29
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    2
    shares

      To submit to Bentham Journals, please click here

      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Quality of Life, Cortisol Blood Levels and Exercise in Older Adults: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Introduction: Cortisol plays a central role in the stress response; while high stress can determine physical and psychological impairment, moderate stress, with a mild increase in cortisol level, may have a positive effect on coping and physical performance. This trial attempted to determine whether cortisol levels were associated with Quality of Life (QoL) in a sample of elderly subjects undertaking an exercise program. Methods: 42 subjects aged ≥65 years were randomlyassigned in a 1:1 fashion either to a vigorous physical activity (VAG: N=21) or to a postural gimnastic group (PGG: N=21). Differences between the two groups in QoL (on SF-12), and blood cortisol levels were assessed by ANOVA at different times. Results: In both the VAG and PGG, cortisol levels rose at the end of the trial, with statistically significant differences as compared to the baseline. QoL at the end of the trial was higher than in the national normative sample. Cortisol and QoL in both groups decreased slightly 12 weeks after the end of the trial (T2); however, only in the VAG did the difference from the initial level remain statistically significant. At T1 and T2, subjects with higher SF-12 scores were found in subsamples in both groups with cortisol levels moderately increased (between 200 and 300 mg/ml). Conclusion: In a sample of elderly subjects undergoing two different kinds of exercise, a better perception of Quality of Life was associated with a moderate, non-pathological increase in cortisol. The results need to be confirmed by trials on larger samples.

          Related collections

          Most cited references21

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Why do we respond so differently? Reviewing determinants of human salivary cortisol responses to challenge.

          Stress and stress-related health impairments are major problems in human life and elucidating the biological pathways linking stress and disease is of substantial importance. However, the identification of mechanisms underlying a dysregulation of major components of the stress response system is, particularly in humans, a very challenging task. Salivary cortisol responses to diverse acute challenge paradigms show large intra- and interindividual variability. In order to uncover mechanisms mediating stress-related disorders and to potentially develop new therapeutic strategies, an extensive phenotyping of HPA axis stress responses is essential. Such a research agenda depends on substantial knowledge of moderating and intervening variables that affect cortisol responses to different stressors and stimuli. The aim of this report is, therefore, to provide a comprehensive summary of important determinants of, in particular, human salivary cortisol responses to different kinds of laboratory stimuli including acute psychosocial stress as well as pharmacological provocation procedures. This overview demonstrates the role of age and gender, endogenous and exogenous sex steroid levels, pregnancy, lactation and breast-feeding, smoking, coffee and alcohol consumption as well as dietary energy supply in salivary cortisol responses to acute stress. Furthermore, it briefly summarizes current knowledge of the role of genetic factors and methodological issues in terms of habituation to repeated psychosocial stress exposures and time of testing as well as psychological factors, that have been shown to be associated with salivary cortisol responses like early life experiences, social factors, psychological interventions, personality as well as acute subjective-psychological stress responses and finally states of chronic stress and psychopathology.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Stress and glucocorticoid receptor-dependent mechanisms in long-term memory: from adaptive responses to psychopathologies.

            A proper response against stressors is critical for survival. In mammals, the stress response is primarily mediated by secretion of glucocorticoids via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and release of catecholamines through adrenergic neurotransmission. Activation of these pathways results in a quick physical response to the stress and, in adaptive conditions, mediates long-term changes in the brain that lead to the formation of long-term memories of the experience. These long-term memories are an essential adaptive mechanism that allows an animal to effectively face similar demands again. Indeed, a moderate stress level has a strong positive effect on memory and cognition, as a single arousing or moderately stressful event can be remembered for up to a lifetime. Conversely, exposure to extreme, traumatic, or chronic stress can have the opposite effect and cause memory loss, cognitive impairments, and stress-related psychopathologies such as anxiety disorders, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While more effort has been devoted to the understanding of the negative effects of chronic stress, much less has been done thus far on the identification of the mechanisms engaged in the brain when stress promotes long-term memory formation. Understanding these mechanisms will provide critical information for use in ameliorating memory processes in both normal and pathological conditions. Here, we will review the role of glucocorticoids and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) in memory formation and modulation. Furthermore, we will discuss recent findings on the molecular cascade of events underlying the effect of GR activation in adaptive levels of stress that leads to strong, long-lasting memories. Our recent data indicate that the positive effects of GR activation on memory consolidation critically engage the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) pathway. We propose and will discuss the hypothesis that stress promotes the formation of strong long-term memories because the activation of hippocampal GRs after learning is coupled to the recruitment of the growth and pro-survival BDNF/cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) pathway, which is well-know to be a general mechanism required for long-term memory formation. We will then speculate about how these results may explain the negative effects of traumatic or chronic stress on memory and cognitive functions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: found
              Is Open Access

              Improving physical quality of life with group physical activity in the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder

              Background The aim of the study was to compare the change in quality of life over 32 weeks in depressed women assuming antidepressant drug with (experimental group) or without (control group) physical exercise from a study which results on objective dimension of outcome were already published. Methods Trial with randomized naturalistic control. Patients selected from the clinical activity registries of a Psychiatric University Unit. Inclusion criteria: female, between 40 and 60 years, diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorders (MMD, DSM-IV TR) resistant to ongoing treatment. Exclusion criteria: diagnosis of psychotic disorders; any contraindications to physical activity. 30 patients (71.4% of the eligible) participated to the study. Cases: 10 randomized patients undergoing pharmacological treatment plus physical activity. Controls: 20 patients undergoing only pharmacological therapy. Quality of life was measured by means of WHOQOL-Bref. Results The patients that made physical activity had their WHOQOL-Bref physical score improved from T0 to T8, the differences was statistically significant. In the control group WHOQOL-Bref physical remains the same and, consequentially, the difference between T0 and T8 do not reach any statistical significance. The perceived quality of life in the other domains did not change during the treatment in both groups. Thus no other differences were found between and within groups. Discussion and Conclusion The data presented in the previous paper found that physical activity seems a good adjunctive treatment in the long term management of patients with MDD. These new data indicated that physical activity may also improve the perceived physical quality of life. The dimensions related with social functioning, environment and psychical well being seem do not improved, unexpectedly, during the trial. Two objective dimension not strictly related to the depressive symptoms improved: social functioning and Clinical Global Impression, this discrepancy with a subjective and objective dimension of the well being may supported the Goldberg point of view that subjective quality of life in bipolar and unipolar severe depression patients may not accurately reflect objective functional outcome status, potentially due to diminished insight, demoralization, or altered life expectations over time. It may be that physical activity improve the self perception of physical well being. The physical domains of WHOQOL-Bref inquiry about conditions as sleep, pain, energy, body satisfaction that seems frequently problematic also in remission due to the pharmacotherapy and may be risk factor for relapse/recurrence. Thus physical therapy seems to determinate improvement in depressive aspects not frequently responsive to the drug treatment.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health
                Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health
                CPEMH
                Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health : CP & EMH
                Bentham Open
                1745-0179
                13 June 2014
                2014
                : 10
                : 67-72
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Italy
                [2 ] CONI Italian Olympic Committee, Sardinia, Italy
                [3 ] CMT Medical Analysis Laboratory, Cagliari, Italy
                [4 ] Panic and Respiration Laboratory, Institute of Psychiatry of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Brazil; National Institute of Translational Medicine (INCT-TM)
                [5 ] Physical Activity Neuroscience Laboratory (LABNAF), Physical Activity Sciences Postgraduate Program of Salgado de Oliveira University (PPGCAF/UNIVERSO), Niterói, Brazil
                Author notes
                [* ]Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Italy; Tel: +39070 6093498; Fax: +39070 6093498; E-mails: mura.gioia@ 123456virgilio.it and gioia.mura@ 123456yahoo.it
                Article
                CPEMH-10-67
                10.2174/1745017901410010067
                4085586
                25006344
                bce6e91a-7339-497a-a66b-5a0be2c04bcb
                © Mura et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

                This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

                History
                : 5 April 2014
                : 5 May 2014
                : 2 June 2014
                Categories
                Article

                Neurology
                cortisol,elderly,exercise,quality of life.
                Neurology
                cortisol, elderly, exercise, quality of life.

                Comments

                Comment on this article