Religion, spirituality and diurnal rhythms of salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone in postmenopausal women.

ABSTRACT: Religion and spirituality (R/S) are important resources for coping with stress and are hypothesized to influence health outcomes via modulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, though this has not been evaluated extensively. In this study, we examined associations between several measures of religiosity or spirituality (R/S) and three HPA axis biomarkers: cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and cortisol: DHEA ratio. Sample included 216 female postmenopausal Nurses' Health Study II participants who provided up to five timed saliva samples: immediately upon awakening, 45 min, 4 h, and 10 h after waking, and prior to going to sleep during a single day in 2013. Multivariable-adjusted linear mixed models with piecewise cubic spline functions and adjustment for potential co

SUBMITTER: Isehunwa OO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8297624 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature