Dataset Information

Exploring associations between diurnal cortisol, stress, coping and psychopathology in adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

ABSTRACT:

Background

22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a neurogenetic condition associated to a high risk for psychiatric disorders, including psychosis. Individuals with 22q11DS are thought to experience increased levels of chronic stress, which could lead to alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA)-axis functioning. In the current study, we investigated for the first time diurnal salivary cortisol profiles in adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS as well as their link with stress exposure, coping strategies and psychopathology, including psychotic symptoms.

Methods

Salivary cortisol was collected from adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS (n = 30, age = 19.7) and matched healthy controls (HC; n = 36, age = 18.5) six times a day for two days. Exposure to stressful life events, including peer victimization, coping strategies and general psychopathology were assessed with questionnaires. Psychotic symptoms and psychiatric comorbidities were evaluated with clinical interviews.

Results

We observed similar daily levels and diurnal profiles of salivary cortisol in adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS compared to HCs. However, participants with 22q11DS reported less frequent exposure to stress than HCs. In 22q11DS, we observed a significant association between the use of non-adaptive coping strategies and the severity of psychotics symptoms. Cortisol level was not associated to severity of psychotic symptoms, but elevated cortisol awakening response (CAR) was found in participants with 22q11DS with higher levels of general psychopathology.

Conclusions

Our results do not support earlier propositions of altered HPA-axis functioning in 22q11DS but highlight the need to further investigate diurnal cortisol as an indicator of HPA-axis functioning and its link with (earlier) stress exposure and psychopathology in this population. Interventions should target the development of adaptive coping skills in preventing psychosis in 22q11DS.

SUBMITTER: Ilen L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9216249 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Exploring associations between diurnal cortisol, stress, coping and psychopathology in adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

Ilen Laura L Feller Clémence C Eliez Stephan S Micol Eva E Delavari Farnaz F Sandi Carmen C Zanoletti Olivia O Schneider Maude M

Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology 20211215

<h4>Background</h4>22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a neurogenetic condition associated to a high risk for psychiatric disorders, including psychosis. Individuals with 22q11DS are thought to experience increased levels of chronic stress, which could lead to alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA)-axis functioning. In the current study, we investigated for the first time diurnal salivary cortisol profiles in adolescents and young adults with 22q11DS as well as their link ...[more]

PMID: 35755923

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundAdversity exposure and the negative psychological responses that often result have been linked with poor physical health outcomes and deteriorative physiological processes, like dysregulated circulating cortisol. Individuals exposed to early adversity who also demonstrate positive psychological functioning may be characterized as psychologically resilient, but few studies have evaluated whether psychological resilience may disrupt the health-damaging effects of adversity. We tested the hypothesis that among young adults exposed to early adversity, those who are psychologically resilient may manifest more normative diurnal cortisol patterns relative to those who experience more psychological distress.MethodsData are from Growing Up Today Study I participants who provided information on psychological resilience and diurnal salivary cortisol (n = 916). Psychological resilience was derived from self-report questionnaires administered between 2007 and 2010, and salivary cortisol was obtained from saliva samples collected between 2011 and 2014. The predictor of interest, psychological resilience, was defined using two domains: (1) adversity exposure measured via a count of 7 potential psychosocial adversities experienced before age 18, and (2) psychological health in young adulthood measured via a composite score reflecting low psychological distress and high positive affect. The outcome was mean log-transformed diurnal salivary cortisol across 4 samples from one day. Linear regressions evaluated associations of adversity, psychological health, and their potential multiplicative interaction with mean diurnal log-transformed cortisol, adjusting for baseline socio-demographic variables and biological and behavioral factors from the day of saliva sampling.ResultsRelatively few individuals with high adversity demonstrated positive psychological health. Both adversity exposure and psychological health were independently associated with mean log cortisol levels. Models stratified by lower versus higher adversity suggested complex relationships with cortisol, however the interaction between adversity and psychological health was not statistically significant. High adversity was associated with blunted cortisol levels, regardless of psychological health. Conversely, among those with lower adversity, overall levels of cortisol were higher and psychological health associated with more normative, lower cortisol levels.ConclusionsPsychological resilience domains were independently associated with diurnal salivary cortisol in young adulthood. High burden of early adversity may disrupt the physiological stress system, while psychological health may be associated with more normative cortisol levels when adversity is low.

Project description:Background22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) is a genetic disorder characterized by the deletion of adjacent genes at a location specified as q11.2 of chromosome 22, resulting in an array of clinical phenotypes including autistic spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, congenital heart defects, and immune deficiency. Many characteristics of the disorder are known, such as the phenotypic variability of the disease and the biological processes associated with it; however, the exact and systemic molecular mechanisms between the deleted area and its resulting clinical phenotypic expression, for example that of neuropsychiatric diseases, are not yet fully understood.ResultsUsing previously published transcriptomics data (GEO:GSE59216), we constructed two datasets: one set compares 22q11DS patients experiencing neuropsychiatric diseases versus healthy controls, and the other set 22q11DS patients without neuropsychiatric diseases versus healthy controls. We modified and applied the pathway interaction method, originally proposed by Kelder et al. (2011), on a network created using the WikiPathways pathway repository and the STRING protein-protein interaction database. We identified genes and biological processes that were exclusively associated with the development of neuropsychiatric diseases among the 22q11DS patients. Compared with the 22q11DS patients without neuropsychiatric diseases, patients experiencing neuropsychiatric diseases showed significant overrepresentation of regulated genes involving the natural killer cell function and the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway, with affected genes being closely associated with downregulation of CRK like proto-oncogene adaptor protein. Both the pathway interaction and the pathway overrepresentation analysis observed the disruption of the same biological processes, even though the exact lists of genes collected by the two methods were different.ConclusionsUsing the pathway interaction method, we were able to detect a molecular network that could possibly explain the development of neuropsychiatric diseases among the 22q11DS patients. This way, our method was able to complement the pathway overrepresentation analysis, by filling the knowledge gaps on how the affected pathways are linked to the original deletion on chromosome 22. We expect our pathway interaction method could be used for problems with similar contexts, where complex genetic mechanisms need to be identified to explain the resulting phenotypic plasticity.

Dataset Information

Exploring associations between diurnal cortisol, stress, coping and psychopathology in adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Exploring associations between diurnal cortisol, stress, coping and psychopathology in adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets