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Lewis JI, Mbabazi J, Mutumba R, Ritz C, Filteau S, Briend A, Michaelsen KF, Mølgaard C, Wells JC, Mupere E, Friis H, Grenov B. Correlates of Body Composition in Children with Stunting: A Cross-sectional Study in Uganda. J Nutr 2024:S0022-3166(24)00451-6. [PMID: 39111553 DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 07/02/2024] [Accepted: 08/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Development of body composition (BC) may be disrupted in children with stunting. Such disruption may affect the later risk of excess adiposity and metabolic health, yet few studies have investigated correlates of BC in children with stunting. OBJECTIVES We aimed to investigate nutritional status, infection and inflammation, breastfeeding behaviors, and other factors as correlates of BC in children with stunting. METHODS Among Ugandan children with a height-for-age z-score <-2, BC was estimated using bioelectrical impedance analysis and compared with United Kingdom references. We used multiple linear regression analysis to identify correlates of fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), FM-index (FMI), and FFM index (FFMI) and height, adjusting for gender and age. RESULTS In 750 children aged 1-5 y, FMI was 0.46 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.38, 0.54] and FFMI 0.18 [95% CI: 0.11, 0.26) z-scores lower than United Kingdom references. Elevated serum α1-acid glycoprotein was associated with 1.14 [0.76, 1.52] cm lower height, 0.50 [0.35, 0.65] kg/m2 less FFMI, and 0.48 [0.31, 0.66] kg/m2 greater FMI. Similar, weaker, associations for elevated serum C-reactive protein were detected. A positive malaria rapid test was associated with 0.64 [0.25, 1.02] cm shorter height, but 0.36 [0.18, 0.54] kg/m2 greater FMI. Anemia (according to hemoglobin) was associated with 0.20 [0.07, 0.33] kg less FFM in proportion to shorter height. Longer breastfeeding duration was associated with 0.03 [0.02, 0.04] kg greater FFM per month, in proportion to greater height. CONCLUSIONS These children exhibited deficits in FM and FFM, proportionally to their stunted height, compared with United Kingdom references. Systemic inflammation correlated inversely with linear growth and FFM but positively with fatness, making it a possible target for intervention where fat-free tissue accretion is desirable. Longer breastfeeding may offer protection to lean linear growth, but findings for micronutrients were less clear. Longitudinal studies are warranted to support these findings. The study was registered at www.isrctn.com (Ref. ISRCTN13093195).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack I Lewis
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Joseph Mbabazi
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Rolland Mutumba
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Christian Ritz
- The National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Suzanne Filteau
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - André Briend
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Tampere Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Kim F Michaelsen
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian Mølgaard
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jonathan C Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Population Policy and Practice Department, University College London (UCL) Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ezekiel Mupere
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Henrik Friis
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Benedikte Grenov
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Curtis GH, Reeve RE, Crespi EJ. Leptin signaling promotes blood vessel formation in the Xenopus tail during the embryo-larval transition. Dev Biol 2024; 512:26-34. [PMID: 38705558 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.05.001] [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: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
The signals that regulate peripheral blood vessel formation during development are still under investigation. The hormone leptin promotes blood vessel formation, adipose tissue establishment and expansion, tumor growth, and wound healing, but the underlying mechanisms for these actions are currently unknown. We investigated whether leptin promotes angiogenesis in the developing tail fin using embryonic transgenic xflk-1:GFP Xenopus laevis, which express a green fluorescent protein on vascular endothelial cells to mark blood vessels. We found that leptin protein is expressed in endothelial cells of developing blood vessels and that leptin treatment via injection increased phosphorylated STAT3 signaling, which is indicative of leptin activation of its receptor, in blood vessels of the larval tail fin. Leptin administration via media increased vessel length, branching, and reconnection with the cardinal vein, while decreased leptin signaling via immunoneutralization had an opposing effect on vessel development. We also observed disorganization of major vessels and microvessels of the tail fin and muscle when leptin signaling was decreased. Reduced leptin signaling lowered mRNA expression of cenpk, gpx1, and mmp9, markers for cell proliferation, antioxidation, and extracellular matrix remodeling/cell migration, respectively, in the developing tail, providing insight into three possible mechanisms underlying leptin's promotion of angiogenesis. Together these results illustrate that leptin levels are correlated with embryonic angiogenesis and that leptin coordinates multiple aspects of blood vessel growth and development, showing that leptin is an important morphogen during embryonic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace H Curtis
- School of Biological Sciences, Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA, 99164.
| | - Robyn E Reeve
- School of Biological Sciences, Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA, 99164
| | - Erica J Crespi
- School of Biological Sciences, Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA, 99164
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Turcotte CM, Choi AM, Spear JK, Hernandez-Janer EM, Taboada HG, Stock MK, Villamil CI, Bauman SE, Martinez MI, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Montague MJ, Platt ML, Williams SA, Higham JP, Antón SC. Quantifying the relationship between bone and soft tissue measures within the rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 184:e24920. [PMID: 38447005 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Interpretations of the primate and human fossil record often rely on the estimation of somatic dimensions from bony measures. Both somatic and skeletal variation have been used to assess how primates respond to environmental change. However, it is unclear how well skeletal variation matches and predicts soft tissue. Here, we empirically test the relationship between tissues by comparing somatic and skeletal measures using paired measures of pre- and post-mortem rhesus macaques from Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. MATERIALS AND METHODS Somatic measurements were matched with skeletal dimensions from 105 rhesus macaque individuals to investigate paired signals of variation (i.e., coefficients of variation, sexual dimorphism) and bivariate codependence (reduced major axis regression) in measures of: (1) limb length; (2) joint breadth; and (3) limb circumference. Predictive models for the estimation of soft tissue dimensions from skeletons were built from Ordinary Least Squares regressions. RESULTS Somatic and skeletal measurements showed statistically equivalent coefficients of variation and sexual dimorphism as well as high epiphyses-present ordinary least square (OLS) correlations in limb lengths (R2 >0.78, 0.82), joint breadths (R2 >0.74, 0.83) and, to a lesser extent, limb circumference (R2 >0.53, 0.68). CONCLUSION Skeletal measurements are good substitutions for somatic values based on population signals of variation. OLS regressions indicate that skeletal correlates are highly predictive of somatic dimensions. The protocols and regression equations established here provide a basis for reliable reconstruction of somatic dimension from catarrhine fossils and validate our ability to compare or combine results of studies based on population data of either hard or soft tissue proxies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra M Turcotte
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York, USA
| | - Audrey M Choi
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jeffrey K Spear
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Eva M Hernandez-Janer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - Hannah G Taboada
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michala K Stock
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Catalina I Villamil
- Doctor of Chiropractic Program, School of Health Sciences and Technologies, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Samuel E Bauman
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Melween I Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
| | | | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Scott A Williams
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Susan C Antón
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
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González Garello T, Barbeito-Andrés J, Pérez A, Cueto G, Nuñez P, Bonfili N, Gonzalez P. Head circumference at birth and postnatal growth trajectory in vulnerable groups from Argentina. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 184:e24921. [PMID: 38426243 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the association between the anthropometric status at birth and brain and bone growth during the first year of life. According to the brain-sparing hypothesis, we expect catch-up to be faster in head circumference (HC) than in body length. METHODS This is a longitudinal design that included Argentinian infants under 12 months of age with at least three anthropometric records. We classified study participants into four growth status categories according to z-scores for HC (HCZ) and length (LAZ) at birth, with z-score = -2 as a threshold. We used the Count model to describe growth trajectories in HC and length in the first year of life according to the growth status at birth. Recovery indicator for HC and length was taken as the time until the predicted growth trajectory surpassed the threshold curve predicted by z-score = -2 for age. RESULTS Growth models included 3399 infants. There were significant differences in the growth parameters between groups in all cases (p < 0.05). Within the group with a low HCZ and a low LAZ at birth, HC recovery was faster than length. In the case of a low z-score for only one of the variables, newborns with a low HCZ recovered faster than individuals born with a low LAZ. CONCLUSIONS The postnatal growth pattern in HC and length is associated with the growth status of HC and length at birth. As we hypothesized, the fastest postnatal recovery occurs for HC in cases of intrauterine delayed growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomás González Garello
- Grupo de Bioestadística Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jimena Barbeito-Andrés
- Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos, CONICET, Hospital "El Cruce", Universidad Arturo Jauretche, Florencio Varela, Argentina
| | - Adriana Pérez
- Grupo de Bioestadística Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gerardo Cueto
- Grupo de Bioestadística Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Pablo Nuñez
- Grupo de Bioestadística Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Noelia Bonfili
- Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos, CONICET, Hospital "El Cruce", Universidad Arturo Jauretche, Florencio Varela, Argentina
| | - Paula Gonzalez
- Unidad Ejecutora de Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos, CONICET, Hospital "El Cruce", Universidad Arturo Jauretche, Florencio Varela, Argentina
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Gizaw G, Bahwere P, Argaw A, Wells JCK, Friis H, Olsen MF, Abdissa A, Wibaek R, Abera M, Sadler K, Boyd E, Collins S, Girma T. Growth and Body Composition 5 y After Treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition: A 5-y Prospective Matched Cohort Study in Ethiopian Children. Am J Clin Nutr 2023; 118:1029-1041. [PMID: 37923494 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Short-term anthropometric outcomes are well documented for children treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM). However, anthropometric recovery may not indicate restoration of healthy body composition. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate long-term associations of SAM with growth and body composition of children 5 y after discharge from community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM). METHODS We conducted a 5-y prospective cohort study, enrolling children aged 6 to 59 mo discharged from CMAM (post-SAM) (n = 203) and nonmalnourished matched controls (n = 202) from Jimma Zone, Ethiopia in 2013. Anthropometry and body composition (bioelectrical impedance) were assessed. Multiple linear regression models tested differences in height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and body mass index-for-age (BAZ) z-scores; height-adjusted fat-free mass index (FFMI); and FM index (FMI) between groups. RESULTS Post-SAM children had higher stunting prevalence than controls at discharge (82.2% compared with 36.0%; P < 0.001), 1 y (80.2% compared with 53.7%; P < 0.001), and 5 y postdischarge (74.2% compared with 40.8%; P < 0.001). Post-SAM children remained 5 cm shorter throughout follow-up, indicating no HAZ catch-up. No catch-up in WAZ or BAZ was observed. Post-SAM children had lower hip (-2.05 cm; 95% CI: -2.73, -1.36), waist (-0.92 cm; CI: -1.59, -0.23) and mid-upper arm (-0.64 cm; CI: -0.90, -0.42) circumferences and lower-limb length (-1.57 cm; 95% CI: -2.21, -0.94) at 5 y postdischarge. They had larger waist-hip (0.02 cm; 95% CI: 0.008, 0.033) and waist-height (0.013 cm; 95% CI: 0.004, 0.021) ratios, and persistent deficits in FFMI at discharge and 6 mo and 5 y postdischarge (P < 0.001 for all). No difference was detected in head circumference, sitting height, or FMI. CONCLUSIONS Five y after SAM treatment, children maintained deficits in HAZ, WAZ, BAZ, and FFMI, with preservation of FMI, sitting height, and head circumference at the expense of lower-limb length, indicating a "thrifty growth" pattern. Research is urgently needed to identify effective clinical and public health interventions to mitigate these consequences of malnutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Getu Gizaw
- Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; Jimma University Clinical and Nutrition Research Partnership, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Paluku Bahwere
- Valid International, Oxford, United Kingdom; Center for Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Clinical Research, School of Public Health, Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alemayehu Argaw
- Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jonathan C K Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Population Policy and Practice Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Henrik Friis
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Frahm Olsen
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Alemseged Abdissa
- Jimma University Clinical and Nutrition Research Partnership, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; Department of Laboratory Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Rasmus Wibaek
- Clinical Epidemiology, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Herlev, Denmark
| | - Mubarek Abera
- Jimma University Clinical and Nutrition Research Partnership, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; Department of Psychiatry, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
| | | | - Erin Boyd
- United States Agency for International Development, Washington DC, USA
| | | | - Tsinuel Girma
- Jimma University Clinical and Nutrition Research Partnership, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
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Piper JD, Mazhanga C, Mapako G, Mapurisa I, Mashedze T, Munyama E, Mwapaura M, Chidhanguro D, Mpofu E, Mutasa B, Gladstone MJ, Wells JC, Langhaug LF, Tavengwa NV, Ntozini R, Prendergast AJ. Characterising school-age health and function in rural Zimbabwe using the SAHARAN toolbox. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0285570. [PMID: 37167268 PMCID: PMC10174535 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION We developed the School-Age Health, Activity, Resilience, Anthropometry and Neurocognitive (SAHARAN) toolbox to address the shortage of school-age assessment tools that combine growth, physical and cognitive function. Here we present i) development, acceptability and feasibility of the SAHARAN toolbox; ii) characteristics of a pilot cohort; and iii) associations between the domains measured in the cohort. METHODS Growth was measured with anthropometry, knee-heel length and skinfold thicknesses. Bioimpedance analysis measured lean mass index and phase angle. Cognition was assessed using the mental processing index, derived from the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children version 2, a fine motor finger-tapping task, and School Achievement Test (SAT). Physical function combined grip strength, broad jump and the 20m shuttle-run test to produce a total physical score. A caregiver questionnaire was performed in parallel. RESULTS The SAHARAN toolbox was feasible to implement in rural Zimbabwe, and highly acceptable to children and caregivers following some minor modifications. Eighty children with mean (SD) age 7.6 (0.2) years had mean height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ) of -0.63 (0.81) and -0.55 (0.85), respectively. Lean mass index and total skinfold thicknesses were related to WAZ and BMI Z-score, but not to HAZ. Total physical score was associated with unit rises in HAZ (1.29, 95% CI 0.75, 1.82, p<0.001), and lean mass index (0.50, 95% CI 0.16, 0.83, p = 0.004), but not skinfold thicknesses. The SAT was associated with unit increases in the mental processing index and child socioemotional score. The caregiver questionnaire identified high levels of adversity and food insecurity. CONCLUSIONS The SAHARAN toolbox provided a feasible and acceptable holistic assessment of child growth and function in mid-childhood. We found clear associations between growth, height-adjusted lean mass and physical function, but not cognitive function. The SAHARAN toolbox could be deployed to characterise school-age growth, development and function elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joe D. Piper
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
- Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Clever Mazhanga
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Gloria Mapako
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Idah Mapurisa
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Tsitsi Mashedze
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Eunice Munyama
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Marian Mwapaura
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | | | - Eddington Mpofu
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Batsirai Mutasa
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Melissa J. Gladstone
- Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan C. Wells
- Population Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lisa F. Langhaug
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Naume V. Tavengwa
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Robert Ntozini
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Andrew J. Prendergast
- Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe
- Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Yim AD, Cowgill L, Katz DC, Roseman CC. Variation in ontogenetic trajectories of limb dimensions in humans is attributable to both climatic effects and neutral evolution. J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103369. [PMID: 37104893 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies showed that there is variation in ontogenetic trajectories of human limb dimensions and proportions. However, little is known about the evolutionary significance of this variation. This study used a global sample of modern human immature long bone measurements and a multivariate linear mixed-effects model to study 1) whether the variation in ontogenetic trajectories of limb dimensions is consistent with ecogeographic predictions and 2) the effects of different evolutionary forces on the variation in ontogenetic trajectories. We found that genetic relatedness arising from neutral (nonselective) evolution, allometric variation associated with the change in size, and directional effects from climate all contributed to the variation in ontogenetic trajectories of all major long bone dimensions in modern humans. After accounting for the effects of neutral evolution and holding other effects considered in the current study constant, extreme temperatures have weak, positive associations with diaphyseal length and breadth measurements, while mean temperature shows negative associations with diaphyseal dimensions. The association with extreme temperatures fits the expectations of ecogeographic rules, while the association with mean temperature may explain the observed among-group variation in intralimb indices. The association with climate is present throughout ontogeny, suggesting an explanation of adaptation by natural selection as the most likely cause. On the other hand, genetic relatedness among groups, as structured by neutral evolutionary factors, is an important consideration when interpreting skeletal morphology, even for nonadult individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- An-Di Yim
- Department of Health and Exercise Sciences, Truman State University, 100 E Normal Ave, Kirksville, MO, USA; Department of Biology, Truman State University, 100 E Normal Ave, Kirksville, MO, USA; Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 109 Davenport Hall, 607 S Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, USA.
| | - Libby Cowgill
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, 112 Swallow Hall, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - David C Katz
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Canada
| | - Charles C Roseman
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 515 Morrill Hall, 505 S Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL, USA
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Pomeroy E. Review: The different adaptive trajectories in Neanderthals and Homo sapiens and their implications for contemporary human physiological variation. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2023; 280:111420. [PMID: 37001690 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.111420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Neanderthals are our one of our closest evolutionary cousins, but while they evolved in Eurasia, we (anatomically modern humans, AMH) originated in Africa. This contrasting evolutionary history has led to morphological and genetic distinctions between our species. Neanderthals are characterised by a relatively stocky build, high body mass, proportionally wide bodies and shorter limbs, a bell-shaped ribcage with a wide pelvis, and a long, low cranial vault compared with AMH. Classic readings of Neanderthal morphology link many of these traits to cold climate adaptations, however these interpretations have been questioned and alternative hypotheses including behavioural factors, dietary adaptations, locomotor specialisations, evolutionary history and neutral evolutionary processes have been invoked. Compared with AMH, Neanderthals may have been adapted for strength and power rather than endurance and may have consumed a diet high in animal products. However, reviewing these hypotheses highlights a number of limitations in our understanding of contemporary human physiology and metabolism, including the relationship between climate and morphology in AMH and Neanderthals, physiological limits on protein consumption, and the relationship between gut morphology and diet. As various relevant factors are clearly linked (e.g. diet, behaviour, metabolism, morphology, activity), ultimately a more integrated approach may be needed to fully understand Neanderthal biology. Variation among contemporary AMHs may offer, with caveats, a useful model for understanding the evolution of both Neanderthal and modern human characteristics, which in turn may further deepen our understanding of variability within and between contemporary humans. Neanderthals; Anatomically modern humans; morphology; climate adaptation; power adaptations; metabolism; diet; physiology; endurance running.
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Devakumar D, Busert L, Sathiadas MG, Jayawardana P, Arulpragasam A, Osmond C, Fall CHD, Wells JCK, Wickramasinghe VP. The Long-Term Consequences of Early Life Exposure to Tsunami and Conflict on Adolescents in Sri Lanka. Asia Pac J Public Health 2023; 35:112-120. [PMID: 36695321 PMCID: PMC10185911 DOI: 10.1177/10105395231151730] [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] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The consequences for adolescent health due to early life exposure to natural disasters combined with war are not known. We collected data from adolescents aged 12-13 years in Sri Lanka whose mothers were pregnant during the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 in a tsunami-affected region (n = 22), conflict-affected region (n = 35), conflict-plus-tsunami-affected region (n = 29), or controls in areas unaffected by either (n = 24). Adjusted body mass index (BMI)-for-age z-scores were 1.3, 1.0 and 2.0 for conflict, tsunami, and conflict-plus-tsunami, respectively, compared with the control group. Greater skinfold thickness and higher diastolic blood pressure were found in adolescents born in the conflict zone but no differences were found in height, head circumference, and waist circumference, or blood results, with the exception of serum insulin. Being born after a natural disaster or during conflict was associated with increased BMI and body fat during adolescent, which are associated with longer-term risk of noncommunicable disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Delan Devakumar
- Institute for Global Health, University
College London, London, UK
| | - Laura Busert
- Great Ormond Street Institute of Child
Health, University College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - Angela Arulpragasam
- Faculty of Health Care Sciences,
Eastern University, Sri Lanka, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
| | - Clive Osmond
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre,
Southampton General Hospital, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Caroline H. D. Fall
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre,
Southampton General Hospital, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Jonathan C. K. Wells
- Great Ormond Street Institute of Child
Health, University College London, London, UK
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10
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Gibb JK, Spake L, McKinnon L, Shattuck EC, McKerracher L. Sexual minority status is associated with earlier recalled age of menarche: Evidence from the 2005-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Am J Hum Biol 2023; 35:e23825. [PMID: 36301198 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Menarcheal timing is associated with growth, development, health, wellbeing, and reproduction across the lifespan. Although sexual orientation is a known correlate of health and developmental inequities, relatively little evolutionarily framed research has investigated sexual orientation-based variation in maturational timing. To improve our understanding of menarcheal timing among sexual minority (SM) people, we use a biocultural-evolutionary life history lens that takes into account the stresses of minoritization to examine the relationship between sexual orientation and self-reported age at menarche in a sample of American adults. METHODS Using the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a large, nationally representative dataset (n = 9757), we fit multiple logistic regression models and survival curves to evaluate associations between sexual orientation, indicators of somatic and material resources during adolescence (e.g., education, citizenship, upper arm length), and self-reported menarche. RESULTS SM respondents were more likely to report earlier (by 4-5 months) ages of menarche (p < .001). Post-hoc tests revealed that these differences were driven by bisexual (p < .001) and same-sex experienced (p < .001) relative to heterosexual and lesbian/gay respondents. Earlier menarcheal timing among SM respondents persisted after adjusting for socio-demographic factors and proxies of developmental conditions. DISCUSSION Our findings reveal that SM status is associated with earlier ages of menarche, an important social and reproductive milestone. We argue that uniting life history theory with the minority stress hypothesis better explains differences in menarcheal timing by sexual orientation than previous paradigms. Investigators should attend to sexual orientation-based variation in maturational timing using holistic, inclusive approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- James K Gibb
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.,Department of Health & Society, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Canada
| | - Laure Spake
- Religion Programme, and Centre for Research on Evolution, Belief, and Behaviour, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.,Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, USA
| | - Leela McKinnon
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Eric C Shattuck
- Department of Public Health, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, USA.,Institute for Health Disparities Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, USA
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11
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Lewis JI, Friis H, Mupere E, Wells JC, Grenov B. Calibration of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Against Deuterium Dilution for Body Composition Assessment in Stunted Ugandan Children. J Nutr 2023; 153:426-434. [PMID: 36894235 DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2022.12.028] [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: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND BIA represents an important tool in body composition (BC) assessment, especially in low-income settings in which simple and affordable options are preferred. There is a particular need to measure BC in stunted children, in which cases population-specific BIA estimating equations are lacking. OBJECTIVES We calibrated an equation to estimate body composition from BIA using deuterium dilution (2H) as the criterion method in stunted children. METHODS We measured BC with 2H and performed BIA in stunted Ugandan children (n = 50). Multiple linear regression models were constructed to predict 2H-derived FFM from BIA-derived whole-body impedance and other relevant predictors. Model performance was expressed as adjusted R2 and RMSE. Prediction errors were also calculated. RESULTS Participants were aged 16-59 mo, of whom 46% were girls, and their median (IQR) height-for-age z-score (HAZ) was -2.58 (-2.92 to -2.37) according to the WHO growth standards. Impedance index (height2/impedance measured at 50 kHz) alone explained 89.2% variation in FFM and had an RMSE of 583 g (precision error 6.5%). The final model contained age, sex, impedance index, and height-for-age z-score as predictors and explained 94.5% variation in FFM with an RMSE of 402 g (precision error 4.5%). CONCLUSIONS We present a BIA calibration equation for a group of stunted children with a relatively low prediction error. This may help evaluate the efficacy of nutritional supplementation in large-scale trials in the same population. J Nutr 20XX;xxx:xx.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack I Lewis
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Henrik Friis
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ezekiel Mupere
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Medicine College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Jonathan C Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Population, Policy, and Practice Research and Teaching Department, University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Benedikte Grenov
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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12
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He B, Li Z, Xu L, Liu L, Wang S, Zhan S, Song Y. Upper arm length and knee height are associated with diabetes in the middle-aged and elderly: evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Public Health Nutr 2023; 26:190-198. [PMID: 35581171 PMCID: PMC11077445 DOI: 10.1017/s1368980022001215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine if limb lengths, as markers of early life environment, are associated with the risk of diabetes in China. DESIGN We performed a cohort analysis using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), and multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to examine the associations between baseline limb lengths and subsequent risk of diabetes. SETTING The CHARLS, 2011-2018. PARTICIPANTS The study confined the eligible subject to 10 711 adults aged over 45 years from the CHARLS. RESULTS During a mean follow-up period of 6·13 years, 1358 cases of incident diabetes were detected. When controlling for potential covariates, upper arm length was inversely related to diabetes (hazard ratio (HR) 0·95, 95 % CI (0·91, 0·99), P = 0·028), and for every 1-cm difference in knee height, the risk of diabetes decreased by about 4 % (HR 0·96, 95 % CI (0·93, 0·99), P = 0·023). The association between upper arm length and diabetes was only significant among females while the association between knee height and diabetes was only significant among males. In analyses stratified by BMI, significant associations between upper arm length/knee height and diabetes only existed among those who were underweight (HR 0·91, 95 % CI (0·83, 1·00), P = 0·049, HR 0·92, 95 % CI (0·86, 0·99), P = 0·031). CONCLUSIONS Inverse associations were observed between upper arm length, knee height and the risk for diabetes development in a large Asian population, suggesting early life environment, especially infant nutritional status, may play an important role in the determination of future diabetes risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingjie He
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public
Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District,
Beijing100191, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhengyang Li
- Department of Endocrinology, Shandong Provincial Hospital
Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Huaiyin
District, Jinan, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lu Xu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public
Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District,
Beijing100191, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lili Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public
Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District,
Beijing100191, People’s Republic of China
| | - Shengfeng Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public
Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District,
Beijing100191, People’s Republic of China
| | - Siyan Zhan
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public
Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District,
Beijing100191, People’s Republic of China
- Research Center of Clinical Epidemiology, Peking
University Third Hospital, Haidian District, Beijing,
People’s Republic of China
- Center for Intelligent Public Health, Institute for Artificial
Intelligence, Peking University, Beijing,
People’s Republic of China
| | - Yongfeng Song
- Department of Endocrinology, Shandong Provincial Hospital
Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Huaiyin
District, Jinan, People’s Republic of China
- Shandong Institute of Endocrine & Metabolic Diseases,
Shandong First Medical University, Jinan,
People’s Republic of China
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13
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The effect of different socio-economic and working conditions on body size and proportions: A case study on adults from Samsun, Turkey. J Biosoc Sci 2022:1-20. [PMID: 36226660 DOI: 10.1017/s0021932022000232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Conditions in the early stages of life shape body size and proportions. This study includes individuals who came from different socio-economic conditions and worked in physically demanding jobs in childhood. By determining the body sizes of these individuals and evaluating the proportional relationships between several groups, the goal was to understand the effect levels of socio-economic levels and working conditions on the body. For this purpose, an anthropometric study was conducted on 623 males and females between the ages of 20 and 45 living in Samsun, Turkey. The study sample consisted of four different groups. It was divided into two main groups of high and low socio-economic level, and the low socio-economic group was divided into two subgroups of heavy-worker and nonheavy-worker. The results demonstrated that socio-economic differences in the size and proportions of the individuals were statistically significant (p<0.05). The high socio-economic group had the highest values in all measures. External factors affected the lower limbs more than the upper limbs. The measurement most affected by these factors was leg length. Longer legs characterized the high socio-economic group, while longer arms characterized both low socio-economic groups. The relative differences observed can be said to derive from the distal limbs. This finding was valid for both sexes. The average values were close to each other in the low socio-economic group, for which the aim was to comprehend the effects of heavy working conditions. However, differences in proportional relationships were more significant. In this context, it was seen that heavy labour also affected growth, in addition to the well-known factors encountered during the growth period, such as nutrition, health, and illness. The observed changes were more significant in males than in females. Thus, it can be said that males were more affected by physiological and physical conditions.
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14
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Brennan EJ, DeWitte SN. Sexual stature difference fluctuations in pre- and post-Black Death London as an indicator of living standards. Am J Hum Biol 2022; 34:e23783. [PMID: 35851510 PMCID: PMC9787904 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The degree of sexual stature difference (SSD), the ratio of male to female height, is argued to be an indicator of living standards based on evidence that physical growth for males is more sensitive to environmental fluctuations. In a resource-poor environment, the degree of SSD is expected to be relatively low. The aim of this study is to comparatively assess SSD in medieval London in the context of repeated famine events and other environmental stressors before the Black Death (BD) and the improved living conditions that characterized the post-Black Death period. METHODS To test the hypothesis that a poor nutritional environment resulted in decreased SSD in medieval London, this study compares adult individuals from early pre-Black Death (c. 1000-1200), late pre-Black Death (c. 1200-1250) and post-Black Death (c. 1350-1540) cemetery contexts from London. Maximum tibial,femoral, and lower limb lengths were used as a proxy for stature, and SSD was calculated using the Chakraborty and Majumber index. RESULTS Compared to the late pre-BD period, we find a slighter higher degree of SSD in the post-BD period for all three stature proxies used. This increase is attributed to more exaggerated increases in stature for estimated males post-BD. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the importance of examining variables that are considered indicators of living standards in light of factors like selective mortality, catch-up growth, and urban migration patterns. Future research needs to further investigate how cultural and biological processes influence the mechanisms that produce adult stature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J. Brennan
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of South CarolinaColumbiaSouth CarolinaUSA
| | - Sharon N. DeWitte
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of South CarolinaColumbiaSouth CarolinaUSA
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15
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Shirley MK, Arthurs OJ, Seunarine KK, Cole TJ, Eaton S, Williams JE, Clark CA, Wells JCK. Implications of leg length for metabolic health and fitness. Evol Med Public Health 2022; 10:316-324. [PMID: 35903461 PMCID: PMC9326181 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoac023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and objectives Several studies have linked longer legs with favorable adult metabolic health outcomes and greater offspring birth weight. A recent Mendelian randomization study suggested a causal link between height and cardiometabolic risk; however, the underlying reasons remain poorly understood. Methodology Using a cross-sectional design, we tested in a convenience sample of 70 healthy young women whether birth weight and tibia length as markers of early-life conditions associated more strongly with metabolically beneficial traits like organ size and skeletal muscle mass (SMM) than a statistically derived height-residual variable indexing later, more canalized growth. Results Consistent with the 'developmental origins of health and disease' hypothesis, we found relatively strong associations of tibia length-but not birth weight-with adult organ size, brain size, SMM and resting energy expenditure measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and indirect calorimetry, respectively. Conclusions and implications Building on prior work, these results suggest that leg length is a sensitive marker of traits directly impacting metabolic and reproductive health. Alongside findings in the same sample relating tibia length and height-residual to MRI-measured pelvic dimensions, we suggest there may exist a degree of coordination in the development of long bone, lean mass and pelvic traits, possibly centered on early, pre-pubertal growth periods. Such phenotypic coordination has important implications for fitness, serving to benefit both adult health and the health of offspring in subsequent generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan K Shirley
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Owen J Arthurs
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
- Department of Radiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JH, UK
| | - Kiran K Seunarine
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Tim J Cole
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Simon Eaton
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Jane E Williams
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Chris A Clark
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Jonathan C K Wells
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
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16
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Spake L, Hoppa RD, Blau S, Cardoso HFV. Biological mortality bias in diaphyseal growth of contemporary children: Implications for paleoauxology. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022. [PMCID: PMC9306609 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Objectives Biological mortality bias is the idea that individuals who comprise skeletal samples (non‐survivors) are a specific subset of the overall population, who may have been exposed to greater stress during life. Because of this, it is possible that studying growth in a skeletal population misrepresents the growth and health of survivors in that population. Using a modern sample, this study investigates whether biological mortality bias in growth may be present in archaeological skeletal samples. Materials and methods Postmortem computed tomography scans of 206 children aged under 13 years were collected from two institutions in the United States and Australia. The sample was separated into children who died from natural causes as proxies for non‐survivors and from accidental causes as proxies for survivors. Differences in long bone length for age were assessed through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and z‐score analysis, and these results were compared with studies linking anthropometrics and mortality risk in nonindustrialized societies. Results Differences in growth favoring survivors were greater for girls than for boys and seemed to increase over age. The effect in nonindustrialized societies was 1.5 to 5 times the magnitude of that in our contemporary sample. Conclusions A greater growth delay in girls than in boys has been documented in historical identified collections, and skeletal samples consistently become more stunted relative to modern standards over the course of growth. Our findings on biological mortality bias could explain part of these growth delays and impact interpretations of past ontogenetic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laure Spake
- Religion Programme and Centre for Research on Evolution, Belief and Behaviour University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand
- Department of Anthropology Western Washington University, Bellingham Washington USA
| | - Robert D. Hoppa
- Department of Anthropology University of Manitoba Winnipeg Canada
| | - Soren Blau
- Forensic Pathology The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine Southbank Victoria Australia
- Department of Forensic Medicine Monash University Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Hugo F. V. Cardoso
- Department of Archaeology and Centre for Forensic Research Simon Fraser University Burnaby Canada
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17
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Bogin B, Hermanussen M, Scheffler C. Bergmann's rule is a "just-so" story of human body size. J Physiol Anthropol 2022; 41:15. [PMID: 35414036 PMCID: PMC9003984 DOI: 10.1186/s40101-022-00287-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Carl Bergmann was an astute naturalist and physiologist. His ideas about animal size and shape were important advances in the pre-Darwinian nineteenth century. Bergmann's rule claims that that in cold climates, large body mass increases the ratio of volume-to-surface area and provides for maximum metabolic heat retention in mammals and birds. Conversely, in warmer temperatures, smaller body mass increases surface area relative to volume and allows for greater heat loss. For humans, we now know that body size and shape are regulated more by social-economic-political-emotional (SEPE) factors as well as nutrition-infection interactions. Temperature has virtually no effect. Bergmann's rule is a "just-so" story and should be relegated to teaching and scholarship about the history of science. That "rule" is no longer acceptable science and has nothing to tell us about physiological anthropology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barry Bogin
- UCSD/Salk Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), San Diego, USA.
- School of Sport, Exercise & Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.
| | | | - Christiane Scheffler
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Human Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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18
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Ruff CB, Junno JA, Burgess ML, Canington SL, Harper C, Mudakikwa A, McFarlin SC. Body proportions and environmental adaptation in gorillas. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 177:501-529. [PMID: 36787793 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Limb length and trunk proportions are determined in a large, taxonomically and environmentally diverse sample of gorillas and related to variation in locomotion, climate, altitude, and diet. MATERIALS AND METHODS The sample includes 299 gorilla skeletons, 115 of which are infants and juveniles, distributed between western lowland (G. gorilla gorilla), low and high elevation grauer (G. beringei graueri), and Virunga mountain gorillas (G. b. beringei). Limb bone and vertebral column lengths scaled to body mass are compared between subgroups by age group. RESULTS All G. beringei have relatively short 3rd metapodials and manual proximal phalanges compared to G. gorilla, and this difference is apparent in infancy. All G. beringei also have shortened total limb lengths relative to either body mass or vertebral column length, although patterns of variation in individual skeletal elements are more complex, and infants do not display the same patterns as adults. Mountain gorillas have relatively long clavicles, present in infancy, and a relatively long thoracic (but not lumbosacral) vertebral column. DISCUSSION A variety of environmental factors likely contributed to observed patterns of morphological variation among extant gorillas. We interpret the short hand and foot bones of all G. beringei as genetic adaptations to greater terrestriality in the last common ancestor of G. beringei; variation in other limb lengths to climatic adaptation, both genetic and developmental; and the larger thorax of G. b. beringei to adaptation to reduced oxygen pressure at high altitudes, again as a product of both genetic differences and environmental influences during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | | | - M Loring Burgess
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Stephanie L Canington
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Christine Harper
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, New Jersey, USA
| | - Antoine Mudakikwa
- Rwanda Development Board, Department of Tourism and Conservation, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Shannon C McFarlin
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.,Human Origins Program, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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Decrausaz SL, Cameron ME. A growth area: A review of the value of clinical studies of child growth for palaeopathology. Evol Med Public Health 2022; 10:108-122. [PMID: 35273803 PMCID: PMC8903130 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoac005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of living children demonstrate that early life stress impacts linear growth outcomes. Stresses affecting linear growth may also impact later life health outcomes, including increased cardiometabolic disease risk. Palaeopathologists also assess the growth of children recovered from bioarchaeological contexts. Early life stresses are inferred to affect linear growth outcomes, and measurements of skeletal linear dimensions alongside other bioarchaeological information may indicate the types of challenges faced by past groups. In clinical settings, the impacts of stress on growing children are typically measured by examining height. Palaeopathologists are limited to examining bone dimensions directly and must grapple with incomplete pictures of childhood experiences that may affect growth. Palaeopathologists may use clinical growth studies to inform observations among past children; however, there may be issues with this approach. Here, we review the relationship between contemporary and palaeopathological studies of child and adolescent growth. We identify approaches to help bridge the gap between palaeopathological and biomedical growth studies. We advocate for: the creation of bone-specific growth reference information using medical imaging and greater examination of limb proportions; the inclusion of children from different global regions and life circumstances in contemporary bone growth studies; and greater collaboration and dialogue between palaeopathologists and clinicians as new studies are designed to assess linear growth past and present. We advocate for building stronger bridges between these fields to improve interpretations of growth patterns across human history and to potentially improve interventions for children living and growing today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah-Louise Decrausaz
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Cornett Building, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
| | - Michelle E Cameron
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 19 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada
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20
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Williamson H, Walsh C, Nel M, van den Berg L. Predictive value of different body segments to estimate height in a South African adult hospital population. Clin Nutr ESPEN 2022; 47:177-182. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2021.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2020] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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21
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Rougeaux E, Miranda JJ, Fewtrell M, Wells JCK. Maternal internal migration and child growth and nutritional health in Peru: an analysis of the demographic and health surveys from 1991 to 2017. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:37. [PMID: 34991546 PMCID: PMC8734138 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-12452-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Peru has historically experienced high rural-to-urban migration. Despite large reductions in undernutrition, overweight is increasing. Elsewhere, internal migration has been associated with differences in children's growth and nutritional health. We investigated how child growth and nutritional status in Peru varied over time and in association with maternal internal migration. METHODS Using data from Demographic & Health Surveys from 1991 to 2017, we assessed trends in child growth (height-for-age [HAZ], weight-for-age [WAZ], weight-for-height [WHZ] z scores) and nutritional health (stunting, underweight, overweight) by maternal adult internal migration (urban [UNM] or rural non-migrant [RNM], or urban-urban [UUM], rural-urban [RUM], rural-rural [RRM], or urban-rural migrant [URM]). Using 2017 data, we ran regression analyses, adjusting for confounders, to investigate associations of maternal migration with child outcomes and the maternal and child double burden of malnutrition. We further stratified by timing of migration, child timing of birth and, for urban residents, type of area of residence. Results are given as adjusted predictive margins (mean z score or %) and associated regression p-values [p]. RESULTS In 1991-2017, child growth improved, and undernutrition decreased, but large differences by maternal migration persisted. In 2017, within urban areas, being the child of a migrant woman was associated with lower WHZ (UUM = 0.6/RUM = 0.5 vs UNM = 0.7; p = 0.009 and p < 0.001 respectively) and overweight prevalence ((RUM 7% vs UNM = 11% [p = 0.002]). Results however varied both by child timing of birth (birth after migration meant greater overweight prevalence) and type of area of residence (better linear growth in children of migrants [vs non-migrants] in capital/large cities and towns but not small cities). In rural areas, compared to RNM, children of URM had higher HAZ (- 1.0 vs - 1.2; p < 0.001) and WAZ (- 0.3 vs - 0.4; p = 0.001) and lower stunting (14% vs 21%; [p < 0.001]). There were no differences by timing of birth in rural children, nor by time since migration across all children. The mother and child double burden of malnutrition was higher in rural than urban areas but no differences were found by maternal internal migration. CONCLUSIONS Migration creates a unique profile of child nutritional health that is not explained by maternal ethnic and early life factors, but which varies depending on the pathway of migration, the child timing of birth in relation to migration and, for urban dwellers, the size of the place of destination. Interventions to improve child nutritional health should take into consideration maternal health and migration history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emeline Rougeaux
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
| | - J Jaime Miranda
- CRONICAS Centre of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - Mary Fewtrell
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
| | - Jonathan C K Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
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22
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Valge M, Meitern R, Hõrak P. Anthropometrics of Estonian children in relation to family disruption: Thrifty phenotype and Trivers-Willard effects. Evol Med Public Health 2021; 9:276-286. [PMID: 34540230 PMCID: PMC8445393 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoab022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and objectives The thrifty phenotype hypothesis proposes that at resource limitation, the growth of some organs/tissues is selectively spared to preserve more critical ones, such as the brain or lungs. The Trivers–Willard hypothesis (TWH) predicts that boys are more vulnerable in the case of resource limitation than girls. Both hypotheses were tested in children from disrupted families, differing in the extent of deprivation/adversities imposed on them. Methodology In a retrospective cohort study in the mid-20th century Estonia (Juhan Aul’s database), different types of orphans and children of divorced parents (treatment groups; n = 106–1401) were compared with children from bi-parental families (control groups; n = 2548–8648) so that children from treatment groups were matched with control children on the basis of sex, age, year of birth, urban versus rural origin and socioeconomic position. Results Children in orphanages suffered strong growth suppression, best explained by psychosocial deprivation. Their feet were on average 0.5 SD shorter than the feet of the controls, followed by height, leg/torso ratio and cranial volume that differed from controls by ca 0.4 SD. Weight difference was 0.2 SD units, while body mass index did not differ from controls. The growth of boys and girls in orphanages was suppressed to the same extent. Boys whose mothers were dead were relatively smaller and less masculine than girls from such families. Fathers’ absence was unrelated to growth suppression. Sons of divorced parents had broader shoulders than boys whose fathers were dead. Conclusions and implications Prediction of TWH about the greater vulnerability of male growth may hold under some conditions but not universally. Predictions of the thrifty phenotype hypothesis were partly supported: trunk growth was spared at the expense of leg growth; however, no evidence for brain sparing was found. Comparison of children of divorced versus dead fathers may appear useful for indirect assessment of sexual selection on offspring quality. Lay Summary: Boys and girls in orphanages suffered similarly strong growth suppression, best explained by psychosocial deprivation. Boys whose mothers were dead were relatively smaller and less masculine than girls from such families. The occurrence of sex-specific associations between family structure and children’s growth depends on the type of family disruption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Valge
- Department of Zoology, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, Tartu 51014, Estonia
| | - Richard Meitern
- Department of Zoology, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, Tartu 51014, Estonia
| | - Peeter Hõrak
- Department of Zoology, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, Tartu 51014, Estonia
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André M, Brucato N, Plutniak S, Kariwiga J, Muke J, Morez A, Leavesley M, Mondal M, Ricaut FX. Phenotypic differences between highlanders and lowlanders in Papua New Guinea. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0253921. [PMID: 34288918 PMCID: PMC8294550 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Altitude is one of the most demanding environmental pressures for human populations. Highlanders from Asia, America and Africa have been shown to exhibit different biological adaptations, but Oceanian populations remain understudied [Woolcock et al., 1972; Cotes et al., 1974; Senn et al., 2010]. We tested the hypothesis that highlanders phenotypically differ from lowlanders in Papua New Guinea, as a result of inhabiting the highest mountains in Oceania for at least 20,000 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS We collected data for 13 different phenotypes related to altitude for 162 Papua New Guineans living at high altitude (Mont Wilhelm, 2,300-2,700 m above sea level (a.s.l.) and low altitude (Daru, <100m a.s.l.). Multilinear regressions were performed to detect differences between highlanders and lowlanders for phenotypic measurements related to body proportions, pulmonary function, and the circulatory system. RESULTS Six phenotypes were significantly different between Papua New Guinean highlanders and lowlanders. Highlanders show shorter height (p-value = 0.001), smaller waist circumference (p-value = 0.002), larger Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) (p-value = 0.008), larger maximal (p-value = 3.20e -4) and minimal chest depth (p-value = 2.37e -5) and higher haemoglobin concentration (p-value = 3.36e -4). DISCUSSION Our study reports specific phenotypes in Papua New Guinean highlanders potentially related to altitude adaptation. Similar to other human groups adapted to high altitude, the evolutionary history of Papua New Guineans appears to have also followed an adaptive biological strategy for altitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde André
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Tartumaa, Estonia
| | - Nicolas Brucato
- Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR5174), Université de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Sébastien Plutniak
- Laboratoire Travaux et Recherches Archéologiques sur les Cultures, les Espaces et les Sociétés (TRACES, UMR 5608), Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Maison de la Recherche, Toulouse, France
| | - Jason Kariwiga
- Strand of Anthropology, Sociology and Archaeology, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Australia, St Lucia, Australia
| | - John Muke
- Social Research Institute Ltd, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
| | - Adeline Morez
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Leavesley
- Strand of Anthropology, Sociology and Archaeology, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia
| | - Mayukh Mondal
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Tartumaa, Estonia
| | - François-Xavier Ricaut
- Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR5174), Université de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France
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Williamson H, Walsh C, Nel M, van den Berg L. Agreement between measured height, and height predicted from published equations, in adult South African patients. SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/16070658.2021.1932179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Williamson
- Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Corinna Walsh
- Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Mariette Nel
- Department of Biostatistics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Louise van den Berg
- Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
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Saco-Ledo G, Porta J, Monson TA, Brasil MF, Duyar I. Body proportions according to stature groups in elite athletes. Res Sports Med 2021; 30:516-528. [PMID: 33906546 DOI: 10.1080/15438627.2021.1917402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate whether body proportions change as stature increases in elite Spanish athletes. The sample includes a total of 2,030 participants, comprised of 1,357 adult males, and 673 adult females. The male athletes were classified into five groups by stature, and the female athletes were classified separately into four stature groups. Ten anthropometric measurements were collected, and eleven body proportions were calculated. The body proportions with significant differences between stature groups in males were relative arm length (0.53-1.60%), relative forearm length (0.69-2.08%), relative thigh length (1.17-1.56%), relative tibial length (1.37-6.39%), cormic index (-0.94 - -4.49%), Manouvrier index (1.60-9.60%), and crural index (1.05-4.79%). In females, the body proportions with significant differences were relative forearm length (1.43%), relative thigh length (1.94-3.88%), relative tibial length (2.74-4.56%), cormic index (-0.74 - -3.72%), and Manouvrier index (1.97-8.71%). The distal parts of the upper and lower limbs increase proportionally as stature increases, whereas relative hand and foot lengths, which are the most distal parts of the extremities, remain constant in elite athletes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Saco-Ledo
- Catalan School of Kinanthropometry, National Institute of Physical Education, University of Barcelona,Barcelona, Spain.,Bioenergy and Motion Analysis Laboratory, National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Jordi Porta
- Catalan School of Kinanthropometry, National Institute of Physical Education, University of Barcelona,Barcelona, Spain
| | - Tesla A Monson
- Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, USA
| | - Marianne F Brasil
- Human Evolution Research Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.,Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Izzet Duyar
- Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Letters, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
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Pomeroy E, Stock JT, Wells JCK. Population history and ecology, in addition to climate, influence human stature and body proportions. Sci Rep 2021; 11:274. [PMID: 33431970 PMCID: PMC7801440 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79501-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Worldwide variation in human stature and limb proportions is widely accepted to reflect thermal adaptation, but the contribution of population history to this variation is unknown. Furthermore, stature and relative lower limb length (LLL) show substantial plastic responses to environmental stressors, e.g., nutrition, pathogen load, which covary with climate. Thus ecogeographic patterns may go beyond temperature-based selection. We analysed global variation in stature, sitting height and absolute and relative LLL using large worldwide samples of published anthropometric data from adult male (n = 571) and female (n = 268) populations in relation to temperature, humidity, and net primary productivity (NPP). Population history was modeled using spatial eigenvector mapping based on geographic distances reflecting the hypothesized pattern for the spread of modern humans out of Africa. Regression models account for ~ 50% of variation in most morphological variables. Population history explains slightly more variation in stature, sitting height and LLL than the environmental/climatic variables. After adjusting for population history, associations between (usually maximum) temperature and LLL are consistent with Allen's "rule" and may drive similar relationships with stature. NPP is a consistent negative predictor of anthropometry, which may reflect the growth-limiting effects of lower environmental resource accessibility (inversely related to NPP) and/or pathogen load.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Pomeroy
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DZ, UK.
| | - Jay T Stock
- Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5C2, Canada
| | - Jonathan C K Wells
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, Great Ormond Street, London, WC1N 3JH, UK
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27
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Inter-relationships between percentage body fat, relative subischial leg length and body mass index among adolescents and adults from the Limbu community of Darjeeling, West Bengal. J Biosoc Sci 2020; 54:124-134. [PMID: 33292912 DOI: 10.1017/s0021932020000723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Leg length in humans is considered to be an indicator of the long-term impact of quality of childhood living conditions and nutritional status. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of association of percentage body fat (PBF) with relative subischial leg length (RSLL), adjusting for age, sex and body mass index (BMI), among adolescents and adults in a population of poor socioeconomic background in India. Data were taken from a cross-sectional study conducted in 2010-2014 among the Limbu community of Darjeeling, West Bengal - an indigenous community with poor socioeconomic background, low literacy rate, low income and inadequate living conditions. The study villages were located in the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions of Darjeeling. The present study sample comprised 97 adolescents aged 16-19 years (47 boys, 50 girls) and 260 adults aged 20-39 years (135 men, 125 women). Anthropometric measurements of stature/height (cm), weight (kg), sitting height (cm) and skinfold thicknesses (biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac) (mm) were recorded. Derived variables were BMI (kg/m2), subischial leg length (SLL) (cm), RSLL (%), sum of four skinfolds (mm) and PBF (%). Significant sex differences at p<0.05 were observed for all anthropometric characteristics, except for body weight among adolescents and RSLL, subscapular and sum of four skinfolds in adults. The linear regression models adjusting for age and sex showed that RSLL had a negative relationship with PBF (p<0.05) among adolescents and adults. Higher body fat, independent of BMI, was correlated with lower RSLL among both adolescents and adults from the Limbu community, indicating a possible association with poor quality living conditions in childhood. However, this may also have been due to the allometry of total body fat with body proportions - a relatively larger trunk results in more body fat.
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28
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Łopuszańska-Dawid M, Szklarska A. Growth change in Polish women: Reduction of the secular trends? PLoS One 2020; 15:e0242074. [PMID: 33253200 PMCID: PMC7703883 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the study was to analyse changes in the average height of adult Polish women born in 1931-2001 in the aspect of dynamically changing economic and socio-economic conditions of the living environment. An ethnically homogeneous group of 6,028 adult women from large Polish cities, born in 1931-2001, living between 1931 and 2020, were examined using the same research methods and research equipment. All women were divided into eight birth cohorts. The Kruskal-Wallis test and multiple regression analyses were used. Root Mean Square Standardized Effect (RMSSE), critical value of the test, and test power were calculated. The average height of women born during 70 years of the study increased by 9.63 cm, from 158.22 cm (SD = 5.57 cm) to 167.85 cm (SD = 6.91 cm) (H = 1084.84, p<0.001). The intensity of the intergenerational trend in subsequent cohorts of years of birth varied strongly between decades, averaging 1.34 cm/decade. The body height in women increased significantly up to the height of those born between 1970 and 1979 and then the trend weakened noticeably, although it remained positive. The observed secular trend confirms positive changes in the standard of living of Polish women between 1931 and 2020. Improving living conditions allow people to fully achieve their genetically determined growth potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Łopuszańska-Dawid
- Józef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Physical Education, Department of Human Biology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Alicja Szklarska
- Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw, Poland
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29
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Ham AC, Temple DH, Klaus HD, Hunt DR. Evaluating life history trade-offs through the presence of linear enamel hypoplasia at Pueblo Bonito and Hawikku: A biocultural study of early life stress and survival in the Ancestral Pueblo Southwest. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 33:e23506. [PMID: 32924230 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 08/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Due to the indelible nature of enamel, bioarchaeologists use linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) to detect early investments in surviving stress and have identified an association between LEH presence and constraints in growth and maintenance as well as an increased susceptibility to future stress events. This study evaluates heterogenous frailty and susceptibility to death in relation to episodes of early life stress, as reflected by LEH presence, in the Ancestral Pueblo Southwest. This study hypothesizes that LEH presence will be associated with decreased survivorship and an increased likelihood of mortality in both samples. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study uses two samples, one from Pueblo Bonito (A.D. 800-1200; n = 28) and the second from Hawikku (A.D. 1300-1680; n = 103). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with a log-rank test was used to evaluate the effect of LEH presence on survivorship for the two samples. RESULTS Survival analysis reveals statistically significant differences in mortality risk between individuals with and without LEH for the Hawikku sample, but no significant differences for the Pueblo Bonito sample. CONCLUSION The results demonstrate differences in the response to early life stress at the Hawikku and Pueblo Bonito sites, likely reflecting context. The Pueblo Bonito sample represents a high-status group, and survival following LEH may be the result of cultural buffering. Hawikku dates to a period associated with increased levels of disease and malnutrition as well as Spanish colonization. This environment may have exacerbated mortality risk for individuals in the region who survived early life stress and signifies the consequences of European colonialism in the New World.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison C Ham
- Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
| | - Daniel H Temple
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
| | - Haagen D Klaus
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
| | - David R Hunt
- Physical Anthropology Division, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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Rodrigues LA, Wellington MO, Sands JM, Weber LP, Olver TD, Ferguson DP, Columbus DA. Characterization of a Swine Model of Birth Weight and Neonatal Nutrient Restriction. Curr Dev Nutr 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/cdn/nzaa116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background
Evidence indicates that birth weight and neonatal nutrition have lifelong effects. Animal models are required to improve our understanding of these factors.
Objectives
We aimed to develop and validate a swine model of birth weight and neonatal undernutrition.
Methods
At birth, a total of 112 piglets were identified as low (LBW; 1.22 ± 0.28 kg SEM) or normal birth weight (NBW; 1.70 ± 0.27 kg). From day 3 to weaning (day 28), piglets received normal nutrition (NN) or restricted nutrition (RN) via intermittent suckling, where piglets were isolated from the sow for 6 h/d. After weaning, pigs were fed a common diet for 28 d. Body weight (BW) was determined for the duration of the study. On days 28 and 56, empty carcass, viscera, and individual organ weights were determined in 8 pigs/treatment.
Results
LBW pigs remained smaller than NBW pigs, regardless of nutrient restriction (P < 0.05). Within birth weight category, RN reduced BW by day 7 after birth, which was maintained until weaning (P < 0.05); however, at 7 d postweaning there was no difference in BW due to RN (P > 0.05). At weaning, empty carcass, viscera, heart, liver, and lung weights were lower in LBW than in NBW pigs, whereas empty carcass, heart, small intestine, liver, kidneys, lung, and spleen weights were lower in RN than in NN pigs (P < 0.05). Brain weight was highest in NBW-NN and lowest in NBW-RN, with LBW intermediate, regardless of nutrient restriction (P < 0.05). Postweaning, LBW had lower empty carcass, viscera, heart, stomach, large intestine, liver, and kidney weights than NBW, whereas RN had a higher small intestine weight than NN (P < 0.05).
Conclusions
Intermittent suckling is an effective means of inducing nutrient restriction in a swine model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas A Rodrigues
- Prairie Swine Centre, Inc., Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Michael O Wellington
- Prairie Swine Centre, Inc., Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Jade M Sands
- Prairie Swine Centre, Inc., Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Lynn P Weber
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - T Dylan Olver
- Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - David P Ferguson
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Daniel A Columbus
- Prairie Swine Centre, Inc., Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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31
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Shirley MK, Cole TJ, Arthurs OJ, Clark CA, Wells JC. Developmental origins of variability in pelvic dimensions: Evidence from nulliparous South Asian women in the United Kingdom. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 32:e23340. [PMID: 31755611 PMCID: PMC7154657 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Pelvic growth may be sensitive to early-life nutrition, with implications for maternal risk of obstructed labor. However, the "developmental origins" of adult pelvic variability require further investigation. We tested whether adult pelvic dimensions are associated with two components of height, indexing different periods of linear growth: tibia length, a proxy for early postnatal growth, and height-residual (height regressed on tibia length), a proxy for later growth. We also tested whether adult pelvic dimensions are associated with birth weight, a marker of nutritional investment in utero. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, data were obtained on 68 nulliparous young women of South Asian ancestry. Pelvic dimensions (bi-iliac and bi-acetabular breadth, anteroposterior pelvic inlet and outlet, interspinous and intertuberous diameter) were measured using magnetic resonance imaging. Height and tibia length were measured manually. Birth weight and gestational age were obtained by recall. Multivariable regression models were fitted with a given pelvic dimension regressed on height-residual, tibia, and birth weight, with the latter adjusted for gestational age. RESULTS Controlling for birth weight, height-residual was predictive of bi-acetabular breadth, bi-iliac breadth, and the pelvic inlet, while tibia length significantly predicted all dimensions except interspinous diameter. Controlling for the linear growth variables, birth weight was predictive of bi-iliac breadth only. CONCLUSIONS Markers of linear growth during both early and later development were associated with adult pelvic dimensions, whereas size at birth was poorly predictive. Efforts to reduce stunting in early life may facilitate the attainment of maximum potential growth for both height and the pelvis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan K. Shirley
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child HealthLondonUK
- School of Public HealthUniversity of São PauloSão PauloBrazil
| | - Tim J. Cole
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child HealthLondonUK
| | - Owen J. Arthurs
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child HealthLondonUK
- Department of RadiologyGreat Ormond Street HospitalLondonUK
| | - Chris A. Clark
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child HealthLondonUK
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Wells JCK, Stock JT. Life History Transitions at the Origins of Agriculture: A Model for Understanding How Niche Construction Impacts Human Growth, Demography and Health. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2020; 11:325. [PMID: 32508752 PMCID: PMC7253633 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2020.00325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Over recent millennia, human populations have regularly reconstructed their subsistence niches, changing both how they obtain food and the conditions in which they live. For example, over the last 12,000 years the vast majority of human populations shifted from foraging to practicing different forms of agriculture. The shift to farming is widely understood to have impacted several aspects of human demography and biology, including mortality risk, population growth, adult body size, and physical markers of health. However, these trends have not been integrated within an over-arching conceptual framework, and there is poor understanding of why populations tended to increase in population size during periods when markers of health deteriorated. Here, we offer a novel conceptual approach based on evolutionary life history theory. This theory assumes that energy availability is finite and must be allocated in competition between the functions of maintenance, growth, reproduction, and defence. In any given environment, and at any given stage during the life-course, natural selection favours energy allocation strategies that maximise fitness. We argue that the origins of agriculture involved profound transformations in human life history strategies, impacting both the availability of energy and the way that it was allocated between life history functions in the body. Although overall energy supply increased, the diet composition changed, while sedentary populations were challenged by new infectious burdens. We propose that this composite new ecological niche favoured increased energy allocation to defence (immune function) and reproduction, thus reducing the allocation to growth and maintenance. We review evidence in support of this hypothesis and highlight how further work could address both heterogeneity and specific aspects of the origins of agriculture in more detail. Our approach can be applied to many other transformations of the human subsistence niche, and can shed new light on the way that health, height, life expectancy, and fertility patterns are changing in association with globalization and nutrition transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C. K. Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Population, Policy and Practice Programme, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Jonathan C. K. Wells
| | - Jay T. Stock
- Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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Ríos L, Terán JM, Varea C, Bogin B. Plasticity in the growth of body segments in relation to height-for-age and maternal education in Guatemala. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 32:e23376. [PMID: 31854051 PMCID: PMC7507214 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives Plasticity in the growth of body segments between populations has been researched in relation to migration, temporal change and high‐altitude studies. We study the within population variation in body segments, thus controlling for some of the environmental and genetic differences that could be at play in between populations studies. We test a version of the thrifty phenotype hypothesis, where the growth of head‐trunk and hand are prioritized due to their functional significance over height and leg growth. Materials and methods A total of 3913 Guatemalan, rural, semi‐urban and urban, Maya and Ladino children 6 to 15 years old were studied. Height, sitting height, leg length, and metacarpal length were studied in relation to three proxies for living conditions: height‐ and leg length‐for‐age, and maternal education. Estimation statistics and null hypothesis significance testing were used to analyze the data. Results Metatarsal length and sitting height values were higher than height and leg length respectively. Relative metacarpal length was conserved across height‐for‐age groups. Females were less affected than males for metacarpal length and sitting height, but more affected for leg length. Conclusion Our results agree with the thrifty phenotype hypothesis, where metacarpal and sitting height growth would be prioritized over height and leg length due to greater functional significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Ríos
- Department of Physical Anthropology, Aranzadi Science Society, San Sebastian, Spain
| | - José Manuel Terán
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Varea
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Barry Bogin
- School of Sport, Exercise & Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
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Longman DP, Macintosh Murray A, Roberts R, Oakley S, Wells JC, Stock JT. Ultra-endurance athletic performance suggests that energetics drive human morphological thermal adaptation. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2019; 1:e16. [PMID: 37588394 PMCID: PMC10427320 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2019.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Both extinct and extant hominin populations display morphological features consistent with Bergmann's and Allen's Rules. However, the functional implications of the morphologies described by these ecological laws are poorly understood. We examined this through the lens of endurance running. Previous research concerning endurance running has focused on locomotor energetic economy. We considered a less-studied dimension of functionality, thermoregulation. The performance of male ultra-marathon runners (n = 88) competing in hot and cold environments was analysed with reference to expected thermoregulatory energy costs and the optimal morphologies predicted by Bergmann's and Allen's Rules. Ecogeographical patterning supporting both principles was observed in thermally challenging environments. Finishers of hot-condition events had significantly longer legs than finishers of cold-condition events. Furthermore, hot-condition finishers had significantly longer legs than those failing to complete hot-condition events. A degree of niche-picking was evident; athletes may have tailored their event entry choices in accordance with their previous race experiences. We propose that the interaction between prolonged physical exertion and hot or cold climates may induce powerful selective pressures driving morphological adaptation. The resulting phenotypes reduce thermoregulatory energetic expenditure, allowing diversion of energy to other functional outcomes such as faster running.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P. Longman
- School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University, LoughboroughLE11 3TU, UK
| | | | - Rebecca Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 3QG, UK
| | - Saskia Oakley
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 3QG, UK
| | - Jonathan C.K. Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Institute of Child Health, LondonWC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Jay T. Stock
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 3QG, UK
- Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, D-07745Jena, Germany
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Abstract
The human body grows in length from conception to the maximal adult height over two decades. The shortest male population averages ∼150 cm and the tallest ∼183 cm. Nonetheless the dimensions of head and trunk are highly comparable, with the vast difference in the leg length. Stunting is a personal condition in which an individual has a standing height-for-age (HAZ) of less than two standard deviations of the standard curve median. It is associated with increased mortality, morbidity, and functional deficits. The process of losing relative stature is known as linear growth retardation, first attributed to chronic protein deficiency, then to an assortment of micronutrient deficiencies, and most recently to inflammation from unhygienic environmental conditions. Public health intervention trials responding to each of these possibilities have failed to produce true reversal responses measured in the 10s of centimeters. As to biological insights, there is no convenient way to separate weight from length growth with sonographic monitoring, but a third of infants can be born stunted. Normative growth (standard curves) competes with epigenetic adaptation (programming) as the beacon for in utero growth. Major investments into field trials allow us to discard multiple micronutrients and water/sanitation/hygiene interventions as measures to reverse established stunting. The preponderance of evidence is against catch-up growth during puberty. Future publications will be in the conceptual domain, resolving metrics, while the full range of stimuli and exposures impeding growth will be elucidated. Advances in measurement techniques in anthropometry and immunology and endocrinology will be mobilized to the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noel W. Solomons
- Center for Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CeSSIAM), Guatemala City, Guatemala
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Anzellini A, Toyne JM. Estimating the stature of ancient high-altitude Andean populations from skeletal remains of the Chachapoya of Peru. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 171:539-549. [PMID: 31778212 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Previous studies have demonstrated the need for regionally specific stature estimation formulae due to the geographical specificity of limb proportionality related to the effects of environmental pressures on growth and development. High-altitude Andean populations have often been neglected in the creation of these formulae. This study uses a hybrid approach to create linear regression formulae for stature estimation and test their accuracy when compared previously published formulae traditionally used in Andean bioarchaeology. MATERIALS AND METHODS We studied a sample from a high-altitude Andean population to create linear regression formulae based on anatomical estimates of stature from the femur, tibia, and calcaneus and compare the newly created formulae with those traditionally employed in Andean bioarchaeology. We also examine the reliability of calcanei in stature estimation by creating and testing regression formulae based on metrics from that element. RESULTS We include specific formulae accurate to within 1 cm of anatomical stature estimates using femoral, tibial, and calcaneal metrics. These formulae provide estimates that are closer to anatomical stature than those traditionally used in the Andes. ANOVA results were statistically significant for differences between Andean-derived and Mesoamerican-derived formulae. DISCUSSION Although regionally proximate (mid-altitude) formulae provide estimates approximating population-specific formulae, those created from geographically distant populations from sites at or near sea-level are inappropriate in high-altitude studies. Like some previous studies on stature, we found that the most accurate estimates were based on the tibia rather than the femur and that the calcaneus can be used reliably in stature estimation when no other element is present or measurable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armando Anzellini
- Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
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Kryst Ł, Żegleń M, Dasgupta P, Saha R, Das R, Das S. Secular changes in limb lengths and proportions from 1952 to 2011 in children, adolescents, and young adults from Kolkata (India). Am J Hum Biol 2019; 32:e23335. [PMID: 31617273 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2019] [Revised: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to investigate the intergenerational changes of upper and lower limb lengths as well as the values of the upper, lower limb, and intermembral indicators of children, adolescents, and young adults from Kolkata (India) between 1952 to 1966 and 2005 to 2011. METHODS The analysis was based on the results of anthropometric measurements of 7488 Bengali children, adolescents, and young adults. They were included in three cross-sectional surveys, carried out in 1955 to 1966, 1982 to 1983 (only males), and 2005 to 2011. The upper and lower limb lengths were obtained and the upper and lower limb indicators, as well as an intermembral index, were calculated. The differences between the cohorts were assessed using two-way ANOVA. RESULTS Positive, statistically significant, secular trends regarding the length of the lower and upper limbs as well as the value of the lower limb index were observed. Negative intergenerational changes were noted for the values of the upper limb indicator and intermembral index, suggesting that the secular increase of the length of the upper limbs was less pronounced than those of the body height and lower limbs length. CONCLUSIONS The secular increase regarding the lower limbs length was associated with the socioeconomic progress of the country, but the length of the upper limbs was less sensitive for those factors. It is also important to mention that there is still very little information on those characteristics in general, which further proves the need for similar studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Łukasz Kryst
- Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Department of Anthropology, University of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland
| | - Magdalena Żegleń
- Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Department of Anthropology, University of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland
| | - Parasmani Dasgupta
- Biological Anthropology Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India
| | - Rana Saha
- Department of Anthropology, Dinabandhu Mahavidyalaya, Bongaon, West Bengal, India
| | - Rituparna Das
- Biological Anthropology Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India
| | - Sukanta Das
- Department of Anthropology, North Bengal University, West Bengal, India
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Nahar B, Hossain M, Mahfuz M, Islam MM, Hossain MI, Murray-Kolb LE, Seidman JC, Ahmed T. Early childhood development and stunting: Findings from the MAL-ED birth cohort study in Bangladesh. MATERNAL AND CHILD NUTRITION 2019; 16:e12864. [PMID: 31237738 PMCID: PMC7038907 DOI: 10.1111/mcn.12864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2018] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Information on the association between stunting and child development is limited from low‐income settings including Bangladesh where 36% of children under‐ 5 are stunted. This study aimed to explore differences in early childhood development (ECD) between stunted (length‐for‐age z‐score [LAZ] < −2) and nonstunted (LAZ ≥ −2) children in Bangladesh. Children (n = 265) aged 6–24 months who participated in the MAL‐ED birth cohort study were evaluated by trained psychologists at 6, 15, and 24 months of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development‐III; child length and weight were measured using standard procedures. ECD scores (z‐scores derived from cognitive, motor, language and socio‐emotional skills) were compared between stunted, underweight (weight‐for‐age z‐score < −2), and wasted (weight‐for‐length z‐score < −2) children, controlling for child age and sex and maternal age, education, body mass index (BMI), and depressive symptoms. Stunted children had significantly lower ECD scores than their nonstunted peers on cognitive (P = .049), motor (P < .001), language (P < .001) and social–emotional (P = .038) scales where boys had significantly lower fine motor skills compared with girls (P = .027). Mother's schooling and BMI were significant predictors of ECD. Similar to stunting, underweight children had developmental deficits in all domains (cognitive: P = .001; fine motor: P = .039, and P < .001 for both gross motor and total motor; expressive communication: P = .032; total language: P = .013; social–emotional development: P = .017). Wasted children had poor motor skills (P = .006 for the fine motor; P < .001 for both gross motor and total motor development) compared with the nonwasted peers. Early childhood stunting and underweight were associated with poor developmental outcomes in Bangladesh.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baitun Nahar
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division (NCSD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Muttaquina Hossain
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division (NCSD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Mustafa Mahfuz
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division (NCSD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - M Munirul Islam
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division (NCSD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Md Iqbal Hossain
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division (NCSD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Laura E Murray-Kolb
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| | - Jessica C Seidman
- Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Tahmeed Ahmed
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division (NCSD), International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.,James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Irwin MT, Samonds KE, Raharison JL, Junge RE, Mahefarisoa KL, Rasambainarivo F, Godfrey LR, Glander KE. Morphometric signals of population decline in diademed sifakas occupying degraded rainforest habitat in Madagascar. Sci Rep 2019; 9:8776. [PMID: 31217457 PMCID: PMC6584568 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45426-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic habitat change can have varied impacts on primates, including both negative and positive outcomes. Even when behavioural shifts are seen, they may reflect decreased health, or simply behavioural flexibility; understanding this distinction is important for conservation efforts. This study examines habitat-related variation in adult and immature morphometrics among diademed sifakas (Propithecus diadema). We collected morphometric data from sifakas at Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar (19 years, 188 captures, 113 individuals). Captures spanned 12 groups, five within continuous forest ("CONT"), and seven in degraded fragments ("FRAG") where sifakas have lower nutritional intakes. Few consistent differences were found between CONT and FRAG groups. However, using home range quality as a covariate rather than a CONT/FRAG dichotomy revealed a threshold: the two FRAG groups in the lowest-quality habitat showed low adult mass and condition (wasting), and low immature mass and length (stunting). Though less-disturbed fragments apparently provide viable habitat, we suggest the sifakas in the most challenging habitats cannot evolve fast enough to keep up with such rapid habitat change. We suggest other long-lived organisms will show similar morphometric "warning signs" (wasting in adults, stunting in immatures); selected morphometric variables can thus be useful at gauging vulnerability of populations in the face of anthropogenic change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell T Irwin
- Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, 60115, USA.
| | - Karen E Samonds
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, 60115, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Laurie R Godfrey
- Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Kenneth E Glander
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
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Waxenbaum EB, Warren MW, Holliday TW, Byrd JE, Cole TM. Ecogeographic patterns in fetal limb proportions. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 169:93-103. [PMID: 30848485 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Humans generally comply with the ecological rule of Allen (1877), with populations from tropical environments exhibiting body proportions in which limb segments are long relative to trunk height compared to temperate groups. This study tests whether ecogeographic differences in intralimb proportions are identifiable among two modern fetal samples of differing ancestry. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data are derived from radiographic measurements of long bone diaphyseal length and crown-heel length (CHL) of contemporary, spontaneously aborted fetuses of African Americans ("black") of assumed African (tropical) ancestry and European Americans ("white") of assumed European (temperate) ancestry (n = 184). Population individual limb elements, brachial, and crural indices are compared via analyses of covariance (ANCOVA). Potential patterns of divergent allometric growth are quantified through principal components analysis (PCA). RESULTS African ancestral distal limb elements were consistently, albeit slightly, longer than those of European ancestry, relative to CHL. None of the ANCOVA interactions with ancestry are statistically significant for limb indices. The radius was the only single element that displayed a statistically significant ancestry effect (p = 0.0435) equating to a 1 mm difference. PCA highlights that upper limbs demonstrate negative allometry and lower limbs demonstrate positive allometry with sample-specific multivariate growth patterns being nearly identical. Differences in growth allometry late in gestation make little contribution to observed differences in adult limb proportions. DISCUSSION No statistically significant ecogeographic patterns were appreciated among intralimb proportions between these groups during the fetal period. This study contributes to a greater appreciation of phenotypic plasticity, ecogeographic variation in ontogeny, and the evolution of modern human diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin B Waxenbaum
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Michael W Warren
- Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Trenton W Holliday
- Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, Republic of South Africa
| | - John E Byrd
- Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Central Identification Laboratory, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
| | - Theodore M Cole
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri - Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri
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Newman SL, Gowland RL, Caffell AC. North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 169:104-121. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sophie L. Newman
- Department of ArchaeologyDurham University Durham United Kingdom
- Department of ArchaeologyUniversity of Sheffield Sheffield United Kingdom
| | | | - Anwen C. Caffell
- Department of ArchaeologyDurham University Durham United Kingdom
- York Osteoarchaeology Ltd York United Kingdom
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Koziel S, Gomula A, Malina RM. Sex-dependent effect of post-migration adaptation on height and relative lower leg length in Polish youth. Ann Hum Biol 2019; 46:27-34. [PMID: 30696279 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2019.1574897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Growth in tibia length is considered to be particularly sensitive to environmental stress. AIM To estimate the effect of parental migration status on the relative length of the tibia in their school-age children. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Data included a nationwide random sample of 17,155 schoolchildren, 7-18 years of age, examined between 1966 and 1969 in Poland who provided information on anthropometric measurements and demographic and social characteristics. Parental migration status was based on paternal migration history. After standardisation by LMS method, z-scores of relative tibia length and z-scores of height were used for analysis. Three-way ANOVA was used to evaluate the influence of migration on tibia length-to-height ratio. RESULTS Sons of migrants have a significantly higher tibia length-to-height ratio compared to sons of non-migrants. Children of non-migrants were taller than children of migrants among boys in medium SES and among girls in high and low SES. Relative tibia length indicated significant effects of migration among boys in all age categories and in late adolescent girls: sons of migrants had a higher ratio and daughters of migrants had a lower tibia length-to-height ratio. CONCLUSION It is possible that migration experiences of the parents may have influenced the growth of their offspring. The results emphasise the potential importance of research addressing the impact of different types of migration on growth of children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Slawomir Koziel
- a Department of Anthropology , Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy Polish Academy of Sciences , Wroclaw , Poland
| | - Aleksandra Gomula
- a Department of Anthropology , Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy Polish Academy of Sciences , Wroclaw , Poland
| | - Robert M Malina
- b Department of Kinesiology and Health Education , University of Texas , Austin , TX , USA
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Hamed MS, El-Sherbeny AA, El-Din AMB. Prepubertal IGF-1 and Possible Relation with Physical Features of Growth and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Curr Diabetes Rev 2019; 15:420-428. [PMID: 30727902 DOI: 10.2174/1573399815666190206161230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND T1DM is considered as the most common chronic metabolic autoimmune disorder in childhood and adolescence as well as in the early adulthood. It appears frequently during 12- 13 years of age with distinctive features like immune-mediated chronic damage of pancreatic β-cells, leading eventually to partial, or mostly, absolute insulin deficiency. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a polypeptide consisting of 70 amino acids with insulin-like chemical structure. In most cases, IGF-1 is a reliable growth marker and an anabolic one in adults. It plays an important role in the regulation of various physiological functions, e.g., glucose metabolism, cell survival and proliferation. OBJECTIVES To compare the levels of IGF-1 in children having type-1 diabetes with that of healthy controls and also to determine whether there is a relationship between IGF-1 and physical features in T1DM. PATIENTS AND METHODS The current study was conducted on 85 children of both sexes. Seventy patients were less than 12 years old with T1DMselected according to ADA 2014 criteria for diagnosis of diabetes from pediatric diabetes clinic at Ain Shams University hospital. All patients were divided into 2 groups based on the duration of diabetes to T1DM>1year duration and T1DM<1year duration and they were compared with fifteen normal children, attending the pediatric general clinics as a control group. Measurements of height, weight, and arm span, upper body segment, lower body segment, and body mass index, parents' height beside Fasting blood glucose, HbA1C, IGF-1, FSH, and LH were noted. RESULTS Height percentile significantly higher inT1DM less than 1 year median 50 (10 to 75) than T1DM more than one year (median10 (3 to 44) p-value 0.007). IGF-1 level in the group of T1DM less than 1year median 90 (70 to 110) (ng/ml) was significantly lower than other groups (p-value 0.0008). IGF1 has a significant positive relation with Aram span in group T1DM more than 1year (p-value 0.024), positive significant relationship between mother height and IGF-1 level in group T1DM less than 1 year (p-value 0.013). CONCLUSION IGF-1 level is reduced by the recent onset of T1DM but still it has some effect on the somatic features even in the presence of longstanding diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Saad Hamed
- Internal Medicine Department, Endocrinology Unit, Ain Shams University Hospitals, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Alyaa Ahmed El-Sherbeny
- Internal Medicine Department, Endocrinology Unit, Ain Shams University Hospitals, Cairo, Egypt
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Payne S, Kumar BC R, Pomeroy E, Macintosh A, Stock J. Thrifty phenotype versus cold adaptation: trade-offs in upper limb proportions of Himalayan populations of Nepal. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:172174. [PMID: 30110416 PMCID: PMC6030304 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.172174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The multi-stress environment of high altitude has been associated with growth deficits in humans, particularly in zeugopod elements (forearm and lower leg). This is consistent with the thrifty phenotype hypothesis, which has been observed in Andeans, but has yet to be tested in other high-altitude populations. In Himalayan populations, other factors, such as cold stress, may shape limb proportions. The current study investigated whether relative upper limb proportions of Himalayan adults (n = 254) differ between highland and lowland populations, and whether cold adaptation or a thrifty phenotype mechanism may be acting here. Height, weight, humerus length, ulna length, hand length and hand width were measured using standard methods. Relative to height, total upper limb and ulna lengths were significantly shorter in highlanders compared with lowlanders in both sexes, while hand and humerus length were not. Hand width did not significantly differ between populations. These results support the thrifty phenotype hypothesis, as hand and humerus proportions are conserved at the expense of the ulna. The reduction in relative ulna length could be attributed to cold adaptation, but the lack of difference between populations in both hand length and width indicates that cold adaptation is not shaping hand proportions in this case.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Payne
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Emma Pomeroy
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Alison Macintosh
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jay Stock
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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Versluys TMM, Foley RA, Skylark WJ. The influence of leg-to-body ratio, arm-to-body ratio and intra-limb ratio on male human attractiveness. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171790. [PMID: 29892373 PMCID: PMC5990728 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Human mate choice is influenced by limb proportions. Previous work has focused on leg-to-body ratio (LBR) as a determinant of male attractiveness and found a preference for limbs that are close to, or slightly above, the average. We investigated the influence of two other key aspects of limb morphology: arm-to-body ratio (ABR) and intra-limb ratio (IR). In three studies of heterosexual women from the USA, we tested the attractiveness of male physiques that varied in LBR, ABR and IR, using figures that ranged from -3 to +3 standard deviations from the population mean. We replicated previous work by finding that the optimally attractive LBR is approximately 0.5 standard deviations above the baseline. We also found a weak effect of IR, with evidence of a weak preference for the baseline proportions. In contrast, there was no effect of ABR on attractiveness, and no interactions between the effects of LBR, ABR and IR. Our results indicate that ABR is not an important determinant of human mate choice for this population, and that IR may exert some influence but that this is much smaller than the effects of LBR. We discuss possible reasons for these results, including the limited variability in upper limb proportions and the potentially weak fitness-signal provided by this aspect of morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert A. Foley
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Payne S, Macintosh A, Stock J. The influence of digit size and proportions on dexterity during cold exposure. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 166:875-883. [PMID: 29676438 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Revised: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The current study investigated whether size and proportions of the hands and digits affect dexterity during severe cold exposure. As wide hands are known to lose less heat than narrow hands, and narrow digits are associated with greater dexterity, this study aimed to test whether there was a direct trade-off between dexterity and thermoregulation that shapes hand morphology. METHODS Participants (25 women, 15 men) carried out the Purdue Pegboard test before and after a 3-min ice-water immersion of the hand. Their hand length, hand width, digit lengths, and digit widths were measured using standard anthropometric methods. RESULTS Wide first and third digits associated with significantly reduced dexterity after immersion relative to individuals with narrower first and third digits. Second digit width positively correlated with average digit temperature after immersion. Hand length and hand width did not influence dexterity. CONCLUSION The current study suggests that digit width influences dexterity in cold conditions, reflecting patterns found at room temperature. Hand and digit morphology may be the product of two significant constraints on the hand: dexterity and thermoregulation. In cold conditions, hand morphology appears to be predominantly constrained by thermal stress, at the expense of dexterity. This may have important implications for interpreting the morphology of extinct and extant hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Payne
- PAVE Research Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3EX, United Kingdom
| | - Alison Macintosh
- PAVE Research Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3EX, United Kingdom
| | - Jay Stock
- PAVE Research Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3EX, United Kingdom.,Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5C2, Canada
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Payne S, Macintosh A, Stock J. The thermoregulatory function of the human hand: How do palm and digit proportions affect heat loss? AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 166:803-811. [PMID: 29603137 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Revised: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The current study assessed whether ecogeographical patterns seen in hand proportions correlate with heat loss directly. Using a brief severe cold immersion experiment on the hand, the influence of hand and digit dimensions on heat loss was evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS A sample of 113 living individuals were tested. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional scanning techniques were used to assess hand and digit dimensions. Thermal imaging analysis was used to quantify heat loss during a 3-min ice-water immersion of the hands. RESULTS When body size was accounted for, hand width and digit length relative to total hand length were significant predictors of heat loss from the hand. DISCUSSION The current study provides empirical evidence to support the link between thermodynamic principles relating to surface area-to-volume ratio, and ecogeographical patterns associated with temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Payne
- PAVE Research Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3EX, United Kingdom
| | - Alison Macintosh
- PAVE Research Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3EX, United Kingdom
| | - Jay Stock
- PAVE Research Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3EX, United Kingdom.,Department of Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5C2, Canada
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Antón SC, Kuzawa CW. Early Homo, plasticity and the extended evolutionary synthesis. Interface Focus 2017; 7:20170004. [PMID: 28839926 PMCID: PMC5566814 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2017.0004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The Modern Synthesis led to fundamental advances in understandings of human evolution. For human palaeontology, a science that works from ancestral phenotypes (i.e. the fossil record), particularly important have been perspectives used to help understand the heritable aspects of phenotypes and how fossil individuals might then be aggregated into species, and relationships among these groups understood. This focus, coupled with the fragmentary nature of the fossil record, however, means that individual phenotypic variation is often treated as unimportant 'noise', rather than as a source of insight into population adaptation and evolutionary process. The emphasis of the extended evolutionary synthesis on plasticity as a source of phenotypic novelty, and the related question of the role of such variation in long-term evolutionary trends, focuses welcome attention on non-genetic means by which novel phenotypes are generated and in so doing provides alternative approaches to interpreting the fossil record. We review evidence from contemporary human populations regarding some of the aspects of adult phenotypes preserved in the fossil record that might be most responsive to non-genetic drivers, and we consider how these perspectives lead to alternate hypotheses for interpreting the fossil record of early genus Homo. We conclude by arguing that paying closer attention to the causes and consequences of intraspecific phenotypic variation in its own right, as opposed to as noise around a species mean, may inspire a new generation of hypotheses regarding species diversity in the Early Pleistocene and the foundations for dispersal and regional diversification in Homo erectus and its descendants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan C. Antón
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Christopher W. Kuzawa
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, 1810 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
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Versluys TMM, Skylark WJ. The effect of leg-to-body ratio on male attractiveness depends on the ecological validity of the figures. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:170399. [PMID: 29134061 PMCID: PMC5666244 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Leg-to-body ratio (LBR) predicts evolutionary fitness, and is therefore expected to influence bodily attractiveness. Previous investigations of LBR attractiveness have used a wide variety of stimuli, including line drawings, silhouettes, and computer-generated images based on anthropometric data. In two studies, community samples of heterosexual women from the USA rated the attractiveness of male figures presented as silhouettes and as detailed computer-generated images with three different skin tones (white, black, and an artificial grey). The effects of LBR depended on the image format. In particular, a curve-fitting analysis indicated that the optimally-attractive LBR for silhouettes was fractionally below the baseline, whereas the optima for more detailed computer-generated images was approximately 0.5 s.d. above the baseline and was similar for all three skin-tones. In addition, the participants' sensitivity to changes in the LBR was lowest for the silhouettes and highest for the grey figures. Our results add to evidence that the most attractive LBR is close to, but slightly above, the population mean, and caution that the effects of limb proportions on attractiveness depend on the ecological validity of the figures.
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Nieczuja-Dwojacka J, Siniarska A, Sikorska S, Kozieł S. Body structure and maturation – the association with environmental factors. ANTHROPOLOGICAL REVIEW 2017. [DOI: 10.1515/anre-2017-0009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The main objective of the study was to determine the relationship between physique, maturation and some environmental factors. The study was conducted in Warsaw, between 2012 and 2013 in randomly selected schools. The material included 171 girls, aged 12–20 years. Body height and weight, upper and lower extremity length, subcutaneous fat folds on arm, subscapular and abdominal, circumferences of arm, chest, waist and hip were measured. Body proportion indices were calculated. The questionnaire form provided information on parental education and profession, and the number of children in family. Girls were asked about age at menarche, number of daily meals, level of physical activity, participation is sport, and level of stress at home and at school. The principal component analysis was applied and 4 factors were extracted from the set of living condition characteristics (F1 – Parental education & father’s occupation, F2 – Mother’s occupation and the number of children, F3 – Stress, F4 – Physical activity and number of daily meals). Regression analysis allowed to evaluate the association of body build characteristics and age at menarche with the four factors. Factor 1 and 4 were the only ones which showed a statistically significant association with body build. The results showed that girls who were taller, with smaller arm and waist circumferences and less adiposity came from families with higher parental education and better father’s profession. Taller stature, longer legs and less adiposity characterized girls who were more physically active and consumed more than three meals a day.
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