Stress is associated with the secretion of cortisol throughout the day, but less is known about the dynamic effects of stress on the cortisol awakening response (CAR). More widely, knowledge of the causal factors and functions of the CAR are also not fully understood. This study explored: (1) the effects of daily stressors on the next day CAR and; (2) the effects of the CAR on same day physical and affective outcomes. Sixty-four participants completed a daily diary, reporting on the occurrence of daily stressors and stress appraisals, physical symptoms, and affect. Cortisol was measured at 0, 15, 30, and 45 min after awakening to provide measures of the CAR on 3 consecutive work days. Stress appraisal was found to negatively predict the CAR, such that where stressors were appraised as more stressful (where perceived demands exceeded resources), the CAR increased less the following morning. Furthermore, the CAR significantly predicted same-day physical symptoms such that a lower CAR was associated with more physical symptoms. This study provides evidence for a pathway through which daily stressors may influence physical wellbeing, and highlights the importance of appraisals for future stress-based cortisol research.

This review summarises the extant literature investigating the relation between traffic-related air pollution levels in and around schools and executive functioning in primary-school-aged children. An electronic search was conducted using Web of Science, Scopus, and Education Literature Datasets databases (February 2020). Review articles were also searched, and forwards and backwards searches of identified studies were performed. Included papers were assessed for quality. We included 9 separate studies (published in 13 papers). Findings suggest that indoor and outdoor particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM_2.5) negatively influences executive function and academic achievement and that indoor and outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) adversely affects working memory. Evidence for the effects of particulate matter with a diameter of 10 μm or less (PM₁₀) is limited but suggests potential wide-ranging negative effects on attention, reasoning, and academic test scores. Air pollution in and around schools influences executive function and appears to impede the developmental trajectory of working memory. Further research is required to establish the extent of these effects, reproducibility, consequences for future attainment, and place within the wider context of cognitive development.

During a pandemic, public transport is strategically important for keeping the country going and getting people where they need to be. The essential nature of public transport puts into focus the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in this sector; rapid and diverse work has been done to attempt to understand how transmission happens in this context and what factors influence risk. This review aimed to provide a narrative overview of the literature assessing transmission, or potential for transmission, of SARS-CoV-2 on ground-based public transport, as well as studies assessing the effectiveness of control measures on public transport during the early part of the pandemic (up to May 2021). An electronic search was conducted using Web of Science, Ovid, the Cochrane Library, ProQuest, Pubmed, and the WHO global COVID database. Searches were run between December 2020 and May 2021. The search strategy identified 734 papers, of which 28 papers met the inclusion criteria for the review; 10 papers assessed transmission of SARS-CoV-2, 11 assessed control measures, and seven assessed levels of contamination. Eleven papers were based on modelling approaches; 17 studies were original studies reporting empirical COVID-19 data. The literature is heterogeneous, and there are challenges for measurement of transmission in this setting. There is evidence for transmission in certain cases, and mixed evidence for the presence of viral RNA in transport settings; there is also evidence for some reduction of risk through mitigation. However, the routes of transmission and key factors contributing to transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on public transport were not clear during the early stage of the pandemic. Gaps in understanding are discussed and six key questions for future research have been posed. Further exploration of transmission factors and effectiveness of mitigation strategies is required in order to support decision making.

Childhood trauma is known to increase the risk of suicidal ideation and behaviours, and has also been linked to hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation measured in cortisol levels. Recent evidence has shown that adverse childhood experiences are associated with lower cortisol reactivity to stress and diminished cortisol levels upon awakening in individuals vulnerable to suicide. The present study aimed to investigate whether less traumatic long term difficulties during childhood produced a similar effect on suicidal ideation/behaviour and cortisol levels in a general population sample. Participants (N = 1094; mean age 53 years, 53.7% female) from a large cohort study completed retrospective measures of long-term difficulties during childhood and adolescent years and a measure of history of suicidal thoughts, plans and actions together with a measure of current psychological distress. 24-hour urinary free cortisol samples were collected over two days. The results showed that experiencing childhood long-term difficulties were associated with 21% higher odds of reporting suicidal thoughts or plans in adulthood. Early childhood and adolescent difficulties were equally important predictors of suicide thoughts and plans. However, childhood difficulties were not found to be associated with adult urinary free cortisol, nor were adulthood suicidal thoughts, plans and behaviour associated with adult urinary free cortisol levels. Future research should explore the extent to which childhood difficulties and stressors are related to other indicators of HPA axis functioning. The current findings have implications for clinicians and for the development of future suicide prevention interventions.

Current evidence-based smoking cessation treatments in the UK are only offered to smokers ready to quit within 30 days. This study reports the experiences of smokers who are not ready to quit and explores the types of intervention approaches that might engage them. Five focus groups were conducted with smokers who had no plans to quit within 30 days (n = 32, 44 % female). Verbatim transcripts were analyzed thematically using Nvivo 10 software. Participants were ambivalent towards their own smoking, but the majority indicated they would like to quit someday. Smoking was seen both to hinder and facilitate social interactions, depending on the social norms of the participant’s social circle. Participants reported that, when they perceive pressure to quit smoking, they respond defensively; concurrently, existing approaches to encouraging smoking cessation were seen as unappealing. In contrast, the importance of intrinsic motivation to quit was emphasized, and interventions that were tailored, increased intrinsic motivation and kept the smoker engaged in activities incompatible with smoking were preferred. Despite not planning to quit in the next 30 days, the majority of participants wanted to quit smoking at some point. Even if existing services were offered to smokers not planning to quit in the next 30 days, it is unlikely that these services would meet the needs of this population. Future research should explore novel approaches to appeal specifically to smokers not planning to quit in the next 30 days, such as encouraging engagement with activities incompatible with smoking and fostering non-smoking habits.