Psychoneuroendocrinology
Volume 34, Issue 4 , Pages 513-522 , May 2009

Salivary cortisol and psychological mechanisms in patients with acute versus chronic low back pain

  • Sigrid Sudhaus

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author: Tel.: +49 234 3222643; fax: +49 234 3214203.
    • ,
  • Britta Fricke

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neuroanatomy and Molecular Brain Research, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr-University of Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
    • ,
  • Axel Stachon

      Affiliations

    • Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Transfusion, and Laboratory Medicine, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University of Bochum, 44789 Bochum, Germany
    • ,
  • Stefan Schneider

      Affiliations

    • Medical Department 1, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University of Bochum, 44789 Bochum, Germany
    • ,
  • Harald Klein

      Affiliations

    • Medical Department 1, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil, Ruhr-University of Bochum, 44789 Bochum, Germany
    • ,
  • Monika von Düring

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neuroanatomy and Molecular Brain Research, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr-University of Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
    • ,
  • Monika Hasenbring

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany

Received 18 March 2008 ,Revised 14 October 2008 ,Accepted 16 October 2008.

References 

  1. American Psychiatric Association, 2000. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC.
  2. Balagué F, Mannion AF, Pellisé F, Cedraschi C. Clinical update: low back pain. Lancet. 2007;369:726–728
  3. Barendregt PJ, Visser MR, Smets EM, Tulen JH, van den Meiracker AH, Boomsma F, et al. Fatigue in primary Sjogren's syndrome. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 1998;57:291–295
  4. Basler HD. Ist der chronische Rückenschmerz ein psychologisches Problem?. In:  Pfingsten M,  Hildebrandt J editor. Chronischer Rückenschmerz. Bern: Huber; 1998;p. 67–79
  5. Beck AT, Steer RA, Garbin MG. Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: twenty-five years of evaluation. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 1988;8:77–100
  6. Beck AT, Ward CH, Mendelson M, Mock N, Erbaugh J. An inventory for measuring depression. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 1961;4:561–571
  7. Bousema EJ, Verbunt JA, Seelen HAM, Vlaeyen JWS, Knottnerus JA. Disuse and physical deconditioning in the first year after the onset of pain. Pain. 2007;130:279–286
  8. Clauw DJ, Chrousos GP. Chronic pain and fatigue syndromes: overlapping clinical and neuroendocrine features and potential pathogenic mechanisms. Neuroimmunomodulation. 1997;4(3):134–153
  9. Clements AD, Parker CR. The relationship between salivary cortisol concentrations in frozen versus mailed samples. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1998;23(6):613–616
  10. Davidson JRT. A history of the concept of atypical depression. J. Clin. Psychiatry. 2007;68(Suppl. 3):10–15
  11. Dickerson SS, Kemeny ME. Acute stressors and cortisol responses: a theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychol. Bull. 2004;130(3):355–391
  12. Dressendörfer RA, Kirschbaum C, Rohde W, Stahl F, Strasburger CJ. Synthesis of a cortisol-biotin conjugate and evaluation as a tracer in an immunoassay for salivary cortisol measurement. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 1992;43:683–692
  13. Ehlert U, Gaab J, Heinrichs M. Psychoneuroendocrinological contributions to the etiology of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and stress-related bodily disorders: the role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Biol. Psychol. 2001;57:141–152
  14. Feuerstein M, Carter RL, Papciak AS. A prospective analysis of stress and fatigue in recurrent low back pain. Pain. 1987;31:333–344
  15. Fishbain DA, Cutler RB, Cole B, Lewis J, Smets E, Rosomoff HL, et al. Are patients with chronic low back pain or chronic neck pain fatigued?. Pain Med. 2004;5(2):187–195
  16. Fordyce WE. Behavioral Methods for Chronic Pain and Illness. St Louis: Mosby; 1976;
  17. Gaab J, Baumann S, Budnoik A, Gmünder H, Hottinger N, Ehlert U. Reduced reactivity and enhanced negative feedback sensitivity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in chronic whiplash-associated disorder. Pain. 2005;119:219–224
  18. Garde AH, Hansen AM. Long-term stability of salivary cortisol. Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest. 2005;65(5):433–436
  19. Gold PW, Chrousos GP. Organization of the stress system and its dysregulation in melancholic and atypical depression: high vs low CRH/NE states. Mol. Psychiatry. 2002;7:254–275
  20. Grebner M, Breme K, Rothoerl R, Woertgen C, Hartmann A, Thomé C. Coping und Genesungsverlauf nach lumbaler Bandscheibenoperation. Schmerz. 1999;13:19–30
  21. Gur A, Cevik R, Sarac AJ, Colpan L, Em S. Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and cortisol in young women with primary fibromyalgia: the potential role of depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbance in the occurrence of hypocortisolism. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2004;63:1504–1506
  22. Hasenbring M. Durchhaltestrategien – ein in Schmerzforschung und Therapie vernachlässigtes Gebiet?. Schmerz. 1993;7:304–313
  23. Hasenbring M. Das Kieler Schmerzinventar. Manual. Bern: Huber; 1994;
  24. Hasenbring M, Marienfeld G, Kuhlendal D, Soyka D. Risk factors of chronicity in lumbar disc patients. A prospective investigation of biologic, psychologic, and social predictors of therapy outcome. Spine. 1994;19:2759–2765
  25. Hasenbring MI, Plaas H, Fischbein B, Willburger R. The relationship between activity and pain in patients 6 months after lumbar disc surgery: Do pain-related coping modes act as moderator variables?. Eur. J. Pain. 2006;10:701–709
  26. Hautzinger M, Bailer M, Worall H, Keller F. Beck Depressions-Inventar (BDI). Testhandbuch (2. Auflage). Bern: Verlag Hans Huber; 1995;
  27. Heim C, Ehlert U, Hellhammer DH. The potential role of hypocortisolism in the pathophysiology of stress-related bodily disorders. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2000;25:1–35
  28. Hellhammer DH, Wade S. Endocrine correlates of stress vulnerability. Psychother. Psychosom. 1993;60:8–17
  29. Keefe FJ, Gil KM. Behavioral concepts in the analysis of chronic pain syndromes. J. Consult Clin. Psychol. 1986;54:776–783
  30. Kirschbaum C, Hellhammer DH. Salivary cortisol. In:  Fink G editors. Encyclopedia of Stress. San Diego: Academic Press; 2000;p. 379–383
  31. Linton SJ. A review of psychological risk factors in back and neck pain. Spine. 2000;25(9):1148–1156
  32. Mayer TG, Gatchel RJ. In: Functional restoration for spinal disorders: the sports medicine approach. Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger; 1988;pp. 8–9
  33. McBeth J, Chiu YH, Silman AJ, Ray D, Morriss R, Dickens C, et al. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress axis function and the relationship with chronic widespread pain and its antecedents. Arthritis Res. Ther. 2005;7:R992–R1000
  34. McLean SA, Williams DA, Harris RE, Kop WJ, Groner KH, Ambrose K, et al. Momentary relationship between cortisol secretion and symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52(11):3660–3669
  35. Muller CA, Vogeser M, Belyaev O, Gloor B, Strobel O, Weyhe D, et al. Role of endogenuous glucocoid metabolism in human acute pancreatitis. Crit. Care Med. 2006;34(4):1060–1066
  36. Nakagawa H, Hosokawa T. Study of the stress response to acute pain in the awake human. Pain Clin. 1994;7(4):317–324
  37. Norton PJ, Asmundson GJG. Amending the fear-avoidance model of chronic pain: what is the role of physiological arousal?. Behav. Ther. 2003;34:17–30
  38. Peters ML, Godaert GLR, Ballieux RE, van Vliet M, Willemsen JJ, Sweep FCGJ, et al. Cardiovascular and endocrine responses to experimental stress: effects of mental effort and controllability. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1998;23(1):1–17
  39. Pruessner JC, Wolf OT, Hellhammer DH, Buske-Kirschbaum A, von Auer K, Jobst S, et al. Free cortisol levels after awakening: a reliable biological marker for the assessment of adrenocortical activity. Life Sci. 1997;61(26):2539–2549
  40. Pruessner J, Kirschbaum C, Meinlschmid G, Hellhammer D. Two formulas for computation of the area under the curve represent measures of total hormone concentration versus time-dependent change.. Psychoneuroendocrionology. 2003;28:916–931
  41. Riedel W, Schlapp U, Leck S, Netter P, Neeck G. Blunted ACTH and Cortisol responses to systemic injection of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in fibromyalgia. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 2002;966:483–490
  42. Romano JM, Turner JA, Jensen MP, Friedman LS, Bulcroft RA, Hops H, et al. Chronic pain patient–spouse behavioral interactions predict patient disability. Pain. 1995;63(3):353–360
  43. Rothman KJ. No adjustments are needed for multiple comparisons. Epidemiology. 1990;1(1):43–46
  44. Rusu AC, Hasenbring M. Multidimensional pain inventory derived classifications of chronic pain: evidence for maladaptive pain-related coping within the dysfunctional group. Pain. 2008;134(1–2):80–90
  45. Schneider RA. Reliability and validity of the multidimensional fatigue inventory and the rhoten fatigue scale among rural cancer outpatients. Cancer Nurs. 1998;21:370–373
  46. Schulz-Kindermann F, Hennings U, Ramm G, Zander AR, Hasenbring M. The role of biomechanical and psychosocial factors for the prediction of pain and distress in patients undergoing high-dose therapy and BMT/PBSCT. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2002;29:341–351
  47. Seligman MEP. Helplessness. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman; 1975;
  48. Smets EMA, Garssen B, Bonke B, DeHaes JCJM. The multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI) psychometric qualities of an instrument to assess fatigue. J. Psychosom. Res. 1995;39(5):315–325
  49. Strittmatter M, Bianchi O, Ostertag D, Grauer M, Paulus C, Fischer C, et al. Funktionsstörung der hypothalamisch-hypophysär-adrenalen Achse bei Patienten mit akuten, chronischen und intervallartigen Schmerzsyndromen. Schmerz. 2005;19:109–116
  50. Sudhaus S, Fricke B, Schneider S, Stachon A, Klein H, von Düring M, et al. Die Cortisol-Aufwachreaktion bei Patienten mit akuten und chronischen Rückenschmerzen. Schmerz. 2007;21:202–211
  51. Thieme K, Spies C, Sinha P, Turk DC, Flor H. Predictors of pain behaviors in fibromyalgia syndrome. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;53(3):343–350
  52. Ursin H, Eriksen HR. The cognitive activation theory of stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004;29:567–592
  53. Ursin H, Eriksen H. Cognitive activation theory of stress, sensitization, and common health complaints. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 2007;1113:304–310
  54. Van Tulder M, Becker A, Bekkering T, Breen A, del Real MT, Hutchinson A, et al. European guidelines for the management of acute nonspecific low back pain in primary care. Eur. Spine J. 2006;15(Suppl. 2):169–191(Chapter 3)
  55. Vlaeyen JWS, Linton SJ. Fear-avoidance and its consequences in chronic musculoskeletal pain: a state of the art. Pain. 2000;85:317–332

PII: S0306-4530(08)00285-0

doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.10.011

Psychoneuroendocrinology
Volume 34, Issue 4 , Pages 513-522 , May 2009

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution