Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis Dysregulation in Acute Temporomandibular Disorder and Low Back Pain: A Marker for Chronicity?

Authors

Robert J. Gatchel
John P. Garofalo
Richard C. Robinson

Document Type

Article

Source Publication Title

Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research

First Page

176

Last Page

178

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9861.2007.00003.x

Abstract

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis is believed to be a valid biological marker of stress. This study evaluating changes in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and low back pain (LBP) to determine whether dysregulation of this system represents a marker for chronicity. Salivary cortisol samples were collected from 78 patients (TMD = 41, LBP = 37) upon waking up and 20 minutes later daily for 2 weeks. High-risk patients for chronic pain had different overall cortisol levels versus lowrisk patients. High-risk patients exhibited greater variability in terms of cortisol secretion compared with low-risk patients, F (1, 1,243) = 17.73, p < .000. These results provide evidence of a neuroendocrine mechanism underlying a constellation of psychosocial risk factors for chronic pain.

Disciplines

Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Publication Date

7-1-2006

Language

English

Comments

Author's final draft after peer review, also known as a post print.

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Gatchel, Robert J.; Garofalo, John P.; and Robinson, Richard C., "Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis Dysregulation in Acute Temporomandibular Disorder and Low Back Pain: A Marker for Chronicity?" (2006). Psychology Faculty Publications. 9.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/psychology_facpubs/9