Stress response is associated with increased activity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Chronic stress-induced elevation in cortisol may alter its own negative regulation with multiple long-term consequences for physical and psychological health. One of the most reliable physical traits associated with mental, apparent physical health, and competitiveness is the degree of facial fluctuating asymmetry. However, to our knowledge there are no studies regarding the relationship between cortisol levels, facial symmetry and male competitiveness, and how cortisol changes after a stressful test depending on these traits. Here, a group of 100 college men were photographed to obtain their facial asymmetry levels. They then, answered the perceived stress scale and the intrasexual competition test and donated two saliva samples (pre-and post-test sample) to measure the change in their cortisol levels after a stressful test. We found that basal cortisol levels were positively correlated with both perceived stress and competitiveness, but not with facial fluctuating asymmetry. Cortisol levels increased in most symmetrical men after a short stressful test, but it decreased in most asymmetrical men. The results suggest differences in endocrine responses according to facial fluctuating asymmetry in men and how these responses could be related to the maintenance of social status.
Rev Panam Salud Publica 41, 20171 Este es un artículo de acceso abierto distribuido bajo los términos de la licencia Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO, que permite su uso, distribución y reproducción en cualquier medio, siempre que el trabajo original se cite de la manera adecuada. No se permiten modificaciones a los artículos ni su uso comercial. Al reproducir un artículo no debe haber ningún indicio de que la OPS o el artículo avalan a una organización o un producto específico. El uso del logo de la OPS no está permitido. Esta leyenda debe conservarse, junto con la URL original del artículo.
Reactividad del cortisol y salud mental en adultos expuestos a violencia temprana: revisión sistemáticaAna Lilia Cerda-Molina
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.