Top-ranked males in African baboon troops had the highest levels of sex hormones and stress hormones, a study published Friday found, giving scientists new insight into how stress might affect the most powerful among us.
Lead researcher Laurence R. Gesquiere told the Associated Press that his team attributed the top baboons' stress levels to constant fighting for food and mates. The physiological stress of their high status, he said, may lead to long-term health problems.
The Princeton University study, which appeared in Science Magazine, studied baboons for a period of nine years. It found that beta males, one step below the alphas, also had high levels of sex hormones. Their stress hormones, however, were markedly lower.
"This may be because betas receive less aggression from higher-ranking males than do low-ranked individuals," Emily H. DuVal, a professor of ecology and evolution at Florida State University, told the AP.
According to the AP, the team measured hormone levels in baboons at both stable and unstable times -- imagine your company has just announced another round of layoffs.
"When does blood pressure go up?" Gesquiere said. "What studies have shown is that the rise doesn't occur when being laid off — it occurs when the possibility first comes up."
