Emerging evidence suggests that osteocalcin–a protein secreted by bones that aids in rebuilding the skeleton–may play a hitherto overlooked role in initiating fight-or-flight stress response. However, osteocalcin response to acute social stress in humans has not yet been well observed. This includes among racial minorities, who may be at a disproportionately high risk for stress-related illness due in part to dysregulation of fight-or-flight stress responses. The current study examined reactivity of salivary osteocalcin (sOCN) in response to acute social stress in a sample of healthy African American men and women. The current study also considered associations with concomitantly measured stress biomarkers.
Goetz, Stefan; Todd Lucas; Jolin Yamin; Shoshana Krohner; Caroline Drolet; Catalina Kopetz; Mark Lumley; Katrina Hamilton & Doug Granger (2020) Salivary osteocalcin: Reactivity to acute social stress and relationships with concomitant stress biomarkers in healthy African Americans, Psychoneuroendocrinology 119.
