TLDR Women with PCOS have higher hair cortisol levels, which are linked to worse metabolic and inflammatory conditions.
The study investigated the activation of the adrenal axis in 44 women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) aged 18-34 years by measuring hair cortisol levels and its impact on metabolic, inflammatory, and androgen parameters compared to 49 healthy women aged 19-35 years. Hair cortisol levels were significantly higher in PCOS patients (130 pg/mg) than in controls (63 pg/mg, p < 0.001). PCOS patients were further categorized based on hair cortisol levels into a normal group and a high group (above 128 pg/mg). In the high cortisol group, total serum testosterone (TT) and bioavailable testosterone (bioT) showed significant correlations with various metabolic and inflammatory markers (p < 0.05). The study concluded that high hair cortisol levels in PCOS patients indicate hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and these elevated levels are associated with adverse metabolic and inflammatory profiles only in the PCOS group with high hair cortisol.
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