Hormone levels in hair linked to psychological well-being in later life

Levels of stress-related hormones measured in hair are linked to several aspects of psychological well-being among people aged 50 and over, new research using ELSA data has found.

Researchers from UCL analysed data from 3,899 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to examine whether levels of two stress-related hormones - cortisol and cortisone - were associated with psychological well-being.

Cortisol is a hormone released by the body as part of its response to stress, while cortisone is a closely related, inactive form of the hormone. Measuring these hormones in hair can provide an indication of exposure over a longer period than commonly used measurements from blood or saliva.

The researchers analysed 3 cm hair samples collected during ELSA's Wave 6 health visits in 2012-13. These provided measures of hormone exposure over the previous three months. The study compared these levels with several aspects of psychological well-being, including life satisfaction, happiness, feelings that life is worthwhile, depression and anxiety.

Higher levels of cortisone in hair were associated with lower life satisfaction and happiness, and lower ratings of feeling that life was worthwhile. Higher cortisone levels were also associated with more depressive symptoms and greater anxiety.

These relationships remained after the researchers took account of a range of other factors that could influence hormone levels or well-being, including age, sex, education, wealth, marital status, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, corticosteroid medication and hair treatments.

Cortisol showed a less consistent relationship with well-being. Higher hair cortisol levels were associated with more depressive symptoms and anxiety, but were not significantly associated with life satisfaction, happiness or feeling that life was worthwhile in the fully adjusted analysis.

Lead author Dr Pei Qin, Senior Research Fellow in Genetic and Biosocial Epidemiology in the UCL Department of Behavioural Science and Health, said:

"Our findings suggest that cortisone measured in hair may provide useful information about different aspects of psychological well-being in later life. We found that higher cortisone levels were associated not only with greater depression and anxiety, but also with lower levels of positive well-being, including happiness, life satisfaction and feeling that life is worthwhile. The higher levels of these hormones in people experiencing low well-being may be a pathway through which low well-being increases risk of health problems.”

"Further research is needed to understand why these relationships exist, and whether measuring cortisone in hair could eventually provide a useful biological marker alongside people's own reports of their well-being."

The researchers suggest that cortisone may be a more useful marker of psychological well-being than cortisol. One possible reason is that cortisone is more stable and may be less affected by short-term changes and environmental factors.

However, the researchers emphasise that the study cannot establish cause and effect. Hormone levels and psychological well-being were examined at the same point in time, meaning it is not possible to tell whether differences in hormone levels affect well-being, whether well-being affects hormone levels, or whether other factors are involved.

Further research following people over time will be needed to establish the direction of the relationship and find out whether these hormones are linked to changes in well-being over time and whether hair cortisone could have a future role in assessing psychological well-being or changes following interventions aimed at improving well-being.

Qin P, Steptoe A. Hair cortisol and cortisone and psychological well-being: an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2026 Aug 8;27:100377. doi: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2026.100377. PMID: 42621331; PMCID: PMC13487624.

Image by Centre for Ageing Better