Hair cortisol concentrations in medical nurses during the COVID-19

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious and long-term stressor for healthcare workers, therefore hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) could be used to assess this prolonged stress. Method HCCs of 67 female nurses were measured during spring 2020, with a follow-up performed in autumn 2020 with 57 participants. Both times, HCCs were analyzed from two 3 cm hair segments corresponding to periods of hair growth before and during the spring wave of the pandemic, during the summer release, and the autumn wave of the pandemic. Results Data from spring 2020, showed higher HCCs in hair grown during the pandemic compared to older hair (90%CI η 2 =0.123-0.397), while nurses reporting a high risk of infection (n=33) had higher HCCs (90%CI η 2 =0.002-0.176) than nurses reporting low risk (n=34). In the follow-up, hair samples corresponding to worsening of the pandemic had higher HCCs than samples from summer release (90%CI η 2 =0.002-0.201). Three groups were compared instead of two, as only 9 nurses reported low risk, 25 high risk, and 23 daily work with COVID-19 patients. Group differences were not significant. Conclusion Data from the follow-up supported the findings of higher HCCs in nurses during the worsening of the pandemic.