Collecting Hair Samples for Hair Cortisol Analysis in African Americans
Summary
Hair cortisol concentration analysis provides an alternative to traditional measures of cortisol; however, to collect hair samples from African Americans, scientists need to be culturally informed and competent. The purpose of this protocol is to demonstrate a culturally informed technique to collect hair samples for cortisol analysis from African Americans.
Abstract
The hormone cortisol is typically assessed in saliva, serum, or urine samples. More recently, cortisol has been successfully extracted from hair, including humans. The advantage of hair cortisol concentration is that it reflects a retrospective representation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function over time, much like hemoglobin A1C represents glycemic control. However, obtaining hair samples can be challenging, due to the cultural beliefs and hair care practices of minority participants. For example, African Americans may be reluctant to provide samples. Additionally, few researchers are trained to collect hair samples from African Americans. The purpose of this paper is to present a culturally informed protocol to help researchers obtain hair samples from African Americans. To illustrate the representative results of this protocol implementation, de-identified data from African Americans that participated in a community-based study on chronic stress are provided. Hair practice preferences are assessed. The participants are made comfortable by showing pictures of hair samples prior to cutting their hair. The single strain twist and gently pull method is used to collect approximately 30 – 50 strands of hair from the posterior vertex region of the scalp. This protocol will significantly improve collection of hair samples from African Americans.
Introduction
Collecting samples of saliva, blood, or urine for cortisol analysis has unique procedural challenges and greater participant burden, as the procedure requires multiple saliva samples, venipuncture samples, or 24-hour urine collection. Obtaining cortisol from hair samples is a simple and acceptable alternative to using saliva, serum, or urine samples1,2. Hair cortisol provides a retrospective representation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function over time. Approximately 3 cm of hair collected from the scalp is equal to average cortisol release for the past 3 months1. However, researchers encounter unique challenges when attempting to collect hair samples across diverse populations. Such challenges include religious or spiritual beliefs including exposing hair (e.g., Muslim women), hair as sacred (American Indian groups), or cultural norms that connect hair to standards of beauty and self-image.
In the African American culture, particularly among women, scalp hair is a very personal and important aspect of their body image3,4. Further, historical experiences (e.g., the Tuskegee experiments) continue to foster mistrust in the research process5. Some African American folklore and cultural beliefs also suggest that the hair sample could be used in rituals that could cause harm6,7. Researchers should be aware of potential challenges that they may face in studies when African American participants are asked to provide hair samples.
In addition to issues surrounding body image, the specific techniques for collecting and handling hair samples from African Americans may differ from that of European Americans6,7. For example, African Americans may have straight, thin, curly, kinky, coarse, or a combination of these hair types, each requiring different techniques to collect and secure adequate hair samples for processing. Recent studies on samples of African American teens8, as well as multi-ethnic samples9, showed that collection of hair for cortisol level measurement was acceptable among African American participants. At present, there are no visual training procedures designed to provide researchers with the skill and cultural knowledge to collect hair samples in African Americans. The purpose of this paper is to present a culturally informed protocol to help researchers obtain adequate hair samples from African American participants. This method was developed with careful consideration of physical, psychosocial, and cultural characteristics relevant to collection of hair samples from African American adults. To date, there are no visual methods of collecting these samples, and this protocol will be the first guide that details proper hair sample collection from African American adults. To illustrate the representative results of the protocol implementation, de-identified data are presented from African Americans that participated in a community-based study on chronic stress that were aged 65 and older. Both male and female research assistants from a variety of racial backgrounds contacted potential participants from a clinic generated list and flyers. The primary investigator, who is an African American woman, spoke at community centers and senior subsidized housing apartments to older adult African Americans about the study, including a description of the hair collection methods.
Protocol
Representative Results
Discussion
Essential steps in the hair collection protocol include providing an example of how much hair will be taken, showing the sample site (posterior vortex), use of the single strain twist and gently pull method, and securing the sample with painter's tape away from the scalp end. By gently twisting and pulling the sample, the curly hair is lengthened and the scalp end alignment is maintained. This reduces laboratory time needed to align the scalp ends, measure, and cut the sample. Although thinning shears have been used …
Offenlegungen
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgements
This publication was made possible by the Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative of Cleveland; KL2TR000440 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) component of the National Institutes of Health; and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Dr. Jodi Ford’s work in this area has been funded by the National Institutes of Health National Institute on Drug Abuse (1R21DA034960) and The Ohio State University Institute for Population Research seed grant funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (2P2CHD058484). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Laudenslager’s work in this area has been funded by a contract from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (CE-1304-6208), a grant from the Administration for Children and Families (90YR0058), and a grant from the Developmental Psychobiology Research Group Endowment Fund of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus.
Materials
| Salon grade scissors | Cricket | S-3 550 | Carded Professional Hair Shear, 5.5 inch |
| Large tooth comb | Goody | No catalog number__Goody Stylista Rake Comb | Link to Company website http://www.goody.com/Products/Styling_Tools/Goody_Stylista_Rake_Comb?colId=d11c04a1-1dd3-4848-a313-046fc6c109ec&c_id=35a36c88-d359-4104-a53c-dfbfd8452780 |
| Small tooth comb | Goody | No catalog number_ Goody Start.Style.Finish. Link to company website http://www.goody.com/Products/Styling_Tools/Goody_StartStyleFinish_Combs?colId=d11c04a1-1dd3-4848-a313-046fc6c109ec&c_id=35a36c88-d359-4104-a53c-dfbfd8452780 | |
| Alcohol preps | Kendall Webcol Alcohol Preps | No catalog number. Kendall Webcol Alcohol Preps | https://www.buyemp.com/product/kendall-webcol-alcohol-preps |
| Painter's tape | 3M Scotch | ScotchBlue ORIGINAL Painter’s Tape | https://www.scotchblue.com/3M/en_US/scotchblue/products/painters-tape/ |
| Permanent marker | Sharpie | Black Sharpie Fine Point | http://www.sharpie.com/sharpie/fine/SHFineBlackFine.html |
| Non-latex gloves | Protégé | 93997 | Protege®Nitrile Powder-Free Examination Gloves http://aureliagloves.com/product/protege/ |
| Hair clips | Goody | Goody Start.Style.Finish. Curl Clips | http://www.goody.com/Products/Styling_Tools/Goody_StartStyleFinish_Curl_Clips |
| Envelope | Office Depo | 330808 | Office Depot® Brand Clasp Envelopes, 9" x 12", Brown, Box Of 100 |
| Foil sheets | Choice | 1229105 | Box of 500 Sheets Food Service Interfolded Pop-up foil sheets |
| Pre-weighed 2 ml cryovial | Wheaton, Millville, NJ, USA | W985902 | |
| 100% isopropanol | Spectrum | I1275 | 67-63-0 | |
| Liquid nitrogen | Ohio State Unversity Stores | Gas Cylinder Warehouse | http://osustores.osu.edu/prodservices/liquidnitrogen.aspx |
| Stainless steel ball bearing | McMasterCarr | 9291K42 | https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-stainless-steel-balls/=1acqby0 |
| Specially milled aluminum cassettes | FisherScientific | Retsch 20.745.0001 | |
| HPLC grade methanol | FisherScientific | A452N1-19 | https://www.fishersci.com/shop/products/methanol-hplc-fisher-chemical-6/p-216129 |
| Microcentrifuge tube | Eppendorf North America | 22363352 | https://online-shop.eppendorf.us/US-en/Laboratory-Consumables-44512/Tubes-44515/Eppendorf-Safe-Lock-Tubes-PF-8863.html?_ga=2.36544352.1776616592.1511283212-1254533852.1511283212 |
| Cortisol ELISA Kit | Salimetrics LLC, State College, PA, USA | 1-3002 (5PK 1-3002-5) | https://www.salimetrics.com/assay-kit/cortisol-salivary-elisa-eia-kit |
| Centtrifuge for the micorcentrifuge tube | Beckman Coulter | Microfuge 20 series | http://centrifugebybeckman.com/?page_id=727/?pi_ad_id=creative?utm_term=microfuge |
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