Does testosterone affect success?

We already know that male testosterone is related to socio-economic status, such as income or education. Researchers from the Population Health Sciences (PHS) and MRC integrated epidemiology unit (IEU) at the University of Bristol wanted to find out whether this was because testosterone actually affected socio-economic status, rather than socio-economic environment affecting testosterone, or health affected both. The findings were published in the July 28 issue of the journal progress of science.

To isolate the effects of testosterone itself, the team applied a method called Mendelian randomization to a sample of 306248 British adults from the British biological bank. They explored the impact of testosterone on socio-economic status, including income, employment status, community poverty and education; About health, including self-assessment, health and BMI, and risk-taking behavior. 

It is generally believed that a persons testosterone will affect their final life, said Dr. Amanda Hughes, senior researcher in epidemiology of Population Health Sciences (PHS) at Bristol medical school. Our results show that although there are many myths about testosterone, its social significance may be exaggerated.  

First, the team identified genetic variants associated with higher testosterone levels, and then studied the relationship between these variants and results. A persons genetic code is determined before birth and generally will not change in his life (with rare exceptions, such as changes in cancer). This makes these variations unlikely to be affected by socio-economic environment, health or other environmental factors in ones life. Therefore, the association of any result with testosterone related variation strongly indicates the effect of testosterone on the result. 

Similar to previous studies, the study found that men with higher testosterone levels had higher family income, lived in less poor areas, and were more likely to have a university degree and a technical job. For women, higher testosterone is associated with lower socio-economic status, including lower family income, living in poorer areas and lower chances of having a university degree. Consistent with previous evidence, higher testosterone is associated with better health in men and worse health in women, as well as greater risk-taking behavior in men.

In contrast, there is little evidence that testosterone related genetic variants are associated with any outcome in men or women. The team concluded that there was little evidence that testosterone had a significant impact on mens or womens socio-economic status, health or risk-taking behavior. The study suggests that despite the myth of testosterone, it may be far less important than previously claimed.

Womens results are not as accurate as mens, so the impact of testosterone on women can be studied in more detail with a larger sample in the future. 

Dr Hughes added: "higher testosterone in men is associated with a variety of social success. A study of male executives found that the more subordinates, the higher testosterone levels. A study of male financial traders found that the higher testosterone levels, the higher daily profits. Other studies have shown that the more educated men and self-employed men have higher testosterone levels, suggesting that this is related to entrepreneurship.

Such research supports the widely held view that testosterone can affect success by affecting behavior. Experimental evidence shows that testosterone can make people more confident or more willing to take risks - these traits will be rewarded in the labor market, such as in salary negotiations. But there are other explanations. For example, the link between high testosterone and success may only reflect the impact of health on both. In addition, the socio-economic environment will also affect testosterone levels. A persons view of his success may affect testosterone: in the study of sports competition, the testosterone level of winners is higher than that of losers. " 

 

 

Cindy