SynthesisEuropean journal of endocrinology2019
Morning plasma cortisol as a cardiovascular risk factor: findings from prospective cohort and Mendelian randomization studies.
Synthesis in European journal of endocrinology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
50 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of cortisol in the association of canine-companionship with blood pressure, glucose, and lipids: a systematic review.High blood pressure & cardiovascular prevention : the official journal of the Italian Society of Hypertension · 2021Pooled it
- Does psychological treatment of major depression reduce cardiac risk biomarkers? An exploratory randomized controlled trial.Psychological medicine · 2023Trial
- Long-term magnesium supplementation improves glucocorticoid metabolism: A post-hoc analysis of an intervention trial.Clinical endocrinology · 2021Trial
- Effects of Olive Oil Consumption on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients with Fibromyalgia.Nutrients · 2020Trial
- Article
- Inflammaging and Cardiovascular Risk in Old Women.High blood pressure & cardiovascular prevention : the official journal of the Italian Society of Hypertension · 2026Review
- The Burden of Preoperative Stress: Biological Mechanisms and Postoperative Outcomes.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Comorbidity Between Mood Disorders and Chronic Somatic Diseases, With a Focus on Cardiometabolic Disease, and Its Mechanistic Crosstalk.Depression and anxiety · 2026Review
- Lowering the dexamethasone suppression test cut-off: is it time yet?Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2025Review
- Effects of Walking and Barre Exercise on CES-D, Stress Hormones, hs-CRP, and Immunoglobulins in Elderly Women.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Serum Cortisol and Cardiovascular Disease Risk - A Potential Biomarker.Current cardiology reviews · 2025Review
- Morning cortisol as an indicator of arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort study and Mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- Association of stress hormones and the risk of cardiovascular diseases systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of cardiology. Cardiovascular risk and prevention · 2024Article
- Higher hair cortisol levels associated with previous cardiovascular events and cardiovascular risks in a large cross-sectional population study.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2024Observational
- Long-Term Glucocorticoid Exposure and Incident Cardiovascular Diseases-The Lifelines Cohort.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2024Article
- Association of perinatal characteristics with biomarkers of stress and inflammation in young adults: An exploratory study.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Article
- A National Study Exploring the Association between Fasting Duration and Mortality among the Elderly.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Genetically predicted plasma cortisol and common chronic diseases: A Mendelian randomization study.Clinical endocrinology · 2024Article
- Maternal plasma cortisol's effect on offspring birth weight: a Mendelian Randomisation study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- The protective role of ginsenoside Rg3 in heart diseases and mental disorders.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe identification of new causal risk factors has the potential to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction and the development of new treatments to reduce CVD deaths. In the general population, we sought to determine whether cortisol is a causal risk factor for CVD and coronary heart disease (CHD). DESIGN AND
methodsThree approaches were adopted to investigate the association between cortisol and CVD/CHD. First, we used multivariable regression in two prospective nested case-control studies (total 798 participants, 313 incident CVD/CHD with complete data). Second, a random-effects meta-analysis of these data and previously published prospective associations was performed (total 6680 controls, 696 incident CVD/CHD). Finally, one- and two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses were performed (122,737 CHD cases, 547,261 controls for two-sample analyses).
resultsIn the two prospective nested case-control studies, logistic regression adjusting for sex, age, BMI, smoking and time of sampling, demonstrated a positive association between morning plasma cortisol and incident CVD (OR: 1.28 per 1 SD higher cortisol, 95% CI: 1.06-1.54). In the meta-analysis of prospective studies, the equivalent result was OR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.06-1.31. Results from the two-sample Mendelian randomization were consistent with these positive associations: OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.98-1.15.
conclusionsAll three approaches demonstrated a positive association between morning plasma cortisol and incident CVD. Together, these findings suggest that elevated morning cortisol is a causal risk factor for CVD. The current data suggest strategies targeted at lowering cortisol action should be evaluated for their effects on CVD.
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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.