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Are Nocebo Effects in Adulthood Linked to Prenatal Maternal Cortisol Levels?

OBJECTIVE: Placebo-induced adverse events, or nocebo effects, occur when doctor-patient communication anticipates the onset of negative symptoms. They have been found to correlate with the anxiety-related activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. Here we try to determine if prenatal hyp...

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Autores principales: Benedetti, Fabrizio, Amanzio, Martina, Giovannelli, Fabio, Craigs-Brackhahn, Karen, Arduino, Claudia, Shaibani, Aziz
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Giovanni Fioriti Editore srl 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9597651/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36340278
http://dx.doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20220505
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author Benedetti, Fabrizio
Amanzio, Martina
Giovannelli, Fabio
Craigs-Brackhahn, Karen
Arduino, Claudia
Shaibani, Aziz
author_facet Benedetti, Fabrizio
Amanzio, Martina
Giovannelli, Fabio
Craigs-Brackhahn, Karen
Arduino, Claudia
Shaibani, Aziz
author_sort Benedetti, Fabrizio
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVE: Placebo-induced adverse events, or nocebo effects, occur when doctor-patient communication anticipates the onset of negative symptoms. They have been found to correlate with the anxiety-related activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. Here we try to determine if prenatal hyperactivity of this system, as assessed through plasma cortisol, may influence nocebo effects in adulthood. METHOD: We investigated the rate and magnitude of nocebo effects in 378 adults whose prenatal maternal plasma cortisol was measured during the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy. The healthy subjects underwent a nocebo oxygen challenge. This consisted of the inhalation of fake (placebo) oxygen and assessment of the following adverse events: headache, chest pain, abdominal pain, and cough. Plasma cortisol responses during the nocebo adverse events were also measured. RESULTS: 41 out of 46 (89.1%) subjects who reported 3 adverse events, and 37 out of 37 (100%) subjects who reported 4 adverse events had prenatal maternal cortisol above normal levels. By contrast, only 10 out of 143 (7%) subjects who reported 0 adverse events showed prenatal maternal cortisol above the normal range. Moreover, whereas subjects who reported 3 and 4 adverse events showed a significant increase in plasma cortisol following the nocebo challenge, subjects who reported 0 adverse events showed no changes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasize the importance of the doctor-patient communication in perceiving symptoms like pain, and suggest that those subjects with high prenatal maternal cortisol may be more sensitive to the effects of a negative communication in adulthood.
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spelling pubmed-95976512022-11-04 Are Nocebo Effects in Adulthood Linked to Prenatal Maternal Cortisol Levels? Benedetti, Fabrizio Amanzio, Martina Giovannelli, Fabio Craigs-Brackhahn, Karen Arduino, Claudia Shaibani, Aziz Clin Neuropsychiatry Research Paper OBJECTIVE: Placebo-induced adverse events, or nocebo effects, occur when doctor-patient communication anticipates the onset of negative symptoms. They have been found to correlate with the anxiety-related activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. Here we try to determine if prenatal hyperactivity of this system, as assessed through plasma cortisol, may influence nocebo effects in adulthood. METHOD: We investigated the rate and magnitude of nocebo effects in 378 adults whose prenatal maternal plasma cortisol was measured during the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy. The healthy subjects underwent a nocebo oxygen challenge. This consisted of the inhalation of fake (placebo) oxygen and assessment of the following adverse events: headache, chest pain, abdominal pain, and cough. Plasma cortisol responses during the nocebo adverse events were also measured. RESULTS: 41 out of 46 (89.1%) subjects who reported 3 adverse events, and 37 out of 37 (100%) subjects who reported 4 adverse events had prenatal maternal cortisol above normal levels. By contrast, only 10 out of 143 (7%) subjects who reported 0 adverse events showed prenatal maternal cortisol above the normal range. Moreover, whereas subjects who reported 3 and 4 adverse events showed a significant increase in plasma cortisol following the nocebo challenge, subjects who reported 0 adverse events showed no changes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasize the importance of the doctor-patient communication in perceiving symptoms like pain, and suggest that those subjects with high prenatal maternal cortisol may be more sensitive to the effects of a negative communication in adulthood. Giovanni Fioriti Editore srl 2022-10 /pmc/articles/PMC9597651/ /pubmed/36340278 http://dx.doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20220505 Text en © 2022 Giovanni Fioriti Editore s.r.l. This is an open access article. Distribution and reproduction are permitted in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Paper
Benedetti, Fabrizio
Amanzio, Martina
Giovannelli, Fabio
Craigs-Brackhahn, Karen
Arduino, Claudia
Shaibani, Aziz
Are Nocebo Effects in Adulthood Linked to Prenatal Maternal Cortisol Levels?
title Are Nocebo Effects in Adulthood Linked to Prenatal Maternal Cortisol Levels?
title_full Are Nocebo Effects in Adulthood Linked to Prenatal Maternal Cortisol Levels?
title_fullStr Are Nocebo Effects in Adulthood Linked to Prenatal Maternal Cortisol Levels?
title_full_unstemmed Are Nocebo Effects in Adulthood Linked to Prenatal Maternal Cortisol Levels?
title_short Are Nocebo Effects in Adulthood Linked to Prenatal Maternal Cortisol Levels?
title_sort are nocebo effects in adulthood linked to prenatal maternal cortisol levels?
topic Research Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9597651/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36340278
http://dx.doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20220505
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