University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
Physiol Behav. 2011 Aug 3;104(2):348-53. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.02.041. Epub 2011 Mar 21.
Maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with negative maternal/child outcomes. One potential biomarker of the maternal stress response is cortisol, a product of activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This study evaluated cortisol levels in hair throughout pregnancy as a marker of total cortisol release. Cortisol levels in hair have been shown to be easily quantifiable and may be representative of total cortisol release more than single saliva or serum measures. Hair cortisol provides a simple way to monitor total cortisol release over an extended period of time. Hair cortisol levels were determined from each trimester (15, 26 and 36 weeks gestation) and 3 months postpartum. Hair cortisol levels were compared to diurnal salivary cortisol collected over 3 days (3 times/day) at 14, 18, 23, 29, and 34 weeks gestational age and 6 weeks postpartum from 21 pregnant women. Both salivary and hair cortisol levels rose during pregnancy as expected. Hair cortisol and diurnal salivary cortisol area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) were also correlated throughout pregnancy. Levels of cortisol in hair are a valid and useful tool to measure long-term cortisol activity. Hair cortisol avoids methodological problems associated with collection other cortisol measures such as plasma, urine, or saliva and is a reliable metric of HPA activity throughout pregnancy reflecting total cortisol release over an extended period.
孕期母体压力与母婴不良结局相关。皮质醇是下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴活动的产物，是母体压力反应的一个潜在生物标志物。本研究通过评估孕期头发中的皮质醇水平来作为总皮质醇释放的标志物。头发中的皮质醇水平易于定量，可能比单次唾液或血清测量更能代表总皮质醇释放。头发皮质醇为监测长时间总皮质醇释放提供了一种简单的方法。在妊娠的第 15、26 和 36 周以及产后 3 个月时，分别从每个孕期（妊娠 15、26 和 36 周）和产后 3 个月（产后 3 个月）确定头发中的皮质醇水平。将头发皮质醇水平与 21 名孕妇在妊娠 14、18、23、29 和 34 周以及产后 6 周时每天 3 次（每天 3 次）收集的 3 天唾液皮质醇的日间节律进行比较。正如预期的那样，怀孕期间唾液和头发皮质醇水平均升高。在整个怀孕期间，头发皮质醇和日间唾液皮质醇 AUCg 也具有相关性。头发中的皮质醇水平是测量长期皮质醇活性的有效且有用的工具。头发皮质醇避免了与收集其他皮质醇测量（如血浆、尿液或唾液）相关的方法学问题，并且是整个孕期 HPA 活性的可靠指标，反映了长时间内总皮质醇的释放。
