Maternal cortisol in late pregnancy and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal reactivity to psychosocial stress postpartum in women

Figures & data

Figure 1  Cortisol awakening responses. Plot of the salivary CAR (mean ± standard error of mean, SEM) at 36th WG, week of gestation (solid line, squares; n = 22) and at 6 weeks postpartum (dotted line, bullets; n = 15). *Statistically significant increase in salivary cortisol from awakening to 30 min after awakening [paired one-tailed t-tests; 36th WG: t(21) = 3.48, P = 0.001; 6 weeks postpartum: t(14) = 2.05, P = 0.029].

Table I.  Hormone levels before (baseline, between 2 and 3 pm) and at the peak level (within 1 and 60 min) after the TSST.

	Baseline	Peak	T(DF)-value^*	P-value
ACTH (pg/ml)	23.94 (7.82)	48.28 (30.89)	t(21) = 4.06	< 0.001
Plasma cortisol (μg/dl)	6.24 (1.87)	9.93 (3.98)	t(21) = 5.01	< 0.001
Salivary cortisol (nmol/l)	6.21 (2.39)	12.24 (6.51)	t(21) = 5.39	< 0.001

N = 22. Data expressed as mean (SD); ACTH, adrenocorticotropin; DF, degrees of freedom

* Paired one-tailed t-test for change in hormone concentrations from baseline to peak after stress.

Figure 2  Hormonal stress responses in lactation by CAR at 36th WG. Scatter plots of the linear regression analyses (n = 22) of the AUCg of the salivary CAR at 36th WG (predictor) and hormonal responses to the TSST at 8 weeks postpartum (dependant measures), namely ACTH (Panel A), plasma cortisol (Panel B), and salivary cortisol (Panel C). The figures show the observed values, the regression line (solid line), and the 95% confidence interval (dotted lines). ACTH, adrenocorticotropin; AUCg, area under the curve with respect to ground; TSST, Trier Social Stress Test.

Figure 3  Hormonal stress responses in lactation by CAR at 6 weeks postpartum. Scatter plots of the linear regression analyses (n = 15) of the AUCg of the salivary CAR at 6 weeks postpartum (predictor) and hormonal responses to the TSST at 8 weeks postpartum (dependant measures), namely ACTH (Panel A), plasma cortisol (Panel B), and salivary cortisol (Panel C). The figures show the observed values, the regression line (solid line), and the 95% confidence interval (dotted lines). ACTH, adrenocorticotropin; AUCg, area under the curve with respect to ground; TSST, Trier Social Stress Test.