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Collecting Hair Samples for Hair Cortisol Analysis in African Americans
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Collecting Hair Samples for Hair Cortisol Analysis in African Americans

Published on: June 10, 2018

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Associations of Hair Cortisol Concentrations with General and Organ Fat Measures in Childhood

Florianne O L Vehmeijer1,2, Susana Santos1,2, Romy Gaillard1,2

  • 1The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
|October 29, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Childhood stress, measured by hair cortisol concentration (HCC), is linked to increased body fat and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) risk by age 10. These associations, particularly for liver fat, persist independently of early adiposity.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric endocrinology
  • Metabolic health
  • Stress physiology

Background:

  • Childhood stress can negatively impact body fat distribution.
  • Early life stress may influence long-term metabolic health outcomes.
  • Understanding stress biomarkers in children is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between hair cortisol concentration (HCC) at age 6 and body fat measures at age 10.
  • To examine the link between HCC and overweight risk and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at age 10.
  • To determine if these associations are independent of adiposity at age 6.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal cohort study (Generation R) with 2042 children.
  • Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) measured at age 6.
  • Body mass index (BMI), fat mass index, visceral and pericardial fat indices, and liver fat fraction assessed at age 10 using DXA and MRI.
  • NAFLD risk and overweight status evaluated at age 10.

Main Results:

  • Higher HCC at age 6 correlated with higher BMI and fat mass index at age 10, explained by baseline adiposity.
  • Elevated HCC at age 6 was independently associated with a higher liver fat fraction and increased NAFLD risk at age 10.
  • No significant association was found between HCC and visceral or pericardial fat indices.

Conclusions:

  • Childhood stress, indicated by HCC, is associated with adverse body composition and metabolic health.
  • Hair cortisol concentration at age 6 predicts higher liver fat and NAFLD risk at age 10, independent of early adiposity.
  • These findings highlight the long-term impact of early life stress on metabolic health in children.
Abstract

Keywords:
adipositychildhair cortisolhair cortisonenonalcoholic fatty liver diseaseorgan fat

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