TY - JOUR
T1 - Coping with stress before and after mild traumatic brain injury
T2 - a pilot hair cortisol study
AU - Spikman, Jacoba M.
AU - van der Horn, Harm J.
AU - Scheenen, Myrthe E.
AU - de Koning, Myrthe E.
AU - Savas, Mesut
AU - Langerak, Thomas
AU - van Rossum, Elisabeth F.C.
AU - van der Naalt, Joukje
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is supported by the Nederlandse Hersenstichting (Dutch Brain Foundation) under Grant number PS2012-06.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2021/6/6
Y1 - 2021/6/6
N2 - Background: Cortisol is a crucial hormone for adaptation to challenging and stressful situations. Hair cortisol measurement is used to determine chronic stress; the growth rate of hair allows to determine averaged cortisol levels for a longer period. Objective: Pre- and post-injury measures of hair cortisol were compared in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and related to their coping styles. Methods: For 46 patients with mTBI, 3 cm scalp hair samples were collected 4–6 weeks post-injury, resulting in two 1 cm segments, pre- and post-injury. Hair samples were also collected for 11 healthy controls. Hair cortisol was quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Complaints, anxiety, depression and coping style were measured two weeks post-injury and long term (six-twelve months), added with measures for post-traumatic stress and functional outcome. Results: There were no differences between patients’ pre- and post-injury cortisol levels, nor between cortisol levels of patients and controls. However, pre- and post-injury cortisol levels of patients were negatively correlated with both passive and an avoidant coping style. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that mTBI has no separate impact on chronic long-term cortisol levels, possibility indicating that variability in cortisol levels reflects individuals’ premorbid characteristics determining coping with stress in general.
AB - Background: Cortisol is a crucial hormone for adaptation to challenging and stressful situations. Hair cortisol measurement is used to determine chronic stress; the growth rate of hair allows to determine averaged cortisol levels for a longer period. Objective: Pre- and post-injury measures of hair cortisol were compared in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and related to their coping styles. Methods: For 46 patients with mTBI, 3 cm scalp hair samples were collected 4–6 weeks post-injury, resulting in two 1 cm segments, pre- and post-injury. Hair samples were also collected for 11 healthy controls. Hair cortisol was quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Complaints, anxiety, depression and coping style were measured two weeks post-injury and long term (six-twelve months), added with measures for post-traumatic stress and functional outcome. Results: There were no differences between patients’ pre- and post-injury cortisol levels, nor between cortisol levels of patients and controls. However, pre- and post-injury cortisol levels of patients were negatively correlated with both passive and an avoidant coping style. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that mTBI has no separate impact on chronic long-term cortisol levels, possibility indicating that variability in cortisol levels reflects individuals’ premorbid characteristics determining coping with stress in general.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85108849865&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02699052.2021.1901143
DO - 10.1080/02699052.2021.1901143
M3 - Article
C2 - 34096416
AN - SCOPUS:85108849865
SN - 0269-9052
VL - 35
SP - 871
EP - 879
JO - Brain Injury
JF - Brain Injury
IS - 8
ER -