In 6- to 8-year-old children, hair cortisol is associated with body mass index and somatic complaints, but not with stress, health-related quality of life, blood pressure, retinal vessel diameters, and cardiorespiratory fitness

Although small significant relationships were found between HCCs, BMI and somatic complaints, the findings of this exploratory study challenge the view that HCCs can be used as a reliable biomarker of recent critical life events, daily hassles, health-related quality of life, and cardiovascular health indicators in non-clinical young children.