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

ABSTRACT

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.