Behavioral and perceived stressor effects on urinary catecholamine excretion in adult samoans

Abstract

Objectives The effects of perceptions and behaviors related to culturally-patterned socioeconomic obligations on catecholamine excretion rates were studied in a cross-sectional sample of Samoan adults. Methods 378 participants, ages 29-62 years, from 9 villages throughout Samoa, provided timed overnight urine specimens, and self-reported perceptions and behaviors associated with contributions to one's family, aiga, and chief, matai, and communal gift exchanges, fa'alavelave. Urinary norepinephrine and epinephrine excretion rates were measured by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Age (≤40 vs. >40 years) and gender-specific regression models were estimated to detect associations with catecholamine excretion. Results Young women who contribute more to their matai, who consider fa'alavelave to be a financial strain, and who view their contribution to their matai to be ‘just right’, had significantly higher residence-adjusted norepinephrine excretion. Young women who contribute more to their matai, who consider fa'alavelave to be a financial strain, and who consider their contribution to their aiga not to be a burden, had higher epinephrine excretion. Older men who contribute more to their aiga and who perceive their contribution to their aiga to be ‘just right’ had increased residence-adjusted epinephrine excretion. Conclusions Individual-level perceptions and behaviors related to traditional socioeconomic obligations are a significant correlate of increased overnight catecholamine excretion rates. Higher excretion rates may be attributed to psychosocial stress arousal associated with a discordance between personal desires for upward social mobility, and family and community-based socioeconomic obligations. Changes in patterns of individual-level psychosocial stress arousal may contribute to cardiovascular disease risk in modernizing Samoans.

Financial stress in late adulthood and diverse risks of incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in women and men

“…Hence, living under financial stress might increase the likelihood of being socially excluded. Experiences of low social status and lack of money have been associated with elevated night-time catecholamine levels [ 28 ], and might produce emotions such as shame which in turn lead to ill-health [ 15 ]. In fact, it has proposed that the feeling of shame might be one of the most powerful and recurrent sources of chronic stress not only leading to ill-health but also to a wide range of infectious diseases and CVD [ 29 ].…”

Everyday translation: health practitioners’ perspectives on obesity and metabolic disorders in Samoa

“…Scholars often point to the transition from agriculture, and related urbanization, as one of the major causes for rising rates of disease (Zimmet et al, 1981). Some scholars have posited that psychosocial stress related to the demands of kin-based reciprocity, migration, and urbanization have also contributed to rising metabolic disorders (Bergey et al, 2011;Janes, 1990). The Samoan economy is dependent on remittances from the diaspora; therefore, circular migration may play a part in increasing cash dependence, which influences notions of success based in nonagricultural labor and food consumption (cf.…”

Beyond catecholamines: Measuring autonomic responses to psychosocial context

“…The ANS and the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenocortical (HPA) axis together comprise the principal mediators of allostasis that permit maintenance of homeostasis in the face of physical and psychosocial stressors. Measured directly through catecholamines (Brown, ) or indirectly through blood pressure (James, ), between‐ and within‐individual variation in ANS responses across socioecological contexts have been used by anthropologists and human biologists to assess the biological impact of social context, migration and culture change (e.g., Bergey et al, ; Brown, ; Brown and James, ; Harrison et al, ; James et al, ; James and Brown, ; Pearson et al, ; Van Berge‐Landry et al, ). However, deeper integration of ANS measures into human biology research has been limited by two methodological challenges.…”