The DOI matches its Crossref record; 79 of the 80 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Hair cortisol as a biological marker of chronic stress: Current status, future directions and unanswered questions
Abstract
The detrimental effects of stress on human health are being increasingly recognized. There is a critical need for the establishment of a biomarker that accurately measures its intensity and course over time. Such a biomarker would allow monitoring of stress, increase understanding of its pathophysiology and may help identify appropriate and successful management strategies. Whereas saliva and urine cortisol capture real-time levels, hair cortisol analysis presents a complementary means of monitoring stress, capturing systemic cortisol exposure over longer periods of time. This novel approach for cortisol quantification is being increasingly used to identify the effects of stress in a variety of pathological situations, from chronic pain to acute myocardial infarctions. Because of its ability to provide a long-term, month-by-month measure of systemic cortisol exposure, hair cortisol analysis is becoming a useful tool, capable of answering clinical questions that could previously not be answered by other tests. In this paper we review the development, current status, limitations and outstanding questions regarding the use of hair cortisol as a biomarker of chronic stress.
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“Hair cortisol as a biological marker for long-term bodily stress.”
In the citing paper
“since the proximal 1 cm segment of hair represents the cortisol level of the past month.80”
Citations
Cites
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BackgroundPsychological Stress and Cardiovascular Disease
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State of the art in hair analysis for detection of drug and alcohol abuse
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“In rhesus macaques, in contrast, there was a significant correlation between the cortisol concentration in saliva and that in hair (r = 0.797, P 0.001) (Davenport et al., 2006).”
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Stress-related and basic determinants of hair cortisol in humans: a meta-analysis
Stalder, T., Steudte-Schmiedgen, S., Alexander, N., Klucken, T., Vater, A., Wichmann, S., Kirschbaum, C., & Miller, R. (2017) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.12.017 · Cited by 855
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
Framing Mechanisms Linking HIV-Related Stigma, Adherence to Treatment, and Health Outcomes
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Technical and clinical aspects of cortisol as a biochemical marker of chronic stress
Lee, D. Y., Kim, E., & Choi, M. H. (2015) · BMB Reports · doi:10.5483/bmbrep.2015.48.4.275 · Cited by 484
Metadata
- Authors
- Russell, E., Koren, G., Rieder, M., & Van Uum, S.
- Affiliations
- Western University (CA)
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-05
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 589-601
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2106656997
- Cited by
- 1,063
- References
- 80
- Citations by year
- 2026: 68 · 2025: 79 · 2024: 96 · 2023: 92 · 2022: 90 · 2021: 106 · 2020: 82 · 2019: 90 · 2018: 80 · 2017: 85 · 2016: 60 · 2015: 54 · 2014: 38 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 2.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Keywords
- hair cortisol, chronic stress, biomarkers, stress biomarkers, stress monitoring, chronic pain, myocardial infarction
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Chronic Disease, Female, Glucocorticoids, Hair, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Saliva, Stress, Psychological, Biomarkers
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