PLOS mental health.· 2026Q2
The hidden burden of college life: Stress, sleep, and salivary biomarkers in students—A cross-sectional study
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- Q2SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
High perceived stress in 90.4% of undergraduates correlated with fatigue and poor sleep, and was linked to specific salivary biomarker changes: increased sympathetic activation (α-amylase), HPA axis dysregulation (cortisol), circadian disruption (melatonin), and mucosal immune activation (IgA, lysozyme).
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Key points
- 90.4% of 637 undergraduates reported moderate-to-high perceived stress.
- Perceived stress correlated with fatigue (r=0.41) and poor sleep quality (r=0.35).
- High stress was linked to increased salivary α-amylase, altered cortisol patterns, increased melatonin, and increased IgA and lysozyme.
- A coupling between salivary α-amylase and lysozyme (r=0.52) suggested neuro-immune coordination.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Globally, university students face substantial psychological pressures, and stress-related mental health disorders are recognized as major public health concerns. While biomarkers such as cortisol have been extensively studied, integrated analyses of neuroendocrine-immune-circadian interactions remain limited. In this cross-sectional study with two complementary components, psychometric assessments of 637 undergraduates revealed that 90.4% experienced moderate-to-high perceived stress. These stress levels correlated with fatigue (r = 0.41, p < 0.01) and poor sleep quality (r = 0.35, p < 0.01). A second component involved laboratory-based diurnal biomarker profiling of 33 high-stress and low-stress participants, revealing stress-dependent physiological patterns. Specifically, high stress was associated with sympathetic activation (α-amylase↑), HPA axis dysregulation (altered diurnal cortisol patterns), circadian disruption (melatonin↑), and mucosal immune activation (IgA ↑ , lysozyme↑). The coupling of α-amylase and lysozyme suggested neuro-immune coordination (r = 0.52, p < 0.001). These findings indicate that salivary biomarker profiles are associated with perceived stress. Sleep quality and fatigue warrant further investigation as potential intervention targets in future longitudinal studies.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. PLOS mental health., 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral NeuroscienceNeuroscience