The DOI matches its Crossref record; 31 of the 31 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
An assessment of cortisol analysis in hair and its clinical applications
Abstract
Hair analyses for exogenous compounds, specifically drugs of abuse, have been a useful tool in detecting long-term drug exposure. More recently, studies have delved into the exposure of endogenous compounds in hair. Cortisol is synthesized in the adrenal cortex in response to stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. While catecholamines generally indicate acute stress, cortisol can be used as an indicator for sub-acute and chronic stress. Studies on the effects of chronic stress are most often subjective in nature, relying on questionnaires asking the participant to recall on past stressors. This can lead to the issue of recall and reporting bias. A new objective measure of chronic stress is needed for a more accurate understanding of the effects of chronic stress on the body. This review uses emerging evidence to describe the usefulness of hair analysis for cortisol and discusses the current methods used.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“It has been validated in clinical and non-clinical contexts to reflect systemic long-term cortisol exposure (retrospectively, up to 6 months; Gow et al., 2010).”
From Chronic Stress, Hair Cortisol and Depression: A Prospective and Longitudinal Study of Medical Internship (2018) · cites this paper as Gow et al., 2010
Citations
Cites
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, neuroendocrine factors and stress
Tsigos, C., & Chrousos, G. P. (2002) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/s0022-3999(02)00429-4 · Cited by 2,822
Miller, G. E., Chen, E., & Zhou, E. S. (2007) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.25 · Cited by 2,467
Psychological Stress and Cardiovascular Disease
Dimsdale, J. E. (2008) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2007.12.024 · Cited by 1,117
The cardiovascular toll of stress
Brotman, D. J., Golden, S. H., & Wittstein, I. S. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61305-1 · Cited by 713 · cited 1×
“literature with respect to the association with chronic stress [26,27].”
BackgroundPotential problems with the interpretation of hair analysis results
Wennig, R. (2000) · Forensic Science International · doi:10.1016/s0379-0738(99)00146-2 · Cited by 677
Analysis of endogenous cortisol concentrations in the hair of rhesus macaques
Davenport, M. D., Tiefenbacher, S., Lutz, C. K., Novak, M. A., & Meyer, J. S. (2006) · General and Comparative Endocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2006.01.005 · Cited by 659 · cited 8×
“The sample is vortexed and analyzed in duplicate using a commercially available salivary enzyme immunoassay kit from Alpco Diagnostics [10,12,15,21– 25,28,29] or other manufacturers, such as Salimetrics and Assay Designs [13,14,16].”
BackgroundInfluentialKirschbaum, C., Tietze, A., Skoluda, N., & Dettenborn, L. (2009) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.08.024 · Cited by 584
Measurement of cortisol in human Hair as a biomarker of systemic exposure
Koren, G., Grace Walsh, R. N., Tokmakejian, S., & Uum, S. H. M. V. (2007) · Clinical and investigative medicine · doi:10.25011/cim.v30i5.2894 · Cited by 578
Self-citationIto, N., Ito, T., Kromminga, A., Bettermann, A., Takigawa, M., Kees, F., Straub, R. H., & Paus, R. (2005) · The FASEB Journal · doi:10.1096/fj.04-1968fje · Cited by 498
Kramer, M. S., Lydon, J. E., Séguin, L., Goulet, L., Kahn, S. R., McNamara, H., Genest, J. J., Dassa, C., Chen, M. F., Sharma, S., et al. (2009) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwp061 · Cited by 395
Self-citationAnatomy and physiology of hair
Harkey, M. R. (1993) · Forensic Science International · doi:10.1016/0379-0738(93)90255-9 · Cited by 380
Detection of physiological concentrations of cortisol and cortisone in human hair
Raul, J.-S., Cirimele, V., Ludes, B., & Kintz, P. (2004) · Clinical Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2004.02.010 · Cited by 348
Uum, S. H. M. V., Sauvé, B., Fraser, L.-A., Morley-Forster, P., Paul, T. L., & Koren, G. (2008) · Stress · doi:10.1080/10253890801887388 · Cited by 332
Self-citationMechanisms of drug incorporation into hair
Henderson, G. L. (1993) · Forensic Science International · doi:10.1016/0379-0738(93)90256-a · Cited by 331
Gender differences in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity
Uhart, M., Chong, R. Y., Oswald, L., Lin, P.-I., & Wand, G. S. (2006) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2006.02.003 · Cited by 274
The relationship between stress and hair cortisol in healthy pregnant women
Kalra, S., Einarson, A., Karaskov, T., Uum, S. H. M. V., & Koren, G. (2007) · Clinical and investigative medicine · doi:10.25011/cim.v30i2.986 · Cited by 238
Self-citationA novel method using hair for determining hormonal levels in wildlife
Koren, L., Mokady, O., Karaskov, T., Klein, J., Koren, G., & Geffen, E. (2002) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1907 · Cited by 235
Self-citationHair analysis provides a historical record of cortisol levels in Cushing's syndrome
Thomson, S., Koren, G., Fraser, L.-A., Rieder, M., Friedman, T. C., & Van Uum, S. H. M. (2009) · Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes · doi:10.1055/s-0029-1220771 · Cited by 218
Self-citationCortisol determination in hair and faeces from domestic cats and dogs
Accorsi, P. A., Carloni, E., Valsecchi, P., Viggiani, R., Gamberoni, M., Tamanini, C., & Seren, E. (2007) · General and Comparative Endocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2007.07.002 · Cited by 211
Cirimele, V., Kintz, P., Dumestre-Toulet, V., Goullé, J., & Ludes, B. (2000) · Forensic Science International · doi:10.1016/s0379-0738(99)00180-2 · Cited by 190
Animal temperament and human disturbance: Implications for the response of wildlife to tourism
Martin, J. G. A., & Réale, D. J. F. (2007) · Behavioural Processes · doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2007.06.004 · Cited by 187
Hair Cortisol as a Potential Biologic Marker of Chronic Stress in Hospitalized Neonates
Yamada, J., Stevens, B., de Silva, N., Gibbins, S., Beyene, J., Taddio, A., Newman, C. E., & Koren, G. (2007) · Neonatology · doi:10.1159/000100085 · Cited by 176
Self-citationDavenport, M. D., Lutz, C. K., Tiefenbacher, S., Novak, M. A., & Meyer, J. S. (2008) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.10.025 · Cited by 165
Mechanisms of Drug Incorporation into Hair
Cone, E. J. (1996) · Therapeutic Drug Monitoring · doi:10.1097/00007691-199608000-00022 · Cited by 156
Compared interest between hair analysis and urinalysis in doping controls
Gaillard, Y., Vayssette, F., & Pépin, G. (2000) · Forensic Science International · doi:10.1016/s0379-0738(99)00179-6 · Cited by 102
A preliminary study of steroid reproductive hormones in human hair
Yang, H. Z., Lan, J., Meng, Y. J., Wan, X. J., & Han, D. W. (1998) · The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology · doi:10.1016/s0960-0760(98)00120-4 · Cited by 90
Bévalot, F., Gaillard, Y., Lhermitte, M., & Pépin, G. (2000) · Journal of Chromatography B Biomedical Sciences and Applications · doi:10.1016/s0378-4347(00)00085-2 · Cited by 87
Clara, E., Tommasi, L., & Rogers, L. J. (2007) · Animal Cognition · doi:10.1007/s10071-007-0125-0 · Cited by 78
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis
Kyrou, I., & Tsigos, C. (2005) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/3-540-26861-8_3 · Cited by 20
Hair cortisol - a potential biological marker for chronic stress
Klein, J. (2004) · Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics · doi:10.1016/j.clpt.2003.11.166 · Cited by 16
Martinez, F., Poet, T. S., & WATSON, R. R. (1990) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.2251495 · Cited by 6
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Gow, 2009, Elevated hair cortisol levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction, Can. J. Clin. Pharmacol., 16, E301
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Russell, E., Koren, G., Rieder, M., & Van Uum, S. (2012) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.09.009 · Cited by 1,063
Self-citationMeasuring stress in wildlife: techniques for quantifying glucocorticoids
Sheriff, M. J., Dantzer, B., Delehanty, B., Palme, R., & Boonstra, R. (2011) · Oecologia · doi:10.1007/s00442-011-1943-y · Cited by 919
Analysis of cortisol in hair – State of the art and future directions
Stalder, T., & Kirschbaum, C. (2012) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2012.02.002 · Cited by 835
Hair cortisol, stress exposure, and mental health in humans: A systematic review
Staufenbiel, S. M., Penninx, B. W. J. H., Spijker, A. T., Elzinga, B. M., & van Rossum, E. F. C. (2013) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.11.015 · Cited by 736
Minireview: Hair cortisol: A novel biomarker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity
Meyer, J. S., & Novak, M. A. (2012) · Endocrinology · doi:10.1210/en.2012-1226 · Cited by 457
Metadata
- Authors
- Gow, R., Thomson, S., Rieder, M., Van Uum, S., & Koren, G.
- Affiliations
- Western University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Koren, G.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Forensic Science International
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-03
- Volume
- 196
- Issue
- 1-3
- Pages
- 32-37
- ISSN
- 0379-0738 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2127194071
- Cited by
- 329
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 27
- FWCI
- 9.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Forensic Science International (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Toxicology › Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
- Keywords
- cortisol, hair analysis, chronic stress, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, endogenous biomarkers, stress biomarkers, recall bias, adrenal cortex, forensic toxicology
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Chromatography, Gas, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Hair, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Radioimmunoassay, Mass Spectrometry, Stress, Physiological, Stress, Psychological, Biomarkers
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
