ArticlePsychoneuroendocrinology2024
Characterization of hair cortisol concentration pre-conception and during pregnancy.
Article in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review of associations between hormone levels in hair and peripartum depression.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Time-dependent association between prenatal hair glucocorticoid levels and child behavior problems.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors and Stress Hormones Across Pregnancy Trimesters: Links with Maternal Telomere Length.Journal of xenobiotics · 2026Article
- Association of preconception maternal glucocorticoid concentrations with sex ratio at birth: Evidence from a prospective cohort study.Annals of epidemiology · 2025Article
- The association between pre-pregnancy and first-trimester hair cortisol and preterm birth: a causal inference model.European journal of epidemiology · 2024Article
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Abstract
backgroundThe hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis is a system involved in stress and pregnancy regulation, and hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is a promising biomarker of its activity. Assessing factors that influence HCC in the prenatal period is critical to understand whether and how HPA axis (dys-)regulation influences maternal health and child development, particularly in high-risk populations from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
aimsThis study aimed at characterizing preconception and pregnancy HCC with respect to multiple sociodemographic, pregnancy-related, and hair-related factors.
methodsIn a sample of N = 2581 pregnant women in Perú, participants from two cohort studies provided a 6 cm scalp hair sample at three prenatal timepoints. Each hair sample was cut into two segments of 3 cm that represent cortisol secretion at four times: preconception, first-, second- and third trimester of pregnancy. Hair cortisol was extracted using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Spearman correlations, paired t-tests, and ANOVA were used to assess differences in log-transformed values of HCC (logHCC) across maternal sociodemographic, pregnancy-related, and hair-related factors. Multivariable linear regressions were used to examine independent associations of HCCs with selected correlates.
resultsMean logHCC values showed an increase across the four prenatal periods. Preconception BMI was consistently associated with HCC in all three trimesters, while difficulty accessing basic foods, education, hair dyeing, and infant sex showed time-specific associations with HCCs. In sensitivity analyses, we detected no substantial segment effects in the associations of HCCs with maternal characteristics.
conclusionThis study is the largest to characterize HCC in pregnant women from a LMIC. Our findings provide a foundation for the use of HCC as a biomarker of prenatal HPA axis activity for future studies. This foundation may contribute to finding valid biomarkers of stress-response systems to promote maternal and child health.
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