Psychological traits and the cortisol awakening response Results from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety》.pdf

Psychoneuroendocrinology (2011) 36, 240—248 avail abl e a t www.s ciencedirect.c om jou rn a l ho m e p ag e : ww w. el s ev i er. c o m / lo c a t e /p s y n eu en Psychological traits and the cortisol awakening response: Results from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety Aafke van Santen a,b, Sophie A. Vreeburg b, A.J. Willem Van der Does c,d, Philip Spinhoven c,d, Frans G. Zitman d, Brenda W.J.H. Penninx b,d,e,* a VU University, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Master of Clinical Psychology, van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands b Department of Psychiatry/EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research/Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, A.J. Ernststraat 887, 1081 HL Amsterdam, The Netherlands c Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9555, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands d Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands e Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, P.O. Box 30001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands Received 25 February 2010; received in revised form 13 June 2010; accepted 15 July 2010 KEYWORDS Summary Salivary cortisol; Background: Hypothalamus—Pituitary—Adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation is often seen in major Cortisol awakening depression, and is thought to represent a trait vulnerability — rather than merely an illness marker response; — for depressive disorder and possibly anxiety disorder. Vulnerability traits associated with stress- HPA axis; related disorders might reflect increased sensitivity for the development of psychopathology Personality; through an association with HPA axis activity. Few studies hav