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Atopic Adolescents Display Lower Cortisol Response To Stress

Atopic adolescents display lower cortisol response to stress that could help explain the link between stress and exacerbated atopic illness, researchers in the United States suggest.

Investigators from the University of Colorado in Boulder and the National Jewish Medical and Research Centre in Denver, report that atopic adolescents have an attenuated cortisol response to the stress of laboratory procedures compared with adolescents with positive skin tests only or non-atopic adolescents.

Patients with allergic disorders demonstrate variations in cortisol patterns under both natural and stress conditions, the researchers explain. They therefore examined hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis differences in a community sample of 202 adolescents.

Participants had a mean age of 16.2 years; 52% were male. Atopic status was established using skin testing and clinical history. Saliva samples were taken four times a day on a typical day and then four times again during laboratory procedures.

A clinical atopic disorder, primarily allergic rhinitis, was found in 33% of participants. Another 39% had positive skin tests but did not display clinical symptoms. There were no signs or symptoms of allergy in 27% of participants.

"Presence of clinical atopy was significantly associated with lower cortisol levels in response to laboratory stressors," the investigators state.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2003;111:3:509-514. "Adolescents with atopic disorders have an attenuated cortisol response to laboratory stress"

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