The impact of child-rearing status on perceptual and behavioural predictors of ambulatory blood pressure variation among working women

The effects of age and ethnicity on the circadian variation of catecholamines and cortisol in employed women

Background

Women employed outside the home in urban settings must adapt to changing circadian microenvironments. The pattern and extent of vasoactive hormone responses to these changes may depend upon age and ethnic background. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of age and ethnicity on the circadian variation of urinary norepinephrine, epinephrine, and cortisol excretion across work, home and sleep microenvironments.

Methods

The subjects of the study were 95 women (38 European-American, age = 35.4 ± 7.4; 28 African-American, age = 33.4 ± 7.9; 12 Asian-American, age = 36.7 ± 9.3 and 17 Hispanic-American age = 31.6 ± 10.9) employed as secretaries, lab technicians or office supervisors in New York City. Variation in the hormones across the microenvironments was evaluated using repeated measures ANCOVA with age group (18–29.9; 30–39.9; 40–49.9) and ethnicity as fixed factors.

Results

The results show that for norepinephrine and epinephrine, work excretion rates are substantially higher than sleep rates (p < .001), and for epinephrine home rates were higher than sleep rates (p < .001). Work and sleep cortisol excretion rates were also significantly higher than the rate at home, consistent with cortisol’s circadian rhythm. (p < .002). Women in their twenties had substantially lower norepinephrine excretion rates than women over 30 (p < .04). There were also ethnic differences in norepinephrine (p < .04) and epinephrine (p = .11) output with Asian-American women having the lowest and African-American women having the highest rates. This variation is likely related to the ethnic variation in weight. There was no significant variation in cortisol excretion with age or ethnicity.

Conclusion

The circadian rates of norepinephrine excretion differ by age and that of both catecholamines differ by ethnicity among women working outside the home. It is speculated that the age variation in norepinephrine may contribute to the development of vasomotor symptoms.

Denial is associated with higher ambulatory blood pressure across the menstrual cycle

BACKGROUND

Studies show that stress perception is associated with increased daily ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and that denying the negative effects of stress increases BP as well. Whether these effects persist over the menstrual cycle is unknown.

AIM

To examine the effects of measures of stress and stress denial on ambulatory work and home BP during the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Seventy-one women (age = 34.9 ± 7.7 years) employed as secretaries or technicians wore an ambulatory BP monitor during the follicular (between day 7-10; Mean = 8 ± 2) and luteal (between day 19-25; Mean = 22 ± 2) phases of their cycle. During each phase, relationships between BPs averaged at work and home and various stress measures and demographic and anthropometric variables were examined using stepwise regression.

RESULTS

Ambulatory BPs did not change from the follicular to luteal phase. Stress denial was generally associated with higher ambulatory BP (p < 0.05) over the menstrual cycle, while other parameters had varying effects in different situations (work and home) and cycle phases.

CONCLUSION

Stress denial has a persistent effect on BP, regardless of menstrual phase; however, shifts in the hormonal environment throughout the menstrual cycle may mediate other somatic and behavioural associations with BP.

Differential circadian catecholamine and cortisol responses between healthy women with and without a parental history of hypertension

OBJECTIVES

Previous studies suggest that otherwise healthy individuals who have a parental history of hypertension (PH+) have an accentuated reactive rise in catecholamines and cortisol to laboratory stressors as well as elevated plasma levels when compared with those with no parental history (PH-); however, few, if any, studies have evaluated whether parental history affects the responses of these hormones to changing environmental circumstances in everyday life. The purpose of this study was to compare urinary catecholamine (epinephrine and norepinephrine) and cortisol excretion and ambulatory blood pressures (BPs) across three daily microenvironments between women with and without a parental history of hypertension.

METHODS

The women in the study (PH+, N = 62, age = 35.2 ± 9.1; PH-, N = 72, age = 33.8 ± 10.0) worked in clerical, technical, or professional positions at a major medical center in New York City. Urinary hormone excretion rates and ambulatory BP were measured across three daily microenvironments: work (11 am to 3 p.m.), home (approximately 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.), and during sleep (approximately 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.). History group comparisons by microenvironment were made using repeated-measures ANCOVA and ANOVA analyses.

RESULTS

The results show that epinephrine excretion among PH+ women was 36% higher than PH- women (P < 0.008) over the entire day and that nocturnal cortisol excretion was also greater among PH+ women (P < 0.045). PH+ women also had statistically significantly higher systolic (4 mm Hg higher; P < 0.01) and diastolic (2 mm Hg higher, P < 0.03) BP when compared with PH- women across all daily microenvironments.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that there may be genetically linked mechanisms which elevate tonic epinephrine levels and nocturnal cortisol levels that contribute to elevating circadian BP.