Associations of work stress with hair cortisol concentrations – initial findings from a prospective study
Abstract
There is ample evidence supporting the link between stress at the workplace and physical and mental health. One of the pathways potentially mediating those associations may involve the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, with cortisol as an end product. While theoretically plausible, findings on the association of self-reported work stress with hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) are inconclusive, being potentially biased by omitted pertinent factors. This issue can be addressed, among others, by eliminating time-invariant factors through consideration of variation within persons over time. To this end, the present study examined the association between variation in HCC and perceived work stress - as assessed by the Effort-Reward-Imbalance (ERI) model - between two points in time (t1 and t2) over one year in a sample of 40 male factory workers. Neither a cross-sectional association, nor a link between change in ERI and HCC levels at t2 was observed. There was however a robust association of the change in ERI with the change of HCC. This effect was independent of baseline HCC and other confounders (Beta = 0.414, S.E. = 0.155, p = 0.012). Accordingly, this is the first study revealing prospective evidence for the associations of work stress with HCC, while excluding potentially time-stable confounding factors, like genetic factors or phenotypic hair color.
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Hair cortisol concentrations are related to perceived job insecurity and work stress.
“Studies have found that HCC is related to PTSD, depression and anxiety disorders [40, 41] or with perceived job insecurity and work stress [42, 43].”
Cites
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“Studies have found that HCC is related to PTSD, depression and anxiety disorders [40, 41] or with perceived job insecurity and work stress [42, 43].”
Background
- Authors
- Herr, R. M., Almer, C., Loerbroks, A., Barrech, A., Elfantel, I., Siegrist, J., Gündel, H., Angerer, P., & Li, J.
- Affiliations
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- Universität Ulm (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Herr, Raphael M.
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-03
- Volume
- 89
- Pages
- 134-137
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2794821947
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 1.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (01EL1409B)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
- Keywords
- occupational stress, hair cortisol, effort-reward imbalance model, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, industrial workers, within-person variability, prospective associations
- MeSH terms
- Occupational Stress, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Hair, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Male, Middle Aged, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, Saliva, Stress, Psychological, Workplace, Self Report
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