Measuring stress: a review of the current cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) measurement techniques and considerations for the future of mental health monitoring

Ahmed, Tashfia; Qassem, Meha; Kyriacou, Panayiotis A.

doi:10.1080/10253890.2022.2164187

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Therefore, we chose to investigate HPA dysregulation and its possible detrimental impact on PWH during opioid withdrawal by analyzing the cortisol/DHEA-S ratio, since this parameter provides a useful measure of the relative activity of both adrenocortical steroids and an index of HPA dysfunction. Consistent with our findings relating worse global cognition (including learning, which is a key aspect of episodic memory) and more dysphoric symptoms to higher cortisol/DHEA-S ratio, prior studies have reported that elevated cortisol/DHEA-S ratios were associated with memory impairment as well as depression and high stress states [ 44 , 45 , 46 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Effects of Opioid Withdrawal on Psychobiology in People Living with HIV

Grant,

Krupitsky,

Vetrova

et al. 2024

Viruses

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Objective: Many persons with opioid use disorders (OUDs) have HIV disease and experience clinically significant stress after they enroll in abstinence-based treatment and undergo medically assisted withdrawal. We examined whether opioid withdrawal affects virologic control, inflammatory markers, cognition, and mood in persons with an OUD and HIV, and explored whether measures of withdrawal stress, such as activation of the HPA axis, contribute to alterations in immune function, cognition, and mood. Method and participants: Study participants were 53 persons with HIV who were admitted for OUD treatment at the City Addiction Hospital in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. Participants were examined at admission, at the anticipated peak of withdrawal 3 to 7 days after the last day of a clonidine-based withdrawal process lasting 7 to 14 days, and 3 to 4 weeks after completing withdrawal. At these times, participants received medical exams and were evaluated for symptoms of withdrawal, as well as cognition and mood. Viral load, plasma cortisol, DHEA sulfate ester (DHEA-S), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and soluble CD14 (sCD14) were determined. Multivariable models examined the relationships between markers of HPA activation and the other parameters over time. Results: HPA activation as indexed by cortisol/DHEA-S ratio increased during withdrawal, as did markers of immune activation, IL-6 and sCD14. There were no significant associations between viral load and indicators of HPA activation. In longitudinal analyses, higher cortisol/DHEA sulfate was related to worse cognition overall, and more mood disturbance. Increase in IL-6 was associated with worse cognitive performance on a learning task. There were no significant associations with sCD14. Conclusions: Worsening of cognition and measures of mood disturbance during withdrawal were associated with activation of the HPA axis and some measures of inflammation. Whether repeated episodes of opioid withdrawal have a cumulative impact on long-term HIV outcomes and neurocognition is a topic for further investigation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Effects of Opioid Withdrawal on Psychobiology in People Living with HIV

Grant,

Krupitsky,

Vetrova

et al. 2024

Viruses

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“…Moreover, the introduction of other stress-related biomarkers would lead to robust modelling of user stress profiles, such as the inclusion of other stress hormones like adrenaline and noradrenaline or antagonistic biomarkers like dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S). The antagonistic relationship between cortisol and DHEA-S should be considered for the complete comprehension of stress regulation in the human body [33]. The current study has proposed a method for the optical determination of cortisol in samples of artificial saliva with great sensitivity and accuracy, as well as the development of a proof-of-concept sensor that quantifies the colorimetric reaction to ensure precise results are obtained as a readout signal within 10 min.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colorimetric Determination of Salivary Cortisol Levels in Artificial Saliva for the Development of a Portable Colorimetric Sensor (Salitrack)

Ahmed,

Powner,

Qassem

et al. 2024

Sci

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Mental illnesses, such as clinical depression, have taken an unprecedented toll on society and the economy on a global scale. The relationship between stress management and mental health decline is of utmost significance, especially as most avenues of mental health management remain inaccessible for the majority of the general public, i.e., interview-based, and face-to-face interventions or costly drug-based therapies. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, regulates the stress response in the human body and, through persistent activation, can lead to chronic stress and mental health deterioration. Thereby, the measurement and evaluation of cortisol within saliva could harness potential developments in management and diagnostic tools to monitor physiological and psychological stress in simple point-of-care applications. The current study aims to determine the concentration of salivary cortisol in spiked artificial saliva samples using blue tetrazolium (BT) dye as a colorimetric indicator. The proposed method showcases the use of the BT dye as an effective method for the rapid measurement of salivary cortisol, with accuracy comparable to the gold-standard method for salivary cortisol analysis, enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISAs). Finally, a prototype colorimetric sensor has been developed for point-of-care applications of stress monitoring via salivary cortisol measurement.

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“…The bootstrapping approach is especially useful to establish confidence intervals for the mediation effects, since the adoption of a significance test that assumes a normal distribution, when there is evidence that the distribution of mediation effect is not normal, may not be appropriate ( Cheung and Lau, 2008 ). In addition, as previous research has shown an association between DHEA(s) concentrations and sex as well as age, the model was estimated controlling for the effect of these demographic variables ( Petros et al, 2013 ; Lennartsson et al, 2013b ; Qiao et al, 2017 ; Ahmed et al, 2023 ). Similarly, sex and age differences in work engagement are reported in the literature ( Eurofound, 2022 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The last hypothesis concerns the focal association between WE and hair DHEA(S), considered in this study as a possible biomarker of employees’ well-being. As well as being a precursor to sex steroid, DHEA(S) is an anabolic steroid that plays a regenerative role in the body ( Dutheil et al, 2021 ), improves physical well-being ( Ahmed et al, 2023 ), and contributes to increasing motivation and overall well-being. Moreover, DHEA(S) affects neurosteroidogenis and endorphin synthesis or release ( Pluchino et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hair dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate as biomarker of employees’ well-being? A longitudinal investigation of support, resilience, and work engagement during COVID-19 pandemic

Girardi,

Dal Corso,

Arcucci

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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IntroductionBuilding on the motivational process of the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, in the current research we investigated the longitudinal association between supervisor support/resilience as job/personal resources, work engagement (WE) and hair dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, or DHEA(S), as a possible biomarker of employees’ well-being.MethodsIn the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, 122 workers completed two self-report questionnaires (i.e., psychological data): the former at Time 1 (T1) and the latter three months afterwards, at Time 2 (T2). Participants also collected a strand of hair (i.e., biological data) at T2.ResultsResults from path analysis showed that both SS and resilience at T1 were positively related to WE at T2, which, in its turn, was positively related to hair DHEA(S) at T2. Both SS and resilience at T1 had a positive indirect effect on hair DHEA(S) at T2 through WE at T2, which fully mediated the association between job/personal resources and hair DHEA(S).DiscussionOverall, results are consistent with the motivational process of the JD-R. Furthermore, this study provides preliminary evidence for the role of hair DHEA(S) as a biomarker of WE, a type of work-related subjective well-being that plays a central role in the motivational process of the JD-R, leading to favorable personal and organizational outcomes. Finally, the article outlines practical implications for organizations and professionals to foster WE within the workplace.

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Measuring stress: a review of the current cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) measurement techniques and considerations for the future of mental health monitoring

Cited by 17 publications

References 69 publications

Effects of Opioid Withdrawal on Psychobiology in People Living with HIV

Effects of Opioid Withdrawal on Psychobiology in People Living with HIV

Colorimetric Determination of Salivary Cortisol Levels in Artificial Saliva for the Development of a Portable Colorimetric Sensor (Salitrack)

Hair dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate as biomarker of employees’ well-being? A longitudinal investigation of support, resilience, and work engagement during COVID-19 pandemic

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