Elevated levels of cortisol in hair precede acute myocardial infarction

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 22456
• Main Authors: Faresjö, Tomas, Strömberg, Susanna, Jones, Mike, Stomby, Andreas, Karlsson, Jan-Erik, Östgren, Carl Johan, Faresjö, Åshild, Theodorsson, Elvar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 31-12-2020; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 692/4019; 692/499; 692/53; Aged; Biomarkers; Cardiometabolic Risk Factors; Cardiovascular diseases; Case-Control Studies; Cortisol; Female; Hair; Hair - metabolism; Health risks; Heart attacks; Hormones; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Hydrocortisone - blood; Hydrocortisone - metabolism; Male; Middle age; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Multivariate analysis; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - etiology; Myocardial Infarction - metabolism; Odds Ratio; Risk factors; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Statistical analysis; Stress, Physiological; Stress, Psychological
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80559-9

Long term stress exposure is typical for modern societies and might trigger different diseases. This case–control study reveals that persons who had suffered an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) had elevated cortisol concentrations in the month before the acute event. Middle-aged patients admitted to cardiology clinics with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (n = 174) were compared to 3156 controls from a population-based cohort in southeast Sweden. The median Hair Cortisol Concentrations (HCC) for those who had suffered an AMI was 53.2 pg/mg compared to 22.2 pg/mg for the control group (p < 0.001). In bivariate analysis, higher levels of HCC were strongly (OR = 5.69) and statistically significantly associated with current AMI status. The discrimination of cases with AMI from controls remained statistically significant (OR = 5.04) even after controlling for established cardiovascular risk factors in a multivariate analysis. Middle-aged persons with acute myocardial infarction had significantly elevated cortisol levels during the month before the cardiac event. This was evident for both men and women. The biomarker cortisol concentration was independently and statistically significantly related to AMI. Chronic stress seems to be a new promising risk factor for AMI.