Diurnal cortisol patterns and stress reactivity in child Holocaust survivors reaching old age

Abstract

Objectives: Late-life implications of early traumatic stress for the adreno-cortical system were examined in a sample of 133 child survivors of the Holocaust, who were subjected to Nazi persecution during infancy.

Method: In a non-convenience sample of child survivors, born between 1935 and 1944, basal circadian cortisol release and cortisol reactivity to a stressor were assessed.

Results: Age, parental loss during the Holocaust, current depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and physical illness were not associated with differences in basal diurnal cortisol levels. Neuro-endocrine effects, however, were found in stress reactivity through elevated cortisol levels in male respondents in the youngest age group (born 1941–1945), and in male respondents suffering from PTSD-related functional impairment.

Conclusion: The youngest survivors of Nazi persecution show late-life effects of traumatic stress during early childhood, evidenced by the early onset of differential neuroendocrine pathways to stress-regulating strategies.

Keywords:

• early childhood traumatic stress
• neuroendocrine pathways
• late life stress regulation
• cortisol
• PTSD
• Holocaust