Genetic Studies of Salivary Cortisol Profiles and Their Influence on Chronic Disease Risk Factors
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Genetic studies of salivary cortisol profiles and their influence on chronic disease risk factors by Erin K. Payne A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Epidemiological Science) in the University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Professor Sharon L.R. Kardia, Co-Chair Professor Ana V. Diez-Roux, Co-Chair Associate Professor Bhramar Mukherjee Professor Patricia A. Peyser Assistant Research Scientist Jennifer A. Smith © Erin K. Payne 2013 Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without with generous support, guidance, and counsel from my advisor, Sharon Kardia, and the other members of my dissertation committee, Ana Diez-Roux, Bhramar Mukherjee, Pat Peyser, and Jennifer Smith. I would like to thank the past and current members of the Kardia Research Lab. Tracy for her assistance when I was an analysis novice, Koji for teaching me to navigate the servers, Wei and Josh for their programming prowess, and Linda for keeping us organized and her reminders to keep moving forward. A few special recognitions are needed. Thank you to Jen for extending her time, knowledge, mentorship, support, and a shoulder to lean on. To Erin, Alicia, and Stephanie, thank you for being the team that saw me through the highs and the lows. I will be forever grateful. To Caitlin, Colleen, and Casey, for answering the endless calls on how to finish the dissertation and start saving the world. To Steve, for his unfaltering love, enduring patience, and unending faith. To my brothers, for their constant inspiration. Lastly, to my parents, for their infinite wisdom, love, support, encouragement, and limitless belief in me. I love you all. [ii] Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. ii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix Abstract ............................................................................................................................ xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Psychosocial stress .......................................................................................................... 3 Cortisol ............................................................................................................................ 6 Epidemiologic studies of cortisol.................................................................................... 7 Stress response genes ...................................................................................................... 8 Biological mechanisms linking stressors and chronic disease risk factors ................... 11 CHAPTER 2: STUDY POPULATION AND VARIABLE MEASUREMENTS ........... 13 Study Population ........................................................................................................... 13 The MESA Study ...................................................................................................... 13 The MESA Stress Study ........................................................................................... 15 Cortisol Samples and Cortisol Features ........................................................................ 17 Daily Salivary Cortisol Samples ............................................................................... 17 Cortisol Features ....................................................................................................... 19 Genetic Data.................................................................................................................. 35 Chronic Disease Risk Factors ....................................................................................... 40 Body Mass Index ...................................................................................................... 40 Fasting Glucose ......................................................................................................... 43 Inflammatory Measures ............................................................................................ 47 CHAPTER 3: VARIATION IN STRESS RESPONSE GENES IS RELATED TO FEATURES OF DIURNAL CORTISOL CURVES IN THE MULTI-ETHNIC STUDY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS ............................................................................................... 55 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 55 Methods......................................................................................................................... 57 Study Population ....................................................................................................... 57 Cortisol Sample Collection ....................................................................................... 58 Cortisol Features ....................................................................................................... 58 Genetic Data.............................................................................................................. 60 Stress Response Genes .............................................................................................. 61 [iii] Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................................ 61 Gene-level analyses .................................................................................................. 61 Meta-analysis ............................................................................................................ 62 Power Calculations ................................................................................................... 63 Results ........................................................................................................................... 65 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 73 CHAPTER 4: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CORTISOL LEVELS AND STRESS RESPONSE GENES IN PREDICTING CHRONIC DISEASE RISK FACTORS IN THE MULTI-ETHNIC STUDY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS ................................................... 77 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 77 Methods......................................................................................................................... 79 Study Population ....................................................................................................... 79 Cortisol Sample Collection ....................................................................................... 79 Cortisol Features ....................................................................................................... 80 Genetic Data.............................................................................................................. 82 Stress Response Genes .............................................................................................. 82 Outcome variables .................................................................................................... 83 Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................................ 84 Power Calculations ................................................................................................... 85 Results ........................................................................................................................... 87 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 103 CHAPTER 5: A GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY (GWAS) OF SALIVARY CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS: THE MULTI-ETHNIC STUDY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS .................................................................................................. 107 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 107 Methods....................................................................................................................... 110 Study Population ..................................................................................................... 110 Cortisol Sample Collection ..................................................................................... 111 Cortisol Features ..................................................................................................... 111 Genetic Data............................................................................................................ 113 Statistical Strategy .................................................................................................. 113 Results ......................................................................................................................... 115 GWAS Results ........................................................................................................ 116 Meta-analysis Results ............................................................................................