Hair cortisol as a marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation in Friesian dairy cows clinically or physiologically compromised

This study was designed to assess hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation in lactating cows clinically or physiologically compromised. Cortisol was measured in the hair of 475 multiparous cows of Italian Friesian breed. The cows were classified into Groups A (n=218) and B (n=257). Group A included cows clinically compromised that had recently suffered a disease (e.g. metritis, laminitis, mastitis) or physiologically compromised that calved 1 month prior to hair sampling. Group B were clinically normal lactating cows at least 60 days after calving with somatic cell counts of less than 200,000 cells/ml in milk. Animals in Group A showed higher hair cortisol levels than those in Group B (P<0.01). Significant positive correlation (rpb=+0.352, P<0.001) was detected between hair cortisol and cows clinically or physiologically compromised. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.701 (SE 0.024) and a cut-off value of 4.17 pg/mg was found to discriminate between groups A and B with a sensitivity of 62.4% and specificity of 69.3%. The hair cortisol test emerged as useful to determine HPA activation and to enhance current understanding on the involvement of this axis in clinically or physiologically compromised cows.