Hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone and their associations with optimism and pessimism in older people

Mariola Zapater-Fajarí; Isabel Crespo-Sanmiguel; Teresa Montoliu; Vanesa Hidalgo; Alicia Salvador

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105474

Hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone and their associations with optimism and pessimism in older people

Horm Behav. 2024 Mar:159:105474. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105474. Epub 2024 Jan 8.

Authors

Mariola Zapater-Fajarí¹, Isabel Crespo-Sanmiguel¹, Teresa Montoliu¹, Vanesa Hidalgo², Alicia Salvador³

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Cognitive Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology and IDOCAL, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
² Laboratory of Cognitive Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology and IDOCAL, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Department of Psychology and Sociology, Area of Psychobiology, University of Zaragoza, Teruel, Spain. Electronic address: vhidalgo@unizar.es.
³ Laboratory of Cognitive Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychobiology and IDOCAL, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Spanish National Network for Research in Mental Health CIBERSAM, 28029, Spain.

PMID: 38194858
DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105474

Abstract

The cumulative negative effects of prolonged Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA axis) activation are associated with several age-related diseases. Some psychological traits such as optimism and pessimism have been shown to be related to both health and the stress response, although their relationship with the HPA axis is inconclusive. More stable HPA axis biomarkers, such as hair samples of cortisol (HC) and dehydroepiandrosterone (HDHEA), would help to clarify the association between these psychological traits and HPA axis functioning. The main aim of this study was to test the relationships between optimism and pessimism and chronic stress biomarkers measured in hair (HC and HDHEA). Additionally, a secondary objective was to explore sex differences in HC and HDHEA levels and their relationship with these psychological traits. We measured optimism, pessimism, and their combination (dispositional optimism) using the Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R) and chronic stress biomarkers (HC and HDHEA) in 119 healthy participants (46 men and 73 women) between 56 and 81 years old who belonged to a university program. Regression analyses controlling for perceived stress and BMI indicated that higher dispositional optimism was related to lower HC and HC:HDHEA_ratio (β = -0.256, p = .008 and β = -0.300, p = .002, respectively). More specifically, higher pessimism was related to higher HC (β = 0.235; p = .012) and HC:HDHEA_ratio (β = 0.240; p = .011), whereas higher optimism was associated with a lower HC:HDHEA_ratio(β = -0.205; p = .031). Moderation analyses showed no sex differences. To date, this is the first study to investigate the link between these traits and HC and HDHEA in older people. Our results confirm that positive and negative expectations about the future (i.e. optimism and pessimism) may play an important role in health due to their relationship with the HPA axis. They also strengthen the idea that the negative effects of pessimism have a greater weight than the protective effects of optimism in their relationship with HPA axis regulation.

Keywords: Aging; Hair DHEA; Hair cortisol; Older people; Optimism; Pessimism.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biomarkers / analysis
Dehydroepiandrosterone
Female
Hair / chemistry
Humans
Hydrocortisone* / analysis
Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
Male
Middle Aged
Pessimism* / psychology
Pituitary-Adrenal System

Substances

Hydrocortisone
Biomarkers
Dehydroepiandrosterone