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Rutherford JN, Victoria A deMartelly, Ragsdale HB, Avila JL, Lee NR, Kuzawa CW. Global population variation in placental size and structure: Evidence from Cebu, Philippines. Placenta 2019; 85:40-48. [PMID: 31445348 PMCID: PMC6742541 DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2019.08.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Placental morphology influences the intrauterine environment and fetal growth, which help set life-course health trajectories across generations. Little is known about placental characteristics in populations with chronic nutritional insufficiency where birth weights tend to be lower, and how these relationships between birth and placental weights vary across populations. METHODS We collected weights and stereologically-determined villous mass and surface area of 21 placentas from offspring of women enrolled in a birth cohort study in metropolitan Cebu, Philippines, a low-income population. We identified 15 samples from other global populations ranging from low to high income that had similar data to ours to assess patterns of variation between birth and placental weights and microscopic characteristics. We ranked the population samples in order for each characteristic. RESULTS Mean birth weight in Cebu was 3162 ± 80 g (ranked 9/16) and placental weight was 454 ± 32 g (ranked 12/16). Birth:placental weight ratio was 7.0 (ranked 3/16). Average villous surface area for Cebu placentas was 6.5 m2 (ranked 9/12); Birth weight:villous surface area was 0.048 g/m2 (ranked 4/12). DISCUSSION Placentas from Cebu produced heavier neonates per units of placental weight and villous surface area than most other populations, despite lower villous surface areas and less complex surface-to-volume topography. This range of placental efficiency spurs questions about the mechanisms by which placental morphology optimizes efficiency in different environmental contexts during gestation. Placental variation both within and across populations is likely due to many intersecting environmental, metabolic, and (epi)genetic factors that will require additional research to clarify.
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Masterson EE, Hayes MG, Kuzawa CW, Lee NR, Eisenberg DTA. Early life growth and adult telomere length in a Filipino cohort study. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 31:e23299. [PMID: 31380592 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We investigated the relationship between early life growth patterns and blood telomere length (TL) in adulthood using conditional measures of lean and fat mass growth to evaluate potentially sensitive periods of early life growth. METHODS This study included data from 1562 individuals (53% male; age 20-22 years) participating in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey, located in metropolitan Cebu, Philippines. Primary exposures included length-for-age z-score (HAZ) and weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) at birth and conditional measures of linear growth and weight gain during four postnatal periods: 0-6, 6-12, and 12-24 months, and 24 months to 8.5 years. TL was measured at ~21 years of age. We estimated associations using linear regression. RESULTS The study sample had an average gestational age (38.5 ± 2 weeks) and birth size (HAZ = -0.2 ± 1.1, WAZ = -0.7 ± 1.0), but by age 8.5 years had stunted linear growth (HAZ = -2.1 ± 0.9) and borderline low weight (WAZ = -1.9 ± 1.0) relative to World Health Organization references. Heavier birth weight was associated with longer TL in early adulthood (P = .03), but this association was attenuated when maternal age at birth was included in the model (P = .07). Accelerated linear growth between 6 and 12 months was associated with longer TL in adulthood (P = .006), whereas weight gain between 12 and 24 months was associated with shorter TL in adulthood (P = .047). CONCLUSIONS In Cebu, individuals who were born heavier have longer TL in early adulthood, but that birthweight itself may not explain the association. Findings suggest that childhood growth is associated with the cellular senescence process in adulthood, implying early life well-being may be linked to adult health.
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Blair C, Kuzawa CW, Willoughby MT. The development of executive function in early childhood is inversely related to change in body mass index: Evidence for an energetic tradeoff? Dev Sci 2019; 23:e12860. [PMID: 31102547 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Revised: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
A well-established literature demonstrates executive function (EF) deficits in obese children and adults relative to healthy weight comparisons. EF deficits in obesity are associated with overeating and impulsive consumption of high calorie foods leading to excess weight gain and to problems with metabolic regulation and low-grade inflammation that detrimentally affect the structure and function of prefrontal cortex. Here, we test a complementary explanation for the relation between EF and body mass index (BMI) grounded in the energy demand of the developing brain. Recent work shows that the brain accounts for a lifetime peak of 66% of resting metabolic rate in childhood and that developmental changes in brain energetics and normative changes in body weight gain are closely inversely related. This finding suggests a trade-off in early childhood between energy used to support brain development versus energy used to support physical growth and fat deposition. To test this theorized energetic trade-off, we analyzed data from a large longitudinal sample (N = 1,292) and found that change in EF from age 3 to 5 years, as a proxy for brain development in energetically costly prefrontal cortex, is inversely related to change in BMI from age 2 to 5 years. Greater linear decline in BMI predicted greater linear increase in EF. We interpret this finding as tentative support for a brain-body energetic trade-off in early childhood with implications for lifetime obesity risk.
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Eisenberg DTA, Lee NR, Rej PH, Hayes MG, Kuzawa CW. Older paternal ages and grandpaternal ages at conception predict longer telomeres in human descendants. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190800. [PMID: 31138065 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomere length (TL) declines with age in most human tissues, and shorter TL appears to accelerate senescence. By contrast, men's sperm TL is positively correlated with age. Correspondingly, in humans, older paternal age at conception (PAC) predicts longer offspring TL. We have hypothesized that this PAC effect could persist across multiple generations, and thereby contribute to a transgenerational genetic plasticity that increases expenditures on somatic maintenance as the average age at reproduction is delayed within a lineage. Here, we examine TL data from 3282 humans together with PAC data across four generations. In this sample, the PAC effect is detectable in children and grandchildren. The PAC effect is transmitted through the matriline and patriline with similar strength and is characterized by a generational decay. PACs of more distant male ancestors were not significant predictors, although statistical power was limited in these analyses. Sensitivity analyses suggest that the PAC effect is linear, not moderated by offspring age, or maternal age, and is robust to controls for income, urbanicity and ancestry. These findings show that TL reflects the age at the reproduction of recent male matrilineal and patrilineal ancestors, with an effect that decays across generations.
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Ragsdale HB, Kuzawa CW, Borja JB, Avila JL, McDade TW. Regulation of inflammation during gestation and birth outcomes: Inflammatory cytokine balance predicts birth weight and length. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 31:e23245. [PMID: 30980448 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The maternal environment during gestation influences offspring health at birth and throughout the life course. Recent research has demonstrated that endogenous immune processes such as dysregulated inflammation adversely impact birth outcomes, increasing the risk for preterm birth and restricted fetal growth. Prior analyses examining this association suggest a relationship between maternal C-reactive protein (CRP), a summary measure of inflammation, and offspring anthropometric outcomes. This study investigates pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and their ratio, to gain deeper insight into the regulation of inflammation during pregnancy. METHODS IL6, IL10, TNFɑ, and CRP were quantified in dried blood spots collected in the early third trimester (mean = 29.9 weeks) of 407 pregnancies in Metropolitan Cebu, Philippines. Relationships between these immune markers and offspring anthropometrics (birth weight, length, head circumference, and sum of skinfold thicknesses) were evaluated using multivariate regression analyses. Ratios of pro- to anti-inflammatory cytokines were generated. RESULTS Higher maternal IL6 relative to IL10 was associated with reduced offspring weight and length at birth. Individual cytokines did not predict birth outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with the idea that the relative balance of cytokines with pro- and anti-inflammatory effects is a key regulator of inflammation in pregnancy, the IL6:IL10 ratio, but neither cytokine on its own, predicted offspring birth outcomes. Our findings suggest that prior reports of association between CRP and fetal growth may reflect, in part, the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and that the gestational environment is significantly shaped by cytokine imbalance.
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Kuzawa CW, Barrett TM, Borja JB, Lee NR, Aquino CT, Adair LS, McDade TW. Ankle brachial index (ABI) in a cohort of older women in the Philippines: Prevalence of peripheral artery disease and predictors of ABI. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 31:e23237. [PMID: 30950564 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Revised: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is rising in low and middle-income countries, but studies of CVD epidemiology in such settings often focus on risk factors rather than measures of disease progression. Here we use the ankle brachial index (ABI) to assess the prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) among older women living in Metropolitan Cebu, Philippines, and relationships between ABI and CVD risk factors and body composition. METHODS ABI was measured using the Doppler technique in 538 female participants in the 2015 Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (mean age 58 years, range 47-78 years). ABI was related to a panel of CVD risk factors measured in 2005 and 2012, and to 2012 body composition measures. RESULTS The prevalence of PAD (1.8%) was among the lowest reported in any comparably-aged sample, and only 9.9% of participants had an ABI indicating borderline PAD risk. Smoking (P < 0.011) and use of CVD medications (P < 0.0001) predicted lower ABI (indicating higher PAD risk), which was also lower in relation to 2012 systolic blood pressure (P < 0.054). ABI was unrelated to other CVD risk factors. An apparent protective relationship between body mass index (BMI) and ABI, noted in previous studies, was found to be confounded by protective relationships between ABI and fat free mass, height, and grip strength (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of PAD is low in Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey participants, and ABI was related to few CVD risk factors. Past reports of lower PAD risk in relation to BMI may reflect confounding by lean mass, which has protective relationships with ABI.
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Harrington AR, Kuzawa CW, Boyer DM. Carotid foramen size in the human skull tracks developmental changes in cerebral blood flow and brain metabolism. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 169:161-169. [PMID: 30821356 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In humans, neuronal processes related to brain development elevate the metabolic rate of brain tissue relative to the body during early childhood. This phenomenon has been hypothesized to contribute to slow somatic growth in preadolescent Homo sapiens. The uncoupling of the brain's metabolic rate from brain size during development complicates the study of the evolutionary emergence of these traits in the fossil record. Here, we extend a method previously developed to predict interspecific differences in cerebral blood flow (a correlate of cerebral glucose use) to predict ontogenetic changes in human brain metabolism. MATERIALS AND METHODS Radii of the carotid foramen from an ontogenetic series of modern human crania were used to predict blood flow rates through the internal carotid arteries (ICA), which were compared to empirically measured ICA flow and brain metabolism values. RESULTS Predictions of both absolute ICA blood flow rates and perfusion (ICA blood flow rates relative to brain size) generally match measured values in infancy and childhood. Maximum predicted ICA blood flow rates and perfusion were found to occur between ages 5 and 8, which roughly correspond to the age of maximum measured ICA blood flow rate and absolute and brain mass-specific rate of whole brain glucose uptake. DISCUSSION These findings suggest that, during human growth and development, the size of the carotid foramen corresponds well to blood flow requirements through the ICA, and the method tested here may provide new opportunities for studying developmental changes in brain metabolism using osteological samples, including fossil hominins.
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Gettler LT, Kuo PX, Rosenbaum S, Avila JL, McDade TW, Kuzawa CW. Sociosexuality, testosterone, and life history status: prospective associations and longitudinal changes among men in Cebu, Philippines. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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McDade TW, Ryan CP, Jones MJ, Hoke MK, Borja J, Miller GE, Kuzawa CW, Kobor MS. Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation in relation to socioeconomic status during development and early adulthood. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 169:3-11. [PMID: 30771258 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Revised: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Socioeconomic status (SES) is a powerful determinant of health, but the underlying biological mechanisms are poorly understood. This study investigates whether levels of DNA methylation at CpG sites across the genome are associated with SES in a cohort of young adults in the Philippines. METHODS DNA methylation was assayed with the Illumina HumanMethylation450 Bead Chip, in leukocytes from 489 participants in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (mean age = 20.9 years). SES was measured in infancy/childhood and adulthood, and was based on composite measures of income, assets, and education. Genome-wide analysis of variable probes identified CpG sites significantly associated with SES after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Functional enrichment analysis was used to identify biological pathways associated with these sites. RESULTS A total of 2,546 CpG sites, across 1,537 annotated genes, were differentially methylated in association with SES. In comparison with high SES, low SES was associated with increased methylation at 1,777 sites, and decreased methylation at 769 sites. Functional enrichment analysis identified over-representation of biological pathways related to immune function, skeletal development, and development of the nervous system. CONCLUSIONS Socioeconomic status predicts DNA methylation at a large number of CpG sites across the genome. The scope of these associations is commensurate with the wide range of biological systems and health outcomes that are shaped by SES, and these findings suggest that DNA methylation may play an important role.
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Eisenberg DTA, Kuzawa CW. The paternal age at conception effect on offspring telomere length: mechanistic, comparative and adaptive perspectives. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2016.0442. [PMID: 29335366 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomeres are repeating DNA found at the ends of chromosomes that, in the absence of restorative processes, shorten with cell replications and are implicated as a cause of senescence. It appears that sperm telomere length (TL) increases with age in humans, and as a result offspring of older fathers inherit longer telomeres. We review possible mechanisms underlying this paternal age at conception (PAC) effect on TL, including sperm telomere extension due to telomerase activity, age-dependent changes in the spermatogonial stem cell population (possibly driven by 'selfish' spermatogonia) and non-causal confounding. In contrast to the lengthening of TL with PAC, higher maternal age at conception appears to predict shorter offspring TL in humans. We review evidence for heterogeneity across species in the PAC effect on TL, which could relate to differences in statistical power, sperm production rates or testicular telomerase activity. Finally, we review the hypothesis that the PAC effect on TL may allow a gradual multi-generational adaptive calibration of maintenance effort, and reproductive lifespan, to local demographic conditions: descendants of males who reproduced at a later age are likely to find themselves in an environment where increased maintenance effort, allowing later reproduction, represents a fitness improving resource allocation.This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding diversity in telomere dynamics'.
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Rosenbaum S, Gettler LT, McDade TW, Bechayda SS, Kuzawa CW. Does a man's testosterone “rebound” as dependent children grow up, or when pairbonds end? A test in Cebu, Philippines. Am J Hum Biol 2018; 30:e23180. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
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Rosenbaum S, Gettler LT, McDade TW, Belarmino NM, Kuzawa CW. The effects of collection and storage conditions in the field on salivary testosterone, cortisol, and sIgA values. Ann Hum Biol 2018; 45:428-434. [PMID: 30326745 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2018.1495263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
AIM To determine if field-typical storage and collection conditions are related to salivary testosterone (T), cortisol (cort) and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) as measured using commercially available kits. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This study assessed whether storage time (∼6 months to 1.5 years) at -35 °C impacted levels of the measured biomarkers (n = 10,247 samples). For a sub-set of T samples (n = 2954), we also evaluated the impact of collection conditions, such as time spent at room temperature in participants' homes (0-39 hours) and time spent in coolers (0.3-10 hours) in transit. RESULTS T was unrelated to storage and collection variables and there was no evidence of reduced sample fidelity at longer storage times. Cort samples stored at -35 °C for longer had significantly lower values, but the effect was small (β = -0.003 nmol/L/day, SE <0.001, p = 0.005). sIgA trended higher with longer storage at -35 °C (β = 0.84 µg/mL/day, SE = 0.45, p = 0.063). Collection and storage time variables did not improve the fit of any of the models except the one that evaluated cortisol. CONCLUSIONS Salivary T was unaffected by extended storage at -35 °C and only a weak relationship was found between storage time and salivary cort or sIgA. Findings underscore the robustness of these biomarkers under field-typical freezer storage conditions.
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Rosenbaum S, Vigilant L, Kuzawa CW, Stoinski TS. Caring for infants is associated with increased reproductive success for male mountain gorillas. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15223. [PMID: 30323256 PMCID: PMC6189178 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33380-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Socioecological theory predicts that male parenting among mammals should be rare due to the large payoffs of prioritizing mating effort over parenting. Although these predictions are generally met, in some promiscuous primate species males overcome this by identifying their offspring, and providing benefits such as protection and resource access. Mountain gorillas, which often organize into multi-male groups, are an intriguing exception. Males frequently affiliate with infants despite not discriminating their own from other males' offspring, raising questions about the function of this behavior. Here we demonstrate that, independent of multiple controls for rank, age, and siring opportunities, male gorillas who affiliated more with all infants, not only their own, sired more offspring than males who affiliated less with young. Predictive margins indicate males in the top affiliation tertile can expect to sire approximately five times more infants than males in the bottom tertile, across the course of their reproductive careers. These findings establish a link between males' fitness and their associations with infants in the absence of kin discrimination or high paternity certainty, and suggest a strategy by which selection could generate more involved male parenting among non-monogamous species.
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Tennyson RL, Gettler LT, Kuzawa CW, Hayes MG, Agustin SS, Eisenberg DTA. Lifetime socioeconomic status and early life microbial environments predict adult blood telomere length in the Philippines. Am J Hum Biol 2018; 30:e23145. [PMID: 30129279 PMCID: PMC6192840 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2017] [Revised: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Psychosocial stress is postulated to hasten senescence in part by accelerating the shortening of telomere length (TL). One pathway through which this may happen is via increasing inflammation and innate immune system activation-a pathway which recent studies suggest acts more strongly for those who grew up in low microbial environments. Thus, we hypothesized that: (1) Psychosocial stress will be inversely associated with TL, (2) early life microbial environments will predict TL, and (3) microbial environments will moderate the association between psychosocial stress and TL. METHODS We utilized data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey based in the Philippines (N = 1410). We determined early life microbial environments by season of birth and exposure to animal feces. Psychosocial stress measures included perceived stress in adulthood, lifetime socioeconomic status (SES), and parental instability in childhood. TL was measured in blood from young adults by qPCR. RESULTS Contrary to predictions, we found that higher SES was associated with shorter TL and no association of TL with the other stress variables. Individuals born in the higher microbial exposure season had shorter TL, but early life microbial environments did not moderate the association between psychosocial stress and TL. CONCLUSIONS The unexpected inverse association between SES and TL suggests that higher SES, while indexing lower psychosocial stress, may impact TL more strongly through nonstress factors in the Philippines, such as unhealthy behavior. The inverse association between microbial environments and TL is consistent with other evidence connecting early life infections to decreased life expectancies.
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Sarma MS, Kuo PX, Bechayda SA, Kuzawa CW, Gettler LT. Exploring the links between early life and young adulthood social experiences and men's later life psychobiology as fathers. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:82-89. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 11/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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Ryan CP, Hayes MG, Lee NR, McDade TW, Jones MJ, Kobor MS, Kuzawa CW, Eisenberg DTA. Reproduction predicts shorter telomeres and epigenetic age acceleration among young adult women. Sci Rep 2018; 8:11100. [PMID: 30038336 PMCID: PMC6056536 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-29486-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary theory predicts that reproduction entails costs that detract from somatic maintenance, accelerating biological aging. Despite support from studies in human and non-human animals, mechanisms linking 'costs of reproduction' (CoR) to aging are poorly understood. Human pregnancy is characterized by major alterations in metabolic regulation, oxidative stress, and immune cell proliferation. We hypothesized that these adaptations could accelerate blood-derived cellular aging. To test this hypothesis, we examined gravidity in relation to telomere length (TL, n = 821) and DNA-methylation age (DNAmAge, n = 397) in a cohort of young (20-22 year-old) Filipino women. Age-corrected TL and accelerated DNAmAge both predict age-related morbidity and mortality, and provide markers of mitotic and non-mitotic cellular aging, respectively. Consistent with theoretical predictions, TL decreased (p = 0.031) and DNAmAge increased (p = 0.007) with gravidity, a relationship that was not contingent upon resource availability. Neither biomarker was associated with subsequent fertility (both p > 0.3), broadly consistent with a causal effect of gravidity on cellular aging. Our findings provide evidence that reproduction in women carries costs in the form of accelerated aging through two independent cellular pathways.
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Sweet E, Kuzawa CW, McDade TW. Short-term lending: Payday loans as risk factors for anxiety, inflammation and poor health. SSM Popul Health 2018; 5:114-121. [PMID: 29922711 PMCID: PMC6005810 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2018.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
While research now consistently links consumer financial debt with adverse emotional health outcomes, specific forms of debt and their impact on measures of physical health are underexplored. This gap in knowledge is significant because different forms of loans and debt may have different experiential qualities. In this paper, we focus on a type of unsecured debt - short-term/payday loan borrowing – that has risen dramatically in recent decades in the United States and is characterized by predatory, discriminatory, and poorly regulated lending practices. Using data from a study of debt and health among adults in Boston, MA (n=286), we test whether short-term borrowing is associated with a range of emotional and physical health indicators. We find that short-term loans are associated with higher body mass index, waist circumference, C-reactive protein levels, and self-reported symptoms of physical health, sexual health, and anxiety, after controlling for several socio-demographic covariates. We discuss these findings within the contexts of regulatory shortcomings, psychosocial stress, and racial and economic credit disparities. We suggest that within the broader context of financial debt and health, short-term loans should be considered a specific risk to population health. Short-term loans (STL) are associated with multiple indicators of poor health Prior research has explored general debt as a health determinant Specific types of debt, like STL, are understudied STL’s predatory lending practices raise concerns for population health
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Del Giudice M, Barrett ES, Belsky J, Hartman S, Martel MM, Sangenstedt S, Kuzawa CW. Individual differences in developmental plasticity: A role for early androgens? Psychoneuroendocrinology 2018; 90:165-173. [PMID: 29500952 PMCID: PMC5864561 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2017] [Revised: 02/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Developmental plasticity is a widespread property of living organisms, but different individuals in the same species can vary greatly in how susceptible they are to environmental influences. In humans, research has sought to link variation in plasticity to physiological traits such as stress reactivity, exposure to prenatal stress-related hormones such as cortisol, and specific genes involved in major neurobiological pathways. However, the determinants of individual differences in plasticity are still poorly understood. Here we present the novel hypothesis that, in both sexes, higher exposure to androgens during prenatal and early postnatal life should lead to increased plasticity in traits that display greater male variability (i.e., a majority of physical and behavioral traits). First, we review evidence of greater phenotypic variation and higher susceptibility to environmental factors in males; we then consider evolutionary models that explain greater male variability and plasticity as a result of sexual selection. These empirical and theoretical strands converge on the hypothesis that androgens may promote developmental plasticity, at least for traits that show greater male variability. We discuss a number of potential mechanisms that may mediate this effect (including upregulation of neural plasticity), and address the question of whether androgen-induced plasticity is likely to be adaptive or maladaptive. We conclude by offering suggestions for future studies in this area, and considering some research designs that could be used to empirically test our hypothesis.
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Thayer ZM, Agustin Bechayda S, Kuzawa CW. Circadian cortisol dynamics across reproductive stages and in relation to breastfeeding in the Philippines. Am J Hum Biol 2018; 30:e23115. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2017] [Revised: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 02/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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Kuzawa CW. Which environments matter in studies of early life developmental plasticity? Evol Med Public Health 2018; 2017:188-190. [PMID: 29423224 PMCID: PMC5798031 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eox024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Antón SC, Kuzawa CW. Early Homo, plasticity and the extended evolutionary synthesis. Interface Focus 2017; 7:20170004. [PMID: 28839926 PMCID: PMC5566814 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2017.0004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The Modern Synthesis led to fundamental advances in understandings of human evolution. For human palaeontology, a science that works from ancestral phenotypes (i.e. the fossil record), particularly important have been perspectives used to help understand the heritable aspects of phenotypes and how fossil individuals might then be aggregated into species, and relationships among these groups understood. This focus, coupled with the fragmentary nature of the fossil record, however, means that individual phenotypic variation is often treated as unimportant 'noise', rather than as a source of insight into population adaptation and evolutionary process. The emphasis of the extended evolutionary synthesis on plasticity as a source of phenotypic novelty, and the related question of the role of such variation in long-term evolutionary trends, focuses welcome attention on non-genetic means by which novel phenotypes are generated and in so doing provides alternative approaches to interpreting the fossil record. We review evidence from contemporary human populations regarding some of the aspects of adult phenotypes preserved in the fossil record that might be most responsive to non-genetic drivers, and we consider how these perspectives lead to alternate hypotheses for interpreting the fossil record of early genus Homo. We conclude by arguing that paying closer attention to the causes and consequences of intraspecific phenotypic variation in its own right, as opposed to as noise around a species mean, may inspire a new generation of hypotheses regarding species diversity in the Early Pleistocene and the foundations for dispersal and regional diversification in Homo erectus and its descendants.
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Georgiev AV, Ryan CP, Borja JB, Kuzawa CW. Is early postnatal growth velocity, a proxy of minipubertal androgen action, related to adult second‐to‐fourth digit (2D:4D) ratios in men? A test in Cebu, Philippines. Am J Hum Biol 2017; 29. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2016] [Revised: 05/25/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
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Fried RL, Mayol NL, McDade TW, Kuzawa CW. Maternal metabolic adaptations to pregnancy among young women in Cebu, Philippines. Am J Hum Biol 2017; 29. [PMID: 28429514 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2016] [Revised: 01/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Evidence that fetal development has long-term impacts on health has increased interest in maternal-fetal nutrient exchange. Although maternal metabolism is known to change during gestation to accommodate fetal nutrient demands, little is known about these modifications outside of a Western, clinical context. This study characterizes maternal metabolic adaptations to pregnancy, and their associations with offspring birth weight (BW), among women living in the Philippines. METHODS Fasting glucose, triglycerides, insulin, leptin, and adiponectin were assessed in 808 participants in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (Metropolitan Cebu, Philippines). Cross-sectional relationships between metabolites and hormones and gestational and lactational status were evaluated. Among the subset of currently pregnant women, associations between maternal glucose and triglycerides and offspring BW were also examined. RESULTS Women in their second and third trimesters had significantly lower fasting glucose and adiponectin compared to nulliparous women, and leptin levels and triglyceride levels were notably higher late in pregnancy (all P < .05). Among pregnant women, fasting glucose was a positive predictor of offspring BW, but only in males (P = .012, R2 = .28). Hormones and metabolites in post-partum women trend back toward levels found in nulliparous women, with some differences by breastfeeding status. CONCLUSIONS We find evidence for marked changes in maternal lipid and carbohydrate metabolism during pregnancy, consistent with known adaptations to support fetal growth. The finding of sex-specific relationships between maternal glucose and offspring BW adds to evidence for greater impacts of the maternal-gestational environment on biology and health in male offspring.
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Georgiev AV, Ryan CP, Gettler LT, McDade TW, Kuzawa CW. Second‐to‐fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is unrelated to measures of somatic reproductive effort among young men from Cebu, the Philippines. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 163:437-445. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2016] [Revised: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Ryan CP, Georgiev AV, McDade TW, Gettler LT, Eisenberg DTA, Rzhetskaya M, Agustin SS, Hayes MG, Kuzawa CW. Androgen receptor polyglutamine repeat length (AR‐CAGn) modulates the effect of testosterone on androgen‐associated somatic traits in Filipino young adult men. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 163:317-327. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2016] [Revised: 02/16/2017] [Accepted: 02/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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