TY - JOUR
T1 - Disparities in bone density across contemporary Amazonian forager-horticulturalists
T2 - Cross-population comparison of the Tsimane and Shuar
AU - Madimenos, Felicia C.
AU - Liebert, Melissa A.
AU - Cepon-Robins, Tara J.
AU - Urlacher, Samuel S.
AU - Josh Snodgrass, J.
AU - Sugiyama, Lawrence S.
AU - Stieglitz, Jonathan
N1 - Funding Information:
information Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Grant/Award Number: ANR-17-EURE-0010; Leakey Foundation; National Institute on Aging, Grant/Award Number: R01AG024119; National Institutes of Health, Grant/Award Number: 5DP1OD000516-5 via UCSB Center for Evolutionary Ps; National Science Foundation, Grant/Award Number: BCS-0925910; University of Oregon; Wenner-Gren Foundation, Grant/Award Number: 7970The authors express gratitude to the Tsimane and Shuar communities for their participation. We also thank the Tsimane Health and Life History Project Personnel and Shuar Health and Life History Project team for collecting and coding data. The authors express specific gratitude to Cesar Kayap, Oswaldo Mankash, Luzmila Jempekat, Estela Jempekat, Jaime Durbano, Matt Schwartz, Gandhi Yetish, and Marilu Utitiaj for their assistance with data collection. Additional appreciation is directed toward funding sources including National Science Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Leakey Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging. JS also acknowledges IAST funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR) under grant ANR-17-EURE-0010 (Investissements d'Avenir program). The authors declare no conflict of interest with this work.
Funding Information:
The authors express gratitude to the Tsimane and Shuar communities for their participation. We also thank the Tsimane Health and Life History Project Personnel and Shuar Health and Life History Project team for collecting and coding data. The authors express specific gratitude to Cesar Kayap, Oswaldo Mankash, Luzmila Jempekat, Estela Jempekat, Jaime Durbano, Matt Schwartz, Gandhi Yetish, and Marilu Utitiaj for their assistance with data collection. Additional appreciation is directed toward funding sources including National Science Foundation, Wenner‐Gren Foundation, the Leakey Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging. JS also acknowledges IAST funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR) under grant ANR‐17‐EURE‐0010 (Investissements d'Avenir program). The authors declare no conflict of interest with this work.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PY - 2020/1/1
Y1 - 2020/1/1
N2 - Objectives: This study investigates bone density across the life course among Bolivian Tsimane and Ecuadorian Shuar of Amazonia. Both groups are rural, high-fertility forager-horticulturalists, with high lifetime physical activity levels. We test whether Tsimane and Shuar bone density patterns are different from each other, and if both groups are characterized by lower osteoporosis risk compared to U.S. references. Methods: Anthropometric and calcaneal bone density data, obtained via quantitative ultrasonometry (QUS), were collected from 678 Tsimane and 235 Shuar (13–92 years old). Population and sex differences in QUS values (estimated bone mineral density, speed of sound, broadband ultrasound attenuation) by age group were assessed using Mann–Whitney U tests. Age-related change and age at peak QUS value were determined using polynomial regressions. One-way analyses of covariance assessed population-level differences in QUS values by age group adjusting for body mass index. Participants aged 50+ years at elevated osteoporosis risk were identified using a T score < −1.8; binomial tests assessed risk compared to U.S. references. Results: Shuar males and females <50 years old have QUS values 3–36% higher than Tsimane, with differences evident in adolescence. Among Tsimane and Shuar, 49 and 23% of participants aged 50+ years old, respectively, are at high risk for osteoporosis, compared to 34% of Americans; Shuar osteoporosis risk is comparable to Americans, while Tsimane risk is elevated. Conclusions: Disparate patterns in QUS values are documented for Tsimane and Shuar, with pronounced differences early in life. Potential explanations for differences include gene–environment interactions and/or degree of market integration, which influences diet, activity profiles, pathogen exposures, and other lifestyle covariates. As Tsimane osteoporosis risk is greater than in the United States, findings point to alternative risk factors for low bone density that are not readily discernible in industrialized populations.
AB - Objectives: This study investigates bone density across the life course among Bolivian Tsimane and Ecuadorian Shuar of Amazonia. Both groups are rural, high-fertility forager-horticulturalists, with high lifetime physical activity levels. We test whether Tsimane and Shuar bone density patterns are different from each other, and if both groups are characterized by lower osteoporosis risk compared to U.S. references. Methods: Anthropometric and calcaneal bone density data, obtained via quantitative ultrasonometry (QUS), were collected from 678 Tsimane and 235 Shuar (13–92 years old). Population and sex differences in QUS values (estimated bone mineral density, speed of sound, broadband ultrasound attenuation) by age group were assessed using Mann–Whitney U tests. Age-related change and age at peak QUS value were determined using polynomial regressions. One-way analyses of covariance assessed population-level differences in QUS values by age group adjusting for body mass index. Participants aged 50+ years at elevated osteoporosis risk were identified using a T score < −1.8; binomial tests assessed risk compared to U.S. references. Results: Shuar males and females <50 years old have QUS values 3–36% higher than Tsimane, with differences evident in adolescence. Among Tsimane and Shuar, 49 and 23% of participants aged 50+ years old, respectively, are at high risk for osteoporosis, compared to 34% of Americans; Shuar osteoporosis risk is comparable to Americans, while Tsimane risk is elevated. Conclusions: Disparate patterns in QUS values are documented for Tsimane and Shuar, with pronounced differences early in life. Potential explanations for differences include gene–environment interactions and/or degree of market integration, which influences diet, activity profiles, pathogen exposures, and other lifestyle covariates. As Tsimane osteoporosis risk is greater than in the United States, findings point to alternative risk factors for low bone density that are not readily discernible in industrialized populations.
KW - Shuar
KW - Tsimane
KW - bone mineral density
KW - osteoporosis
KW - quantitative ultrasonometry
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U2 - 10.1002/ajpa.23949
DO - 10.1002/ajpa.23949
M3 - Article
C2 - 31663132
AN - SCOPUS:85074801436
SN - 0002-9483
VL - 171
SP - 50
EP - 64
JO - American Journal of Physical Anthropology
JF - American Journal of Physical Anthropology
IS - 1
ER -