Some determinants of population variation in cortisol levels in a British urban community

Pollard, Tessa M.; Ungpakorn, Giles Ji; Harrison, G. A.

doi:10.1017/s0021932000020034

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…3 Assessment of physiological markers of stress can help surmount some of these obstacles by providing a quantitative measure of "stress response." Previous anthropological work has successfully linked stressors to differences in blood pressure (Dressier 1991;Janes 1990;McGarvey and Schendel 1986), catecholamine and cortisol levels (Brown 1981(Brown , 1982Flinn and England 1995;Pollard et al 1992;Schmitt et al 1995), and cell-mediated immune function ( McDade 2001, in press;. These markers are "objective" in that they are beyond the conscious control of the study participants and are therefore not vulnerable to recall or observer bias.…”

Section: Defining and Measuring Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status Incongruity in Samoan Youth: A Biocultural Analysis of Culture Change, Stress, and Immune Function

McDade¹

2002

Med Anthropol Q

114

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In Samoa, the presence of a matai title in the family has historically been a valued source of social status. However, as the process of Westernization continues, new sources of social status are emerging. This study explores the degree to which new and old markers of social status agree--or disagree--and the consequences they have for the experience of stress in 329 Samoan adolescents. The study integrates cultural and biological methods and data, and measures an aspect of immune function (antibodies against the Epstein-Barr virus) as a biomarker of psychosocial stress. Results indicate that status "incongruent" adolescents experience significantly more stress (indicated by reduced immune function), and that emerging markers of social status are becoming inextricably linked to "traditional" markers in such a way that discordance between them is a significant source of stress. This study proposes new conceptual models for future studies of culture change and suggests that biomarkers may represent ethnographic tools that can provide insight into hidden cultural dynamics and the experience of stress.

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Section: Defining and Measuring Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status Incongruity in Samoan Youth: A Biocultural Analysis of Culture Change, Stress, and Immune Function

McDade¹

2002

Med Anthropol Q

114

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“…There is no doubt that unpleasant features of work correlate with pejorative psychological mood (Karasek, 1979), but the connections between work characteristics and/or mood and cortisol are problematic. A recent investigation of a group of Oxford City residents, mainly of upper social class (Pollard et al, 1992(Pollard et al, ,1994, found few cortisol associations, though reported "business" was negatively correlated in women. In a more detailed investigation of the psychology of job experience on much the same population, there was a systematic negative association in both men and wromen between cortisol output and job strain, that is, exactly opposite from what is hypothe-sized.…”

Section: Lagos (Nigeria) Manual Workers Seattle ( U S a ) American mentioning

confidence: 99%

The biology of everyday living

Harrison

1996

Am. J. Hum. Biol.

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The need for documenting details of lifestyle is argued, particularly from the results of studying the everyday life of Oxfordshire villagers. Relationships between lifestyle and well‐being are sought through examination of characteristics of sleep and stress hormone excretion. It is concluded that although epinephrine and cortisol outputs show many relationships with lifestyle in various populations, they are poor measures of well‐being. Sleep latency, however, seems to be a component of well‐being. Well‐being is seen as an important component of health and thus of the quality‐of‐life history. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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“…On the other hand, patients treated with glucocorticoids suffer from sleeplessness associated with arousal and activation [6,7], and also elevated endogenous cortisol levels have been reported to be related to insomnia and arousal [15][16][17]. In stress studies performed in healthy subjects, states of negative emotionality are reported to be associated with increases in endogenous cortisol levels [e.g., [18][19][20], whereas the results with respect to positive emotionality are controversial -positive mood changes reported by Brown et al [18]; no relationships reported by Hennig et al [1] and Clark et al [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Cortisol on Emotions under Stress and Nonstress Conditions: A Pharmacopsychological Approach

Reuter¹

2002

Neuropsychobiology

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Although the importance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in emotional stress response is a well-established fact, the causal relationship between glucocorticoids and emotions remains unclear. Therefore, it was tried to elucidate this relationship by an experimental approach in 100 healthy volunteers. The effects of different oral dosages of cortisol (hydrocortisone; 20 and 40 mg) or placebo on emotional states were tested under stress and nonstress conditions in an independent group design. Furthermore, the time of drug application was varied in relation to the onset of the stress/nonstress conditions (1 vs. 2 h prior to exposure). Stress and nonstress conditions were induced by a film depicting violence and neutral scenes, respectively. The results indicate that the application of cortisol ameliorates emotional states irrespective of the time of drug administration and stress exposure. Also the dimensions of activity were increased by cortisol in all experimental conditions, except when applied 1 h before stress onset, indicating an adaptive negative feedback regulation preventing stress-induced overactivation.

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Some determinants of population variation in cortisol levels in a British urban community

Cited by 14 publications

References 20 publications

Status Incongruity in Samoan Youth: A Biocultural Analysis of Culture Change, Stress, and Immune Function

Status Incongruity in Samoan Youth: A Biocultural Analysis of Culture Change, Stress, and Immune Function

The biology of everyday living

Impact of Cortisol on Emotions under Stress and Nonstress Conditions: A Pharmacopsychological Approach

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