Physiological stress measures in preschool children and their relationship with body composition and behavioral problems

Messerli‐Bürgy, Nadine; Arhab, Amar; Stülb, Kerstin; Kakebeeke, Tanja H.; Zysset, Annina; Leeger‐Aschmann, Claudia S.; Schmutz, Einat A.; Ehlert, Ulrike; Kriemler, Susi; Jenni, Oskar G.; Munsch, Simone; Puder, Jardena J.

doi:10.1002/dev.21782

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 73 publications

(136 reference statements)

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“…An unpublished study presented in 2016 assessed nail cortisol in 124 at‐risk children at 24 and 36 months but showed stability across time points in only a third of the children (Nejad et al, ). In a recent study, nail cortisol was also not found to be associated with diurnal measures of salivary cortisol among 324 children between 2 and 6 years of age (Messerli‐Bürgy et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Innovations in biological assessments of chronic stress through hair and nail cortisol: Conceptual, developmental, and methodological issues

Liu

Doan

2019

Developmental Psychobiology

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Much of the existing research on biological mechanisms underlying the stress experience has focused largely on moment‐to‐moment stress, rather than on chronic stress, an arguably more powerful predictor of long‐term outcomes. Recent methodological innovations have paved the way for new lines of research on chronic stress, with promising implications for developmental researchers and for those who study health and adversity. In particular, there are increasing studies that have focused on chronic stress assessments by relying on cortisol derived from hair and nails as a biomarker for chronic stress. In this paper, we provide an overview of their use, describe how hair and nail cortisol ought to be conceptualized differently across the lifespan, how developmental factors may impact its interpretation, and the circumstances under which its use may be more methodologically sensible. The purpose of this review is to provoke further discussion and encourage careful research designs that utilize hair and nail cortisol for understanding the effects of chronic stress exposure from the early developmental period, across adverse contexts, and in association with psychological and physical health outcomes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Innovations in biological assessments of chronic stress through hair and nail cortisol: Conceptual, developmental, and methodological issues

Liu

Doan

2019

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…In education, BMI has been usually associated with academic results in children and adolescents, showing a negative correlation [11,12]. High BMI values could be signs of an unhealthy lifestyle and increased internal stress in children that could affect their performance at school [13,14]. Physical education at school has structured programs aiming to reach this purpose [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomic Profile, Physical Activity, Body Mass Index and Academic Performance of School Students

Mendoza-Castejón

Clemente-Suárez

2020

Sustainability

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The aim of this study was to analyze the autonomic modulation, physical activity, body mass index, and academic performance of preschool and school students by grade. Extracurricular physical activity, heart rate variability, body mass index, and objective and subjective academic performance were analyzed in 180 preschool and primary school students (7.91 ± 2.29 years). Significant lower heart rate and higher parasympathetic modulation were found in 10–12-year-old primary education students. The 8–9-year-old students obtained the worst results in English and in five of the subjective academic performance items. Students aged 10–12 years old presented the highest body composition values. No significant differences were found on the extracurricular physical activity by age. No correlation between autonomic profile, physical activity, and body composition with objective academic performance was found. Nerveless subjective academic performance perception of teachers presented a negative correlation with body composition and the parasympathetic modulation. School students presented an increased body mass index and parasympathetic modulation by age. Physical activity of all students, independently of the age, were lower than the official recommendations.

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“…Salivary cortisol is widely used as an indicator of childhood physiological stress in epidemiological and health sciences (Tervahartiala et al, 2019;Vanaelst, DeVriendt, Huybrechts, Rinaldi, & De Henauw, 2012a). Studies investigating young children's cortisol levels have shown that they have a clear diurnal pattern similar to adults' cortisol curve already at preschool age (Bäumler, Kirschbaum, Kliegel, Alexander, & Stadler, 2013;Messerli-Bürgy et al, 2018). Cortisol as a stress indicator has been validated using heart-rate variability as a marker of parasympathetic activity and self-reported stressful life events.…”

Section: Cortisol As a Physiological Stress Indicatormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence about the relationships between young children' physiological stress and social skills, including problem behavior, is somewhat controversial. Some studies have demonstrated no relationships between behavioral problems with peers or prosocial behavior and cortisol levels (Messerli-Bürgy et al, 2018;Simons et al, 2017). It has also been shown that peer-rejected children have higher cortisol levels, while teacher-rated externalizing behavior and poor effortful control are related to lower physiological stress (Catherine et al, 2012;Gunnar et al, 2003).…”

Section: Social Competence and Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reading Skills, Social Competence, and Physiological Stress in the First Grade

Jõgi

Pakarinen

Tolvanen

et al. 2021

School Mental Health

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An awareness of school-related antecedents of children’s physiological stress at the beginning of school helps educators to prevent and mitigate children’s stress, the one of the major obstacles to their well-being and academic progress. We aimed to study the effect of reading skills and social competence on first-grade students’ salivary cortisol levels in natural settings. Based on previous results of the effects of everyday situations on children’s stress according to gender, we expected that both academic and social skills would affect girls’ physiological stress more, compared to boys. Our sample consisted of 277 students (7–8 years old, 50.2% girls). We used the highest salivary cortisol level of three morning samples and a cortisol level from the middle of the school day as physiological stress indicators. Reading skills were assessed by group-administered tests and social competence by teacher ratings. We found that lower reading comprehension skills and lower disruptiveness were related to higher cortisol levels for girls but not for boys. Higher empathy and lower disruptiveness moderated the effect of better reading comprehension on higher psychological stress in the middle of the school day only for girls. By recognizing the antecedents of children’s stress and supporting their academic and social skills, children’s, especially girls’, physiological self-regulation and coping skills in the primary grades will benefit.

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Physiological stress measures in preschool children and their relationship with body composition and behavioral problems

Cited by 9 publications

References 73 publications

Innovations in biological assessments of chronic stress through hair and nail cortisol: Conceptual, developmental, and methodological issues

Innovations in biological assessments of chronic stress through hair and nail cortisol: Conceptual, developmental, and methodological issues

Autonomic Profile, Physical Activity, Body Mass Index and Academic Performance of School Students

Reading Skills, Social Competence, and Physiological Stress in the First Grade

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