Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Validation Of A Non-Invasive Physiological Stress Assessment: Agreement Of Salivary And Blood Cortisol Among Firefighters, Caiti Dodge, Hunter Martaindale, Steven E. Martin, Lisa C. Colvin, Drew E. Gonzalez, Matthew J. Mcallister

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

Salivary cortisol has been used as an indicator of stress exposure among tactical personnel (i.e., firefighters). Assessing cortisol concentrations, whether via blood or saliva samples, can provide valuable insight into the physiological stress load placed upon the firefighter. Cortisol levels provide a reflection of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Salivary cortisol is unbound and has been suggested to provide a better reflection of HPA axis activity compared to blood cortisol, which is bound to soluble corticosteroid-binding globulin. Importantly, the use of salivary biosample collection also offers a more practical and non-invasive method to assess physiological stress biomarkers when blood sample …

Sex Differences In The Effects Of Cortisol On Muscle Characteristics: A Meta-Analysis, Natalie Bitetti

CMC Senior Theses

Background: Cortisol plays a central role in both muscle breakdown and growth. These effects are highly dependent on dose and interactions with other hormones. It is known that men and women show considerable differences in their muscle structure and physiology, which are largely driven by hormonal differences. Cortisol release patterns may also vary between the sexes, with current research showing considerable disagreement. The interplay between cortisol and muscle, two highly variable and sexually dimorphic factors, may prove to have different effects in males versus females.

Objective: This meta-analysis integrates existing research on sex differences in cortisol-muscle physiology with existing research …