Cited by 239Stress Responses and CortisolAdrenal Hormones and DisordersAnimal Behavior and Welfare Studies

Correspondence between hair cortisol concentrations and 30-day integrated daily salivary and weekly urinary cortisol measures

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Short, Sarah J., Stalder, Tobias, Marceau, Kristine, Entringer, Sonja, Moog, Nora K., Shirtcliff, Elizabeth A., Wadhwa, Pathik D., Buss, Claudia·2016·Psychoneuroendocrinology

Abstract

Characterization of cortisol production, regulation and function is of considerable interest and relevance given its ubiquitous role in virtually all aspects of physiology, health and disease risk. The quantification of cortisol concentration in hair has been proposed as a promising approach for the retrospective assessment of integrated, long-term cortisol production. However, human research is still needed to directly test and validate current assumptions about which aspects of cortisol production and regulation are reflected in hair cortisol concentrations (HCC). Here, we report findings from a validation study in a sample of 17 healthy adults (mean±SD age: 34±8.6 yrs). To determine the extent to which HCC captures cumulative cortisol production, we examined the correspondence of HCC, obtained from the first 1cm scalp-near hair segment, assumed to retrospectively reflect 1-month integrated cortisol secretion, with 30-day average salivary cortisol area-under-the curve (AUC) based on 3 samples collected per day (on awakening, +30min, at bedtime) and the average of 4 weekly 24-h urinary free cortisol (UFC) assessments. To further address which aspects of cortisol production and regulation are best reflected in the HCC measure, we also examined components of the salivary measures that represent: (1) production in response to the challenge of awakening (using the cortisol awakening response [CAR]), and (2) chronobiological regulation of cortisol production (using diurnal slope). Finally, we evaluated the test-retest stability of each cortisol measure. Results indicate that HCC was most strongly associated with the prior 30-day integrated cortisol production measure (average salivary cortisol AUC) (r=0.61, p=0.01). There were no significant associations between HCC and the 30-day summary measures using CAR or diurnal slope. The relationship between 1-month integrated 24-h UFC and HCC did not reach statistical significance (r=0.30, p=0.28). Lastly, of all cortisol measures, test-retest correlations of serial measures were highest for HCC (month-to-month: r=0.84, p<0.001), followed by 24-h UFC (week-to-week: r's between 0.59 and 0.68, ps<0.05) and then integrated salivary cortisol concentrations (week-to-week: r's between 0.38 and 0.61, p's between 0.13 and 0.01). These findings support the contention that HCC provides a reliable estimate of long-term integrated free cortisol production that is aligned with integrated salivary cortisol production measured over a corresponding one-month period.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.05.007

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  • Stress is widely acknowledged for its pivotal role in the development of mental illnesses and stress-related disorders, yet the intricate biological mechanisms governing pathological stress regulation continue to challenge comprehension.

    “Stress is widely acknowledged for its pivotal role in the development of mental illnesses and stress-related disorders, yet the intricate biological mechanisms governing pathological stress regulation continue to challenge our comprehension [55].”

    From The Role of Cortisol in Chronic Stress, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Psychological Disorders (2023) · cites this paper as [55]

    The Introduction links long-term cortisol changes under chronic stress to increased risk of mental disease. It describes methodological difficulty in measuring long-term cortisol output, but does not say that the biological mechanisms governing pathological stress regulation remain poorly understood. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Short, S. J., Stalder, T., Marceau, K., Entringer, S., Moog, N. K., Shirtcliff, E. A., Wadhwa, P. D., & Buss, C.
Affiliations
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • Brown University (US)
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE)
  • Iowa State University (US)
Corresponding author
Buss, Claudia
Venue
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-09
Volume
71
Pages
12-18
ISSN
0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2345786621
Cited by
239
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 6
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • US PHS (R01 MH-091351)
  • Iowa State University incentive-funding
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
Keywords
hair cortisol, salivary cortisol, urinary free cortisol, cortisol awakening response, diurnal cortisol slope, test-retest reliability, cortisol regulation, biomarker validation, diurnal cycle, stress biomarkers, healthy adults, 24-hour urine collection
MeSH terms
Adult, Attention, Circadian Rhythm, Female, Hair, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, Saliva

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