The effect of depressive symptomatology on plasma cortisol responses to acute bicycle exercise among post-menopausal women

The present study was designed to elucidate the effect of depressive symptomatology on the cortisol response to strenuous exercise. Thirteen healthy, post-menopausal women participated in this study. The results show that acute bicycle exercise activates the hypothalamic—pituitary—adrenal (HPA) axis resulting in rapid increases in plasma cortisol. Concerning the effect of depressive symptomatology on cortisol release during physical performance, we found a trend toward a negative relation between the level of depression and the change in cortisol measured after termination of the exercise, but it failed to reach statistical significance, probably due to the small sample size. Interestingly, we found a significant negative correlation between basal cortisol levels and cortisol release to the exercise protocol. Although this finding is preliminary, it seems to suggest that a sustained activation of the HPA axis may coincide with an adrenal insufficiency in response to physical performance of post-menopausal women.