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Ruff CB, Wallace IJ, Toya C, Muñoz MAP, Meyer JV, Busby T, Reynolds AZ, Martinez J, Miller-Moore M, Rios R. The effects of the industrial transition on lower limb bone structure: A comparison of the inhabitants of Pecos Pueblo and present-day Indigenous peoples of New Mexico. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 184:e24922. [PMID: 38409941 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24922] [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: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Comparisons between Indigenous peoples over time and within a particular geographic region can shed light on the impact of environmental transitions on the skeleton, including relative bone strength, sexual dimorphism, and age-related changes. Here we compare long bone structural properties of the inhabitants of the late prehistoric-early historic Pecos Pueblo with those of present-day Indigenous individuals from New Mexico. MATERIALS AND METHODS Femora and tibiae of 126 adults from Pecos Pueblo and 226 present-day adults were included in the study. Cross-sectional diaphyseal properties-areas and second moments of area-were obtained from past studies of the Pecos Pueblo skeletal sample, and from computed tomography scans of recently deceased individuals in the present-day sample. RESULTS Femora and tibiae from Pecos individuals are stronger relative to body size than those of present-day Indigenous individuals. Present-day individuals are taller but not wider, and this body shape difference affects cross-sectional shape, more strongly proximally. The tibia shows anteroposterior strengthening among Pecos individuals, especially among males. Sexual dimorphism in midshaft bone shape is stronger within the Pecos Pueblo sample. With aging, Pecos individuals show more medullary expansion but also more subperiosteal expansion than present-day individuals, maintaining bone strength despite cortical thinning. DISCUSSION Higher activity levels, carried out over rough terrain and throughout adult life, likely explain the relatively stronger lower limb bones of the Pecos individuals, as well as their greater subperiosteal expansion with aging. Greater sexual dimorphism in bone structure among Pecos individuals potentially reflects greater gender-based differences in behavioral patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Ian J Wallace
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | | | | | - Jana Valesca Meyer
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Taylor Busby
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Adam Z Reynolds
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Jordan Martinez
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Marcus Miller-Moore
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Roberto Rios
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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Nanda A, Logan A, Tennyson RL. The influence of perceived stress and motivation on telomere length among NCAA swimmers. Am J Hum Biol 2024:e24091. [PMID: 38747360 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Telomere length (TL) shortening is associated with increased cellular senescence and functional decline with age. Regular physical activity is posited to safeguard against TL shortening, but there is disagreement on how concurrent psychosocial stress may influence this relationship. The current analysis explored whether psychosocial stress is associated with TL differences in highly physically active individuals. METHODS TL was measured from capillary dried blood spots collected from Division-I (D-1) and Division-III (D-3) National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) swimmers (N = 28) and non-athlete students from the same schools (N = 15). All participants completed Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and student-athletes completed an additional questionnaire to assess psychosocial factors associated with their lifestyle; The Student Athletes' Motivation towards Sports and Academics Questionnaire (SAMSAQ). Semi-structured interviews further contextualized how student-athletes internalize their stress. RESULTS There was no significant difference in TL or PSS scores between swimmers and controls. D-1 swimmers reported significantly higher career and student-athlete motivation scores compared to D-3, but non-significantly higher PSS and similar academic motivation scores. Themes from interviews with collegiate swimmers included COVID-19 stress, fear of injury, pressure from academics, expectations to perform, and financial pressures. CONCLUSIONS These themes may have contributed to higher PSS scores in D-1 swimmers compared to D-3 but did not appear to impact their TL. Given differences in perceived stress, sources of stress, and SAMSAQ scores, further analyses with larger sample sizes are needed to better understand how these factors influence human biology and health while engaged in intense physical activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anamika Nanda
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Alvin Logan
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Robert L Tennyson
- Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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3
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Trumble BC, Negrey J, Koebele SV, Thompson RC, Samuel Wann L, Allam AH, Beheim B, Linda Sutherland M, Sutherland JD, Eid Rodriguez D, Michalik DE, Rowan CJ, Lombardi GP, Garcia AR, Cummings DK, Seabright E, Alami S, Kraft TS, Hooper P, Buetow K, Irimia A, Gatz M, Stieglitz J, Gurven MD, Kaplan H, Thomas GS. Testosterone is positively associated with coronary artery calcium in a low cardiovascular disease risk population. Evol Med Public Health 2023; 11:472-484. [PMID: 38145005 PMCID: PMC10746324 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoad039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Background In industrialized populations, low male testosterone is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular mortality. However, coronary risk factors like obesity impact both testosterone and cardiovascular outcomes. Here, we assess the role of endogenous testosterone on coronary artery calcium in an active subsistence population with relatively low testosterone levels, low cardiovascular risk and low coronary artery calcium scores. Methodology In this cross-sectional community-based study, 719 Tsimane forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon aged 40+ years underwent computed tomography (49.8% male, mean age 57.6 years). Results Coronary artery calcium levels were low; 84.5% had no coronary artery calcium. Zero-inflated negative binomial models found testosterone was positively associated with coronary artery calcium for the full sample (Incidence Rate Ratio [IRR] = 1.477, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.001-2.170, P = 0.031), and in a male-only subset (IRR = 1.532, 95% CI 0.993-2.360, P = 0.053). Testosterone was also positively associated with clinically relevant coronary atherosclerosis (calcium >100 Agatston units) in the full sample (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.984, 95% CI 1.202-3.275, P = 0.007) and when limited to male-only sample (OR = 2.032, 95% CI 1.118-4.816, P = 0.024). Individuals with coronary artery calcium >100 had 20% higher levels of testosterone than those with calcium <100 (t = -3.201, P = 0.007). Conclusions and Implications Among Tsimane, testosterone is positively associated with coronary artery calcium despite generally low normal testosterone levels, minimal atherosclerosis and rare cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Associations between low testosterone and CVD events in industrialized populations are likely confounded by obesity and other lifestyle factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C Trumble
- Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Institute of Human Origins, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Jacob Negrey
- Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Institute of Human Origins, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Stephanie V Koebele
- Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Institute of Human Origins, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Randall C Thompson
- Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Department of Cardiology, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - L Samuel Wann
- University of New Mexico, School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Adel H Allam
- Al Azhar University, School of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Bret Beheim
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | | | | | - David E Michalik
- University of California Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Miller Women’s and Children’s Hospital Long Beach, CA, USA
| | | | - Guido P Lombardi
- Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Laboratorio de Paleopatología, Lima, Peru
| | - Angela R Garcia
- Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Institute of Human Origins, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | | | - Edmond Seabright
- Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, School of Collective Intelligence, Ben Guerir, Morocco
| | - Sarah Alami
- Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, School of Collective Intelligence, Ben Guerir, Morocco
| | - Thomas S Kraft
- University of Utah, Anthropology Department, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Paul Hooper
- Chapman University, Economic Science Institute, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Kenneth Buetow
- Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Institute of Human Origins, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Andrei Irimia
- University of Southern California, Psychology Department, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Margaret Gatz
- University of Southern California, Psychology Department, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan Stieglitz
- Toulouse Scool of Economics, Institute for Advanced Study Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Michael D Gurven
- University of California Santa Barbara, Department of Anthropology, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Chapman University, Economic Science Institute, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Gregory S Thomas
- MemorialCare Health System, Fountain Valley, CA, USA
- University of California Irvine, Division of Cardiology, Orange, CA, USA
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Caldwell AE, Cummings DK, Hooper PL, Trumble BC, Gurven M, Stieglitz J, Davis HE, Kaplan H. Adolescence is characterized by more sedentary behaviour and less physical activity even among highly active forager-farmers. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231764. [PMID: 37909080 PMCID: PMC10618868 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Over 80% of adolescents worldwide are insufficiently active, posing massive public health and economic challenges. Declining physical activity (PA) and sex differences in PA consistently accompany transitions from childhood to adulthood in post-industrialized populations and are attributed to psychosocial and environmental factors. An overarching evolutionary theoretical framework and data from pre-industrialized populations are lacking. This cross-sectional study tests hypotheses from life history theory, that adolescent PA is inversely related to age, but this association is mediated by Tanner stage, reflecting higher and sex-specific energetic demands for growth and reproductive maturation. Detailed measures of PA and pubertal maturation are assessed among Tsimane forager-farmers (age: 7-22 years; 50% female, n = 110). Most Tsimane sampled (71%) meet World Health Organization PA guidelines (greater than or equal to 60 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA). Like post-industrialized populations, sex differences and inverse age-activity associations were observed. Tanner stage significantly mediated age-activity associations. Adolescence presents difficulties to PA engagement that warrant further consideration in PA intervention approaches to improve public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann E. Caldwell
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | | | - Paul L. Hooper
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Benjamin C. Trumble
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan Stieglitz
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Université Toulouse 1 Capitole Toulouse, France
| | - Helen E. Davis
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
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Trumble BC, Pontzer H, Stieglitz J, Cummings DK, Wood B, Emery Thompson M, Raichlen D, Beheim B, Yetish G, Kaplan H, Gurven M. Energetic costs of testosterone in two subsistence populations. Am J Hum Biol 2023; 35:e23949. [PMID: 37365845 PMCID: PMC10749987 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Testosterone plays a role in mediating energetic trade-offs between growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Investments in a high testosterone phenotype trade-off against other functions, particularly survival-enhancing immune function and cellular repair; thus only individuals in good condition can maintain both a high testosterone phenotype and somatic maintenance. While these effects are observed in experimental manipulations, they are difficult to demonstrate in free-living animals, particularly in humans. We hypothesize that individuals with higher testosterone will have higher energetic expenditures than those with lower testosterone. METHODS Total energetic expenditure (TEE) was quantified using doubly labeled water in n = 40 Tsimane forager-horticulturalists (50% male, 18-87 years) and n = 11 Hadza hunter-gatherers (100% male, 18-65 years), two populations living subsistence lifestyles, high levels of physical activity, and high infectious burden. Urinary testosterone, TEE, body composition, and physical activity were measured to assess potential physical and behavioral costs associated with a high testosterone phenotype. RESULTS Endogenous male testosterone was significantly associated with energetic expenditure, controlling for fat free mass; a one standard deviation increase in testosterone is associated with the expenditure of an additional 96-240 calories per day. DISCUSSION These results suggest that a high testosterone phenotype, while beneficial for male reproduction, is also energetically expensive and likely only possible to maintain in healthy males in robust condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Daniel K Cummings
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA
| | - Brian Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | - David Raichlen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Bret Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gandhi Yetish
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
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6
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Sayre MK, Anyawire M, Paolo B, Mabulla AZP, Pontzer H, Wood BM, Raichlen DA. Lifestyle and patterns of physical activity in Hadza foragers. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 182:340-356. [PMID: 37728135 PMCID: PMC10720916 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24846] [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: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Physically active lifestyles are associated with several health benefits. Physical activity (PA) levels are low in post-industrial populations, but generally high throughout life in subsistence populations. The Hadza are a subsistence-oriented foraging population in Tanzania known for being physically active, but it is unknown how recent increases in market integration may have altered their PA patterns. In this study, we examine PA patterns for Hadza women and men who engage in different amounts of traditional foraging. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and seventy seven Hadza participants (51% female, 19-87 years) wore an Axivity accelerometer (dominant wrist) for ~6 days during dry season months. We evaluated the effects of age, sex, and lifestyle measures on four PA measures that capture different aspects of the PA profile. RESULTS Participants engaged in high levels of both moderate-intensity PA and inactivity. Although PA levels were negatively associated with age, older participants were still highly active. We found no differences in PA between participants living in more traditional "bush" camps and those living in more settled "village" camps. Mobility was positively associated with step counts for female participants, and schooling was positively associated with inactive time for male participants. CONCLUSIONS The similarity in PA patterns between Hadza participants in different camp types suggests that high PA levels characterize subsistence lifestyles generally. The sex-based difference in the effects of mobility and schooling on PA could be a reflection of the Hadza's gender-based division of labor, or indicate that changes to subsistence-oriented lifestyles impact women and men in different ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Katherine Sayre
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | | | - Audax Z P Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Brian M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - David A Raichlen
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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7
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Lea AJ, Clark AG, Dahl AW, Devinsky O, Garcia AR, Golden CD, Kamau J, Kraft TS, Lim YAL, Martins DJ, Mogoi D, Pajukanta P, Perry GH, Pontzer H, Trumble BC, Urlacher SS, Venkataraman VV, Wallace IJ, Gurven M, Lieberman DE, Ayroles JF. Applying an evolutionary mismatch framework to understand disease susceptibility. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002311. [PMID: 37695771 PMCID: PMC10513379 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise worldwide. Obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes are among a long list of "lifestyle" diseases that were rare throughout human history but are now common. The evolutionary mismatch hypothesis posits that humans evolved in environments that radically differ from those we currently experience; consequently, traits that were once advantageous may now be "mismatched" and disease causing. At the genetic level, this hypothesis predicts that loci with a history of selection will exhibit "genotype by environment" (GxE) interactions, with different health effects in "ancestral" versus "modern" environments. To identify such loci, we advocate for combining genomic tools in partnership with subsistence-level groups experiencing rapid lifestyle change. In these populations, comparisons of individuals falling on opposite extremes of the "matched" to "mismatched" spectrum are uniquely possible. More broadly, the work we propose will inform our understanding of environmental and genetic risk factors for NCDs across diverse ancestries and cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J. Lea
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Andrew G. Clark
- Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Andrew W. Dahl
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Orrin Devinsky
- Department of Neurology, NYU Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Angela R. Garcia
- Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Christopher D. Golden
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Joseph Kamau
- One Health Centre, Institute of Primate Research, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Thomas S. Kraft
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
| | - Yvonne A. L. Lim
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Dino J. Martins
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
| | - Donald Mogoi
- Department of Medical Services and Public Health, Ministry of Health Laikipia County, Nanyuki, Kenya
| | - Päivi Pajukanta
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - George H. Perry
- Departments of Anthropology and Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Benjamin C. Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Samuel S. Urlacher
- Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, United States of America
| | - Vivek V. Venkataraman
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ian J. Wallace
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Daniel E. Lieberman
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Julien F. Ayroles
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
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Valenzuela PL, Carrera-Bastos P, Castillo-García A, Lieberman DE, Santos-Lozano A, Lucia A. Obesity and the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Nat Rev Cardiol 2023; 20:475-494. [PMID: 36927772 DOI: 10.1038/s41569-023-00847-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 72.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
The prevalence of obesity has reached pandemic proportions, and now approximately 25% of adults in Westernized countries have obesity. Recognized as a major health concern, obesity is associated with multiple comorbidities, particularly cardiometabolic disorders. In this Review, we present obesity as an evolutionarily novel condition, summarize the epidemiological evidence on its detrimental cardiometabolic consequences and discuss the major mechanisms involved in the association between obesity and the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. We also examine the role of potential moderators of this association, with evidence for and against the so-called 'metabolically healthy obesity phenotype', the 'fatness but fitness' paradox or the 'obesity paradox'. Although maintenance of optimal cardiometabolic status should be a primary goal in individuals with obesity, losing body weight and, particularly, excess visceral adiposity seems to be necessary to minimize the risk of cardiometabolic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro L Valenzuela
- Physical Activity and Health Research Group (PaHerg), Research Institute of Hospital 12 de Octubre ("i + 12"), Madrid, Spain.
- Department of Systems Biology, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.
| | - Pedro Carrera-Bastos
- Center for Primary Health Care Research, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Daniel E Lieberman
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alejandro Santos-Lozano
- Physical Activity and Health Research Group (PaHerg), Research Institute of Hospital 12 de Octubre ("i + 12"), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Health Sciences, European University Miguel de Cervantes, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Lucia
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
- CIBER of Frailty and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES), Madrid, Spain.
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Koirala T, B C UB, Shrestha C, Paudel U, Dhital R, Pokharel S, Subedi M. Arterial hypertension and its covariates among nomadic Raute hunter-gatherers of Western Nepal: a mixed-method study. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e067312. [PMID: 36997254 PMCID: PMC10069499 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of, and understand the factors associated with, hypertension among the nomadic Raute hunter-gatherers of Western Nepal. DESIGN A mixed-method study. SETTING The study was carried out at Raute temporary campsites in the Surkhet District of Karnali Province between May and September 2021. PARTICIPANTS The questionnaire-based survey included all males and non-pregnant females of the nomadic Raute group aged 15 years and above. In-depth interviews were conducted among purposively selected 15 Raute participants and four non-Raute key informants to help explain and enrich the quantitative findings. OUTCOME MEASURES The prevalence of hypertension (defined as brachial artery blood pressure of systolic ≥140 mm Hg and/or diastolic ≥90 mm Hg) and its sociodemographic, anthropometric and behavioural covariates. RESULTS Of the 85 eligible participants, 81 (median age 35 years (IQR: 26-51), 46.9% female) were included in the final analysis. Hypertension was found in 10.5% of females, 48.8% of males and 30.9% of the total population. Current alcohol and tobacco use were high (91.4% and 70.4%, respectively), with concerning high rates among youths. Males, older people, current drinkers and current tobacco users were more likely to have hypertension. Our qualitative analysis suggests that the traditional forest-based Raute economy is gradually transitioning into a cash-based one that heavily relies on government incentives. Consumption of commercial foods, drinks and tobacco products is increasing as their market involvement grows. CONCLUSION This study found a high burden of hypertension, alcohol and tobacco use among nomadic Raute hunter-gatherers facing socioeconomic and dietary transitions. Further research is needed to assess the long-term impact of these changes on their health. This study is expected to help appraise concerned policymakers of an emerging health concern and formulate context-specific and culturally sensitive interventions to limit hypertension-related morbidities and mortalities in this endangered population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tapendra Koirala
- Dasharathpur Primary Health Care Center, Surkhet, Karnali Province, Nepal
- Department of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Population, Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal
| | - Udaya Bahadur B C
- Public Health Service Office Surkhet, Ministry of Social Development, Surkhet, Karnali Province, Nepal
| | - Carmina Shrestha
- Health Action and Research Pvt. Ltd, Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal
| | - Ujjawal Paudel
- Department of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Population, Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal
- Jibjibe Primary Health Care Center, Rasuwa, Bagmati Province, Nepal
| | - Rolina Dhital
- Health Action and Research Pvt. Ltd, Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal
| | - Sunil Pokharel
- Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Madhusudan Subedi
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Bagmati Province, Nepal
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10
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Kaplan H, Hooper PL, Gatz M, Mack WJ, Law EM, Chui HC, Sutherland ML, Sutherland JD, Rowan CJ, Wann LS, Allam AH, Thompson RC, Michalik DE, Lombardi G, Miyamoto MI, Eid Rodriguez D, Copajira Adrian J, Quispe Gutierrez R, Beheim BA, Cummings DK, Seabright E, Alami S, R. Garcia A, Buetow K, Thomas GS, Finch CE, Stieglitz J, Trumble BC, Gurven MD, Irimia A. Brain volume, energy balance, and cardiovascular health in two nonindustrial South American populations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2205448120. [PMID: 36940322 PMCID: PMC10068758 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2205448120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Little is known about brain aging or dementia in nonindustrialized environments that are similar to how humans lived throughout evolutionary history. This paper examines brain volume (BV) in middle and old age among two indigenous South American populations, the Tsimane and Moseten, whose lifestyles and environments diverge from those in high-income nations. With a sample of 1,165 individuals aged 40 to 94, we analyze population differences in cross-sectional rates of decline in BV with age. We also assess the relationships of BV with energy biomarkers and arterial disease and compare them against findings in industrialized contexts. The analyses test three hypotheses derived from an evolutionary model of brain health, which we call the embarrassment of riches (EOR). The model hypothesizes that food energy was positively associated with late life BV in the physically active, food-limited past, but excess body mass and adiposity are now associated with reduced BV in industrialized societies in middle and older ages. We find that the relationship of BV with both non-HDL cholesterol and body mass index is curvilinear, positive from the lowest values to 1.4 to 1.6 SDs above the mean, and negative from that value to the highest values. The more acculturated Moseten exhibit a steeper decrease in BV with age than Tsimane, but still shallower than US and European populations. Lastly, aortic arteriosclerosis is associated with lower BV. Complemented by findings from the United States and Europe, our results are consistent with the EOR model, with implications for interventions to improve brain health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA82866
| | - Paul L. Hooper
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA82866
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
| | - Margaret Gatz
- Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089
| | - Wendy J. Mack
- Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089
| | - E. Meng Law
- Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089
- Department of Radiology, The Alfred Health Hospital, Melbourne, VIC3004, Australia
- iBRAIN Research Laboratory, Departments of Neuroscience, Computer Systems and Electrical Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC3800, Australia
| | - Helena C. Chui
- Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089
- Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089
| | | | | | - Christopher J. Rowan
- Renown Institute for Heart and Vascular Health, Reno, NV89502
- School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno, NV89557
| | - L. Samuel Wann
- Division of Cardiology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
| | - Adel H. Allam
- Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Al Mikhaym Al Daem, Cairo4334003, Egypt
| | - Randall C. Thompson
- Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, University of Missouri - Kansas City, Kansas City, MO64111
| | - David E. Michalik
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California at Irvine, Orange, CA92617
- MemorialCare Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital, Long Beach, CA90806
| | - Guido Lombardi
- Laboratorio de Paleopatologia, Catedra Pedro Weiss, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima15102, Peru
| | | | | | | | | | - Bret A. Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | | | - Edmond Seabright
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
- School of Collective Intelligence, Universite Mohammed 6 Polytechnic, Ben Guerir43150, Morocco
| | - Sarah Alami
- School of Collective Intelligence, Universite Mohammed 6 Polytechnic, Ben Guerir43150, Morocco
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA93106
| | - Angela R. Garcia
- Scientific Research Core, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Phoenix, AZ85016
- Department of Child Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85724
| | - Kenneth Buetow
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85287
| | - Gregory S. Thomas
- MemorialCare Health Systems, Fountain Valley, CA92708
- Division of Cardiology, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA92868
| | - Caleb E. Finch
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089
- Department of Biological Sciences, Anthropology and Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089
| | - Jonathan Stieglitz
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse 1 Capitole University, Toulouse31000, France
| | - Benjamin C. Trumble
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85287
| | - Michael D. Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA93106
| | - Andrei Irimia
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089
- Corwin D. Denney Research Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089
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11
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Caldwell AE, Cummings DK, Hooper PL, Trumble BC, Gurven M, Stiegltz J, Davis HE, Kaplan H. Adolescence is characterized by more sedentary behavior and less physical activity even among highly active forager-farmers. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.03.15.23287308. [PMID: 36993728 PMCID: PMC10055571 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.15.23287308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Over 80% of adolescents worldwide are insufficiently active, posing massive public health and economic challenges. Declining physical activity (PA) and sex differences in PA consistently accompany transitions from childhood to adulthood in post-industrialized populations and are attributed to psychosocial and environmental factors. An overarching evolutionary theoretical framework and data from pre-industrialized populations are lacking. In this cross-sectional study we test a hypothesis from life history theory, that adolescent PA reductions reflect an evolved strategy to conserve energy, given the increasing sex-specific energetic demands for growth and reproductive maturation. Detailed measures of PA and pubertal maturation are assessed among Tsimane forager-farmers (age: 7-22 yrs.; 50% female, n=110). We find that 71% of Tsimane sampled meet World Health Organization PA guidelines (≥60 minutes/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA). Consistent with post-industrialized populations, we observe sex differences and inverse age-activity associations mediated by Tanner stage. Physical inactivity in adolescence is distinct from other health risk behaviors and also not merely resulting from obesogenic environments.
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12
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Lea AJ, Clark AG, Dahl AW, Devinsky O, Garcia AR, Golden CD, Kamau J, Kraft TS, Lim YAL, Martins D, Mogoi D, Pajukanta P, Perry G, Pontzer H, Trumble BC, Urlacher SS, Venkataraman VV, Wallace IJ, Gurven M, Lieberman D, Ayroles JF. Evolutionary mismatch and the role of GxE interactions in human disease. ARXIV 2023:arXiv:2301.05255v2. [PMID: 36713247 PMCID: PMC9882586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Globally, we are witnessing the rise of complex, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) related to changes in our daily environments. Obesity, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes are part of a long list of "lifestyle" diseases that were rare throughout human history but are now common. A key idea from anthropology and evolutionary biology-the evolutionary mismatch hypothesis-seeks to explain this phenomenon. It posits that humans evolved in environments that radically differ from the ones experienced by most people today, and thus traits that were advantageous in past environments may now be "mismatched" and disease-causing. This hypothesis is, at its core, a genetic one: it predicts that loci with a history of selection will exhibit "genotype by environment" (GxE) interactions and have differential health effects in ancestral versus modern environments. Here, we discuss how this concept could be leveraged to uncover the genetic architecture of NCDs in a principled way. Specifically, we advocate for partnering with small-scale, subsistence-level groups that are currently transitioning from environments that are arguably more "matched" with their recent evolutionary history to those that are more "mismatched". These populations provide diverse genetic backgrounds as well as the needed levels and types of environmental variation necessary for mapping GxE interactions in an explicit mismatch framework. Such work would make important contributions to our understanding of environmental and genetic risk factors for NCDs across diverse ancestries and sociocultural contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J. Lea
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Child and Brain Development, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada
| | - Andrew G. Clark
- Department of Computational Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Andrew W. Dahl
- Section of Genetic Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Orrin Devinsky
- Department of Neurology, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Angela R. Garcia
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | | | - Joseph Kamau
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
- Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Thomas S. Kraft
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA
| | - Yvonne A. L. Lim
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Dino Martins
- Turkana Basin Research Institute, Turkana, Kenya
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Donald Mogoi
- Director at County Government of Laikipia, Nanyuki, Kenya
| | - Paivi Pajukanta
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Institute for Precision Health, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - George Perry
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Benjamin C. Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, US
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | - Samuel S. Urlacher
- Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
- Child and Brain Development, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Canada
| | | | - Ian J. Wallace
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California: Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Daniel Lieberman
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Julien F. Ayroles
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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13
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Gatz M, Mack WJ, Chui HC, Law EM, Barisano G, Sutherland ML, Sutherland JD, Eid Rodriguez D, Quispe Gutierrez R, Copajira Adrian J, Bani Cuata J, Borenstein AR, Walters EE, Irimia A, Rowan CJ, Wann LS, Allam AH, Thompson RC, Miyamoto MI, Michalik DE, Cummings DK, Seabright E, Garcia AR, Hooper PL, Kraft TS, Finch CE, Thomas GS, Stieglitz J, Trumble BC, Gurven MD, Kaplan H. Prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in indigenous Bolivian forager-horticulturalists. Alzheimers Dement 2023; 19:44-55. [PMID: 35262289 PMCID: PMC9458772 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION We evaluated the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in indigenous Tsimane and Moseten, who lead a subsistence lifestyle. METHODS Participants from population-based samples ≥ 60 years of age (n = 623) were assessed using adapted versions of the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination, informant interview, longitudinal cognitive testing and brain computed tomography (CT) scans. RESULTS Tsimane exhibited five cases of dementia (among n = 435; crude prevalence = 1.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.4, 2.7); Moseten exhibited one case (among n = 169; crude prevalence = 0.6%, 95% CI: 0.0, 3.2), all age ≥ 80 years. Age-standardized MCI prevalence was 7.7% (95% CI: 5.2, 10.3) in Tsimane and 9.8% (95% CI: 4.9, 14.6) in Moseten. Cognitive impairment was associated with visuospatial impairments, parkinsonian symptoms, and vascular calcification in the basal ganglia. DISCUSSION The prevalence of dementia in this cohort is among the lowest in the world. Widespread intracranial medial arterial calcifications suggest a previously unrecognized, non-Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Gatz
- Center for Economic and Social ResearchUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Wendy J. Mack
- Department of Population and Public Health SciencesKeck School of MedicineUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Helena C. Chui
- Department of NeurologyKeck School of MedicineUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - E. Meng Law
- Department of NeuroscienceMonash UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Giuseppe Barisano
- Neuroscience Graduate ProgramUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | | | | | - Daniel Eid Rodriguez
- Institute of Biomedical ResearchFaculty of MedicineSan Simon UniversityCochabambaBolivia
| | | | | | | | - Amy R. Borenstein
- Division of EpidemiologyHerbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity ScienceUniversity of California San Diego School of MedicineLa JollaCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ellen E. Walters
- Center for Economic and Social ResearchUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Andrei Irimia
- Leonard Davis School of GerontologyUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
- Corwin D. Denney Research CenterDepartment of Biomedical EngineeringViterbi School of EngineeringUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - L. Samuel Wann
- Division of CardiologyUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerqueNew MexicoUSA
| | - Adel H. Allam
- Department of Cardiology, School of MedicineAl‐Azhar UniversityCairoEgypt
| | - Randall C. Thompson
- Saint Luke's Mid America Heart InstituteUniversity of Missouri–Kansas CityKansas CityMissouriUSA
| | | | - David E. Michalik
- Memorial Care Miller Women's and Children's HospitalLong BeachCaliforniaUSA
| | - Daniel K. Cummings
- Economic Science InstituteArgyos School of Business and EconomicsChapman UniversityOrangeCaliforniaUSA
| | - Edmond Seabright
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerqueNew MexicoUSA
| | - Angela R. Garcia
- School of Human Evolution and Social Changeand Center for Evolution and MedicineArizona State UniversityTempeArizonaUSA
| | - Paul L. Hooper
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerqueNew MexicoUSA
| | - Thomas S. Kraft
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of California Santa BarbaraSanta BarbaraCaliforniaUSA
| | - Caleb E. Finch
- Leonard Davis School of GerontologyUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Gregory S. Thomas
- MemorialCare Heart & Vascular InstituteFountain ValleyCaliforniaUSA
- Division of CardiologyUniversity of California, IrvineOrangeCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Benjamin C. Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Changeand Center for Evolution and MedicineArizona State UniversityTempeArizonaUSA
| | - Michael D. Gurven
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of California Santa BarbaraSanta BarbaraCaliforniaUSA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science InstituteArgyos School of Business and EconomicsChapman UniversityOrangeCaliforniaUSA
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14
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Madimenos FC, Gildner TE, Eick GN, Sugiyama LS, Snodgrass JJ. Bringing the lab bench to the field: Point-of-care testing for enhancing health research and stakeholder engagement in rural/remote, indigenous, and resource-limited contexts. Am J Hum Biol 2022; 34:e23808. [PMID: 36166487 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Point-of-care testing (POCT) allows researchers and health-care providers to bring the lab bench to the field, providing essential health information that can be leveraged to improve health care, accessibility, and understanding across clinical and research settings. Gaps in health service access are most pronounced in what we term RIR settings-rural/remote regions, involving Indigenous peoples, and/or within resource-limited settings. In these contexts, morbidity and mortality from infectious and non-communicable diseases are disproportionately higher due to numerous geographic, economic, political, and sociohistorical factors. Human biologists and global health scholars are well-positioned to contribute on-the-ground-level insights that can serve to minimize global health inequities and POCT has the potential to augment such approaches. While the clinical benefits of POCT include increasing health service access by bringing testing, rapid diagnosis, and treatment to underserved communities with limited pathways to centralized laboratory testing, POCT also provides added benefits to both health-focused researchers and their participants. Through portable, minimally invasive devices, researchers can provide actionable health data to participants by coupling POCT with population-specific health education, discussing results and their implications, creating space for participants to voice concerns, and facilitating linkages to treatment. POCT can also strengthen human biology research by shedding light on questions of evolutionary and biocultural importance. Here, we expand on the epidemiological and research value, as well as practical and ethical challenges of POCT across stakeholders (i.e., participant, community, health researcher, and trainee). Finally, we emphasize the immense opportunities of POCT for fostering collaborative research and enhancing access to health delivery and information and, by extension, helping to mitigate persistent global health inequities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicia C Madimenos
- Department of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY), New York, USA.,New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), CUNY Graduate Center, New York, USA
| | - Theresa E Gildner
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Geeta N Eick
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | | | - James J Snodgrass
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA.,Center for Global Health, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA.,Global Station for Indigenous Studies and Cultural Diversity, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
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15
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Galy O, Frayon S, Goldin M, Zongo P, Wattelez G, Lameta S, Quartermain A, Fotsing JM, Bouard S. Generational issues in linking family farming production, traditional food in diet, physical activity and obesity in Pacific Islands countries and territories: the case of the Melanesian population on Lifou Island. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2022; 1:135. [PMID: 37645099 PMCID: PMC10446099 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.13705.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
In the Melanesian culture, traditional activities are organized around family farming, although the lifestyle transition taking place over the last several decades has led to imbalances in diet and physical activity, with both leading to obesity. The aim of this interdisciplinary study was to understand the links between family farming (produced, exchanged, sold, and consumed food), diet (focused on produced, hunted, and caught food), physical activity (sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) and obesity in Melanesian Lifou Island families (parents and children). Forty families, including 142 adults and children, completed individual food frequency questionnaires, wore tri-axial accelerometers for seven continuous days, and had weight and height measured with a bio-impedance device. A family farming questionnaire was conducted at the household level concerning family farming practices and sociodemographic variables. Multinomial regression analyses and logistic regression models were used to analyze the data. Results showed that family farming production brings a modest contribution to diet and active lifestyles for the family farmers of Lifou Island. The drivers for obesity in these tribal communities were linked to diet in the adults, whereas parental socioeconomic status and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were the main factors associated to being overweight and obesity in children. These differences in lifestyle behaviors within families suggest a transition in cultural practices at the intergenerational level. Future directions should consider seasonality and a more in-depth analysis of diet including macro- and micro- nutrients to acquire more accurate information on the intergenerational transition in cultural practices and its consequences on health outcomes in the Pacific region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Galy
- Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Research in Education, EA 7483, University of New Caledonia, Noumea, New Caledonia
| | - Stéphane Frayon
- Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Research in Education, EA 7483, University of New Caledonia, Noumea, New Caledonia
| | - Marco Goldin
- TERAU: Territoires, acteurs et usages, Institut Agronomique néo-Calédonien (IAC), Pouembout, New Caledonia
| | - Paul Zongo
- Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Research in Education, EA 7483, University of New Caledonia, Noumea, New Caledonia
| | - Guillaume Wattelez
- Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Research in Education, EA 7483, University of New Caledonia, Noumea, New Caledonia
| | - Sonny Lameta
- School of Agriculture and Food Technology, The University South Pacific, Samoa Campus, Fiji
| | - Alan Quartermain
- School of Science & Technology, The University of Goroka, Goroka, 1078, Papua New Guinea
| | - Jean Marie Fotsing
- ISEA, University of New Caledonia, Noumea, New Caledonia, 98800, New Caledonia
| | - Séverine Bouard
- TERAU: Territoires, acteurs et usages, Institut Agronomique néo-Calédonien (IAC), Pouembout, New Caledonia
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16
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Valenzuela PL, Baggish A, Castillo-García A, Santos-Lozano A, Boraita A, Lucia A. Strenuous Endurance Exercise and the Heart: Physiological versus Pathological Adaptations. Compr Physiol 2022; 12:4067-4085. [PMID: 35950659 DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c210045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Although the benefits of regular physical activity on cardiovascular health are well established, the effects of strenuous endurance exercise (SEE) have been a matter of debate since ancient times. In this article, we aim to provide a balanced overview of what is known about SEE and the heart-from epidemiological evidence to recent cardiac imaging findings. Lifelong SEE is overall cardioprotective, with endurance master athletes showing in fact a youthful heart. Yet, some lines of research remain open, such as the need to elucidate the time-course and potential relevance of transient declines in heart function (or increases in biomarkers of cardiac injury) with SEE. The underlying mechanisms and clinical relevance of SEE-associated atrial fibrillation, myocardial fibrosis, or high coronary artery calcium scores also remain to be elucidated. © 2022 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 12:1-19, 2022.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro L Valenzuela
- Physical Activity and Health Research Group ('PaHerg'), Research Institute of the Hospital 12 de Octubre ('imas12'), Madrid, Spain
| | - Aaron Baggish
- Cardiovascular Performance Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Adrián Castillo-García
- Fissac - Physiology, Health and Physical Activity, Madrid, Spain.,Biology Systems Department, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Santos-Lozano
- Physical Activity and Health Research Group ('PaHerg'), Research Institute of the Hospital 12 de Octubre ('imas12'), Madrid, Spain.,i+HeALTH, European University Miguel de Cervantes, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Araceli Boraita
- Department of Cardiology, Sports Medicine Center, Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sports, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Lucia
- Physical Activity and Health Research Group ('PaHerg'), Research Institute of the Hospital 12 de Octubre ('imas12'), Madrid, Spain.,Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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17
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Murray AA. Variability and the form-function framework in evolutionary biomechanics and human locomotion. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2022; 4:e29. [PMID: 37588899 PMCID: PMC10426129 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.28] [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: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The form-function conceptual framework, which assumes a strong relationship between the structure of a particular trait and its function, has been crucial for understanding morphological variation and locomotion among extant and fossil species across many disciplines. In biological anthropology, it is the lens through which many important questions and hypotheses have been tackled with respect to relationships between morphology and locomotor kinematics, energetics and performance. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that the morphologies of fossil hominins, apes and humans can confer considerable locomotor diversity and flexibility, and can do so with a range of kinematics depending on soft tissue plasticity and environmental and cultural factors. This complexity is not built into traditional biomechanical or mathematical models of relationships between structure and kinematics or energetics, limiting our interpretation of what bone structure is telling us about behaviour in the past. The nine papers presented in this Special Collection together address some of the challenges that variation in the relationship between form and function pose in evolutionary biomechanics, to better characterise the complexity linking structure and function and to provide tools through which we may begin to incorporate some of this complexity into our functional interpretations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison A. Murray
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Cornett Building Room B228, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, CanadaV8P 5C2
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18
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Abstract
Research among non-industrial societies suggests that body kinematics adopted during running vary between groups according to the cultural importance of running. Among groups in which running is common and an important part of cultural identity, runners tend to adopt what exercise scientists and coaches consider to be good technique for avoiding injury and maximising performance. In contrast, among groups in which running is not particularly culturally important, people tend to adopt suboptimal technique. This paper begins by describing key elements of good running technique, including landing with a forefoot or midfoot strike pattern and leg oriented roughly vertically. Next, we review evidence from non-industrial societies that cultural attitudes about running associate with variation in running techniques. Then, we present new data from Tsimane forager–horticulturalists in Bolivia. Our findings suggest that running is neither a common activity among the Tsimane nor is it considered an important part of cultural identity. We also demonstrate that when Tsimane do run, they tend to use suboptimal technique, specifically landing with a rearfoot strike pattern and leg protracted ahead of the knee (called overstriding). Finally, we discuss processes by which culture might influence variation in running techniques among non-industrial societies, including self-optimisation and social learning. New evidence from the Tsimane underscores that running techniques vary between societies according to the cultural importance of running
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19
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Collins N, Belkaid Y. Control of immunity via nutritional interventions. Immunity 2022; 55:210-223. [PMID: 35139351 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2022.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Nutrition affects all physiological processes including those linked to the development and function of our immune system. Here, we discuss recent evidence and emerging concepts supporting the idea that our newfound relationship with nutrition in industrialized countries has fundamentally altered the way in which our immune system is wired. This will be examined through the lens of studies showing that mild or transient reductions in dietary intake can enhance protective immunity while also limiting aberrant inflammatory responses. We will further discuss how trade-offs and priorities begin to emerge in the context of severe nutritional stress. In those settings, specific immunological functions are heightened to re-enforce processes and tissue sites most critical to survival. Altogether, these examples will emphasize the profound influence nutrition has over the immune system and highlight how a mechanistic exploration of this cross talk could ultimately lead to the design of novel therapeutic approaches that prevent and treat disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Collins
- Metaorganism Immunity Section, Laboratory of Host Immunity and Microbiome, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| | - Yasmine Belkaid
- Metaorganism Immunity Section, Laboratory of Host Immunity and Microbiome, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; NIAID Microbiome Program, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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20
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Gallois S, Henry AG. The Cost of Gathering Among the Baka Forager-Horticulturalists From Southeastern Cameroon. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.768003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
What present-day foragers do for their living and what they eat have long been privileged areas for exploring human behavior, global health, and human evolution. While many studies have focused on hunting and meat acquisition, less attention has been given to gathering and plant foods. Despite evidence of variation in both nutritional quality and energetic costs of gathering different plants, the overall effort spent on gathering in relation to other subsistence tasks is still under explored. In the current context of economic, climate, and social changes, many forager societies also rely on other subsistence strategies, including agriculture and wage labor. In this study, we aim to explore the place of gathering in the livelihood of a mixed economy society, the Baka forager-horticulturalists of southeastern Cameroon, by comparing the involvement and the costs of activities related to food acquisition. From a pool of 153 adult participants (97 women and 56 men), we collected 246 daily records using a GPS (Global Positioning System) tracker combined with heart rate monitor and time allocation recalls. We compared the duration, distance traveled, and the intensity of work, measured by calculating the metabolic equivalent of task (MET), of subsistence activities related to food acquisition. Results from this work show that gathering activities, performed by both women and men, are energetically costly, with higher MET values than hunting and fishing activities. Furthermore, the MET values vary depending on the targeted plant foods. We discuss these insights in the overall framework of subsistence patterns, merging them with the socio-cultural and environmental factors that might explain Baka livelihood and subsistence strategy.
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21
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The active grandparent hypothesis: Physical activity and the evolution of extended human healthspans and lifespans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2107621118. [PMID: 34810239 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107621118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The proximate mechanisms by which physical activity (PA) slows senescence and decreases morbidity and mortality have been extensively documented. However, we lack an ultimate, evolutionary explanation for why lifelong PA, particularly during middle and older age, promotes health. As the growing worldwide epidemic of physical inactivity accelerates the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases among aging populations, integrating evolutionary and biomedical perspectives can foster new insights into how and why lifelong PA helps preserve health and extend lifespans. Building on previous life-history research, we assess the evidence that humans were selected not just to live several decades after they cease reproducing but also to be moderately physically active during those postreproductive years. We next review the longstanding hypothesis that PA promotes health by allocating energy away from potentially harmful overinvestments in fat storage and reproductive tissues and propose the novel hypothesis that PA also stimulates energy allocation toward repair and maintenance processes. We hypothesize that selection in humans for lifelong PA, including during postreproductive years to provision offspring, promoted selection for both energy allocation pathways which synergistically slow senescence and reduce vulnerability to many forms of chronic diseases. As a result, extended human healthspans and lifespans are both a cause and an effect of habitual PA, helping explain why lack of lifelong PA in humans can increase disease risk and reduce longevity.
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22
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Kramer KL, Campbell BC, Achenbach A, Hackman JV. Sex differences in adipose development in a hunter-gatherer population. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 34:e23688. [PMID: 34655448 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Humans are unusually sexually dimorphic in body composition, with adult females having on average nearly twice the fat mass as males. The development of adipose sex differences has been well characterized for children growing up in food-abundant environments, with less known about cross-cultural variation, particularly in populations without exposure to market foods, mechanized technologies, schooling, vaccination, or other medical interventions. METHODS To add to the existing cross-cultural data, we fit multiple growth curves to body composition and anthropometric data to describe adipose development for the Savanna Pumé, South American hunter-gatherers. RESULTS (1) Little evidence is found for an adiposity 'rebound' at the end of early childhood among either Savanna Pumé girls or boys. (2) Rather, fat deposition fluctuates during childhood, from age ~4 to ~9 years, with no appreciable accumulation until the onset of puberty, a pattern also observed among Congo Baka hunter-gatherers. (3) Body fat fluctuations are more pronounced for girls than boys. (4) The age of peak skeletal, weight, and adipose gains are staggered to a much greater extent among the Savanna Pumé compared to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) reference, suggesting this is an important developmental strategy in lean populations. CONCLUSION Documenting growth patterns under diverse preindustrial energetic conditions provides an important baseline for understanding sex differences in body fat emerging today under food abundance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Kramer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Benjamin C Campbell
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Alan Achenbach
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Joseph V Hackman
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
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23
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Garcia AR, Finch C, Gatz M, Kraft T, Eid Rodriguez D, Cummings D, Charifson M, Buetow K, Beheim BA, Allayee H, Thomas GS, Stieglitz J, Gurven MD, Kaplan H, Trumble BC. APOE4 is associated with elevated blood lipids and lower levels of innate immune biomarkers in a tropical Amerindian subsistence population. eLife 2021; 10:68231. [PMID: 34586066 PMCID: PMC8480980 DOI: 10.7554/elife.68231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In post-industrial settings, apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) is associated with increased cardiovascular and neurological disease risk. However, the majority of human evolutionary history occurred in environments with higher pathogenic diversity and low cardiovascular risk. We hypothesize that in high-pathogen and energy-limited contexts, the APOE4 allele confers benefits by reducing innate inflammation when uninfected, while maintaining higher lipid levels that buffer costs of immune activation during infection. Among Tsimane forager-farmers of Bolivia (N = 1266, 50% female), APOE4 is associated with 30% lower C-reactive protein, and higher total cholesterol and oxidized LDL. Blood lipids were either not associated, or negatively associated with inflammatory biomarkers, except for associations of oxidized LDL and inflammation which were limited to obese adults. Further, APOE4 carriers maintain higher levels of total and LDL cholesterol at low body mass indices (BMIs). These results suggest that the relationship between APOE4 and lipids may be beneficial for pathogen-driven immune responses and unlikely to increase cardiovascular risk in an active subsistence population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela R Garcia
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States.,Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
| | - Caleb Finch
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Dornsife College, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Margaret Gatz
- Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Thomas Kraft
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, United States
| | | | - Daniel Cummings
- Institute for Economics and Society, Chapman University, Orange, United States
| | - Mia Charifson
- Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, New York University, New York, United States
| | - Kenneth Buetow
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | - Bret A Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hooman Allayee
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Irvine, Irvine, United States.,Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
| | - Gregory S Thomas
- Long Beach Memorial, Long Beach and University of California Irvine, Irvine, United States
| | - Jonathan Stieglitz
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Universite Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Michael D Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, United States
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Institute for Economics and Society, Chapman University, Orange, United States
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
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24
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Irimia A, Chaudhari NN, Robles DJ, Rostowsky KA, Maher AS, Chowdhury NF, Calvillo M, Ngo V, Gatz M, Mack WJ, Law EM, Sutherland ML, Sutherland JD, Rowan CJ, Wann LS, Allam AH, Thompson RC, Michalik DE, Cummings DK, Seabright E, Alami S, Garcia AR, Hooper PL, Stieglitz J, Trumble BC, Gurven MD, Thomas GS, Finch CE, Kaplan H. The Indigenous South American Tsimane Exhibit Relatively Modest Decrease in Brain Volume With Age Despite High Systemic Inflammation. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2021; 76:2147-2155. [PMID: 34038540 PMCID: PMC8599004 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glab138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain atrophy is correlated with risk of cognitive impairment, functional decline, and dementia. Despite a high infectious disease burden, Tsimane forager-horticulturists of Bolivia have the lowest prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis of any studied population and present few cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors despite a high burden of infections and therefore inflammation. This study (a) examines the statistical association between brain volume (BV) and age for Tsimane and (b) compares this association to that of 3 industrialized populations in the United States and Europe. This cohort-based panel study enrolled 746 participants aged 40-94 (396 males), from whom computed tomography (CT) head scans were acquired. BV and intracranial volume (ICV) were calculated from automatic head CT segmentations. The linear regression coefficient estimate β^T of the Tsimane (T), describing the relationship between age (predictor) and BV (response, as a percentage of ICV), was calculated for the pooled sample (including both sexes) and for each sex. β^T was compared to the corresponding regression coefficient estimate β^R of samples from the industrialized reference (R) countries. For all comparisons, the null hypothesis β T = β R was rejected both for the combined samples of males and females, as well as separately for each sex. Our results indicate that the Tsimane exhibit a significantly slower decrease in BV with age than populations in the United States and Europe. Such reduced rates of BV decrease, together with a subsistence lifestyle and low CVD risk, may protect brain health despite considerable chronic inflammation related to infectious burden.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrei Irimia
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA,Corwin D. Denney Research Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA,Address correspondence to: Andrei Irimia, PhD, Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Avenue, Suite 228, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. E-mail:
| | - Nikhil N Chaudhari
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - David J Robles
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Kenneth A Rostowsky
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Alexander S Maher
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Nahian F Chowdhury
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Maria Calvillo
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Van Ngo
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Margaret Gatz
- Center for Economic and Social Research, Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Wendy J Mack
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - E Meng Law
- iBRAIN Research Laboratory, Departments of Neuroscience, Computer Systems and Electrical Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,Department of Radiology, The Alfred Health Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - M Linda Sutherland
- MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, Fountain Valley, California, USA
| | - James D Sutherland
- MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, Fountain Valley, California, USA
| | - Christopher J Rowan
- Renown Institute for Heart and Vascular Health, Reno, Nevada, USA,School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
| | | | - Adel H Allam
- Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Al Mikhaym Al Daem, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Randall C Thompson
- Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, University of Missouri, Kansas City, USA
| | - David E Michalik
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California at Irvine, Orange, USA,MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital, Long Beach Medical Center, California, USA
| | - Daniel K Cummings
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA,Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA
| | - Edmond Seabright
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
| | - Sarah Alami
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
| | - Angela R Garcia
- Center for Evolution & Medicine, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
| | - Paul L Hooper
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
| | - Jonathan Stieglitz
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse 1 Capitol University, France
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- Center for Evolution & Medicine, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
| | - Michael D Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
| | - Gregory S Thomas
- MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, Fountain Valley, California, USA,Division of Cardiology, University of California, Irvine, Orange, USA
| | - Caleb E Finch
- Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA,Departments of Biological Sciences, Anthropology and Psychology, Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA
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25
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Jaeggi AV, Blackwell AD, von Rueden C, Trumble BC, Stieglitz J, Garcia AR, Kraft TS, Beheim BA, Hooper PL, Kaplan H, Gurven M. Do wealth and inequality associate with health in a small-scale subsistence society? eLife 2021; 10:59437. [PMID: 33988506 PMCID: PMC8225390 DOI: 10.7554/elife.59437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In high-income countries, one’s relative socio-economic position and economic inequality may affect health and well-being, arguably via psychosocial stress. We tested this in a small-scale subsistence society, the Tsimane, by associating relative household wealth (n = 871) and community-level wealth inequality (n = 40, Gini = 0.15–0.53) with a range of psychological variables, stressors, and health outcomes (depressive symptoms [n = 670], social conflicts [n = 401], non-social problems [n = 398], social support [n = 399], cortisol [n = 811], body mass index [n = 9,926], blood pressure [n = 3,195], self-rated health [n = 2523], morbidities [n = 1542]) controlling for community-average wealth, age, sex, household size, community size, and distance to markets. Wealthier people largely had better outcomes while inequality associated with more respiratory disease, a leading cause of mortality. Greater inequality and lower wealth were associated with higher blood pressure. Psychosocial factors did not mediate wealth-health associations. Thus, relative socio-economic position and inequality may affect health across diverse societies, though this is likely exacerbated in high-income countries. Poverty is bad for health. People living in poverty are more likely to struggle to afford nutritious food, lack access to health care, or be overworked or stressed. This may make them susceptible to chronic diseases, contribute to faster aging, and shorten their lifespans. In high-income countries, there is growing evidence to suggest that a person’s ‘rank’ in society also impacts their health. For example, individuals who have a lower position in the social hierarchy report worse health outcomes, regardless of their incomes. But it is unclear why living in an unequal society or having a lower social status contributes to poorer health. One possibility is that inequalities in society are creating a stressful environment that leads to worse physical and mental outcomes. It is thought that this stress largely comes from how humans evolved to prioritize reaching a higher social status over having a long and healthy life. If this is the case, this would mean that the link between social status and health would also be present in non-industrialized communities where social hierarchies tend to be less pronounced. To test this, Jaeggi, Blackwell et al. studied the Indigenous Tsimane population in Bolivia who live in small communities and forage and farm their own food. The income and relative wealth of 870 households from 40 Tsimane communities were compared against various outcomes, including symptoms associated with depression, stress hormone levels, blood pressure, self-rated health and several diseases. Jaeggi, Blackwell et al. found poverty and inequality did not negatively impact all of the health outcomes measured as has been previously reported for industrialized societies. However, blood pressure was higher among people with lower incomes or those who lived in more unequal communities. But because the Tsimane people generally have low blood pressure, the differences were too small to have much effect on their health. People who lived in more unequal communities were also three times more likely to have respiratory infections, but the reason for this was unclear. This shows that social determinants such as a person’s wealth or inequality can affect health, even in communities with less rigid social hierarchies. In industrial societies the effect may be worse in part because they are compounded by lifestyle factors, such as diets rich in fat and sugar, and physical inactivity which can also increase blood pressure. This information may help policy makers reduce health disparities by addressing some of the social determinants of health and the lifestyle factors that cause them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian V Jaeggi
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
| | - Aaron D Blackwell
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pulman, United States
| | | | - Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States.,Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | | | - Angela R Garcia
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, United States.,School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States.,Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | - Thomas S Kraft
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, United States
| | - Bret A Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Paul L Hooper
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Irvine, United States.,Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, United States
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Irvine, United States
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, United States
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26
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Rowan CJ, Eskander MA, Seabright E, Rodriguez DE, Linares EC, Gutierrez RQ, Adrian JC, Cummings D, Beheim B, Tolstrup K, Achrekar A, Kraft T, Michalik DE, Miyamoto MI, Allam AH, Wann LS, Narula J, Trumble BC, Stieglitz J, Thompson RC, Thomas GS, Kaplan HS, Gurven MD. Very Low Prevalence and Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation among Bolivian Forager-Farmers. Ann Glob Health 2021; 87:18. [PMID: 33633929 PMCID: PMC7894370 DOI: 10.5334/aogh.3252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in post-industrialized populations. Older age, hypertension, obesity, chronic inflammation, and diabetes are significant atrial fibrillation risk factors, suggesting that modern urban environments may promote atrial fibrillation. Objective Here we assess atrial fibrillation prevalence and incidence among tropical horticulturalists of the Bolivian Amazon with high levels of physical activity, a lean diet, and minimal coronary atherosclerosis, but also high infectious disease burden and associated inflammation. Methods Between 2005-2019, 1314 Tsimane aged 40-94 years (52% female) and 534 Moseten Amerindians aged 40-89 years (50% female) underwent resting 12-lead electrocardiograms to assess atrial fibrillation prevalence. For atrial fibrillation incidence assessment, 1059 (81% of original sample) Tsimane and 310 Moseten (58%) underwent additional ECGs (mean time to follow up 7.0, 1.8 years, respectively). Findings Only one (male) of 1314 Tsimane (0.076%) and one (male) of 534 Moseten (0.187%) demonstrated atrial fibrillation at baseline. There was one new (female) Tsimane case in 7395 risk years for the 1059 participants with >1 ECG (incidence rate = 0.14 per 1,000 risk years). No new cases were detected among Moseten, based on 542 risk years. Conclusion Tsimane and Moseten show the lowest levels of atrial fibrillation ever reported, 1/20 to ~1/6 of rates in high-income countries. These findings provide additional evidence that a subsistence lifestyle with high levels of physical activity, and a diet low in processed carbohydrates and fat is cardioprotective, despite frequent infection-induced inflammation. Findings suggest that atrial fibrillation is a modifiable lifestyle disease rather than an inevitable feature of cardiovascular aging.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Edmond Seabright
- University of New Mexico, Department of Anthropology, New Mexico, USA
| | - Daniel Eid Rodriguez
- Universidad de San Simon, Bolivia
- Tsimane Health and Life History Project, San Borja, Beni, Bolivia
| | | | | | | | - Daniel Cummings
- University of New Mexico, Department of Anthropology, New Mexico, USA
| | - Bret Beheim
- Max Plank Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Behavior, Culture and Ecology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kirsten Tolstrup
- Cardiology, Dept. of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Abinash Achrekar
- University of New Mexico, Division of Cardiology, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Thomas Kraft
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Anthropology, USA
| | - David E. Michalik
- Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital Long Beach, CA, USA
- Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Jagat Narula
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Cardiology, NY, USA
| | - Benjamin C. Trumble
- Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | | | - Randall C. Thompson
- Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- University of Missouri–Kansas City, USA
| | - Gregory S. Thomas
- MemorialCare, Southern California, USA
- Division of Cardiology, University of California, Irvine, Orange, California, USA
| | - Hillard S. Kaplan
- Chapman University, Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Orange, California, USA
| | - Michael D. Gurven
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Anthropology, USA
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27
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Stieglitz J, Hooper PL, Trumble BC, Kaplan H, Gurven MD. Productivity loss associated with functional disability in a contemporary small-scale subsistence population. eLife 2020; 9:e62883. [PMID: 33259289 PMCID: PMC7744098 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
In comparative cross-species perspective, humans experience unique physical impairments with potentially large consequences. Quantifying the burden of impairment in subsistence populations is critical for understanding selection pressures underlying strategies that minimize risk of production deficits. We examine among forager-horticulturalists whether compromised bone strength (indicated by fracture and lower bone mineral density, BMD) is associated with subsistence task cessation. We also estimate the magnitude of productivity losses associated with compromised bone strength. Fracture is associated with cessation of hunting, tree chopping, and walking long distances, but not tool manufacture. Age-specific productivity losses from hunting cessation associated with fracture and lower BMD are substantial: ~397 lost kcals/day, with expected future losses of up to 1.9 million kcals (22% of expected production). Productivity loss is thus substantial for high strength and endurance tasks. Determining the extent to which impairment obstructs productivity in contemporary subsistence populations improves our ability to infer past consequences of impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Stieglitz
- Université Toulouse 1 CapitoleToulouseFrance
- Institute for Advanced Study in ToulouseToulouseFrance
| | - Paul L Hooper
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, 1 University DriveOrangeUnited States
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Life Sciences C, Arizona State UniversityTempeUnited States
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State UniversityTempeUnited States
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, 1 University DriveOrangeUnited States
| | - Michael D Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa BarbaraSanta BarbaraUnited States
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28
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Valenzuela PL, Carrera-Bastos P, Gálvez BG, Ruiz-Hurtado G, Ordovas JM, Ruilope LM, Lucia A. Lifestyle interventions for the prevention and treatment of hypertension. Nat Rev Cardiol 2020; 18:251-275. [PMID: 33037326 DOI: 10.1038/s41569-020-00437-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Hypertension affects approximately one third of the world's adult population and is a major cause of premature death despite considerable advances in pharmacological treatments. Growing evidence supports the use of lifestyle interventions for the prevention and adjuvant treatment of hypertension. In this Review, we provide a summary of the epidemiological research supporting the preventive and antihypertensive effects of major lifestyle interventions (regular physical exercise, body weight management and healthy dietary patterns), as well as other less traditional recommendations such as stress management and the promotion of adequate sleep patterns coupled with circadian entrainment. We also discuss the physiological mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of these lifestyle interventions on hypertension, which include not only the prevention of traditional risk factors (such as obesity and insulin resistance) and improvements in vascular health through an improved redox and inflammatory status, but also reduced sympathetic overactivation and non-traditional mechanisms such as increased secretion of myokines.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pedro Carrera-Bastos
- Centre for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University/Region Skane, Skane University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Beatriz G Gálvez
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gema Ruiz-Hurtado
- Research Institute of the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain.,CIBER-CV, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain
| | - José M Ordovas
- Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.,IMDEA Alimentacion, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis M Ruilope
- Research Institute of the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain.,CIBER-CV, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Lucia
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. .,Research Institute of the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre (imas12), Madrid, Spain.
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29
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Gurven M, Kraft TS, Alami S, Adrian JC, Linares EC, Cummings D, Rodriguez DE, Hooper PL, Jaeggi AV, Gutierrez RQ, Suarez IM, Seabright E, Kaplan H, Stieglitz J, Trumble B. Rapidly declining body temperature in a tropical human population. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:6/44/eabc6599. [PMID: 33115745 PMCID: PMC7608783 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc6599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Normal human body temperature (BT) has long been considered to be 37.0°C. Yet, BTs have declined over the past two centuries in the United States, coinciding with reductions in infection and increasing life expectancy. The generality of and reasons behind this phenomenon have not yet been well studied. Here, we show that Bolivian forager-farmers (n = 17,958 observations of 5481 adults age 15+ years) inhabiting a pathogen-rich environment exhibited higher BT when first examined in the early 21st century (~37.0°C). BT subsequently declined by ~0.05°C/year over 16 years of socioeconomic and epidemiological change to ~36.5°C by 2018. As predicted, infections and other lifestyle factors explain variation in BT, but these factors do not account for the temporal declines. Changes in physical activity, body composition, antibiotic usage, and thermal environment are potential causes of the temporal decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
| | - Thomas S Kraft
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Sarah Alami
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Daniel Cummings
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | | | - Paul L Hooper
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Adrian V Jaeggi
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Edmond Seabright
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
| | | | - Benjamin Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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30
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Sayre MK, Pontzer H, Alexander GE, Wood BM, Pike IL, Mabulla AZP, Raichlen DA. Ageing and physical function in East African foragers and pastoralists. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190608. [PMID: 32951542 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human lifespans are exceptionally long compared with those of other primates. A key element in exploring the evolution of human longevity is understanding how modern humans grow older. Our current understanding of common age-related changes in human health and function stems mostly from studies in industrialized societies, where older adulthood is often associated with an increased incidence of chronic diseases. However, individuals who engage in different lifestyles across industrialized and non-industrialized contexts may display variance in age-related changes in health and function. Here, we explore aspects of physical function in a non-industrialized context using three objective measures of physical function. We assessed physical activity levels, walking endurance and muscle strength in two East African populations: Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania and Pokot pastoralists in Kenya. Both Hadza and Pokot participants displayed significant age-related differences in most, but not all, functional measures. Our results suggest that some age-related differences in physical function seen in industrialized contexts could be consistently experienced by most humans, while other age-related differences may vary across populations. Studies of ageing should expand to include a broad range of populations so we can create a more comprehensive understanding of how senescence varies across different lifestyle contexts. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Katherine Sayre
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, CA 900079, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Gene E Alexander
- Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.,Neuroscience Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.,Physiological Sciences Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.,BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.,Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, AZ 85014, USA
| | - Brian M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ivy L Pike
- School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Audax Z P Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - David A Raichlen
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, CA 900079, USA
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31
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Abstract
Despite recent rapid advances in medical knowledge that have improved survival, conventional medical science's understanding of human health and disease relies heavily on people of European descent living in contemporary urban industrialized environments. Given that modern conditions in high-income countries differ widely in terms of lifestyle and exposures compared to those experienced by billions of people and all our ancestors over several hundred thousand years, this narrow approach to the human body and health is very limiting. We argue that preventing and treating chronic diseases of aging and other mismatch diseases will require both expanding study design to sample diverse populations and contexts, and fully incorporating evolutionary perspectives. In this paper, we first assess the extent of biased representation of industrialized populations in high profile, international biomedical journals, then compare patterns of morbidity and health across world regions. We also compare demographic rates and the force of selection between subsistence and industrialized populations to reflect on the changes in how selection operates on fertility and survivorship across the lifespan. We argue that, contrary to simplistic misguided solutions like the PaleoDiet, the hypothesis of evolutionary mismatch needs critical consideration of population history, evolutionary biology and evolved reaction norms to prevent and treat diseases. We highlight the critical value of broader sampling by considering the effects of three key exposures that have radically changed over the past century in many parts of the world-pathogen burden, reproductive effort and physical activity-on autoimmune, cardiometabolic and other mismatch diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
| | - Daniel E Lieberman
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
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32
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Abstract
Recent work suggests human physiology is not well adapted to prolonged periods of inactivity, with time spent sitting increasing cardiovascular disease and mortality risk. Health risks from sitting are generally linked with reduced levels of muscle contractions in chair-sitting postures and associated reductions in muscle metabolism. These inactivity-associated health risks are somewhat paradoxical, since evolutionary pressures tend to favor energy-minimizing strategies, including rest. Here, we examined inactivity in a hunter-gatherer population (the Hadza of Tanzania) to understand how sedentary behaviors occur in a nonindustrial economic context more typical of humans' evolutionary history. We tested the hypothesis that nonambulatory rest in hunter-gatherers involves increased muscle activity that is different from chair-sitting sedentary postures used in industrialized populations. Using a combination of objectively measured inactivity from thigh-worn accelerometers, observational data, and electromygraphic data, we show that hunter-gatherers have high levels of total nonambulatory time (mean ± SD = 9.90 ± 2.36 h/d), similar to those found in industrialized populations. However, nonambulatory time in Hadza adults often occurs in postures like squatting, and we show that these "active rest" postures require higher levels of lower limb muscle activity than chair sitting. Based on our results, we introduce the Inactivity Mismatch Hypothesis and propose that human physiology is likely adapted to more consistently active muscles derived from both physical activity and from nonambulatory postures with higher levels of muscle contraction. Interventions built on this model may help reduce the negative health impacts of inactivity in industrialized populations.
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33
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Dinkel KA, Costa ME, Kraft TS, Stieglitz J, Cummings DK, Gurven M, Kaplan H, Trumble BC. Relationship of sanitation, water boiling, and mosquito nets to health biomarkers in a rural subsistence population. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 32:e23356. [PMID: 31821682 PMCID: PMC8018599 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Throughout human evolutionary history, parasites and pathogens were a major cause of mortality-modern urban life with public health infrastructure has changed disease exposure. We examine associations between boiling water, using latrines, mosquito net usage, and biomarkers among the Tsimane, a nonindustrial subsistence population with little public health infrastructure. METHODS We conducted cross sectional surveys on water, latrines, and bed nets among 507 heads of households (aged 18-92 years, median age 41 years). Regression models estimated associations between behaviors and health biomarkers (ie, white blood cell count [WBC], hemoglobin, eosinophil count, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate) adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, wealth, schooling, and distance to the nearby market town. RESULTS Latrine use is associated with 6.5% lower WBC count (β = -679.6, P = .031, SE = 314.1), 17.4% lower eosinophil counts (β = -244.7, P = .023, SE = 107.2), and reduced odds of eosinophilia (adjusted OR = 0.40, P < .019, 95% CI = 0.18-0.86). Boiling water and mosquito net use are not significantly associated with any biomarkers measured. CONCLUSIONS In a subsistence population currently undergoing epidemiological transition, we find that latrine use was associated with several objective measures of health. This suggests that relatively low cost and low maintenance public health interventions may wish to focus on latrine use, as there is unmet need and potential health benefits for those who use latrines. Additionally, while the cost is higher, public health organizations aimed at improving sanitation may be able to use minimally invasive field-collected biomarkers as a diagnostic to objectively test the efficacy of interventions with greater specificity than anthropometric measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katelyn A. Dinkel
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Megan E. Costa
- Sanford School of Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
| | - Thomas S. Kraft
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara
| | | | - Daniel K. Cummings
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California
| | - Benjamin C. Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona,Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
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34
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Furman D, Campisi J, Verdin E, Carrera-Bastos P, Targ S, Franceschi C, Ferrucci L, Gilroy DW, Fasano A, Miller GW, Miller AH, Mantovani A, Weyand CM, Barzilai N, Goronzy JJ, Rando TA, Effros RB, Lucia A, Kleinstreuer N, Slavich GM. Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span. Nat Med 2019; 25:1822-1832. [PMID: 31806905 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-019-0675-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2064] [Impact Index Per Article: 412.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Although intermittent increases in inflammation are critical for survival during physical injury and infection, recent research has revealed that certain social, environmental and lifestyle factors can promote systemic chronic inflammation (SCI) that can, in turn, lead to several diseases that collectively represent the leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. In the present Perspective we describe the multi-level mechanisms underlying SCI and several risk factors that promote this health-damaging phenotype, including infections, physical inactivity, poor diet, environmental and industrial toxicants and psychological stress. Furthermore, we suggest potential strategies for advancing the early diagnosis, prevention and treatment of SCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Furman
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA, USA. .,Stanford 1000 Immunomes Project, Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA. .,Institute for Research in Translational Medicine, Universidad Austral, CONICET, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina. .,Iuve Inc., San Mateo, CA, USA.
| | - Judith Campisi
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA, USA.,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Eric Verdin
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA, USA
| | - Pedro Carrera-Bastos
- Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University/Region Skåne, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Sasha Targ
- Iuve Inc., San Mateo, CA, USA.,Medical Scientist Training Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Claudio Franceschi
- IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Applied Mathematics and Laboratory of Systems Biology of Aging, Lobachevsky University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
| | - Luigi Ferrucci
- Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Derek W Gilroy
- Centre for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Division of Medicine, University College London, London, UK
| | - Alessio Fasano
- MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gary W Miller
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Andrew H Miller
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Alberto Mantovani
- Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy.,William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University, London, UK
| | - Cornelia M Weyand
- Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Nir Barzilai
- Departments of Medicine and Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jorg J Goronzy
- Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Thomas A Rando
- Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Center for Tissue Regeneration, Repair and Restoration, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.,Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Rita B Effros
- Department of Pathology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Alejandro Lucia
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Research Institute of the Hospital 12 de Octubre (i+12), Madrid, Spain
| | - Nicole Kleinstreuer
- Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.,NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - George M Slavich
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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35
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Trumble BC, Finch CE. THE EXPOSOME IN HUMAN EVOLUTION: FROM DUST TO DIESEL. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2019; 94:333-394. [PMID: 32269391 PMCID: PMC7141577 DOI: 10.1086/706768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Global exposures to air pollution and cigarette smoke are novel in human evolutionary history and are associated with about 16 million premature deaths per year. We investigate the history of the human exposome for relationships between novel environmental toxins and genetic changes during human evolution in six phases. Phase I: With increased walking on savannas, early human ancestors inhaled crustal dust, fecal aerosols, and spores; carrion scavenging introduced new infectious pathogens. Phase II: Domestic fire exposed early Homo to novel toxins from smoke and cooking. Phases III and IV: Neolithic to preindustrial Homo sapiens incurred infectious pathogens from domestic animals and dense communities with limited sanitation. Phase V: Industrialization introduced novel toxins from fossil fuels, industrial chemicals, and tobacco at the same time infectious pathogens were diminishing. Thereby, pathogen-driven causes of mortality were replaced by chronic diseases driven by sterile inflammogens, exogenous and endogenous. Phase VI: Considers future health during global warming with increased air pollution and infections. We hypothesize that adaptation to some ancient toxins persists in genetic variations associated with inflammation and longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution & Social Change and Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona 85287 USA
| | - Caleb E Finch
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and Dornsife College, University of Southern California Los Angeles, California 90089-0191 USA
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36
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Madimenos FC, Liebert MA, Cepon‐Robins TJ, Urlacher SS, Josh Snodgrass J, Sugiyama LS, Stieglitz J. Disparities in bone density across contemporary Amazonian forager‐horticulturalists: Cross‐population comparison of the Tsimane and Shuar. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 171:50-64. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2019] [Revised: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Felicia C. Madimenos
- Department of Anthropology Queens College (CUNY) Flushing New York
- New York Consortium on Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP) New York New York
| | - Melissa A. Liebert
- Department of Anthropology Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona
| | | | | | | | - Lawrence S. Sugiyama
- Department of Anthropology University of Oregon Eugene
- Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences University of Oregon Eugene Oregon
| | - Jonathan Stieglitz
- Université Toulouse 1 Capitole Toulouse France
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse Toulouse France
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37
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Bhui R, Chudek M, Henrich J. Work time and market integration in the original affluent society. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:22100-22105. [PMID: 31611416 PMCID: PMC6825281 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1906196116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Does integration into commercial markets lead people to work longer hours? Does this mean that people in more subsistence-oriented societies work less compared to those in more market-integrated societies? Despite their venerable status in both anthropology and economic history, these questions have been difficult to address due to a dearth of appropriate data. Here, we tackle the issue by combining high-quality time allocation datasets from 8 small-scale populations around the world (45,019 observations of 863 adults) with similar aggregate data from 14 industrialized (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. Both within and across societies, we find evidence of a positive correlation between work time and market engagement for men, although not for women. Shifting to fully commercial labor is associated with an increase in men's work from around 45 h per week to 55 h, on average; women's work remains at nearly 55 h per week across the spectrum. These results inform us about the socioeconomic determinants of time allocation across a wider range of human societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Bhui
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
- Department of Economics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | | | - Joseph Henrich
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada
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38
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Shave RE, Lieberman DE, Drane AL, Brown MG, Batterham AM, Worthington S, Atencia R, Feltrer Y, Neary J, Weiner RB, Wasfy MM, Baggish AL. Selection of endurance capabilities and the trade-off between pressure and volume in the evolution of the human heart. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:19905-19910. [PMID: 31527253 PMCID: PMC6778238 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1906902116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Chimpanzees and gorillas, when not inactive, engage primarily in short bursts of resistance physical activity (RPA), such as climbing and fighting, that creates pressure stress on the cardiovascular system. In contrast, to initially hunt and gather and later to farm, it is thought that preindustrial human survival was dependent on lifelong moderate-intensity endurance physical activity (EPA), which creates a cardiovascular volume stress. Although derived musculoskeletal and thermoregulatory adaptations for EPA in humans have been documented, it is unknown if selection acted similarly on the heart. To test this hypothesis, we compared left ventricular (LV) structure and function across semiwild sanctuary chimpanzees, gorillas, and a sample of humans exposed to markedly different physical activity patterns. We show the human LV possesses derived features that help augment cardiac output (CO) thereby enabling EPA. However, the human LV also demonstrates phenotypic plasticity and, hence, variability, across a wide range of habitual physical activity. We show that the human LV's propensity to remodel differentially in response to chronic pressure or volume stimuli associated with intense RPA and EPA as well as physical inactivity represents an evolutionary trade-off with potential implications for contemporary cardiovascular health. Specifically, the human LV trades off pressure adaptations for volume capabilities and converges on a chimpanzee-like phenotype in response to physical inactivity or sustained pressure loading. Consequently, the derived LV and lifelong low blood pressure (BP) appear to be partly sustained by regular moderate-intensity EPA whose decline in postindustrial societies likely contributes to the modern epidemic of hypertensive heart disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert E Shave
- Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada;
| | - Daniel E Lieberman
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
| | - Aimee L Drane
- International Primate Heart Project, Cardiff Metropolitan University, CF23 6XD Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Marcel G Brown
- Cardiovascular Performance Program, Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Alan M Batterham
- School of Health and Social Care, Teeside University, TS1 3BX Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
| | - Steven Worthington
- Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Rebeca Atencia
- International Primate Heart Project, Cardiff Metropolitan University, CF23 6XD Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Jane Goodall Institute, Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Centre, Republic of Congo
| | - Yedra Feltrer
- International Primate Heart Project, Cardiff Metropolitan University, CF23 6XD Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Jennifer Neary
- Cardiovascular Performance Program, Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Rory B Weiner
- Cardiovascular Performance Program, Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Meagan M Wasfy
- Cardiovascular Performance Program, Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Aaron L Baggish
- Cardiovascular Performance Program, Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114;
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39
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Fiuza-Luces C, Santos-Lozano A, Joyner M, Carrera-Bastos P, Picazo O, Zugaza JL, Izquierdo M, Ruilope LM, Lucia A. Exercise benefits in cardiovascular disease: beyond attenuation of traditional risk factors. Nat Rev Cardiol 2019; 15:731-743. [PMID: 30115967 DOI: 10.1038/s41569-018-0065-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 418] [Impact Index Per Article: 83.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Despite strong scientific evidence supporting the benefits of regular exercise for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD), physical inactivity is highly prevalent worldwide. In addition to merely changing well-known risk factors for systemic CVD, regular exercise can also improve cardiovascular health through non-traditional mechanisms. Understanding the pathways through which exercise influences different physiological systems is important and might yield new therapeutic strategies to target pathophysiological mechanisms in CVD. This Review includes a critical discussion of how regular exercise can have antiatherogenic effects in the vasculature, improve autonomic balance (thereby reducing the risk of malignant arrhythmias), and induce cardioprotection against ischaemia-reperfusion injury, independent of effects on traditional CVD risk factors. This Review also describes how exercise promotes a healthy anti-inflammatory milieu (largely through the release of muscle-derived myokines), stimulates myocardial regeneration, and ameliorates age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, a frequently overlooked non-traditional CVD risk factor. Finally, we discuss how the benefits of exercise might also occur via promotion of a healthy gut microbiota. We argue, therefore, that a holistic view of all body systems is necessary and useful when analysing the role of exercise in cardiovascular health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Fiuza-Luces
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. .,CIBER de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Madrid, Spain.
| | - Alejandro Santos-Lozano
- i+HeALTH Research Group, Department of Health Sciences, European University Miguel de Cervantes, Valladolid, Spain.,Research Institute of the Hospital 12 de Octubre (i+12), Madrid, Spain
| | - Michael Joyner
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Pedro Carrera-Bastos
- Centre for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University/Region Skåne, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.,NutriScience - Education and Consulting, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Oscar Picazo
- NutriScience - Education and Consulting, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - José L Zugaza
- Achucarro - Basque Center for Neuroscience, Bilbao, Spain.,Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain.,IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Mikel Izquierdo
- Department of Health Sciences, Public University of Navarre, CIBER of Frailty and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES), Navarrabiomed, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Luis M Ruilope
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Lucia
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Research Institute of the Hospital 12 de Octubre (i+12), Madrid, Spain
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40
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Stieglitz J, Trumble BC, Finch CE, Li D, Budoff MJ, Kaplan H, Gurven MD. Computed tomography shows high fracture prevalence among physically active forager-horticulturalists with high fertility. eLife 2019; 8:48607. [PMID: 31418688 PMCID: PMC6726459 DOI: 10.7554/elife.48607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern humans have more fragile skeletons than other hominins, which may result from physical inactivity. Here, we test whether reproductive effort also compromises bone strength, by measuring using computed tomography thoracic vertebral bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture prevalence among physically active Tsimane forager-horticulturalists. Earlier onset of reproduction and shorter interbirth intervals are associated with reduced BMD for women. Tsimane BMD is lower versus Americans, but only for women, contrary to simple predictions relying on inactivity to explain skeletal fragility. Minimal BMD differences exist between Tsimane and American men, suggesting that systemic factors other than fertility (e.g. diet) do not easily explain Tsimane women's lower BMD. Tsimane fracture prevalence is also higher versus Americans. Lower BMD increases Tsimane fracture risk, but only for women, suggesting a role of weak bone in women's fracture etiology. Our results highlight the role of sex-specific mechanisms underlying skeletal fragility that operate long before menopause.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Stieglitz
- Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Toulouse, France.,Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States.,School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | | | - Caleb E Finch
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
| | - Dong Li
- School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
| | - Matthew J Budoff
- Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Harbor-University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center, Torrance, United States
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, United States
| | - Michael D Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, United States
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41
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Bethancourt HJ, Leonard WR, Tanner S, Schultz AF, Rosinger AY. Longitudinal Changes in Measures of Body Fat and Diet Among Adult Tsimane' Forager-Horticulturalists of Bolivia, 2002-2010. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2019; 27:1347-1359. [PMID: 31219239 DOI: 10.1002/oby.22556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study examined changes in body fat and diet among Tsimane' forager-horticulturalists and assessed how dietary shifts relate to increases in adiposity between 2002 and 2010. METHODS Longitudinal anthropometric and household-level dietary recall data from 365 men and 339 women aged ≥20 years in the Tsimane' Amazonian Panel Study were used. Multilevel mixed-effects models estimated how BMI, body fat percentage, waist circumference, skinfolds, and fat-free mass relate to household consumption of crops, hunted or fished foods, domesticated animal products, cooking oil, and refined grains and sugar. RESULTS Women's prevalence of overweight and obesity increased from 22.6% and 2.4% in 2002 to 28.8% and 8.9% in 2010, respectively, and BMI increased by 0.60% ± 0.12% per year (P < 0.001). Increases in fat-free mass accounted for some of this observed weight gain among women. Men's prevalence of overweight and obesity increased from 16.2% and 0.7% to 25.0% and 2.2%, respectively, and BMI increased by 0.22% ± 0.09% per year (P = 0.009). Household use of cooking oil increased and was positively associated with female BMI. Consumption of domesticated animal products did not change significantly but was positively associated with female BMI and male waist circumference. CONCLUSIONS Even small increases in energy-dense market-based foods can contribute to adiposity gains among a moderately active, subsistence-based population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hilary J Bethancourt
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - William R Leonard
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Susan Tanner
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Alan F Schultz
- Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA
| | - Asher Y Rosinger
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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42
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Charifson MA, Trumble BC. Evolutionary origins of polycystic ovary syndrome: An environmental mismatch disorder. Evol Med Public Health 2019; 2019:50-63. [PMID: 31367382 PMCID: PMC6658700 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoz011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common female endocrine disorder and has important evolutionary implications for female reproduction and health. PCOS presents an interesting paradox, as it results in significant anovulation and potential sub-fecundity in industrialized populations, yet it has a surprisingly high prevalence and has a high heritability. In this review, we discuss an overview of PCOS, current diagnostic criteria, associated hormonal pathways and a review of proposed evolutionary hypotheses for the disorder. With a multifactorial etiology that includes ovarian function, metabolism, insulin signaling and multiple genetic risk alleles, PCOS is a complex disorder. We propose that PCOS is a mismatch between previously neutral genetic variants that evolved in physically active subsistence settings that have the potential to become harmful in sedentary industrialized environments. Sedentary obesogenic environments did not exist in ancestral times and exacerbate many of these pathways, resulting in the high prevalence and severity of PCOS today. Overall, the negative impacts of PCOS on reproductive success would likely have been minimal during most of human evolution and unlikely to generate strong selection. Future research and preventative measures should focus on these gene-environment interactions as a form of evolutionary mismatch, particularly in populations that are disproportionately affected by obesity and metabolic disorders. LAY SUMMARY The most severe form of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is likely a result of interactions between genetic predispositions for PCOS and modern obesogenic environments. PCOS would likely have been less severe ancestrally and the fitness reducing effects of PCOS seen today are likely a novel product of sedentary, urban environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia A Charifson
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, 900 Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 427 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, 900 Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 427 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ, USA
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43
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Christopher L, Madimenos FC, Bribiescas RG, Urlacher SS, Snodgrass JJ, Sugiyama LS, Pontzer H. High energy requirements and water throughput of adult Shuar forager-horticulturalists of Amazonian Ecuador. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 31:e23223. [PMID: 30801886 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Revised: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We measured total energy expenditure (TEE; kcal/d) and water throughput (L/d) among Shuar forager-horticulturalists from Amazonian Ecuador to compare their daily energy and water demands to adults in other small-scale and industrialized populations. METHODS TEE and water throughput were measured using the doubly labeled water method among 15 Shuar adults (eight women, seven men; age range 18-60 years) living in a relatively remote village. We used multiple regression to assess the effects of anthropometric variables (body size, fat free mass, age, and sex) on TEE and water throughput. We also compared Shuar TEE and water throughput to those of other small-scale and industrialized societies. RESULTS TEE among Shuar adults (men: 4141 ± 645 kcal/d, women: 2536 ± 281 kcal/d) was most strongly correlated with fat free mass. Estimated physical activity levels (PAL) calculated as (TEE/estimated BMR), were greater for men (2.34 ± 0.29) than women (1.83 ± 0.14, P < 0.001). Water throughput was also greater among Shuar men (9.37 ± 2.34 L/d) than women (4.76 ± 0.36 L/d, P < 0.001). Shuar TEE and water throughput were elevated compared to adults in industrialized populations. DISCUSSION TEE and PAL of Shuar men are among the highest recorded during normal daily life, and likely reflect both high levels of physical activity and cultural dietary practices. Drinking large amounts of chicha, a traditional carbohydrate-rich drink made from manioc, likely contributes to the high levels of water throughput among Shuar men, and may contribute to elevated TEE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Christopher
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Felicia C Madimenos
- Department of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY), Flushing, New York.,New York Consortium on Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, New York
| | | | - Samuel S Urlacher
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | | | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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Rosinger AY, Pontzer H, Raichlen DA, Wood BM, Tanner SN, Sands JM. Age-related decline in urine concentration may not be universal: Comparative study from the U.S. and two small-scale societies. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 168:705-716. [PMID: 30706445 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Evidence from industrialized populations suggests that urine concentrating ability declines with age. However, lifestyle factors including episodic protein intake and low hypertension may help explain differences between populations. Whether this age-related decline occurs among small-scale populations with active lifestyles and non-Western diets is unknown. We test the universality of age-related urine concentration decline. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used urine specific gravity (Usg) and urine osmolality (Uosm) data from 15,055 U.S. nonpregnant adults without kidney failure aged 18-80 in 2007-2012 participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We tested the relationship of age on urine concentration biomarkers with multiple linear regressions using survey commands. We compared results to longitudinal data on Usg from 116 Tsimane' forager-horticulturalists (266 observations) adults aged 18-83 in 2013-2014 from Lowland Bolivia, and to 38 Hadza hunter-gatherers (156 observations) aged 18-75 in 2010-2015 from Tanzania using random-effects panel linear regressions. RESULTS Among U.S. adults, age was significantly negatively associated with Usg (Adjusted beta [B] = -0.0009 g/mL/10 years; SE = 0.0001; p < 0.001) and Uosm (B = -28.1 mOsm/kg/10 yr; SE = 2.4; p < 0.001). In contrast, among Tsimane' (B = 0.0003 g/mL/10 yr; SE = 0.0002; p = 0.16) and Hadza (B = -0.0004 g/mL/10 yr; SE = 0.0004; p = 0.29) age was not associated with Usg. Older Tsimane' and Hadza exhibited similar within-individual variability in Usg equivalent to younger adults. DISCUSSION While U.S. adults exhibited age-related declines in urine concentration, Tsimane' and Hadza adults did not exhibit the same statistical decline in Usg. Mismatches between evolved physiology and modern environments in lifestyle may affect kidney physiology and disease risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asher Y Rosinger
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania.,Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | - Brian M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Susan N Tanner
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Jeff M Sands
- Department of Medicine, Renal Division, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
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45
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Sayre MK, Pike IL, Raichlen DA. High levels of objectively measured physical activity across adolescence and adulthood among the Pokot pastoralists of Kenya. Am J Hum Biol 2018; 31:e23205. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Revised: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ivy L. Pike
- University of Arizona School of Anthropology Tucson Arizona
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46
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Pontzer H, Wood BM, Raichlen DA. Hunter-gatherers as models in public health. Obes Rev 2018; 19 Suppl 1:24-35. [PMID: 30511505 DOI: 10.1111/obr.12785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Hunter-gatherer populations are remarkable for their excellent metabolic and cardiovascular health and thus are often used as models in public health, in an effort to understand the root, evolutionary causes of non-communicable diseases. Here, we review recent work on health, activity, energetics and diet among hunter-gatherers and other small-scale societies (e.g. subsistence farmers, horticulturalists and pastoralists), as well as recent fossil and archaeological discoveries, to provide a more comprehensive perspective on lifestyle and health in these populations. We supplement these analyses with new data from the Hadza, a hunter-gatherer population in northern Tanzania. Longevity among small-scale populations approaches that of industrialized populations, and metabolic and cardiovascular disease are rare. Obesity prevalence is very low (<5%), and mean body fat percentage is modest (women: 24-28%, men: 9-18%). Activity levels are high, exceeding 100 min d-1 of moderate and vigorous physical activity, but daily energy expenditures are similar to industrialized populations. Diets in hunter-gatherer and other small-scale societies tend to be less energy dense and richer in fibre and micronutrients than modern diets but are not invariably low carbohydrate as sometimes argued. A more integrative understanding of hunter-gatherer health and lifestyle, including elements beyond diet and activity, will improve public health efforts in industrialized populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - B M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - D A Raichlen
- School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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47
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The role of epigenetics in cardiovascular health and ageing: A focus on physical activity and nutrition. Mech Ageing Dev 2018; 174:76-85. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2017.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2017] [Revised: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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48
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Tradeoffs between immune function and childhood growth among Amazonian forager-horticulturalists. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E3914-E3921. [PMID: 29632170 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1717522115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune function is an energetically costly physiological activity that potentially diverts calories away from less immediately essential life tasks. Among developing organisms, the allocation of energy toward immune function may lead to tradeoffs with physical growth, particularly in high-pathogen, low-resource environments. The present study tests this hypothesis across diverse timeframes, branches of immunity, and conditions of energy availability among humans. Using a prospective mixed-longitudinal design, we collected anthropometric and blood immune biomarker data from 261 Amazonian forager-horticulturalist Shuar children (age 4-11 y old). This strategy provided baseline measures of participant stature, s.c. body fat, and humoral and cell-mediated immune activity as well as subsample longitudinal measures of linear growth (1 wk, 3 mo, 20 mo) and acute inflammation. Multilevel analyses demonstrate consistent negative effects of immune function on growth, with children experiencing up to 49% growth reduction during periods of mildly elevated immune activity. The direct energetic nature of these relationships is indicated by (i) the manifestation of biomarker-specific negative immune effects only when examining growth over timeframes capturing active competition for energetic resources, (ii) the exaggerated impact of particularly costly inflammation on growth, and (iii) the ability of children with greater levels of body fat (i.e., energy reserves) to completely avoid the growth-inhibiting effects of acute inflammation. These findings provide evidence for immunologically and temporally diverse body fat-dependent tradeoffs between immune function and growth during childhood. We discuss the implications of this work for understanding human developmental energetics and the biological mechanisms regulating variation in human ontogeny, life history, and health.
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49
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Urlacher SS, Kramer KL. Evidence for energetic tradeoffs between physical activity and childhood growth across the nutritional transition. Sci Rep 2018; 8:369. [PMID: 29321690 PMCID: PMC5762677 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18738-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite broad implications for understanding human life history, energetics, and health, the impact of physical activity on childhood growth remains unclear. Particularly understudied is the effect of secular changes in physical activity on child development. We address these shortcomings using data spanning the transition from traditional to semi-developed economy among Yucatec Maya agriculturalists. Anthropometric and behavioral observation data were collected from children living in a subsistence-based rural community in 1992 and again in 2012 following the introduction of a school and mechanized technologies but minimal overt dietary change. Multiple regression analyses demonstrate dramatic twenty-year transformations in how children spent their time. This behavioral change was associated with large declines in estimated physical activity level (PAL), associated activity energy expenditure savings of several hundred kilocalories/day, and sizable increases in mean height, weight, and triceps skinfold thickness. Controlling for observed frequency of market food consumption, PAL was inversely related to child body size and subcutaneous fat stores and significantly mediated the effects of data collection year on anthropometric indices. These findings indicate that physical activity can considerably influence childhood growth, highlighting the role of energy allocation tradeoffs between physical activity and competing life tasks in shaping patterns of human ontogeny and health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel S Urlacher
- Department of Anthropology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
| | - Karen L Kramer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
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50
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Santos-Lozano A, Lucia A, Ruilope L, Pitsiladis YP. Born to run: our future depends on it. Lancet 2017; 390:635-636. [PMID: 28816127 DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(17)32103-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Luis Ruilope
- Research Institute of Hospital 12 de Octubre (i+12), Cardiovascular Risk and Cardiovascular Risk Group, Madrid, Spain
| | - Yannis P Pitsiladis
- Centre for Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine (SESAME), University of Brighton, Eastbourne BN20 7SN, UK.
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