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Updated: Aug 24, 2025

Collecting Hair Samples for Hair Cortisol Analysis in African Americans
Published on: June 10, 2018
Cortisol and cardiometabolic disease: a target for advancing health equity
Robin Ortiz1, Bjorn Kluwe2, Sophie Lazarus3
1Department of Pediatrics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA; Institute for Excellence of Health Equity, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
Abstract:
Stress, in both intrinsic psychosocial and extrinsic physical environmental forms, can impact the development of, and outcomes in, cardiovascular disease (CVD) through allostatic load. Cortisol is a core hormonal mediator of allostatic load produced in response to various stresses. Alterations in morning serum cortisol and daily diurnal cortisol have been associated with adiposity, dyslipidemia, incident diabetes, and CVDs such as hypertension. The review examines the role of cortisol as a key mechanistic link between stress physiology and cardiometabolic disease. Importantly, we discuss the role of targeting cortisol through pharmacological, behavioral, and environmental interventions to advance health equity in cardiometabolic disease.
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