Influence of sleep quality in the cortisol levels in healthy elderly

• Grant number: 14/19331-0
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2014
• Effective date (End): November 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nursing
• Principal Investigator: Juliana Nery de Souza Talarico
• Grantee: Juliana Rosendo da Silva
• Home Institution: Escola de Enfermagem (EE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

By population aging, the objective is to increasingly provide the elderly quality of life. The cortisol, a major stress hormones released in response to a stressful situation and the resulting activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, can have a negative effect on the body when its release occurs chronically. Some daily habits like sleep can influence various body systems among them the functioning of the HPA axis. In this sense, the present study seeks to identify whether there is an association between quality of sleep and cortisol levels in healthy elderly. It is questioned whether a low quality of sleep was associated with an atypical pattern of cortisol concentration during aging. Free cognitive and functional deficits, the study sample comprised 122 elderly, respond to an instrument - "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index" (PSQI), properly translated, whose purpose is to assess the quality and sleep disorders from the perspective of 7 components. Then, the elderly collect saliva samples to measure cortisol levels; collection will be performed by the participants themselves in the home, according to guidelines. The findings of this proposal can contribute to the understanding of factors that explain the variability in the concentration of cortisol in the elderly. Moreover, since high concentrations of cortisol are associated with loss of memory, the results may contribute to the identification of moderator factors relationship between stress and during aging cognition. (AU)