Elsevier

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Volume 37, Issue 12, December 2012, Pages 1981-1989
Psychoneuroendocrinology

Stability of the diurnal cortisol profile in children and adolescents

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.04.014 Get rights and content

Summary

The diurnal cortisol profile has been implicated in multiple physical and mental health conditions in children and adolescents; however, current knowledge regarding the stability of the diurnal cortisol profile is largely based on adults. Developmental changes throughout childhood and adolescence warrant examination of the stability of the diurnal cortisol profile during this stage in the lifecourse. The aim of the present study was to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the diurnal cortisol profile in children and adolescents. Participants (N = 233; M = 12.40, SD = 1.83; 44.2% girls) in the Healthy Heart Project collected saliva samples, completed demographic questionnaires, and recorded bed and waking time. Intra-class correlations were calculated to evaluate the stability of aggregate and single sample measures of the diurnal cortisol profile. Total cortisol concentration (AUCTG, AUCAG) and maximum sample were the most stable cortisol measures (ICCavg = 0.54). Dynamic measures (AUCI, slope; ICCavg = 0.22) and other single sample measures (awake, lunch, dinner, bedtime, morning random, day random; ICCavg = 0.28) were less stable. Of the developmentally relevant covariates tested, sleep duration, adrenarche, and time of awakening were most associated with cortisol values. Altogether, the diurnal cortisol profile yielded moderate to high stability in children and adolescents. These findings can inform methodological decisions regarding cortisol sampling protocols for children and adolescents.

Section snippets

Participants

Youth aged 9–18 years were recruited to take part in the Healthy Heart Project, a longitudinal study examining early cardiovascular risk factors, at Concordia University, Montreal, QC. Flyers, postcards, and bookmarks were distributed throughout the community and in primary and secondary schools approved by the Montreal English School Board. Children with serious psychopathology or medication use known to interfere with cardiovascular functioning were excluded. This study was approved by the

Results

Participants (N = 233) included children and adolescents aged 9–18 years (M = 12.40 years, SD = 1.82). About half of the sample was female (n = 103; 44.2%) and the majority of participants were of normal body weight (<85th BMI percentile: n = 152; 65%). The majority of parents had a university education (M = 15.88 years, SD = 3.45) and a yearly household income of $73,552 CAN (SD = $51,780). The mean wake time was 7:33 am (SD = 1.4 h) and participants slept on average for 9 h (SD = 1.5 h). The majority of samples were

Discussion

Cortisol is used extensively as a marker of HPA-axis activity in children and adolescents within psychoneuroendocrinology research. Despite its frequent use, the stability of the diurnal cortisol profile has not been established in children and adolescents. In the current investigation, the stability of cortisol and the influence of covariates was tested. Specific cortisol values included aggregate (AUCAG, AUCI, slopeawake regression, slopeawake to last, slopemax regression, slopemax to last, AUCTG)

Role of funding source

The funding source had no role in the design, analysis or presentation of this study.

Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements

We thank the participants and their families of the Healthy Heart Project, the teachers and principals of the Montreal English School Board, and the research assistants and study coordinators of the Pediatric Public Health Psychology Laboratory at Concordia University. Special thanks to Natasha Hunt and Sabrina Giovanniello for their continued dedication. We also thank John Brand for generating the figure, as well as Sonia Lupien, Mark Ellenbogen, and Wayne Brake for their insightful comments

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