Evaluation ofCortisol Level in Hair and Stress in Premature Hair Graying

Abstract

Hair graying is a natural age-associated feature. The hair graying trait correlates closely with chronological aging and occurs to varying degrees in all individuals. While the normal incidence of hair graying is at 34 ± 9.6 years in Caucasians and 43.9 ± 10.3 years in Africans, it has been described that by 50 years of age, 50% of people have 50% gray hair. Premature graying is associated with a variety of pathologic conditions. Moreover, many references in the scientific literature claimed it to be induced by psychoemotional stressors and our lack of capacity to cope with it. The use of hair analysis has become an increasingly widespreadtool to allow for long-term measure of drug exposure, both exogenous and endogenous. The glucocorticoid hormone cortisol is a frequently assessed parameter in psychoneuroendocrine stress research. While in some of this research the primary focus lies in measuring dynamic changes in acute cortisol levels, research into the effects of chronic stress and its implications on health is often particularly interested in assessing long-term cortisol exposure.