Cortisol in hair measured in young adults - a biomarker of major life stressors?

Karlén, Jerker; Ludvigsson, Johnny; Frostell, Anneli; Theodorsson, Elvar; Faresjö, Tomas

doi:10.1186/1472-6890-11-12

Cited by 163 publications

(153 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…For example, Hoffman and colleagues (2014) reported that some chemical processing (e.g., dye products, peroxide) and excessively shampooed hair affected cortisol measurement (Hoffman et al, 2014). Similarly, sex and the annual family income were not associated with hair cortisol, as noted in other samples Karlen et al, 2011;Vaghri et al, 2013). The small sample size, primarily composed of females of moderate-to-high socioeconomic status may, however, have restricted the statistical power to detect these effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Validation of an adapted procedure to collect hair for cortisol determination in adolescents

Ouellet‐Morin

Laurin

Robitaille

et al. 2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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Introduction: In the last decades, cortisol has been extensively studied in association to early exposure to adversity as well as in the etiology of a number of physical and mental problems.While saliva and blood samples allow the measurement of acute changes in cortisol secretion, hair samples are thought to provide a valid retrospective measure of chronic cortisol secretion over an extended period of time. Nevertheless, the existing protocol for hair collection involves considerable financial and logistical challenges when performed in large epidemiological studies.Objective: This study aimed to validate an adapted collection protocol asking participants to sample their hair at home and to send it back to our laboratory by regular mail. Methods:Participants were 34 teenagers between 17 and 18 years of age. They participated in two hair collections: a) at home, with the help of someone they know, and b) in our laboratory, with a trained research assistant. Results: We noted a strong correlation between cortisol ascertained from hair collected at home and at the laboratory. No mean difference in cortisol levels could be detected between the two protocols. Moreover, we showed that a wide range of hair-related, sociodemographic, lifestyle factors that may be associated with hair cortisol levels did not affect the association between cortisol measures derived from each protocol. Conclusion: Our study provides initial support that reliable measures of chronic cortisol secretion could be obtained by asking adolescents to collect a sample of their hair at home and send them to the laboratory by regular mail. This adapted protocol has considerable financial and logistical advantages in large epidemiological studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Validation of an adapted procedure to collect hair for cortisol determination in adolescents

Ouellet‐Morin

Laurin

Robitaille

et al. 2016

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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“…A correlation between hair concentration of cortisol and chronic stress situation, for example, depression was shown in multiple studies. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] In contrast, Dowlati et al 15 did not find any correlation of hair cortisol with depression.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Diagnostic Value of Concentration Profiles of Glucocorticosteroids and Endocannabinoids in Hair

Krumbholz¹,

Anielski²,

Reisch

et al. 2013

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

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Background: Endogenous corticosteroids and endocannabinoids are both known to be involved in stress adaption and anti-inflammatory and immuneregulatory effects. The application of hair as retrospective specimen for long-term recording of corticosteroids and its association with stress-induced biochemical alterations was intensively examined. Methods:To evaluate the stability and correlation of various parameters of the endocannabinoid and corticosteroid systems, a prospective study was carried out. Hair samples were collected monthly over a pregnancy cycle (sixth week of pregnancy to 9 weeks postpartum). By comparison of hair concentrations in particular segments (ie, grown in the same time span but collected at different times), an examination of analyte stability in hair was achieved. Additionally, the comparison of proximal segments provided on biochemical information that is independent of alteration due to physical instability. The detection limits of a validated procedure using solid-phase extraction cleanup and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry proved to be suitable to identify the endogenous levels of cortisol (limits of detection = 1.6 pg/mg), cortisone (2.1 pg/mg), anandamide (AEA, 0.3 pg/mg), and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (15 pg/mg).Results: Corticosteroid concentrations in corresponding hair segments were found to be reduced with increasing hair age; an average decline of cortisol and cortisone by 50% in 4 months was estimated. Independently, an increase of cortisol and cortisone in proximal segments collected during pregnancy was confirmed, which is assumed to be stress related. Endocannabinoids proved to be by far more stable, as demonstrated by subsequent monthly collection of corresponding segments and there was hardly any washout of AEA detectable. Elevated hair concentrations of AEA and 2-arachidonoylglycerol were detected in the first-second trimester of pregnancy, which corresponds to negative correlations between AEA, cortisol, and cortisone.

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“…22 Some studies connect psychosocial variables to higher hair cortisol concentration in preschoolers with low parental education levels 23 and among students exposed to serious life events. 24 The primary aim of the current study was to prospectively investigate cortisol concentrations in the hair of children and the corresponding maternal cortisol levels during pregnancy. Another aim was to investigate whether stress-related perinatal and social environmental factors were associated with hair cortisol concentrations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Antiserum cross-reacts 137% with 5a-dihydroxycortisol, 35.9% with 21-deoxycortisol, and 35.9% with prednisolone but ,1% with endogenous steroids. For a full description of the method, see Karlén et al 24 …”

Section: Hair Cortisol Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Influence on Child HPA Axis: A Prospective Study of Cortisol Levels in Hair

Karlén¹,

Frostell²,

Theodorsson³

et al. 2013

Pediatrics

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116

112

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Stress affects health of children, potentially persisting as a trajectory into adulthood. Earlier biological markers assess only momentary stress, making it difficult to investigate stress over longer periods of time. Cortisol in hair is a new biomarker of prolonged stress. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Mother and child hair cortisol association suggests a heritable part or maternal calibration. Cortisol output gradually stabilizes, has a stable trait, and is positively correlated to birth weight. Hair cortisol is a promising noninvasive biomarker of prolonged stress, especially applicable for children. abstract OBJECTIVE: To investigate cortisol concentrations in hair as biomarker of prolonged stress in young children and their mothers and the relation to perinatal and sociodemographic factors.METHODS: Prospective cohort study of 100 All Babies In Southeast Sweden study participants with repeated measures at 1, 3, 5, and 8 years and their mothers during pregnancy. Prolonged stress levels were assessed through cortisol in hair. A questionnaire covered perinatal and sociodemographic factors during the child' s first year of life. RESULTS:Maternal hair cortisol during the second and third trimester and child hair cortisol at year 1 and 3 correlated. Child cortisol in hair levels decreased over time and correlated to each succeeding age, between years 1 and 3 (r = 0.30, P = .002), 3 and 5 (r = 0.39, P , .001), and 5 and 8 (r = 0.44, P , .001). Repeated measures gave a significant linear association over time (P , .001). There was an association between high levels of hair cortisol and birth weight (b = .224, P = .020), nonappropriate size for gestational age (b = .231, P = .017), and living in an apartment compared with a house (b = .200, P = .049). In addition, we found high levels of cortisol in hair related to other factors associated with psychosocial stress exposure. CONCLUSIONS:Correlation between hair cortisol levels in mothers and their children suggests a heritable trait or maternal calibration of the child' s hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Cortisol output gradually stabilizes and seems to have a stable trait. Cortisol concentration in hair has the potential to become a biomarker of prolonged stress, especially applicable as a noninvasive method when studying how stress influences children' s health. Pediatrics 2013;132:e1333-e1340

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Cortisol in hair measured in young adults - a biomarker of major life stressors?

Cited by 163 publications

References 44 publications

Validation of an adapted procedure to collect hair for cortisol determination in adolescents

Validation of an adapted procedure to collect hair for cortisol determination in adolescents

Diagnostic Value of Concentration Profiles of Glucocorticosteroids and Endocannabinoids in Hair

Maternal Influence on Child HPA Axis: A Prospective Study of Cortisol Levels in Hair

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