Hair glucocorticoid concentration, self-perceived stress and their associations with cardiometabolic risk markers in Swedish adolescents

Yun Chen; Max Petzold; Ulrika Rüetschi; Johan Dahlstrand; Petra Löfstedt; Maria Corell; Peter Friberg

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105908

Hair glucocorticoid concentration, self-perceived stress and their associations with cardiometabolic risk markers in Swedish adolescents

Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2022 Dec:146:105908. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105908. Epub 2022 Aug 27.

Authors

Yun Chen¹, Max Petzold², Ulrika Rüetschi³, Johan Dahlstrand⁴, Petra Löfstedt⁵, Maria Corell⁶, Peter Friberg⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: yun.chen@gu.se.
² School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: max.petzold@gu.se.
³ Department of Clinial Chemistry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: ulrika.ruetschi@vgregion.se.
⁴ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: johan.dahlstrand@gu.se.
⁵ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: petra.lofstedt@folkhalsomyndigheten.se.
⁶ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: maria.corell@folkhalsomyndigheten.se.
⁷ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: peter.friberg@gu.se.

PMID: 36054941
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105908

Abstract

Background: While hair cortisol is proposed as a biomarker for chronic stress and a possible mediator linking chronic stress and cardiovascular risk in adults, studies in adolescents are scarce. We explored the associations between self-perceived stress, hair cortisol (HairF) and cortisone (HairE), and cardiometabolic risk markers in adolescents. Further, we examined whether association between self-perceived stress and HairF may depend on the use of the coping strategies "shift-persist".

Methods: Participants were 7th grade pupils recruited to the STudy of Adolescence Resilience and Stress (STARS) and data from the baseline examinations were used. Adolescents (n = 1553, 26 % boys, M_age=13.6, SD = 0.4) completed questionnaires assessing perceived stress and coping strategies "shift-persist", provided hair sample, and examined for cardiometabolic risk factors including waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI) z-score, blood pressure, and white blood cell counts (WBC). HairF and HairE were analysed using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. We conducted descriptive analyses (Student's t-test, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, Chi-square test) and linear regression analyses.

Results: Perceived stress was not associated with HairF, neither had the use of coping strategies "shift-persist" any influence on this association. Both HairF and HairE were positively associated with BMI z-score (beta coefficients (β): 0.178 (p < 0.001) and 0.119 (p < 0.001) for boys; 0.123 (p < 0.001) and 0.089 (p < 0.01) for girls) and WC (β: 0.089 (p > 0.05) and 0.098 (p < 0.05) for boys; 0.103 (p < 0.01) and 0.076 (p < 0.05) for girls). Perceived stress was also positively associated with BMI z-score and WC. Perceived stress, but not HairF, remained associated with WC in boys (β = 0.200, p < 0.001) in the models with HairF and perceived stress presented simultaneously. Modest association between HairE and WBC was found in boys (β = 0.149, p < 0.01).

Conclusions: The study supports the association between chronic stress and overweight/obesity in adolescents. Hair cortisol and self-perceived stress capture different aspects of how chronic stress is related to overweight/obesity in adolescents.

Keywords: Adolescent; Blood pressure; Body mass index; Coping strategies; Hair glucocorticoids; Perceived stress; Waist circumference; White blood cell counts.