Exploring joint HPA-inflammatory stress response profiles in adolescent girls: Implications for developmental models of neuroendocrine dysregulation

Jason José Bendezú; Casey D Calhoun; Meghan Vinograd; Megan W Patterson; Karen D Rudolph; Matteo Giletta; Paul Hastings; Matthew K Nock; George M Slavich; Mitchell J Prinstein

doi:10.1002/dev.22247

Exploring joint HPA-inflammatory stress response profiles in adolescent girls: Implications for developmental models of neuroendocrine dysregulation

Dev Psychobiol. 2022 Mar;64(3):e22247. doi: 10.1002/dev.22247.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ The Institute of Child Development and Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
² Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
³ Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System and Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA.
⁶ Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁷ Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands.
⁸ Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California, USA.
⁹ Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁰ Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Abstract

Prior research has struggled to differentiate cortisol stress response patterns reflective of well-regulated versus dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function among adolescents. Here, we show how exploring profiles of joint HPA-inflammatory stress responsivity, and linking those profiles to pubertal development and peer stress exposure may aid such distinction. Adolescent girls (N = 157, M_age = 14.72 years, SD = 1.38) at risk for psychopathology completed assessments of salivary cortisol and pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6) prior to and following the Trier Social Stress Test. Adolescents, a close friend, and a caregiver completed questionnaire measures of peer stress and pubertal status. Multitrajectory modeling of adolescents' cortisol and cytokine levels revealed three profiles: low cortisol response-stably low cytokine (n = 75), high cortisol response-stably moderate cytokine (n = 47), and low cortisol response-stably high cytokine (n = 35). Relative to low cortisol response-stably low cytokine, adolescents exhibiting the high cortisol response-stably moderate cytokine profile were more advanced in their pubertal development, but presented with similarly low levels of peer stress exposure. Despite showing cortisol responses that were indistinguishable from low cortisol response-stably low cytokine, adolescents exhibiting the low cortisol response-stably high cytokine profile were more pubertally advanced, but also more likely to have experienced chronic peer strain (self-report) and relational peer victimization (close friend-report). These findings thus illustrate the potential value of taking a multisystem approach to studying adolescent stress responsivity and underscore the importance of considering developmental and social factors when interpreting cortisol stress response patterns. Ultimately, such work may help inform developmental models of neuroendocrine dysregulation and related risk for psychopathology.

Keywords: adolescent; cortisol; cytokine; development; health; inflammation.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Female
Humans
Hydrocortisone
Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
Pituitary-Adrenal System
Saliva*
Stress, Psychological*

Substances

Hydrocortisone

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding