Raven Lankford

Hair Analysis Reveals Elevated Stress Hormone Levels Raise Cardiovascular Risk   

Apr. 17, 2013 — 

Hair strands contain valuable information about senior citizens' stress levels that can be used to determine an individual's cardiovascular disease risk, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). A blood test that captures a snapshot of stress hormone levels at a single point in time, a scalp hair analysis can be used to view trends in levels of the stress hormone cortisol over the course of several months. This approach allows researchers to have a better sense of the variability in cortisol levels. The study found seniors who had higher long-term levels of the stress hormone cortisol were more likely to have cardiovascular disease. The study measured cortisol levels in a group of 283 community-dwelling senior citizens between the ages of 65 and 85. Participants were randomly selected from a large population-based cohort study. Using 3-centimeter-long hair samples taken from close to the scalp, researchers were able to measure cortisol levels from a three-month period. People with high cortisol levels were more likely to have a history of coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease or diabetes.