Female breakfast skippers display a disrupted cortisol rhythm and elevated blood pressure

Chronic stress and over-activity in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis may link breakfast skipping and poor cardiometabolic health. Missing the first major meal of the day in rodents prolongs elevated circulating corticosterone at a time when it\u27s normally decreasing. To extend these findings to humans, we hypothesized that habitual breakfast skippers would display a similar pattern of circulating cortisol and alterations in meal and stress-induced cortisol reactions. Normal weight to obese women aged 18–45 years old who were strictly defined as either breakfast skippers (n = 30) or breakfast eaters (n = 35) were invited to participate in our study. Normal breakfast habits were maintained for the entire study period and each participant attended 4 lab visits. Over the first 2 lab visits, body composition, fasting clinical chemistries, and self-reports of chronic stress were assessed. On each of 2 additional days (lab visits 3 and 4), salivary free cortisol was measured at home upon waking and at bedtime, and in the lab in response to a standard lunch, ad libitum afternoon snack buffet, and stress and control (relaxation) tasks. The order of the control and stress test visits was randomized. While body weight, body composition, HOMA-IR, total and HDL cholesterol did not statistically differ (p N 0.05), both diastolic and systolic blood pressure was elevated (p b 0.01) and LDL cholesterol was lower (p = 0.04) in the breakfast skipper group. Compared to the breakfast eaters and on the control task visit only, breakfast skippers had higher circulating cortisol from arrival to midafternoon (p b 0.01) and during the snack buffet (p b 0.05). Furthermore, the lunch-induced cortisol reaction was larger in the ‘skippers’ (p = 0.03). On both stress and control visit days, the diurnal cortisol amplitude was significantly (p = 0.02) blunted in breakfast skippers. Self-reports of chronic stress did not differ between the groups. These data indicate that habitually skip- ping breakfast is associated with stress-independent over-activity in the HPA axis which, if prolonged, may increase risk (e.g., hypertension) for cardiometabolic disease in some people

Increased risk of preterm delivery with high cortisol during pregnancy is modified by fetal sex : a cohort study

Background: Previous studies show an association between maternal plasma and salivary cortisol and preterm birth but have been primarily conducted in high-income countries. It is unknown whether salivary cortisol is a risk factor for preterm birth in Ghana. Our objective was to determine whether maternal salivary cortisol during pregnancy was associated with pregnancy duration and preterm delivery in Ghana. Methods: We conducted a cohort study of 783 pregnant women in Ghana. We measured salivary cortisol at baseline (mean 16 wk), 28 wk., and 36 wk. gestation. Pregnancy duration was determined primarily by ultrasound. We used adjusted linear regression models to examine the association between cortisol and pregnancy duration and Poisson regression models to determine the risk of preterm delivery among women with high cortisol at baseline or 28 wk. gestation. Results: Mean pregnancy duration was 39.4 ± 1.8 wk. and 6.6% had a preterm delivery. Mean maternal cortisol increased throughout pregnancy, from 4.9 ± 2.7 nmol/L at baseline (16 wk) to 6.4 ± 3.2 nmol/L at 28 wk. and 7.9 ± 3.0 nmol/L at 36 wk. gestation. In adjusted analyses, higher cortisol concentrations at baseline (β = − 0.39, p =.002) and 28 wk. (β = − 0.49, p =.001), but not 36 wk. (β = − 0.23, p =.084) were associated with a shorter pregnancy duration. Women with high cortisol at baseline (> 6.3 nmol/L) had an increased relative risk of preterm delivery (RR (95% CI): 1.96 (1.13, 3.40)), but the association between high cortisol at 28 wk. and preterm delivery was not significant. There was a significant interaction with fetal sex (p-for-interaction = 0.037): among women carrying male fetuses, high cortisol at baseline increased the risk of preterm delivery threefold (3.18 (1.51, 6.71)) while there was no association (1.17 (0.50, 2.74)) among women carrying female fetuses. Conclusion: Higher maternal cortisol is associated with a shorter pregnancy duration and an increased risk of preterm delivery. Subgroup analysis by fetal sex revealed that this association is evident primarily among women carrying male fetuses. Future studies of cortisol and preterm delivery should include consideration of fetal sex as a potential effect modifier.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

The Biological Cost of Repeated and Multiple Stress in the Growing Mouse

Stress results in a cost to normal biological fimction (e.g. growth). This cost may be related to a shifting of energy from normal biological function to defense activities, accounting for the impairment of energy sensitive functions such as growth. While the effects of multiple stressors, by themselves, may not alter normal biological function to an appreciable degree, summation of the individual effects may result in a total effect that significantly impairs biological function. This hypothesis was addressed by examining in male C57BV6 mice the biological cost of repeated behavioral stress (4 h restraint, once/day for 7 days) and repeated behavioral stress, combined with immunological stress (LPS injection, i.p. @ µg/g). Additionally, we investigated the short term (24 h) effect of acute behavioral stress (4 h restraint) and acute behavioral stress, coupled with immunological stress (LPS injection). The biological cost was quantified by determining the effects of these multiple stressors on the animal's capacity for growth (body weight gain) and, to account for the stress-induced alteration in growth, we quantified the partitioning of energy among lean tissue, fat tissue, and heat production. We also examined the effect of multiple stress on circulating concentrations of corticosterone, IGF-I, and IL-1.This work demonstrated that the summation of repeated behavioral stress significantly (P400%, P300%, P 80%, P<0.05).The additive cost in growing animals exposed to repeated behavioral stress may have resulted from the reduction in food intake and the repeated elevation of circulating corticosterone. Repeated alterations of circulating IGF-I may have also accounted for the impaired growth and energy deposition following long-term behavioral stress. When repeatedly restrained animals also encountered an immunological challenge, the activation of the immune system and the consequent increase in circulating cytokines, such as IL-1, may have summated with the previously engaged behavioral stress response to bring about greater changes in metabolism, alterations IGF-I, and food intake. Together, the results of the present work support the hypothesis that the effects of repeated or multiple stressors summate to significantly disrupt normal biological function, but results also indicate that the interaction of multiple stressors is complex, and may or may not summate in their overall effect on biological function

The Biological Cost of Repeated and Multiple Stress in the Growing Mouse

Stress results in a cost to normal biological fimction (e.g. growth). This cost may be related to a shifting of energy from normal biological function to defense activities, accounting for the impairment of energy sensitive functions such as growth. While the effects of multiple stressors, by themselves, may not alter normal biological function to an appreciable degree, summation of the individual effects may result in a total effect that significantly impairs biological function. This hypothesis was addressed by examining in male C57BV6 mice the biological cost of repeated behavioral stress (4 h restraint, once/day for 7 days) and repeated behavioral stress, combined with immunological stress (LPS injection, i.p. @ µg/g). Additionally, we investigated the short term (24 h) effect of acute behavioral stress (4 h restraint) and acute behavioral stress, coupled with immunological stress (LPS injection). The biological cost was quantified by determining the effects of these multiple stressors on the animal's capacity for growth (body weight gain) and, to account for the stress-induced alteration in growth, we quantified the partitioning of energy among lean tissue, fat tissue, and heat production. We also examined the effect of multiple stress on circulating concentrations of corticosterone, IGF-I, and IL-1.This work demonstrated that the summation of repeated behavioral stress significantly (P400%, P300%, P 80%, P<0.05).The additive cost in growing animals exposed to repeated behavioral stress may have resulted from the reduction in food intake and the repeated elevation of circulating corticosterone. Repeated alterations of circulating IGF-I may have also accounted for the impaired growth and energy deposition following long-term behavioral stress. When repeatedly restrained animals also encountered an immunological challenge, the activation of the immune system and the consequent increase in circulating cytokines, such as IL-1, may have summated with the previously engaged behavioral stress response to bring about greater changes in metabolism, alterations IGF-I, and food intake. Together, the results of the present work support the hypothesis that the effects of repeated or multiple stressors summate to significantly disrupt normal biological function, but results also indicate that the interaction of multiple stressors is complex, and may or may not summate in their overall effect on biological function

Weight Loss, Cortisol, and Your Brain Scientists Explore Connections

Americans everywhere are struggling to lose weight—and to keep from putting those lost pounds right back on. For many, it’s discouraging to have their best efforts fail while those of other dieters succeed. Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service’s Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, California, are conducting studies that may provide new insights into the underlying causes of this disparity in dieting success. Given America’s obesity epidemic, such research is timely and relevant. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 35 percent of U.S. adults and 18 percent of kids and adolescents age 6 through 19 are overweight or obese. Both conditions are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic disorders. Chemist Nancy L. Keim, nutrition scientist Kevin D. Laugero, and their colleagues have looked at several factors that may affect weight-management success. Their analysis included assessing volunteers’ patterns of decisionmaking and evaluating changes in their levels of cortisol—a stress-associated hormone. The study volunteers, 29 obese but otherwise healthy women age 20 to 45, were asked to eat all their meals at the nutrition center, where their food was prepared for them. The research began with a 3-week baseline phase, during which the intent was to stabilize the volunteers’ weight. That was followed by a 12-week reduced-calorie regimen intended to help the volunteers shed pounds. During this weight-loss phase, meals provided 500 fewer daily calories than the total each volunteer would have needed if the goal had been to maintain her weight

A Diet Pattern Characterized by Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Is Associated with Lower Decision-Making Performance in the Iowa Gambling Task, Elevated Stress Exposure, and Altered Autonomic Nervous System Reactivity in Men and Women

The executive brain mediates and facilitates a set of cognitive functions, such as decision making, planning, self-regulation, emotional regulation, and attention. Executive dysfunction and related diseases are a rising public health concern. Evidence supports a link between nutritional factors and executive function (EF), but relatively little information exists about the relationship between diet patterns and this higher order cognitive ability. We and others have reported on the relationships between body weight regulation and affective decision making, as measured by performance in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). However, little is known about the relationships between performance in this decision-making task and whole diet patterns. In this study, we tested whether data-derived diet patterns based on energy-adjusted food intake data from the Block Food Frequency Questionnaire were associated with decision-making performance in the IGT. Secondarily, we examined the influence of these diet patterns on self-reported chronic stress exposure and heart rate variability, which is a marker of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. In prior studies, stress and ANS activity were shown to influence decision-making performance in the IGT. In this study, five distinct diet patterns were identified by cluster and factor analyses. A diet pattern best characterized by elevated sugar-sweetened beverage and added sugar consumption was associated with the lowest decision-making performance (p = 0.0049) and higher stress exposure (p = 0.0097). This same diet pattern was associated (p = 0.0374) with an IGT-affiliated decline in high-frequency HRV and an increase in low-frequency HRV, suggesting diet-induced ANS regulatory shifts in response to performing the EF task. Compared to the sugar-sweetened beverage diet pattern, diet patterns defined by more fruits/vegetables and low red meat (p = 0.0048) or higher omega-3 fatty acids and seafood (p = 0.0029) consumption were associated with lower chronic stress exposure. All outcomes were statistically adjusted for differences in BMI, age, sex, education level, and sensorimotor ability. Our findings provide new information that further supports the potential importance of whole diet patterns on cognitive disease prevention

Waking Salivary Cortisol Associated with Magnitude of Cholesterol Reduction in Women Fed a Healthy Whole-Food Diet for 8 Weeks

BackgroundDiet and cortisol are independently linked to cardiometabolic function and health, but underlying alterations in circulating cortisol may influence beneficial cardiometabolic effects of consuming a healthy diet.ObjectiveThis study was a secondary analysis to examine whether baseline concentrations of waking salivary cortisol interacted with 8-wk whole-food diet interventions to affect cardiometabolic outcomes.MethodsA randomized, double-blind, controlled 8-wk diet intervention was conducted in 44 participants. The trial was conducted at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, California. Participants were overweight or obese women aged 20-64 y, minimally active, and insulin resistant and/or dyslipidemic. Diets were randomly assigned and based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) or a typical American diet (TAD). Cardiometabolic risk factors and salivary cortisol were assessed at baseline and at 8 wk. Primary outcome measures included 8-wk change in overnight fasted cardiometabolic risk factors, including blood pressure, BMI, and circulating triglycerides, cholesterol, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), nonesterified fatty acids, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. This trial was approved by the University of California, Davis, Institutional Review Board.ResultsBaseline waking cortisol concentrations interacted (P = 0.0474) with diet to affect 8-wk changes in fasting total cholesterol. Compared with a TAD, a DGA diet was associated with 8-wk decreases in total cholesterol in participants with low (10th percentile of all participants; 2.76 nmol/L) or average (7.76 nmol/L) but not higher (90th percentile of all participants; 13.44 nmol/L) baseline waking cortisol. Consistent with this finding, there was a DGA-specific positive association (P = 0.0047; b: 2.88 ± 0.94) between baseline waking cortisol and 8-wk increases in total cholesterol.ConclusionsThe underlying status of waking cortisol may explain interindividual variability in total cholesterol responses to whole-food diets. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02298725) as NCT02298725

Female breakfast skippers display a disrupted cortisol rhythm and elevated blood pressure

Chronic stress and over-activity in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis may link breakfast skipping and poor cardiometabolic health. Missing the first major meal of the day in rodents prolongs elevated circulating corticosterone at a time when it\u27s normally decreasing. To extend these findings to humans, we hypothesized that habitual breakfast skippers would display a similar pattern of circulating cortisol and alterations in meal and stress-induced cortisol reactions. Normal weight to obese women aged 18–45 years old who were strictly defined as either breakfast skippers (n = 30) or breakfast eaters (n = 35) were invited to participate in our study. Normal breakfast habits were maintained for the entire study period and each participant attended 4 lab visits. Over the first 2 lab visits, body composition, fasting clinical chemistries, and self-reports of chronic stress were assessed. On each of 2 additional days (lab visits 3 and 4), salivary free cortisol was measured at home upon waking and at bedtime, and in the lab in response to a standard lunch, ad libitum afternoon snack buffet, and stress and control (relaxation) tasks. The order of the control and stress test visits was randomized. While body weight, body composition, HOMA-IR, total and HDL cholesterol did not statistically differ (p N 0.05), both diastolic and systolic blood pressure was elevated (p b 0.01) and LDL cholesterol was lower (p = 0.04) in the breakfast skipper group. Compared to the breakfast eaters and on the control task visit only, breakfast skippers had higher circulating cortisol from arrival to midafternoon (p b 0.01) and during the snack buffet (p b 0.05). Furthermore, the lunch-induced cortisol reaction was larger in the ‘skippers’ (p = 0.03). On both stress and control visit days, the diurnal cortisol amplitude was significantly (p = 0.02) blunted in breakfast skippers. Self-reports of chronic stress did not differ between the groups. These data indicate that habitually skip- ping breakfast is associated with stress-independent over-activity in the HPA axis which, if prolonged, may increase risk (e.g., hypertension) for cardiometabolic disease in some people

Diet Quality for Sodium and Vegetables Mediate Effects of Whole Food Diets on 8-Week Changes in Stress Load

Very little is known about how whole food diets, such as those based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), influence psychological stress and physiological stress load. To better understand the effects of whole food diets on stress, we examined in a randomized control trial the effects of a DGA-based diet on markers of psychological and physiological stress. A randomized, double-blind, controlled 8-week intervention was conducted in overweight and obese women randomly assigned to one of two diet groups: a diet based on the 2010 DGA or a diet based on a Typical American Diet (TAD). The Perceived Stress Scale and allostatic load were used to assess stress load. Eight-week change in perceived stress did not significantly (p = 0.45) differ between the DGA (+0.53 ± 0.99) and TAD (−0.57 ± 0.99) groups. Likewise, 8-week change in allostatic load did not significantly (p = 0.79) differ between the two diet intervention groups (DGA: +0.001 ± 0.26 vs. TAD: +0.105 ± 0.28). However, we did find strong inverse associations between 8-week change in stress and intervention-based improvements in diet quality (lower sodium and higher vegetable consumption). When statistically accounting for these inverse associations, we found that perceived stress and allostatic load were higher (p < 0.04) in the DGA group. These findings suggest that improvements in dietary vegetable and sodium intake mediated effects of the diet intervention on psychological and physiological stress load. That is, adopting and adhering to a diet of higher quality (DGA) for 8 weeks may have been generally more stressful in the absence of improvements in vegetable or sodium consumption. This study provides further evidence for the mental health benefits of maximizing vegetable and minimizing sodium consumption