That the birds of worry and care fly above your head, this you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent. Chinese Proverb
Hair status has always been considered a sign of chronic stress. We have all seen the pictures of U.S. presidents before and after their terms. Four years seems to add 10 to their lives and certainly to their hair. Whether it is the loss of or thinning out of the once lush head of hair or the amount of grey we have, our hair is often considered a generic indicator of accumulated stress. But is this really true?
Well, as it turns out, hair accumulates the stress hormone cortisol and some researchers are investigating whether this might be a way to measure chronic HPA axis stimulation. In a recent report, higher hair cortisol levels have been linked to increased risk of acute myocardial infarction in adult men. The unique thing about this testing is that it measures accumulated cortisol production over a period of 3 to 6 months (especially the most recent 3 months).
This test is not ready for “prime-time” clinical use yet for several reasons: there is no lab performing the test (does anyone know of one?), reference ranges and cut-off points are not established, factors affecting hair cortisol unrelated to stress are not completely identified and more correlation with repeated daily testing needs to be implemented. If this test does become available in the future, it may help bridge the gap between single day cortisol testing (shows the diurnal pattern of cortisol and DHEA production) and “perceived stress” questionnaires that attempt to approximate chronic stress.
The role of chronic stress and chronic disease management is beginning to be more widely accepted in the scientific and medical communities. The more tools that can be made available to understand the HPA axis function and status of individuals, the better suited clinicians will be for developing specific protocols to help their patients. The standard salivary cortisol test (4 times per day) is still the best clinical tool available today. Check out these links below for more on this interesting topic.