Stress and Androgens in Himba Women

Purpose

Adrenal androgens like dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are important to numerous aspects of health and psychosocial stress physiology. DHEA is responsive to stress, and previous studies have shown chronic stress can be associated with a reduction in DHEA. However, the large majority of this work has been conducted in resource-rich, industrialized societies, with few studies examining how adrenal androgens respond to stressors in environments with persistent resource related concerns. Here we examine the relationships between androgens and chronic psychosocial stress in a sample of Himba pastoralists, in order to determine the relationship between DHEA and stress in a resource-limited environment.

Methods

We assayed DHEA and testosterone in 122 afternoon saliva samples from 46 Himba women aged 18–66, median age 30. Women also completed a chronic psychosocial stress survey, which included social, health, and resource related stressors reported over the past thirty days.

Results

DHEA concentrations show a curvilinear relationship with age, peaking in the mid-30s; testosterone was relatively flat across the life course. DHEA, but not testosterone, was negatively associated with chronic stress scores. In a comparison of question types, resource-related stressors showed the strongest relationship with DHEA.

Conclusion

Our results support findings from previous studies conducted in industrialized societies, showing that chronic stress is associated with a reduction in DHEA concentrations. In contrast, salivary testosterone appears unrelated to chronic stress. Given the associations between DHEA and other aspects of health, better understanding of drivers of DHEA variability can elucidate linkages between stressors and health outcomes.