Hair cortisol analysis: An update on methodological considerations and clinical applications

Greff, Michael; Levine, Jeffrey M.; Abuzgaia, Awatif M.; Elzagallaai, Abdelbaset A.; Rieder, Michael J.; Uum, Stan H. M. Van

doi:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2018.09.010

Cited by 180 publications

(146 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Finally, important confounds affecting cortisol in hair need to be considered (Greff et al, 2018). In addition to age and sex (Dettenborn, Tietze et al, 2012), physical activity, adiposity, substance abuse (Wosu et al, 2013), and light exposure have been shown to influence cortisol levels in hair (Grass et al, 2016).…”

Section: Methodological Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, hair color, which overlaps with ethnicity, has been shown to be associated with hair cortisol concentration (Binz et al, 2018;Rippe et al, 2016). Because sweat on the scalp affects hair cortisol concentrations, frequency of hair washes should be considered (Greff et al, 2018). However, the effect of chemical treatment of hairs (e.g., dyes, shampoos) on hair cortisol has been inconclusive and thus should be documented (Hoffman, Karban, Benitez, Goodteacher, & Laudenslager, 2014;Kristensen, Larsen, Olsen, Fahrenkrug, & Heitmann, 2017).…”

Section: Methodological Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Innovations in biological assessments of chronic stress through hair and nail cortisol: Conceptual, developmental, and methodological issues

Liu

Doan

2019

Developmental Psychobiology

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Much of the existing research on biological mechanisms underlying the stress experience has focused largely on moment‐to‐moment stress, rather than on chronic stress, an arguably more powerful predictor of long‐term outcomes. Recent methodological innovations have paved the way for new lines of research on chronic stress, with promising implications for developmental researchers and for those who study health and adversity. In particular, there are increasing studies that have focused on chronic stress assessments by relying on cortisol derived from hair and nails as a biomarker for chronic stress. In this paper, we provide an overview of their use, describe how hair and nail cortisol ought to be conceptualized differently across the lifespan, how developmental factors may impact its interpretation, and the circumstances under which its use may be more methodologically sensible. The purpose of this review is to provoke further discussion and encourage careful research designs that utilize hair and nail cortisol for understanding the effects of chronic stress exposure from the early developmental period, across adverse contexts, and in association with psychological and physical health outcomes.

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Section: Methodological Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodological Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovations in biological assessments of chronic stress through hair and nail cortisol: Conceptual, developmental, and methodological issues

Liu

Doan

2019

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…A post-hoc analysis indicated that this association was driven by the expected association under high threat (R=0.11, p=0.052 FDRcorrected). As recent reviews on hair cortisol assessments suggest that HCC covaries with age, gender, hair washing frequency as well as hair treatment (Greff et al, 2018;Stalder et al, 2017), we ran additional partial correlation analyses to control for all these confounding variables. The association between HCC and body sway reductions became slightly more robust in this control analysis (R=0.15; p=0.009).…”

Section: Freezing-related Body Sway Reduction Is Linked To Low Hcc Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human defensive freezing is associated with acute threat coping, long term hair cortisol levels and trait anxiety

Hashemi¹,

Zhang²,

Kaldewaij³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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The detection and anticipation of threat facilitates innate defensive behaviours including freezing reactions. Freezing in humans is characterized by reductions in body sway and heart rate and limited evidence suggests that individual differences in freezing reactions are associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and anxiety. However, previous measurements of human freezing reactions were largely based on passive threat contexts where natural variations in adaptive threat coping could not be assessed. In a well powered sample (N=419), we studied individual differences in anticipatory freezing reactions, by measuring body sway and heart rate, during an active shooting task where shooting decisions had to be taken under threat of shock. We linked freezing measures to subsequent actions and predictors of anxiety-related psychopathology, including accumulated long-term (3 months) hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) and trait anxiety. The anticipation of threat of shock elicited significant body sway-and heart rate reductions consistent with freezing.Whereas both freezing-related reductions in body sway and heart rate were associated with faster correct shooting decisions, body sway reductions were additionally related to more impulsive shooting (false alarms). Individual differences in threat-related reductions in body sway but not heart rate were further associated to lower HCC and higher trait anxiety. The observed links between freezing and subsequent defensive actions as well as predictors of stress-related psychopathology suggest the potential value of defensive freezing reactions as somatic marker for stress-vulnerability and resilience.

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“…At the second lab visit, approximately 100 mg of hair was collected from participants, near the posterior vertex of the scalp. Participants also completed a brief survey about their hair, on potential covariates that have previously been considered to influence hormone concentrations in hair samples (Greff et al, 2018;Kristensen et al, 2017). This included whether they i) had curly hair, ii) had permed or colored their hair (along with time frames), and iii) felt their hair was relatively sweaty ("Do you feel like you sweat relatively frequently/heavily on the head?").…”

Section: Hair Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pubertal hormones and brain structure: Exploring the value of hair assays

Vijayakumar¹,

Shirtcliff²,

Byrne³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Neuroimaging research has highlighted the role of puberty in structural brain development in humans, but studies investigating the mechanistic role of hormones in this association have produced inconsistent findings. Limitations of current approaches to hormonal assessments have long been recognized, as basal hormone levels are susceptible to momentary influences (in particular, circadian rhythmicity and menstrual cyclicity). However, emerging research suggests that a novel method of assaying pubertal hormone concentrations in hair may overcome some of these issues by capturing hormonal exposure across a longer period of time. This study is the first to compare associations between hormone concentrations measured via hair and saliva with brain structure in a sample of early adolescent females (N = 112, 10-13 years of age). Estradiol, testosterone, and DHEA concentrations were assayed from i) 5cm hair samples collected proximal to the scalp, reflecting approximately 5 months of hormonal exposure, and ii) repeated weekly saliva samples collected over the course of one month. Participants also underwent structural MRI scans, and estimates of cortical thickness and subcortical volume were obtained. Findings revealed that pubertal hormones in saliva samples exhibited strongest associations with parieto-occipital cortices. Comparatively, hair hormone concentrations exhibited stronger negative associations with cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortical thickness, which may reflect unique developmental processes that occur across longer periods of hormonal exposure. However, controlling for pubertal stage removed much of the cortical associations with hormones in saliva, and resulted in minimal change in cortical associations with hormones in hair. Thus hormone concentrations in hair may reflect biological processes not captured by self-reported pubertal stage that influence brain development. Further research is needed to improve our understanding of these potentially unique neurodevelopmental processes captured by saliva and hair hormone concentrations.

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Hair cortisol analysis: An update on methodological considerations and clinical applications

Cited by 180 publications

References 87 publications

Innovations in biological assessments of chronic stress through hair and nail cortisol: Conceptual, developmental, and methodological issues

Innovations in biological assessments of chronic stress through hair and nail cortisol: Conceptual, developmental, and methodological issues

Human defensive freezing is associated with acute threat coping, long term hair cortisol levels and trait anxiety

Pubertal hormones and brain structure: Exploring the value of hair assays

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