Trial reportInternational journal of geriatric psychiatry2012
Treatment-related alteration of cortisol predicts change in neuropsychological function during acute treatment of late-life anxiety disorder.
Trial report in International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Use of Salivary Diurnal Cortisol as an Outcome Measure in Randomised Controlled Trials: a Systematic Review.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2016Pooled it
- Long-Term Pharmacological Treatments of Anxiety Disorders: An Updated Systematic Review.Current psychiatry reports · 2016Pooled it
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy augmentation of SSRI reduces cortisol levels in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trial.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2016Trial
- Antiglucocorticoid therapy for older adults with anxiety and co-occurring cognitive dysfunction: results from a pilot study with mifepristone.International journal of geriatric psychiatry · 2014Trial
- The cortisol axis and psychiatric disorders: an updated review.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2025Review
- Cortisol as a Biomarker of Mental Disorder Severity.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
- Temporal dynamics of cognitive performance and anxiety across older adulthood.Psychology and aging · 2017Article
- Assessing cognitive function in bipolar disorder: challenges and recommendations for clinical trial design.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2015Article
- Effect of Whole Body Massage by Patient's Companion on the Level of Blood Cortisol in Coronary Patients.Nursing and midwifery studies · 2013Article
- Neurocognitive function and state cognitive stress appraisal predict cortisol reactivity to an acute psychosocial stressor in adolescents.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2013Article
- Association of cortisol with neuropsychological assessment in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder.Aging & mental health · 2013Article
- A lifespan view of anxiety disorders.Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2011Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveOlder adults with anxiety disorders are burdened by impairment in neurocognition, which may be mediated by elevated circulating cortisol levels. In a randomized controlled trial of acute serotonin-reuptake inhibitor treatment for late-life anxiety disorder, we examined whether change in salivary cortisol concentrations during treatment predicted improvements in measures of memory and executive function.
methodsWe examined 60 adults aged 60 years and older, who took part in a 12-week trial of escitalopram versus placebo for generalized anxiety disorder. All subjects had pre-treatment and post-treatment assessments that included monitoring of peak and total daily cortisol and a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation.
resultsSalivary cortisol changes during treatment showed significant associations with changes in immediate and delayed memory but no association with executive tasks (measures of working memory and set shifting). Analyses suggested that a decrease in cortisol due to serotonin-reuptake inhibitor treatment was responsible for the memory changes: memory improvement was seen with cortisol reduction among patients receiving escitalopram but not among patients receiving placebo.
conclusionSerotonin-reuptake inhibitor-induced alteration in circulating cortisol during treatment of generalized anxiety disorder predicted changes in immediate and delayed memory. This finding suggests a novel treatment strategy in late-life anxiety disorders: targeting hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal axis dysfunction to improve memory.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.