Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a highly prevalent disorder defined as a cluster of cardiometabolic risk factors including obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. It is believed that excessive cortisol secretion due to psychosocial stress-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation might be involved in the pathogenesis of MetS. We sought to explore the association between MetS and psychosocial risk factors, as well as cortisol concentration measured in different biological specimens including saliva, blood serum, and hair samples. The study was conducted on a sample of 163 young and middle-aged men who were divided into groups according to the presence of MetS. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) was determined using high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection, while blood serum and salivary cortisol levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay. Lipid metabolism biomarkers were determined using routine laboratory methods. Anthropometric and lifestyle characteristics, as well as self-reported psychosocial indicators, were also examined. Significantly higher HCC and lower social support level among participants with MetS compared with individuals without MetS were found. However, no significant differences in blood serum and salivary cortisol levels were observed between men with and without MetS. In conclusion, chronically elevated cortisol concentration might be a potential contributing factor to the development of MetS.

Background The high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases cannot be explained completely by conventional risk factors such as older age, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and dyslipidemia. Results of recent studies indicate that chronic stress may be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the associations between the hair cortisol concentration (HCC), which is considered as a potential biomarker of long-term psychosocial stress, and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity. Material/Methods Fasting blood samples and anthropometric and lifestyle data were collected from 163 apparently healthy men. HCC was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Allostatic load (AL) index, defined as an integrated score of multiple interacting systems involved in the adaptation to adverse physical or psychosocial situations, was also calculated. Results We found that many prevalent cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, smoking, higher than recommended waist circumference (WC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) median values, are associated with higher HCC. Hair cortisol level was also positively associated with the manifestation of individual cardiovascular risk factors such as higher-than-recommended total cholesterol, LDL-C, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index, and WC median values. Moreover, a significant positive relationship between HCC and AL index was observed. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that increased prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors is associated with higher HCC. Also, both HCC and AL index might be appropriate markers for the evaluation of chronic stress level.

Backgound: Stress system consists of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the locus caeruleus/norepinephrine-autonomic nervous system (ANS). Traditionally, HPA axis activity is evaluated by measuring its end-product cortisol while the activity of ANS is assessed using heart rate variability (HRV) indices. Alterations in cortisol levels and HRV measures during laboratory-based stress tasks were extensively studied in previous research. However, scarce data exist on the associations of HRV measures with the levels of other adrenal steroid hormones under baseline conditions. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the activity of HPA axis by measuring salivary cortisol, cortisone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels and their ratios and to examine its association with HRV measures in a sample of healthy young and middle-aged adults. Methods: For each participant (n=40), three data collection sessions taking place at the same time of the day were scheduled within five working days. Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire on sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics, filled out Perceived Stress Scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Also, saliva samples were collected and physiological measures including resting HR and HRV were recorded during three data collection sessions. Results: Statistically significant associations between diminished parasympathetic vagal tone evaluated by time-domain HRV measures and higher salivary cortisol, lower DHEA levels, as well as increased DHEA to cortisol ratio were found. Also, physiological stress indicators (i.e. HRV) showed greater intrindividual stability compared with biochemical biomarkers (i. e. salivary steroid hormones) within the period of five days. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that both cortisol and DHEA mediate the link between two stress-sensitive homeostatic systems.

Various relaxation techniques could benefit from merging with virtual reality (VR) technologies, as these technologies are easily applicable, involving, and user-friendly. To date, it is unclear which relaxation technique using biofeedback combined with VR technology is the most effective. The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of brief VR-based biofeedback-assisted relaxation techniques including electroencephalographic biofeedback, mindfulness-based biofeedback, galvanic skin response biofeedback, and respiratory biofeedback. Forty-three healthy volunteers (age 34.7 ± 7.2 years), comprising 28 (65%) women and 15 (35%) men, were enrolled in the study. All the participants were exposed to four distinct relaxation sessions according to a computer-generated random sequence. The efficacy of relaxation methods was evaluated by examining psychological, physiological, and biochemical stress indicators. All VR-based relaxation techniques reduced salivary steroid hormone (i.e., cortisol, cortisone, and total glucocorticoid) levels and increased galvanic skin response values. Similarly, all interventions led to a significantly reduced subjectively perceived psychological strain level. Three out of the four interventions (i.e., electroencephalographic, respiratory, and galvanic skin response-based biofeedback relaxation sessions) resulted in a decreased self-reported fatigue level. We suggest that newly developed VR-based relaxations techniques are potential tools for stress reduction and might be particularly suitable for individuals who are not capable of adhering to a strict and time-consuming stress management intervention schedule.

Compulsory basic military training is characterized not only by being challenging but also by being stressful. Assuming a high frequency of perceived stress events as a negative outcome of training, this article provides evidence on how the perceived frequency of stressful situations is affected by three types of factors: (i) biological stress response variables measured by hair steroid hormone levels, (ii) personality traits measured using the Big Five personality test, and (iii) group cohesion measures in military squads. A total of 112 conscripts in 11 squads participated in the research at the beginning (T1), in the middle (T2), and at the end (T3) of compulsory basic military training. Hair steroid hormone levels (cortisol, cortisone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)) levels were measured by liquid mass spectrometry; other data were collected using self-report questionnaires. The results of the Poisson regression analysis indicated that hair steroid hormone cortisol had a statistically significantly impact and could increase the perceived frequency of stressful situations by up to 1.317 (e0.275, T2) times. The concentrations of other hormones (cortisone = 1.157, e0.146, T3 and DHEA = 1.020, e0.020, T3) also had a statistically significant effect. Other factors had a decreasing effect on the frequency. Extraversion was significant with an effect of 0.907 (e−0.098, T2) and 0.847 (e−0.166, T3), while task cohesion had an effect of 0.946 (e−0.056) and norm cohesion of 0.954 (e−0.047). The research indicates that the three groups of factors affect the perceived frequency of stressful situations during compulsory basic military training, but their impacts are considerably different.

Previous research shows a nonlinear dependency between hair cortisol concentrations and perceived stress levels. This may be due to stress being targeted at the individual level despite it also being a social phenomenon which is often affected by group dynamics. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the influence of perceived stress on the hair cortisol level, considering the impact of the variables of group dynamics (interpersonal, task, and norm cohesion). Information was collected on 11 groups of, in total, 112 young men in three phases of time during their compulsory military training (covering nine months in total). The classification and regression tree (C&RT) method was used to predict hair cortisol concentrations in groups. The results show that the variability of the hair cortisol level in young men groups can be explained by perceived stress only when the groups were in formation process (47.7% normalised importance in Model 1) and when the groups were working on their final tasks (37.80% normalised importance in Model 3); meanwhile, the importance of perceived stress in explaining hair cortisol concentrations is low when the group is in a routine period of a group life-span (28.9% normalised importance in Model 2). Interpersonal cohesion (normalised importance 100% in Model 1 and 80.0% in Model 3) and task cohesion (normalised importance 78.6% in Model 2) were the most important predictors in the study area. These results point to the importance of the elements of group dynamics when it comes to explaining the nature of hair cortisol as accumulated stress biomarkers in young men.

This study aimed to analyse the association between endogenous hair steroid hormones as reliable biological indicators of an individual’s stress level and the social environmental factors experienced during military training that are manifested at the beginning of compulsory military service. Hair steroid hormone concentrations—cortisol, cortisone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and testosterone—in a group of 185 conscripts were measured using the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. Six subjective social environmental factors in the military—attitude towards the military and military service, adaptation to the military environment, team, task, and norm cohesion, as well as psychological (un)safety in the group—were evaluated using military-specific research questionnaires. Weak but significant negative correlations were identified between cortisol and adaptation (r = −0.176, p < 0.05), attitude (r = −0.147, p < 0.05) as well as between testosterone and task cohesion (r = −0.230, p < 0.01) levels. Additionally, a multiple forward stepwise regression analysis highlighted that cortisone variation might be partially explained by task cohesion; the DHEA—determined by psychological (un)safety in the group, attitude towards the military and military service, and norm cohesion; and the testosterone—determined by task cohesion and adaptation to the new military environment. The results of this study suggest that subjective measures of social factors can be used to predict hair steroid hormone levels as objective measures of the chronic stress perceived by conscripts during their basic military training.

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