Increased daytime and awakening salivary free aldosterone in essential hypertensive men.

Background: While aldosterone plays an important role in blood pressure regulation, its role in essential hypertension (EHT) remains unclear. Here, we systematically investigated the secretion of biologically-active free aldosterone in saliva in response to awakening (AldAR) and during the day (AldDay) in EHT compared to normotensive controls (NT).

Methods: In 30 men with EHT and 30 age-matched NT, AldAR saliva samples were collected immediately after awakening and 15, 30, 45, and 60 min thereafter and AldDay samples were collected from 08:30-22:00 h on two consecutive days.

Eating After Acute Psychosocial Stress in Healthy Men and Women: Sex Differences and Endocrine Mechanisms.

Context: Overweight and obesity have become a major health burden with a higher prevalence of obesity in women than in men. Mental stress has been discussed to play a role in this context.

Objective: We investigated endocrine mechanisms underlying eating after acute psychosocial stress and potential sex differences therein.

Lower diurnal HPA-axis activity in male hypertensive and coronary heart disease patients predicts future CHD risk.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) and its major risk factor hypertension have both been associated with altered activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis but the biological mechanisms underlying prospective associations with adverse disease outcomes are unclear. We investigated diurnal HPA-axis activity in CHD-patients, hypertensive (HT) and healthy normotensive men (NT) and tested for prospective associations with biological CHD risk factors.

Methods: Eighty-three male CHD-patients, 54 HT and 54 NT men repeatedly measured salivary cortisol over two consecutive days.

Do Hypertensive Men Spy With an Angry Little Eye? Anger Recognition in Men With Essential Hypertension - Cross-sectional and Prospective Findings.

Background: Higher trait anger has inconsistently been associated with hypertension and hypertension development, but social context in terms of recognition of other persons' anger has been neglected in this context.

Purpose: Here, we investigated anger recognition of facial affect and trait anger in essential hypertensive and normotensive men in addition to prospective associations with blood pressure (BP) increases.

Methods: Baseline assessment comprised a total of 145 participants including 57 essential hypertensive and 65 normotensive men who were otherwise healthy and medication-free.

Acute Stress-Induced Blood Lipid Reactivity in Hypertensive and Normotensive Men and Prospective Associations with Future Cardiovascular Risk.

Hyperreactivity to stress may be one explanation for the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in individuals with essential hypertension. We investigated blood lipid reactivity to the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST), a psychosocial stressor, in hypertensive and normotensive men and tested for prospective associations with biological risk factors. Fifty-six otherwise healthy and medication-free hypertensive and normotensive men underwent the MIST.

Acute Stress Improves Concentration Performance.

Acute stress can have both detrimental and beneficial effects on cognitive processing, but effects on concentration performance remain unclear. Here, we investigate the effects of acute psychosocial stress on concentration performance and possible underlying physiological and psychological mechanisms. The study sample comprised 47 healthy male participants who were randomly assigned either to a psychosocial stress situation (Trier Social Stress Test) or a neutral control task.