HUMAN CIRCADIAN TIME STRUCTURE IN SUBJECTS OF DIFFERENT GENDER AND AGE

Most human variables exhibit rhythms with an about 24 hour (circadian) period. Each rhythm can be characterized by its acrophase (calculated peak time of the cosine curve best fitting to the data), its amplitud e and rhythm adjusted mean (MESOR). The sequential array of the rhythm s' acrophases represents the temporal order of the human time structur e. In the present work we used circadian rhythms of 24 chemical and 15 hormonal variables extracted from published studies which were done i n a defined area of southeastern Europe (Romania). All studies had a c omparable experimental design and were analyzed biochemically and stat istically in the same laboratory. The acrophases of these rhythms obta ined from both genders of different age groups (from the 2nd to the 9t h decade of age) were subjected to multiple correlation test, cluster and principal coordinates analyses. The results show that the temporal order is affected both by gender and age, and evaluate the degree of the effect, offer a ''chronbiologic fingerprint'' for the examined gro ups and assist in dissecting rhythm variability among populations.