Observational studyBMC pregnancy and childbirth2016
Hair cortisol as a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis biomarker in pregnant women with asthma: a retrospective observational study.
Observational study in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of hair cortisol during pregnancy: Reference ranges and methodological considerations.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2020Pooled it
- Longitudinal hair cortisol in bipolar disorder and a mechanism based on HPA dynamics.iScience · 2024Article
- Associations between maternal stress and infant resting brain activity among families residing in poverty in the U.S.Biological psychology · 2023Article
- Article
- Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol Dynamics.iScience · 2020Article
- Seasonal variation in salivary cortisol but not symptoms of depression and trait anxiety in pregnant women undergoing an elective caesarean section.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2019Article
- Maternal parity and perinatal cortisol adaptation: The role of pregnancy-specific distress and implications for postpartum mood.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2018Article
- Childhood stress and birth timing among African American women: Cortisol as biological mediator.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2017Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCortisol is a hormone involved in many physiological functions including fetal maturation and epigenetic programming during pregnancy. This study aimed to use hair cortisol as a biomarker of chronic inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) exposure and assess the potential effects of asthma on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in pregnant women. We hypothesized that pregnant women with asthma treated with ICS would exhibit lower hair cortisol concentrations, indicative of adrenal suppression, compared to women with asthma not using ICS and women who do not have asthma.
methodsWe performed an observational retrospective cohort study. Hair samples were analyzed from pregnant women with asthma, with (n = 56) and without (n = 31) ICS treatment, and pregnant women without asthma (n = 31). Hair samples were segmented based on the growth rate of 1 cm/month and analyzed by enzyme immunoassay to provide cortisol concentrations corresponding to preconception, trimesters 1-3, and postpartum. Hair cortisol concentrations were compared within and among the groups using non-parametric statistical tests.
resultsHair cortisol concentrations increased across trimesters for all three groups, but this increase was dampened in women with asthma (P = 0.03 for Controls vs. ICS Treated and Controls vs. No ICS). ICS Treated women taking more than five doses per week had hair cortisol concentrations 47 % lower in third trimester than Controls. Linear regression of the third trimester hair cortisol results identified asthma as a significant factor when comparing consistent ICS use or asthma as the predictor (F(1, 25) = 9.7, P = 0.005, R(2) adj = 0.257).
conclusionsHair cortisol successfully showed the expected change in cortisol over the course of pregnancy and may be a useful biomarker of HPA axis function in pregnant women with asthma. The potential impact of decreased maternal cortisol in women with asthma on perinatal outcomes remains to be determined.
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