title: Hair cortisol concentrations in relation to ill-being and well-being in healthy young and old females.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Psychophysiology and Stress Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.affiliation: Psychophysiology and Stress Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK.
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bianchin
authors.affiliation: Psychophysiology and Stress Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thorn
authors.affiliation: Psychophysiology and Stress Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hucklebridge
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kirschbaum
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stalder
authors.affiliation: Psychophysiology and Stress Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK. Electronic address: clowa@wmin.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clow
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Age; Females; HCC; Hair cortisol concentration; Ill-being; Well-being