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Cortisol and Subjective Stress Responses to Acute Psychosocial Stress in Fibromyalgia Patients and Control Participants

Coppens, E; Kempke, S; Van Wambeke, P; Claes, S; Morlion, B; Luyten, P; Van Oudenhove, L; (2018) Cortisol and Subjective Stress Responses to Acute Psychosocial Stress in Fibromyalgia Patients and Control Participants. Psychosomatic Medicine , 80 (3) pp. 317-326. 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000551. Green open access

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction may play a role in fibromyalgia (FM) pathogenesis, but remains understudied in this disorder. Furthermore, early childhood adversities (ECA) are common in FM, but whether they moderate stress reactivity is unknown. Hence, we investigated cortisol and subjective responses to acute psychosocial stress in FM and controls, while adjusting for ECA. METHODS: Twenty-seven female FM patients and 24 age-matched female controls were recruited in a tertiary care center and through advertisements, respectively. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was used to measure ECA history. Salivary cortisol levels and subjective stress ratings were measured at multiple time points before and after the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was administered. RESULTS: Significant main effects of group [F(1,43)=7.04, p=0.011, lower in FM] and ECA [F(1,43)=5.18, p=0.028, higher in participants with ECA] were found for cortisol responses. When excluding controls with ECA (n=5), a significant group-by-time interaction was found [F(6,39)=2.60, p=0.032], driven by a blunted response to the stressor in FM compared with controls (p=0.037). For subjective stress responses, a significant main effect of group [F(1,45)=10.69, p=0.002, higher in FM] and a trend towards a group-by-time interaction effect [F(6,45)=2.05, p=0.078, higher in FM 30 minutes before and 30 and 75 minutes after the TSST, and impaired recovery (difference immediately after - 30 minutes after the TSST) in FM] were found. CONCLUSIONS: Blunted cortisol responsivity to the TSST was observed in FM patients compared with controls without ECA. FM patients had higher subjective stress levels compared with controls, particularly at baseline and during recovery from the TSST. In FM patients, ECA history was not associated with cortisol or subjective stress levels, or with responsivity to the TSST. Future research should investigate the mechanisms underlying HPA axis dysregulation in FM.

Type: Article
Title: Cortisol and Subjective Stress Responses to Acute Psychosocial Stress in Fibromyalgia Patients and Control Participants
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000551
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000551
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: TSST, stress reactivity, cortisol, early childhood adversity, fibromyalgia
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10042741
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