Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Children of parents with a substance use disorder (CPSUDs) are at increased risk for the development of substance use disorders later in life, and therefore may manifest vulnerability markers for these disorders at a higher level than children from the general population. Our aim was to examine hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity as a potential vulnerability marker in CPSUDs as compared to healthy controls. We further examined whether having experienced more adverse life events (ALEs) accounted for differences in cortisol levels between CPSUDs and controls....
CONCLUSIONS:
HPA axis dysregulation may be a vulnerability marker for substance use disorders, as CPSUDs show blunted activation in anticipation of stress. These blunted cortisol levels were not the result of having experienced more stressful experiences during their lifetimes, thus might reflect an inborn vulnerability to substance use disorders.
Comments (0)