Stress has long been thought to be bad for our health, but measuring stress is challenging. A new study overcame this hurdle by analyzing hair for the stress hormone cortisol.
Dutch researchers took 1.2 inches (3 cm) of hair near the scalp in 283 senior citizens (average age 75) and analyzed the amounts of cortisol in the hair. This provides a more stable assessment of cortisol levels over time than a blood sample, as serum cortisol can change from hour to hour. Three cm represents approximately three months of hair growth. The people with higher levels of cortisol in their hair had higher rates of heart disease and diabetes.
What we don’t know is whether their higher levels of stress contributed to their risk for cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, or whether having diabetes or heart disease increases the amount of stress in a person’s life. It is entirely possible that the links go both ways. Earlier research has shown that social isolation, presumably a stressful situation, is linked to earlier death.
[Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, May , 2013]
8/9/18 redirected to: https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/does-work-email-bother-you-at-home/
