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Elevated hair cortisol levels increased CVD, diabetes risk in elderly
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Long-term elevated cortisol levels — as measured by scalp hair — were associated with a history of cardiovascular disease among elderly participants in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. According to researchers, there was no relationship between long-term cortisol levels and chronic non-cardiovascular diseases.
The risk for CVD, including coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral arterial disease, was 2.7 times higher for patients in the highest hair cortisol quartile compared with the lowest quartile (P=.01). ORs for the second and third quartiles vs. the lowest quartile were 1.9 (P=.09) and 2 (P=.08), respectively.
Higher cortisol quartiles were associated with a higher risk for CHD (quartile 2: P=.07; quartile 3: P=.14; quartile 4: P=.03), peripheral arterial disease (quartile 2: P=.47; quartile 3: P=.36; quartile 4: P=.05) and stroke, although stroke was not statistically significant (quartile 3: P=.16; quartile 4: P=.17).
The study included 283 participants at a median age of 75 years. According to researchers, men had significantly higher hair cortisol levels compared with women (median 26.3 pg/mg hair vs. 21 pg/mg hair; P<.001).
Those within the highest quartile were also at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes (OR=3.2; P=.04).
“Like high blood pressure or abdominal fat, the findings suggest elevated cortisol levels are an important signal that an individual is at risk of cardiovascular disease,” study researcher Laura Manenschijn, MD, of Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said in a press release. “Because scalp hair can capture information about how cortisol levels have changed over time, hair analysis gives us a better tool for evaluating that risk.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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