HairCortisolasaBiomarkerof

LongTermHPAActivityand
Stress
JerroldS.Meyer,Ph.D.
DepartmentofPsychology
NeuroscienceandBehaviorProgram
UniversityofMassachusetts,Amherst01003

ComparisonofDifferentMatricesfor
GlucocorticoidMeasurement
Sample Type

Time Frame

Steroids Invasiveness Stability

Blood

point

minutes

total

modest

Saliva

point

minutes

free

minimal

2-3

Urine

state

hours/day

free

none

Feces

state

hours/day

free

none

2-3

Hair

chronic

weeks/months

free

minimal

PotentialMechanismsofCortisol
IncorporationandEliminationinHair

Meyer&Novak(2012)

MethodologyofHairCortisolAnalysis
Washhairwithmildsolvent(isopropanol)toremove
externalcortisolfromsweatandsebum.
Grinddriedhairintoapowdertoincreasesurfacearea
forextraction.
Extractcortisolwithmethanol.
Evaporatemethanolandreconstituteinassaybuffer.
Analyzecortisolusingsensitiveandspecificenzyme
immunoassay(Salimetrics).
Meyeretal.(2014)

ApplicationsofHairCortisol

Chronicstress
Psychopathology
Drugabuse
Development
Wildlifeconservation
Archivalsamples

HairCortisolConcentrationsinRhesus
MonkeysSubjectedtoRelocationStress

RhesusmonkeysattheNewEnglandPrimateResearchCenterweresubjectedtoan
administrativelymandatedrelocationtoanewbuilding.Hairsampleswerecollected
premoveandagain2monthsand1yearlater.Davenportetal.(2006)

HairCortisolConcentrationsinInfant
RhesusMonkeysRearedbyAbusivevs.
NurturingMothers
Cortisol accumulated in hair from birth through 6 months
300

Hair cortisol (pg/mg hair)

250

Control
Maltreated

* (p=0.035)
*

200

150

100

50

Sanchezetal.(unpublisheddata)

NormativeDevelopmentalChangesin
HairCortisolLevels

Dettenborn etal.(2012)

HairCortisolConcentrationsinShift
WorkersComparedtoDayWorkers

Manenschijnetal.(2011)

HairCortisolConcentrationsinPTSD
Patients

ParticipantswereyoungUgandanwomenwhohadbeenseverelytraumatized,someof
whomsubsequentlydevelopedPTSD.HaircortisolwassignificantlyelevatedinthePTSD
groupcomparedtothetraumatizedcontrols.Steudte etal.(2011)

HairCortisolConcentrationsinAlcoholics
(abstinentvs.acutewithdrawal)

Alcoholicsubjectswereeitherinacutewithdrawal(2nd to12th day)orhadbeenabstinentfor

atleast14weeks.Stalder etal.(2010)

HairCortisolandAdverseChildhood
ExperiencesinCollegeStudents

Haircortisollevelsweresignificantlylowerincollegestudentswhoscoredhigheronthe
AdverseChildhoodExperiencequestionnaire.Kalmakis etal.(inpreparation)

PolarBearMuseumvs.RecentSamples

1892-1927

1988-2007
Bechshft etal.(2012)

Summary
Cortisolisslowlydepositedintothegrowinghairshaft
overperiodsofweekstomonths.
Haircortisolcanserveasanintegratedmeasureof
longtermhypothalamicpituitaryadrenocortical
activity,andthuschronicstress.
Hairsamplingisnoninvasive
Cortisolishighlystableinhairforyears,evenwhen
maintainedatambienttemperature.
Othersteroidhormones(e.g.,progesterone,
testosterone)arealsodepositedinhair.
Limitationsofhaircortisolincludealackofsensitivity
toacutestressorsorchangesincircadianrhythmicity.

Resources
Contactinfo:
emailjmeyer@psych.umass.edu;phone4135452168
References:
(1)MeyerandNovak(2012)Minireview:Haircortisol:Anovelbiomarkerof
hypothalamicpituitaryadrenocorticalactivity.Endocrinology153:41204127.
(2)Meyeretal.(2014)Extractionandanalysisofcortisolfromhumanandmonkey
hair.JournalofVisualizedExperiments 83:e50882.