Table 2.

The influence of physical performance and physical activity levels on the diurnal cycle of cortisol in older adults.

Authors	Sample	Cortisol measurement	Physical activity measurement	Results
Gardner et al., 2011	N = 1143 (73.4 ± 4.17)	Phase 5. Waking, 30’ post-wake, 2pm, 10pm (on two consecutive days)	Get up and go test and Flamingo test	↑ Night-time cortisol levels ↓ Walking speed ↓ Balance ↑ Diurnal drop ↑ Walking speed
Gardner et al., 2013a, b	6 cohort studies: Boyd Orr; Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS); Hertfordshire Cohort Study (HCS); MRC National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD); Longitudinal Ageing Study Amsterdam (LASA); and the Whitehall II (WHII) study Ages: between 50 and 92	Different protocols including morning levels, CAR, and rest of the day	Walking speed; Chair rises; standing balance; grip strength	↑ morning cortisol, ↑ diurnal drop, ↑ CAR, ↓ night time cortisol were associated with ↑ walking speed ↑ Diurnal drop ↑ Chair rises ↑ Night time cortisol ↓ balance No associations with grip strength
Heaney et al., 2014	N = 36, 18 men, 18 women (70.7 ± 5.66)	Awakening; 30’ post-wakIN; 3hr, 6hr, 9hr, and 12hr after waking	Physical activity scale from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study	No differences in cortisol measurements but ↓ levels of corstisol:DHEA ratio for those who engaged in 1hr per week of physical activity but only in the high stress group
Kumari et al., 2010	N = 2802 (60.9 ± 5.9)	Waking, 30’ post-waking; 2,5hr, 8hr, and 12hr after waking; and bedtime	Walking speed over 8 feet course	Those with a ↓ CAR, ↑ diurnal cortisol and flatter pattern showed ↓ walking speed
Lucertini et al., 2015	N = 22 men 68.13 ± 1.28	30’ post-awake, 12.00, 15.00, 18.00, 21.00, 24.00 h	Rockport Walking test	↓ basal cortisol, especially in the evening and midnight, and ↓ area-under-the-curve for total daily cortisol levels in High Fit individuals
Pulopulos et al., 2016	N = 86 (64.92 ± 3.93)	Waking; 30’ post-awake; 45′ post-wake;	Walking speed: 10 m at usual speed and as fast as possible	↑ CAR ↑ Walking speed
Strahler et al., 2010	N = 26 young adults (24.6 ± 2.0), 33 older adults (62.2 ± 6.7), 27 younger ballroom dancers (21.1 ± 4.4) and 31 older ballroom dancers (60.2 ± 6.8)	Waking; 30’ post-wake; 11am, 3pm, 8pm	To be included, dancers had to dance at least twice per week and compete one a month	↑basal salivary α-amylasa ↓ amount of physical activity and aging but no effects for cortisol measurements.
Sousa et al., 2017	Kingston (N = 81; 69.0 ± 2.4) Saint-Hyacinthe (N = 81; 68.3 ± 2.5) Tirana (N = 57; 69.4 ± 3.4) Manizales (N = 90; 68.9 ± 2.7)	Waking, 30′ and 60’ post-waking; 3pm, and bedtime	Short Physical Performance Battery	↓ cortisol peak (30’ post-waking), ↑ cortisol bedtime, and ↓ ratio between these two indices indicated ↓ physical performance