I wonder if the cortisol level in hairs is a trustworthy indicator of the amount of stress the person has or does it only tell us that a person has stress?
When you measure hair cortisol levels it tells you the level of stress that person had within the last 3 months. My PhD is about that issue, so if you need some more information about that please let me know.
Regards
Thank you for your prompt answer and your offer which I really appreciate.
Indeed you can measure the level of stress in hair with e.g. life events showing peaks of cortisol in the corresponding periods. Hair enables to measure mean cortisol levels in retrospective up to several years (depending on the used method and of course the length of the hair-with one cm representing one month). However, you have to take into account other factors which may also influence hair cortisol levels.
For more information I would also like to refer to : Steroids. 2011 Sep-Oct;76(10-11):1032-6.Manenschijn L, Koper JW, Lamberts SW, van Rossum EF., or Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013 Aug;38(8):1220-35.Staufenbiel SM1, Penninx BW, Spijker AT, Elzinga BM, van Rossum EF or Stalder T, Kirschbaum C. Brain Behav Immun. 2012 Oct;26(7)
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