Sex-related differences in the associations between diurnal cortisol pattern and social and emotional loneliness in older adults

Díaz-Mardomingo, María del Carmen, Utrera, Lucía, Baliyan, Shishir, García-Herranz, Sara, Suárez-Falcón, Juan Carlos, Rodríguez-Fernández, Raquel, Sampedro-Piquero, Patricia, Valencia, Azucena y Venero, César . (2023) Sex-related differences in the associations between diurnal cortisol pattern and social and emotional loneliness in older adults. Frontiers in Psychology.14:1199405

Ficheros (Some files may be inaccessible until you login with your e-spacio credentials)
Nombre Descripción Tipo MIME Size
Su__rez-Falc__n_Juan_Carlos_Sex_differences_Cor.pdf Suárez-Falcón_Juan Carlos_Sex differences Cor.pdf Click to show the corresponding preview/stream application/pdf; 1.58MB

Título Sex-related differences in the associations between diurnal cortisol pattern and social and emotional loneliness in older adults
Autor(es) Díaz-Mardomingo, María del Carmen
Utrera, Lucía
Baliyan, Shishir
García-Herranz, Sara
Suárez-Falcón, Juan Carlos
Rodríguez-Fernández, Raquel
Sampedro-Piquero, Patricia
Valencia, Azucena
Venero, César
Materia(s) Psicología
Abstract Loneliness is a distressful feeling that can affect mental and physical health, particularly among older adults. Cortisol, the primary hormone of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA-axis), may act as a biological transducer through which loneliness affects health. While most previous studies have evaluated the association between loneliness, as a unidimensional construct, and diurnal cortisol pattern, no research has examined this relationship discriminating between social and emotional loneliness in older adults. As sex differences in the negative mental health outcomes of loneliness have been reported, we also investigated whether diurnal cortisol indices and loneliness associations occur in a sex-specific manner. We analyzed the diurnal cortisol- pattern in 142 community-dwelling, non-depressed, Caucasian older adults (55,6% female) aged 60-90. Social and emotional (family and romantic) loneliness scores were assessed using the Spanish version of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA). Five salivary cortisol samples were used to capture key features of the diurnal cortisol pattern, including: awakening and bedtime cortisol levels, awakening response (CAR), post-awakening cortisol output (post-awakening cortisol [i.e., the area under the curve with reference to the ground: AUCG]), total diurnal cortisol release (AUCG), and diurnal cortisol slope (DCS). After controlling for sociodemographic variables, the hierarchical linear multiple regression analyses revealed that in male older adults, higher scores on social and family loneliness were associated with elevated awakening cortisol levels, total diurnal cortisol output, and a steeper diurnal cortisol slope (DCS). However, these associations were not observed in female older adults. In addition, feelings of romantic loneliness were positively associated with bedtime cortisol levels and AUCG in older males. Multilevel growth curve modeling showed that experiencing more social and emotional loneliness predicted higher diurnal cortisol output throughout the day in older male adults. The presence of sex differences in the relationship between cortisol indices and loneliness among older adults holds particular significance for diagnostic and screening procedures. Combining loneliness scales as screening tools with diurnal cortisol measures has the potential to be an effective and cost-efficient approach in identifying higher-risk individuals at early stages
Editor(es) Frontiers Media
Fecha 2023
Formato application/pdf
Identificador bibliuned:DptoMCC-FPSI-Articulos-JCsuarez-003
http://e-spacio.uned.es/fez/view/bibliuned:DptoMCC-FPSI-Articulos-JCsuarez-003
DOI - identifier https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1199405
ISSN - identifier 1664-1078
Nombre de la revista Frontiers in Psychology
Número de Volumen 14-1199405
Publicado en la Revista Frontiers in Psychology.14:1199405
Idioma eng
Versión de la publicación acceptedVersion
Tipo de recurso Article
Derechos de acceso y licencia http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Tipo de acceso Acceso abierto
Notas adicionales The registered version of this article, first published in Frontiers in Psychology, is available online at the publisher's website: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1199405
Notas adicionales La versión registrada de este artículo, publicado por primera vez en Frontiers in Psychology, está disponible en línea en el sitio web del editor: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1199405

 
Versiones
Versión Tipo de filtro
Contador de citas: Google Scholar Search Google Scholar
Estadísticas de acceso: 46 Visitas, 8 Descargas  -  Estadísticas en detalle
Creado: Tue, 23 Jan 2024, 01:52:57 CET