Abstract
Context: Characterization of stress exposure requires understanding seasonal variability in stress biomarkers.
Objective: To compare acute and chronic stress biomarkers between two seasons in a cohort of rural, Hispanic mothers.
Methods: Stress questionnaires and cortisol measurements (hair, blood and saliva) were collected in the summer and fall.
Results: Cortisol biomarkers were significantly different and stress questionnaires were significantly correlated between seasons.
Discussion: The variability in cortisol and relative stability of questionnaires between seasons may indicate that cortisol responds to subtle stressors not addressed in questionnaires.
Conclusions: There are significant differences in stress biomarkers in our cohort between seasons.
Declaration of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. This study was supported through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services (Contract No. HHSN267200700015C and HHSN267200700023C), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Award Numbers 5 P01 ES00960, 5 P30 ES0070331) and the USEPA (Grant Number RD83451401). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institutes of Health or the USEPA.
Supplementary material available online
Supplementary Table S1 to S3 and Supplementary Figure S1 and S2