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Updated: Nov 30, 2025
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Extraction and Analysis of Cortisol from Human and Monkey Hair
Published on: January 24, 2014
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Hair cortisol concentrations in mental disorders: A systematic review
Elli Koumantarou Malisiova1, Iraklis Mourikis2, Christina Darviri3
1Postgraduate Course on the Science of Stress and Health Promotion, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; 1st Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, Athens University Medical School, 72-74 Vas. Sophias Ave., 11528 Athens, Greece; Outpatient Specialty Clinic for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Behavioral Therapy.
Physiology & Behavior
|November 12, 2020
Summary
Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) offer a consistent measure of long-term stress. This review found higher HCC in depression and lower HCC in PTSD, suggesting potential diagnostic value for mental health disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroendocrinology
- Psychiatry
- Stress Research
Background:
- Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation is linked to mental disorders.
- Traditional cortisol measurements (blood, saliva, urine) show variable results.
- Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) offers a stable indicator of long-term cortisol exposure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review studies on hair cortisol concentrations in patients with mental disorders compared to healthy controls.
- To assess the utility of HCC as a biomarker in psychiatric conditions.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review adhering to PRISMA guidelines.
- Searched PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus databases.
- Included 22 studies from an initial 582 identified articles.
Main Results:
- Patients with depression generally exhibited higher HCC than controls.
- Patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) tended to show lower HCC.
- Limited data exists for other disorders; sample/timing variations impact results; stress correlations were inconclusive.
Conclusions:
- HCC may help differentiate psychiatric disorders and track therapy outcomes.
- Further research needed to establish specific HCC profiles for each disorder.
- HCC could inform a neuroendocrine model for clinical staging of mental disorders.
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