Variation in lifestyle characteristics and catecholamine excretion rates among young Western Samoan men

Comparisons of 13 lifestyle characteristics and the rates of urinary catecholamine excretion during typical morning activity are examined among four groups of young Samoan men in Western Samoa. The groups include 28 manual laborers, 33 sedentary workers, and 31 college students from the urban area of Apia, and 31 rural agriculturalists. Associations between the lifestyle variables and catecholamine excretion rates are also investigated in the total sample (N = 123) using correlations and multiple stepwise regression techniques. Results of the lifestyle characteristic comparisons show that the villagers have greater life satisfaction, emotional stability, agreement with Samoan customs, and familial responsibility (P less than 0.05). The catecholamine comparisons show that the villagers have lower rates of epinephrine and norepinephrine excretion than any of the Apia groups (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.005 respectively). The regressions indicate that diet, activity, day of specimen collection and the overall lifestyle and ecological differences between the village and Apia are associated with 25 and 31% of the variation in the rates of epinephrine and norepinephrine excretion respectively. These results suggest that both psychological and habitual behavioral differences contribute to the catecholamine variation of the men in this study, and that these differences are related to the degree of participation in Western lifestyles.