Midlife symptoms and household stress are associated with fingernail cortisol

Abstract

Objective This study investigates menopausal symptoms, household stressors, and ethnopolitical problems in relation to stress markers, including chronic stress measured by fingernail cortisol, perceived stress measured by the Perceived Stress Scale, and acute stress measured by blood pressure. Methods Data from 151 women aged 40 to 55 years were collected from four regions in Nagaland, India, using opportunity sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic and lifestyle variables. Symptoms were grouped into emotional instability, vasosomatic symptoms, mood disturbances, and aches and pains using principal component analysis in a previous study, and stress markers included fingernail cortisol, perceived stress, and blood pressure. Community-level, household-level, and midlife symptoms were included to ascertain stressors from different sources. Results Our results revealed a significant positive association between a composite measure of emotional instability and stress assessed by fingernail cortisol (β = 0.46, P < 0.001). In addition, there was a positive association between mood disturbances and fingernail cortisol (β = 0.24, P < 0.05). This relationship persisted after controlling for body mass index, socioeconomic status, and menopausal status. In addition, household problems were positively associated with fingernail cortisol (β = 0.25, P = 0.01). Conclusions These findings highlight the potential health impacts of the psychosocial stress response associated with domestic stressors such as financial strain and concerns about children and health.