Comparison of testosterone and cortisol response to violent images, and mental health, between urban and suburban citizens in a middle-income country

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate alterations in cortisol and testosterone response after the exposure to images with traumatic or violent content, as well as their association with mental health indicators, by comparing an urban and a suburban population in a middle-income country. Methods: We quantified cortisol and testosterone response in a sample of 122 voluntaries from the State of Mexico, and from Mexico City, using saliva samples collected at 0, 15, 30, and 60 min after the exposure of images with violent content. Participants answered a general information questionnaire and the Symptom Checklist-90-R to assess their mental health status. Generalized Estimating Equation Models were built to analyze cortisol and testosterone levels and MANOVAs were performed to test differences in participants’ mental health between cities. Results: We found higher basal cortisol levels and a flat cortisol response in the suburban population compared to the urban one, who had lower basal levels and a peak 15 minutes after the images exposure. Testosterone levels in men decreased at 30 min, but basal levels were higher in urban men. Testosterone levels decreased 30 min after images exposure only in suburban women. Participants living in suburban areas had higher scores of somatization, obsessive-compulsive and interpersonal sensitivity, as well as more sleep disorders than participants living in urban areas. Conclusion: This study offers novel evidence about differences in cortisol and testosterone responses to a socially evaluative stressor and in mental health indicators between urban and suburban citizens, highlighting the impact of urbanization process on physiological and psychological outcomes.