Human Biology Association 50th Anniversary Virtual Poster Session

Human Biology Association

Show Posters:

Relationship between Salivary Cortisol and Epigenetic “Clock” Measures of Aging

SR Post1, CP Ryan2, NR Lee3, DB Carba3, JL MacIsaac4, DTS Lin4, P Atashzay4, MS Kobor4,5,6,7, CW Kuzawa1

Abstract
Epigenetic clocks estimate biological aging based on patterns of methylation within the genome. Epigenetic clocks have been shown to be accelerated, reflecting faster aging, by a range of unhealthy exposures or lifestyle factors and to prospectively predict higher risk for all cause mortality. Here we explore relationships between a suite of epigenetic clocks and diurnal rhythms of cortisol, a key stress hormone known to mediate relationships between stress experience and health. Data come from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS), a one-year birth cohort study established in 1983-1984. In 2005, when cohort members were 20-22 years old, waking, 30-minute post-waking and pre-bed saliva samples were collected to characterize diurnal cortisol curves, while whole blood was obtained and used to measure DNA methylation at ~850k CpG sites using the Illumina EPIC array. We calculated first-generation clocks trained on chronological age (Horvath, Hannum), second-generation clocks trained on suites of health indicators and mortality (PhenoAge, GrimAge, DNAmTL) and a third-generation clock trained on the pace of change in aging-related biomarkers (DunedinPACE). Relationships were most consistent with bedtime cortisol (reflecting chronic strain); all clocks related in the expected direction, and reached statistical signicance for the GrimAge (r=0.146, p=1.16x10^-8), PhenoAge (r=0.112, p=1.38x10^-5), and DunedinePACE 38 (r=0.063, p=.014) and 45 (r=0.078, p=0.002) clocks. Relationships were less consistent with total cortisol exposure and diurnal slope, but generally pointed to slower aging among individuals with more-robust waking responses. These findings point to plausible relationships between stress physiology and epigenetic markers of aging measured in young adulthood.
Presented by
Sasha Post <spost@fas.harvard.edu>
Institution
1Dept. of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard U., Cambridge, MA

Assessing changes in fatigue after deep brain stimulation using qualitative and quantitative self-report measures

Linda M. Gerber,1 Kaiulani S. Shulman,2 Megan S. Wright,2,3 Joseph J. Fins,2, 4 Nicholas D. Schiff5

Abstract
Fatigue is a common persistent impairment in individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Schiff et al (2023) recently conducted a feasibility study of deep brain stimulation (DBS) with the primary aim to assess improvements in executive control. Fatigue, as measured by the TBI-QOL Fatigue (TBI-QOL), was preselected as a secondary endpoint. The present study compares the before and after stimulation results of the TBI-QOL among five individuals participating in the DBS trial to fatigue assessed in two other types of self-reported data. Mean scores on the TBI-QOL were similar pre- and post-DBS (30 vs 26, respectively). On an additional self-reported questionnaire, the Rivermead Post-Concussive Symptom Questionnaire (RPQ), pre-DBS, three participants endorsed fatigue as a major problem and two endorsed fatigue as a minor problem. Post-DBS, only one participant endorsed fatigue as a major problem reported on RPQ, one endorsed fatigue as moderate problem and three indicated that fatigue was not a problem (mean score on one item decreased from 3.2 to 1.4). Narrative data also collected as part of a companion study (Fins et al, 2022, 2023) showed a strong effect: pre-DBS: three participants indicated that fatigue was a problem; post-DBS, all three of these participants specifically noted that fatigue had improved, while an additional participant noted improvement in fatigue despite not volunteering fatigue in their baseline interview. These findings broaden the understanding of symptom burden among individuals with chronic brain injuries and suggest the importance of incorporating narrative data to further inform self-report inventories.

Support: NIH BRAIN Initiative 1RF1MH12378-01 and UH3 NS095554
Presented by
Linda Gerber
Institution
1Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, NY, 2Division of Medical Ethics, Weill Cornell Medical College, 3Penn State Dickinson Law, Pennsylvania State University, 4Solomon Center for Health Law & Policy, Yale Law School, 5Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College

The Weathering Hypothesis meets the “Anglophone Problem”: Pregnancy Outcomes within a Sociolinguistic Minority Group in Cameroon

Connors, Ca'la K; Kuzawa, Christopher

Abstract
Cameroon is unique in Africa for having two colonial languages spoken in geographically distinct regions, due to its history of split colonial rule under the British and the French. The francophone population constitutes roughly 80% of the total, making anglophones a sociolinguistic minority who have long claimed marginalization by the Francophone majority and government. Little research has explored how this structural marginalization impacts the health of anglophone Cameroonians, which may contribute to health disparities through immediate adult health effects and intergenerational stress transmission.

Using 2011 Demographic and Health Survey data, we examine infant birthweight and prenatal care access, comparing outcomes between urban anglophone and francophone regions. The sample (N=871) includes infants born to women aged 20-34, living in urban regions, who gave birth within the five years before the survey. No significant differences were found in c-section rates, or number of prenatal appointments attended, though women in anglophone regions had their first prenatal visit three weeks later (p<0.00) than those in francophone regions. Despite this, infants born in anglophone regions (N=115) were on average 100g heavier than those born in francophone regions (N=756), with the difference trending toward significance (p<0.09). Women in anglophone regions, on average, were less educated, more likely to give birth in a private facility, less wealthy, and more primiparous relative to women in Francophone regions, however, these differences were not significant.

Future work should establish whether these apparent differences are due to systematic biases in representation in the sample, to some protective factors, or both.
Presented by
Ca'la Connors
Institution
Northwestern University, Harvard Univeristy

Changes in risk factors for postmenopausal breast cancer among Bangladeshi migrants in London

GR Bentley,1 C Chaney,2 RT Chatterton,3 LC Houghton,4 S Muttukrishna,5 A Núñez-de la Mora,6 LL Sievert7

Abstract
While breast cancer (BC) rates are low in South Asia (SA), BC rates increase among SA migrants to the UK and USA. We argue this increase occurs in postmenopausal, receptor positive (rather than premenopausal, receptor negative) BC and explore contributing factors from three studies of British-Bangladeshi migrants: i) Puberty Study, 2009-11, 468 girls aged 5-16; ii) Reproduction Study, 2002-3, 227 women aged 18-39; iii) Menopause Study, 2006-10, 534 women aged 35-59. Data included hormone levels, length of reproductive lifespan, diet and anthropometrics, breastfeeding and physical activity. All studies followed the same design, and included participants living in Sylhet, northeast Bangladesh (sedenteesfrom where most British-Bangladeshi migrants originate, migrants who moved to the UK as children or adults, and individuals of European ancestry living in similar neighborhoods. Migrants who arrived early in childhood and second-generation British-Bangladeshis had higher levels of salivary progesterone, earlier menarche and later menopause than sedentees in Bangladesh. Migrant women reduced the length but not incidence of breastfeeding. Following migration, consumption of meat, dairy products, snacks and sugary drinks increased, and vegetable and rice intake declined. BMI and waist circumference increased significantly among migrants relative to sedentees. Migrants from the Menopause Study had significantly lower levels of Vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) compared to sedentees and white women. Physical activity increased among women following migration relative to sedentees but remained lower than white women. Lifestyle factors associated with risk for postmenopausal BC change among Bangladeshi migrants to England and help to explain increased BC rates among SA migrant women.
Presented by
Gillian Bentley
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, Durham University, United Kingdom; Department of Biology, 2Washington University of St Louis, United States of America; 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, United States of America; 4Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, United States of America; 5Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, ANU Research Centre, University of Cork, Ireland; 3Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico; 3Dept of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, United States of America

Challenges to pregnancy and postpartum care during the Covid-19 pandemic in a capital city in the Amazon, Brazil

Priscila E. L. Silva, Hilton P. Silva, Roseane B.T. Oliveira, Pedro da Glória, Barbara A. Piperata

Abstract
This is a qualitative research using a bioanthropological approach, involving mother-baby dyads of high and low socioeconomic status (SES) from the city of Belém, in the Brazilian Amazon, with the objective of understanding the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic in the self-care of women during pregnancy and puerperium, the impacts on parental care and which strategies were most commonly used by women during this special period. Different socioeconomic strata were analyzed to identify the self-care conditions considered necessary by women during pregnancy, as well as care for the baby during the puerperal period in the midst of a pandemic. A protocol was developed considering the international epidemiological recommendations, using faceto-face interviews, when possible, and online meetings, with mothers of babies in the first two months of life. Data collection took place between July 2021 and March 2022. Twenty-one women participated in the research. In general, mothers encountered difficulties in social interaction with family, assistance from family members, self-care, reduced income, and lack of prenatal consultations during the pandemic, but they found some ways to alleviate the difficulties by using social networks such as E-mail, WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube for consultations, information, and also to generate income. The study provided an overview of how the pandemic affected mothers and babies from different SES in a major Amazon city and how they reacted. The findings may contribute to the planning of public policies aimed at maternal and child care during periods of prolonged crises, such as epidemics, pandemics and environmental disasters.
Presented by
Priscila E. L. Silva
Institution
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva na Amazônia da Universidade Federal do Pará, Brazil. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia da UFPA, Brazil. Centro de Estudos Avançados Multidisciplinares da Universidade de Brasília, Brazil. Laboratório de Estudos Bioantropológicos em Saúde e Meio Ambiente, CNPq, Brazil. The Ohio State University, USA.

Gender and sexual diversities (GSD) across four generations – representative study from Poland

ME Mijas(1,2), K Koziara(3), B Grabski(4), M Folkierska-Żukowska(5), WŁ Dragan(6)

Abstract
The prevalence of gender and sexual diverse (GSD) identities, behaviors and attractions reflects changing societal norms concerning sexuality and as such is subjected to dynamic intergenerational changes. In this study, we aimed at investigating the prevalence of GSD identities, behaviors, and attractions in the representative sample of Polish adults from four generations. We expected to observe an intergenerational increase in the prevalence of GSD identities, behaviors and attractions, with the highest rates among the youngest respondents.

This study utilized stratified sampling. Demographic and questionnaire data was collected through an online research platform. Statistical analyses were performed using R studio.

9366 Polish adults (51.6% assigned female at birth, AFAB) aged 44.5 years participated in the study. The final sample included 20% Baby Boomers, 30% Gen X, 35% Millennials and 15% Gen Z respondents. Nearly one in ten participants revealed GSD sexual or gender identity.

We observed a progressive decline in the proportion of self-identified cisgender heterosexual participants across all four generations with the highest percentage among Baby Boomers and lowest among Gen Z participants. Nearly one in six Gen Z respondents identified as LGBTQA+ person as compared to only 3% of Baby Boomers. Similar patterns were observed in the case of sexual and romantic attractions and behaviors. Additionally, exclusive heterosexual attractions and behaviors were less prevalent among AFAB participants within each distinguished generation.

Our results are consistent with data from other large representative studies and indicate significant societal changes related to genders and sexualities particularly evident among younger generations.
Presented by
Magdalena Mijas <magdalena.mijas@uj.edu.pl>
Institution
1.Jagiellonian University Medical College, Department of Environmental Health, Krakow, Poland; 2.Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas; 3.Jagiellonian University Medical College, Department of Epidemiology and Population Studies, Krakow, Poland; 4.Sexology Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland; 5.Biopsychosocial Investigations of Gender Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; 6.Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland

Exploring the Immunological Mechanisms of Oral Immunotherapy in Food Allergy Desensitization

Kaily Khaloyan

Abstract
Food allergies are a growing public health concern, with severe reactions such as anaphylaxis that pose constant, and very serious, risks for affected individuals. Traditional management strategies, usually focusing on allergen avoidance and emergency interventions, do not address the underlying causes of allergic responses. In recent years, oral immunotherapy (OIT), has emerged as a promising alternative in the allergy world. The goal of this type of treatment is to desensitize individuals to specific allergens by gradually introducing them in controlled doses (Kulis et al., 2017). This research project will explore the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which OIT induces desensitization and promotes long-term tolerance of one's allergens. Specifically, it will focus on the modulation of IgE-mediated immune responses, the suppression of mast cell and basophil activation, and the role of regulatory T cells in promoting immune tolerance (Ma & Zhu, 2024).

New adjunctive therapies, including omalizumab, also know as Xolair, have also recently even introduced in the allergy community. These methods may be able to advance both the safety and efficacy of oral immunotherapy by modulating IgE levels and decreasing severe allergic reactions during the desensitization process.

The following research study utilizes an extensive literature review, which includes survey data from individuals undergoing or having completed an oral immunotherapy program. It will also evaluate potential biomarkers of successful desensitization; examples of this include, but are not limited to, changes in the IgE/IgG4 ratio, generation of allergen-specific regulatory T cells, and changes in immune modulation. Understanding these immunological mechanisms will aid in understanding treatment protocols, mitigating risks, and improving outcomes for food allergy patients.
Presented by
Khaloyan, Kaily
Institution
University of California, Berkeley

An examination of the variation in adult anthropometric measurements in relation to childhood social factors using computed tomography scans

Adrianna N. Wiley1, Cristina Lama1,2, and Michelle E. Cameron1

Abstract
The present study aims to explore the associations of adult limb proportions, representing the end point of the linear growth that occurs in childhood, with childhood socioeconomic background. Life history theory frames energy according to the laws of thermodynamics as a finite resource allocated between basic survival costs (metabolic functions, physical activity, and immunity) and productive costs (growth/maintenance, or reproduction). Energetic deficits through lack of access to resources and/or increased exposure to stressors are associated with the disadvantaged biocultural environments often afforded to individuals with lower socioeconomic status. These deficits may impact growth outcomes. We use anthropometric and demographic data collected from 193 adult (aged 20–50 years; m=99, f=94) individuals whose computed tomography scans are housed in the New Mexico Decedent Image Database to explore how various limb proportions differ between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) levels. Relationships are tested using ANCOVA and BCa bootstrap intervals. Individuals from upper-class backgrounds have larger dimensions for a given trunk length across all measurements. The most significant between-SES differences are found in the ulna (p=0.02) and tibia (p=0.03). While individuals who face resource deficits in early childhood may undergo catch-up growth during adolescence, our study suggests the material disadvantage offered by low SES in New Mexico prevents this catch-up growth from equalizing body proportions. Our study demonstrates the importance of the ulna and tibia as biomarkers of childhood biocultural environments.
Presented by
Wiley, Adrianna Nicole
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario; 2Department of Anthropology Western University, London, Ontario

The impact of endemic violence on the nutrition of pastoralist adolescents in Northern Kenya.

Valentina Dziecinny Vazquez, Aubree Kaliski, Ivy Pike

Abstract
In certain pastoralist communities of East Africa, it is known that stressors directly affect adolescent growth and development. Adolescence is a critical period that demands adequate nutritional intake for physiological processes to be carried out. Stressors in these East African communities can cause delays in adolescent development, which can have downstream, long-term consequences. However, we do not have a complete understanding of the implications of endemic violence on the nutritional health of pastoralist youth in the Pokot and Turkana communities of Northern Kenya. This study aims to address the nutritional status over time of adolescents from these groups who experience widespread intercommunity violence. Our study analyzes anthropometric measurements of adolescents from each community, including stress markers, age, height, weight, skinfold measurements, and food insecurity levels. This study also analyzes additional data from open-ended interviews with community members to give a qualitative perspective to the study. We predict that high levels of stress caused by endemic violence will correlate to nutritional deficits in pastoralist youth. We also predict that chronic violence will have more profound developmental effects on adolescents who experience greater levels of stress across time. The findings of this study could offer valuable insight into how an environment afflicted by intercommunity violence influences the health and growth outcomes of pastoralist youth in Northern Kenya.
Presented by
Valentina Dziecinny Vazquez and Aubree Kaliski
Institution
The University of Arizona, School of Anthropology

Age and sex patterns in the size and kin-makeup of children's playmate networks

Brooke A. Rothamer1, Luke Glowacki1, Aaron D. Blackwell2, Jessica K. Hlay1, Madison A. C. Hönig2, Nicole Merullo1, Izabel Rodríguez-James1, Caroline B. Smith2, Carolyn R. Hodges-Simeon1

Abstract
Evolutionary theories of social development hypothesize that children’s social behavior is adaptive to their developmental stage while also serving as practice for sex-typical adult social behavior. Therefore, the social relationships in which children invest time and effort are expected to vary with age and sex. Older children and adolescents are expected to engage with more non-kin playmates as they integrate into the broader community. Because adult men generally have larger social networks than women, boys are expected to develop larger play networks than girls as they age. We predicted that older children, especially boys, would have larger networks composed of more non-kin. We surveyed 109 children ages 5 to 17 in Utila, Honduras. Participants self-reported up to eight individuals with whom they had played during the last month. Additional information about playmates included their age, sex, and kin relation to the participant. Using Poisson generalized linear models we tested regressions of playmate count for various playmate identities against participant age and sex. Both boys and girls named fewer immediate kin as playmates with age (β = -0.213, p = 0.002). However, only girls named fewer of all kin types with age (β = -0.071, p = 0.049). Conversely, only boys’ number of non-kin playmates increased with age (β = 0.128, p = 0.049). Investigation of play network sex-segregation with age followed a similar pattern: girls’ playmate networks changed more through the reduction of certain categories of playmates with age whereas boys' networks changed through the increase of other categories.
Presented by
Brooke Rothamer
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, MA; 2Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA

Dam-induced displacement and disruption are associated with cortisol concentration and patterns of diurnal variation

Cassie C Lee, Aaron A Miller, Thomas W McDade, Patrick M Owuor

Abstract
The development of hydroelectric dams has been integral to economic development in low- and middle-income countries. For example, the Thwake Multipurpose Dam in Makueni, Kenya, is expected to reduce water insecurity and enhance economic development upon completion. However, the biosocial implications of these infrastructure projects, particularly among women and children, are poorly understood. As a measure of the stress related effects, this study examines the cortisol concentrations and diurnal variation of women who were either resettled by, live downstream of, or live upstream of the Thwake Multipurpose Dam development project. Salivary cortisol (1205 samples corresponding to 411 participants) was measured in the evening, upon waking, and 30-minutes after waking in 2019. After applying exclusion criteria to control for sample quality, collection timing, outliers, and survey data, 221 participants had at least one measure of cortisol concentration. Mean participant age was 37.1 years (SD 15.7), the mean on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was 35.2 (SD 9.40), the mean Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women was 5.72 (SD 2.01), and the mean wealth index was 0.070 (SD 0.901). In unadjusted linear regression, log-transformed evening cortisol concentration and evening-waking diurnal difference were significantly associated with displacement status. In adjusted linear regression, log-transformed evening cortisol concentration was significantly associated with displacement status. These results suggest that both displaced and downstream communities experience stress related hormonal changes from dam-induced disruption. Greater attention to downstream communities is necessary for more comprehensive mitigation measures to reduce the health impacts of hydroelectric dam development.
Presented by
Lee, Cassie C
Institution
Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL and Department of Anthropology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

What explains variation in childhood blood pressure? An exploration of life history variables affecting blood pressure in Utila, Honduras

N Merullo1, AD Blackwell2, GN Busi1, JK Hlay1, MAC Hönig2, I Rodríguez-James1, BA Rothamer1, CB Smith2, CR Hodges-Simeon1

Abstract
Presented by
Merullo, Nicole
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, MA; 2Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA

Estrategias ante la inseguridad hídrica y sus efectos en la salud psicosocial de mujeres cabezas de familia en colonias populares de Xalapa, Veracruz, México.

María José Palmeros de la Rosa, Alejandra Núñez de la Mora, Adriana Rodríguez Barraza

Abstract
En años recientes, el gobierno de la ciudad de Xalapa, Veracruz ha implementado un sistema de suministro intermitente de agua para cubrir la creciente demanda de una población en aumento y un déficit en la disponibilidad resultado de cambios en la hidrología de la región asociados a la deforestación y el cambio climático. Se ha documentado que este tipo de suministro tiene efectos negativos en la infraestructura y la calidad del agua. Sin embargo, son pocos los trabajos que se han ocupado del impacto de esta forma de inseguridad hídrica en la vida diaria y el bienestar de quienes la padecen, en particular, en la de mujeres cabezas de familia, a quienes comúnmente se asigna la gestión del agua como parte de sus responsabilidades de cuidados. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue recabar, mediante entrevistas en profundidad, las experiencias asociadas al abasto racionado e intermitente de agua, las estrategias para hacerle frente y las repercusiones directas e indirectas en las decisiones cotidianas y la salud psicosocial de mujeres habitantes en colonias populares de la ciudad. Se discuten los efectos del desabasto en términos económicos, de tiempo y de salud y bienestar percibidos, así como el impacto de la incertidumbre en las dinámicas familiares y convivencia comunitarias.
Presented by
Palmeros de la Rosa, María José <zs20017263@estudiantes.uv.mx>
Institution
Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Veracruzana

Food Sharing Networks in a Multi-ethnic, Predominantly Indigenous Peri-Urban Community in the Brazilian Amazon

Harold Wright M.S., Barbara A. Piperata, PhD, Sean S. Downey, PhD

Abstract
We examine the role of egocentric networks in the subsistence strategies of the population of a multi-ethnic, predominantly Indigenous, peri-urban community in Brazilian Amazonia. Much of the literature on social, including egocentric, networks as means of access to subsistence focuses on their role as short-term coping strategies. However, among many traditional populations, including Indigenous cultures, such networks are viewed as an integral part of establishing both intra- and intertribal social relationships. Yet questions remain about the extent to which such networks exist in a multiethnic, peri-urban or urban setting and the reasons for which they form. By analyzing the networks present within the community, it becomes possible to predict the role such networks fill in subsistence strategies, as well as to determine their potential role in community integration. [Key words: egocentric networks, coping strategies, Indigenous cultures, Amazonia, peri-urban, community integration]
Presented by
Wright, Harold M
Institution
Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University

Does body surface area predict core temperature change? Preliminary results from four climatic exposures

Libby W. Cowgill, Michelle Hoskins, Cara Ocobock, Elizabeth Cho, Scott D. Maddux

Abstract
Ecogeographic patterns in human body form have been well documented in living populations, skeletal collections, and fossil remains, and human variation generally conforms to the predictions of Bergmann’s (1947) and Allen’s (1877) rules. Specifically, populations from colder climates tend to exhibit relatively lower surface area to volume ratios (SA/V) and those from warmer environments display higher SA/V ratios, which is hypothesized to aid in heat retention in colder climates and heat dissipation in warmer ones. Recent research, however, has questioned whether these patterns are a product of climate-related selection pressure, or an artifact of population history. Before proposing evolutionary hypotheses regarding the development of human body form, functional links between anatomy and thermoregulatory physiology must be validated.

To this end, this study investigated the relationship between body surface area (BSA) and core temperature change in five males and five females exposed to four climatic conditions in a walk-in climate chamber: control (22°C, 50% RH), cold (5°C, 80% RH), hot/dry (44°C, 15% RH), and hot/humid (39°C, 85% RH). Prior to each 45 minute exposure, participants ingested an eCelsius sensor, which allows continuous core temperature monitoring at 15 seconds intervals, and heat loss/gain was quantified as change in core temperature during exposure. Total BSA was calculated using full body computed tomography scans of each participant. Results suggest that the relationship between core temperature and BSA vary by climatic exposure. Future research will both expand the study sample size and explore more complex relationships between BSA and skin temperature change.
Presented by
Cowgill, Libby
Institution
University of Missouri

“I never don’t have water because I collect rainwater”: Water insecurity and sociocultural factors in an indigenous community of Northern Argentina

SI Olmedo, CR Valeggia, C Palavecino and R Pérez-Escamilla

Abstract
The lifestyles and worldviews of Indigenous communities have long been deeply intertwined with natural resources, particularly water. However, these vital resources are now severely threatened by systemic social marginalization and the enduring impacts of colonization, further violating the human right to water access. Our primary objective was to assess the extent of water insecurity and explore its sociocultural associations in a Pilagá community in Formosa, Argentina. This mixed-methods cross-sectional study, conducted in 2023, involved data collection from Pilagá households representing 59 family clusters, covering all family units in the community. We employed a pre-validated HWISE survey. Qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The average age of participants was 36.8 ± 12.7 years, with most being women, who primarily handled the task of fetching water. Water insecurity was prevalent, affecting 62% of households, most of which depended on well pumps. In response, households engaged in resource sharing, which strained relationships around water access. Through an ecological model, we identified multiple interrelated contextual factors, revealing that shifts in one area had ripple effects across others. Key factors included water sources, cultural perceptions of water, resource distribution, and social dynamics around water. The Pilagá community confronts pervasive water insecurity within a challenging and evolving socio-ecological landscape.
Presented by
Olmedo, Sofia Irene
Institution
Instituto de Investigaciones sobre Lenguaje, Sociedad y Territorio (INILSyT), Universidad Nacional de Formosa (UNAF), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) Formosa, Argentina. ID: 0000-0003-0540-8243; Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, USA; Member of Pilagá community, La Bomba, Formosa, Argentina; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, USA.

Minimally invasive measurement of zonulin, a key biomarker for environmental enteric dysfunction and childhood growth faltering, in dried blood spot samples

LS Orozco1, EY Kim2, E Shoemaker1, L Fahed1 J Gassen3, TJ Nowak2, SP Weaver4, EJ Baker5, MP Muehlenbein6, SS Urlacher6

Abstract
Pathogen exposure from unsanitary living conditions can damage the gut, leading to decreased barrier integrity and poor nutrient absorption. This subclinical condition – termed environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) – is the reality for millions of children globally and is now recognized as the world’s leading cause of childhood growth faltering. Problematically, assessment of EED requires invasive procedures, such as venipuncture blood sampling. This approach is not practical and is burdensome for many groups, especially children living in low-to-middle income countries where EED is common. Recent research has shown that zonulin is a biomarker for the intestinal permeability aspect of EED pathophysiology, due to its role in the regulation of tight junctions in epithelial cells. Here, we validate the measurement of a zonulin in minimally invasive finger-prick dried blood spot (DBS) samples using a commercially available ELISA kit (Elabscience, E-EL-H5560). Following initial assay optimization, zonulin was measured in the ‘Waco100’ matched DBS and serum sample set. Zonulin was reliably detected in all DBS samples (mean = 4.963±4.383 pg/mL) and exhibited a strong linear relationship between DBS and serum values (r2 = 0.96; Passing-Bablok regression). Additional validation testing indicated acceptable metrics for spike and recovery (101.5±12.7% recovery), dilutional linearity (96.4±15.5% recovery), and freeze-thaw/hot-cold analyte stability (all effects p > 0.05). These results demonstrate strong performance and reliability for measuring zonulin in DBS samples. Human biologists are ideally positioned to use this minimally invasive zonulin measurement approach to advance the study of EED and to investigate the pathways of growth faltering across diverse populations.
Presented by
Orozco, Luna S.
Institution
1Human Evolutionary Biology and Health Lab, Baylor University, Waco, TX; 2Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX; 3Department of Psychiatry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; 4Waco Family Medicine, Waco, TX; 5Department of Computer Science, Belmont University, Nashville, TN; 6Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX

Neuropsychiatric sequelae of long COVID among adults: a cross-sectional study in Johannesburg, South Africa

Andrew Wooyoung Kim, Someleze Swana , Simiso Sokhela, Samanta T. Lalla-Edward , Ncomeka Manentsa, Alexander C. Tsai, WD Francois Venter

Abstract
Growing research has underscored the elevated prevalence and burden of neuropsychiatric morbidity among adults living with long COVID. Scientists have suggested that the severity of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection may predict the prevalence and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms in long COVID. While countries in the Global South have faced among the highest incidence rates and burden of COVID-19, little is known about the neuropsychiatric symptoms of long COVID in these regions, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to 1) compare the prevalence of long-term neuropsychiatric symptoms between acute COVID-19 infection groups; 2) estimate the associations between COVID-19 severity and long-term neuropsychiatric symptoms; and 3) determine the association between long COVID symptoms and neuropsychiatric symptoms. This observational study took place in Johannesburg, South Africa between August 2022 and July 2023. A total of 360 adults were categorised into one of four case groups based on their initial COVID-19 symptoms: asymptomatic, symptomatic, hospitalised, and a vaccinated control group. Prevalence rates of PTSD (21.1%) and somatic symptoms (23.2%) were elevated. Individuals with symptomatic COVID-19 exhibited the greatest neuropsychiatric morbidity out of all groups, exhibiting the highest levels of depression, suicidality, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, somatisation, and headaches. Acute COVID-19 severity was associated with worse symptoms of depression, somatisation, and physical fatigue. Severity of possible long COVID symptoms was directly associated with neuropsychiatric sequelae. These results call attention to the long-term neuropsychiatric sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection and early identification and management of emerging neuropsychiatric symptoms in high-risk COVID-19 survivors in South Africa.
Presented by
Kim, Andrew Wooyoung
Institution
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA; Wits/SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Ecological and social determinants of early life oxidative stress: Preliminary findings from a low-resource US community

A Samsonov (1), JA Beauregard (2), KL Nemeth (2), C Chaney (3,4), J Ainsley (4), D Mukundan (4), S Hotter (4), EK Mallott (4), TJ Cepon-Robins (5), TE Gildner (2), SS Urlacher (1)

Abstract
Oxidative stress (OS), the imbalance between reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defenses, plays an important role in human health and aging. OS damage to nucleic acids and other macromolecules is associated with numerous inflammatory, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative conditions. Problematically, relatively little attention has been given to OS in children and adolescents, despite clear implications of early life OS for human life history evolution and public health. Here, we use pilot data to test if OS—measured using first morning urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a biomarker of systemic DNA oxidation—is cross-sectionally associated with select anthropometric and socioeconomic variables among children and adolescents (n = 21, aged 4-12 y) living in a low-resource community in Southwestern Illinois. Initial linear regression findings indicate that OS is negatively associated with BMI z-scores (b = -0.24, p = 0.047), contradictory to the positive relationship typically found in overweight/obese clinical samples. Though not significant, positive trends were also identified between OS and measures of both food and water insecurity (both p < 0.2). These findings suggest that in low-resource settings, greater energy availability may allow for more energetic investment in endogenous antioxidant defenses, limiting OS. Our findings also highlight potentially important pathways for the embodiment of resource insecurity that may be detectable in this context with larger samples. We build on these findings using additional OS biomarkers to further understand the ecological and social drivers of child OS variation and their implications for human energetic trade-offs, lifetime health, and the development of population health inequities.
Presented by
Samsonov, A <anna_samsonov1@baylor.edu>
Institution
Baylor University - Dept of Anthropology (1), Washington University in St Louis - Dept of Anthropology (2), University of Missouri - Dept of Anthropology (3), Washington University in St Louis - Dept of Biology (4), University of Colorado Colorado Springs - Dept of Anthropology (5)

Relationships Among Epstein-Barr Virus Antibodies, COVID-19, and Stress in Mothers up to 1-Year Postpartum

E. Anastasi1, D.J. Glass1,2,3, T.D. Pan2, E. Brindle2,4, B. Caffe 5, C.B. Smith 5, A.E. Kunkle1, M.A. Kent 1, A.D. Navarrete6,7, C.D.W. Pace8, D.T.A. Eisenberg1,2, R.M. Pace8,9,10, J.E. Williams11, S.H. Ley12, C. Barbosa-Leiker13, M.A. McGuire11, M.K. McGuire8, C.L. Meehan 5, M. Martin1,2

Abstract
Both psychosocial stress and current infection can increase the likelihood of reactivation of latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Pregnancy and infection with SARS-CoV-2 can be stressful and modulate immune function. However, it is unknown how SARS-CoV-2 infection and stress further interact among postpartum women to affect EBV antigen and antibody expression. We examined associations among COVID-19 diagnosis, self-reported stress, and EBV Immunoglobulin G (IgG) in previously collected data from 45 breastfeeding U.S. women (1-18 months postpartum) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between June 2020 and March 2021, stress survey data and capillary dried blood HemaSpot samples were collected from 25 SARS-CoV-2 infected and 20 non-infected participants at multiple time points over the course of 60 days. Samples (N = 104) were later assayed for EBV IgG. Statistical methods were pre-registered, and relationships among SARS-CoV-2 infection, stress, and EBV IgG were analyzed via mixed-effects regression models, adjusting for time postpartum and time elapsed since enrollment. There was a statistically significant association between self-reported stress and EBV IgG levels, with higher average stress associated with higher average EBV IgG. EBV IgG concentration did not vary independently with COVID-19 positivity status or number of COVID-19 symptoms. Results suggest that EBV IgG concentrations were elevated across sample participants by stress, but not by the relatively mild cases of COVID-19 the mothers experienced.
Presented by
Anastasi, Emma
Institution
University of Washington, Department of Anthropology

Allostatic load and chronic pain among older adults in the United States

Dee Jolly, MS & L. Zachary DuBois, PhD

Abstract
Chronic pain has known links to chronic stress, yet the pathways for how stress becomes embodied as chronic pain are not well understood. Current research suggests that stress may play a mediating pathway through which social disconnection becomes embodied as chronic pain. Using data from Waves 1-3 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (N=6,069), a nationally representative study of community-dwelling older adults in the United States, we tested longitudinal relationships between social disconnection, stress as indexed through allostatic load, and chronic pain. Social disconnection was measured through loneliness and frequency of social interaction. Modeling other research, we defined having chronic pain as having moderate, severe, extreme, or the worst pain imaginable in the past 4 weeks. To index allostatic load, we used quartile-based cutoffs to indicate dysregulation for each biomarker (i.e., heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, glycosylated hemoglobin, Epstein-Barr antibodies, C-reactive protein, and dehydroepiandrosterone). Analyses were adjusted for age, exercise level, and smoking. Our analyses suggest that loneliness may lead to chronic pain through allostatic load. We also found evidence of a cyclic relationship between social interaction, allostatic load, and chronic pain such that lowered social interaction drove increases in allostatic load. Our results suggest that social disconnection is a painful experience that can lead to chronic pain over time through physiologic stress pathways. This suggests that chronic pain may not be an inevitable part of aging and points toward the need for continued social connection throughout life.
Presented by
Dee Jolly <djolly@uoregon.edu>
Institution
University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology

Effectiveness of group antenatal care in increasing healthcare utilization and improving maternal and infant outcomes in Malawi

CL Patil1, ET Abrams1, X Mei1, L Liu1, AA Desloge3, E Kapito4, Genesis Chorwe-Sungani4 E Chirwa4, and KF Norr1

Abstract
US-based research shows that Group antenatal care (ANC) effectively improves outcomes, including reduced preterm births, increased breastfeeding rates, and better pregnancy spacing. Group ANC has been adapted in dozens of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2016, WHO recommended increasing ANC contacts from four (ANC4+) to eight (ANC8+) and emphasized respectful care; they identified Group ANC as a promising service delivery model in need of rigorous research. We filled this gap by completing an effectiveness trial in Blantyre, Malawi, hypothesizing that Group ANC would increase ANC attendance and lead to fewer low birth weight (LBW) newborns. Group effects on outcomes were evaluated using t-tests, Mann-Whitney, or Chi-squared tests. Multivariable linear regression or logistic regression models, adjusted for covariates, for post-intervention outcomes were used to assess effectiveness. Participants in Group ANC had more ANC contacts than those in Individual ANC (5.6 vs 4.8; p < 0.0001); the regression model showed a positive impact of Group ANC (Estimate = 0.74). Those in Group ANC were 1.64 times and 3.27 times more likely to complete ANC4+ and ANC8+ (16.9% Group vs 5.8% Individual), respectively. Covariates associated with the mean number and ANC4+ outcomes were education, age, residence, and client-to-midwife ratios. Age was the only factor related to ANC8+. At 9.5% in Individual and 11.0% in Group ANC, LBW rates were not significantly different (p = 0.344). Despite no impact on LBW, this study shows that Group ANC significantly increases healthcare utilization and highlights its potential to improve maternal and infant outcomes in LMICs.
Presented by
Crystal L. Patil
Institution
1 University of Michigan; 2 University of Illinois Chicago; 3 University of North Carolina Charlotte; 4 Kamuzu University of Health Science, Blantyre, Malawi;

An evolutionary medicine and life history perspective on aging and chronic disease: Trade-offs, hyperfunction, and environmental mismatch

Jacob E. Aronoff, Benjamin C. Trumble

Abstract
Presented by
Aronoff, Jacob E
Institution
Arizona State University

Pride protects where it counts: State moderates the relationship between transgender identity-pride and allostatic load

L. Zachary DuBois, Ph.D., Dee Jolly, M.S., Kelsi Kuehn, M.A., Jae A. Puckett, Ph.D., Sally I. Powers, Ed.D., Debra A. Hope, Ph.D., Richard Mocarski, Ph.D., & Robert-Paul Juster, Ph.D.

Abstract
Structural and legislative attacks against transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people’s autonomy and self-determination in the United States have grown exponentially over the past five years. A growing body of literature links this stigma to poorer health among TNB people and implicates stigma as a key social determinant of health. In this context, it becomes vital to identify positive factors affecting health, as well as to understand how sociopolitical context may affect these relationships. Using baseline data from the Transgender Health and Resilience Study, a year-long study of stress and resilience among TNB people living in Michigan, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Oregon (N=107), we aimed to understand the relationship between pride in one’s TNB identity and allostatic load and how current state of residence changes this relationship. We indexed allostatic load through quartile-based cutoffs to indicate dysregulation in heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, cortisol awakening response, cortisol daily decline, HbA1c, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio. Analyses were adjusted for age. No significant association was detected between pride and allostatic load in the full sample. However, current state of residence moderated the relationship between allostatic load and pride, such that the beneficial effects of pride (i.e., a negative association between pride and allostatic load) was only present among those living in Tennessee. Given that Tennessee was the state with the least legislative protection against anti-TNB discrimination, these data suggest the effect of pride in one’s gender identity on health is most salient in more stigmatizing and less protective environments.
Presented by
Kelsi Kuehn <zdubois@uoregon.edu>
Institution
University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology

The Weathering Hypothesis meets the “Anglophone Problem”: Pregnancy Outcomes within a Sociolinguistic Minority Group in Cameroon

Connors, Ca'la K; Kuzawa, Christopher

Abstract
Cameroon is unique in Africa for having two colonial languages spoken in geographically distinct regions, due to its history of split colonial rule under the British and the French. The francophone population constitutes roughly 80% of the total, making anglophones a sociolinguistic minority who have long claimed marginalization by the Francophone majority and government. Little research has explored how this structural marginalization impacts the health of anglophone Cameroonians, which may contribute to health disparities through immediate adult health effects and intergenerational stress transmission.

Using 2011 Demographic and Health Survey data, we examine infant birthweight and prenatal care access, comparing outcomes between urban anglophone and francophone regions. The sample (N=871) includes infants born to women aged 20-34, living in urban regions, who gave birth within the five years before the survey. No significant differences were found in c-section rates, or number of prenatal appointments attended, though women in anglophone regions had their first prenatal visit three weeks later (p<0.00) than those in francophone regions. Despite this, infants born in anglophone regions (N=115) were on average 100g heavier than those born in francophone regions (N=756), with the difference trending toward significance (p<0.09). Women in anglophone regions, on average, were less educated, more likely to give birth in a private facility, less wealthy, and more primiparous relative to women in Francophone regions, however, these differences were not significant.

Future work should establish whether these apparent differences are due to systematic biases in representation in the sample, to some protective factors, or both.
Presented by
Connors, Ca'la Kian
Institution
Northwestern University, Harvard Univeristy

Integration to market economy and secular changes in anthropometric characteristics in two Maya communities from Yucatan, Mexico

Hugo Azcorra1, María Teresa Castillo-Burguete2, Julio Lara-Riegos3, Valery Sarabia3, Juan Carlos Salazar-Rendón4, Nina Méndez-Dominguez5, C. Marjorie Aelion6, Thomas Leatherman7

Abstract
The integration of rural communities in low- and middle-income countries into globalizing market economies tends to show both positive and negative effects on children's growth and nutritional status. We recently concluded a study conducted in two Maya communities in Yucatan, Mexico, in which we analyzed secular changes in the anthropometric characteristics of children by comparing data collected during the 1980s and 1990s with data obtained during the last fieldwork season in 2022 and 2023. The communities differ in the time of the beginning of their integration into the economic and sociocultural dynamics of tourism: Yalcoba in the early 1970s and Dzeal in the early 2000s. This process has implied a gradual reduction of dependence of agriculture for self-consumption and the incorporation of the population into the salaried labor market in the main tourist centers of the region. Stunting prevalence have decreased between 61% and 81% in 6-to-12 years of children from 1986 to 2023. Estimates of total height (z-scores) increases were higher in the community that still preserves rural characteristics and has been incorporated more recently into the tourism economy (1.80 SD vs 0.42 SD for boys and 2.42 SD vs 1.64 SD for girls). There were substantial increases in the percentage of excess body weight during the studied period (23% to 45%) but more dramatically during 2000-2020. In boys, the increase in BMI (z-scores) was greater in the community with more time of integration into the market economy (1.09 SD vs. 0.68 SD) during the entire studied period.
Presented by
Azcorra, Hugo <hugoazpe@hotmail.com>
Institution
1: Centro de Investigaciones Silvio Zavala, Universidad Modelo Mérida, Yucatán, México 2: Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional 3: Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán 4: Dirección de Nutrición, Secretaría de Salud Mérida, Yucatán, México 5: Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de la Península de Yucatán Mérida, Yucatán, México 6: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health & Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States of America. 7: Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States of America.

Comparing policies for mitigating drug-resistant gonorrhea: an agent-based modeling approach

Ekanayake-Weber MS, Rönn MM, Yin X, Li Y, Salomon JA, Grad YH, and Yaesoubi R

Abstract
Gonorrhea transmission is biologically and behaviorally complex, and the disease has a strong propensity for evolving drug resistance. Additionally, marginalized communities experience a disproportionate burden of gonorrhea, particularly the LGBTQ+ community. Thus, tackling this public health problem requires a multi-disciplinary approach, combining socio-cultural, evolutionary, and biomedical perspectives. We set out to compare various public health strategies to mitigating drug-resistant gonorrhea in the US, focusing on cisgender men who have sex with men (“MSM”). To project the population-level impact of these strategies, we developed an agent-based model of gonococcal transmission among MSM, including introduction and transmission of drug-resistant strains. We compared a “surveillance-based” strategy, based on what is currently in place in the US, to several alternative strategies, which assign individual-level treatment regimens in the absence of surveillance information. We used Bayesian melding to calibrate the model against estimates from empirical data on gonorrhea among MSM. All strategies resulted in similar cumulative gonorrhea incidence over 20 years, but strategies varied dramatically in other outcomes. Notably, treatment failure rates were low but reliance on last-line antibiotics was high for the surveillance-based strategy. Further, none of the strategies were effective at preventing the spread of resistant strains long-term. In particular, the surveillance-based strategy appeared to accelerate the spread of drug resistance by applying a strong selective pressure on the bacterial population. Therefore, public health policy concerning drug-resistant gonorrhea merits reconsideration. This study also highlights how biological anthropology can offer new insight into public health problems by combining evolutionary and cultural approaches.
Presented by
Ekanayake-Weber, Marcy
Institution
Yale School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management

The impact of pathogen exposure and water insecurity on children’s growth: A pilot study among rural Maasai communities in Oloirouwa, Kenya

AS Shani and SS Urlacher

Abstract
Child growth faltering in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains a primary global health concern. In Kenya, rural-living groups, such as Maasai, receive limited institutional support and face other socioeconomic and environmental challenges that may drive disruption of children’s growth. Here, we use pilot data from a new project to investigate the impact of two key ecological factors – pathogen exposure and water insecurity – on childhood growth among rural-living Maasai in Oloirouwa, Kenya. Data were collected from 177 children (aged 4-12 years) living in 100 households across six communities. Measures included standard anthropometry, household conditions, and the household water insecurity experiences (HWISE) scale. Descriptive analyses indicate a high degree of pathogen exposure (e.g., 79% of households have no toilet/latrine) and water insecurity (37% of all households HWISE > 12), as well as common child growth faltering (24% stunted, 21% underweight, 20% wasted). Results from mixed models identified having no toilet/latrine as a significant predictor of linear growth. Children from households with no toilet/latrine had lower height-for-age z-score (β = -0.76, SE = 0.29, p = 0.011) and 1.4 times greater odds of stunting (p = 0.017). Trends were also observed for potential effects of water insecurity on child growth (p < 0.1), but these did not reach significance in preliminary models. These initial findings highlight the impact of ecological factors on children’s growth among Maasai. Future analyses will further investigate the role of water insecurity in the adversity-growth axis among Maasai and other children in LMICs.
Presented by
Shani, Anna Shinina
Institution
Baylor University, Department of Anthropology

Increased vulnerability to dehydration and heat stress among pregnant and lactating Daasanach women in northern Kenya

Suha Arshad, Kedir Roba, Hannah Jacobson, Natalie Meriwether, Anna Tavormina, Amanda McGrosky, Srishti Sadhir, Grace Khosi, Nicole Bobbie, Rosemary Nzunza, David Braun, Emmanuel Ndiema, Herman Pontzer, Asher Rosinger

Abstract
Climate change is intensifying heat stress, water scarcity, and altering hydration dynamics globally. This is of particular concern to vulnerable groups such as women in reproductive roles because dehydration during pregnancy and lactation affects maternal and infant outcomes by impairing prenatal development and decreasing breast milk production. Therefore, understanding how heat stress affects hydration status across reproductive states is crucial. This study explores the relationship between ambient heat stress as indicated by Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and hydration status measured using urine specific gravity (Usg) among Daasanach semi-nomadic women in northern Kenya. Between 2019 and 2024, 558 observations were collected from 294 women—pregnant, lactating, and non-pregnant non-lactating (NPNL). Results from mixed effects logistic regressions indicate heat stress was associated with a 53% increase in the odds of dehydration (Usg > 1.020) regardless of reproductive status across all years (OR=1.53; 95% CI: 1.24-1.88; p<0.001). Lactating women had higher average Usg values (B=0.0015; 95% CI: 0.000032-0.0030; p=0.045) than their NPNL counterparts. Additionally, compared to NPNL women, lactating women in 2023 and 2024 had a 0.39 point (SE=0.18; p=0.031) increase in heat perception with every 1ºC increase in WBGT; while pregnant women experienced a 0.63 point (SE=0.10; p=0.015) increase in thirst perception, indicated by a greater sensation of mouth dryness. These results illustrate that heat stress significantly impacts hydration and thermal heat perception among lactating and pregnant women, highlighting the need for maternal health interventions that ensure clean water access and mitigate heat stress.
Presented by
Arshad, Suha
Institution
Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Global Health Institute, Duke University, Department of Biology, Elon University, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University

Correlations and Predictors of C-Reactive Protein in Quechua Women

Gracie Turner, Rocio Chavez Cabello, Violeta Rojas-Bravo, Amanda Veile

Abstract
C-Reactive Protein (CRP), a biomarker of inflammation, varies by population, environment, and sex. Understanding CRP variability is essential for identifying factors affecting inflammation and disease risk. This pilot study measured CRP in Quechua women from a Peruvian highland farming community. Here we explored demographic/socioeconomic predictors of CRP and its associations with health variables. Data was collected from 50 participants (anthropometry. blood pressure (BP), and interviews regarding demographic, socioeconomic, and dietary factors). Blood samples were collected via finger-prick, and stored, transferred, and analyzed using standard laboratory protocols. Due to missing information, 43 samples were retained in statistical analyses. CRP levels ranged from 0.077-2.440 mg/L (median = 0.206 mg/L, confidence interval 0.271- 0.601), all within the normal range (<3 mg/L). Age, socioeconomic status, education, household crowding, and weekly meat consumption did not predict CRP. Weekly fish consumption showed a weak U-shaped association with CRP (r=0.24), with lowest CRP at intermediate intakes. BMI exhibited a moderate, inverted U-shaped association (r=0.50), with CRP peaking at intermediate BMIs. BP showed a weak U-shaped association (r=0.21 systolic, r=0.24 diastolic), with CRP highest at intermediate BPs. In conclusion, CRP was low, consistent with other Andean communities, perhaps due to long-term adaptations to high-altitude environments. Moderate and weak associations between CRP and BMI, and CRP and BP (respectively) are non-linear, suggesting that other physiological factors may modulate CRP levels. These findings underscore the importance of population-specific research to understand environmental and lifestyle influences on CRP variability and inflammation-related health risks.
Presented by
Turner, Gracie Mae Cherye
Institution
Purdue University, Universidad Nacional Hermilio Valdizán

Variability in inflammatory regulation patterns in young adults across repeated measures using a minimally invasive cell culture system

KC Krause, TW McDade, A Keggen, AA Miller, M Harrington, JE Cheadle, AD Benner, BJ Goosby

Abstract
Chronic hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation can affect the regulation of inflammation, potentially reducing glucocorticoid sensitivity and promoting the development of a pro-inflammatory phenotype. Epidemiological studies often rely on static baseline measures of circulating inflammatory biomarkers, whereas minimally invasive ex-vivo cell culture protocols can quantify dynamic inflammatory regulation by measuring cytokine responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenges and subsequent regulatory response to glucocorticoids (GCs) in small volumes of whole blood. These ex-vivo cell culture systems are potentially cost-effective approaches for assessing pro-inflammatory phenotype development and GC sensitivity in community-based settings, however it remains unclear whether observed inflammatory regulation patterns captured by these systems indicate trait or state effects and whether inflammatory regulation measurements are associated with circadian timing. In this study we compare pro-inflammatory cytokine responses in an ex-vivo LPS-GC cell culture system across two time points and between morning and afternoon blood collections among participants in Project TAURUS (Targeting And Understanding Racism Under the Skin), a pilot study of young adults of color residing in Austin, TX (ages 18-26, 75% female, n=154). Paired t-tests will be used to compare IL-6, IL-1β, and TNFα concentrations across four stimulated culture conditions completed two weeks apart and between participants completing morning versus afternoon blood draws. These results will contribute new methodological considerations of observation stability and timing in measurements of inflammation regulation in community settings.
Presented by
Krause, Keegan C
Institution
Northwestern University, Department of Anthropology

Sickness Culture and Perception Among the Hadzabe Foragers

Shilpa Shiju, Jadyn Forman, Eric C. Shattuck, Kristen N. Herlosky, Ibrahim A. Mabulla, and Alyssa N. Crittenden

Abstract
Sickness is a universal human experience, yet perceptions of illness, attendant symptoms, and cultural norms surrounding sickness likely vary across societies. Despite this, relatively few studies have quantified these variations. In this exploratory study, we surveyed 91 adult Hadzabe (mean age = 39 years, 46% female) from six camps about sickness, including questions about sensations defining sickness and whether sick individuals are exempt from common responsibilities. We modified the SicknessQ, a validated measure of sickness behavior, to assess whether common sickness sensations (e.g., fatigue) were acknowledged. Most participants (84.6%-94.5%) agreed that it is acceptable to ask for help or refrain from household tasks (e.g., hunting, collecting water) when unwell. There was minimal gender discrepancy across SicknessQ items, except for nausea, with more women (78.6%) than men (57.1%) endorsing this sensation as indicative of sickness. In general, Hadzabe understandings of sickness align with biomedical understandings, though most Hadzabe participants (75%) indicated that they preferred not to be alone when sick. The permissive attitudes toward work during sickness contrast with high presenteeism (i.e., working while sick) rates in many Global North societies. These differences may be attributable to kith and kin in Hadzabe camps that are willing to take care of a sick person’s tasks on their behalf. As the Hadzabe increasingly integrate into a market economy, their perceptions and attitudes toward illness may shift toward greater presenteeism. Further studies will be necessary to assess the impact of market integration on Hadzabe concepts of sickness.
Presented by
Shiju, Shilpa and Forman, Jadyn <sms22s@fsu.edu>
Institution
Department of Biology, Florida State University; Department of Anthropology, Florida State University; Native American and Indigenous Studies Center, Florida State University; School of Public Health, University of Nevada at Las Vegas; Department of Archaeology and Heritage, Institute of Resource Assessment, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada at Las Vegas

Application of machine learning to evaluate the relationship between household diet patterns and child growth among the Indigenous Shuar of Ecuador

Kate Lynne Pogue, Marcela Pfaff-Nash, Melissa Ann Liebert, Felicia C Madimenos, Josh J Snodgrass, Theresa G Gildner, Tara J Cepon-Robins, Aaron D Blackwell, Richard G Bribiescas, Lawrence S Sugiyama, Samuel S Urlacher

Abstract
Many low- and middle-income countries are experiencing rapid lifestyle transformations, including market integration (MI) and nutrition transition, with implications for children’s growth and metabolic health outcomes. Here, we investigate this phenomenon among the Shuar, an Indigenous Amazonian group in Ecuador experiencing wide variation in MI and emerging risk for obesity. Data were collected through the Shuar Health and Life History Project from 2009-2017. Consumption estimates for 19 nutrients were generated from a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) administered to 178 households. Children’s (N = 409, aged 0-12 y) height-for-age (HAZ) and BMI-for-age (BAZ) z-scores were calculated using WHO standards. Overall, 35.9% of children were stunted and 17.1% were overweight. Principal component analysis of FFQ data loaded onto 5 components, and food groups were constructed based on results. Children’s BAZ was negatively related to the consumption of items in the 'Vegetables' group (β = -0.02, SE = 0.008, p = .02) and positively related to consumption of items in the 'Market Junk Foods' group (β = 0.05, SE = 0.02, p = .003). Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis of household nutrients identified phosphorus consumption as the strongest predictor of child stunting. Each additional daily gram of phosphorus consumed reduced stunting likelihood by 0.32% after adjusting for confounding variables (β = -0.003, SE = 0.001, p = .007). Additional support vector machine and random forest models will be compared to LASSO results, providing insight into the impact of dietary transition on child growth and metabolic health risk among the Shuar.
Presented by
Pogue, Kate Lynne
Institution
Human Evolutionary Biology and Health Lab, Baylor University

Exploring the structural relationship between acculturation, social support, and breastfeeding among Puerto Rican mothers living in the mainland US

Kassandra Schleper

Abstract
Presented by
Schleper, Kassandra
Institution
University of California Los Angeles, Department of Anthropology

Maternal nutritional status, breastfeeding & child health in Guatemalan Maya and non-Maya children

Maria Inês Varela-Silva, Miya Edwards, Alice Irving

Abstract
Rationale: Guatemala has long faced high levels of child undernutrition, particularly among indigenous populations. Breastfeeding practices and maternal nutritional status are key factors influencing children's nutritional outcomes. The relationship between breastfeeding, maternal anthropometry, and childhood nutritional status is not linear and varies according to indigenous status (Maya/non-Maya). Methods: We analysed data from 10,367 mothers-child dyads, retrieved from the 2015 Guatemala Demographic Health Survey (DHS). Predictor variables included breastfeeding frequency and duration, and maternal nutritional status assessed via anthropometric measures. Covariates included indigenous status, maternal education, marital status, language spoken at home, and wealth index. The outcome variables measured were child stunting, wasting, underweight, and anaemia. Results: Prolonged breastfeeding was linked to an increased likelihood of stunting in Maya children but a decreased likelihood among non-Maya children. Being Maya increased the odds of childhood stunting and underweight but reduced the likelihood of wasting. Maternal stunting was directly associated with child stunting and underweight, whilst maternal BMI was significantly associated to child wasting. Maya children faced a higher risk of stunting when mothers reported a lower wealth index, a larger household size, lower education levels, and moderate anaemia. Conclusion: Maternal anthropometric characteristics and breastfeeding practices have a significant impact on child nutritional status in Guatemala, with the Maya population facing higher risks for adverse outcomes.
Presented by
Varela-Silva, Maria Ines
Institution
Loughborough University - School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Qualitative interviews exploring benefits of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults

Amanda E. Kunkle, Dan T.A. Eisenberg

Abstract
Presented by
Kunkle, Amanda E
Institution
University of Washington

Rural Embodiment and Community Health (REACH) study: Measuring childhood physical activity using accelerometry in low-resource United States communities

KL Nemeth, TJ Cepon-Robins, JA Beauregard, C Chaney, EK Mallott, A Samsonov, TE Gildner

Abstract
Accelerometry, an objective measure of physical activity (PA), is used by human biologists to understand childhood energy expenditure and PA patterns within lower-income countries. However, PA and related health outcomes have not been studied using accelerometry in low-resource areas of high-income countries. This pilot study assesses the feasibility of accelerometry use for measuring PA in 28 children (ages 3-12, 46% female) from two low-resource communities in the Mississippi Delta and Southwestern Illinois. We present accelerometry metrics (i.e., average acceleration [a measure of activity volume], intensity gradient [a measure of activity intensity]) that allow for greater cross-study comparisons than metrics more commonly used in human biology research that depend on population and device specific cutoffs (e.g., time spent in moderate to vigorous PA [MVPA]). Participants wore an Axivity AX3 accelerometer on their non-dominant wrist and met the study wear time requirement (10+ hours/day, 4+ days). Parents and children completed PA questionnaires and interviews about their experience with the device. While 54% of children found the band uncomfortable at times, 89% said they would wear an accelerometer again. Pearson’s correlations demonstrate that MVPA was correlated with average acceleration (r(26) = 0.95, p <0.0001) and intensity gradient (r(26) = 0.54, p = 0.002). This study suggests that wrist-worn accelerometers are feasible for measuring children’s PA in low-resource U.S. communities. Improving our understanding and reporting of childhood PA in low-resource U.S. communities will clarify how these environments influence childhood activity patterns and related risk factors (e.g., body composition, bone density/health) for adult disease.
Presented by
Katherine Nemeth
Institution
Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO; Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO; Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO ; Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO; Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX

Market integration in an era of disruption: Food access and resilience in Chilean Patagonia

AF Dorsey [1] and EH Thomas [2]

Abstract
Recent research on food security assumes households gain and maintain supermarket access through processes of infrastructure development and urbanization and therefore divides households into those with market access and those without. Our work in Chilean Patagonia challenges this interpretation of market integration as it does not accurately represent how people provision their households on the periphery of the global economy. We explored the relationship between household consumption of locally available resources and proximity to globalized research chains in three distinct locations within the Aysén Region: Coyhaique (the capital and administrative center of the area), Puerto Aysén (a large coastal town), and Puerto Aquirre (a small island community). Preliminary data analyses suggest that local resources comprise a greater portion of local diets in Puerto Aysén and Puerto Aquirre and that these resources distributed via community networks reduce household precarity when supply chain disruptions occur. These results suggest a link between household and community resilience when more formal food availability is inconsistent. Further work is needed to explore how the distribution of locally available resources through dynamic community networks impacts household food security, health outcomes, and community resilience to market disruptions. However, this project highlights the need to explore the nuances of market integration within rural communities and revisit market integration perspectives in anthropological research.
Presented by
Dorsey, Achsah Foster
Institution
[1] Department of Anthropology University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA [2] Department of Environmental Conservation University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA

The HeaIth Impacts of Climate Change Adaptation Among Rendille People

Anne Pisor¹, Deepti Singh², Dalmas Omia³, Eric Osoro⁴, Dismas Oketch⁴, M Kariuki Njenga⁴

Abstract
Extremes in precipitation are increasingly impacting the health of mobile pastoralists and their livestock in Northern Kenya. Qualitative interviews with Rendille people reveal interrelated changes in movement patterns and extended time away from home during prolonged dry periods, which is contributing to increased exposure to heat, vector- and water-borne diseases, and mental ill-health, especially following animal loss. Here, we highlight new insights from two surveys with Rendille people – one with women who remain in semi-permanent settlements (n=40) and one with men who spend months away from home to take their animals for grazing, sometimes traveling as far as 200-300 km (n=40). Focusing on recent droughts and recent flash floods, we review participants’ experiences of impacts on their physical and mental health, their responses to these impacts, and how participants’ responses affect their health in turn. Building on these results, we discuss the multiple future directions of our collaboration, including documenting longitudinally the health impacts, both positive and negative, of climate-related mobility and risk-management strategies.
Presented by
Pisor, AC
Institution
¹Department of Anthropology and Social Science Research Institute, Penn State University ²School of the Environment, Washington State University ³Department of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, University of Nairobi ⁴Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, Washington State University

Challenges to pregnancy and postpartum care during the Covid-19 pandemic in a capital city in the Amazon, Brazil

Priscila E. L. Silva, Hilton P. Silva, Roseane B.T. Oliveira, Pedro da Glória, Barbara A. Piperata

Abstract
This is a qualitative research using a bioanthropological approach, involving mother-baby dyads of high and low socioeconomic status (SES) from the city of Belém, in the Brazilian Amazon, with the objective of understanding the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic in the self-care of women during pregnancy and puerperium, the impacts on parental care and which strategies were most commonly used by women during this special period. Different socioeconomic strata were analyzed to identify the self-care conditions considered necessary by women during pregnancy, as well as care for the baby during the puerperal period in the midst of a pandemic. A protocol was developed considering the international epidemiological recommendations, using faceto-face interviews, when possible, and online meetings, with mothers of babies in the first two months of life. Data collection took place between July 2021 and March 2022. Twenty-one women participated in the research. In general, mothers encountered difficulties in social interaction with family, assistance from family members, self-care, reduced income, and lack of prenatal consultations during the pandemic, but they found some ways to alleviate the difficulties by using social networks such as E-mail, WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube for consultations, information, and also to generate income. The study provided an overview of how the pandemic affected mothers and babies from different SES in a major Amazon city and how they reacted. The findings may contribute to the planning of public policies aimed at maternal and child care during periods of prolonged crises, such as epidemics, pandemics and environmental disasters.
Presented by
Silva, Priscila Ester Lima da
Institution
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva na Amazônia da Universidade Federal do Pará, Brazil. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia da UFPA, Brazil. Centro de Estudos Avançados Multidisciplinares da Universidade de Brasília, Brazil. Laboratório de Estudos Bioantropológicos em Saúde e Meio Ambiente, CNPq, Brazil. The Ohio State University, USA.

Rest-activity patterns and sleep timing in urban and rural Wixárika communities in Jalisco, Mexico

L McKinnon, EC Shattuck, I Ramos Herrera, R Crocker Sagastume, Q de la Cruz, PT González Hernández, A Villaseñor, Y Martin, P Pérez, S Muñoz, T Sunil, DR Samson

Abstract
Circadian rhythms form the biological basis for numerous physiological and behavioral processes, including sleep patterns. While regulated by the light-dark cycle, other stimuli including temperature and work hours also influence them. Although sleep's importance for health is well known, the role of rest-activity patterns—an expression of circadian rhythm—is less understood. Here, we present rest-activity data from two Indigenous Wixárika samples in Mexico: one from a rural town in northern Jalisco, and the other from communities of migrants in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. We hypothesized that urban environments disrupt rest-activity rhythms, predicting that the urban migrants would have less stable, more variable rest-activity patterns and later sleep timing than those living in the rural community. We generated rest-activity data (relative amplitude (RA), interdaily stability (IS), and intradaily variability (IV)) from 124 participants (mean age=33.37 years, 67.74% women) using wrist-worn accelerometers. Using linear regression analyses, we compared RA, IS, and IV by location, controlling for occupation, age, and gender. We found no difference between groups in RA (estimate=−0.003, p=0.907), IS (estimate=-0.006, p=0.803), or IV (estimate=0.003, p=0.931). Women have significantly higher IS than men (estimate=0.078, p<0.001), and those working as artisans have significantly lower IV than non-artisans (estimate=-0.134, p=0.002). We found that the average midpoint of sleep—indicating sleep timing—is significantly later in the urban compared to the rural group (estimate=49.17, p<0.001). These results indicate that factors associated with urban living environments may drive later sleep timing, but that social factors may be more important in influencing circadian rhythms.

Funding: This research was supported by the Wenner Gren Foundation, the Centre for Urban Environments, the Shelley R. Saunders Thesis Research Grant, the Sigma Xi Fund of Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Society for the Study of Human Biology
Presented by
McKinnon, Leela
Institution
University of Toronto Mississauga, Department of Anthropology and Centre for Urban Environments

Cumulative lifetime changes in urbanicity and the pace of biological aging: a test using epigenetic clocks in metropolitan Cebu, Philippines

Silvio Ernesto Mirabal Torres 1; Calen P. Ryan 2; Nanette R. Lee 3; Delia B. Carba 3; Julia L. MacIsaac 4; David T. S. Lin 4; Parmida Atashzay 4; Michael S. Kobor 4, 5, 6; Christopher W. Kuzawa 1

Abstract
Presented by
Mirabal Torres, Silvio Ernesto
Institution
1 Harvard University 2 Columbia University; 3 University of San Carlos, Philippines; 4 University of British Columbia; 5 Canadian Institute for Advanced Research; 6 Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics

Review: A life history perspective on maternal reproductive investment and skeletal health

Annie Megan Santamaria¹, Paloma Contreras¹, Stacy Rosenbaum¹, Maureen Devlin¹, Brigid Gregg²

Abstract
Life history theory predicts that the costs of reproduction trade off with self-maintenance. In humans, maternal investment is metabolically expensive, and complex physiological adaptations support offspring development across pregnancy and lactation. We know that the maternal skeleton acts as a critical reservoir of essential nutrients and a regulator of metabolic homeostasis. Therefore, it is an ideal organ system to study how calcium—a critical nutrient for a growing fetus—is rerouted from the mother to meet the growing needs of her rapidly developing offspring. Here we aim to review the literature on changes in maternal bone density across reproduction, especially during lactation when calcium output is the highest. It is well established that osteocalcin (OCN), a protein secreted by osteoblasts, aids in bone formation and glucose metabolism. The levels of OCN during pregnancy and lactation are linked to parathyroid hormone (PTH) and parathyroid hormone related-protein (PTHrP) concentrations. This is of interest because PTH and PTHrP play crucial roles in maintaining calcium balance and facilitating fetal transport throughout pregnancy. Although the relationship between PTH, PTHrP and OCN presents a unique model to understand the trade-off between maternal bone maintenance with reproductive investment, our preliminary results show that there is conflicting evidence regarding osteocalcin's involvement in bone formation and metabolic regulation, alongside varying opinions on the relationship between PTH, PTHrP and OCN. This work highlights the roles of PTH, PTHrP and OCN from an evolutionary perspective, to better understand the mechanisms governing this life history trade-off during reproduction.
Presented by
Santamaria, Annie Megan
Institution
¹Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, ²Michigan Medicine Pediatrics

Physiological pathways to health and substance use among people experiencing housing insecurity in Oregon

Allissa L. Van Steenis1,2, Elizabeth A. Shirtcliff1, Makenzie Ní Flainn2, L. Zachary DuBois2, L. Jo Weaver3, J. Josh Snodgrass2

Abstract
Housing insecurity is stressful and harms health and well-being. Illicit substance use, though stigmatized, is often described as “self-medication” among people experiencing houselessness (PEH). It is unclear, however, if substance use exacerbates or mitigates health issues for PEH. This analysis explores how substance use is related to physiological health among PEH. Data were collected from 86 PEH, ages 20-74 (M=49.5, SD=12) years with 79% self-identifying as men. Data collection occurred at a local park and service center emphasizing community-defined ethical procedures. Biomarker data were normalized (final N=52) and analyzed using Principal Component Analysis. Five factors emerged: Factor 1 (23.5%): highest factor loadings for systolic (.933) and diastolic (.891) blood pressure. Factor 2 (17.6%): total cholesterol (.965) and LDL (.867). Factor 3 (14.0%): hemoglobin (.720), HDL (-.769), and triglycerides (.690). Factor 4 (11.2%): glucose (.727), HBA1c (.756), and cortisol (.632). Factor 5 (10.1%): heart rate (.901). Factor 2 was correlated with use of cannabis (-.357, p = .010) and stimulants (-.312, p = .044). Alcohol use was correlated with Factor 3 (-.370, p = .007) and Factor 5 (-.426, p = .002). Hallucinogenic use was correlated with Factor 3 (-.457, p = .003). These results suggest that substance use within PEH may support certain facets of health. This counterintuitive finding suggests that expectations of health harms from substance use should be tempered by context-specific considerations, especially for populations with limited access to healthcare who may use substances to manage physical and psychological symptoms.
Presented by
Van Steenis, Allissa L.
Institution
1Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, 2Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, 3Department of Global Studies, University of Oregon

Perceptions of water insecurity and emotional responses in Iztapalapa, Mexico City

Paloma S. Contreras and Tina Lasisi

Abstract
Water insecurity in urban areas presents distinctive challenges, particularly in marginalized communities. In Mexico City, water distribution is highly unequal: most people have unlimited water access, while others have an intermittent water supply and receive water for only 2-3 Hours per day, or even one day of the week. In this work we aim to understand people’s individual perception of their water service. We evaluate how (1) different ways of measuring water insecurity and (2) different variables are associated with positive or negative emotional responses to household water services. We recruited 397 women from Iztapalapa, using convenience sampling near local recreational centers. Surveys were applied through in-person interviews. We found that most of our participants experience low levels of water insecurity, although half of them receive 42 hours of water supply per week or less. Results suggest that a multidimensional evaluation of water insecurity (HWISE) and the relative perception of water supply (in relation to the water service in other parts of the city) are predictors of negative emotions towards water supply. The chances of having a negative emotional response to water service increases by 23% with each additional point in the HWISE and are connected to an increased score in the Perceived Stress Scale. Our results suggest that a perception of unfairness or inequity may contribute to negative emotions such as worry, frustration, and fear. This study offers one of the first in-depth examinations of how water insecurity specifically affects women in Iztapalapa, a densely populated region of Mexico City with historical water access challenges. Finally, our study hopes to contributes to our understanding of the lived experience of water insecurity in urban contexts.
Presented by
Contreras, Paloma <palomacz@umich.edu>
Institution
Anthropology Department, University of Michigan

Human development and somatic maturation among 9-11 year old children from 12 countries

Peter T Katzmarzyk

Abstract
The present study investigated the relationship between somatic maturation and human development in children. The sample includes 7,332 children (54% girls) aged 9-11 y from 12 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, India, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States). Maturity offset was computed from sex-specific regression equations using age and anthropometric characteristics to predict status of the child relative to their age at peak height velocity (aPHV). Sex-stratified mixed multilevel models with age as a covariate, accounting for the clustered data (children within schools within study sites), were used to examine the relationship between maturity offset and Human Development Index (HDI; analyzed as quartiles). The mean (SD) for age and maturity offset were 9.9 (0.6) y and -2.1 (1.0) y, respectively. HDI ranged from 0.509 for Kenya to 0.929 for Australia. Boys from higher HDI countries were closer to aPHV [mean (SE)]: Quartile 1, -3.2 (0.03) y; Quartile 2: -3.0 (0.03) y; Quartile 3: -2.8 (0.02) y; and Quartile 4: -2.8 (0.02) y; p for trend <0.0001. Girls from higher HDI countries were also closer to aPHV: Quartile 1, -1.6 (0.03) y; Quartile 2: -1.6 (0.03) y; Quartile 3: -1.3 (0.02) y; and Quartile 4: -1.3 (0.02) y; p for trend <0.0001. A similar association was observed using partial correlations between HDI and maturity offset, adjusting for age, which were 0.28 in boys and 0.20 in girls. In conclusion, children from countries with higher levels of human development were more advanced in terms of somatic maturation.

Presented by
KATZMARZYK, PETER
Institution
Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Heritability of age at menarche and recall accuracy on this trait among Rural Mayan Women in Guatemala and Urban and Rural Women in Cebu Philippines.

Layla Akin, Amanda Rowlands, Nanette Lee Katrina Salvante, Pablo Nepomnaschy

Abstract
Age at menarche (AAM) is an important reproductive development milestone, correlated with women’s reproductive and health trajectories making it critically important to understand its determinants. In addition to environmental factors, such as diet, physical and social stress, genetics have been shown to contribute to 50-80% of the variation in AAM. To improve our understanding of reproductive trajectories in non-Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic (WEIRD) populations we evaluated heritability of AAM among a group of mothers and daughters in a rural Mayan cohort, and a mixed urban/rural cohort from Cebu Philippines. Contrary to other studies’ reports, we found heritability of AAM to be low in both populations, (Guatemala: -0.01172, Philippines: 0.31914) and not statistically significant in Guatemala (p= 0.759). We propose three potential explanations for lower heritability values found in these populations. First, these populations could have higher genetic homogeneity leading to the environment explaining a higher proportion of the observed variation. We secondly hypothesized that our low AAM heritability findings could be explained by inaccuracies in self-reported AAM, as there was low correlation between reports of age at menarche when multiple reports were taken over time. A third explanation is rapid environmental changes across generations causing higher environmental variance which could be responsible for lower heritability values. Future research should aim to better understand how contextual understandings of age and recall bias may influence the accuracy of self-reported AAM in non- WEIRD populations and identify more culturally suitable research methods to study reproductive development.
Presented by
Akin, Layla Hope
Institution
1Maternal and Child Health Laboratory, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University, Canada

Inflammation and Energy Status among Daasanach Pastoralists

Anna Tavormina, Amanda McGrosky, Kedir Teji Roba, Hannah Jacobson, Nicole Bobbie, Grace Khosi, Suha Arshad, Natalie Meriwether, Elena Hinz, Srishti Sadhir, Matthew Douglass, Rosemary Nzunza, David Braun, Emmanuel Ndiema, Zane Swanson, Samuel Urlacher, Asher Rosinger, Herman Pontzer

Abstract
Presented by
Anna Tavormina
Institution
Duke University

Maternal-infant interaction associations with childhood BDNF methylation and adrenarche

Tristan T. Cruz, Elizabeth A. Holdsworth

Abstract
Adrenarche is hypothesized to provide protection to a rapidly developing brain during this time (6-8 years of age), through increased production of DHEA/S, which has antioxidant properties and supports brain energetics. Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) proteins are critical for neurodevelopment and are encoded by the BDNF gene. As such, BDNF gene expression should covary with the timing of adrenarche. Previous research indicates that early life stress and social-emotional environments might affect maturational timing, though few studies have explored adrenarche timing. This analysis tested three hypotheses: 1) more distant and reserved maternal-infant interaction quality is associated with BDNF methylation at 7 years of age, 2) more distant and reserved maternal-infant interaction quality is associated with premature adrenarche, and 3) variation in BDNF methylation at 7 years of age is associated with premature adrenarche. A secondary data analysis of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) compared differences in the methylation of 77 BDNF CpG sites from birth to 7.5 years of age (n=927), the association of BDNF methylation with DHEA-S concentrations at 8.5 years of age (n=162), the association of BDNF methylation with observed maternal-infant interaction quality (n=109), and the association of DHEA-S and observed maternal-infant interaction quality (n=70). Multiple linear regressions showed only significant associations between the first principal component score of BDNF methylation at birth and 7 years of age (p<.05). Sensitivity analysis in a correlation matrix showed one significant association between site cg04106006 at age 7 with premature adrenarche (DHEAS > 50 µg/dL) (p<.05). These results indicate that the prenatal period may be more influential on BDNF methylation than postnatal stress. They may also point to a discordance between brain methylation patterns and timing of adrenarche suggesting some individuals may not experience the protective effects of adrenarche during childhood brain development.
Presented by
Cruz, Tristan T
Institution
The Ohio State University, Department of Anthropology

Measurement of leptin, a marker of energy status and appetite regulation, in dried blood spots using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

EY Kim (1), LS Orozco (2), EG Shoemaker (2), HN Cantrell (3), JJ Snodgrass (3,4), MA Liebert (6), FC Madimenos (5), J Gassen (7), TJ Nowak (10), SP Weaver (8), EJ Baker (9), LS Sugiyama (3), MP Muehlenbein (10), SS Urlacher (10)

Abstract
Understanding how children regulate energy is crucial for advancing knowledge on human biological variation, with important implications for metabolism, evolution, and health. Leptin, a hormone secreted by adipocytes, is a key biomarker of energy status and appetite regulation, signaling energy stores to the brain to adjust food intake. Problematically, leptin research has been overwhelmingly limited to venipuncture sampling, restricting its use in vulnerable populations, including children and Indigenous groups, and preventing understanding of global variation. Here, we validated a commercial ELISA kit (R&D Systems, QK398) for measuring leptin in finger-prick dried blood spot (DBS) samples using the ‘Waco100’ matched DBS:serum sample set (n = 40), following a validation with a now-unavailable kit. Leptin was reliably detected in DBS (mean = 312.2±251.0 pg/mL), with a strong linear relationship to serum values (r² = 0.97; Passing-Bablok regression). Validation tests confirmed dilutionary linearity (103.2±4.2% recovery), spike and recovery (102.3±4.1% recovery), and analyte temperature stability (all effects p > 0.05). These results indicate excellent reliability for measuring leptin in DBS. To initially explore variation in children’s energy regulation, we measured leptin in DBS from 23 Indigenous Ecuadorian Shuar children (ages 3-12 years). Shuar children leptin levels appear to be lower than industrialized references, with a mean of 31.3±26.6 pg/mL in DBS (equivalent to 1,093.4±936.3 pg/mL in serum). Additionally, leptin was positively associated with BMI (ß = 2.27, p < 0.01) and weight-for-age (ß = 1.76, p < 0.01). These findings support measurement of leptin in DBS for studying childhood energetics and appetite regulation globally.
Presented by
Kim, Elizabeth Y.
Institution
(1) Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX; (2) Human Evolutionary Biology and Health Lab, Baylor University, Waco, TX; (3) Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR; (4) Global Station for Indigenous Studies & Cultural Diversity, Hokkaido University, Japan; (5) Department of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY), Flushing, NY; (6) Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ; (7) Department of Psychiatry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; (8) Waco Family Medicine, Waco, TX; (9) Department of Computer Science, Belmont University, Nashville, TN; (10)Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX

Minoritized and poorly understood: Scoping review of mental and physical health among Southwest Asian and North African Youth in Canada and the U.S.

Alexa Fairclough, Hani al-Samawi, Aya Ahmad, Mahdi Taye, Maryam Shaoob, and Delaney Glass

Abstract
Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) adolescents are both racialized and invisible minorities in Canada and the United States (U.S.), following the war on terror, incomplete ethnic categorization, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab racism. We conducted a scoping review of physical and psychological health in SWANA adolescent populations living in the U.S. and Canada. Inclusion criteria encompassed adolescents and emerging adults aged 10-24 who identified as Arab or SWANA. Included scholarly literature reported at least one physical or psychological health outcome and was published in English or Arabic before November 2024. We identified 186 relevant studies using ResearchRabbit.ai, Google Scholar, and PubMed. We selected 22% of them for inclusion in the review (n = 44), highlighting the paucity of research on health and biopsychosocial variation among SWANA adolescents in North America over a 36-year period (1995-2024). Despite heterogeneity in the health outcomes reported across studies, many focused on acculturative stress, ethnic identity formation, mental health, and discrimination. Few studies examined physical health and sexual and reproductive health; none examined pubertal, immunological, or linear growth outcomes. We discuss how biocultural and human biological research approaches can contribute to advancing a needed and more holistic understanding of health variation among SWANA adolescent populations.
Presented by
Fairclough- Dick, Alexa Chanté
Institution
University of Toronto, Department of Anthropology

The Influences of Culture, Religion, and Ecology on Death in Tanna, Vanuatu

Patrick C. Baca, Eddy Kiel, Siobhan M. Cully

Abstract
Death and dying evoke significantly different beliefs and practices across cultures. This study investigates interactions between social and physical ecologies in the context of mortuary practices in Tanna, Vanuatu - a context where climate change and an influx of Christian faiths may contribute to changing norms and institutions surrounding death. We conducted interviews with ni-Vanuatu people to understand the intersections between death, spirituality, and nature in ni-Vanuatu belief and practice. We describe evidence that changes in religion and ecology impact death practices and speculate about how future changes, like globalization, market integration, and climate change will impact landscapes of death for ni-Vanuatu people.
Presented by
Baca, Patrick
Institution
University of New Mexico, Independent Scholar, Rutgers University

Iron deficiency, measured by soluble transferrin receptor and ferritin, is associated with reported infertility in U.S. women who have never been pregnant

Elizabeth M Miller

Abstract
Despite women’s physiological need for large amounts of iron during pregnancy, there are only a few studies that have studied the relationship between iron status and fecundity/fertility. Women with both low and high iron biomarkers have been reported to experience low fertility or fecundity, depending on population context and biomarker choice. This study seeks to test two different biomarkers of iron deficiency, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and ferritin, and their relationship to self-reported infertility in 483 reproductive-aged (18-49 years old) women who have never been pregnant in the NHANES 2015-2018 dataset. I predicted that greater iron deficiency, measured by higher sTfR and lower ferritin, would be associated with greater odds of reporting infertility. Ferritin and sTfR were log-transformed prior to analysis. PROC SURVEYLOGISTIC was used, with appropriate weights, to analyze odds ratio of self-reported infertility. Controlling for age, race/ethnicity, income/poverty ratio, BMI, and log C-reactive protein, higher sTfR was significantly associated with higher odds of reported infertilty (OR = 3.47, p = 0.01). Lower ferritin was marginally associated with higher odds of infertility (OR = 1.68, p = 0.08). In contrast to previous studies, iron deficiency is associated with greater likelihood of infertility in U.S. women who have not been pregnant. In this study, sTfR showed a stronger relationship than ferritin. This may be due to ferritin’s role as an acute phase reactant during inflammation, a known risk factor for infertility in this population. Choice of biomarker may impact research findings and ultimately clinical decision-making for iron deficient women.
Presented by
Miller, Elizabeth M
Institution
University of South Florida

Immigration concerns for family and maternal health vulnerabilities

Anamaria Solis, Kyle Steven Wiley, Carina Heckert

Abstract
Preeclampsia and gestational diabetes are significant contributing factors to maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Utilizing a local biologies perspective with a focus on syndemics, this analysis explores how immigration-related social vulnerabilities may contribute to the high and increasing prevalence rates of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes among Latinas. Past research has shown that these conditions are related to biosocial processes, highlighting a need to better understand the role of social vulnerabilities in the clinical manifestation of these pregnancy complications. Drawing from a study of 176 pregnant Latina border residents utilizing publicly funded prenatal care, this analysis uses medical records, survey responses, and in-depth interviews to explore social vulnerabilities related to gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. The sample had a 24.9% prevalence rate of preeclampsia, compared to the national rate of approximately 5%, and a 24.9% prevalence rate of gestational diabetes, compared to the national rate of approximately 8.3%. A subset of interview data from participants who were US citizens shows how the effect of restrictive immigration policies and concerns over close family members contributed to social vulnerabilities. Survey data including the Kessler-10 emotional distress scale further emphasizes how pervasive feelings of distress for this subgroup were, as individuals who were concerned about the immigration status of immediate family members had higher levels of emotional distress (b = 3.27, p-value = 0.036). These findings emphasize the significant health effects of immigration policies, beyond concerns for one’s own immigration status, and the wide-reaching impact of immigration policies on borderland residents.
Presented by
Solis, Anamaria <asolis35@miners.utep.edu>
Institution
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the University of Texas at El Paso, TX

Mapping the Continuum: Methodological Considerations for Capturing the Spectrum of Autoreactivity

JA Beauregard, EA Quinn, TE Gildner

Abstract
Presented by
Beauregard, Jade Alexandra
Institution
Washington University in St. Louis

Perceptions and utilization of antibiotics among Samoan mothers: a qualitative investigation

Katherine Daiy, Kima Savusa, Faafafola Unasa, Billie White, Lupesina Vesi, Take Naseri, Christina Soti-Ulberg, Jyothi Abraham, Lucy Santiago, Claudia Valeggia, Nicola Hawley

Abstract
Antibiotic medications are lifesaving inventions, yet have negative impacts on the human microbiome, especially in early life. Women with young children are central health decision-makers in many societies; thus, understanding how they perceive and utilize antibiotic medications in the household is a key step in illuminating early contexts of antibiotic use. This qualitative study explores how in Samoa — a nation with high antibiotic use but strong public health messaging on antibiotic stewardship — mothers of young infants perceive and utilize antibiotics. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis of 30 semi-structured interviews administered to Samoan women with eight-month-old infants. Three themes emerged: benefits/risks and effectiveness of antibiotics, utilization of antibiotics, and perceptions of the relationship between breastfeeding and antibiotics. Samoan women viewed antibiotics as powerful medications that were able to target symptoms and disease agents, yet the same women described antibiotics as having risks, including side effects, bodily imbalance and overreliance, unknown chemical compositions, possible ineffectiveness at treating symptoms, and specific risks to vulnerable populations such as pregnant women. Women described always following healthcare providers’ instructions when they or their infants were prescribed antibiotics, always discarding leftover doses, and finishing an antibiotic when “feeling better” or at the end of the prescription. Lastly, women described breastfeeding as having disease-fighting properties similar to those of antibiotics. These findings contextualize early-life antibiotic use, a key factor shaping infant microbiota and potentially, later-life health.
Presented by
Daiy, Katherine
Institution
1) Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT; 2) Obesity, Lifestyle and Genetic Adaptations (OLAGA) Study Group, Apia, Samoa; 3) Yale School of Nursing, New Haven, CT; 4) Samoan Ministry of Health, Apia, Samoa; 5) School of Nursing, National University of Samoa, Apia, Samoa; 6) Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health

Examining the association between childhood adversity and adult psychiatric sequelae of Long COVID: A cross-sectional study in Johannesburg, South Africa

Someleze Swana1, Simiso Sokhela2, Samanta Tresha Lalla-Edward2, Ncomeka Manentsa2, Willem Daniel Francois Venter2, Andrew Wooyoung Kim1,3

Abstract
A significant portion of adults with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, also known as long COVID, are known to exhibit long-term psychiatric symptoms, including depression, suicidality, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Childhood adversity is a well-documented risk factor for adult mental illness, and growing research suggests that early stress exposure may increase later-life risk for elevated systemic inflammation, a mechanism hypothesized to underlie the psychiatric sequelae of long COVID. Little is known, however, about the role of childhood adversity in shaping long COVID symptoms. This study investigated the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and long-term psychiatric symptoms among adults with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. This observational study took place in Johannesburg, South Africa between August 2022-July 2023 and stemmed from a larger project focused on characterising long COVID. A total of 305 adults were categorised into one of four case groups based on their initial COVID-19 symptoms: asymptomatic, symptomatic, hospitalised, and a vaccinated control group. The average number of ACEs reported was five out of 20. In fully adjusted models, ACEs were associated with greater symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and somatization, but not suicidality and symptoms of bipolar disorder. These results suggest that childhood adversity may predispose individuals to increased psychiatric morbidity after SARS-CoV-2 infection and possibly during long COVID. Further research is necessary to examine the extent to which childhood adversity durably shapes adult immune activity and precipitates the psychiatric sequelae of long COVID, in order to identify possible mechanisms facilitating the long-term psychiatric effects of childhood adversity.
Presented by
Swana, Someleze <somiiswana@gmail.com>
Institution
1Wits/SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; 2Ezintsha, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; 3University of California, Berkeley, United States of America

Joint perspectives from community residents and research team members: The need for community-engaged work to address flooding-related environmental inequities in Cahokia Heights, IL

Theresa E. Gildner1,2, Elizabeth K. Mallott2,3, Carlye Chaney2,3,4, Katherine L. Nemeth1, Jade A. Beauregard1, Anna Samsonov5, Claire Masteller6, Tara J. Cepon-Robins7, Nicole D. Nelson8, Kalila Jackson8, Maliaka Hill8, Kennedy Moehrs Gardner8, Yvette Lyles9

Abstract
The field of human biology relies on research techniques (e.g., minimally-invasive sample collection, point-of-care device use) that make it well positioned to develop research projects strongly rooted in community engagement. Establishing partnerships with community members is increasingly important in human biology research, but this long-term process is not always prioritized in other scientific fields. Here, in a presentation co-authored by researchers and community partners, we explore strategies for developing successful projects in collaboration with community members by highlighting an ongoing study on the impacts of persistent flooding in Cahokia Heights, IL (a predominantly Black, low-resource community). Government neglect of stormwater infrastructure has resulted in decades of household flood damage, unsafe drinking water, and sewage backups. In this presentation: (i) residents share their flooding experiences and discuss the formation of a community council to push for solutions; (ii) we present survey data highlighting factors that influence community member decisions to approve and participate in research studies; (iii) we discuss how community feedback has shaped study design and review key preliminary findings; and (iv) we explore future directions, including plans to strengthen community-researcher ties and use data to solicit assistance from government officials. Results from community-informed methods demonstrate widespread Helicobacter pylori infection (23-47% of participants annually, from 2022-2023), consistently high levels of intestinal inflammation (49-60% of participants, measured using fecal calprotectin), and an inverse relationship between gut microbiota diversity and reported flooding exposure. Cumulatively, these findings align with community experiences and provide evidence for the physical consequences of persistent flooding.
Presented by
Gildner, TE
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, WashU; 2Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity, WashU; 3Department of Biology, WashU; 4University of Missouri-Columbia; 5Department of Anthropology, Baylor University; 6Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, WashU; 7Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Colorado Springs; 8Equity Legal Services, Fairview Heights, IL; 9Centreville Citizens for Change Council, Cahokia Heights, IL

Body and identity in the digital age: a bioanthropological analysis of aesthetic norms young adult in Brazil

Franckel Moreau

Abstract
This research aims to examine the impact of digital technologies on the perception and body identity of young adults, focusing on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Adopting a bioanthropological approach, which combines biological and cultural dimensions, together with a netnographic methodology, the analysis explores how these social networks shape aesthetic norms and influence body representations: young adults, confronted with retouched images and idealized content, often feel pressure to reconstruct their bodies, leading them to undergo surgical procedures, such as body reduction surgery or breast augmentation. Preliminary observations show that this continuous exposure to idealized beauty standards contributes to a redefinition of body identity, exacerbating insecurities and social comparisons. Faced with these challenges, young people develop coping mechanisms, such as involvement in movements of body positivity, that promote self-acceptance despite the aesthetic pressures. Through a literature review ad critical analysis of data, this pôster aims to provide an understanding of contemporary issues related to body imagem. By integrating historical and cultural perspectives, this research highlights the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to understanding modern challenges related to body perception and identity, while also shedding light on the sociocultural implications for the psychological well-being of young adults in the digital age.
Presented by
Moreau, Franckel
Institution
Universidade Federal do Pará, Programa de Pos-Graduação em Antropologia (UFPA-PPGA), Belém, Brazil.

Biocultural perspectives on perceived economic insecurity and chronic stress: resilience strategies of women experiencing food insecurity in Minatitlán (Mexico)

G Stone1,2, A Núñez-de la Mora3, MA Gibson2, A Papadaki1, T Griffin4, M Ordaz5, L Contreras5

Abstract
Perceived Economic Insecurity (PEI), defined as the inability to access sufficient resources to protect against immediate or future adverse circumstances, may be linked to worse health outcomes via the stress response. There is a paucity of research in Mexico on the dynamics between PEI and Food Insecurity (FI), which are both characterized by unpredictability. This mixed-method study aims to test, for the first time, associations between PEI, FI, and chronic stress from a biocultural perspective, as well as explore resilience strategies employed by women facing FI in an urban environment. Participants were recruited via the Cucharada de Amor Foundation, a non-profit organization that runs a foodbank service in the city of Minatitlán, Mexico. Primary quantitative survey data were collected to assess PEI, FI, and chronic stress. A sub-sample of participants were invited to take part in a semi-structured interview to explore the lived experience of economic insecurity, resilience strategies, and perceptions of mental wellbeing. Both PEI and FI were positively associated with higher levels of perceived chronic stress (p<0.005). Interview findings suggested that PEI and FI are not always experienced simultaneously as other non-income dependent strategies to access food, even in an urban environment, may act as a buffer. PEI was experienced as a major stressor, beyond inadequate and uncertain access to essential resources such as food, via greater exposure to violence, pollution, and barriers to healthcare. Our findings suggest that attention should be paid to PEI in generating chronic stress, as a key facet of structural violence.
Presented by
Stone, Geneviève Lola
Institution
1School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol (Bristol, United Kingdom) 2Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Bristol (Bristol, United Kingdom) 3Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas, Universidad Veracruzana (Xalapa, México) 4Department for Health, University of Bath (Bath, United Kingdom) 5 Fundación Cucharada de Amor, Minatilán (Minatitlán, México)

Making the case for using an inquiry-based approach that incorporates DNA-focused activities in introductory biological anthropology laboratory curricula

SL Johnston1, MK Knabb2, J Auld2, L Rieser-Danner3

Abstract
It has been well established that undergraduate college students retain misconceptions about evolution even after completing life science courses. Use of student-centered approaches in science courses, including problem-solving and inquiry-focused activities, has been shown to improve student learning generally and their understanding of evolution. Further, it has been suggested that for students to fully comprehend evolution, they need to understand that it is fundamentally about genetic change. Typical curricula in introductory biological anthropology labs involve examination of phenotypic phenomena, e.g., exercises focused on morphology and function; opportunities for students to link phenotypic with genetic variation in problem-solving, hands-on activities are not standard. From 2013-2016, faculty at West Chester University developed and implemented an inquiry-based laboratory curriculum for introductory biological anthropology that is still in use today in this course. A unique characteristic of this curriculum has been the incorporation of exercises that engage students directly with genetic evidence for evolution linked with phenotypic variation at several points in the semester (e.g., using DNA sequences to test morphology-based hypotheses about primate phylogeny). In this presentation, we summarize the evidence that students achieve greater improvement in their understanding of evolution in the context of an inquiry-based curriculum in biological anthropology than in standard lab curricula and provide data suggesting that an important component of this improvement may be the activities that encourage students to make connections between molecular and phenotypic variation.

Supported by an NSF TUES Award (DUE-1245013) and West Chester University.
Presented by
Susan L Johnston <sjohnston@wcupa.edu>
Institution
1Department of Anthropology & Sociology; 2Department of Biology; 3Department of Psychology, West Chester University, West Chester, PA.

Border-community related stress and psychological distress during pregnancy among Latinas living at the United States-Mexico Border

Wiley, Kyle; Solis, Anamaria; Reddy, Sireesha; Heckert, Carina

Abstract
Presented by
Wiley, Kyle Steven
Institution
University of Texas at El Paso

Exploring trauma, mental health, and resilience during the Palestinian genocide: A literature review

Sameeha Atout, MS1,2, Andrew W. Kim, PhD1

Abstract
Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and increasingly in the West Bank, began taking the form of a genocide in October 2023. To date, over 7.9% of the population of Gaza has been killed, and thousands of others have faced myriad forms of violence and imminent threats to life, including physical injuries from ballistics, punitive home demolitions, and grotesque forms of torture. These highly traumatic conditions pose severe threats to the mental health and livelihood of Palestinians, and researchers have recently begun to document the psychological toll of the ongoing genocide. This literature review examines the experiences of trauma, mental health, and resilience among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, refugee camps, and across the Palestinian diaspora since October 2023. Twenty-one empirical articles were identified from five major search engines, including PubMed, Scopus, SpringerLink, Proquest, and Google Scholar. Study samples were largely comprised of college students, healthcare workers, and refugees. Studies reported high prevalence rates of sleep disturbances (77.9%), symptoms of anxiety (60.9-77.3%), depression (65.9-69%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (71.3%). Several studies also identified coping resources among Palestinians, including spirituality, social and family support, post-secondary education, economic resources, and the socio-religious concept of steadfastness (sumud), which contributed to their overall resilience. These results highlight the early psychological effects of the genocide among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and beyond. Future research on the intergenerational effects of trauma will determine the extent to which future generations are affected by current conditions of genocidal violence.
Presented by
Atout, Sameeha
Institution
1 Department of Anthropology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, US., 2 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine

Predictive risk factors for diagnosed diabetes and elevated blood glucose differ by sex in Vanuatu (South Pacific)

ME Gauck(1), K Wander(1), A Roome(2), E Standard(1), KN Dancause(3), G Taleo(4), L Tarivonda(4), KM Olszowy(1,5)

Abstract
Transitions toward market-based economies introduce populations to new epidemiological and nutritional challenges such as Type 2 diabetes (T2D), a chronic disease characterized by uncontrolled blood glucose. T2D screening approaches involve identifying obesity via body mass index (BMI), though biological anthropologists and others have challenged this measurement’s utility. We evaluated twelve anthropometric measurements as alternative predictors of T2D (clinical diagnosis or random capillary blood glucose concentration >140 mg/dL) in Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific currently undergoing a rapid economic and epidemiological transition. Anthropometry data collected from 368 adults included height/weight, estimates of abdominal adiposity (waist/hip circumferences), body composition (muscle/fat percentages), and skinfold measurements. Dominance analysis and estimates of model fit (AIC/BIC) identified important predictors for logistic regression models. Parallel analyses revealed unique patterns across sexes, which were obscured when considering participants together. For males, higher muscle mass (OR: 0.72, p = 0.029) and body fat percentages (OR: 0.82, p = 0.041) were inversely associated with diabetes risk. For females, height mattered more: higher waist-to-height ratios (OR: 1.07, p = 0.014) and shorter stature (OR for height in cm: 0.93, p = 0.147) increased risk. Females in this population may be more sensitive to nutritional strain during childhood, where individuals who experienced stunting were more susceptible to T2D as adults. Alternatively, males may be able to offset diabetes risk more effectively through aspects of their physiology and body composition, such as greater muscle proportions. These results support the growing movement away from using BMI to predict chronic disease risk.
Presented by
Gauck, ME
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, New York, USA; 2Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety, Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown, New York, USA; 3Department of Physical Activity Sciences, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 4Ministry of Health, Republic of Vanuatu; 5Department of Anthropology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA

Building a culturally-determined and place-based model of Indigenous health

Ruby Fried

Abstract
Presented by
Fried, Ruby
Institution
University of Alaska Anchorage

Intestinal health, parasite infection, & WASH access among people experiencing houselessness in the USA

Abiel K Locke, Mackenzie Ní Flainn, Allissa L Van Steenis, Tara J Cepon-Robins, L Jo Weaver, J Josh Snodgrass

Abstract
Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are global health priorities, but in the United States few studies have examined the intersection of intestinal health, parasite infection, the microbiome, and clean water access. No study has explored these phenomena with people experiencing houselessness (PEH). Given the sensitive and often stigmatizing nature of WASH issues and the methods used to assess the health impacts thereof (e.g., fecal samples), researchers examining these topics must tread carefully to avoid further marginalizing groups for whom WASH access is a challenge. Toward that end, we used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to design a pilot project under a larger housing insecurity and health study that examined WASH and its health consequences among PEH. Initial results from a focus group with five participants showed consistent WASH access challenges and experience with unfiltered water causing serious illness and stress. Water sources included the local river for multiple uses, including drinking and bathing. In the next several months we will be collecting additional interview data and beginning a pilot study that involves analysis of parasite infection, intestinal inflammation, and microbiome composition. These preliminary discussions suggest that despite no historical studies examining parasite infections and intestinal health among this population in the US, it is reasonable to expect novel findings given prevalent WASH accessibility challenges. The CBPR methodology will allow us to work in collaboration with participants and the community towards interventions, intestinal healthcare access, open lines of bidirectional communication for feedback, and overall health of the community.
Presented by
Locke, Abiel K <abiell@uoregon.edu>
Institution
University of Oregon

Effects of Vegetable and Fruit Juicing on Gut and Oral Microbiome Composition

Savo Sardaro ML (1,2), Grote V (1), Baik J (1), Atallah M (3), Amato K (1) and Ring M (4)

Abstract
Sub-optimal intake of fruits and vegetables accounted for over 50% of chronic disease-specific deaths in the U.S. in 2019 studies. Juicing is often promoted as a convenient way to consume more of these foods, with juice-only diets marketed for cleansing and health improvement. However, juicing removes most insoluble fiber, potentially reducing the health benefits of whole fruits and vegetables. Lower fiber intake can alter the microbiota, which influences metabolism, immunity, and mental health. Yet, little is known about how juice affects the microbiota. To address this, we conducted a dietary intervention study to explore juice’s impact on the gut and oral microbiota in 14 participants on one of three diets: exclusive juice, juice plus food, or plant-based food. The intervention lasted three days, and samples were collected at baseline, pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 14 days later. We analyzed stool, saliva, and internal cheek microbiota using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. No significant shifts in overall gut microbiome diversity or composition were observed, though individual taxa abundances did change. The cheek and saliva microbiota showed differences in Streptococcaceae and Neisseriaceae, potentially linked to high sugar and low fiber intake. The gut microbiota showed an increase in families associated with gut permeability, inflammatory markers, cognitive impairment, anxious behavior, and progression toward neurodegenerative disorders. These results suggest that short-term juice consumption may have negative effects on the microbiota and warrant further study into diet-microbiome-disease interaction.
Presented by
Savo Sardaro, Maria Luisa
Institution
1) Northwestern University, Department of Anthropology, Evanston, Illinois; 2) Department of Human Science and Promotion of the Quality of Life, University of San Raffaele, Rome, Italy; 3) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois; 4) Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois

Leveraging Forensic Anthropological Data to Inform Social Change: The Link Between Antemortem Tooth Loss and Poverty is a Structural Problem to Solve

Allysha P. Winburn

Abstract
Structural vulnerability builds on structural violence—the theory that inequitable social systems enact violence against human bodies—to describe how individuals with particular positionalities are at greater risk for negative health outcomes. In forensic anthropology, structural vulnerability approaches enable a shift from the discipline’s traditional focus on individual identifications to allow the recognition of population-level patterns in casework. Acknowledging poor skeletal/dental health to be caused by upstream, societal-level influences, not the behavioral factors often perceived as individual choices, enables the reporting of socially produced patterns of suffering to the State.

This research investigated one such pattern—the correlation between poverty and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL)—using a sample of 345 identified, anonymized forensic case decedents of kin-documented age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status (SES) with CT imagery curated in the New Mexico Decedent Image Database (Black female/male n=57; Hispanic female/male n=100; Indigenous female/male n=88; white female/male n=100). CT images were analyzed for AMTL; Wilcoxon signed-rank tests assessed distributional differences between low- and high-SES groups within each gender and race category.

Median AMTL was almost always higher in low-SES individuals than age-matched high-SES individuals—statistically significantly so for Black males (p=0.0006), white females (p<0.0001), and white males (p=0.04). This pattern was reproduced for edentulism (complete AMTL), with low-SES groups exhibiting between 8-25% edentulism, versus 0-8% in high-SES groups.

The poor dental health evidenced among people living in poverty can be rectified with changes to social policy and medical infrastructure. Structural vulnerability highlights problems that are socially created, and thus also solvable.

Funding for this research was provided by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and the Society of Forensic Anthropologists (SOFA).
Presented by
Winburn, Allysha Powanda
Institution
University of West Florida