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Extraction and Analysis of Cortisol from Human and Monkey Hair
08:38

Extraction and Analysis of Cortisol from Human and Monkey Hair

Published on: January 24, 2014

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The association between chronic stress, hair cortisol, and angiographically documented coronary atherosclerosis, a

Asma Nafisa1, Feroza Hamid Wattoo1, Mazhar Qayyum2

  • 1University Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
|October 11, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Elevated hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is linked to coronary atherosclerosis. Higher HCC correlates with obesity and diabetes, identifying it as a significant predictor of this cardiovascular disease.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Cardiology
  • Psychoneuroimmunology

Background:

  • Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of global mortality.
  • Chronic stress is a significant prognostic factor for cardiovascular diseases.
  • Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) offers a long-term measure of cortisol exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To measure hair cortisol concentration (HCC) in patients with coronary atherosclerosis.
  • To investigate the association between HCC and cardiovascular risk factors.
  • To determine if HCC is an independent predictor of coronary atherosclerosis.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study involving 500 patients with coronary atherosclerosis and 500 matched controls.
  • Hair cortisol concentration assessed using ELISA from scalp hair samples.
  • Correlation and multivariate regression analyses to evaluate associations with risk factors and predictive value.

Main Results:

  • Median HCC was significantly higher in patients with coronary atherosclerosis compared to controls.
  • HCC positively correlated with Body Mass Index (BMI) and HbA1c.
  • Multivariate analysis confirmed HCC as a significant independent predictor of coronary atherosclerosis.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated hair cortisol concentration is associated with coronary atherosclerosis.
  • HCC is a valuable biomarker for assessing chronic stress in cardiovascular disease risk.
  • Further research is warranted to explore the therapeutic implications of managing stress-related cortisol levels.

Keywords:
Hair cortisolPakistanclassic CVD risk factorscoronary atheroscrelosisperceived stresspredictor

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