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Ryan CP, Lee NR, Carba DB, MacIsaac JL, Lin DTS, Atashzay P, Belsky DW, Kobor MS, Kuzawa CW. Pregnancy is linked to faster epigenetic aging in young women. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2317290121. [PMID: 38588424 PMCID: PMC11032455 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317290121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
A central prediction of evolutionary theory is that energy invested into reproduction comes at the expense of somatic maintenance and repair, accelerating biological aging. Supporting this prediction are findings that high fertility among women predicts shorter lifespan and poorer health later in life. However, biological aging is thought to begin before age-related health declines, limiting the applicability of morbidity and mortality for studying the aging process earlier in life. Here, we examine the relationship between reproductive history and biological aging in a sample of young (20 to 22yo) men and women from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey, located in the Philippines (n = 1,735). We quantify biological aging using six measures, collectively known as epigenetic clocks, reflecting various facets of cellular aging, health, and mortality risk. In a subset of women, we test whether longitudinal changes in gravidity between young and early-middle adulthood (25 to 31yo) are associated with changes in epigenetic aging during that time. Cross-sectionally, gravidity was associated with all six measures of accelerated epigenetic aging in women (n = 825). Furthermore, longitudinal increases in gravidity were linked to accelerated epigenetic aging in two epigenetic clocks (n = 331). In contrast, the number of pregnancies a man reported fathering was not associated with epigenetic aging among same-aged cohort men (n = 910). These effects were robust to socioecological, environmental, and immunological factors, consistent with the hypothesis that pregnancy accelerates biological aging and that these effects can be detected in young women in a high-fertility context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calen P. Ryan
- Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY10032
| | - Nanette R. Lee
- USC-Office of Population Studies Foundation, University of San Carlos, Talamban, Cebu City6000, Philippines
| | - Delia B. Carba
- USC-Office of Population Studies Foundation, University of San Carlos, Talamban, Cebu City6000, Philippines
| | - Julie L. MacIsaac
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BCV5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - David T. S. Lin
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BCV5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Parmida Atashzay
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BCV5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Daniel W. Belsky
- Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY10032
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY10032
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, TorontoONM5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Michael S. Kobor
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BCV5Z 4H4, Canada
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, TorontoONM5G 1M1, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2A1, Canada
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, BCV5Z 4H4, Canada
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2
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Leone T, Väisänen H, Witoelar F. Women's fertility and allostatic load in the post-reproductive years: An analysis of the Indonesian Family Life Survey. POPULATION STUDIES 2024; 78:127-149. [PMID: 36696949 DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2022.2160004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
We know little about the effects of the reproductive health burden in contexts where unsafe abortions, miscarriages, stillbirths, and low-quality maternal care are common. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of allostatic load to understand the impact of reproductive histories on later-life health. We applied path models to the Indonesian Family Life Survey with a sample of 2,001 women aged 40+. Although number of children was not associated with allostatic load, pregnancies not ending in live birth and parenthood before age 18 were both negatively associated with health. We also identified clear cohort and educational effects and a possible rural advantage. Our contribution is twofold: we highlight the importance of reproductive histories beyond live births on women's later-life health in a context of increasing population ageing, and we demonstrate the applicability of using allostatic load to measure health outside the Global North.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heini Väisänen
- Institut national d'etudes démographiques (INED)
- University of Southampton
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3
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Trumble BC, Pontzer H, Stieglitz J, Cummings DK, Wood B, Emery Thompson M, Raichlen D, Beheim B, Yetish G, Kaplan H, Gurven M. Energetic costs of testosterone in two subsistence populations. Am J Hum Biol 2023; 35:e23949. [PMID: 37365845 PMCID: PMC10749987 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Testosterone plays a role in mediating energetic trade-offs between growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Investments in a high testosterone phenotype trade-off against other functions, particularly survival-enhancing immune function and cellular repair; thus only individuals in good condition can maintain both a high testosterone phenotype and somatic maintenance. While these effects are observed in experimental manipulations, they are difficult to demonstrate in free-living animals, particularly in humans. We hypothesize that individuals with higher testosterone will have higher energetic expenditures than those with lower testosterone. METHODS Total energetic expenditure (TEE) was quantified using doubly labeled water in n = 40 Tsimane forager-horticulturalists (50% male, 18-87 years) and n = 11 Hadza hunter-gatherers (100% male, 18-65 years), two populations living subsistence lifestyles, high levels of physical activity, and high infectious burden. Urinary testosterone, TEE, body composition, and physical activity were measured to assess potential physical and behavioral costs associated with a high testosterone phenotype. RESULTS Endogenous male testosterone was significantly associated with energetic expenditure, controlling for fat free mass; a one standard deviation increase in testosterone is associated with the expenditure of an additional 96-240 calories per day. DISCUSSION These results suggest that a high testosterone phenotype, while beneficial for male reproduction, is also energetically expensive and likely only possible to maintain in healthy males in robust condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Daniel K Cummings
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA
| | - Brian Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | - David Raichlen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Bret Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gandhi Yetish
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
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4
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Trumble BC, Charifson M, Kraft T, Garcia AR, Cummings DK, Hooper P, Lea AJ, Eid Rodriguez D, Koebele SV, Buetow K, Beheim B, Minocher R, Gutierrez M, Thomas GS, Gatz M, Stieglitz J, Finch CE, Kaplan H, Gurven M. Apolipoprotein-ε 4 is associated with higher fecundity in a natural fertility population. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade9797. [PMID: 37556539 PMCID: PMC10411886 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade9797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
In many populations, the apolipoprotein-ε4 (APOE-ε4) allele increases the risk for several chronic diseases of aging, including dementia and cardiovascular disease; despite these harmful effects at later ages, the APOE-ε4 allele remains prevalent. We assess the impact of APOE-ε4 on fertility and its proximate determinants (age at first reproduction, interbirth interval) among the Tsimane, a natural fertility population of forager-horticulturalists. Among 795 women aged 13 to 90 (20% APOE-ε4 carriers), those with at least one APOE-ε4 allele had 0.3 to 0.5 more children than (ε3/ε3) homozygotes, while those with two APOE-ε4 alleles gave birth to 1.4 to 2.1 more children. APOE-ε4 carriers achieve higher fertility by beginning reproduction 0.8 years earlier and having a 0.23-year shorter interbirth interval. Our findings add to a growing body of literature suggesting a need for studies of populations living in ancestrally relevant environments to assess how alleles that are deleterious in sedentary urban environments may have been maintained by selection throughout human evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C. Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Mia Charifson
- Department of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Tom Kraft
- Anthropology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Angela R. Garcia
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Scientific Research Core, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, USA
- Department of Child Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Daniel K. Cummings
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Paul Hooper
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Amanda J. Lea
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | | | - Kenneth Buetow
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Bret Beheim
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Riana Minocher
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Gregory S. Thomas
- MemorialCare Health System, Fountain Valley, CA, USA
- University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Margaret Gatz
- Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan Stieglitz
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France
| | - Caleb E. Finch
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and Dornsife College, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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5
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del-Cuerpo I, Jerez-Mayorga D, Chirosa-Ríos LJ, Morenas-Aguilar MD, Mariscal-Arcas M, López-Moro A, Delgado-Floody P. Males Have a Higher Energy Expenditure than Females during Squat Training. Nutrients 2023; 15:3455. [PMID: 37571392 PMCID: PMC10421381 DOI: 10.3390/nu15153455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to determine the differences in energy expenditure (EE) according to sex during and after two different squat training protocols in a group of healthy young adults. Twenty-nine Sports Sciences students volunteered to participate in this study. They attended the laboratory on four different days and completed four sessions: two sessions with 3 sets of 12 repetitions at 75% of their one-repetition maximum (RM) and two sessions with 3 sets of 30 repetitions at 50% of their 1RM. Energy expenditure was evaluated using an indirect calorimeter. Males consistently demonstrated higher EE in all sessions and intensities. The linear regression model identified a significant association between sex, BMI, and total EE across all sessions and intensities. In conclusion, males exhibited higher EE in both protocols (50% and 75% of 1RM) throughout all sessions. Furthermore, sex and BMI were found to influence EE in healthy young adults. Therefore, coaches should consider sex when assessing EE, as the metabolic response differs between males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indya del-Cuerpo
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (I.d.-C.); (D.J.-M.); (L.J.C.-R.); (M.D.M.-A.)
- Strength & Conditioning Laboratory, CTS-642 Research Group, Department Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Daniel Jerez-Mayorga
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (I.d.-C.); (D.J.-M.); (L.J.C.-R.); (M.D.M.-A.)
- Strength & Conditioning Laboratory, CTS-642 Research Group, Department Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
- Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, School of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago 7591538, Chile
| | - Luis Javier Chirosa-Ríos
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (I.d.-C.); (D.J.-M.); (L.J.C.-R.); (M.D.M.-A.)
- Strength & Conditioning Laboratory, CTS-642 Research Group, Department Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - María Dolores Morenas-Aguilar
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (I.d.-C.); (D.J.-M.); (L.J.C.-R.); (M.D.M.-A.)
- Strength & Conditioning Laboratory, CTS-642 Research Group, Department Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Miguel Mariscal-Arcas
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (M.M.-A.); (A.L.-M.)
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (ibs. GRANADA), 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Alejandro López-Moro
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (M.M.-A.); (A.L.-M.)
| | - Pedro Delgado-Floody
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (I.d.-C.); (D.J.-M.); (L.J.C.-R.); (M.D.M.-A.)
- Department of Physical Education, Sports and Recreation, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, Chile
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6
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Negrey JD, Emery Thompson M, Dunn CD, Otali E, Wrangham RW, Mitani JC, Machanda ZP, Muller MN, Langergraber KE, Goldberg TL. Female reproduction and viral infection in a long-lived mammal. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:1999-2009. [PMID: 35988037 PMCID: PMC9532343 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
For energetically limited organisms, life-history theory predicts trade-offs between reproductive effort and somatic maintenance. This is especially true of female mammals, for whom reproduction presents multifarious energetic and physiological demands. Here, we examine longitudinal changes in the gut virome (viral community) with respect to reproductive status in wild mature female chimpanzees Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii from two communities, Kanyawara and Ngogo, in Kibale National Park, Uganda. We used metagenomic methods to characterize viromes of individual chimpanzees while they were cycling, pregnant and lactating. Females from Kanyawara, whose territory abuts the park's boundary, had higher viral richness and loads (relative quantity of viral sequences) than females from Ngogo, whose territory is more energetically rich and located farther from large human settlements. Viral richness (total number of distinct viruses per sample) was higher when females were lactating than when cycling or pregnant. In pregnant females, viral richness increased with estimated day of gestation. Richness did not vary with age, in contrast to prior research showing increased viral abundance in older males from these same communities. Our results provide evidence of short-term physiological trade-offs between reproduction and infection, which are often hypothesized to constrain health in long-lived species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob D. Negrey
- Department of Pathobiological SciencesUniversity of Wisconsin‐MadisonMadisonWIUSA
| | | | - Christopher D. Dunn
- Department of Pathobiological SciencesUniversity of Wisconsin‐MadisonMadisonWIUSA
| | | | | | - John C. Mitani
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | | | - Martin N. Muller
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerqueNMUSA
| | - Kevin E. Langergraber
- School of Human Evolution and Social ChangeArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA,Institute of Human OriginsArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
| | - Tony L. Goldberg
- Department of Pathobiological SciencesUniversity of Wisconsin‐MadisonMadisonWIUSA
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Significantly different roles of economic affluence in sex-specific obesity prevalence rates: understanding more modifications within female body weight management. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15757. [PMID: 36130963 PMCID: PMC9492695 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19633-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Socioeconomic status has been associated with obesity prevalence increase in both males and females worldwide. We examined the magnitude of the difference between the two relationships and explored the independence of both relationships. Country specific data on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, sex-specific obesity prevalence rates, urbanisation, total calories availability and level of obesity, genetic background accumulation (measured by the Biological State Index, Ibs) were obtained for 191 countries. Curvilinear regressions, bivariate and partial correlations, linear mixed models and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between GDP and obesity prevalence rates in males and females respectively. Fisher’s r-to-z transformation, F-test and R2 increment in multivariate regression were used to compare results for males and females. GDP significantly correlated with sex-specific obesity prevalence rates, but significantly more strongly with male obesity prevalence in bivariate correlation analyses. These relationships remained independent of calories availability, Ibs and urbanization in partial correlation model. Stepwise multiple regression identified that GDP was a significant predictor of obesity prevalence in both sexes. Multivariate stepwise regression showed that, when adding GDP as an obesity prevalence predictor, the absolute increment of R2 in male fit model (0.046) was almost four (4) times greater than the absolute increment in female model fit (0.012). The Stepwise analyses also revealed that 68.0% of male but only 37.4% of female obesity prevalence rates were explained by the total contributing effects of GDP, Ibs, urbanization and calories availability. In both Pearson’s r and nonparametric analyses, GDP contributes significantly more to male obesity than to female obesity in both developed and developing countries. GDP also determined the significant regional variation in male, but not female obesity prevalence. GDP may contribute to obesity prevalence significantly more in males than in females regardless of the confounding effects of Ibs, urbanization and calories. This may suggest that aetiologies for female obesity are much more complex than for males and more confounders should be included in the future studies when data are available.
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8
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Pontzer H, McGrosky A. Balancing growth, reproduction, maintenance, and activity in evolved energy economies. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R709-R719. [PMID: 35728556 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Economic models predominate in life history research, which investigates the allocation of an organism's resources to growth, reproduction, and maintenance. These approaches typically employ a heuristic Y model of resource allocation, which predicts trade-offs among tasks within a fixed budget. The common currency among tasks is not always specified, but most models imply that metabolic energy, either from food or body stores, is the critical resource. Here, we review the evidence for metabolic energy as the common currency of growth, reproduction, and maintenance, focusing on studies in humans and other vertebrates. We then discuss the flow of energy to competing physiological tasks (physical activity, maintenance, and reproduction or growth) and its effect on life history traits. We propose a Ψ model of energy flow to these tasks, which provides an integrative framework for examining the influence of environmental factors and the expansion and contraction of energy budgets in the evolution of life history strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
| | - Amanda McGrosky
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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9
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Martin MA, Gurven M. Traditional and biomedical maternal and neonatal care practices in a rural Indigenous population of the Bolivian Amazon. Glob Public Health 2022; 17:971-985. [PMID: 33573491 PMCID: PMC9810376 DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2021.1882531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, Bolivia has expanded maternal and child health insurance coverage to improve access to prenatal and early life health care. Nationally, however, maternal and child health disparities persist along a rural-urban divide. Research is needed among rural populations to better understand local barriers to health care access and usage. Particularly among Indigenous populations, disparities may be compounded by differences in preferences for and access to traditional versus biomedical health care. We examined prenatal care and birth practices among Tsimane forager-farmers of El Beni, Bolivia. From 2012-2013, we interviewed 151 Tsimane mothers (0-35 months postpartum) from nine villages about birth and neonatal care practices, prenatal care, and pharmaceutical usage during labour and postpartum recovery. Results demonstrate local disparities in biomedical care usage by ease of access (e.g. proximity to market town, Spanish fluency), and maternal experience (e.g. parity and prior offspring death or miscarriage). While 59% of interviewed mothers had received at least one prenatal screening, services performed in screenings were limited. Nearly all women continue to birth at home with family assistance. Inconsistent access to health care services may be exacerbated by regional, generational, and educational disparities within the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie A. Martin
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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10
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Life-history tradeoffs in a historical population (1896-1939) undergoing rapid fertility decline: Costs of reproduction? EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2022; 4. [DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Evolutionary demographers often invoke tradeoffs between reproduction and survival to explain reductions in fertility during demographic transitions. The evidence for such tradeoffs in humans has been mixed, partly because tradeoffs may be masked by individual differences in quality or access to resources. Unmasking tradeoffs despite such phenotypic correlations requires sophisticated statistical analyses that account for endogeneity among variables and individual differences in access to resources. Here we tested for costs of reproduction using N=13,663 birth records from the maternity hospital in Basel, Switzerland, 1896-1939, a period characterized by rapid fertility declines . We predicted that higher parity is associated with worse maternal and offspring condition at the time of birth, adjusting for age and a variety of covariates. We used Bayesian multivariate, multilevel models to simultaneously analyze multiple related outcomes while accounting for endogeneity, appropriately modeling non-linear effects, dealing with hierarchical data structures, and effectively imputing missing data. Despite all these efforts, we found virtually no evidence for costs of reproduction. Instead, women with better access to resources had fewer children. Barring limitations of the data, these results are consistent with demographic transitions reflecting women's investment in their own embodied capital and/or the adoption of maladaptive low-fertility norms by elites.
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11
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Ryan CP, Jones MJ, Edgar RD, Lee NR, Kobor MS, McDade TW, Kuzawa CW. Immune cell type and DNA methylation vary with reproductive status in women: possible pathways for costs of reproduction. Evol Med Public Health 2022; 10:47-58. [PMID: 35169479 PMCID: PMC8841013 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoac003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Consistent with evolutionarily theorized costs of reproduction (CoR), reproductive history in women is associated with life expectancy and susceptibility to certain cancers, autoimmune disorders and metabolic disease. Immunological changes originating during reproduction may help explain some of these relationships. Methodology To explore the potential role of the immune system in female CoR, we characterized leukocyte composition and regulatory processes using DNA methylation (DNAm) in a cross-sectional cohort of young (20–22 years old) women differing in reproductive status. Results Compared to nulliparity, pregnancy was characterized by differential methylation at 828 sites, 96% of which were hypomethylated and enriched for genes associated with T-cell activation, innate immunity, pre-eclampsia and neoplasia. Breastfeeding was associated with differential methylation at 1107 sites (71% hypermethylated), enriched for genes involved in metabolism, immune self-recognition and neurogenesis. There were no significant differences in DNAm between nulliparous and parous women. However, compared to nullipara, pregnant women had lower proportions of B, CD4T, CD8T and natural killer (NK) cells, and higher proportions of granulocytes and monocytes. Monocyte counts were lower and NK counts higher among breastfeeding women, and remained so among parous women. Implications Our findings point to widespread differences in DNAm during pregnancy and lactation. These effects appear largely transient, but may accumulate with gravidity become detectable as women age. Nulliparous and parous women differed in leukocyte composition, consistent with more persistent effects of reproduction on cell type. These findings support transient (leukocyte DNAm) and persistent (cell composition) changes associated with reproduction in women, illuminating potential pathways contributing to CoR. Lay Summary: Evolutionary theory and epidemiology support costs of reproduction (CoR) to women’s health that may involve changes in immune function. We report differences in immune cell composition and gene regulation during pregnancy and breastfeeding. While many of these differences appear transient, immune cell composition may remain, suggesting mechanisms for female CoR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calen P Ryan
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Meaghan J Jones
- Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0J9, Canada.,Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0J9, Canada
| | | | - Nanette R Lee
- University of San Carlos Office of Population Studies Foundation Inc., Cebu City 6000, Philippines
| | - Michael S Kobor
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada.,Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada
| | - Thomas W McDade
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.,Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada.,Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Christopher W Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.,Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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12
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Miller EC, Wilczek A, Bello NA, Tom S, Wapner R, Suh Y. Pregnancy, preeclampsia and maternal aging: From epidemiology to functional genomics. Ageing Res Rev 2022; 73:101535. [PMID: 34871806 PMCID: PMC8827396 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2021.101535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Women live longer than men but experience greater disability and a longer period of illness as they age. Despite clear sex differences in aging, the impact of pregnancy and its complications, such as preeclampsia, on aging is an underexplored area of geroscience. This review summarizes our current knowledge about the complex links between pregnancy and age-related diseases, including evidence from epidemiology, clinical research, and genetics. We discuss the relationship between normal and pathological pregnancy and maternal aging, using preeclampsia as a primary example. We review the results of human genetics studies of preeclampsia, including genome wide association studies (GWAS), and attempted to catalog genes involved in preeclampsia as a gateway to mechanisms underlying an increased risk of later life cardio- and neuro- vascular events. Lastly, we discuss challenges in interpreting the GWAS of preeclampsia and provide a functional genomics framework for future research needed to fully realize the promise of GWAS in identifying targets for geroprotective prevention and therapeutics against preeclampsia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eliza C. Miller
- Department of Neurology, Division of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ashley Wilczek
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Natalie A. Bello
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sarah Tom
- Department of Neurology, Division of Neurology Clinical Outcomes Research and Population Science and the Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ronald Wapner
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Yousin Suh
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
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13
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Dinsdale NL, Crespi BJ. Endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome are diametric disorders. Evol Appl 2021; 14:1693-1715. [PMID: 34295358 PMCID: PMC8288001 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary and comparative approaches can yield novel insights into human adaptation and disease. Endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) each affect up to 10% of women and significantly reduce the health, fertility, and quality of life of those affected. PCOS and endometriosis have yet to be considered as related to one another, although both conditions involve alterations to prenatal testosterone levels and atypical functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Here, we propose and evaluate the novel hypothesis that endometriosis and PCOS represent extreme and diametric (opposite) outcomes of variation in HPG axis development and activity, with endometriosis mediated in notable part by low prenatal and postnatal testosterone, while PCOS is mediated by high prenatal testosterone. This diametric disorder hypothesis predicts that, for characteristics shaped by the HPG axis, including hormonal profiles, reproductive physiology, life-history traits, and body morphology, women with PCOS and women with endometriosis will manifest opposite phenotypes. To evaluate these predictions, we review and synthesize existing evidence from developmental biology, endocrinology, physiology, life history, and epidemiology. The hypothesis of diametric phenotypes between endometriosis and PCOS is strongly supported across these diverse fields of research. Furthermore, the contrasts between endometriosis and PCOS in humans parallel differences among nonhuman animals in effects of low versus high prenatal testosterone on female reproductive traits. These findings suggest that PCOS and endometriosis represent maladaptive extremes of both female life-history variation and expression of sexually dimorphic female reproductive traits. The diametric disorder hypothesis for endometriosis and PCOS provides novel, unifying, proximate, and evolutionary explanations for endometriosis risk, synthesizes diverse lines of research concerning the two most common female reproductive disorders, and generates future avenues of research for improving the quality of life and health of women.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bernard J. Crespi
- Department of Biological SciencesSimon Fraser UniversityBurnabyBCCanada
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14
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Lenart P, Bienertová-Vašků J, Berec L. Predation has small, short-term, and in certain conditions random effects on the evolution of aging. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:87. [PMID: 34000997 PMCID: PMC8130161 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01815-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The pace of aging varies considerably in nature. The best-known explanation of the evolution of specific rates of aging is the Williams’ hypothesis suggesting that the aging rate should correlate with the level of extrinsic mortality. However, the current evidence is inconclusive with various examples where the Williams' hypothesis seems to be correct and where it doesn’t. Here we explore the relationship between extrinsic mortality and aging rate by developing a simulation model of the evolution of aging rate in prey subject to predation. Results Our results suggest that more intense predation leads to the evolution of faster pace of aging in prey. However, this effect slowly vanishes when the predator diet breadth is allowed to evolve, too. Furthermore, in our model, the evolution of a specific aging rate is driven mainly by a single parameter, the strength of a trade-off between aging and fecundity. Indeed, in the absence of this trade-off the evolutionary impacts of predation on the prey aging rate appear random. Conclusions We show that the William’s hypothesis appears valid when there is a trade-off between aging and fecundity and predators and prey do not coevolve. However, we also show that when the prey and predators coevolve or if there is no trade-off between aging and fecundity the William`s hypothesis is no longer applicable. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-021-01815-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Lenart
- Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Building A29, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Julie Bienertová-Vašků
- Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Building A29, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Luděk Berec
- Centre for Mathematical Biology, Institute of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 37005, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. .,Department of Ecology, Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 37005, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
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15
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Abstract
Abstract
Biological ageing can be tentatively defined as an intrinsic and inevitable degradation of biological function that accumulates over time at every level of biological organisation from molecules to populations. Senescence is characterised by a progressive loss of physiological integrity, leading to impaired function and increased vulnerability to death. With advancing age, all components of the human body undergo these cumulative, universal, progressive, intrinsic and deleterious (CUPID) changes. Although ageing is not a disease per se, age is the main risk factor for the development of a panoply of age-related diseases. From a mechanistic perspective, a myriad of molecular processes and components of ageing can be studied. Some of them seem especially important and they are referred to as the hallmarks of ageing. There is compelling evidence that senescence has evolved as an emergent metaphenomenon that originates in the difficulty in maintaining homeodynamics in biological systems. From an evolutionary perspective, senescence is the inevitable outcome of an evolutionarily derived equilibrium between the amount of resources devoted to somatic maintenance and the amount of resources devoted to sexual reproduction. Single-target, single-molecule and disease-oriented approaches to ageing are severely limited because they neglect the dynamic, interactive and networking nature of life. These limitations notwithstanding, many authors promote single-target and disease-oriented approaches to senescence, e.g. repurposed drugs, claiming that these methods can enhance human health and longevity. Senescence is neither a disease nor a monolithic process. In this review, the limitations of these methods are discussed. The current state of biogerontology is also summarised.
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16
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Shirazi TN, Hastings WJ, Rosinger AY, Ryan CP. Parity predicts biological age acceleration in post-menopausal, but not pre-menopausal, women. Sci Rep 2020; 10:20522. [PMID: 33239686 PMCID: PMC7689483 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77082-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding factors contributing to variation in ‘biological age’ is essential to understanding variation in susceptibility to disease and functional decline. One factor that could accelerate biological aging in women is reproduction. Pregnancy is characterized by extensive, energetically-costly changes across numerous physiological systems. These ‘costs of reproduction’ may accumulate with each pregnancy, accelerating biological aging. Despite evidence for costs of reproduction using molecular and demographic measures, it is unknown whether parity is linked to commonly-used clinical measures of biological aging. We use data collected between 1999 and 2010 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n = 4418) to test whether parity (number of live births) predicted four previously-validated composite measures of biological age and system integrity: Levine Method, homeostatic dysregulation, Klemera–Doubal method biological age, and allostatic load. Parity exhibited a U-shaped relationship with accelerated biological aging when controlling for chronological age, lifestyle, health-related, and demographic factors in post-menopausal, but not pre-menopausal, women, with biological age acceleration being lowest among post-menopausal women reporting between three and four live births. Our findings suggest a link between reproductive function and physiological dysregulation, and allude to possible compensatory mechanisms that buffer the effects of reproductive function on physiological dysregulation during a woman’s reproductive lifespan. Future work should continue to investigate links between parity, menopausal status, and biological age using targeted physiological measures and longitudinal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talia N Shirazi
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, 421 Carpenter Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Waylon J Hastings
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Asher Y Rosinger
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, 421 Carpenter Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.,Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Calen P Ryan
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
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17
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Kraft TS, Stieglitz J, Trumble BC, Garcia AR, Kaplan H, Gurven M. Multi-system physiological dysregulation and ageing in a subsistence population. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190610. [PMID: 32951553 PMCID: PMC7540955 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans have the longest post-reproductive lifespans and lowest rates of actuarial ageing among primates. Understanding the links between slow actuarial ageing and physiological change is critical for improving the human 'healthspan'. Physiological dysregulation may be a key feature of ageing in industrialized populations with high burdens of chronic 'diseases of civilization', but little is known about age trajectories of physiological condition in subsistence populations with limited access to public health infrastructure. To better characterize human physiological dysregulation, we examined age trajectories of 40 biomarkers spanning the immune (n = 13 biomarkers), cardiometabolic (n = 14), musculoskeletal (n = 6) and other (n = 7) systems among Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of the Bolivian Amazon using mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal data (n = 22 115 observations). We characterized age-related changes using a multi-system statistical index of physiological dysregulation (Mahalanobis distance; Dm) that increases with age in both humans and other primates. Although individual biomarkers showed varied age profiles, we found a robust increase in age-related dysregulation for Tsimane (β = 0.17-0.18) that was marginally faster than that reported for an industrialized Western sample (β = 0.14-0.16), but slower than that of other non-human primates. We found minimal sex differences in the pace or average level of dysregulation for Tsimane. Our findings highlight some conserved patterns of physiological dysregulation in humans, consistent with the notion that somatic ageing exhibits species-typical patterns, despite cross-cultural variation in environmental exposures, lifestyles and mortality. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas S. Kraft
- Integrative Anthropological Sciences Unit, Department of Anthropology, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | | | - Benjamin C. Trumble
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Angela R. Garcia
- Integrative Anthropological Sciences Unit, Department of Anthropology, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange, CA 92866, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Integrative Anthropological Sciences Unit, Department of Anthropology, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
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18
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Emery Thompson M, Rosati AG, Snyder-Mackler N. Insights from evolutionarily relevant models for human ageing. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190605. [PMID: 32951550 PMCID: PMC7540954 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
As the world confronts the health challenges of an ageing population, there has been dramatically increased interest in the science of ageing. This research has overwhelmingly focused on age-related disease, particularly in industrialized human populations and short-lived laboratory animal models. However, it has become clear that humans and long-lived primates age differently than many typical model organisms, and that many of the diseases causing death and disability in the developed world are greatly exacerbated by modern lifestyles. As such, research on how the human ageing process evolved is vital to understanding the origins of prolonged human lifespan and factors increasing vulnerability to degenerative disease. In this issue, we highlight emerging comparative research on primates, highlighting the physical, physiological, behavioural and cognitive processes of ageing. This work comprises data and theory on non-human primates, as well as under-represented data on humans living in small-scale societies, which help elucidate how environment shapes senescence. Component papers address (i) the critical processes that comprise senescence in long-lived primates; (ii) the social, ecological or individual characteristics that predict variation in the pace of ageing; and (iii) the complicated relationship between ageing trajectories and disease outcomes. Collectively, this work provides essential comparative, evolutionary data on ageing and demonstrates its unique potential to inform our understanding of the human ageing process. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Emery Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 500 University Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Alexandra G. Rosati
- Department of Psychology and Anthropology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
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19
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Jasienska G. Costs of reproduction and ageing in the human female. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190615. [PMID: 32951546 PMCID: PMC7540952 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary theories of ageing point to reproduction as a significant factor to consider when asking why ageing occurs and why there is inter-individual variation in its progression. Reproduction in human females is costly, in terms of energy, nutrients and metabolic adjustments. Thus, it is expected that women who experienced high reproductive effort resulting from multiple reproductive events will age faster. However, the evidence for long-term negative effects of reproduction is not conclusive. The lack of understanding of whether there are trade-offs between reproduction and ageing in women is partly due to methodological challenges. The costs of reproduction are often calculated based only on parity, while other elements contributing to these costs (e.g. breastfeeding, timing of reproduction) are neglected, which may significantly underestimate the total costs and obscure the all-important inter-individual variation in such costs. Costs must be evaluated in relation to individual characteristics, including developmental conditions, nutritional status and social support that a mother receives during reproduction. Furthermore, ageing and health must be assessed based on comprehensive markers rather than arbitrarily assembled variables. Finally, longitudinal rather than cross-sectional studies and new statistical approaches are needed to reveal how much of a decline in health and progressing ageing can actually be attributed to past reproductive processes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grazyna Jasienska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
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20
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21
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22
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Phillips SR, Goldberg TL, Muller MN, Machanda ZP, Otali E, Friant S, Carag J, Langergraber KE, Mitani JC, Wroblewski EE, Wrangham RW, Thompson ME. Faecal parasites increase with age but not reproductive effort in wild female chimpanzees. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190614. [PMID: 32951547 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Energy investment in reproduction is predicted to trade off against other necessary physiological functions like immunity, but it is unclear to what extent this impacts fitness in long-lived species. Among mammals, female primates, and especially apes, exhibit extensive periods of investment in each offspring. During this time, energy diverted to gestation and lactation is hypothesized to incur short and long-term deficits in maternal immunity and lead to accelerated ageing. We examined the relationship between reproduction and immunity, as measured by faecal parasite counts, in wild female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of Kibale National Park, Uganda. While we observed higher parasite shedding (counts of eggs, cysts and larvae) in pregnant chimpanzees relative to cycling females, parasites rapidly decreased during early lactation, the most energetically taxing phase of the reproductive cycle. Additionally, while our results indicate that parasite shedding increases with age, females with higher fertility for their age had lower faecal parasite counts. Such findings support the hypothesis that the relatively conservative rate of female reproduction in chimpanzees may be protective against the negative effects of reproductive effort on health. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - T L Goldberg
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - M N Muller
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Z P Machanda
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
| | - E Otali
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - S Friant
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA
| | - J Carag
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - K E Langergraber
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - J C Mitani
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - E E Wroblewski
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - R W Wrangham
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - M Emery Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
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23
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Thompson ME, Machanda ZP, Fox SA, Sabbi KH, Otali E, Thompson González N, Muller MN, Wrangham RW. Evaluating the impact of physical frailty during ageing in wild chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190607. [PMID: 32951544 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
While declining physical performance is an expected consequence of ageing, human clinical research has placed increasing emphasis on physical frailty as a predictor of death and disability in the elderly. We examined non-invasive measures approximating frailty in a richly sampled longitudinal dataset on wild chimpanzees. Using urinary creatinine to assess lean body mass, we found moderate but significant declines in physical condition with age in both sexes. While older chimpanzees spent less of their day in the trees and feeding, they did not alter activity budgets with respect to travel or resting. There was little evidence that declining lean body mass had negative consequences independent of age. Old chimpanzees with poor lean body mass rested more often but did not otherwise differ in activity. Males, but not females, in poor condition were more likely to exhibit respiratory illness. Poor muscle mass was associated acutely with death in males, but it did not predict future mortality in either sex. While there may be some reasons to suspect biological differences in the susceptibility to frailty in chimpanzees versus humans, our data are consistent with recent reports from humans that lean, physically active individuals can successfully combat frailty. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Emery Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 500 University Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.,Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Makerere University Biological Field Station, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Zarin P Machanda
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, 302 Eaton Hall, 5 The Green, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Stephanie A Fox
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 500 University Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Kris H Sabbi
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 500 University Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Emily Otali
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Makerere University Biological Field Station, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Nicole Thompson González
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 500 University Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Martin N Muller
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 500 University Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.,Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Makerere University Biological Field Station, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Richard W Wrangham
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Makerere University Biological Field Station, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda.,Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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24
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Čvorović J. The Differential Impact of Religion on Self-Reported Health Among Serbian Roma Women. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2019; 58:2047-2064. [PMID: 31098830 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-019-00824-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The present paper offers an account of how self-reported health varies with religious affiliation and reproductive effort among Serbian Roma women. Data were collected in 2014-2018 in two Roma semi-urban settlements in central Serbia. The sample consisted of 177 Christian and 127 Muslim women, averaging 54 years of age. In addition to religious affiliation (Christianity/Islam), demographic data, reproductive histories, data on self-reported and children's health were collected, along with height and weight, and smoking status. Christian and Muslim Roma women differed significantly on a number of variables, with Muslim women reporting poorer health and higher reproductive effort. Among Roma women religion may be an important determinant of reproductive and fertility patterns, largely because it may have formed an important foundation upon which identity is based. This study adds to the literature on the cross-cultural relevance of the ways religion shapes reproductive behaviors for understanding the health variations of women from the same ethnic group who profess different religions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelena Čvorović
- Institute of Ethnography, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, Serbia.
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25
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Trumble BC, Finch CE. THE EXPOSOME IN HUMAN EVOLUTION: FROM DUST TO DIESEL. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2019; 94:333-394. [PMID: 32269391 PMCID: PMC7141577 DOI: 10.1086/706768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Global exposures to air pollution and cigarette smoke are novel in human evolutionary history and are associated with about 16 million premature deaths per year. We investigate the history of the human exposome for relationships between novel environmental toxins and genetic changes during human evolution in six phases. Phase I: With increased walking on savannas, early human ancestors inhaled crustal dust, fecal aerosols, and spores; carrion scavenging introduced new infectious pathogens. Phase II: Domestic fire exposed early Homo to novel toxins from smoke and cooking. Phases III and IV: Neolithic to preindustrial Homo sapiens incurred infectious pathogens from domestic animals and dense communities with limited sanitation. Phase V: Industrialization introduced novel toxins from fossil fuels, industrial chemicals, and tobacco at the same time infectious pathogens were diminishing. Thereby, pathogen-driven causes of mortality were replaced by chronic diseases driven by sterile inflammogens, exogenous and endogenous. Phase VI: Considers future health during global warming with increased air pollution and infections. We hypothesize that adaptation to some ancient toxins persists in genetic variations associated with inflammation and longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution & Social Change and Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona 85287 USA
| | - Caleb E Finch
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and Dornsife College, University of Southern California Los Angeles, California 90089-0191 USA
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26
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Anderson AS, Trumble BC, Hové C, Kraft TS, Kaplan H, Gurven M, Blackwell AD. Old friends and friendly fire: Pregnancy, hookworm infection, and anemia among tropical horticulturalists. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 32:e23337. [PMID: 31642576 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Despite public health concerns about hookworm infection in pregnancy, little is known about immune profiles associated with hookworm (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale) infection during pregnancy. Fetal tolerance requirements may constrain maternal immune response to hookworm, thereby increasing susceptibility to new infections or increasing hemoglobin loss. To explore this possibility, we study systemic immune response and hemoglobin levels in a natural fertility population with endemic helminthic infection. METHODS We used Bayesian multilevel models to analyze mixed longitudinal data on hemoglobin, hookworm infection, reproductive state, eosinophils, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) to examine the effects of pregnancy and hookworm infection on nonspecific inflammation, cellular parasite response, and hemoglobin among 612 Tsimane women aged 15-45 (1016 observations). RESULTS Pregnancy is associated with lower eosinophil counts and lower eosinophil response to hookworm, particularly during the second and third trimesters. Both hookworm and pregnancy are associated with higher ESR, with evidence for an interaction between the two causing further increases in the first trimester. Pregnancy is moderately associated with higher odds of hookworm infection (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 0.83 to 1.83). Pregnancy and hookworm both decrease hemoglobin and may interact to accentuate this effect in the first-trimester of pregnancy (Interaction: β: -0.30 g/dL; CI: -0.870 to 0.24). CONCLUSIONS Our findings are consistent with a possible trade-off between hookworm immunity and successful pregnancy, and with the suggestion that hookworm and pregnancy may have synergistic effects, particularly in the first trimester.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy S Anderson
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Carmen Hové
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara
| | - Thomas S Kraft
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, California
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara
| | - Aaron D Blackwell
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara.,Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
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Stieglitz J, Trumble BC, Finch CE, Li D, Budoff MJ, Kaplan H, Gurven MD. Computed tomography shows high fracture prevalence among physically active forager-horticulturalists with high fertility. eLife 2019; 8:48607. [PMID: 31418688 PMCID: PMC6726459 DOI: 10.7554/elife.48607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern humans have more fragile skeletons than other hominins, which may result from physical inactivity. Here, we test whether reproductive effort also compromises bone strength, by measuring using computed tomography thoracic vertebral bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture prevalence among physically active Tsimane forager-horticulturalists. Earlier onset of reproduction and shorter interbirth intervals are associated with reduced BMD for women. Tsimane BMD is lower versus Americans, but only for women, contrary to simple predictions relying on inactivity to explain skeletal fragility. Minimal BMD differences exist between Tsimane and American men, suggesting that systemic factors other than fertility (e.g. diet) do not easily explain Tsimane women's lower BMD. Tsimane fracture prevalence is also higher versus Americans. Lower BMD increases Tsimane fracture risk, but only for women, suggesting a role of weak bone in women's fracture etiology. Our results highlight the role of sex-specific mechanisms underlying skeletal fragility that operate long before menopause.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Stieglitz
- Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France.,Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States.,School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | | | - Caleb E Finch
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Dong Li
- School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
| | - Matthew J Budoff
- Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Harbor-University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center, Torrance, United States
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, United States
| | - Michael D Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, United States
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Charifson MA, Trumble BC. Evolutionary origins of polycystic ovary syndrome: An environmental mismatch disorder. Evol Med Public Health 2019; 2019:50-63. [PMID: 31367382 PMCID: PMC6658700 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoz011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common female endocrine disorder and has important evolutionary implications for female reproduction and health. PCOS presents an interesting paradox, as it results in significant anovulation and potential sub-fecundity in industrialized populations, yet it has a surprisingly high prevalence and has a high heritability. In this review, we discuss an overview of PCOS, current diagnostic criteria, associated hormonal pathways and a review of proposed evolutionary hypotheses for the disorder. With a multifactorial etiology that includes ovarian function, metabolism, insulin signaling and multiple genetic risk alleles, PCOS is a complex disorder. We propose that PCOS is a mismatch between previously neutral genetic variants that evolved in physically active subsistence settings that have the potential to become harmful in sedentary industrialized environments. Sedentary obesogenic environments did not exist in ancestral times and exacerbate many of these pathways, resulting in the high prevalence and severity of PCOS today. Overall, the negative impacts of PCOS on reproductive success would likely have been minimal during most of human evolution and unlikely to generate strong selection. Future research and preventative measures should focus on these gene-environment interactions as a form of evolutionary mismatch, particularly in populations that are disproportionately affected by obesity and metabolic disorders. LAY SUMMARY The most severe form of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is likely a result of interactions between genetic predispositions for PCOS and modern obesogenic environments. PCOS would likely have been less severe ancestrally and the fitness reducing effects of PCOS seen today are likely a novel product of sedentary, urban environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia A Charifson
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, 900 Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 427 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, 900 Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 427 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
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Costa ME, Trumble B, Kaplan H, Gurven MD. Child nutritional status among births exceeding ideal family size in a high fertility population. MATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION 2018; 14:e12625. [PMID: 29888858 PMCID: PMC6865964 DOI: 10.1111/mcn.12625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2017] [Revised: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 04/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Ideal family size (IFS) is measured in social surveys to indicate unmet need for contraception and impending shifts in fertility behaviour. Whether exceeding IFS affects parental behaviour in ways that result in lower investments in child nutrition, well-being, and educational attainment is not known. This study examines parental IFS and the association between exceeding stated ideals and child nutritional status in a high-fertility, high-mortality population in the Bolivian Amazon. Height-for-age z-scores, weight-for-age z-scores, weight-for-height z-scores, stunting, haemoglobin, and anaemia status in 638 children aged 0-5 years are predicted as a function of birth order in relation to parental IFS, adjusting for household characteristics and mother and child random effects. Children of birth orders above paternal IFS experience higher weight-for-age z-scores when living further away from the market town of San Borja, consistent with underlying motivations for higher IFS and lower human capital investment in children in more remote areas (β = .009, p = .027). Overall, we find no statistical evidence that birth orders in excess of parental ideals are associated with compromised child nutrition below age 2, a period of intensive breastfeeding in this population. Despite a vulnerability to nutritional deficiencies postweaning for children age 2-5, there was no association between birth order in excess of parental ideals and lower nutritional status. Further studies examining this association at various stages of the fertility transition will elucidate whether reported ideal or optimal family sizes are flexible as trade-offs between quality and quantity of children shift during the transition to lower fertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan E. Costa
- T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family DynamicsArizona State UniversityTempeArizonaUSA
| | - Benjamin Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change and Center for Evolution and MedicineArizona State UniversityTempeArizonaUSA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science InstituteArgyros School of Business and Economics Chapman UniversityOrangeCaliforniaUSA
| | - Michael D. Gurven
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of California Santa BarbaraSanta BarbaraCaliforniaUSA
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Galbarczyk A, Klimek M, Nenko I, Jasienska G. Sons May Be Bad for Maternal Health at Older Age: New Evidence for Costs of Reproduction in Humans. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2018; 74:648-651. [DOI: 10.1093/gerona/gly190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Andrzej Galbarczyk
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Magdalena Klimek
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Ilona Nenko
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Grazyna Jasienska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
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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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Affiliation(s)
- Calen P Ryan
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
| | - M Geoffrey Hayes
- Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
- Center for Genetic Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Nanette R Lee
- Office of Population Studies Foundation Inc., Cebu City, Philippines
- Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines
| | - Thomas W McDade
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON, M5G 1Z8, Canada
| | - Meaghan J Jones
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Michael S Kobor
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON, M5G 1Z8, Canada
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Christopher W Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Dan T A Eisenberg
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
- Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
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SELF-RATED HEALTH AND TEENAGE PREGNANCIES IN ROMA WOMEN: INCREASING HEIGHT IS ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES. J Biosoc Sci 2018; 51:444-456. [PMID: 29886851 DOI: 10.1017/s0021932018000196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
This paper reports on the association between early marriage, age at first reproduction and height, as an indicator of childhood environment, and maternal health outcomes among traditional Roma women in Serbia. Demographic data, marital and reproductive histories, height, weight and self-rated health were collected from 414 Roma women living in rural settlements in Serbia in 2015-2017. Data analysis showed that higher age and weight were associated with a greater risk of poor health, greater height contributed to reduced risk of poor health while reproductive variables were insignificant. The study provides evidence that the long-term effects of early childbearing may not always be associated with poorer health status. As indicated by the differences in height, it is likely that women who were capable of reproducing very early on and staying healthy in later life were probably very healthy to begin with. The results probably reflect both the biological and social differences of early childhood. Aside from height, the traditional Roma marriage pattern and social benefits may have an additional protective effect on the health of women.
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Mattison SM, Seabright E, Reynolds AZ, Cao J(B, Brown MJ, Feldman MW. Adopted daughters and adopted daughters-in-law in Taiwan: a mortality analysis. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171745. [PMID: 29657778 PMCID: PMC5882702 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Adoption is sometimes considered paradoxical from an evolutionary perspective because the costs spent supporting an adopted child would be better spent on rearing one's own. Kin selection theory is commonly used to solve this paradox, because the adoption of closely related kin contributes to the inclusive fitness of the adoptive parent. In this paper, we perform a novel test of kin selection theory in the context of adoption by asking whether adopted daughters-in-law, who contribute directly (i.e. genealogically) to the perpetuation of their adoptive families' lineages, experience lower mortality than daughters adopted for other purposes in historical Taiwan. We show that both classes of adopted daughter suffer lower mortality than biological daughters, but that the protective effect of adoption is stronger among daughters who were not adopted with the intention of perpetuating the family lineage. We speculate as to the possible benefits of such a pattern and emphasize the need to move beyond typological definitions of adoption to understand the specific costs and benefits involved in different forms of caring for others' children.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Edmond Seabright
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Adam Z. Reynolds
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
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34
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Reproductive Investment and Health Costs in Roma Women. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2017; 14:ijerph14111337. [PMID: 29099752 PMCID: PMC5707976 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14111337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2017] [Revised: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we examine whether variation in reproductive investment affects the health of Roma women using a dataset collected through original anthropological fieldwork among Roma women in Serbia. Data were collected in 2014–2016 in several Roma semi-urban settlements in central Serbia. The sample consisted of 468 Roma women, averaging 44 years of age. We collected demographic data (age, school levels, socioeconomic status), risk behaviors (smoking and alcohol consumption), marital status, and reproductive history variables (the timing of reproduction, the intensity of reproduction, reproductive effort and investment after birth), in addition to self-reported health, height, and weight. Data analyses showed that somatic, short-term costs of reproduction were revealed in this population, while evolutionary, long-term costs were unobservable—contrariwise, Roma women in poor health contributed more to the gene pool of the next generation than their healthy counterparts. Our findings appear to be consistent with simple trade-off models that suggest inverse relationships between reproductive effort and health. Thus, personal sacrifice—poor health as an outcome—seems crucial for greater reproductive success.
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35
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Chmielewski P. Rethinking modern theories of ageing and their classification: the proximate mechanisms and the ultimate explanations. ANTHROPOLOGICAL REVIEW 2017. [DOI: 10.1515/anre-2017-0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
For a very long time, ageing has been an insurmountable problem in biology. The collection of age-dependent changes that render ageing individuals progressively more likely to die seemed to be an intractable labyrinth of alterations and associations whose direct mechanisms and ultimate explanations were too complex and difficult to understand. The science of ageing has always been fraught with insuperable problems and obstacles. In 1990, Zhores Medvedev presented a list of roughly 300 different hypotheses to illustrate this remarkable complexity of the ageing process and various approaches to understanding its mechanisms, though none of these hypotheses or aspect theories could be the general theory of senescence. Moreover, in the light of current data some of these ideas are obsolete and inapplicable. Nonetheless, the misconception that there are hundreds of valid theories of ageing persists among many researchers and authors. In addition, some of these obsolete and discarded hypotheses, such as the rate of living theory, the wear and tear theory, the poisoning theory, or the entropy theory still can be found in today’s medical textbooks, scientific publications aimed at the general public, and even in scientific writing. In fact, there are only several modern theories of ageing supported by compelling evidence that attempt to explain most of the data in current gerontology. These theories are competing to be a general and integrated model of ageing, making it unlikely that all of them could be true. This review summarises briefly several selected modern theories of senescence in the light of the contemporary knowledge of the biological basis for ageing and current data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Chmielewski
- Division of Anatomy, Department of Human Morphology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine , Wrocław Medical University , Poland
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36
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Cho JI, Basnyat B, Jeong C, Di Rienzo A, Childs G, Craig SR, Sun J, Beall CM. Ethnically Tibetan women in Nepal with low hemoglobin concentration have better reproductive outcomes. EVOLUTION MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2017; 2017:82-96. [PMID: 28567284 PMCID: PMC5442430 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eox008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Accepted: 03/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Background and objectives: Tibetans have distinctively low hemoglobin concentrations at high altitudes compared with visitors and Andean highlanders. This study hypothesized that natural selection favors an unelevated hemoglobin concentration among Tibetans. It considered nonheritable sociocultural factors affecting reproductive success and tested the hypotheses that a higher percent of oxygen saturation of hemoglobin (indicating less stress) or lower hemoglobin concentration (indicating dampened response) associated with higher lifetime reproductive success. Methodology: We sampled 1006 post-reproductive ethnically Tibetan women residing at 3000–4100 m in Nepal. We collected reproductive histories by interviews in native dialects and noninvasive physiological measurements. Regression analyses selected influential covariates of measures of reproductive success: the numbers of pregnancies, live births and children surviving to age 15. Results: Taking factors such as marriage status, age of first birth and access to health care into account, we found a higher percent of oxygen saturation associated weakly and an unelevated hemoglobin concentration associated strongly with better reproductive success. Women who lost all their pregnancies or all their live births had hemoglobin concentrations significantly higher than the sample mean. Elevated hemoglobin concentration associated with a lower probability a pregnancy progressed to a live birth. Conclusions and implications: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that unelevated hemoglobin concentration is an adaptation shaped by natural selection resulting in the relatively low hemoglobin concentration of Tibetans compared with visitors and Andean highlanders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jang Ik Cho
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44109, USA
| | - Buddha Basnyat
- Patan Hospital, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit-Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal and Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Choongwon Jeong
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Anna Di Rienzo
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Geoff Childs
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Sienna R Craig
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Jiayang Sun
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44109, USA
| | - Cynthia M Beall
- Department of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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Gurven M, Stieglitz J, Trumble B, Blackwell AD, Beheim B, Davis H, Hooper P, Kaplan H. The Tsimane Health and Life History Project: Integrating anthropology and biomedicine. Evol Anthropol 2017; 26:54-73. [PMID: 28429567 PMCID: PMC5421261 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The Tsimane Health and Life History Project, an integrated bio-behavioral study of the human life course, is designed to test competing hypotheses of human life-history evolution. One aim is to understand the bidirectional connections between life history and social behavior in a high-fertility, kin-based context lacking amenities of modern urban life (e.g. sanitation, banks, electricity). Another aim is to understand how a high pathogen burden influences health and well-being during development and adulthood. A third aim addresses how modernization shapes human life histories and sociality. Here we outline the project's goals, history, and main findings since its inception in 2002. We reflect on the implications of current findings and highlight the need for more coordinated ethnographic and biomedical study of contemporary nonindustrial populations to address broad questions that can situate evolutionary anthropology in a key position within the social and life sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Gurven
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of California‐Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara CA
| | | | - Benjamin Trumble
- Center for Evolution and Medicine; School of Human Evolution and Social ChangeArizona State UniversityTempeAZ
| | - Aaron D. Blackwell
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of California‐Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara CA
| | - Bret Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and CultureMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | - Helen Davis
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of UtahSalt Lake CityUT
| | | | - Hillard Kaplan
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerqueNM
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38
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Lenart P, Bienertová-Vašků J. Keeping up with the Red Queen: the pace of aging as an adaptation. Biogerontology 2016; 18:693-709. [PMID: 28013399 DOI: 10.1007/s10522-016-9674-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
For decades, a vast majority of biogerontologists assumed that aging is not and cannot be an adaptation. In recent years, however, several authors opposed this predominant view and repeatedly suggested that not only is aging an adaptation but that it is the result of a specific aging program. This issue almost instantaneously became somewhat controversial and many important authors produced substantial works refuting the notion of the aging program. In this article we review the current state of the debate and list the most important arguments proposed by both sides. Furthermore, although classical interpretations of the evolution of aging are in sharp contrast with the idea of programmed aging, we suggest that the truth might in fact very well lie somewhere in between. We also propose our own interpretation which states that although aging is in essence inevitable and results from damage accumulation rather than from a specific program, the actual rate of aging in nature may still be adaptive to some extent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Lenart
- Department of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Building A18, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Julie Bienertová-Vašků
- Department of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Building A18, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.,Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, Building A29, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
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