Masculine voice is associated with better mucosal immune defense in adolescent and adult males

Abstract

The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) contends that testosterone-dependent, masculine traits are honest signals of the bearer's ability to withstand immunosuppression, yet empirical studies testing the ICHH have produced mixed results. The present research addressed the relationship between masculine vocal parameters and immunity in two samples: young adult men from the US and Canada (N = 267) and adolescent males from Bolivia (N = 44). All participants provided saliva samples, assayed for a biomarker of mucosal immunity associated with respiratory disease resistance: secretory immunoglobulin-A (sIgA). Participants also contributed speech samples, analyzed for two sexually dimorphic aspects of the human voice: 1) fundamental frequency (f_o; perceived as pitch) and vocal tract length (VTL; estimated using formant frequencies). Multiple regression models were used to assess the association between masculine vocal parameters and sIgA. Results indicated that lower f_o and longer VTL were associated with higher sIgA levels. That is, both adult and adolescent males with more masculine voices showed better mucosal immunity (and therefore disease resistance) than those with less masculine voices. Although this accords with several previous studies on voice and sIgA, it contrasts with standard ICHH-derived predictions. We suggest that life-history theory provides a better conceptual framework for understanding the association between testosterone-dependent secondary sexual characteristics and immunity as it shifts the focus from immunosuppression to efficient immunoredistribution.