Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32200225›Full record

Trial reportPsychoneuroendocrinology2020

Stress-induced cortisol reactivity as a predictor of success in treatment for affective dimensions.

Andres D Roque, Michelle G Craske, Michael Treanor, David Rosenfield, Thomas Ritz, Alicia E Meuret

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 56% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Psychoneuroendocrine stress response in female and male youth with major depressive disorder.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Andres D RoqueDepartment of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, United States. Electronic address: andresr@smu.edu.
Michelle G CraskeDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, United States.
Michael TreanorDepartment of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, United States.
David RosenfieldDepartment of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, United States.
Thomas RitzDepartment of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, United States.
Alicia E MeuretDepartment of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, United States. Electronic address: ameuret@smu.edu.
Southern Methodist University · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · US

Funding

Reward Sensitivity as a Mechanism of Positive Affect Treatment for AnhedoniaR61MH115138 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI CRASKE, MICHELLE G, MEURET, ALICIA ESPERANZA · 2018 to 2019
$1.7M
NIMH NIH HHS R61 MH115138
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResponse rates to first-line treatments for depression and anxiety remain unsatisfactory. Identification of predictors or moderators that can optimize treatment matching is of scientific and clinical interest. This study examined the role of prolonged laboratory-induced stress cortisol reactivity as a predictor of outcome for a treatment of affective dimensions (TAD). Patients received 15-sessions of a treatment targeting reductions in negative affect or increases in positive affect (Craske et al., 2019). A second aim was to examine whether treatment type would moderate the association between cortisol reactivity and treatment outcome.

methodsThirty-five participants underwent a 36-minute intermittent stress induction task composed of a mental arithmetic task and a fear-potentiated startle task one week before treatment initiation. Cortisol was collected at five-time points with reactivity being quantified as peak during the task minus basal level of cortisol the evening before the assessment. Using multilevel modeling, we examined the associations between cortisol reactivity and slopes of symptom improvement.

resultsCortisol reactivity was related to treatment outcome, with average and higher levels of stress-induced cortisol response predicting greater decreases in symptoms throughout treatment and 6-month follow-up. Treatment condition differences (moderation) were not observed in the effect of cortisol reactivity on symptoms.

conclusionOur findings demonstrate the impact of greater cortisol stress reactivity on treatment outcome. Future studies should investigate how to enhance this therapeutic benefit through capitalizing on endogenous diurnal fluctuations or exogenous cortisol manipulation.

Indexed as

Outcome Assessment, Health CarePsychotherapyAdultAffective SymptomsAnxietyDepressionFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansHydrocortisoneMaleMiddle AgedSalivaStress, PsychologicalHydrocortisoneAnxietyCortisol reactivityDepressionPersonalized psychotherapyPredictors and moderatorsTransdiagnostic

Identifiers

PMID32200225
PMCPMC8978549
OpenAlexW3009133310

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.