Como idosas com comprometimento cognitivo lidam com o estressor físico?

The aging process can promote hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis changes causing dysregulation in cortisol levels, and consequently inappropriate response and recovery after an acute stressor stimulus. However, there is an interindividual and gender difference mainly due to pathologies related to aging as dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). To MCI individuals, higher cortisol levels can be associated to chronic stress, despite it is not elucidate the acute responses to the physical stressor. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of acute physical stressor on salivary cortisol levels between healthy controls and MCI women. Elderly women patients clinically diagnosed with MCI (n = 8) and healthy older individuals (n = 10) were selected. Both groups performed a cognitive and physical test. The physical stressor test was a moderate-intensity walk on a treadmill for 30 min. Salivary cortisol was collected 3 times: before, shortly after, and 15 minutes after the walk. It was observed cortisol reduction immediately after physical stressor for both groups with large effect size, however there was no significant difference in cortisol levels (F = 3.979; p = 0.063). A third cortisol collection after 15 minutes showed a significant effect for moment (F = 4.075; p = 0.031) with a cortisol reduction. The effect size was considered large for both groups. Regardless of the diagnosis, older women present low cortisol responsiveness to a physical stimulus. Besides that, those outcomes should be interpreted with caution as a possible physiological deficit and biological differences between individuals in coping with a stressor agent.

Keywords:
Cortisol; Saliva; Reactivity; Aging; Exercise.