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Variation in epinephrine and cortisol excretion rates associated with behavior in an Australian Aboriginal community
Author(s) -
Schmitt Lincoln H.,
Harrison G. A.,
Spargo R. M.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199806)106:2<249::aid-ajpa10>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - thursday , epinephrine , blood pressure , hormone , endocrinology , demography , medicine , diastole , excretion , heart rate , physiology , psychology , sociology , philosophy , linguistics
Urinary epinephrine and cortisol hormone output in a remote Australian Aboriginal community was on average about twice as high in those individuals measured on a Thursday or Friday as those measured at the beginning of the next week (Monday or Tuesday). Diastolic blood pressure was about 6 mm Hg higher in the Thursday–Friday group, but the difference in mean systolic blood pressure between the day groups does not reach statistical significance. These physiological differences are associated with a marked dichotomy in behavior in the two time periods: on the first 2 days, virtually all adults were involved in intense gambling activity for large stakes, but this was not a feature of the latter period. This behavior pattern occurs on a regular weekly basis. If substantiated by longitudinal studies, this phenomenon may provide an additional link between human behavior and a poor health profile mediated via the physiological consequences of high stress hormone output. Am J Phys Anthropol 106:249–253, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.