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Hair cortisol as a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis biomarker in pregnant women with asthma: a retrospective observational study

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, July 2016
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Title
Hair cortisol as a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis biomarker in pregnant women with asthma: a retrospective observational study
Published in
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, July 2016
DOI 10.1186/s12884-016-0962-4
Pubmed ID
Authors

Laura Smy, Kaitlyn Shaw, Ursula Amstutz, Anne Smith, Howard Berger, Bruce Carleton, Gideon Koren

Abstract

Cortisol is a hormone involved in many physiological functions including fetal maturation and epigenetic programming during pregnancy. This study aimed to use hair cortisol as a biomarker of chronic inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) exposure and assess the potential effects of asthma on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in pregnant women. We hypothesized that pregnant women with asthma treated with ICS would exhibit lower hair cortisol concentrations, indicative of adrenal suppression, compared to women with asthma not using ICS and women who do not have asthma. We performed an observational retrospective cohort study. Hair samples were analyzed from pregnant women with asthma, with (n = 56) and without (n = 31) ICS treatment, and pregnant women without asthma (n = 31). Hair samples were segmented based on the growth rate of 1 cm/month and analyzed by enzyme immunoassay to provide cortisol concentrations corresponding to preconception, trimesters 1-3, and postpartum. Hair cortisol concentrations were compared within and among the groups using non-parametric statistical tests. Hair cortisol concentrations increased across trimesters for all three groups, but this increase was dampened in women with asthma (P = 0.03 for Controls vs. ICS Treated and Controls vs. No ICS). ICS Treated women taking more than five doses per week had hair cortisol concentrations 47 % lower in third trimester than Controls. Linear regression of the third trimester hair cortisol results identified asthma as a significant factor when comparing consistent ICS use or asthma as the predictor (F(1, 25) = 9.7, P = 0.005, R(2) adj = 0.257). Hair cortisol successfully showed the expected change in cortisol over the course of pregnancy and may be a useful biomarker of HPA axis function in pregnant women with asthma. The potential impact of decreased maternal cortisol in women with asthma on perinatal outcomes remains to be determined.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 85 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 85 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 17 20%
Student > Master 12 14%
Student > Bachelor 11 13%
Researcher 8 9%
Student > Postgraduate 5 6%
Other 12 14%
Unknown 20 24%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 24 28%
Nursing and Health Professions 8 9%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 8 9%
Psychology 7 8%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 5 6%
Other 9 11%
Unknown 24 28%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 02 December 2017.
All research outputs
#15,380,359
of 22,881,154 outputs
Outputs from BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
#3,007
of 4,208 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#234,274
of 363,722 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
#70
of 93 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,881,154 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 22nd percentile – i.e., 22% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 4,208 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.8. This one is in the 20th percentile – i.e., 20% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 363,722 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 27th percentile – i.e., 27% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 93 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 18th percentile – i.e., 18% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.