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Synapse
December 2, 2025Psychoneuroendocrinology0 citationsOpen Access

Linking hair cortisol and life stress: The role of stress reactivity and habituation

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JPJari PlanertTSTobias StalderKHKatharina Huthsteiner

Key Points

  • Cortisol was identified as a significant biomarker of chronic stress, reflecting lifetime stressor exposure and reactivity.
  • Individual differences in cortisol reactivity play a crucial role in chronic stress, influencing the interpretation of hair cortisol concentrations.
  • The findings highlight limited sensitivity of habituation processes in assessing the dynamic adaptation to stress over time and across populations.
  • These insights provide a deeper understanding of how personal factors modulate stress responses and their measurement through biomarkers.

Abstract

The results suggest that HCC reflects not only lifetime stressor exposure but is also influenced by individual differences in cortisol reactivity, highlighting its role as an integrative, yet complex biomarker of chronic stress. In contrast, the lack of an association with habituation indicates limited sensitivity to dynamic adaptation processes occurring over weeks.

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Cite This Study

Planert et al. (2025) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6940274a2d562116f28ff601https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107715
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Hair cortisol and other hair analytes decline with storage over a one-year period: A systematic, within-subject investigation2025 · 15 citations
  2. 2Stress, Adaptation, and Disease: Allostasis and Allostatic Load1998 · 5,051 citations
  3. 3Sources and Levels of Stress in Relation to Locus of Control and Self Esteem in University Students1994 · 517 citations
  4. 4Major life events and major chronic difficulties are differentially associated with history of major depressive episodes.2007 · 112 citations
  5. 5Stress and the brain: from adaptation to disease2005 · 4,638 citations