Latest Cortisol Stories

Recent studies show that one in three Canadians suffer from stress and the number is on the rise. But stress isn't a new problem.While the physiological state wasn't properly named until the 1930s, new research from The University of Western Ontario proves stress has plagued humans for hundreds, and perhaps thousands of years.The first study of its kind, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, detected the stress hormone cortisol in the hair of ancient Peruvians, who lived between...

Difficult-to-treat asthma often may have more to do with patients who do not take their medication as instructed than ineffective medication, according to researchers in Northern Ireland."[A] significant proportion of patients with difficult asthma are poorly adherent to inhaled and oral corticosteroid therapy," wrote principal investigator, Dr. Liam Heaney, of Belfast City Hospital.The results of the study were published in the November 1 issue of the American Journal of...

 Experiencing chronic stress day after day can produce wear and tear on the body physically and mentally, and can have a detrimental effect on learning and emotion. However, acute stress -- a short stressful incident -- may enhance learning and memory.Researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown, in trials using rodents as an animal model, that acute stress can produce a beneficial effect on learning and memory, through the effect of the stress hormone corticosterone (cortisol in...

Overweight and obese people may face more struggles with losing weight during tough economic times, according to a report issued on Wednesday.Lead researcher Dr. Jason Block of Harvard Medical School in Boston said that although doctors know that stress can be the root of many health issues, experts have little evidence to show its impact on weight gain."Where you start in terms of your weight seems to matter in how stress is associated with weight gain," Block, who conducted the...

Children whose families are poor early in their lives have an increased risk of chronic disease later in life, Canadian researchers said. University of British Columbia researchers Gregory Miller and Michael Kobor performed genome-wide profiling in 103 healthy adults age 25-40, who were either experienced low or high early-life socioeconomic circumstances related to income, education and occupation during the first five years of life. The two groups were similar in socioeconomic status at...

People's early-life experience sticks with them into adulthood and may render them more susceptible to many of the chronic diseases of aging, according to a new UBC study.A team led by UBC researchers Gregory Miller and Michael Kobor performed genome-wide profiling in 103 healthy adults aged 25-40 years.Those who participated in the study were either low or high in early-life socioeconomic circumstances related to income, education and occupation during the first five years of life. But the...

Stressed out, man? Don't go to Vegas "“ send your wife instead.New research shows men under stress may be more likely to engage in risky behavior such as gambling, smoking, unsafe sex and illegal drug use. In contrast, stressed women moderate their behavior and may be less likely to make risky choices, the study found."Evolutionarily speaking, it's perhaps more beneficial for men to be aggressive in stressful, high-arousal situations when risk and reward are involved," Nichole...

Stressed out, dude? Don't go to Vegas.New research, to be published July 1 in the journal PLoS One, shows that men under stress may be more likely to take risks, correlating to such real-life behavior as gambling, smoking, unsafe sex and illegal drug use.In contrast, stressed women moderate their behavior and may be less likely to make risky choices, the study found."Evolutionarily speaking, it's perhaps more beneficial for men to be aggressive in stressful, high-arousal situations when...

It is well documented that police officers have a higher risk of developing heart disease: The question is why.In the most recent results coming out of one of the few long-term studies being conducted within this tightly knit society, University at Buffalo researchers have determined that underlying the higher incidence of subclinical atherosclerosis -- arterial thickening that precedes a heart attack or stroke -- may be the stress of police work."We took lifestyle factors that generally...

Visitors can see how their stress levels could affect the heart rate of their unborn baby and find out why pregnant women should reduce their anxiety, at a new exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, which opens today (30 June 2009).The researchers behind the exhibit, from Imperial College London, hope that it will raise families' awareness of the importance of reducing levels of stress and anxiety in expectant mothers. They say that reducing stress during pregnancy could help...