Hair Cortisol as a Biomarker of Chronic Stress Linking Socioeconomic and Health Inequalities: A Meta-Analysis
A meta-analytic project that covers the relationship between socioeconomic status and chronic stress among healthy adults, with hair cortisol serving as a long-term, retrospective measure of cortisol concentrations.
Alessandro van den Berg & Mirre Stallen
This meta-analysis examines the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and hair cortisol concentration (HCC), a biomarker of long-term cortisol exposure and chronic stress. Given the role of stress in explaining socioeconomic inequalities in health, HCC may provide insight into the biological mechanisms linking SES to health outcomes. We systematically reviewed the literature and conducted a multivariate meta-analysis to synthesize evidence across studies. In addition, we investigated whether methodological and demographic factors, including age, sex, assay type, and SES indicators, moderated the association between SES and HCC.