Observational studyPsychoneuroendocrinology2016
Assessing cortisol from hair samples in a large observational cohort: The Whitehall II study.
Observational study in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 168 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cross-sectional relation of long-term glucocorticoids in hair with anthropometric measurements and their possible determinants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2022Pooled it
- Seasonality and symptoms of depression: A systematic review of the literature.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2019Pooled it
- Associating Emergency Medical Services personnel's workload, trauma exposure, and health with the cortisol, endocannabinoid, and N-acylethanolamine concentrations in their hair.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Establishment of a reference range for hair cortisol using a HPLC-MS/MS method in a Northern Italian population.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2026Article
- Hair cortisol and other analytes continue to decline and show reduced stability after two years of storage: Follow-up data from a systematic within-subject investigation.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Developmental and environmental determinants of hair steroids in children from birth to two years postnatally: A comprehensive analysis.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Hair cortisol and cortisone and psychological well-being: an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Are psychosocial factors and menopause symptoms related to hair cortisol concentrations among midlife Latinas? Results from theComprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Chronic adrenocortical activity and onset of Takotsubo syndrome.European journal of cardiovascular nursing · 2026Observational
- Beyond the Mission: Long-Term Endocrine Dynamics in Search and Rescue Dog-Handler Teams.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Hair cortisol outperforms urinary free cortisol in diagnosing Cushing's syndrome: a cross-sectional study.Hormones (Athens, Greece) · 2026Article
- From lifetime stressor exposure to daily stress experience: Associations with hair cortisol.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Feasibility of Measuring Hair Glucocorticoids as a Potential Biomarker for Chronic Stress in Older Adults With Intellectual Disabilities.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR · 2025Article
- Hair cortisol concentration and mental health during childhood and adolescence: evidence that higher cortisol concentration is associated with externalizing problems in a large Brazilian population-based birth cohort.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Article
- Measuring resilience to chronic pain in population surveys using hair cortisol.Psychological medicine · 2025Article
- Serum Cortisol and Cardiovascular Disease Risk - A Potential Biomarker.Current cardiology reviews · 2025Review
- Perceived and endocrine acute and chronic stress indicators in fibromyalgia syndrome.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Associations between adolescent perceived loneliness and hair cortisol concentration.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Article
- Higher hair cortisol levels associated with previous cardiovascular events and cardiovascular risks in a large cross-sectional population study.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2024Observational
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) have been suggested to reflect long-term integrated cortisol levels, but most evidence of associations with co-variates is from small samples of healthy volunteers. The objective of this study was to describe the collection of hair samples in a large cohort study and report associations of demographic and health measures with HCC. We examined HCC measured from the 3cm hair segment near the scalp in 3507 participants (aged 59-83y) from The Whitehall II occupational cohort study of British civil servants. Hair samples were analysed using a column switching LC-APCI-MS/MS assay. Findings from mutually adjusted linear regression analyses revealed lower HCC in participants who reported use of hair dye [% difference (95%CI); -12.5 (-22.0, -1.9), p value=0.022] and evidence suggestive of differences by length of sample storage and seasonal variation. With regard to demographic variables, HCC was lower in women compared to men [-17.0 (-24.8, -8.4), p value <0.001] and higher in Black compared to other ethnic groups. Prevalent diabetes, use of systemic corticosteroids and cardiovascular medication were independently associated with higher HCC. With regard to health, depressive symptoms were associated with higher HCC [20.0 (8.1, 33.3), p value=0.001] following adjustment for physical disease and medication. We conclude that hair steroid analysis presents significant opportunities for assessing cortisol in large scale cohorts. Demographic factors, sample storage, season of collection and hair characteristics should be considered in future analyses. Health status, both mental and physical, is linked to HCC.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.