ArticlePloS one
Association between Hair Cortisol Concentration and Adiposity Measures among Children and Parents from the "Healthy Start" Study.
Article in PloS one. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 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
- Associations Between Different Cortisol Measures and Adiposity in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Hair Cortisol Concentration, Weight Loss Maintenance and Body Weight Variability: A Prospective Study Based on Data From the European NoHoW Trial.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Trial
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- Trial
- Hair Cortisol in Young Children with Autism and Their Parents: Associations with Child Mental Health, Eating Behavior and Weight Status.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Hair Cortisol Concentrations in Children: A Longitudinal Analysis Across Childhood.Developmental psychobiology · 2026Article
- Associations of Hair Biomarkers with Height, Weight, and Body Mass Index in Preschool Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Family stress and child BMIz during the COVID-19 pandemic: exploring the mediating effects of cortisol.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Article
- Body mass index across development and adolescent hair cortisol: the role of persistence, variability, and timing of exposure.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Article
- Hair cortisol concentrations are associated with greater adiposity in late adolescence amongst non-Hispanic White individuals.Pediatric obesity · 2024Article
- Testing a Biobehavioral Model of Chronic Stress and Weight Gain in Young Children (Family Stress Study): Protocol and Baseline Demographics for a Prospective Observational Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Observational
- Differences in segmental hair cortisol concentration analysis among children and adolescents with overweight and obesity, their parents, and normal weight peers.Hormones (Athens, Greece) · 2023Article
- Obesity and Hair Cortisol: Relationships Varied Between Low-Income Preschoolers and Mothers.Maternal and child health journal · 2020Article
- Associations between objective measures of physical activity, sleep and stress levels among preschool children.BMC pediatrics · 2020Article
- Article
- Prenatal and childhood predictors of hair cortisol concentration in mid-childhood and early adolescence.PloS one · 2020Article
- Featured Article: Community Crime Exposure and Risk for Obesity in Preschool Children: Moderation by the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal-Axis Response.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2018Article
- A comparative effectiveness study of two culturally competent models of diabetes self-management programming for Latinos from low-income households.BMC endocrine disorders · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies have suggested a direct association between hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and Body Mass Index (BMI), as well as other adiposity measures. However, these studies have mostly been conducted among adult populations.
objectiveTo examine the association between HCC and different measures of adiposity among a selected group of children predisposed to obesity and their parents.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study based on 363 children and their parents (301 mothers and 231 fathers) participating in the "Healthy Start" study. Linear regression analysis was used to investigate associations between HCC and adiposity measures while taking into account possible confounding factors. Analyses were performed examining the association between HCC and BMI, fat mass and fat free mass index Z-scores, as well as waist circumference and waist-hip ratio among the children. Likewise, the association between HCC and BMI among the parents was explored. Finally, we examined the association between parental HCC and children's adiposity measures.
resultsHCC was directly associated with a higher BMI among the fathers (0.49 kg/m2 [95% CI: 0.09, 0.90, P = 0.02] per 100 pg/mg) and the mothers (0.93 kg/m2 [95% CI: 0.24, 1.61, P = 0.01] per 100 pg/mg). We found no clear evidence of an association between HCC and adiposity measures among children. However, a high maternal HCC was associated with a high fat mass index and low fat free mass index z-score in the offspring (0.14 SD [95% CI: 0.02, 0.26, P = 0.02] and -0.17 SD [95% CI: -0.30, -0.05, P = 0.01] per 100 pg/mg, respectively).
conclusionsOur study found no evidence of an association between HCC and measures of adiposity among children predisposed to obesity. However, HCC may be directly associated with BMI among men and women, and maternal HCC may be related to a higher fat mass and a lower fat free mass among their children.
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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.