title: Political influence associates with cortisol and health among egalitarian forager-farmers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Low social status increases risk of disease due, in part, to the psychosocial stress that accompanies feeling subordinate or poor. Previous studies report that chronic stress and chronically elevated cortisol can impair cardiovascular and immune function. We test whether lower status is more benign in small-scale, relatively egalitarian societies, where leaders lack coercive authority and there is minimal material wealth to contest.
  
  
  METHODS
  Among Tsimane' forager-horticulturalists of lowland Bolivia, we compare informal political influence among men with urinary cortisol, immune activation (innate and acquired), and morbidity as assessed during routine medical exams.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After controlling for potential confounds, we find that politically influential men have lower cortisol, and that this association is partly attributable to access to social support. Cortisol is positively associated with men's income, which may reflect chronic psychosocial stress from market involvement. Greater influence is also associated with lower probability of respiratory infection, which is a frequent source of morbidity among Tsimane'. Among men who lost influence over a 4-year period, cortisol and probability of respiratory infection were higher the greater the decline in influence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Deleterious effects of low status on health are not merely 'diseases of civilization' but may result from how (even subtle) status differences structure human behavior.
authors.affiliation: Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; Department of Anthopology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 and Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA cvonrued@richmond.edu.
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: von Rueden
authors.affiliation: Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; Department of Anthopology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 and Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Trumble
authors.affiliation: Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; Department of Anthopology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 and Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Emery Thompson
authors.affiliation: Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; Department of Anthopology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 and Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stieglitz
authors.affiliation: Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; Department of Anthopology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 and Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Hooper
authors.affiliation: Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; Department of Anthopology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 and Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Blackwell
authors.affiliation: Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; Department of Anthopology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 and Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
authors.forename: Hillard S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; Department of Anthopology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 and Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gurven
keywords: cooperation; cortisol; hierarchy; status; stress