TY - JOUR
T1 - Negative emotionality, depressive symptoms and cortisol diurnal rhythms
T2 - Analysis of a community sample of middle-aged males
AU - Doane, Leah
AU - Franz, Carol E.
AU - Prom-Wormley, Elizabeth
AU - Eaves, Lindon J.
AU - Mendoza, Sally P.
AU - Hellhammer, Dirk H.
AU - Lupien, Sonia
AU - Xian, Hong
AU - Lyons, Michael J.
AU - Kremen, William
AU - Jacobson, Kristen C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by NIH/NIA grants R01 AG018386 , R01 AG022381 and R01 AG022982 to William S. Kremen and R01 AG018384 to Michael J. Lyons. There is no conflict of interest and no support provided by private funding. The NIA had no further role in the study design, the collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, in the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIA or the NIH.
PY - 2011/7
Y1 - 2011/7
N2 - Prior research suggests that individuals with particular personality traits, like negative emotionality, are at greater risk for adverse health outcomes. Despite bivariate associations between negative emotionality, depressive symptoms and the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA axis), few studies have sought to understand the biological pathways through which negative emotionality, depressive symptomatology and cortisol-one of the primary hormonal products of the HPA axis-are associated. The present study explored whether negative emotionality influenced cortisol dysregulation through current depressive symptomatology and whether negative emotionality served as a moderator of the relationship between depressive symptoms and cortisol. In the community-based Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging, 783 male twins completed two days of cortisol saliva sampling in their natural environments. Three measures of cortisol were analyzed: waking levels, the cortisol awakening response, and the peak to bed slope. Depressive symptoms significantly mediated the associations between negative emotionality and the peak to bed slope. A 2-way interaction between depressive symptoms and negative emotionality was significant for the peak to bed slope and for waking levels of cortisol. Exploration of the interactions illustrated that depressive symptoms only affected cortisol slopes at average or high levels of negative emotionality and only affected waking levels at low levels of negative emotionality. Negative emotionality and depressive symptoms were not related to the cortisol awakening response. This is the first study to find indirect associations between negative emotionality and peak to bed cortisol slopes through depressive symptoms. These findings illustrate the complex interplay between personality characteristics, depressive symptoms and different indices of the cortisol diurnal rhythm.
AB - Prior research suggests that individuals with particular personality traits, like negative emotionality, are at greater risk for adverse health outcomes. Despite bivariate associations between negative emotionality, depressive symptoms and the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA axis), few studies have sought to understand the biological pathways through which negative emotionality, depressive symptomatology and cortisol-one of the primary hormonal products of the HPA axis-are associated. The present study explored whether negative emotionality influenced cortisol dysregulation through current depressive symptomatology and whether negative emotionality served as a moderator of the relationship between depressive symptoms and cortisol. In the community-based Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging, 783 male twins completed two days of cortisol saliva sampling in their natural environments. Three measures of cortisol were analyzed: waking levels, the cortisol awakening response, and the peak to bed slope. Depressive symptoms significantly mediated the associations between negative emotionality and the peak to bed slope. A 2-way interaction between depressive symptoms and negative emotionality was significant for the peak to bed slope and for waking levels of cortisol. Exploration of the interactions illustrated that depressive symptoms only affected cortisol slopes at average or high levels of negative emotionality and only affected waking levels at low levels of negative emotionality. Negative emotionality and depressive symptoms were not related to the cortisol awakening response. This is the first study to find indirect associations between negative emotionality and peak to bed cortisol slopes through depressive symptoms. These findings illustrate the complex interplay between personality characteristics, depressive symptoms and different indices of the cortisol diurnal rhythm.
KW - Cortisol
KW - Depressive symptomatology
KW - Negative emotionality
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U2 - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.05.003
DO - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.05.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 21619882
AN - SCOPUS:79959572230
SN - 0018-506X
VL - 60
SP - 202
EP - 209
JO - Hormones and Behavior
JF - Hormones and Behavior
IS - 2
ER -