Hair cortisol concentrations predict change in girls’ depressive symptoms

Pre-pandemic socio-emotional vulnerability, internalizing and externalizing symptoms predict changes in hair cortisol concentrations in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic in children

“…The literature on the association between HCC and internalizing symptoms is mixed. Certain studies have reported a positive association ( Lu et al, 2018 , Rietschel et al, 2016 ), negative association (Vives et al, 2015), and others have found no association between HCC and internalizing symptoms ( Gray et al, 2018 , Sandstrom et al, 2021 , White et al, 2017 ). In addition, our results revealed that children who presented increased pre-pandemic externalizing symptoms showed higher HCC in reaction to the pandemic.…”

“…Indeed, the inclusion of populations with psychiatric diagnoses, participants at different stages of puberty, as well as the lack of consideration for sex differences may considerably influence the results of a study. For example, to maximize cortisol detection in hair, some authors tend to only recruit girls as their hair tends to be longer ( Sandstrom et al, 2021 , Schuler et al, 2017 ). Several significant methodological strengths of this study include the recruitment of both sexes and the use of a longitudinal design.…”

“…The latter can be divided into two broad categories: internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing (e.g., disruptive behaviour, attention problems, hyperactivity) symptoms. Indeed, numerous cross-sectional studies have found that altered HCC was associated with internalizing ( Ford et al, 2019 , Gray et al, 2018 , Lu et al, 2018 , Rietschel et al, 2016 , Sandstrom et al, 2021 , Stalder et al, 2017 ) and externalizing ( Grotzinger et al, 2018 , Kao et al, 2018 , Pauli-Pott et al, 2017 , Pauli-Pott et al, 2019 , Schloß et al, 2018 , White et al, 2017 ) symptoms in youth. Nevertheless, findings regarding the directionality of these effects (positive vs. negative) are inconclusive.…”

Non-linear associations between HPA axis activity during infancy and mental health difficulties during early childhood among children in rural Pakistan

“…Some studies show that high levels of cortisol prospectively predict elevated mental health difficulties, including anxiety and depression, during childhood (Sandstrom, Daoust, Russell, Koren, & Hayden, 2020;Saridjan et al, 2014;Smider et al, 2002). Other longitudinal work suggests that low levels of cortisol longitudinally predict increased mental health symptoms in children (Laurent, Gilliam, Wright, & Fisher, 2015;Pauli-Pott, Schloss, Skoluda, Nater, & Becker, 2019;Salis, Bernard, Black, Dougherty, & Klein, 2016).…”