Timescales of Human Hair Cortisol Dynamics

Cortisol is a major human stress hormone, secreted within minutes of acute stress. Cortisol also has slower patterns of variation: a strong circadian rhythm and a seasonal rhythm. However, longitudinal cortisol dynamics in healthy individuals over timescales of months has rarely been studied. Here, we measured longitudinal cortisol in 55 healthy participants using 12 cm of hair, which provides a retrospective measurement over one year. Individuals showed (non-seasonal) fluctuations averaging about 22% around their baseline. Fourier analysis reveals dominant slow frequencies with periods of months to a year. These frequencies can be explained by a mathematical model of the hormonal cascade that controls cortisol, the HPA axis, when including the slow timescales of tissue turnover of the glands. Measuring these dynamics is important for understanding disorders in which cortisol secretion is impaired over months, such as mood disorders, and to test models of cortisol feedback control.