Little evidence that posttraumatic stress is associated with diurnal hormone dysregulation in Turkana pastoralists.

ABSTRACT: Research in industrialized populations suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be associated with decreased cortisol or testosterone sensitivity, resulting in a blunted diurnal rhythm. However, the evolutionary implications of this association are unclear. Studies have primarily been conducted in Western industrialized populations, so we do not know whether hormonal blunting is a reliable physiological response to PTSD or stems from factors unique to industrialized settings. Furthermore, existing studies combine PTSD from diverse types of traumas, and comparison groups with and without PTSD differ along multiple dimensions, making it hard to know if PTSD or other life factors drive the blunted cortisol response. We conducted a study among n = 60 male Turkana pastorali

SUBMITTER: Zefferman MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11973635 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature