Professor Gillian Bentley g.r.bentley@durham.ac.uk
Professor
Relationship of Estradiol and Progesterone with Partnership and Parity Among Bangladeshi and British Women of European Origin
Bentley, Gillian R.; Núñez-de la Mora, Alexandra; Freed, Michele C.; Begum, Khurshida; Muttukrishna, Shanthi; Sharmeen, Taniya; Murphy, Lorna; Chatterton, Robert T.; Chowdhury, Osul; Gunu, Richard; Leidy Sievert, Lynnette
Authors
Alexandra Núñez-de la Mora
Michele Freed michele.c.freed@durham.ac.uk
PGR Student Doctor of Philosophy
Khurshida Begum
Shanthi Muttukrishna
Taniya Sharmeen
Lorna Murphy
Robert T. Chatterton
Osul Chowdhury
Richard Gunu
Lynnette Leidy Sievert
Abstract
Recent studies in social endocrinology have explored the effects of social relationships on female reproductive steroid hormones—estradiol and progesterone—investigating whether they are suppressed in partnered and parous women. Results have been mixed for these hormones although evidence is more consistent that partnered women and women with young children have lower levels of testosterone. These studies were sequential to earlier research on men, based on Wingfield’s Challenge Hypothesis, which showed that men in committed relationships, or with young children, have lower levels of testosterone than unpartnered men or men with older or no children. The study described here explored associations between estradiol and progesterone with partnership and parity among women from two different ethnicities: South Asian and white British. We hypothesized that both steroid hormones would be lower among partnered and/or parous women with children ≤3 years old, regardless of ethnicity. In this study we analyzed data from 320 Bangladeshi and British women of European origin aged 18 to 50 who participated in two previous studies of reproductive ecology and health. Levels of estradiol and progesterone were assayed using saliva and/or serum samples and the body mass index calculated from anthropometric data. Questionnaires provided other covariates. Multiple linear regressions were used to analyze the data. The hypotheses were not supported. We argue here that, unlike links between testosterone and male social relationships, theoretical foundations for such relationships with female reproductive steroid hormones are lacking, especially given the primary role of these steroids in regulating female reproductive function. Further longitudinal studies are needed to explore the bases of independent relationships between social factors and female reproductive steroid hormones.
Citation
Bentley, G. R., Núñez-de la Mora, A., Freed, M. C., Begum, K., Muttukrishna, S., Sharmeen, T., …Leidy Sievert, L. (2023). Relationship of Estradiol and Progesterone with Partnership and Parity Among Bangladeshi and British Women of European Origin. Human Nature, 34(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-023-09442-6
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Feb 3, 2023 |
Online Publication Date | Mar 8, 2023 |
Publication Date | 2023-03 |
Deposit Date | Nov 22, 2022 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 9, 2024 |
Journal | Human Nature |
Print ISSN | 1045-6767 |
Electronic ISSN | 1936-4776 |
Publisher | Springer |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 34 |
Issue | 1 |
Pages | 1-24 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-023-09442-6 |
Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1186135 |
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Copyright Statement
This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-023-09442-6
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