101 citations
,
January 2014 in “Journal of Visualized Experiments” The method effectively measures long-term stress levels using hair samples.
95 citations
,
September 1979 in “Acta Paediatrica” Girls have higher DHEA levels earlier in puberty than boys, indicating earlier development.
80 citations
,
January 2011 in “Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM)” Hair cortisol levels can reflect salivary cortisol levels in humans.
69 citations
,
August 2016 in “PubMed” High stress can disrupt hair growth, but certain supplements might help.
69 citations
,
May 2016 in “General and Comparative Endocrinology” External factors can significantly affect hair cortisol levels, so it's not always a reliable stress marker.
65 citations
,
December 1986 in “The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism” The woman had a genetic condition causing high cortisol and androgen levels, treatable with dexamethasone.
47 citations
,
January 2016 in “MethodsX” Hair cortisol analysis is a reliable tool for monitoring long-term stress in captive chimpanzees if certain variables are controlled.
44 citations
,
February 2016 in “Zoology” Hair cortisol levels in primates are useful for stress assessment but vary by age, sex, species, and hair collection methods.
43 citations
,
January 1999 in “Endocrinology” Cortisol increases a specific protein in bone cells, which may help explain its negative effects on bone.
24 citations
,
October 2018 in “Addiction Biology” Alcohol dependence affects stress hormone levels more than childhood maltreatment.
24 citations
,
April 2008 in “Fertility and sterility” Pioglitazone improved insulin sensitivity and altered cortisol metabolism in PCOS patients.
22 citations
,
August 2016 in “European Eating Disorders Review” Adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa have lower hair cortisol levels than healthy and psychiatric peers.
16 citations
,
August 2007 in “Histopathology” A woman's rare adrenal tumor caused high testosterone and cortisol levels, which normalized after the tumor was removed.
10 citations
,
November 2018 in “Developmental Psychobiology” Hair can effectively measure DHEA and testosterone levels in children.
9 citations
,
November 1980 in “Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde” Fenoterol treatment causes increased hair growth due to higher metabolism in hair follicles, not hormones.
7 citations
,
May 2021 in “General and comparative endocrinology” Muskoxen's qiviut cortisol levels indicate their stress hormone activity over the hair growth period.
7 citations
,
January 2014 in “Case reports in endocrinology” A woman's excessive hair growth was caused by a rare benign tumor in her adrenal gland, which was successfully removed.
7 citations
,
April 2013 in “Animal Production Science” Altering maternal cortisol during pregnancy can improve wool growth in Merino sheep.
5 citations
,
May 2021 in “Veterinary medicine and science” Injecting cosyntropin into grizzly bears increases blood cortisol but doesn't change hair cortisol levels.
5 citations
,
June 2020 in “Therapeutic drug monitoring” Hair sample weight is a better measure for cortisol levels in hair than hair protein concentration.
4 citations
,
September 2003 in “Livestock Production Science” Epidermal growth factor reduces hair growth, but cortisol does not.
3 citations
,
January 2012 Hair cortisol analysis shows sweat affects cortisol levels, and severe OSA may increase stress, but CPAP treatment doesn't significantly reduce physiological stress.
2 citations
,
January 2009 The procedure reliably measures cortisol in rhesus macaque hair.
1 citations
,
July 2023 in “Psychoneuroendocrinology” Hair cortisol is a reliable marker of long-term cortisol levels and is linked to daytime saliva cortisol but not morning levels.
1 citations
,
December 2021 in “American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology” Hair cortisol levels peak in the third trimester and decline postpartum.
1 citations
,
September 2020 in “Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Case Reports” The conclusion is that thorough investigation of hypertension and hormonal dysfunctions is important, and there may be a link between these conditions and cancer.
1 citations
,
January 1978 in “PubMed” Certain chemical changes to cortisol and progesterone can increase or decrease their ability to inhibit hair growth.
1 citations
,
June 2023 in “Psychoneuroendocrinology” Childhood sexual trauma, especially between ages 5-7, is linked to lower cortisol levels in adult hair, suggesting long-term stress response changes.
February 2026 in “TURKISH JOURNAL OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES” Hair cortisol is better than blood cortisol for measuring long-term stress in pregnant goats.
January 2026 in “Neuroscience Applied” Hair cortisol levels decrease as children age, stabilizing around age 4.