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Salivary uric acid: Associations with resting and reactive blood pressure response to social evaluative stress in healthy African Americans.

November 7, 2018 by IISBR

Background:
High levels of uric acid are associated with greater risk of stress-related cardiovascular illnesses that occur disproportionately among African Americans. Whether hyperuricemia affects biological response to acute stress remains largely unknown, suggesting a need to clarify this potential connection. The current study examined how salivary uric acid (sUA) is associated with resting and reactive blood pressure – two robust predictors of hypertension and related cardiovascular disease and disparity. Healthy African Americans (N = 107; 32% male; M age = 31.74 years), completed the Trier Social Stress Test to induce social-evaluative stress. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings were recorded before, during, and after the task to assess resting and reactive change in blood pressure. Participants also provided a saliva sample at baseline that was assayed for sUA. At rest, and controlling for age, sUA was modestly associated with higher systolic (r = .201, p =  .044), but not diastolic (r = .100, p =  .319) blood pressure. In response to the stressor task, and once again controlling for age, sUA was also associated with higher total activation of both systolic (r = .219, p =  .025) and diastolic blood pressure (r = .198, p <  .044). A subsequent moderation analysis showed that associations between sUA and BP measures were significant for females, but not for males. Findings suggest that uric acid may be implicated in hypertension and cardiovascular health disparities through associations with elevated blood pressure responses to acute social stress, and that low levels of uric acid might be protective, particularly for females.

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Tagged With: blood pressure, Cardiovascular illness, health disparities, stress reactivity, Trier Social Stress Test, uric acid

Coordination of cortisol response to social evaluative threat with autonomic and inflammatory responses is moderated by stress appraisals and affect.

June 18, 2016 by IISBR

Background: Recent approaches to stress regulation have emphasized coordination among multiple biological systems. This study builds on evidence that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity should be considered in coordination with other stress-sensitive biological systems to characterize healthy responses. Healthy African-Americans (n=115) completed the Trier Social Stress Test, and biological responses were assessed through salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), alpha amylase (sAA), and C-reactive protein (sCRP). Multilevel modeling demonstrated that cortisol responses typically aligned with changes in DHEA-S, sAA, and sCRP across the session. At the same time, the degree of cortisol coordination with sAA and sCRP varied by participants’ subjective stress following the task; participants with higher secondary stress appraisals showed greater cortisol-sAA alignment, whereas those experiencing more negative affect showed greater cortisol-sCRP alignment. Results highlight the importance of a multisystem approach to stress and suggest that positive HPA axis coordination with the autonomic response, but not with the immune/inflammatory response, may be adaptive.

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Tagged With: Alpha-amylase, C-reactive protein, Coordination, cortisol, DHEA-S, stress, Trier Social Stress Test

Coordination of cortisol response to social evaluative threat with autonomic and inflammatory responses is moderated by stress appraisals and affect.

May 14, 2016 by IISBR

Background: Recent approaches to stress regulation have emphasized coordination among multiple biological systems. This study builds on evidence that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity should be considered in coordination with other stress-sensitive biological systems to characterize healthy responses. Healthy African-Americans (n=115) completed the Trier Social Stress Test, and biological responses were assessed through salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), alpha amylase (sAA), and C-reactive protein (sCRP). Multilevel modeling demonstrated that cortisol responses typically aligned with changes in DHEA-S, sAA, and sCRP across the session. At the same time, the degree of cortisol coordination with sAA and sCRP varied by participants’ subjective stress following the task; participants with higher secondary stress appraisals showed greater cortisol-sAA alignment, whereas those experiencing more negative affect showed greater cortisol-sCRP alignment. Results highlight the importance of a multisystem approach to stress and suggest that positive HPA axis coordination with the autonomic response, but not with the immune/inflammatory response, may be adaptive.

View Abstract

Tagged With: Alpha-amylase, C-reactive protein, Coordination, cortisol, DHEA-S, stress, Trier Social Stress Test

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Recent Publications

  • Kimonis, E. R., et al. (2018). Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its ratio to cortisol moderate associations between maltreatment and psychopathology in male juvenile offenders. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
  • Gatzke-Kopp, L. M., et al. (2018). Magnitude and Chronicity of Environmental Smoke Exposure Across Infancy and Early Childhood in a Sample of Low-Income Children. Nicotine Tob Res.
  • Pisanic, N., et al. (2018). Minimally Invasive Saliva Testing to Monitor Norovirus Infection in Community Settings. J Infect Dis.
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  • Wheelock, M.D., et al. (2018). Psychosocial stress reactivity is associated with decreased whole brain network efficiency and increased amygdala centrality. Behav Neurosci.
  • Kornienko, O., et al. (2018). Associations Between Secretory Immunoglobulin A and Social Network Structure. Int J Behav Med.
  • Kuhlman, K. R., et al. (2018). Interparental conflict and child HPA-axis responses to acute stress: Insights using intensive repeated measures. J Fam Psychol.
  • Kuhlman, K. R., et al. (2018). HPA-Axis Activation as a Key Moderator of Childhood Trauma Exposure and Adolescent Mental Health. Journal of abnormal child psychology.
  • Corey-Bloom, J., et al. (2018). Salivary levels of total huntingtin are elevated in Huntington’s disease patients. Sci Rep.
  • Martinez, A. D., et al. (2018). Household fear of deportation in Mexican-origin families: Relation to body mass index percentiles and salivary uric acid. Am J Hum Biol.
  • Lucas, T., et al. (2018). Justice for all? Beliefs about justice for self and others and telomere length in African Americans. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol.
  • Woerner, J., et al. (2018). Salivary uric acid: Associations with resting and reactive blood pressure response to social evaluative stress in healthy African Americans. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
  • Riis J.L., et al. (2018). The validity, stability, and utility of measuring uric acid in saliva. Biomark Med.

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