Do blood pressure and heart rate responses to perceived stress vary according to endogenous estrogen level in women

Bibliographic Data

ID8313723
AuthorsTessa M Pollard, Tessa Pollard (0000-0002-0544-0158, Durham University, corresponding author), Karen L Pearce, Karen Pearce (0000-0002-9434-3877, University of Massachusetts Boston), Emily K Rousham (0000-0001-5654-9279, Loughborough University), J E Schwartz (0000-0002-8944-3566, State University of New York)
Year2007
Volume132
Issue1
Pages151-157
Publication date2007-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.20468
PMID16941602
OpenAlexW2020524829
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited32

The results of experimental studies suggest that estrogen may blunt blood pressure responses to stress, but increase heart rate responses. We investigated whether within‐person associations of perceived stress with blood pressure and heart rate during normal working life in 26 premenopausal and 7 postmenopausal women varied according to endogenous estrogen level. Each woman measured her own blood pressure and heart rate and completed a diary reporting perceived stress levels on six occasions on each of 2 working days. Premenopausal women were assessed once between days 4 and 6 of their menstrual cycle (low estrogen) and again between days 11 and 13 (high estrogen), and urine samples were taken to verify expected variation in estrogen level. Results showed that perceived stress was significantly positively associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate in the group as a whole. This association did not differ according to menopausal status. There was no difference in the association of perceived stress with SBP or DBP in premenopausal women according to day of assessment, but heart rate reactivity to perceived stress was significantly higher on the high‐estrogen day. Our findings thus provide evidence that heart rate responses to perceived stress during everyday working life vary according to estrogen level in premenopausal women, but no evidence that blood pressure responses to stress vary according to endogenous estrogen level in women. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Blood pressure · Endogeny · Estrogen · Heart rate · Endocrinology · Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Menopause: Health Impacts and Treatments · Physiology · Psychology · Stress Responses and Cortisol

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