2024 · Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · open access
<b>Experiences of participating in cortisol awakening response research:</b> <i>"I was more conscious</i> <i>than usual, I wanted to get it right</i> <i>"</i>
Ramachandran et al.
The finding, in our words
Self-collection of saliva for cortisol awakening response research at home was experienced as arduous, with participants reporting apprehension, cognitive burden, and disruption to sleep and morning routines. Difficulty identifying the moment of awakening affected sample timing, though habituation reduced these effects over repeated days, indicating that clear protocols are needed to improve ecological validity in decentralised hormone monitoring.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
The study determined that an at-home saliva collection protocol using the passive drool method was feasible for Black women with histories of abuse, with 84% of participants completing at least one full day of adherent sampling. While the decentralised approach yielded usable cortisol data, women with histories of forced sex exposure showed lower protocol adherence scores.
Tsuyuki et al., Interactive journal of medical research (paywalled) · source ↗
Salivary glucocorticoid concentrations were comparable across Salivette Cortisol, passive drool and SalivaBio collection methods, and remained stable for 72 hours at room temperature and 4 degrees Celsius with no significant degradation after repeated freeze-thaw cycles. In children under six years, the SaliPac pacifier swab was well tolerated and collected sufficient saliva for steroid analysis in under four minutes.
Tonge et al., The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism (paywalled) · source ↗
Three-quarters of dementia care dyads completed eight weeks of in-home saliva collection for cortisol and DHEA-S, with patients and caregivers producing equally valid samples. This demonstrates that self-administered saliva collection is feasible even among people with cognitive impairment, supporting decentralised stress biomarker monitoring in this population.
Emami et al., Biological research for nursing (paywalled) · source ↗
A pilot study of 43 nursing home residents with dementia and chronic pain found that only eight participants could provide adequate saliva samples both before and after a six-week intervention, despite using salivary swabs. The cognitive impairment, difficulty obtaining sufficient sample volume, and cost suggest saliva collection may not be feasible for cortisol monitoring in this population, which has implications for decentralised stress assessment in vulnerable groups.
Pu et al., Biological research for nursing (paywalled) · source ↗
This study used home self-collected saliva samples to successfully monitor cytokines and cortisol in mothers and infants, finding that a community singing intervention significantly reduced salivary interleukin-6 levels in mothers with postnatal depression.
Kirkpatrick et al., Brain, behavior, and immunity (paywalled) · source ↗