Cardiovascular, hormonal, and emotional responses to the TSST in relation to sex and menstrual cycle phase

Abstract

The prevalence of stress disorders differs between men and women. An understanding of how men and women vary in acute stress responses may help to understand these sex differences. We compared responses to the TSST and a control task in healthy men (N=28) and women tested in two phases (Follicular N=29, Luteal N=23) of the menstrual cycle. Men exhibited greater cortisol responses to stress than women in either phase. Luteal women exhibited the greatest subjective and allopregnanolone responses to stress, whereas follicular women exhibited blunted noradrenaline responses. Partial correlations controlling for group differences revealed that individuals who were most sensitive to the subjective effects of stress exhibited the largest salivary cortisol, noradrenaline, and allopregnanolone responses and the smallest progesterone responses to stress. We discuss our findings in the context of sex differences in the prevalence of stress-linked disorders.

Figure 1

Changes in heart rate (A) and systolic (B) and diastolic (C) blood pressure after the TSST (filled symbols) and control task (open symbols) for men (N=28), follicular women (N=29) and luteal women (N=23). Data represent mean ± SEM for i) heart rate averaged across successive 10-min periods, and ii) blood pressure as a function of time (Task preparation from −20 to −10 min, task performance from −10 to 0 min).

Figure 2

Changes in plasma (A) and salivary (B) cortisol after the TSST (filled symbols) and control tasks (open symbols) for men (N=28), follicular women (N=29) and luteal women (N=23). Data represent mean ± SEM as a function of time after the task (Task preparation from −20 to −10 min, task performance from −10 to 0 min).

Figure 3

Changes in plasma noradrenaline (A), progesterone (B), and allopregnanolone (C) after the TSST (filled symbols) and control tasks (open symbols) for men (N=20), follicular women (N=18) and luteal women (N=14). Data represent mean ± SEM as a function of time after the task (Task preparation from −20 to −10 min, task performance from −10 to 0 min).

Figure 4

Changes in POMS Anger (A), Depression (B), and Anxiety (C) after the TSST (filled symbols) and control tasks (open symbols) for men (N=28), follicular women (N=29) and luteal women (N=23). Data represent mean ± SEM as a function of time after the task (Task preparation from −20 to −10 min, task performance from −10 to 0min). Asterisks represent a significant difference from pre-task baseline value at −20 min (Student’s paired t-test corrected for multiple comparisons, p<.05).