Variation in diurnal cortisol patterns among the Indigenous Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador.

Autor: Liebert MA; Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA., Urlacher SS; Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA.; Child and Brain Development Program, CIFAR, Toronto, Ontario, Canada., Madimenos FC; Department of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY), Flushing, New York, USA.; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), CUNY Graduate Center, New York, New York, USA., Gildner TE; Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA., Cepon-Robins TJ; Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Springs, Colorado, USA., Harrington CJ; Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA., Bribiescas RG; Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA., Sugiyama LS; Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA., Snodgrass JJ; Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA.; Center for Global Health, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA.; Global Station for Indigenous Studies and Cultural Diversity, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council [Am J Hum Biol] 2025 Jan; Vol. 37 (1), pp. e24056. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 22.
DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24056
Abstrakt: Objectives: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its primary end product, the glucocorticoid cortisol, are major components of the evolved human stress response. However, most studies have examined these systems among populations in high-income settings, which differ from the high pathogen and limited resource contexts in which the HPA axis functioned for most of human evolution.
Methods: We investigated variability in diurnal salivary cortisol patterns among 298 Indigenous Shuar from Amazonian Ecuador (147 males, 151 females; age 2-86 years), focusing on the effects of age, biological sex, and body mass index (BMI) in shaping differences in diurnal cortisol production. Saliva samples were collected three times daily (waking, 30 minutes post-waking, evening) for three consecutive days to measure key cortisol parameters: levels at waking, the cortisol awakening response, the diurnal slope, and total daily output.
Results: Age was positively associated with waking levels and total daily output, with Shuar juveniles and adolescents displaying significantly lower levels than adults (p < .05). Sex was not a significant predictor of cortisol levels (p > .05), as Shuar males and females displayed similar patterns of diurnal cortisol production across the life course. Moreover, age, sex, and BMI significantly interacted to moderate the rate of diurnal cortisol decline (p = .027). Overall, Shuar demonstrated relatively lower cortisol concentrations than high-income populations.
Conclusions: This study expands the documented range of global variation in HPA axis activity and diurnal cortisol production and provides important insights into the plasticity of human stress physiology across diverse developmental and socioecological settings.
(© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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