When the body is in high vigilance, under stress, it secretes a hormone called cortisol. It is produced by the adrenal glands and it is possible to detect it in blood, urine or saliva. Now it could also be found in the hair, according to a published Danish study in the review PLOS Global Public Health.
Women from two geographically very distant places (398 in Iceland and 881 in Mexico) gave some hair to be analyzed and at the same time answered questionnaires concerning their state of mental health.
Cortisol in hair and state of stress
The first three centimeters of their hair – the equivalent of what has grown in the last three months, as it is estimated to gain 1cm per month – were analyzed. After answering the questions, they were classified into five different groups, depending on their anxiety.
Cortisol levels were then compared to their responses. The researchers found that those in the most anxious group had 24.3% more cortisol in their hair. And this, coming from Iceland or Mexico, without distinction. This led them to think that the level of cortisol in the hair could be a reliable biomarker to identify a chronic stress. However, they do not specify whether the condition (visual, to the touch) of the hair is affected…
Source :
- Perceived stress and hair cortisol concentration in a study of Mexican and Icelandic women, PLOS MedicineAugust 3, 2022
