The lifetime experience of traumatic events is associated with hair cortisol concentrations in community-based children

JG Simmons; PB Badcock; SL Whittle; ML Byrne; L Mundy; GC Patton; CA Olsson; NB Allen

Journal article

The lifetime experience of traumatic events is associated with hair cortisol concentrations in community-based children

JG Simmons, PB Badcock, SL Whittle, ML Byrne, L Mundy, GC Patton, CA Olsson, NB Allen

Psychoneuroendocrinology | Published : 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.10.004

Abstract

Adversity early in life can disrupt the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) and increase risk for negative health outcomes. Recent research suggests that cortisol in scalp hair represents a promising measure of HPAA function. However, little is known about the relationship between early exposure to traumatic events and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in childhood, a critical period of HPAA development. The current study measured HCC in scalp hair samples collected from 70 community-based children (14 males, mean age = 9.50) participating in the Imaging Brain Development in the Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study (iCATS). Data were also collected on lifetime..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Julian Simmons Author

Paul Badcock Author

Sarah Whittle Author

Lisa Mundy Author

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC; Discovery Grant DP #120101402), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; Australia; Project Grant 1010018), and The University of Melbourne. Dr. Whittle is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (ID: 1007716). Prof. Olsson is supported by an ARC Principal Research Fellowship (DORA DP: 1311459).