Research suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect hormones such as cortisol and testosterone, but this appears to vary by environment. In industrialized countries, people with PTSD have hormonal changes, but a study of Turkana people in Kenya found no such link. This suggests that the impact of trauma on the body may depend on cultural and environmental context, highlighting the need for more research.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, such as violence, serious accidents, abuse or natural disasters. Symptoms include distressing memories, nightmares, intense anxiety and avoidance of situations that remind them of the trauma.
Post-traumatic stress disorder can affect anyone, but it is more common in groups exposed to high levels of stress, such as military personnel, victims of violence and survivors of tragedy.
Factors such as genetic predisposition, social support, and history of other traumas can influence the risk of developing the condition. Treatment usually involves therapy and, in some cases, medication to help relieve symptoms.
Research conducted in industrialized countries suggests that Post-traumatic stress disorder may be related to the body’s reduced sensitivity to hormones such as cortisol and testosterone.
This means that people with Post-traumatic stress disorder may have a less pronounced pattern of these hormones throughout the day. However, it is not yet clear whether this relationship is universal or whether it occurs only due to specific characteristics of these countries.
Most studies on the subject have been conducted in modern Western societies, which prevents us from knowing whether this hormonal change is a common biological response to Post-traumatic stress disorder or whether it is linked to environmental and lifestyle factors in these populations.
Another problem with previous research is that it has typically focused on cases of Post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from different types of trauma, such as violence, natural disasters, and accidents.
In addition, the groups studied are often very different from each other in terms of life experiences and socioeconomic conditions. This makes it difficult to know whether the hormonal changes observed are actually caused by Post-traumatic stress disorder or by other factors affecting people’s lives.
To better understand this relationship, researchers conducted a study with 60 men, aged 18 to 65, from the Turkana ethnic group in Kenya. These participants were pastoralists and warriors living in a high-risk region, frequently exposed to violent conflicts involving cattle raids between different ethnic groups.
Among these men, 28% had severe symptoms of Post-traumatic stress disorder, which would qualify them for a possible diagnosis of the condition.
To examine the effect of Post-traumatic stress disorder on hormones, the researchers collected saliva samples at three different times of the day and compared cortisol and testosterone levels between those with greater and lesser symptom severity.
Contrary to previous studies, this study found no significant difference in hormone profiles between men with and without Post-traumatic stress disorder.
This suggests that the relationship between Post-traumatic stress disorder and daily hormone fluctuations may not be the same across populations or settings. Another possibility is that in Western countries, other life factors, such as chronic stress, dietary habits, or lifestyle, influence the relationship between Post-traumatic stress disorder and hormones.
The study results indicate that there is still much to be learned about how trauma affects the body’s hormonal functioning. To better understand this question, it is essential to conduct research in different populations and settings, taking into account cultural, ecological, and biological variations.
This may help to clarify whether hormonal blunting is truly a feature of Post-traumatic stress disorder or simply a side effect of context-specific factors.
READ MORE:
Little evidence that posttraumatic stress is associated with diurnal hormone dysregulation in Turkana pastoralists
Matthew R Zefferman, Michael D Baumgarten, Benjamin C Trumble, Sarah Mathew
Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, eoaf004, Published: 17 February 2025
Abstract:
Research in industrialized populations suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder 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 pastoralists, aged between about 18-65 years in Kenya, exposed to high levels of lethal inter-ethnic cattle raiding. 28% of men in this area have PTSD symptom severity that would qualify them for a provisional PTSD diagnosis. Saliva samples were collected at three points to compare the cortisol and testosterone profiles of Turkana warriors with and without PTSD. Contrary to existing work, our preregistered analysis found little evidence for a difference in the hormonal profiles of warriors with high versus low PTSD symptom severity. Our results imply that the relationship between PTSD and hormonal diurnal variation may vary across populations and ecologies or that the association documented in Western populations stems from other correlated life factors. Studies in a wider range of populations and ecological contexts are needed to understand the evolutionary underpinnings of hormonal responses to trauma.
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