Relationship of Hair Cortisol Concentration With Perceived and Somatic Stress Indices: Cross-Sectional Pilot Study
Abstract
Abstract Background Hair cortisol is an emerging biomarker of chronic stress. However, the psychological and physiological aspects of chronic stress that are reflected in hair cortisol concentration (HCC) have not been fully determined. Since physiological responses to stress do not always align with how stress is perceived, we conducted this study to evaluate whether HCC correlates with neuroendocrine stress indicators or stress perceptions. Objective This study aimed to evaluate whether subjective (Perceived Stress Scale and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale) and objective (plasma cortisol/dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate [DHEA-S] and cortisol/high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) determinants of stress and resilience correlate with HCC. Methods In this cross-sectional pilot validity study, scatter plots and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to measure the direction and magnitude of the relationship between stress and resilience measures among 51 predominantly male participants. In a subset (n=24), we performed a step-wise regression modeling approach to isolate the association of perceived and somatic stress on hair cortisol. Results Bivariate correlations showed a weak inverse association of HCC with Perceived Stress Scale (Spearman correlation ρ=−0.14, P=.52) and a stronger positive association with somatic neuroendocrine stress indices cortisol/DHEA-S (ρ=0.24, P=.25) and cortisol/high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (ρ=0.21, P=.35). In linear regression models,…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 51 participants or records.
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