Pubertal recalibration of cortisol-DHEA coupling in previously-institutionalized children

As a period of heightened plasticity, puberty may provide a window of opportunity for recalibration of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to current conditions. Our group has recently documented evidence for pubertal recalibration of HPA axis reactivity among children internationally adopted as infants from institutions into supportive, well-resourced homes. As a first step at examining potential mechanisms by which puberty may facilitate recalibration of the HPA axis, the current study assessed whether previously-institutionalized (PI) children differed from non-adopted (NA) comparison children in levels of the adrenal steroid hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and in its intra-individual covariation (coupling) with cortisol by adrenal pubertal stage. In an accelerated longitudinal design, 7- to 15-year-olds completed up to 3 annual assessments, which included nurse-conducted pubertal staging and the Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-M). Adrenal (pubic hair) rather than gonadal pubertal stage scores were used in the analysis. Paired salivary cortisol-DHEA samples were available at 60-80 min post-TSST-M. NA and PI children did not differ in DHEA levels, which were higher among children at more advanced pubertal stages (averaged across the sessions) for both groups. For NA children, post-stressor cortisol and DHEA were positively coupled across sessions at all average adrenal pubertal stages. For PI children who were, on average, at earlier adrenal pubertal stages, post-stressor cortisol and DHEA were not coupled, but PI children who were at later pubertal stages demonstrated positive cortisol-DHEA coupling similar to that of the NA children. We suggest that these findings provide insights into processes which may underlie pubertal recalibration of the HPA axis.