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Basal or stress-induced cortisol and asthma development: the TRAILS study
Nienke M Vink1, H Marike Boezen, Dirkje S Postma
1University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groninger Research Institute for Asthma and COPD, Groningen, The Netherlands.
The European Respiratory Journal
|July 14, 2012
Summary
This study found no significant link between cortisol levels and asthma development in adolescents. Cortisol measurements, even under stress, did not predict asthma onset or presence in the TRAILS cohort.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
- Psychoneuroimmunology
Background:
- The relationship between the stress hormone cortisol and asthma remains incompletely understood.
- Previous research has yielded conflicting results regarding cortisol's role in asthma development and exacerbation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between cortisol levels and asthma or asthma development in adolescents.
- To examine the relationship between cortisol levels during stress and asthma.
- To conduct a meta-analysis of existing literature on basal cortisol and asthma.
Main Methods:
- The TRAILS study assessed cortisol (cortisol awakening response, AUCg, AUCi, evening cortisol) and asthma status/development in 2230 adolescents (ages 11-16).
- Logistic regression models were used to analyze associations.
- A meta-analysis of nine case-control studies on basal cortisol in asthma was performed.
Main Results:
- No significant associations were found between cortisol levels and asthma or asthma development at ages 11, 14, or 16.
- Cortisol levels under stress did not show a significant association with asthma at age 16.
- The meta-analysis indicated lower, but not statistically significant, morning and evening cortisol levels in asthmatics compared to non-asthmatics.
Conclusions:
- The study found no evidence to support a role for cortisol in the development or presence of asthma in adolescents.
- Current findings suggest that cortisol dysregulation is unlikely to be a primary driver of asthma in this age group.
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