• Urs M Nater, Christiane A Hoppmann, and Stacey B Scott.
• University of Marburg, Department of Psychology, Marburg 35032, Germany. Electronic address: nater@uni-marburg.de.
• Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013 Dec 1; 38 (12): 3167-71.

AbstractSalivary cortisol and alpha-amylase are known to have distinctive diurnal profiles. However, little is known about systematic changes in these biomarkers across the adult lifespan. In a study of 185 participants (aged 20-81 years), time-stamped salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were collected 7 times/day over 10 days. Samples were taken upon waking, 30 min later, and then approximately every 3 h until 9 pm. Multilevel models showed that older age was associated with increased daily cortisol secretion as indicated by greater area under the curve, attenuated wake-evening slopes, and more pronounced cortisol awakening responses. Further, older age was related to greater daily alpha-amylase output and attenuated wake-evening slopes. No age differences were observed regarding the alpha-amylase awakening response. Our findings may contribute to a better understanding of age-related differences in functioning of stress-related systems.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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