Psychoneuroendocrinology
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Psychoneuroendocrinology · May 2010
Controlled Clinical TrialHigher overcommitment to work is associated with higher plasma cortisol but not ACTH responses in the combined dexamethasone/CRH test in apparently healthy men and women.
Overcommitment (OC) is a pattern of excessive striving that has been associated with alterations in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system. To investigate whether overcommitment is associated with alterations in HPA system function we measured cortisol and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) release in response to the combined dexamethasone/CRH test. ⋯ Whereas OC was not associated with alterations in negative feedback sensitivity after dexamethasone administration, our findings indicate that with increasing OC scores, a higher reactivity of the adrenal cortex together with a normal reactivity of the pituitary is observed following subsequent stimulation by CRH injection.