Pre-pandemic Psychobiological Features Predict Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Loneliness
Baliyan et al.
The finding, in our words
In 45 young adults, pre-pandemic diurnal cortisol output measured from saliva samples predicted the degree of loneliness increase during COVID-19 home confinement, with the relationship moderated by extraversion. This suggests saliva-derived cortisol is a viable biomarker for identifying at-risk individuals in decentralised public health crises monitoring.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
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 ↗
Cortisol dynamic range measured from participant-led saliva collection was feasible and associated with higher perceived stress and anxiety in African American women, suggesting saliva self-collection can serve as a decentralised biomarker of chronic stress.
Ortiz et al., Journal of participatory medicine · source ↗
In women with endometriosis, longer individual exercise sessions were associated with lower levels of salivary c-reactive protein and estradiol, as well as reduced pain and fat mass. The results demonstrate the utility of timed, at-home saliva self-collection for assessing systemic biomarkers in reproductive health research.
In 60 healthy young adults who self-collected saliva, habitual coffee consumption at low, moderate or high intake did not significantly alter morning or evening levels of salivary cortisol or alpha amylase under non-stressful conditions. This suggests that for decentralised diagnostics, coffee drinking is unlikely to confound salivary hormone results, supporting the validity of self-collection for cortisol and stress biomarker monitoring.
Alejandro Juárez & Celia, Revista cientifica odontologica · source ↗
In sixteen workers observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, those working from home had higher waking and lower nocturnal melatonin, and higher oxytocin, than office-based colleagues, while cortisol and s-IgA rhythms were unchanged. The study shows that self-collected saliva samples can detect how remote work alters stress-related biomarkers, supporting decentralised occupational-health monitoring.
Hasebe et al., Neuro endocrinology letters (paywalled) · source ↗