García Angela R, Gurven Michael, Blackwell Aaron D
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106-3210.
Am J Hum Biol. 2017 Sep 10;29(5). doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23031. Epub 2017 Jul 1.
Numerous studies link low objective and subjective socioeconomic status (SES) to chronic activation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Here, we examine associations between objective and subjective SES and diurnal salivary cortisol, a primary HPA component, as well as demographic and ecological predictors associated with SES perceptions and changes in diurnal cortisol.
Participants were residents (age 18-79, n = 61) of Utila, a Honduran island where economic disparities are overt and geographically contained. Objective SES was measured as a composite of income, education, and occupation. Subjective SES was measured with a MacArthur ladder and a perceived lifestyle discrepancy (PLD) scale. Salivary cortisol was collected three times per day for two days. Questions addressing demographic, social, and household characteristics were assessed as predictors of PLD.
Assessed independently, objective SES (P = .06) and PLD (P = .003) were associated with the steepness of diurnal cortisol changes, while PLD was also associated with higher cortisol area under the curve (AUC) (P = .036). Modeled together, only PLD predicted diurnal slope and AUC. PLD was associated with household sanitation, immigration status, food scarcity, objective SES, and owing money. Only access to sanitation and owing money had direct associations with cortisol that were not mediated by PLD.
For adults on Utila, perceptions of unmet need outweigh other social and economic status factors in predicting cortisol AUC and slope. In addition, the unmediated effects of access to sanitation and owing money on cortisol suggest that these distinct aspects of inequality are important to consider when seeking to understand how inequality can impact HPA function.
众多研究将客观和主观社会经济地位（SES）低下与下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴的慢性激活联系起来。在此，我们研究客观和主观SES与昼夜唾液皮质醇（HPA的主要组成部分）之间的关联，以及与SES认知和昼夜皮质醇变化相关的人口统计学和生态预测因素。
参与者是洪都拉斯岛屿乌蒂拉的居民（年龄18 - 79岁，n = 61），该岛经济差距明显且地域集中。客观SES通过收入、教育和职业的综合指标来衡量。主观SES通过麦克阿瑟阶梯和感知生活方式差异（PLD）量表来衡量。连续两天每天收集三次唾液皮质醇。评估了关于人口统计学、社会和家庭特征的问题，作为PLD的预测因素。
独立评估时，客观SES（P = 0.06）和PLD（P = 0.003）与昼夜皮质醇变化的陡度相关，而PLD也与曲线下皮质醇面积较高相关（P = 0.036）。综合建模时，只有PLD能预测昼夜斜率和曲线下面积。PLD与家庭卫生设施、移民身份、食物短缺、客观SES和欠债有关。只有获得卫生设施和欠债与皮质醇有直接关联，且不受PLD的介导。
对于乌蒂拉的成年人，在预测皮质醇曲线下面积和斜率时，对未满足需求的认知比其他社会和经济地位因素更重要。此外，获得卫生设施和欠债对皮质醇的非介导效应表明，在试图理解不平等如何影响HPA功能时，这些不平等的不同方面很重要，需要加以考虑。
