Background: Trauma can lead to long-term downregulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. However, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has neuroprotective effects that may reduce the need for downregulation of the axis in response to stress. Furthermore, high DHEA/cortisol ratios are often conceptualized as better markers of DHEA’s availability than DHEA alone, as ratios account for the coupling of DHEA and cortisol in response to stress. Objectives: In this study, we explored if DHEA and DHEA/cortisol ratios moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and the HPA axis stress response. Methods: The sample consisted of 101 adolescents (ages 12–16) who completed the Child Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Cortisol was modeled using saliva samples at 8 time points throughout the TSST. Cortisol and DHEA ratios were examined at baseline and 35 min after stress initiation. Results: Childhood maltreatment was associated with less steep cortisol activation slope and peak cortisol levels, but DHEA and DHEA/cortisol ratios moderated this effect. At high levels of DHEA, the impact of childhood maltreatment on cortisol peak levels was no longer significant. In contrast, high DHEA/cortisol ratios were associated with an intensification of the impact of childhood maltreatment on peak levels. Conclusions: Results suggest that DHEA can limit the blunting of the HPA axis in response to childhood maltreatment. However, this protective effect was not reflected in high DHEA/cortisol ratios as predicted. Therefore, high DHEA and high DHEA/cortisol ratios may reflect different, and potentially opposite, processes.
Neuropsychobiology

中文翻译：

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DHEA 缓和童年创伤对青春期 HPA 轴的影响

背景：创伤可导致下丘脑垂体肾上腺 (HPA) 轴的长期下调。然而，脱氢表雄酮 (DHEA) 具有神经保护作用，可以减少对应激反应轴下调的需要。此外，与单独的 DHEA 相比，高 DHEA/皮质醇比率通常被概念化为 DHEA 可用性的更好标志，因为比率说明了 DHEA 和皮质醇在应对压力时的耦合。目的：在这项研究中，我们探讨了 DHEA 和 DHEA/皮质醇比率是否能调节儿童虐待与 HPA 轴应激反应之间的关联。方法：样本包括 101 名完成儿童创伤问卷 (CTQ) 和特里尔社会压力测试 (TSST) 的青少年（12-16 岁）。在整个 TSST 的 8 个时间点使用唾液样本对皮质醇进行建模。在基线和压力开始后 35 分钟检查皮质醇和 DHEA 比率。结果：童年虐待与较不陡峭的皮质醇激活斜率和皮质醇峰值水平相关，但 DHEA 和 DHEA/皮质醇比率缓和了这种影响。在高水平的 DHEA 下，儿童虐待对皮质醇峰值水平的影响不再显着。相比之下，高 DHEA/皮质醇比率与儿童虐待对峰值水平的影响加剧有关。结论：结果表明，DHEA 可以限制 HPA 轴在应对儿童虐待时的钝化。然而，这种保护作用并未如预期的那样反映在高 DHEA/皮质醇比率中。因此，高 DHEA 和高 DHEA/皮质醇比率可能反映了不同的、可能相反的过程。
神经心理生物学