Abstract：
Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is a valuable biomarker for evaluating chronic stress in preschoolers. However, few studies have explored early life HCC and its associated factors. This prospective cohort study analysed the HCC in children aged 6-48 months and its associations with parental HCC as well as positive and negative parental mental health outcomes. We used data from the ongoing Longitudinal Examination Across Prenatal and Postpartum Health in Taiwan (LEAPP-HIT) project, conducted in Taipei between 2020 and 2024. Hair samples were collected from both parents and children in 177 families (91 samples obtained during pregnancy and 86 during the postpartum period). The parents also completed self-reported questionnaires. Multiple linear regression was conducted to analyse the data. We observed a significant positive correlation between parents\' and preschoolers\' HCC. Furthermore, maternal depression (adjusted beta coefficient [aβ] = 0.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.02, 0.16) and perceived stress (aβ = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.02, 0.26) were positively associated with preschoolers\' HCC. By contrast, higher maternal eudaimonia was associated with lower HCC in preschoolers (aβ = -0.11, 95% CI = -0.20, -0.01). For parents, maternal depression, anxiety, and perceived stress were independently associated with an increased HCC during the postnatal period, whereas maternal eudaimonia was negatively associated with HCC. Our results indicate that both mothers and fathers affect children\'s responses to stress. Assessment of cortisol stress hormone concentrations through hair samples can be a key means of detecting preschoolers\' stress levels and enabling early intervention.
摘要：
头发皮质醇浓度（HCC）是评估学龄前儿童慢性压力的有价值的生物标志物。然而,很少有研究探讨早期肝癌及其相关因素。这项前瞻性队列研究分析了6-48个月儿童的HCC及其与父母HCC以及积极和消极父母心理健康结果的关联。我们使用了台湾正在进行的产前和产后健康纵向检查(LEAPP-HIT)项目的数据，2020年至2024年在台北进行。从177个家庭的父母和儿童中收集了头发样本（在怀孕期间获得了91个样本，在产后期间获得了86个样本）。父母还完成了自我报告的问卷。对数据进行多元线性回归分析。我们观察到父母和学龄前儿童肝癌之间存在显著的正相关。此外，母亲抑郁(校正β系数[aβ]=0.09,95%置信区间[CI]=0.02,0.16)和感知压力(aβ=0.15,95%CI=0.02,0.26)与学龄前儿童HCC呈正相关.相比之下,在学龄前儿童中,较高的母体eudaimonia与较低的HCC相关(aβ=-0.11,95%CI=-0.20,-0.01).对于父母来说,母亲抑郁症,焦虑,和感知的压力是独立的与增加肝癌在出生后的时期，而母亲eudaimonia与HCC呈负相关。我们的结果表明，母亲和父亲都会影响儿童对压力的反应。通过头发样本评估皮质醇应激激素浓度可能是检测学龄前儿童应激水平和早期干预的关键手段。
