ArticlePsychoneuroendocrinology2015
Temporal patterns, heterogeneity, and stability of diurnal cortisol rhythms in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Article in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Potential of Salivary Biomarkers in Autism Research: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Pooled it
- Cortisol awakening response in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Evidence-based mental health · 2019Pooled it
- Therapeutic Riding or Mindfulness: Comparative Effectiveness of Two Recreational Therapy Interventions for Adolescents with Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2022Trial
- Investigating a biopsychosocial model of depression in autistic youth: The intersection of cortisol and depressive symptoms.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Conceptualizing Autism as a Behavioral Network: Transdiagnostic Associations with Co-occurring Psychiatric Conditions.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2026Article
- Sleep Disturbances and Co-sleeping in Italian Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- The intersection and developmental trajectory of morning cortisol and testosterone in autistic and neurotypical youth.Molecular autism · 2025Article
- Relationship between serum cortisol levels, stereotypies, and the presence of autism spectrum disorder in patients with severe intellectual disability.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Chronic Pain in Autistic Youth: Clinical Prevalence and Reflections on Tailoring Evidence-Based Interventions from an Interdisciplinary Treatment Team.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Reliability of diurnal salivary cortisol metrics: A meta-analysis and investigation in two independent samples.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Article
- The developmental trajectory of diurnal cortisol in autistic and neurotypical youth.Development and psychopathology · 2023Article
- Analysis of salivary steroid hormones in boys with autism spectrum disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Biological correlates of altered circadian rhythms, autonomic functions and sleep problems in autism spectrum disorder.Annals of general psychiatry · 2022Review
- A molecular framework for autistic experiences: Mitochondrial allostatic load as a mediator between autism and psychopathology.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Stress System Activation in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Review
- Exploring Key Physiological System Profiles at Rest and the Association with Depressive Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2021Article
- Biological Timing and Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Role for Circadian Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorders.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Review
- Early Second Trimester Maternal Serum Steroid-Related Biomarkers Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2019Article
- Individual differences in object recognition.Psychological review · 2019Article
- Differences in anticipatory versus reactive stress to social evaluative threat in adults versus adolescents with autism.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The current study used a multifaceted approach to assess whether children with ASD have a distinctive diurnal rhythm of cortisol that differentiates them from typically developing (TD) peers and whether sub-groups of ASD children can be identified with unique diurnal profiles. Salivary cortisol was sampled at four time points during the day (waking, 30-min post-waking, afternoon, and evening) across three days in a sample of 36 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 27 typically developing (TD) peers. Between-group comparisons on both mean levels and featural components of diurnal cortisol indicated elevated evening cortisol and a dampened linear decline across the day in the ASD group. No differences were evident on the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Group-based trajectory modeling indicated that a subgroup (25%) of ASD children demonstrated an attenuated linear decline while the cortisol trajectory of the second subgroup was indistinguishable from that of the TD group. Intraclass correlations indicated that, when aggregated across days, cortisol measures were generally stable over the interval assessed. There were few significant relations between cortisol measures or sub-groups and measures of stress, temperament, and symptoms. Results encourage follow-up studies to investigate the functional significance, heterogeneity and longer-term stability of diurnal cortisol profiles in children with ASD.
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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.