Dataset Information

Perceived stress and reference ranges of hair cortisol in healthy adolescents.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chronic stress during adolescence has usually been evaluated through subjective measures, leaving aside objective measures such as hair cortisol concentrations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide reference ranges for hair cortisol concentrations by sex and age and to study the relationship between subjective and objective measures of stress and temporal stability.

Methods

The participants were 170 adolescents aged between 12 and 14 years (mean = 12.78 years; standard deviation = 0.71 years; 52.40% girls) who completed the Perceived Stress Scale 4 and had their hair sampled.

Results

The results revealed hair cortisol concentrations ranging from 0.07 pg/mg to 9.54 pg/mg. Subjective and objective measures of stress were not related, nor was there intraindividual stability of the hair cortisol concentrations. Girls had higher hair cortisol concentrations, and there were no age differences.

Conclusions

This research provides cortisol reference values for adolescents that will allow the early detection of chronic stress. Such detection methods make it possible to prevent problems arising from stress because we can act more quickly and the treatments will be more effective. The study suggests that there is no relationship between perceived and objective stress; while perceived stress remained stable, the levels of hair cortisol were increased at 6 months. Despite the interesting findings of the study, there are some limitations: the sample was not obtained through probabilistic sampling, the age range was narrow, and some demographic, anthropomorphic and clinical factors are missing, which make the generalization of results difficult.

SUBMITTER: Prado-Gasco V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6448926 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundPsychological resilience is considered to protect against detrimental effects of perceived stress on cardiovascular and metabolic health, but few studies have tested biological mechanisms underlying these relationships.PurposeThis study examined whether psychological resilience moderated the indirect association of perceived stress with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) severity via hair cortisol concentration (HCC), a retrospective index of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activity.MethodParticipants included 228 adults (73 White, 86 Hispanic, 69 African American; mean age 45.29 years; 68% females). Participants completed questionnaires assessing perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and resilience (Brief Resilience Scale). The first 3 cm of scalp-near hair were analyzed for cortisol concentration using enzyme-linked immunoassay analysis. Cardiometabolic risk factors including blood glucose, lipids, blood pressure, and waist circumference were assessed, from which a sex- and race/ethnicity-specific continuous MetS severity score was calculated. A moderated mediation model was tested using path analysis.ResultsPsychological resilience moderated the association of perceived stress with HCC (R2 change for interaction = 0.014, p =  0.043), such that the association of perceived stress and HCC decreased as resilience scores increased. Resilience also moderated the indirect association of perceived stress with MetS severity via HCC (b = -0.039, 95% CI [-0.001; -0.100]), such that HCC mediated the association of greater perceived stress with greater MetS severity only for individuals reporting Brief Resilience Scale scores 3 or below (range: 1.17-5.00). Psychological resilience was also associated with lower MetS severity (β = -0.227, p =  0.014) independent of perceived stress and HCC.ConclusionFindings suggest that psychological resilience may serve as both a stress buffer and as a direct determinant of cardiometabolic health. These results extend literature on psychological resilience to measures of retrospective HPA axis function and MetS severity in a diverse sample.