Depression and Trajectories of the Physiological Stress Response After Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Year: 2009
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The current study used McEwen's (1998) theory of allostatic load to investigate the relationship of depression to the stress hormones cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), epinephrine and norepinephrine in breast cancer patients.Stage II or III breast cancer patients (n=227) were assessed following surgery and prior to adjuvant treatment and at 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24 month follow-ups.Hierarchical linear modeling was used.Depression in the year one was negatively related to cortisol but positively related to greater increases of cortisol.Depression was related to greater decreases in epinephrine in the first year and negatively related to epinephrine in year two.Depression was not related to ACTH or norepinephrine.Results indicate blunting of physiological responding, McEwen's (1998) fourth condition of allostatic load.Results suggest that effects of stress are not static.
Author: Salene M. Wu
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Behavioral Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2600598287