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. 2021 Jan;63(1):e12189.
doi: 10.1002/1348-9585.12189.

The potential of using hair cortisol to measure chronic stress in occupational healthcare; a scoping review

Frederieke G Schaafsma  1 , Gerben Hulsegge  1 , Merel A de Jong  2 , Joyce Overvliet  1 , Elisabeth F C van Rossum  3 , Karen Nieuwenhuijsen  2
Affiliations

The potential of using hair cortisol to measure chronic stress in occupational healthcare; a scoping review

Frederieke G Schaafsma et al. J Occup Health. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: Workplace-based selective prevention of mental health problems currently relies on subjective evaluation of stress complaints. Hair cortisol captures chronic stress responses and could be a promising biomarker for the early identification of mental health problems. The objective was to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge on the practical value of hair cortisol in the occupational setting.

Methods: We performed a scoping review of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO up to November 2019 assessing the relations of hair cortisol with work-related stressors, perceived stress, and mental health outcomes in healthy workers.

Results: We found five longitudinal studies, of which two observed an increase in work-related stressors to be associated with higher hair cortisol, one found a relation with lower hair cortisol and one did not find a relationship. Findings of cross-sectional studies were also mixed. The one available longitudinal study regarding mental health showed that hair cortisol was not related to depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: Hair cortisol measurement within occupational health research is still in its early stage and more longitudinal studies are urgently needed to clarify its relationship with work-related stressors and perceived stress before hair cortisol can be used to identify workers at risk for mental health problems.

Keywords: disease prevention; glucocorticoids; mental stress; work related.

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Conflict of interest statement

Approval of the research protocol: N/A. Informed consent: N/A. Registry and the registration no. of the study: N/A. Animal studies: N/A. Conflict of interest: None declared.

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