Sex-specific association between the cortisol awakening response and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in healthy individuals
Melia, Cristian Sebastian (Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut)
Soria, Virginia (Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut)
Salvat-Pujol, Neus (Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge)
Cabezas, Ángel (Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Hospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata)
Nadal i Alemany, Roser (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Neurociències)
Urretavizcaya, Mikel (Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut)
Gutiérrez-Zotes, Alfonso (Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Hospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata)
Monreal, José Antonio (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Crespo, José Manuel (Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut)
Alonso, Pino (Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut)
Vilella, Elisabet (Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Hospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata)
Palao, Diego (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Menchón Magriñá, José Manuel (Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut)
Labad, Javier (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))

Date:	2019
Abstract:	Previous studies have shown associations between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity (HPA). We aimed to investigate the association between obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms and HPA axis functionality in a non-clinical sample and to explore whether there are sex differences in this relationship. One hundred eighty-three healthy individuals without any psychiatric diagnosis (80 men, 103 women; mean age 41. 3 ± 17. 9 years) were recruited from the general population. The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory Revised (OCI-R) was used to assess OC symptoms. State-trait anxiety, perceived stress, and stressful life events were also assessed. Saliva cortisol levels were determined at 6 time points (awakening, 30 and 60 min post-awakening, 10:00 a. m. , 23:00 p. m. and 10:00 a. m. the following day of 0. 25 mg dexamethasone intake [that occurred at 23:00 p. m. ]). Three HPA axis measures were calculated: cortisol awakening response (CAR), cortisol diurnal slope, and cortisol suppression ratio after dexamethasone (DSTR). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to explore the association between OC symptoms and HPA axis measures while adjusting for covariates. Our main analyses were focused on OCI-R total score, but we also explored associations with specific OC symptom dimensions. No significant differences were observed between males and females in OC symptoms, anxiety measures, stress, or cortisol measures. In the multiple linear regression analyses between overall OC symptoms and HPA axis measures, a female sex by OC symptoms significant interaction (standardized beta = − 0. 322; p = 0. 023) for the CAR (but not cortisol diurnal slope nor DSTR) was found. Regarding specific symptom dimensions, two other sex interactions were found: a blunted CAR was associated with obsessing symptoms in women, whereas a more flattened diurnal cortisol slope was associated with ordering symptoms in men. There are sex differences in the association between OC symptoms and HPA axis measures in healthy individuals.
Grants:	Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI10/01753 Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI10/01607 Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI15/01386 Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI15/00662 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017-SGR-1247 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017-SGR-632
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Cortisol ; Stress ; Obsessive ; OCD ; Sex differences
Published in:	Biology of Sex Differences, Vol. 10 (december 2019) , ISSN 2042-6410

DOI: 10.1186/s13293-019-0273-3
PMID: 31791404

11 p, 646.2 KB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Grupo de investigación Laboratorio Humano (Grupo LabHumàUAB)
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Neurociències (INc)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles