Ellison P T, Lipson S F, Meredith M D
Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
Am J Hum Biol. 1989;1(1):21-24. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.1310010106.
Morning and evening testosterone levels were measured in the saliva of Efe pygmies (N = 11) and Lese villagers (N = 18) living in the Ituri Forest of northeast Zaïre and compared with levels in Boston controls (N = 10). With one exception, levels in the individual Zaïrois subjects fall within the normal ranges reported for Western clinical populations. Daily variation in the Zaïrois subjects (a.m./p.m. ratio = 1.32 for Efe, 1.22 for Lese) is also comparable to both the Boston controls (1.61) and values reported by other researchers for Western subjects. Average morning levels for the Zairois subjects (420 pmol/liter for Efe, 341 pmol/liter for Lese), however, fall significantly below the average for the Boston subjects (589 pmol/liter; Efe, P <0.05; Lese, P <0.01). A correlation between morning testosterone level and height is observed for the Lese sample (r=0.76, P <0.005). Similar correlations have not been reported for Western subjects. Possible roles of acute and chronic environmental conditions in generating these observations are noted. This study demonstrates the potential utility of salivary steroid assays for investigating questions related to male gonadal function under field conditions.
在扎伊尔东北部伊图里森林生活的埃菲俾格米人（N = 11）和莱塞村民（N = 18）的唾液中测量了早晚的睾酮水平，并与波士顿对照组（N = 10）的水平进行了比较。除了一个例外，扎伊尔个体受试者的水平都在西方临床人群报告的正常范围内。扎伊尔受试者的每日变化（埃菲人的上午/下午比值 = 1.32，莱塞人的比值 = 1.22）也与波士顿对照组（1.61）以及其他研究人员报告的西方受试者的值相当。然而，扎伊尔受试者的平均早晨水平（埃菲人为420皮摩尔/升，莱塞人为341皮摩尔/升）显著低于波士顿受试者的平均水平（589皮摩尔/升；埃菲人，P <0.05；莱塞人，P <0.01）。在莱塞样本中观察到早晨睾酮水平与身高之间存在相关性（r = 0.76，P <0.005）。西方受试者尚未报告类似的相关性。文中指出了急性和慢性环境条件在产生这些观察结果中可能发挥的作用。这项研究证明了唾液类固醇检测在野外条件下调查与男性性腺功能相关问题方面的潜在效用。
