Hair Cortisol Concentrations in Mental Disorders: A Systematic Review

    February 2021 in “ Physiology & behavior ”
    Elli Koumantarou Malisiova, Iraklis Mourikis, Christina Darviri, Nicolas C. Nicolaides, Iannis M. Zervas, Charalabos Papageorgiou, George P. Chrousos
    TLDR People with depression often have higher hair cortisol levels, while those with PTSD tend to have lower levels, but more research is needed to understand this fully.
    This systematic review examined hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) to assess basal HPA axis activity in various mental disorders. The review included cross-sectional studies comparing psychiatric patients and healthy controls. Despite the growing interest in using HCC for long-term cortisol measurement, results were inconsistent across studies. The review highlighted the need for further cross-sectional and longitudinal studies to better understand HPA axis activity and its association with mental disorders and relapse risk. The authors recommended standardizing HCC measurement protocols for future research.
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