Stress and cortisol responses in men: differences according to facial symmetry

Serum cortisol and insulin-like growth factor 1 levels in major depressive disorder and schizophrenia

The pathophysiology underlying major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia is related to endocrine system functions and includes changes in the blood levels of cortisol and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). However, these hormones have not been investigated simultaneously in patients with MDD and schizophrenia. We investigated the differences in serum cortisol and IGF-1 levels among patients with MDD and schizophrenia and controls. We included 129 patients with MDD, 71 patients with schizophrenia, and 71 healthy volunteers. Blood tests were performed between 6:00 am and 11:00 am after fasting. Serum cortisol levels were significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia than in patients with MDD and controls. Serum cortisol levels were significantly higher in patients with MDD than in controls. Serum IGF-1 levels were higher in both patient groups than in controls, whereas there was no significant difference between patients with MDD and schizophrenia. Both cortisol and IGF-1 levels were positively correlated with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score in patients with MDD, whereas cortisol level was positively correlated and IGF-1 level was negatively correlated with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score in patients with schizophrenia. The differences in the level of these hormones suggest pathophysiological differences between these disorders.

Cortisol reactivity to psychosocial stress in vulnerable and grandiose narcissists: An exploratory study

Introduction

Narcissistic personality manifests itself in at least two different forms: grandiose and vulnerable. In the present study, we compared cortisol and emotional responses to psychosocial stress between subjects high in vulnerable and grandiose narcissism scores, and examined possible associations between narcissism, other personality traits, and stress responses. We hypothesized that subjects with higher scores of vulnerable narcissism would show stronger emotional and physiological reactivity than those with high scores of grandiose narcissism.

Methods

A final sample of forty-seven participants underwent a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), provided saliva samples to assess cortisol levels, and completed several personality questionnaires.

Results

Consistent with our hypothesis, subjects with higher scores of vulnerable narcissism had a stronger cortisol and emotional response than those with high scores of grandiose narcissism. Vulnerable narcissism was positively correlated with schizotypal traits, while grandiose narcissism was positively correlated with psychopathic traits. Participants with a mixed-type of narcissism were also discussed.

Discussion

This study provides the first evidence of differential physiological and emotional reactivity to social evaluation threat according to scores of vulnerable and grandiose narcissism. Since this is an exploratory study, the results must be interpreted with caution. However, the results will be informative for future confirmatory research with larger and more heterogeneous samples.

Increased Cortisol Response and Low Quality of Life in Women Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence With Severe Anxiety and Depression

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most prevalent forms of violence against women globally and it is considered a public health problem. Because the experience of IPV is stressful and traumatic for victims, they are at high risk of developing alteration of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis functioning as well as anxiety and depression symptoms. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life and changes in cortisol response to an acute stressor between women exposed to IPV and non-exposed women. Differences according to symptoms of anxiety and depression including the risk of suicide thoughts, were also analyzed.

METHOD

Our sample size consisted of 130 women (ages 18-68) grouped as follows: 71 women experiencing IPV and 59 women without history of IPV as control group. All participants completed a battery of questionnaires including IPV exposure, anxiety, and depression symptoms (Beck Inventories), as well as quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). Salivary cortisol levels in response to a cognitive test with verbal, mathematical, and abstract reasoning were measured at four time points.

RESULTS

Women exposed to IPV, with severe anxiety and depression symptoms as well as suicide thoughts, exhibited heightened cortisol response after the cognitive test and reported lower quality of life compared to (i) women experiencing IPV with moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression, who showed a blunted response, and (ii) women without history of IPV with minimal to moderate symptoms, who showed a decreased cortisol profile. Social relationships dimension was in particular the most affected aspect of quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the role of cortisol responses as a complementary biological marker to be associated with severe psychiatric disturbances in women exposed to IPV.

Self-Perceived Facial Attractiveness, Fluctuating Asymmetry, and Minor Ailments Predict Mental Health Outcomes

Objective

Phenotypic markers associated with developmental stability such as fluctuating asymmetry, facial attractiveness, and reports of minor ailments can also act as indicators of overall physical health. However, few studies have assessed whether these markers might also be cues of mental health. We tested whether self- and other-perceived facial attractiveness, fluctuating asymmetry, and minor ailments are associated with psychopathological symptoms in a mixed sample of 358 college students, controlling for the effects of body mass index, age, and sex.

Methods

We applied the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaire to assess psychopathological symptoms, a battery of questionnaires about self-perceptions of facial attractiveness, and gathered information about the number of previous minor ailments as well as demographic data. Other-perceived attractiveness was assessed by an independent mixed sample of 109 subjects. Subjects’ facial fluctuating asymmetry was determined by geometric morphometrics.

Results

The results revealed that in both men and women, higher self-perceived attractiveness and fewer minor ailments predicted lower scores of Somatization, Obsessive–Compulsive, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Depression, Anxiety, Phobic Anxiety, Paranoid Ideation, Psychoticism, and a General Psychopathology Index. Higher facial fluctuating asymmetry was associated with higher Interpersonal Sensitivity, but did not contribute to its prediction when controlling for the other studied variables.

Conclusions

The observed strong associations between self-perceived attractiveness, minor ailments, and psychopathology indicate common developmental pathways between physiological and psychological symptomatology which may reflect broader life history (co)variation between genetics, developmental environment, and psychophysiological functioning.

Socioeconomic position, immune function, and its physiological markers

The development of costly traits such as immune function and secondary sexual traits is constrained by resource availability. The quality of developmental conditions and the availability of resources in ontogeny may therefore influence immune system functions and other biological traits. We analyzed causal pathways between family socioeconomic position, strength of immune response, and five physiological biomarkers in young Latvian men (n = 93) using structural equation modeling. Men from wealthier families had higher testosterone levels (r_s = 0.280), stronger immune response (r_s = 0.551), and higher facial attractiveness (r_s = 0.300). There were weak, non-significant correlations between family income, body fat percentage (r_s = -0.147), and fluctuating asymmetry (r_s = -0.159). Testosterone partially (33.8%) mediated the effect of family income on facial masculinity. Testosterone (positively) and adiposity (negatively) partially (4%) mediated the relationship between family income and immune function. Higher facial masculinity, higher facial symmetry, and lower adiposity were reliable and independent cues of better immune function (R² = 0.238) in a larger sample of young Latvian men (N = 146). Resource availability in ontogeny has an important role for the development of immune function and physical appearance, and it is a key parameter to be included in human eco-immunological research.

Minimally-invasive methods for examining biological changes in response to chronic stress: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Nurse researchers are increasingly interested in incorporating biological indicators related to chronic stress, or repeated or constant exposure to psychological stressors. Minimally invasive collection methods may improve access to vulnerable populations.

OBJECTIVE

To map biological indicators measured through minimally invasive methods investigating biological changes in response to chronic stress.

DESIGN, DATA SOURCES, AND METHODS

The paper seeks to answer two questions: What are the characteristics of the minimally-invasive methods used to measure the biological correlates of chronic stress? What are the limitations regarding the use of the minimally-invasive methods and/or biological indicators identified above? Authors completed a scoping review following guidelines from the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for Scoping Reviews. A literature search was completed in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus. 2518 articles were screened and 145 studies were included. Data were extracted using a standardized extraction tool, compiled, and coded.

RESULTS

Studies included minimally-invasive methods to measure the hypothalamic-adrenal-pituitary axis (N = 173), immune and inflammatory markers (N = 118), and adult neurogenesis (N = 6). Cortisol was most frequently measured (N = 136), usually in saliva (N = 86). Studies included a variety of limitations for the methods and indicators, including concerns about timing and accuracy of collection, frequency of sampling, and controlling for acute stressors.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurse researchers have access to many minimally-invasive methods to measure altered biological processes related to chronic stress. A gap identified by this review is the paucity of minimally-invasive methods for investigating neurogenesis; the measurement of brain derived neurotrophic factor in plasma is a distal proxy and further research is needed to test the response of peripheral levels to psychosocial stress interventions. Additionally, while this scoping review allows nurse researchers to consider possible biological indicators to include in their research, future research is still needed on some of the basic premises of stress research, including agreement on the conceptualization of chronic stress.

Identification of gene ontology and pathways implicated in suicide behavior: Systematic review and enrichment analysis of GWAS studies

Multiple large-scale studies such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been performed to identify genetic contributors to suicidal behaviors (SB). We aimed to summarize and analyze the information obtained in SB GWAS, to explore the biological process gene ontology (GO) of genes associated with SB from GWAS, and to determine the possible implications of the genes associated with SB in Kyoto encyclopedias of genes and genomes (KEGG) biological pathways. The articles included in the analysis were obtained from PubMed and Scopus databases. Enrichment analyses were performed in Enrichr to evaluate the KEGG pathways and GO of the genes associated with SB of GWAS. The findings of biological process GO analysis showed 924 GO involved in genes related with SB; of those, the regulation of glucose import in response to insulin stimulus, regulation of protein localization to plasma membrane, positive regulation of endopeptidase activity, heterotypic cell-cell adhesion, regulation of cardiac muscle cell contraction, positive regulation of protein localization to plasma membrane, and positive regulation of protein localization to cell periphery biological process GO showed significant statistical association. Furthermore, we obtained 130 KEGG pathways involved in genes related with SB, which Aldosterone synthesis and secretion, Rap1 signaling pathway and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy pathways showed a significant statistical association. These findings give a better perspective of the biological participation of genes associated with SB, which will be important to perform adequate strategies to prevent and treat SB.

Psychobiological response to an anger induction task in schizophrenia: The key role of anxiety

In this study an anger induction laboratory task was applied to men with schizophrenia, and resulted in significant changes in different psychophysiological parameters that were measured in a pre-post design. We observed a significantly greater self-reported anger mood and negative affection, lower self-reported positive affection, an increase in cardiovascular reactivity (with blood pressure in deeper affection compared to controls), higher salivary testosterone levels, lower salivary cortisol levels, and an increase in right ear items reported in dichotic listening. Furthermore, clinical risk factors related to anger in our patients were analyzed by Stepwise Regression analyses. Trait anger was significantly associated with a higher level of delusional pathology and impulsivity. Regarding the resulted state of anger as an output of the induction, the most relevant finding was that anxiety consistently and significantly predicted the increasing in anger feelings, and, remarkably, it predicted also the increasing in T levels and the cardiovascular reactivity of the patients.