ArticlePsychoneuroendocrinology2022
Hair cortisol change at COVID-19 pandemic onset predicts burnout among health personnel.
Article in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Biological Markers of Burnout Severity: A Systematic Review.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of Subdomains of Affective and Cognitive Empathy on Burnout Syndrome in Nurses: A Meta-Analysis.International nursing review · 2026Pooled it
- Hair Cortisol Research in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder - 10 Years of Insights and Open Questions. A Systematic Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Cortisol Concentration Is Reduced During the Workday but Is not Associated With Depressive Symptoms in Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Outbreak.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Stress in lockdown: exploring the interplay and effects of cortisol and psychological distress in parent-child dyads.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2025Article
- Burnout and the Brain-A Mechanistic Review of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Studies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Canadian Nurses' Psychological Health Assessment and Its Determinants During the Uncertain Context of the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.Policy, politics & nursing practice · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between well-being, hair cortisol, and self-reported health.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2025Article
- Effect of Coping Strategies on Perceived Stress and Hair Cortisol Levels During the COVID-19 Pandemic According to Sex.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025Article
- Monitoring of mental health in occupational populations: a study on the role and application of HDL-related inflammatory index.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Age and Hair Cortisol Levels as Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- The Psychoneuroimmunological Model of Moral Distress and Health in Healthcare Workers: Toward Individual and System-Level Solutions.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Review
- Utility of salivary cortisol profile as a predictive biomarker in nurses' turnover risk: a preliminary study.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2024Article
- Segmental hair analysis as a retrospective testosterone diary: possibilities and pitfalls.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Prolonged Physiological Stress Is Associated With a Lower Rate of Exploratory Learning That Is Compounded by Depression.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2023Article
- Increases in stress hormone levels in a UK population during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective cohort study.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Article
- How are you coping? Stress, coping, burnout, and aggression in forensic mental healthcare workers.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has put chronic pressure on worldwide healthcare systems. While the literature regarding the prevalence of psychological distress and associated risk factors among healthcare workers facing COVID-19 has exploded, biological variables have been mostly overlooked.
methods467 healthcare workers from Quebec, Canada, answered an electronic survey covering various risk factors and mental health outcomes three months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of them, 372 (80%) provided a hair sample, providing a history of cortisol secretion for the three months preceding and following the pandemic's start. We used multivariable regression models and a receiver operating characteristic curve to study hair cortisol as a predictor of burnout and psychological health, together with individual, occupational, social, and organizational factors.
resultsAs expected, hair cortisol levels increased after the start of the pandemic, with a median relative change of 29% (IQR = 3-59%, p < 0.0001). There was a significant association between burnout status and change in cortisol, with participants in the second quarter of change having lower odds of burnout. No association was found between cortisol change and post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Adding cortisol to individual-occupational-socio-organizational factors noticeably enhanced our burnout logistic regression model's predictability.
conclusionChange in hair cortisol levels predicted burnout at three months in health personnel at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This non-invasive biological marker of the stress response could be used in further clinical or research initiatives to screen high-risk individuals to prevent and control burnout in health personnel facing an important stressor.
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