Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Dev Psychobiol. 2019 Sep;61(6):962-970. doi: 10.1002/dev.21807. Epub 2018 Nov 26.
Hormone analysis is a valuable tool for understanding how physiology and behavior interact. Cortisol in hair has recently been examined as a measure of longer-term hormone output. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between other androgens in hair and anthropometric measures. In a child sample (n = 114, mean age: 8.5 years, 66 females) levels of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone were assayed in the 0-3 cm section proximal to scalp. The 3-6 cm segment within a subsample of female participants (n = 35) was examined and compared. Results showed that testosterone strongly correlated with DHEA, and moderately correlated with cortisol (0-3 cm only). Higher hormone concentrations were present in the 3-6 cm segment. Finally, there was a weak positive association between DHEA and height. The replication of previously identified associations between androgens, particularly testosterone-DHEA, and with developmental measures suggests hair may offer a valid method of hormone measurement for DHEA and testosterone.
激素分析是理解生理和行为相互作用的一种有价值的工具。头发中的皮质醇最近被作为衡量长期激素分泌的指标进行了研究。本研究旨在探讨头发中其他雄激素与人体测量指标之间的关系。在一个儿童样本（n=114，平均年龄：8.5 岁，66 名女性）中，在距头皮近端 0-3cm 处检测到皮质醇、脱氢表雄酮（DHEA）和睾酮的水平。对女性参与者的一个子样本（n=35）的 3-6cm 段进行了检查和比较。结果表明，睾酮与 DHEA 呈强相关，与皮质醇（仅 0-3cm）呈中度相关。在 3-6cm 段中存在更高的激素浓度。最后，DHEA 与身高呈弱正相关。雄激素之间先前确定的关联，特别是睾酮-DHEA，以及与发育指标的关联的复制表明，头发可能是 DHEA 和睾酮的有效激素测量方法。
