Mayores concentraciones de cortisol, biomarcador de estrés, en residentes de comunas con menor índice de calidad de vida urbana / Higher levels of cortisol, a biomarker of stress, among residents of municipalities with lower urban life quality index

INTRODUCCIÓN: Las desigualdades socioeconómicas y territoriales se relacionan con la salud de la población santiaguina; sin embargo, los mecanismos causales que generan las inequidades en salud no están del todo claros. En este trabajo, se cuantifica el estrés de individuos viviendo en diferentes comunas, y se lo discute como causa y consecuencia de procesos vinculados con inequidades en salud. EL OBJETIVO era relacionar el Índice de Calidad de Vida Urbana (ICVU) de la comuna de residencia de individuos en Santiago de Chile con las concentraciones de cortisol en pelo (CCP), un biomarcador de los niveles de estrés fisiológico crónico. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS: Se exploró la relación entre CCP y la edad, el sexo y el ICVU de la comuna de residencia en 80 estudiantes de educación superior en Santiago de Chile. RESULTADOS: No se encontraron correlaciones significativas entre CCP y la edad o el sexo de los participantes. Se encontró una correlación significativa entre CCP y los valores del ICVU de la comuna de residencia, además de encontrar diferencias significativas entre CCP y los distintos rangos de ICVU (Superior, Promedio e Inferior).DISCUSIÓN: Los resultados sugieren considerar las diferencias individuales de CCP como resultado de desigualdades socio-territoriales y también como posible causa de inequidades en salud. Se recomienda incluir el rol del estrés en las políticas públicas de salud, ampliando las redes de apoyo y prevención de estrés en los sectores con bajo ICVU.

INTRODUCTION: Socioeconomic and urban inequalities are associated with health in Santiago; nonetheless, the causal mechanisms underlying health inequalities are not entirely clear. This article quantifies the stress of individuals living in different municipalities and discusses its role as cause and consequence in the generation of health inequalities. THE OBJECTIVE of this study was to determine the relationship between the Urban Quality of Life Index (UQoLI) of individuals' municipality of residence in Santiago, Chile with their hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), a biomarker of chronic physiological stress.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The relationship of HCC with age, sex and UQoLI was explored in a sample of 80 university students in Santiago, Chile. RESULTS: No significant correlations were found between HCC and age and sex. A significant correlation was found between HCC and UQoLI, and significant differences were found be-tween HCC at different levels of UQoLI (High, Average, and Low).DISCUSSION: Results suggest that HCC differences could be considered a result of urban in-equalities, as well as a possible cause of health inequalities. The role of stress should be inclu-ded in public health policies, to expand support networks and prevent stress, especially among people living in areas with low urban quality of life.

Association between hair cortisol concentration and overweight and obesity in 6-9 years old childhood / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective@#To determine the possible relations between hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as a biomarker of chronic stress and childhood overweight and obesity.@*Methods@#Children from grade 1 to 3 from 2 primary schools in Bengbu were invited to participate in the study; and those who suffer from mental disorders, endocrine diseases and those who took hormone drugs were excluded. Parental questionnaire was implemented to collect information on physical activity, screen time, sleep duration, sugar-beverage consumption, as well as socio-economic status. Height and weight were examined. Eligible hair samples from 1 263 children (598 boys and 665 girls) were obtained, and the cortisol content was determined. Multivariate logistic regression model analysis was recruited to examine the association between HCC quartiles and overweight and obesity among boys and girls, respectively.@*Results@#HCC in P50 (P25-P75) among girls and boys was separately 11.86 (10.57-13.15) and 11.71 (10.54-13.09) µg/kg (Z=-0.886, P=0.376); HCC in P50 (P25-P75) among non-overweight, overweight and obesity boys was separately 11.62 (10.45-12.82), 12.24 (10.88-13.55) and 12.30 (10.99-13.53) µg/kg (χ2=8.24, P=0.016); HCC in P50 (P25-P75) among non-overweight, overweight and obesity girls was separately 11.35 (10.06-12.62), 12.07 (11.04-13.21) and 12.59 (11.12-13.63) µg/kg (χ2=36.16, P<0.001). After age, physical activity, screen time, sleep duration, sugared beverages and socio-economic status adjusted, compared with HCC in Q1 level, girls whose HCC in Q2, Q3 Q4 level had higher rates in overweight, with OR (95%CI) at 1.10 (1.04-3.32), 2.59 (1.51-4.45) and 3.16 (1.79-5.57), respectively. Girls with HCC in Q3 and Q4 level had higher rates in obesity, with OR (95%CI) at 2.22 (1.16-4.26) and 5.62 (3.04-10.41). Among boys, highest quartiles in HCC was risk factor for overweight, OR (95%CI) was 2.14 (1.18-3.90).@*Conclusion@#Hair cortisol had a significant relation with overweight and obesity in 6-9 years old childhood especially among girls.

Hair cortisol concentration measurement in researches on stress-related diseases / 中国心理卫生杂志

Stress-related diseases are closely related to an abnormal cortisol secretion.Recent research implied that hair cortisol concentration which retrospectively records long-term cortisol basal level might possess superiority in the diagnosis of stresS-related diseases.This paper reviewed recent progresses in application of hair cortisol concentration in stress-related diseases (metabolic syndrome,obesity,cardiovascular disease,depression,PTSD,etc.) which showed abnormal long-term cortisol secretion in a wide range of situationS.This review proposed that the future research needs to take into accounts exclusion and/or balance of the influence factors,a longitudinal design in combination with acute-stress and chronic-stress biomarkers,and to develop new bio-markers related to hair cortisol concentration for study of stress related diseases,and establishment of standard protocols and clinical standards.