Social Status, Social Stress and Fat Distribution in Primates

The relationship between the stress associated with low social status and disease susceptibility is apparent in human and non-human primates. In human beings, low socioeconomic status is associated with increased mortality from all causes, increased coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity and mortality, increased rates of depression, the prevalence of themetabolic syndrome, and central obesity (1). We have studied these relationships in female cynomolgus monkeys for many years. Like human beings, low social status (subordinate) female monkeys are more susceptible than their dominant counterparts to a number of pathological processes that result in disease, including depression and coronary artery atherosclerosis. This chapter will focus on the relationship between social status, fat distribution patterns, and two disease endpoints in adult female cynomolgus monkeys, coronary heart disease risk and depression.