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Hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis and sympatho-adrenal medullary system responses to psychological stress were not attenuated in women with elevated physical fitness levels

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Abstract

It is not clear if higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with lower hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and sympatho-adrenal medullary (SAM) system reactivity to psychological stress in women. The association between cardio-metabolic risk markers and acute physiological responses to psychological stress in women who differ in their cardiorespiratory fitness status has also not been investigated. Women with high (n = 22) and low (n = 22) levels of fitness aged 30–50 years (in the mid-follicular phase of the menstrual cycle) were subjected to a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) at 1500 h. Plasma concentrations of cortisol, adrenaline (Adr), noradrenaline (NA), and dopamine (DA) were measured in samples collected every 7–15 min from 1400 to 1700 h. Heart rate and blood pressure were measured at the same time points. Low-fit women had elevated serum triglyceride, cholesterol/HDL ratio, fasting glucose, and HOMA-IR levels compared with high-fit women. While cortisol, Adr, NA, HR, and blood pressure all demonstrated a significant response to the TSST, the responses of these variables did not differ significantly between high- and low-fit women in response to the TSST. Dopamine reactivity was significantly higher in the low-fit women compared with high-fit women. There was also a significant negative correlation between VO2 max and DA reactivity. These findings suggest that, for low-fit women aged 30–50 years, the response of HPA axis and SAM system to a potent acute psychological stressor is not compromised compared to that in high-fit women.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Mais Hussein for her substantial contributions during recruitment and data collection and Sarah Phillips for technical support. The authors also thank the participants for being involved in this research. Deakin University provided financial support for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Sisitha U. Jayasinghe, Susan J. Torres, Steve F. Fraser & Anne I. Turner

  2. Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Gavin W. Lambert & Nina Eikelis

  3. Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Gavin W. Lambert

Authors
  1. Sisitha U. Jayasinghe
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  2. Gavin W. Lambert
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  3. Susan J. Torres
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  6. Anne I. Turner
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Correspondence to Anne I. Turner.

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All authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Deakin University (Project code: 2011-242), conformed to the guidelines of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) and were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Jayasinghe, S.U., Lambert, G.W., Torres, S.J. et al. Hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis and sympatho-adrenal medullary system responses to psychological stress were not attenuated in women with elevated physical fitness levels. Endocrine 51, 369–379 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-015-0687-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-015-0687-6

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