Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31199799›Full record

Observational studyPloS one2019

Scalp hair cortisol and testosterone levels in patients with sarcoidosis.

M J G van Manen, V L Wester, E F C van Rossum, L M van den Toorn, K Y Dorst, Y B de Rijke, M S Wijsenbeek

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03108547 (Hair Cortisol and Testosterone Levels in Patients With Sarcoidosis Associated Fatigue), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT03108547 completednot on this map

Hair Cortisol and Testosterone Levels in Patients With Sarcoidosis Associated Fatigue

TypeobservationalSponsorErasmus Medical CenterRan2014 to 2015Enrolled32ConditionsSarcoidosisArmsDetermination of scalp hair steroids
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Comprehensive Care for Patients with Sarcoidosis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020
    Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

M J G van ManenDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-9606-6271
V L WesterDepartment of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
E F C van RossumDepartment of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
L M van den ToornDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
K Y DorstDepartment of Clinical Chemistry, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Y B de RijkeDepartment of Clinical Chemistry, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
M S WijsenbeekDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Erasmus MC · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with sarcoidosis often experience fatigue and psychological distress, but little is known about the etiology of these conditions. While serum and saliva steroid hormones are used to monitor acute steroid levels, scalp hair analysis is a relatively new method enabling measurement of long-term steroid levels, including hair cortisol reflecting chronic stress. We investigated whether scalp hair cortisol and testosterone levels differ between sarcoidosis patients both with and without fatigue and general population controls. Additionally, we studied if these hormones could serve as objective biomarkers for psychological distress in patients with sarcoidosis.

methodsWe measured hair steroid levels using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in glucocorticoid naïve sarcoidosis patients. Patients completed the Perceived Stress Scale, Fatigue Assessment Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Short Form 36 (SF-36). Hair steroid levels from 293 participants of the population-based Lifelines cohort study served as controls.

resultsThirty-two patients (14 males) were included. Hair cortisol, but not testosterone, concentrations were significantly higher in patients with sarcoidosis than in general population controls (mean 6.6 versus 2.7 pg/mg, p<0.001). No differences were found in hair cortisol and testosterone levels between fatigued and non-fatigued patients with sarcoidosis. Hair cortisol of sarcoidosis patients correlated significantly with anxiety (r = 0.47, p = 0.01), depression (r = 0.46, p = 0.01), and SF-36 mental domain (r = -0.38, p = 0.03), but not with fatigue.

conclusionsPatients with sarcoidosis have chronically higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than the normal population, while testosterone levels in hair did not differ. Hair cortisol levels were positively related to subjective measures of psychological distress, but not to fatigue. Our study shows that hair cortisol is a promising non-invasive biomarker for psychological distress in patients with sarcoidosis.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03108547. Registered 31 March 2017, retrospectively registered.

Indexed as

AdultAgedBiomarkersChromatography, LiquidFatigueFemaleHairHumansHydrocortisoneMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesSarcoidosisScalpStress, PsychologicalTandem Mass SpectrometryBiomarkersHydrocortisoneTestosterone

Identifiers

PMID31199799
PMCPMC6568399
OpenAlexW2953357270

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.