Cortisone in hair of elementary school girls and its relationship with childhood stress

Children may be exposed to stressful situations with adverse effects on their physiological and psychological health. As cortisone may be a useful additional biomarker for stress research and as it has been shown to be detectable in human hair, this study measured physiological concentrations of hai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of pediatrics 2013-06, Vol.172 (6), p.843-846
Main Authors: Vanaelst, Barbara, Michels, Nathalie, De Vriendt, Tineke, Huybrechts, Inge, Vyncke, Krishna, Sioen, Isabelle, Bammann, Karin, Rivet, Noellie, Raul, Jean-Sebastien, Molnar, Denes, De Henauw, Stefaan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Biomarkers
Biomarkers - metabolism
Child
Child, Preschool
Children & youth
Coping
Cortisone - metabolism
Elementary schools
Emotions
Female
Hair
Hair - metabolism
Hormones
Humans
Legal medicine
Life Change Events
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Pediatrics
Physiology
Psychological Tests
Public health
Questionnaires
Self Report
Short Communication
Stress
Stress, Psychological - metabolism
Surveys and Questionnaires
Toxicology
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Summary:Children may be exposed to stressful situations with adverse effects on their physiological and psychological health. As cortisone may be a useful additional biomarker for stress research and as it has been shown to be detectable in human hair, this study measured physiological concentrations of hair cortisone in 223 elementary school girls and explored its relationship with child-reported estimates of stress, more specifically questionnaires on major life events (i.e., Coddington Life Events Scale for Children), emotions (i.e., anger, anxiety, sadness, and happiness), and coping strategies (i.e., emotion- versus problem-focused coping). Cortisone concentrations were positively correlated with the overall life event score for the past 6 months (rho = 0.223, p  = 0.004), as well as with the negative event score for this period (rho = 0.227, p  = 0.003; N  = 165). Cortisone did not correlate with emotions or coping styles reported by the children. Conclusion : Despite its exploratory nature, this study may suggest elevated hair cortisone concentrations under psychosocial stress in young children. Although the observed findings should be interpreted with prudence, this study may encourage further research elucidating the potential importance and relevance of hair cortisone analysis as an additional or substituting stress biomarker for hair cortisol.
ISSN:0340-6199
1432-1076
DOI:10.1007/s00431-013-1955-1