Cortisol is an adrenal hormone produced in response to stress or anxiety, which is how it became identified as the stress hormone. In excess, cortisol can increase blood pressure and blood sugar levels and decrease immune response. Over the years, scientists have been fascinated by cortisol's effect on behavior, disease and illness. As this hormone continues to be studied, researchers are finding connections to metabolic disorders, depression, weight gain and more.
Psychiatric and Physical Illness
In January 2010, the journal "Psychology & Sociology" reported, "Overtime, higher and more prolonged levels of cortisol can lead to a number of psychiatric disorders and physical ailments, including, but not limited to, depression, PTSD, diabetes, and obesity." Given this information, researchers from the University of British Columbia studied poor children who tested with high levels of cortisol caused by their perceptions of threat and more family chaos. The researchers found a link between children of low socioeconomic status and high levels of cortisol with a higher risk for psychiatric and physical illnesses.
Metabolic Disorders
Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center in Germany found an association between high levels of cortisol and the development of fatty liver, which increases the risk for metabolic diseases, including the combination of fatty liver, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Cushing's syndrome affects patients with permanently raised cortisol levels---possibly the result of malignant tumors. The syndrome can cause high blood sugar levels, which leads to fatty liver deposits.
Depression in Obese Children
Based on the knowledge that high levels of cortisol are linked to obesity, researchers at Athens University Medical School in Athens, Greece studied 50 obese kids. Cortisol levels in their blood throughout the day correlated positively with their symptomatic depression. In fact, the higher each subject reported on the depression scale, the higher their cortisol levels tested. Study author Panagiota Pervanidou, MD, believes that obesity and depression in children may not be behavioral, but rather could have a hormonal link.
