Associations between hair cortisol concentration, income, income dynamics and status incongruity in healthy middle-aged women

Serwinski, Bianca; Salavecz, Gyöngyvér; Kirschbaum, Clemens; Steptoe, Andrew

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.02.008

Cited by 31 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…19 Some studies have also reported a negative association between hair cortisol and socioeconomic status in children [20][21][22] and in adults. 23 However, null associations between socioeconomic status and hair cortisol have also been reported. 24,25…”

Section: Overcoming Methodological Challenges In Measuring Hpa Functimentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Influences on Hormonal Markers of Chronic HPA Function in Human Hair

Grotzinger

et al. 2016

Preprint

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Cortisol is the primary output of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and is central to the human biological stress response, with wide-ranging effects on physiological function and psychiatric health. In both humans and animals, cortisol is frequently studied as a biomarker for exposure to environmental stress. Relatively little attention has been paid to the possible role of genetic variation in heterogeneity in chronic cortisol, in spite of well-studied biological pathways of glucocorticoid function. Using recently developed technology, hair samples can now be used to measure accumulation of cortisol over several months. In contrast to more conventional salivary measures, hair cortisol is not influenced by diurnal variation or transient hormonal reactivity. In an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of 1 070 child and adolescent twins and multiples from 556 unique families, we estimated genetic and environmental influences on hair concentrations of cortisol and its inactive metabolite, cortisone. We identified sizable genetic influences on cortisol that decrease with age, concomitant with genetic influences on cortisone that increase with age. Shared environmental influences on cortisol and cortisone were modest and, for cortisol, decreased with age. Twin-specific, non-shared environmental contributions to cortisol and cortisone became increasingly correlated with age. We find some evidence for sex differences in the biometric contributions to cortisol, but no strong evidence for main or moderating effects of family socioeconomic status on cortisol or cortisone. This study constitutes the first genetic study of hormone concentrations in human hair, and provides the most definitive characterization to-date of age and socioeconomic influences on hair cortisol. Genetics of Chronic HPA Function

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Section: Overcoming Methodological Challenges In Measuring Hpa Functimentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Influences on Hormonal Markers of Chronic HPA Function in Human Hair

Grotzinger

et al. 2016

Preprint

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“…Finally, the negative association between CA3-DG and hair cortisol in children should be interpreted with caution until further variables beyond hair color can be ruled out as potential confounds. For instance, there is some evidence that hair washing, or repeated exposure to water (e.g., regular swimming) can leach cortisol out of primate 106 and human hair 107 , although human evidence is mixed and suggests that proximal segments of hair are not affected 107,108 . Importantly, a concurrent study similarly finding a negative CA3-DG -hair cortisol association, has successfully ruled out the modifying effect of hair washing 93 .…”

Section: Regression Pathsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hair cortisol concentrations are associated with hippocampal subregional volumes in children

Keresztes

Raffington

Bender

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The human hippocampus, a brain structure crucial for memory across the lifespan, is highly sensitive to adverse life events. Stress exposures during childhood have been linked to altered hippocampal structure and memory performance in adulthood. Animal studies suggest that these differences are in part driven by aberrant glucocorticoid secretion during development, with strongest effects on the CA3 region and the dentate gyrus (CA3-DG) of the hippocampus, alongside associated memory impairments. However, only few pediatric studies have examined glucocorticoid associations with hippocampal subfield volumes and their functional relevance. In 84 children (age range: 6-7 years), we assessed whether volumes of hippocampal subregions were related to cumulative glucocorticoid levels (hair cortisol), parenting stress, and performance on memory tasks known to engage the hippocampus. We found that higher hair cortisol levels were specifically related to lower CA3-DG volume. Parenting stress did not significantly correlate with hair cortisol, and there was no evidence to suggest that individual differences in hippocampal subregional volumes manifest in memory performance. Our results suggest that the CA3-DG may be the hippocampal region most closely associated with hair cortisol levels in childhood. Establishing causal pathways underlying this association and its relation to environmental stress and memory development necessitates longitudinal studies.

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“…In adults, one study reported that lower income was associated with higher HCC (Serwinski et al, 2016), but others have not found differences in adult HCC by income (Chen et al, 2013; Wosu et al, 2015) or education (Serwinski et al, 2016; Wosu et al, 2015). In children, some studies have reported that lower parental education (Rippe et al, 2016; Vaghri et al, 2013; Vliegenthart et al, 2016) and lower family income (Rippe et al, 2016) are associated with higher HCC, whereas others have not found associations between child HCC and parental income (Vaghri et al, 2013) or parental education (Groeneveld et al, 2013; Karlen et al, 2013; Liu et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic status, hair cortisol and internalizing symptoms in parents and children

Ursache

Merz

Melvin

et al. 2017

Psychoneuroendocrinology

113

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Socioeconomic disadvantage is consistently linked with higher risk for internalizing problems, and stress is likely one important mechanism explaining this increased risk. Few studies have examined socioeconomic differences in hair cortisol, a novel biomarker of long-term adrenocortical activity and chronic stress. Moreover, no studies have examined whether differences in hair cortisol might explain socioeconomic disparities in internalizing problems. To address these gaps, we first examined relations of socioeconomic status (SES; family income and parental education) to variation in both parents’ and children’s hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) and then tested whether HCC and perceptions of stress mediated relations of SES to parents’ and children’s internalizing symptoms. Participants were a socioeconomically diverse sample of 35 parents and 26 children (ages 5 to 7). Parents completed questionnaires, and hair samples were collected from parents and children. Parents reported on children’s internalizing symptoms on average 2 years after the initial visit. Results demonstrated that lower parental education was associated with higher HCC for both parents and children. Effects for child HCC held even after controlling for parent HCC. Lower family income was associated with higher parent HCC, but not child HCC. This relation was nonlinear, such that the relation between HCC and income was strongest among the most disadvantaged parents. Furthermore, associations of SES with parental anxiety were significantly mediated by parental perceptions of stress and marginally mediated by parent HCC. These findings suggest that socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with greater accumulation of cortisol in hair in parents and children, and that both perceived and biological markers of stress capture important facets of the experiences that underlie socioeconomic disparities in adult anxiety.

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Associations between hair cortisol concentration, income, income dynamics and status incongruity in healthy middle-aged women

Cited by 31 publications

References 49 publications

Genetic Influences on Hormonal Markers of Chronic HPA Function in Human Hair

Genetic Influences on Hormonal Markers of Chronic HPA Function in Human Hair

Hair cortisol concentrations are associated with hippocampal subregional volumes in children

Socioeconomic status, hair cortisol and internalizing symptoms in parents and children

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