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Plasma Hormone Levels in Different Ethnic Populations of Women¹

Naylor Dana Institute for Disease Prevention, American Health Foundation, Valhalla, New York 10595P. [P. Hi., E. L. W.], Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town[P. He., R. H.], South Africa, McGill University, Montreal, Canada[G. R.], and Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo, Japan[K. K.]

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at the American Health Foundation, Dana Road, Valhalla, N. Y. 10595.

It has been suggested that the urinary hormone profile is subject to environmental changes, such as urbanization and Westernization, and that the composition of the hormones can be used as a discriminate in determining the patient at risk for breast cancer.

In this study, a comparison of the plasma hormone levels in Bantu and Japanese women, low-risk populations, and Caucasian women, a high-risk population, showed a higher level of 17β-estradiol in prepubertal girls and young Bantu and Japanese women. The higher estrogen level in the Bantu was evident in the early luteal and late follicular phases of the menstrual cycle. The difference in the dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone levels in Bantu young women and prepubertal girls, together with the higher estrogen levels in prepubertal Bantu girls, suggests differences in adrenal activity between Bantu and Caucasian women. A fall in the plasma androstenedione was evident in postmenopausal Bantu and Japanese but not Caucasian women.

Data suggest that the hormone profile is different among the 3 ethnic groups in both the pre- and postmenopausal women. Since the daily life-style of the women is comparable, it is suggested that the composition of the hormone profile is partially dependent on dietary factors.

¹ This work was supported by National Cancer Institute Grant CA-012376.

Received 11/14/75. Accepted 3/23/76.