Smyth Nina, Bianchin Matilde, Thorn Lisa, Hucklebridge Frank, Kirschbaum Clemens, Stalder Tobias, Clow Angela
Psychophysiology and Stress Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK.
Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2016 Apr;102:12-17. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.03.001. Epub 2016 Mar 3.
Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) provides a retrospective measure of long-term (i.e. over a period of months) cortisol secretion and has been shown to be elevated in relation to chronic stress conditions. However associations in healthy participants with subjective ill-being are less clear and associations with well-being have not been explored. The current study examined HCC in relation to independent comprehensive measures of ill-being (stress, depression, anxiety) and well-being (subjective happiness, life satisfaction, psychological well-being) in healthy young and old females (mean±SD: 19.5±2.2years and 78.6±6.7years respectively, total N=115). The data supported evidence of increased total cortisol secretion with increased age. No association between ill-being and HCC was found in either the young or older group of participants. A positive association between HCC and well-being was found in the older participant group which was independent of ill-being and potential confounds. These findings do not support associations between HCC and ill-being in healthy young or old females. However the results suggest that HCC is able to distinguish levels of well-being in healthy older females.
头发皮质醇浓度（HCC）可回顾性地衡量长期（即数月期间）的皮质醇分泌情况，并且已证明其在慢性应激条件下会升高。然而，在健康参与者中，其与主观不适之间的关联尚不明确，且与幸福感之间的关联也未得到探究。本研究在健康的年轻和老年女性（平均±标准差：分别为19.5±2.2岁和78.6±6.7岁，总样本量N = 115）中，考察了HCC与不适（压力、抑郁、焦虑）和幸福感（主观幸福感、生活满意度、心理健康）的独立综合测量指标之间的关系。数据支持了随着年龄增长总皮质醇分泌增加的证据。在年轻或老年参与者组中，均未发现不适与HCC之间存在关联。在老年参与者组中发现HCC与幸福感之间存在正相关，且该关联独立于不适和潜在混杂因素。这些发现不支持健康年轻或老年女性中HCC与不适之间存在关联。然而，结果表明HCC能够区分健康老年女性的幸福感水平。
