VARIATION IN EPINEPHRINE AND CORTISOL EXCRETION RATES ASSOCIATED WITHBEHAVIOR IN AN AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY

Urinary epinephrine and cortisol hormone output in a remote Australian Aboriginal community was on average about twice as high in those indi viduals measured on a Thursday or Friday as those measured at the begi nning of the next week (Monday or Tuesday). Diastolic blood pressure w as about 6 mm Hg higher in the Thursday-Friday group, but the differen ce in mean systolic blood pressure between the day groups does not rea ch statistical significance. These physiological differences are assoc iated with a marked dichotomy in behavior in the two time periods: on the first 2 days, virtually all adults were involved in intense gambli ng activity for large stakes, but this was not a feature of the latter period. This behavior pattern occurs on a regular weekly basis. if su bstantiated by longitudinal studies, this phenomenon may provide an ad ditional link between human behavior and a poor health profile mediate d via the physiological consequences of high stress hormone output. (C ) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.