Winkler, 1993  Title: Sex hormone levels and body hair growth
in !Kung San and Kavango men from Namibia.
Authors: Winkler EM, Christiansen K
Journal: Am J Phys Anthropol 1993 Oct;92(2):155-64
PMID: 8273828, UI: 94099389
Affiliated institution: Institut
fur Humanbiologie, University of Vienna, Austria.
Cited in: Solomon
The relation between hair growth and levels of sex
hormones in serum and saliva was investigated in 256 !Kung San
and Kavango men (ages 18 to 39 years) from Namibia/Southern Africa.
Serum concentrations of total testosterone (Tser), 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone
(DHT), and estradiol (E2) as well as the level of bioavailable
non-SHBG-bound testosterone in the saliva (Tsal) were determined
by radioimmunoassay. The distribution and density of scalp and
facial hair as well as the development of terminal hair on the
chest, abdomen, pubic area, arms, fingers, and legs were categorized
using objective criteria. Covariance analyses revealed marked
differences in the distribution of body hair in the San and the
Negro sample. This is partly explained by a significant influence
of androgen and estrogen levels on the growth of terminal hair.
DHT and the ratio DHT/Tser are significantly positively related
to midphalangeal hair growth and negatively to pubic hair development.
Tsal, the bioavailable fraction of total testosterone, exerts
a weak positive influence on the degree of arm and leg hair growth;
the most significant positive effect on the growth of abdominal,
arm, and leg hair in our samples is caused by E2. The ratio Tser/E2
correlates significantly negatively with the arm and leg hair
development and the ratio DHT/E2 with the degree of abdominal,
pubic, arm, and leg hair, whereas lower DHT concentrations occur
in men with stronger hair development.
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