Hair cortisol concentrations correlate negatively with survival in a wild primate population

Abstract Stress during pregnancy has been widely studied and associated to different variables, usually with negative results for the health of the mother and the newborn, such as having a higher risk of suffering postpartum depression, premature birth, obstetrics complications or low birthweight, among others. However, there are not many lines of research that study the role that the sex of the baby plays on this specific stress and vice versa. Thus, the main objective was to analyse the relationship between the sex of the offspring and the stress of the mothers in the first trimester of pregnancy. In order to achieve this, 108 women had their biological stress measured (trough hair cortisol levels) and psychological stress evaluated (the Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (PSS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PDQ) and the Stress Vulnerability Inventory (IVE)). The results revealed significant differences in maternal hair cortisol levels in the first trimester based on the sex of the baby they had given birth to (t = −2.04; P < 0.05): the concentration of the hormone was higher if the baby was a girl (164.36:54.45-284.87 pg/mg) than if it was a boy (101.13:37.95-193.56 pg/mg). These findings show that the sex of the future baby could be conditioned, among many other variables, by the mother´s stress levels during conception and first weeks of pregnancy. Further research is needed in this area to support our findings.

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Hair Cortisol Concentration as a Biomarker of Sleep Quality and Related Disorders

Life ◽

10.3390/life11020081 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 81

Author(s):

Nisrin El Mlili ◽

Hanan Ahabrach ◽

Omar Cauli

Keyword(s):

Sleep Disorders ◽

Reference Ranges ◽

Hair Cortisol ◽

Neuropsychiatric Diseases ◽

Close Relationship ◽

Adults And Children ◽

Experimental Approaches ◽

Common Manifestation ◽

Functional Alteration

Cortisol is the end product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and its production is increased mainly in stressful situations or in chronic disorders accompanied by stress enhancement. Altered cortisol concentrations have been reported in a number of neuropsychiatric diseases and sleep disorders. Cortisol concentrations have been measured using several methods, and in several matrixes, such as blood, saliva, and urine. However, lately, hair cortisol, for several reasons, has emerged as a promising biomarker of long-term retrospective HPA activation. Several experimental approaches for cortisol measurement with the corresponding concentration reference ranges and a summary of findings from scientific literature on this field are presented. There is evidence of a close relationship between HPA functional alteration and the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. Sleep disorders are the most common manifestation in several neuropsychiatric conditions, and have also been associated to cortisol alterations in both adults and children. Many studies indicate that hair cortisol constitutes a valuable tool for further contributing to existing data on salivary, plasma, or urinary cortisol concentrations in patients with sleep disorders.

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83 Evaluation of transmammary-delivered firocoxib and an ethyl chloride spray to mitigate pain associated with processing procedures in piglets

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skaa054.005 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 98 (Supplement_3) ◽

pp. 4-4

Author(s):

Abbie V Viscardi ◽

Elizabeth Shirtcliff ◽

Emily Eppler ◽

Savannah Miller ◽

Johann Coetzee

Keyword(s):

Production Systems ◽

Ethyl Chloride ◽

Hair Cortisol ◽

Post Processing ◽

Significant Treatment ◽

Treatment Groups ◽

Time Points ◽

Tail Docking ◽

Management Procedures ◽

On Farm

Abstract Piglets raised in commercial production systems in the U.S. undergo painful management procedures, including surgical castration, tail docking and ear notching, without analgesia or anesthesia provision for pain relief. This is a significant animal welfare concern. There is an immediate need to identify the most practical and effective analgesia or anesthesia option for use on-farm. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of 2.0mg/kg firocoxib, administered to the sow and delivered transmammary to her piglets, and a vapocoolant spray (ethyl chloride) to reduce processing pain. Five-day old male and female Yorkshire-cross piglets were used. 2.0mg/kg firocoxib was administered to the sow intramuscularly 7h prior to processing piglets. An ethyl chloride spray was applied to the ears, tail and scrotum of the piglets immediately before ear notching, tail docking and surgical castration, respectively. Piglets were assigned to one of four treatment groups: firocoxib and vapocoolant spray (FV; n=32), firocoxib only (F; n=32), vapocoolant spray only (V; n=32), no treatment (CON; n=32). The observation period was from 24h pre- to 48h post-processing (specific time points = baseline, 0h, 1h, 2h, 4h, 7h, 24h, 30h, 36h, 48h). Preliminary results found piglets displayed significantly more pain-related behaviors at 24h and 30h post-processing than at most other time points (p< 0.05). Piglets had significantly higher cranial temperatures at 7h post-processing than all other time points (p< 0.05). There was a trend in FV and F piglets having a higher cranial temperature at 36h post-processing compared to V and CON piglets (p=0.08). All piglets had significantly higher hair cortisol levels at 4 vs 20-days old (p< .0001); however, there were no significant treatment effects on cranial temperature, hair cortisol or pain behavior, suggesting firocoxib and the ethyl chloride spray were unable to significantly reduce piglet pain post-processing. Further study analysis is needed to confirm these initial findings.

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Exploring the effects of oily fish consumption on measures of acute and long-term stress in healthy 8-9-year-old children: The FiSK Junior randomized trial

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s000711452000519x ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-26

Author(s):

Marie N Teisen ◽

Stine Vuholm ◽

Jesper M Rantanen ◽

Jeppe H Christensen ◽

Camilla T Damsgaard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Fish Consumption ◽

Cold Pressor Test ◽

Cold Pressor ◽

Heart Beat ◽

Autonomic Response ◽

Hair Cortisol ◽

Oily Fish ◽

Fish Group

Abstract Long-chain n-3 PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA) have been shown to reduce blood pressure, heart rate and vagal tone, but potential stress-mitigating effects of n-3 LCPUFA are not well investigated. We aim to explore the effects of oily fish consumption on long-term stress and the stress response in schoolchildren. Healthy 8-9-year-old children were randomized to receive ~300 g/week of oily fish or poultry for 12 ± 2 weeks. At baseline and endpoint, we measured erythrocyte n-3 LCPUFA, hair cortisol and the response to a 1-min cold pressor test (CPT) on saliva cortisol, blood pressure, and continuous electrocardiogram recordings. Of the 199 randomized children, 197 completed the trial. Hair cortisol did not differ between the groups, but a sex-interaction was indicated (Psex*group = 0.074, difference between means -0.9 (95% CI: -2.9,1.0) ng/g and 0.7 (-0.2,1.6) ng/g in boys and girls, respectively). The children in the fish group tended to be less prone to terminate CPT prematurely (OR 0.20 [0.02,1.04]). The mean heart beat interval during CPT was 18.2 (0.3,36.6) ms longer and the high frequency power increased (159 (29,289) ms2) in the fish versus the poultry group. The cardiac autonomic response in the 10 min following CPT was characterized by a sympathetic peak followed by a parasympathetic peak, which was most pronounced in the fish group. This exploratory study does not support a strong effect of oily fish consumption on stress, but indicates that oily fish consumption may increase vagal cardiac tone during the physiological response to CPT. These results warrant further investigation.

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Discrimination and hair cortisol concentration among asian, latinx and white young adults

Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology ◽

10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100047 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 100047

Author(s):

Tiffany Yip ◽

Paul Smith ◽

Michael Tynes ◽

Sheena Mirpuri ◽

Ashley Weems ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Cortisol Concentration ◽

Hair Cortisol

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The impact of preschool child and maternal attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms on mothers’ perceived chronic stress and hair cortisol

Journal of Neural Transmission ◽

10.1007/s00702-021-02377-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Szép ◽

Nadine Skoluda ◽

Susan Schloß ◽

Katja Becker ◽

Ursula Pauli-Pott ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Chronic Stress ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Adhd Symptoms ◽

Hair Cortisol ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Child Adhd ◽

Maternal Adhd

AbstractProviding care for a child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with parenting stress. Moreover, adults with elevated ADHD symptoms report increased perceived stress. Despite this, it has rarely been examined whether and how child and maternal ADHD symptoms may affect maternal perceived stress and the stress-sensitive hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. This study therefore investigated the possible impact of child and maternal ADHD symptoms on mothers' perceived chronic stress and hair cortisol concentration (HCC), while simultaneously considering the effects of child oppositional defiant/conduct disorder (ODD/CD) and maternal depressive symptomatology. In total, 124 mothers (35.96 ± 5.21 years) of preschool children were included. Maternal perceived stress, ADHD and depressive symptoms were assessed using self-report measures. Child ADHD symptoms were assessed using an interview and questionnaires completed by mothers and teachers. Additionally, mothers provided information about their children’s ODD/CD symptoms. Hair samples were taken from mothers to assess HCC. Child and maternal ADHD, child ODD/CD, and maternal depressive symptoms accounted for 50% of the variance in perceived chronic stress (F(4, 119) = 30.24; p < 0.01), with only maternal ADHD (β = 0.52, p < 0.01) and depressive symptoms (β = 0.49, p < 0.01) being uniquely significant. Maternal ADHD symptoms did not moderate the relationship between child ADHD symptoms and maternal perceived chronic stress (b = − 0.01; SE b = 0.17; t(5, 118) = − 0.05; p = 0.96). Mother’s age became the only significant predictor of maternal HCC (β = 0.29; p < 0.01). Based on these findings, practitioners are advised to be aware of and take into account possible maternal ADHD and depressive symptomatology and perceived chronic stress when treating children diagnosed with ADHD.

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