Stress, defined as a state of emotional or physical tension and exhaustion, is a prominent subject in contemporary discussions. It is well-established that prolonged stress disrupts the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to elevated serum cortisol levels—often referred to as the "stress hormone." Cortisol plays a crucial role in various metabolic and immunomodulatory functions.This study aimed to examine and compare cortisol levels in pregnant women based on their place of residence—mainland versus islands—under the premise that environmental adaptation could influence stress hormone levels. Data were obtained through the "Croatian Island’s Birth Cohort Study (CRIBS)," which explores factors related to metabolic syndrome, a growing health concern. Plasma samples from healthy pregnant women living in Split-Dalmatia County (Croatia) were analyzed using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).This study revealed variations in maternal cortisol levels associated with place of residence and the sex of the newborn. These results suggest that geographical factors contribute to variations in stress levels, highlighting the need for further research to identify underlying causes.

Natalija Novokmet PhD, is Assistant director and senior scientific associate in field of biomedicine and health sciences, biology sciences and humanities (anthropology) at the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb, Croatia. She is assistant professor at the Faculty of Science, and School of Medicine, University of Zagreb. She graduated in Biology at the Faculty of Science at the University of Zagreb and defended her M.Sc. thesis (2007), and Ph.D. thesis (2011). Her research interests involve molecular anthropological genetics of complex diseases, evolutionary biology and population genetics. The recent focus of her interest is population and medical genetics as well as biomedical (candidate genes) and epidemiological aspect of general and isolated populations. She has been involved in 15 national and international funded projects with near field point on population genetic (sub)structure and biomedical research of Croatian Adriatic island populations, Croatian mainland populations and numerous other isolated (Roma population) and general populations from South-eastern Europe. Some of mentioned projects are as follows: international: "Integrated GWAS and EWAS of Cradiometabolic Traits in an Island Population" (National Institutes of Health – NIH, USA); "Genetic and environmental factors of insulin resistance syndrome and its long term complication in immigrant Mediterranean populations – MEDIGENE" (European Commission (FP7); "Genetics of Metabolic Syndrome in an Adriatic Island Population" (NIH, National Institute of Health, SAD); "Mapping genes underlying complex quantitative traits in Croatian isolate population"; "Unravelling Data for Rapid Evidence – Based Response to COVID – 19" (unCoVer) (HORIZON 2020) and national: Croatian Islands’ Birth Cohort Study – CRIBS (Croatian Science Foundation). She has 95 autorships: published scientific papers, journal articles, conference abstracts, university textbook, theses and a scientific dictionary. She is the mentor of many graduate and doctoral theses (dissertation). She participated in the organization of more than 20 congresses and international courses and 6 national and international holistic interdisciplinary fieldwork.