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Obradović J, Finch JE, Connolly C, Siyal S, Yousafzai AK. The unique relevance of executive functions and self-regulation behaviors for understanding early childhood experiences and preschoolers' outcomes in rural Pakistan. Dev Sci 2022; 25:e13271. [PMID: 35561073 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Performance-based measures of children's executive functions (EFs) do not capture children's application of these skills during everyday emotionally-laden and socially-mediated interactions. The current study demonstrates the value of using assessor report of self-regulation behaviors (inhibitory control and positive affect/engagement) in addition to EF tasks when studying early childhood experiences and development in a rural lower-middle-income country setting. In a sample of 1302 disadvantaged 4-year-olds living in rural Pakistan, we found that directly assessed EFs were significantly related to assessor observations of children's inhibitory control and positive affect/engagement during a structured assessment protocol. However, EFs and two types of self-regulation behaviors demonstrated unique associations with children's (1) contextual experiences, as indexed by family socio-economic resources, participation in parenting interventions, and children's physical growth; and (2) age-salient developmental outcomes, as indexed by direct assessment of pre-academic skills and maternal report of prosocial behaviors and behavior problems. First, family wealth uniquely predicted only observed positive affect/engagement, whereas maternal education uniquely predicted only EFs. Second, children's antecedent linear growth was a significant predictor of both EFs and positive affect/engagement, but exposure to an enhanced nutrition intervention during the first 2 years of life and preschoolers' hair cortisol concentration were associated only with observed self-regulation behaviors. Finally, both EFs and observed positive affect/engagement uniquely predicted children's pre-academic skills. In contrast, only assessors' ratings of positive affect/engagement uniquely predicted maternal report of prosocial behaviors and only assessors' ratings of inhibitory control uniquely predicted maternal report of behavioral problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Obradović
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Jenna E Finch
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
| | - Catie Connolly
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Saima Siyal
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.,DREAM Community Development and Research Organization, Naushahero Feroze, Pakistan
| | - Aisha K Yousafzai
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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2
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Urlacher SS, Kim EY, Luan T, Young LJ, Adjetey B. Minimally invasive biomarkers in human and non-human primate evolutionary biology: Tools for understanding variation and adaptation. Am J Hum Biol 2022; 34:e23811. [PMID: 36205445 PMCID: PMC9787651 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The use of minimally invasive biomarkers (MIBs - physiological biomarkers obtained from minimally invasive sample types) has expanded rapidly in science and medicine over the past several decades. The MIB approach is a methodological strength in the field of human and non-human primate evolutionary biology (HEB). Among humans and our closest relatives, MIBs provide unique opportunities to document phenotypic variation and to operationalize evolutionary hypotheses. AIMS This paper overviews the use of MIBs in HEB. Our objectives are to (1) highlight key research topics which successfully implement MIBs, (2) identify promising yet under-investigated areas of MIB application, and (3) discuss current challenges in MIB research, with suggestions for advancing the field. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS A range of MIBs are used to investigate focal topics in HEB, including energetics and life history variation/evolution, developmental plasticity, and social status and dominance relationships. Nonetheless, we identify gaps in existing MIB research on traits such as physical growth and gut function that are central to the field. Several challenges remain for HEB research using MIBs, including the need for additional biomarkers and methods of assessment, robust validations, and approaches that are standardized across labs and research groups. Importantly, researchers must provide better support for adaptation and fitness effects in hypothesis testing (e.g., by obtaining complementary measures of energy expenditure, demonstrating redundancy of function, and performing lifetime/longitudinal analyses). We point to continued progress in the use of MIBs in HEB to better understand the past, present, and future of humans and our closest primate relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel S. Urlacher
- Department of AnthropologyBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
- Child and Brain Development ProgramCIFARTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Elizabeth Y. Kim
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
- Department of BiologyBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
| | - Tiffany Luan
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
| | - Lauren J. Young
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
| | - Brian Adjetey
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
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3
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DuBois LZ, Gibb JK, Juster RP, Powers SI. Biocultural approaches to transgender and gender diverse experience and health: Integrating biomarkers and advancing gender/sex research. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 33:e23555. [PMID: 33340194 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people are increasingly visible in U.S. communities and in national media. With this increased visibility, access to gender affirming healthcare is also on the rise, particularly for urban youth. Political backlash and entrenchment in a gender binary, however, continue to marginalize TGD people, increasing risk for health disparities. The 2016 National Institute of Health recognition of sexual and gender minority people as a health disparities population increases available funding for much-needed research. In this article, we speak to the need for a biocultural human biology of gender/sex diversity by delineating factors that influence physiological functioning, mental health, and physical health of TGD people. We propose that many of these factors can best be investigated with minimally invasively collected biomarker samples (MICBS) and discuss how to integrate MICBS into research inclusive of TGD people. Research use of MICBS among TGD people remains limited, and wider use could enable essential biological and health data to be collected from a population often excluded from research. We provide a broad overview of terminology and current literature, point to key research questions, and address potential challenges researchers might face when aiming to integrate MCIBS in research inclusive of transgender and gender diverse people. We argue that, when used effectively, MICBS can enhance human biologists' ability to empirically measure physiology and health-related outcomes and enable more accurate identification of pathways linking human experience, embodiment, and health.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Zachary DuBois
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - James K Gibb
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Sally I Powers
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
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Gibb JK, Shattuck EC. Sexual orientation-based disparities in bone health: Evidence of reduced bone mineral density and mineral content among sexual minority men but not women in multiple NHANES waves. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 33:e23534. [PMID: 33174660 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Sexual minority (SM) people experience significant stress associated with stigma, contributing to a higher rate of adverse health outcomes. Several known factors (eg, smoking) elevate risk of poor bone health, but to date little research has examined disparities in bone health among SM people. To address this, we analyzed sexual orientation differences in an available bone mineral density (BMD) cross-sectional dataset assessed via dual X-ray absorptiometry. METHODS We combined the 2007 to 2008, 2009 to 2010, and 2013 to 2014 cycles of US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine sexual orientation-based differences in z-scored BMD in the proximal femur (greater trochanter and intertrochanter locations), bone mineral content (BMC) in the femur and spine, and osteoporosis risk among Lesbian/Gay (n = 53), Bisexual (n = 97), Same-Sex Experienced (n = 103), and Heterosexual (n = 2990) adults. RESULTS Sexual orientation-based disparities in bone mass were observed across all anatomical sites. This effect was due to differences between heterosexual and gay men and persisted in linear regressions after adjusting for risk factors. We found differences in femoral and femoral neck BMC in heterosexual and gay men (P = .02) and in femoral, femoral neck and spinal BMC between heterosexual and bisexual women (P = .05). Sexual orientation remained significant in BMC regressions. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that SM men but not women are at greater risk for poor bone health relative to heterosexuals and this disparity is independent of the lifestyle and psychosocial risks included in our models.
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Affiliation(s)
- James K Gibb
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Eric C Shattuck
- Institute for Health Disparities Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
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Bogin B, Varea C. COVID-19, crisis, and emotional stress: A biocultural perspective of their impact on growth and development for the next generation. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 32:e23474. [PMID: 32672890 PMCID: PMC7404495 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Barry Bogin
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.,UCSD/Salk Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), University of California, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Carlos Varea
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Madrid Autonomous University, Madrid, Spain
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Alami S, von Rueden C, Seabright E, Kraft TS, Blackwell AD, Stieglitz J, Kaplan H, Gurven M. Mother's social status is associated with child health in a horticulturalist population. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192783. [PMID: 32156217 PMCID: PMC7126073 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
High social status is often associated with greater mating opportunities and fertility for men, but do women also obtain fitness benefits of high status? Greater resource access and child survivorship may be principal pathways through which social status increases women's fitness. Here, we examine whether peer-rankings of women's social status (indicated by political influence, project leadership, and respect) positively covaries with child nutritional status and health in a community of Amazonian horticulturalists. We find that maternal political influence is associated with improved child health outcomes in models adjusting for maternal age, parental height and weight, level of schooling, household income, family size, and number of kin in the community. Children of politically influential women have higher weight-for-age (B = 0.33; 95% CI = 0.12-0.54), height-for-age (B = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.10-0.54), and weight-for-height (B = 0.24; 95% CI = 0.04-0.44), and they are less likely to be diagnosed with common illnesses (OR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.31-0.76). These results are consistent with women leveraging their social status to enhance reproductive success through improvements in child health. We discuss these results in light of parental investment theory and the implications for the evolution of female social status in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Alami
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | | | - Edmond Seabright
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Thomas S. Kraft
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Aaron D. Blackwell
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99163, USA
| | | | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
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Rosa-Parra JA, Tamayo-Ortiz M, Lamadrid-Figueroa H, Cantoral-Preciado A, Montoya A, Wright RJ, Baccarelli AA, Just AC, Svensson K, Wright RO, Téllez-Rojo MM. Diurnal Cortisol Concentrations and Growth Indexes of 12- to 48-Month-Old Children From Mexico City. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2018; 103:3386-3393. [PMID: 30020462 PMCID: PMC6126882 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2018-00550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT Early life cortisol plays an important role in bone, muscle, and fat mobilization processes, which could influence body composition, affecting anthropometric indicators such as weight and height. OBJECTIVE To explore the association between diurnal cortisol levels and growth indexes in children from 12 to 48 months of age. DESIGN This study includes data from 404 children from the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment and Social Stressors Mexican birth cohort. Cortisol was measured in eight saliva samples collected at four time points during the day (from wakeup to bedtime), over 2 days, when the child was either 12, 18, or 24 months old. Total daytime cortisol levels were calculated by averaging the area under the curve (AUC) for the 2 days. Height and weight were measured from 12 to 48 months of age. Growth indexes were constructed according to z scores following World Health Organization standards: weight-for-age z score (Z-WFA), height/length-for-age z score, weight-for-height/length z score (Z-WFH), and body mass index-for-age z score (Z-BMIFA). Mixed models were used to analyze the association between cortisol AUC quartiles and growth indexes. RESULTS Cortisol showed an inverted U-shaped association with the four growth indexes. Compared with the first quartile, all quartiles had a positive association with indexes that include weight, with the second quartile having the strongest association, resulting in an average change of β (95% CI) 0.38 (0.13-0.64) for Z-WFA, 0.36 (0.10-0.62) for Z-WFH, and 0.43 (0.17-0.69) for Z-BMIFA. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that early life daytime cortisol levels, as a reflection of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis development, might influence growth in early infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcela Tamayo-Ortiz
- National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
- National Council of Science and Technology, Mexico City, Mexico D.F., Mexico
- Correspondence and Reprint Requests: Marcela Tamayo-Ortiz, ScD, Center for Nutrition and Health Research, Universidad No. 655 Colonia Santa María, Ahuacatitlán, Cerrada Los Pinos y Caminera C.P. 62100, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. E-mail:
| | | | - Alejandra Cantoral-Preciado
- National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
- National Council of Science and Technology, Mexico City, Mexico D.F., Mexico
| | | | | | | | - Allan C Just
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
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Haft SL, Hoeft F. Poverty's Impact on Children's Executive Functions: Global Considerations. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2018; 2017:69-79. [PMID: 29243384 DOI: 10.1002/cad.20220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Poverty detrimentally affects child executive function (EF), a subset of cognitive abilities implicated in reading and other achievement outcomes. Consequently, research has focused on understanding explanatory and mediating mechanisms in this association. This research, however, has mainly involved populations from Western, high-income countries. Children from low- and middle-income countries comprise a significant proportion of the world's population and are at additional risk for poor EF as a result of a more disadvantaged context. The present review examines global work on poverty and EF to highlight important cross-national similarities and differences. Findings suggest a global association between poverty and EF and point to cognitive stimulation and environmental enrichment as common mediating variables that may also be moderators and targets for intervention. However, findings also underscore the need to consider the sociocultural context of countries when examining impacts of parenting, schooling, and other metrics. Research and intervention implications are discussed.
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van der Linden D, Dunkel CS, Figueredo AJ, Gurven M, von Rueden C, Woodley of Menie MA. How Universal Is the General Factor of Personality? An Analysis of the Big Five in Forager Farmers of the Bolivian Amazon. JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 49:1081-1097. [PMID: 30046184 PMCID: PMC6047301 DOI: 10.1177/0022022118774925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In various personality models, such as the Big Five, a consistent higher order general factor of personality (GFP) can be identified. One view in the literature is that the GFP reflects general social effectiveness. Most GFP studies, however, have been conducted in Western, educated, industrialized, and rich democracies (WEIRD). Therefore, to address the question of the universality of the GFP, we test whether the GFP can also be identified in a preliterate indigenous sample of Tsimane by using self-reports, spouse reports, and interviewer ratings. In the Tsimane, a viable GFP could be identified and the intercorrelations between personality traits were significantly stronger than in samples from industrial countries. The GFP correlated with the ratings of social engagement. In addition, self and spouse ratings of the GFP overlapped. Overall, the findings are in line with the notion that the GFP is a human universal and a substantive personality factor reflecting social effectiveness.
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Brabec M, Behrman JR, Emmett SD, Gibson E, Kidd C, Leonard W, Penny ME, Piantadosi ST, Sharma A, Tanner S, Undurraga EA, Godoy RA. Birth seasons and heights among girls and boys below 12 years of age: lasting effects and catch-up growth among native Amazonians in Bolivia. Ann Hum Biol 2018; 45:299-313. [PMID: 30328382 PMCID: PMC6191890 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2018.1490453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2017] [Revised: 05/28/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Seasons affect many social, economic, and biological outcomes, particularly in low-resource settings, and some studies suggest that birth season affects child growth. AIM To study a predictor of stunting that has received limited attention: birth season. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This study uses cross-sectional data collected during 2008 in a low-resource society of horticulturists-foragers in the Bolivian Amazon, Tsimane'. It estimates the associations between birth months and height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) for 562 girls and 546 boys separately, from birth until age 11 years or pre-puberty, which in this society occurs ∼13-14 years. RESULTS Children born during the rainy season (February-May) were shorter, while children born during the end of the dry season and the start of the rainy season (August-November) were taller, both compared with their age-sex peers born during the rest of the year. The correlations of birth season with HAZ were stronger for boys than for girls. Controlling for birth season, there is some evidence of eventual partial catch-up growth, with the HAZ of girls or boys worsening until ∼ age 4-5 years, but improving thereafter. By age 6 years, many girls and boys had ceased to be stunted, irrespective of birth season. CONCLUSION The results suggest that redressing stunting will require attention to conditions in utero, infancy and late childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Brabec
- a Institute of Computer Science of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Department of Biostatistics and Informatics , National Institute of Public Health , Prague , Czech Republic
| | - Jere R Behrman
- b Department of Economics and Population Studies Center , University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA , USA
| | - Susan D Emmett
- c Department of Surgery, Division of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences , Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Global Health Institute , Durham , NC , USA
| | - Edward Gibson
- d Department of Psychology , University of California , Berkeley , Berkeley, CA , USA
| | - Celeste Kidd
- e Department of Psychology , , University of California , Berkeley, Berkeley , CA , USA
| | - William Leonard
- f Department of Anthropology , Northwestern University , Evanston , IL , USA
| | - Mary E Penny
- g Instituto de Investigación Nutricional , Lima , Peru
| | - Steven T Piantadosi
- e Department of Psychology , , University of California , Berkeley, Berkeley , CA , USA
| | - Abhishek Sharma
- h Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital , Brisbane , Australia
| | - Susan Tanner
- i Anthropology , University of Georgia , Athens , GA , USA
| | - Eduardo A Undurraga
- j Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Escuela de Gobierno , Santiago , Chile
| | - Ricardo A Godoy
- k Heller School for Social Policy and Management , Brandeis University , Waltham , MA , USA
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Undurraga EA, Behrman JR, Emmett SD, Kidd C, Leonard WR, Piantadosi ST, Reyes-García V, Sharma A, Zhang R, Godoy RA. Child stunting is associated with weaker human capital among native Amazonians. Am J Hum Biol 2017; 30. [PMID: 28901592 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2016] [Revised: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We assessed associations between child stunting, recovery, and faltering with schooling and human capital skills in a native Amazonian society of horticulturalists-foragers (Tsimane'). METHODS We used cross-sectional data (2008) from 1262 children aged 6 to 16 years in 53 villages to assess contemporaneous associations between three height categories: stunted (height-for-age Z score, HAZ<-2), moderately stunted (-2 ≤ HAZ≤-1), and nonstunted (HAZ>-1), and three categories of human capital: completed grades of schooling, test-based academic skills (math, reading, writing), and local plant knowledge. We used annual longitudinal data (2002-2010) from all children (n = 853) in 13 villages to estimate the association between changes in height categories between the first and last years of measure and schooling and academic skills. RESULTS Stunting was associated with 0.4 fewer completed grades of schooling (∼24% less) and with 13-15% lower probability of showing any writing or math skills. Moderate stunting was associated with ∼20% lower scores in local plant knowledge and 9% lower probability of showing writing skills, but was not associated with schooling or math and writing skills. Compared with nonstunted children, children who became stunted had 18-21% and 15-21% lower probabilities of showing math and writing skills, and stunted children had 0.4 fewer completed grades of schooling. Stunted children who recovered showed human capital outcomes that were indistinguishable from nonstunted children. CONCLUSIONS The results confirm adverse associations between child stunting and human capital skills. Predictors of growth recovery and faltering can affect human capital outcomes, even in a remote, economically self-sufficient society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo A Undurraga
- School of Government, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Región Metropolitana 7820436, Chile
| | - Jere R Behrman
- Department of Economics and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Susan D Emmett
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287.,Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Celeste Kidd
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0268
| | - William R Leonard
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208
| | - Steven T Piantadosi
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0268
| | - Victoria Reyes-García
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona 08010, Spain.,Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193, Spain
| | - Abhishek Sharma
- Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland 4029, Australia
| | - Rebecca Zhang
- Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
| | - Ricardo A Godoy
- Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
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Willaschek C, Meint S, Rager K, Buchhorn R. Modified Clonidine Testing for Growth Hormone Stimulation Reveals α2-Adrenoreceptor Sub Sensitivity in Children with Idiopathic Growth Hormone Deficiency. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137643. [PMID: 26361394 PMCID: PMC4567306 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The association between short stature and increased risk of ischemic heart disease has been subject to studies for decades. The recent discussion of cardiovascular risk during growth hormone therapy has given new importance to this question. We have hypothesized that the autonomic system is a crucial element relating to this subject. Methods Heart rate variability calculated from 24-hour electrocardiogram data is providing insight into the regulatory state of the autonomous nervous system and is an approved surrogate parameter for estimating cardiovascular risk. We have calculated heart rate variability during clonidine testing for growth hormone stimulation of 56 children. As clonidine is a well-known effector of the autonomous system, stimulating vagal tone and decreasing sympathetic activity, we compared the autonomous reactions of children with constitutional growth delay (CGD), growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and former small for gestational age (SGA). Results During clonidine testing children with CGD showed the expected α2-adrenoreceptor mediated autonomous response of vagal stimulation for several hours. This vagal reaction was significantly reduced in the SGA group and nearly non- existent in the GHD group. Discussion Children with GHD show a reduced autonomous response to clonidine indicating α2-adrenoreceptor sub sensitivity. This can be found prior to the start of growth hormone treatment. Since reduction of HRV is an approved surrogate parameter, increased cardiovascular risk has to be assumed for patients with GHD. In the SGA group a similar but less severe reduction of the autonomous response to clonidine was found. These findings may enrich the interpretation of the data on growth hormone therapy, which are being collected by the SAGhE study group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Willaschek
- Caritas Krankenhaus, Department of Pediatrics, Bad Mergentheim, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Sebastian Meint
- Caritas Krankenhaus, Department of Pediatrics, Bad Mergentheim, Germany
| | - Klaus Rager
- Caritas Krankenhaus, Department of Pediatrics, Bad Mergentheim, Germany
| | - Reiner Buchhorn
- Caritas Krankenhaus, Department of Pediatrics, Bad Mergentheim, Germany
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Kohrt BA, Jordans MJD, Koirala S, Worthman CM. Designing mental health interventions informed by child development and human biology theory: a social ecology intervention for child soldiers in Nepal. Am J Hum Biol 2015; 27:27-40. [PMID: 25380194 PMCID: PMC5483323 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.22651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2014] [Revised: 10/10/2014] [Accepted: 10/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The anthropological study of human biology, health, and child development provides a model with potential to address the gap in population-wide mental health interventions. Four key concepts from human biology can inform public mental health interventions: life history theory and tradeoffs, redundancy and plurality of pathways, cascades and multiplier effects in biological systems, and proximate feedback systems. A public mental health intervention for former child soldiers in Nepal is used to illustrate the role of these concepts in intervention design and evaluation. Future directions and recommendations for applying human biology theory in pursuit of public mental health interventions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon A Kohrt
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta; Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO), Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
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ZHU LITING, YU JUN, ZHANG WENYI, XIE BIN, ZHU YI. Research progress on the central mechanism underlying regulation of visceral biological rhythm by per2 (Review). Mol Med Rep 2014; 10:2241-8. [DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2014.2559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2013] [Accepted: 04/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
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Thayer ZM, Kuzawa CW. Early origins of health disparities: material deprivation predicts maternal evening cortisol in pregnancy and offspring cortisol reactivity in the first few weeks of life. Am J Hum Biol 2014; 26:723-30. [PMID: 24599586 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.22532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2013] [Revised: 02/06/2014] [Accepted: 02/08/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Maternal hypothalamic pituitary adrenal-axis function regulates production of the stress hormone cortisol, which during pregnancy can cross the placenta and have lasting impacts on fetal growth and development. This article provides a preliminary test of the hypothesis that a woman's socioeconomic status (SES) predicts her cortisol during pregnancy and her offspring's cortisol during the early postnatal period among an ethnically diverse sample in Auckland, New Zealand to evaluate whether differences in cortisol contribute to the intergenerational inheritance of health disparities within this population. METHODS Maternal saliva samples were collected at waking and prior to sleep on 2 days in late pregnancy (34-36 weeks gestation; N = 55), and a subset of offspring saliva was collected before (N = 48) and 20 min after a standard vaccination at 6 weeks of age (N = 19). SES was quantified using a locally validated index of material deprivation, the NZ Deprivation Index for individuals (NZiDep). RESULTS We found that, after controlling for ethnicity and other covariates, women with higher NZiDep scores had significantly higher evening but similar morning cortisol, consistent with a pattern of chronic strain. Infants of women reporting greater material deprivation had elevated cortisol response to vaccination. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that maternal SES experience impacts maternal cortisol in pregnancy and offspring cortisol reactivity soon after birth, with potential long-term effects on offspring biology and health. Additional research is needed to clarify how biological and behavioral factors in both the prenatal and postnatal period facilitate this relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaneta M Thayer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, 80202
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Abstract
AbstractHow do exposures to stress affect biobehavioral development and, through it, psychiatric and biomedical disorder? In the health sciences, the allostatic load model provides a widely accepted answer to this question: stress responses, while essential for survival, have negative long-term effects that promote illness. Thus, the benefits of mounting repeated biological responses to threat are traded off against costs to mental and physical health. The adaptive calibration model, an evolutionary–developmental theory of stress–health relations, extends this logic by conceptualizing these trade-offs as decision nodes in allocation of resources. Each decision node influences the next in a chain of resource allocations that become instantiated in the regulatory parameters of stress response systems. Over development, these parameters filter and embed information about key dimensions of environmental stress and support, mediating the organism's openness to environmental inputs, and function to regulate life history strategies to match those dimensions. Drawing on the adaptive calibration model, we propose that consideration of biological fitness trade-offs, as delineated by life history theory, is needed to more fully explain the complex relations between developmental exposures to stress, stress responsivity, behavioral strategies, and health. We conclude that the adaptive calibration model and allostatic load model are only partially complementary and, in some cases, support different approaches to intervention. In the long run, the field may be better served by a model informed by life history theory that addresses the adaptive role of stress response systems in regulating alternative developmental pathways.
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Miller EM. Chronic undernutrition and traditional weaning foods are associated with fat stores in ariaal infants of Northern Kenya. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 153:286-96. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2013] [Accepted: 11/05/2013] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M. Miller
- Department of Anthropology; University of South Florida; Tampa FL 33620-7200
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Tanner S, Leonard WR, Reyes-García V. The consequences of linear growth stunting: Influence on body composition among youth in the bolivian amazon. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 153:92-102. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2013] [Revised: 10/07/2013] [Accepted: 10/10/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Susan Tanner
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia; Athens GA 30602
| | | | - Victoria Reyes-García
- ICREA and Institut de Ciència I Technologia Ambientals; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; 08193 Cerdanyola del Valles Spain
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