Are psychosocial factors and menopause symptoms related to hair cortisol concentrations among midlife Latinas? Results from the Menopausia, Salud, Corazón pilot study

Objective: To explore the relationship between psychosocial factors, menopause symptoms, and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) among midlife Latinas in a community-engaged pilot study. Methods: a community-based cardiovascular disease risk reduction pilot study. Participants completed self-report measures to assess psychosocial factors (e.g., perceived stress, everyday discrimination, resiliency) and menopause symptoms. Cortisol was extracted from hair samples using Salimetrics kit 1-3002 and ran in duplicates (pg/mg). HCC were log-transformed and linear regression models adjusting for age and education were performed to explore the effects of psychosocial factors and menopause symptoms on HCC. Results: Participants were on average aged 47.4 ± 4.5 years, 48.9% had a high school education or higher, and 98% were born outside the continental United States. The median HCC was 4.3 pg/mg (2.7- 8.2 pg/mg). After adjusting for age and education, experiencing any vasomotor symptoms (VMS) in the previous two weeks was associated with higher HCC (β[SE]: 0.59[0.26], p = 0.03). When additionally adjusting for perceived stress, there was a suggestive association between VMS and HCC (β[SE]: 0.49[0.27], p = 0.08). Conclusions: Hair cortisol may capture aspects of chronic stress exposure, although its interpretation remains complex. Few studies have assessed HCC in midlife women, particularly Latinas. Though exploratory, our findings suggest a possible association between VMS and HCC that should be studied further. Future research with larger sample sizes and multiple time points is necessary to confirm these results and explore the use of hair cortisol in menopause research. Clinical trial registration: Prospectively registered, NCT04313751 (03/19/2020), Protocol version 1.0.