High hair cortisol concentrations predict worse cognitive outcome after stroke: Results from the TABASCO prospective cohort study

E. Ben Assayag*, O. Tene, A. D. Korczyn, L. Shopin, E. Auriel, J. Molad, H. Hallevi, C. Kirschbaum, N. M. Bornstein, S. Shenhar-Tsarfaty, E. Kliper, T. Stalder

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background and purpose The role of stress-related endocrine dysregulation in the development of cognitive changes following a stroke needs further elucidation. We explored this issue in a longitudinal study on stroke survivors using hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), a measure of integrated long-term cortisol levels. Methods Participants were consecutive cognitively intact first-ever mild-moderate ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) survivors from the Tel Aviv Brain Acute Stroke Cohort (TABASCO) study. They underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning and were cognitively assessed at admission, and at 6, 12 and 24 months post-stroke. Scalp hair samples were obtained during the initial hospitalization. Results Full data on baseline HCC, MRI scans and 2 years neuropsychological assessments were available for 65 patients. Higher HCC were significantly associated with a larger lesion volume and with worse cognitive results 6, 12 and 24 months post-stroke on most of the neurocognitive tests. 15.4% of the participants went on to develop clinically significant cognitive decline in the follow-up period, and higher HCC at baseline were found to be a significant risk factor for this decline, after adjustment for age, gender, body mass index and APOE e4 carrier status (HR = 6.553, p = 0.038). Conclusions Our findings suggest that individuals with higher HCC, which probably reflect higher long-term cortisol release, are prone to develop cognitive decline following an acute stroke or TIA.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)133-139
Number of pages7
JournalPsychoneuroendocrinology
Volume82
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2017

Funding

FundersFunder number
U.S. - Israel Bi-national Science Foundation
American Federation for Aging Research2011344

    Keywords

    • Dementia
    • Hair cortisol concentrations
    • Post-stroke cognitive decline

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