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Salivary cortisol and cold pain sensitivity in female twins
Kathryn M Godfrey1, Eric Strachan, Elizabeth Dansie
1Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Background:
There is a dearth of knowledge about the link between cortisol and pain sensitivity.
Purpose:
We examined the association of salivary cortisol with indices of cold pain sensitivity in 198 female twins and explored the role of familial confounding.
Methods:
Three-day saliva samples were collected for cortisol levels and a cold pressor test was used to collect pain ratings and time to threshold and tolerance. Linear regression modeling with generalized estimating equations examined the overall and within-pair associations.
Results:
Lower diurnal variation of cortisol was associated with higher pain ratings at threshold (p = 0.02) and tolerance (p < 0.01). The relationship of diurnal variation with pain ratings at threshold and tolerance was minimally influenced by familial factors (i.e., genetics and common environment).
Conclusions:
Understanding the genetic and non-genetic mechanisms underlying the link between HPA axis dysregulation and pain sensitivity may help to prevent chronic pain development and maintenance.
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