomic status and education.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Altered Levels of Basal Cortisol in Healthy Subjects with a 118G Allele in Exon 1 of the Mu Opioid Receptor Gene

Bart

LaForge

Borg

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

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The mu opioid receptor is centrally involved in the development of the addictive diseases. It also modulates the stress responsive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Receptors encoded by the variant 118G polymorphism in exon 1 of the mu opioid receptor gene have a threefold increase in beta-endorphin binding and beta-endorphin is three times more potent in receptor-mediated activation of G protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium channels. Humans with this variant have increased stress response following opioid antagonism. Here, we study basal levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol in subjects with this variant. In all, 59 healthy adults were genotyped and had morning levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol measured following intravenous administration of saline placebo. Subjects with a 118G allele had significantly greater levels of cortisol than subjects with the prototype gene. Groups did not differ in levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone. A planned comparison revealed significantly greater cortisol in females with at least one copy of the 118G allele compared to females with the prototype gene. There was no significant effect of gender alone, nor was there a significant interaction between gender and genotype, on ACTH or cortisol. Subjects with at least one copy of the 118G allele have increased basal levels of cortisol, which may influence the susceptibility to and treatment of the stress responsive dyscrasia.

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“…For instance, lower levels of morning cortisol have been described among blacks compared with whites, while accounting for perceived stress (Bennett et al, 2004). There is also evidence that race and ethnicity influences the diurnal variations in cortisol (Cohen et al, 2006;Gallagher-Thompson et al, 2006;McCallum et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, cortisol levels upon waking have been shown to be higher among highereducated whites compared with blacks and lower educated whites (Bennett et al, 2004). Another study has suggested that blacks experience a less steep decline in cortisol during the course of the day, even after accounting for differences in socioeconomic status (Cohen et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whites have a more robust hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis response to a psychological stressor than blacks

Chong¹,

Uhart²,

McCaul³

et al. 2008

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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SummaryObjective-Differences in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to stress may confer differences in susceptibility to a variety of diseases. We hypothesized that whites would differ from blacks in HPA axis response to a psychological stressor.Design-Healthy subjects aged 18-30 were recruited from Baltimore, Maryland. At initial assessment, they completed psychometric tests measuring anxiety, mood, and personality. Subjects then participated in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), which consisted of 10 min of public speaking and mental arithmetic exercises. Subjective anxiety was measured immediately pre-and post-TSST. Race effects on cortisol, adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH), and prolactin responses to the TSST were analyzed by GEE longitudinal analysis methods. The analysis controlled for gender, baseline hormone levels, socioeconomic factors, anxiety, mood, and dimensions of personality.Results-Ninety-eight subjects participated in the TSST. Whites had 36% greater relative mean cortisol response than blacks (95% CI: 10%-67%, P = 0.004). Whites had significantly higher mean ACTH compared to blacks at 25 min after the start of the TSST, (35%, 95% CI: 16%-58% greater, P < 0.001). There was no difference in prolactin response. Of note, whites and blacks did not differ in subjective anxiety response to the TSST.Conclusions-In sum, we found that whites have a more robust HPA axis response to the TSST compared with blacks, even after controlling for several socioeconomic and psychological factors. In contrast, we observed no difference in prolactin response. There were no differences in subjective response to the TSST to explain the difference in HPA axis response. Further study is indicated to explain this finding and to test whether it can be extrapolated to other forms of stress.

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Ethnicity, education, and the cortisol response to awakening: A preliminary investigation

Cited by 48 publications

References 0 publications

Hormonal Responses to Psychological Stress and Family History of Alcoholism

Hormonal Responses to Psychological Stress and Family History of Alcoholism

Altered Levels of Basal Cortisol in Healthy Subjects with a 118G Allele in Exon 1 of the Mu Opioid Receptor Gene

Whites have a more robust hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis response to a psychological stressor than blacks

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