کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
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336539 | 547157 | 2010 | 6 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
SummaryUnemployment and financial strain are chronic stressors that have been shown to be associated with an increase in mean salivary and serum cortisol levels. Hair analysis for cortisol content is a new promising tool by which hair segmental analysis may provide a retrospective calendar of cumulative cortisol exposure over time rather than momentary assessments.Participants of this study were 31 unemployed and 28 employed individuals (46 women). Hair segmental analysis was conducted using 3-cm long segments starting with the scalp-near segment. Due to differing hair length, 52 individuals had values for the second segment and n = 33 individuals had values for the third segment. Univariate analysis of variance indicated that unemployed individuals had higher cortisol content in the first (p < 0.05, eta2 = 0.071) and second (p < 0.05, eta2 = 0.085) hair segment (a total of 6 cm long hair representing the preceding 6 months of collection). Consistent with other data from our laboratory, there was a wash-out effect for the third segment (p < 0.05 for segment 3 vs. segment 1 and 2). Unemployed individuals indicated increased levels of perceived stress and impairments in subjective well-being compared to employed individuals. These subjective measures of perceived stress and well-being were unrelated to cortisol content in hair.We conclude that hair analysis for cortisol content may be a valid method to detect differences in cumulative cortisol exposure between chronically stressed individuals and healthy controls. Due to a wash-out effect, retrospective ascertainment of cortisol exposure may be limited to the preceding 6 months of specimen collection.
Journal: Psychoneuroendocrinology - Volume 35, Issue 9, October 2010, Pages 1404–1409