Noise and Stress - Salivary Cortisol as a Non-Invasive Measure of Allostatic Load

Abstract

The psychobiology of stress has received increasing attention throughout the past two decades. Physiological pathways and subjective response patterns are described in more details aiming at a better understanding of the pathways leading to health or disease under prolonged periods of stress. Technical advances in the laboratory have significantly contributed to this development. One of these methodological advances is the measurement of cortisol in saliva which has promoted psychobiological stress research both in the laboratory and in the field. The present paper provides a brief methodological background and the use of salivary cortisol assessment as an indicator of stress in human studies from this research centre. It is suggested that research on health consequences of noise exposure should include salivary cortisol as a sensitive measure of allostatic load.