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Cortisol diurnal rhythm and stress reactivity in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder

Cortisol diurnal rhythm and stress reactivity in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder
Cortisol diurnal rhythm and stress reactivity in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder
Background: Previous studies have reported lower basal cortisol levels and reduced cortisol responses to stress in children and adolescents with conduct disorder (CD). It is not known whether these findings are specific to early-onset CD. This study investigated basal and stress-induced cortisol secretion in male participants with early-onset and adolescence-onset forms of CD.

Methods: Forty-two participants with early-onset CD, 28 with adolescence-onset CD, and 95 control subjects participated in the study. They collected saliva across the day to assess their cortisol awakening response and diurnal rhythm. Subsequently, salivary cortisol was measured before, during, and after a psychosocial stress procedure designed to elicit frustration. Cardiovascular activity and subjective mood states were also assessed during stress exposure.

Results: There were no group differences in morning cortisol levels or the size of the cortisol awakening response. Basal cortisol levels in the evening and at 11 am during the laboratory visit were higher in both CD subgroups relative to control subjects. In contrast, cortisol and cardiovascular responses to psychosocial stress were reduced in both CD subgroups compared with control subjects. All groups reported similar increases in negative mood states during stress.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that group differences in cortisol secretion are most pronounced during stress exposure, when participants with CD show cortisol hyporeactivity compared with control subjects. There was no evidence for reduced basal cortisol secretion in participants with CD, but rather increased secretion at specific time points. The results do not support developmentally sensitive differences in cortisol secretion between CD subtypes.
antisocial behavior, conduct disorder, cortisol, cortisol awakening response, hpa axis, stress reactivity
0006-3223
599-606
Fairchild, Graeme
f99bc911-978e-48c2-9754-c6460666a95f
van Goozen, Stephanie H.M.
1044d433-5451-4520-b860-9fe1b7e0fe0f
Stollery, Sarah J.
6e3ade33-c0cf-47d0-aaeb-bba8c419d636
Brown, Jamie
03488948-34d6-4544-9a15-e939d19c9fb4
Gardiner, Julian
9c30fac8-8734-4085-93aa-2d92935f0382
Herbert, Joe
ca9b7dde-b679-40ee-9613-203d0e874399
Goodyer, Ian M.
b61b8ae9-a305-462b-9fe5-66f8d3fb6312
Fairchild, Graeme
f99bc911-978e-48c2-9754-c6460666a95f
van Goozen, Stephanie H.M.
1044d433-5451-4520-b860-9fe1b7e0fe0f
Stollery, Sarah J.
6e3ade33-c0cf-47d0-aaeb-bba8c419d636
Brown, Jamie
03488948-34d6-4544-9a15-e939d19c9fb4
Gardiner, Julian
9c30fac8-8734-4085-93aa-2d92935f0382
Herbert, Joe
ca9b7dde-b679-40ee-9613-203d0e874399
Goodyer, Ian M.
b61b8ae9-a305-462b-9fe5-66f8d3fb6312

Fairchild, Graeme, van Goozen, Stephanie H.M., Stollery, Sarah J., Brown, Jamie, Gardiner, Julian, Herbert, Joe and Goodyer, Ian M. (2008) Cortisol diurnal rhythm and stress reactivity in male adolescents with early-onset or adolescence-onset conduct disorder. [in special issue: Endophenotypes for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder] Biological Psychiatry, 64 (7), 599-606. (doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.05.022).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have reported lower basal cortisol levels and reduced cortisol responses to stress in children and adolescents with conduct disorder (CD). It is not known whether these findings are specific to early-onset CD. This study investigated basal and stress-induced cortisol secretion in male participants with early-onset and adolescence-onset forms of CD.

Methods: Forty-two participants with early-onset CD, 28 with adolescence-onset CD, and 95 control subjects participated in the study. They collected saliva across the day to assess their cortisol awakening response and diurnal rhythm. Subsequently, salivary cortisol was measured before, during, and after a psychosocial stress procedure designed to elicit frustration. Cardiovascular activity and subjective mood states were also assessed during stress exposure.

Results: There were no group differences in morning cortisol levels or the size of the cortisol awakening response. Basal cortisol levels in the evening and at 11 am during the laboratory visit were higher in both CD subgroups relative to control subjects. In contrast, cortisol and cardiovascular responses to psychosocial stress were reduced in both CD subgroups compared with control subjects. All groups reported similar increases in negative mood states during stress.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that group differences in cortisol secretion are most pronounced during stress exposure, when participants with CD show cortisol hyporeactivity compared with control subjects. There was no evidence for reduced basal cortisol secretion in participants with CD, but rather increased secretion at specific time points. The results do not support developmentally sensitive differences in cortisol secretion between CD subtypes.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 11 July 2008
Published date: 1 October 2008
Keywords: antisocial behavior, conduct disorder, cortisol, cortisol awakening response, hpa axis, stress reactivity

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 156015
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/156015
ISSN: 0006-3223
PURE UUID: 0643f7e5-ce21-4741-a126-4a62a1b522ce
ORCID for Graeme Fairchild: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7814-9938

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Date deposited: 01 Jun 2010 08:38
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 01:41

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Contributors

Author: Graeme Fairchild ORCID iD
Author: Stephanie H.M. van Goozen
Author: Sarah J. Stollery
Author: Jamie Brown
Author: Julian Gardiner
Author: Joe Herbert
Author: Ian M. Goodyer

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