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Salivary cortisol and alpha‐amylase daily profiles and stress responses to an academic performance test and a moral cognition task in children with neurodevelopmental disorders
Author(s) -
Anesiadou Sophia,
Makris Gerasimos,
Michou Maria,
Bali Paraskevi,
Papassotiriou Ioannis,
Apostolakou Filia,
Korkoliakou Panagiota,
Papageorgiou Charalampos,
Chrousos George,
Pervanidou Panagiota
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
stress and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1532-2998
pISSN - 1532-3005
DOI - 10.1002/smi.2971
Subject(s) - evening , autism spectrum disorder , psychology , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , medicine , neurodevelopmental disorder , cognition , endocrinology , circadian rhythm , hydrocortisone , conduct disorder , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , autism , psychiatry , physics , astronomy
Abstract There is evidence that children with neurodevelopmental disorders may exhibit atypical responses to stress and alterations in concentrations and diurnal secretion of stress hormones. We assessed diurnal profiles and stress responses of salivary cortisol and alpha‐amylase (sAA) in children with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific learning disorder (SLD) compared to typically developing children (TD). A total of 157 children of both sexes, aged between 6 and 12 years old, took part in the study distributed into four groups: ADHD ( N = 34), ASD ( N = 56), SLD ( N = 43) and TD ( N = 24). Salivary samples were collected at three time points during a day, as well as before and 5 min after an academic performance test and a moral cognition task. ADHD children had lower evening and diurnal sAA levels, adjusted for age. Also, ASD children showed lower diurnal sAA secretion, adjusted for age. The mean percentage change for salivary cortisol and sAA after both tests did not differ between the groups. In conclusion, we demonstrated alterations in diurnal autonomic functioning in children with ADHD and ASD, while hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis functioning did not differ between the clinical and the comparison groups.