American Journal of Human Biology最新文献

{"title":"Early Pregnancy in Times of Climate Change: First-Trimester Heat Exposure Is Associated With Reduction in Fetal Crown-Rump Length in the 12th/13th Week of Gestation—A Retrospective Study From Vienna, Austria","authors":"S. Nindl,&nbsp;B. Hartmann,&nbsp;J. Fellner,&nbsp;S. Kirchengast","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70107","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study focused on the association between fetal crown-rump length (CRL) in the 12th/13th gestational week and the number of 1st trimester heat days to assess the impact of rising temperature on intrauterine growth in early pregnancy.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This single-center medical record-based study comprises 10 085 singleton live births (<i>n</i>_male = 5228; <i>n</i>_female = 4857) taking place in Vienna, Austria between 2011 and 2019. The sonographic determination of CRL took place routinely during the 12th or 13th gestational week. Linear regression analyses with CRL as the dependent variable and the number of 1st trimester heat days controlled for maternal parameters and the gestational week of CRL measurement were computed for the entire sample and separately by sex.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>CRL decreased significantly (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) by 0,015 mm on average per heat day in the 1st trimester. Among male fetuses, CRL decreased significantly (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) by 0,021 mm, while among female fetuses, only an insignificant decrease was observed.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Heat days during the 1st trimester could have a small adverse effect on early fetal growth.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70107","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144624811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strategy or Necessity? The Determinants of Marriage Between Relatives in the Barcelona Area, Sixteenth–Nineteenth Centuries","authors":"Joaquín Ruíz García,&nbsp;Joana Maria Pujadas-Mora,&nbsp;Cristina López-Villanueva","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70106","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Consanguineous marriages illustrate the complex interplay between environmental and social factors in family formation. However, there remains a significant lack of quantitative studies exploring this phenomenon in preindustrial contexts. In this sense, this study examines the intensity and the structural and strategic determinants of consanguineous marriages in the Barcelona area between the 16th and 19th centuries, utilizing the unique Barcelona Historical Marriage Database. Methodologically, the isonymy method (spouses with matching surnames) was used to estimate the level of consanguinity (structural and strategic), while binary logistic regression models were constructed to analyze the social and territorial patterns of these marriages. The main findings indicate that consanguinity in the Barcelona area remained limited until the 19th century, mirroring European trends, though to a lesser degree. The nobility strategically adopted consanguineous marriages from the early modern period, while the peasantry largely avoided them, relying instead on primogeniture to preserve family assets. By the 19th century, the emerging bourgeoisie increasingly turned to consanguinity as a means of strengthening social networks and establishing class identity rather than merely preserving material heritage. Furthermore, the marriage market size and contextual factors—such as decreasing adult mortality and reduced dispensation costs—significantly influenced the rise of consanguineous unions.</p>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70106","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144614960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revealing Developmental Transitions in Perinatal and Infant Individuals Through Microanatomical Analysis","authors":"María Molina Moreno,&nbsp;Danielle M. Doe,&nbsp;Nieves Candelas González,&nbsp;Daniel García Martínez,&nbsp;Armando González Martín,&nbsp;Oscar Cambra-Moo","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70101","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Identifying signs of birth in perinatal human remains of past populations is challenging due to the lack of direct markers of this event on bones. This research aims to identify distinct events in humeral cross-sections microanatomy related to perinatal development and to integrate the findings into infant mortality trends.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Material and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The sample consists of infants (<i>N</i> = 106) ranging from prenatal to 1.5 years, with microanatomical analysis of nine selected individuals. Age-at-death estimation and microanatomical characterization were conducted, combined with quantitative analysis of microanatomical features.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Biological age-at-death presents high variability and overlap across prenatal to postnatal stages. Microanatomical analysis reveals a higher percentage of mineralized areas (60%–80%) within the total cross-sectional area in the youngest individuals up to the first neonatal month.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Based on the integration of microanatomical analysis in an extensive infant sample, this study highlights the evidence of developmental transitions from prenatal to neonatal stages. These findings suggest that, unlike biological age estimation methods, the full-term period can be identified microanatomically in bone. This provides a valuable approach for analyzing fragmented skeletal remains, secondary deposits, and other funerary or osteological contexts, opening new pathways to understand gestational development and postnatal survival in past populations.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70101","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144615054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advances in Understanding Adaptive Hemoglobin Concentration at High Altitude","authors":"Ainash Childebayeva,&nbsp;Kimberly Zhu,&nbsp;Abigail W. Bigham","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70087","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Today, more than 81 million people globally live at altitudes ≥ 2,500 m (Tremblay and Ainslie &lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;), which corresponds to less than 73% of the oxygen present at sea level, dropping exponentially downwards with increasing elevation. This reduced atmospheric oxygen content, known as high-altitude hypoxia, presents a pronounced physiological challenge to human health, well-being, and reproduction. Nevertheless, there are three global regions where humans have lived in the hypoxic conditions of high altitude for millennia. They include the Andean Altiplano of South America, the Himalayan Plateau of East/Central Asia, and the Semien Plateau of Ethiopia. For decades, biological anthropologists, physiologists, and others have studied human adaptation to hypoxia among the high-altitude populations from these regions (Beall &lt;span&gt;1982&lt;/span&gt;; Frisancho &lt;span&gt;1969&lt;/span&gt;). This work has highlighted that each of these groups has developed unique physiological, genetic, and potentially epigenetic adaptations to life in low oxygen conditions (Alkorta-Aranburu et al. &lt;span&gt;2012&lt;/span&gt;; Beall et al. &lt;span&gt;2010&lt;/span&gt;; Bigham et al. &lt;span&gt;2010&lt;/span&gt;; Childebayeva et al. &lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;). One phenotype that has been of particular interest in high-altitude evolutionary studies is hemoglobin.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hemoglobin (Hb) is the iron-containing protein found in red blood cells (RBC) responsible for oxygen transport. It carries oxygen from the lungs to the various tissues in the body. Hb concentration is a measure of &lt;i&gt;the amount of hemoglobin protein in red blood cells&lt;/i&gt;. At high elevation, atmospheric oxygen is limited, thus reducing arterial oxygen content. High-altitude sojourners overcome this reduction by increasing the amount of circulating Hb, initially through reductions in plasma volume and &lt;i&gt;Hb-O2 affinity&lt;/i&gt;, and later through increases in red cell volume (Siebenmann et al. &lt;span&gt;2015&lt;/span&gt;). Among high-altitude-adapted populations, we see distinct hematological adaptations to hypoxia both between and in comparison to high-altitude sojourners. Tibetans display a relatively low erythropoietic response and attendant low Hb concentration (Adams and Strang &lt;span&gt;1975&lt;/span&gt;; Beall and Goldstein &lt;span&gt;1987&lt;/span&gt;; Beall and Reichsman &lt;span&gt;1984&lt;/span&gt;). Andeans exhibit elevated concentrations with some individuals presenting with polycythemia, or the increase of hematocrit and/or Hb (Beall et al. &lt;span&gt;1990&lt;/span&gt;, &lt;span&gt;1998&lt;/span&gt;). Hematocrit is related to Hb concentration and measures the percentage of whole blood composed of red blood cells. High-altitude Ethiopians of mainly Amharic ancestry show similar Hb concentrations compared to low-altitude US residents (Beall et al. &lt;span&gt;2002&lt;/span&gt;), but high-altitude Amhara and Oromo exhibit elevated Hb levels compared to their low-altitude (&lt; 1500 masl) counterparts (Scheinfeldt et al. &lt;span&gt;2012&lt;/span&gt;; Alkorta-Aranburu et al. &lt;span&gt;2012&lt;/span&gt;), with Oromo displaying twice the elevation ","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70087","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Validity of Adiposity Indices for Detecting High Body Fat Mass in Mexican Schoolchildren: Results From the NUTRENTO Project","authors":"Galván Marcos,&nbsp;Ramírez-Ramírez Celina,&nbsp;López-Rodríguez Guadalupe,&nbsp;Martínez-Ureña Luis,&nbsp;Olvera-Mayorga Gabriela,&nbsp;Olivo-Ramírez Diana Patricia,&nbsp;Suárez Diéguez Teodoro,&nbsp;Galván-Valencia Oscar","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70102","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Introduction</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Body mass index (BMI) is a known indicator of adiposity. However, alternative measures have recently been proposed in children. We aimed to evaluate the validity of alternative adiposity indices (AIs)—BMI according to the World Health Organization (BMI-WHO) and the International Obesity Task Force (BMI-IOTF) standards, waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)—in detecting high body fat (HBF) in Mexican schoolchildren.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 2189 schoolchildren in Hidalgo, Mexico. AIs including BMI-WHO, BMI-IOTF, WC, and WHtR were evaluated via anthropometry. Body fat (BF) was assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The ability of the AIs to predict HBF was evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, and confidence intervals (95% CI). Agreements between AIs and BF were analyzed using Kappa correlation coefficients and Bland–Altman plots.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In detecting HBF, BMI-WHO showed a sensitivity of 98.2% (95% CI: 97.0–99.0) and a specificity of 59.3% (95% CI: 56.7–61.9), and WHtR showed 98.0% (95% CI: 96.6–98.8) and 57.4% (95% CI: 54.8–59.9), respectively. Among boys, moderate agreement was observed between HBF and BMI-WHO (Kappa = 0.52), WHtR (Kappa = 0.50), and WC (Kappa = 0.47), all with <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001. Among girls, moderate agreement was found with BMI-WHO (Kappa = 0.45) and WHtR (Kappa = 0.41), also with <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001. Bland–Altman analysis showed good agreement between HBF and WHtR and intermediate agreement with BMI-WHO.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>BMI-WHO and WHtR demonstrate high validity for assessing HBF in schoolchildren. WHtR may serve as a practical alternative for routine screening and for evaluating the impact of interventions aimed at reducing risks associated with excessive BF accumulation.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144581911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Salivary/Serum Progesterone Ratio Differs Between Menstrual Cycle Phases but Not Between Populations: Implications for Health, Reproductive, and Behavioral Research","authors":"Virginia J. Vitzthum,&nbsp;Diva Bellido,&nbsp;Lourdes Echalar,&nbsp;Esperanza Caceres,&nbsp;Jonathan Thornburg","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70077","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70077","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Many investigations of human health, behaviors, and adaptations require an indicator of ovarian cycle functioning as a causal, outcome, or confounding variable in the study design and analyses. Because the dynamic fluctuations in cycle hormones can rarely be adequately characterized by a single measurement, but repeated blood sampling can be onerous, salivary free progesterone (P_Free-SAL) concentration is widely used in both clinical and research contexts as an alternative to total progesterone concentration in venous blood samples (P_Total-VEN). However, some doubts have been raised about the use of P_Free-SAL because of suggestions that Bolivian and other populations and/or individuals might differ markedly in the ratio of P_Free-SAL to P_Total-VEN (the apparent uptake fraction, UF). If there are such differences, several decades of comparative population research based on P_Free-SAL would require reconsideration, and a seemingly useful tool in both clinical and research contexts would be lost or require additional extensive pre-use evaluations. Such impacts would fall disproportionally on clinical monitoring and research studies of menstruating persons, a segment of the population that has long been underrepresented in research and clinical trials, especially in low resource conditions. Therefore, we tested three hypotheses: (H1) UF differs by ovarian cycle phase; (H2) UF differs in Bolivian women from that of non-Bolivian women; and (H3) within a population, UF is consistently higher or lower in some individuals than in most others.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We collected mid-follicular and mid-luteal near-concurrent samples of venous blood and saliva from 36 healthy premenopausal Bolivian women. P_Total-VEN and P_Free-SAL were measured using commercial enzyme immunoassays. To test the study hypotheses, we used graphical and statistical methods to analyze these new data and to analyze data from several previously published studies.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In our study sample of Bolivian women, P_Free-SAL and P_Total-VEN concentrations (<i>n</i> = 66 pairs) were significantly and highly correlated (Spearman's rho = 0.858; mixed model: intercept = 77.4 pmol/L [(<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001), <i>β</i> = 0.0191 (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001)]). An individual's follicular-phase UF and luteal-phase UF were not significantly correlated (rho = −0.19, <i>p</i> = 0.462). Median UF equaled 8.1% for follicular and 2.3% for luteal phase pairs and were comparable to published values for other popu","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70077","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144581910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association Between Relative Leg Length and Insulin Resistance in Rural, Urban and Rural–Urban Migrant Populations of Peru","authors":"Sergio Mucching-Toscano,&nbsp;Miguel Moscoso-Porras,&nbsp;Jessica Hanae Zafra-Tanaka,&nbsp;Cecilia Anza-Ramirez,&nbsp;Antonio Bernabé-Ortiz,&nbsp;Jonathan C. K. Wells,&nbsp;J. Jaime Miranda","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70105","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To determine the association between relative leg length and insulin resistance according to rural, urban, and rural–urban migrant groups.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Cross-sectional study using data from the PERU MIGRANT study (2007–2008). The exposure was relative leg length categorized as short, normal, or long, and the outcome was insulin resistance (logarithm of homeostatic model assessment log-HOMA2-IR). Linear regression models with log transformation, adjusted for sex, age, parental education, hip circumference, and physical activity level, were employed to estimate geometric mean ratios of insulin resistance across leg length categories. Interaction effects of population groups (rural, urban, and migrants) on insulin resistance were explored, along with mediation analysis of central obesity and excess body fat in the main relationship.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Using data from 947 participants, 52.7% female, mean age 47.7 years (SD = 11.9), we found a robust inverse association between relative leg length and insulin resistance. The geometric mean of insulin resistance in subjects with long leg length was 43% (e^β1: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.47–0.69) lower than those in the normal category. A significant interaction effect of the population group on relative leg length categories (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) was observed, particularly in the migrant and rural groups. Excess body fat and abdominal obesity explained 33% and 12% of the association between relative leg length and insulin resistance, respectively.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Longer leg length was associated with lower insulin resistance values, with a greater interaction effect observed among the rural–urban migrant and urban groups. These findings support the hypothesis that metabolic disorders in adults may be traceable to nutritional and developmental conditions early in life.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144581912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Growth Status of Rural Youth 7–15 Years in Poland: Variation by Family Size in Decennial Surveys Spanning 1986–2016","authors":"Sylwia Bartowiak,&nbsp;Jan M. Konarski,&nbsp;Ryszard Strzelczyk,&nbsp;Robert M. Malina","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70104","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To evaluate variation in the growth status of rural school children 7–15 years by number of children in the family within and across four decennial surveys spanning 1986–2016. Heights and weights of children in the same 10 communities were measured; BMI was calculated. Samples included 1416 boys and 1326 girls in 1986; 971 boys and 947 girls in 1996; 871 boys and 843 girls in 2006, and 658 boys and 711 girls in 2016. Number of children in the family and level of parental education were reported. MANCOVAs (with age of the child and with age and parental level of education as covariates) were used to evaluate variation in growth status by number of children in the family within each survey, and by number of children in the family across the four surveys. Family size declined across surveys. Variation in body size by family size was not consistent within the four surveys. Estimated secular gains in height, weight, and BMI across the 30-year interval were reasonably similar among boys and girls from families of 1, 2, 3, and 4+ children, while estimated gains between adjacent decadal surveys varied with the number of children in the family and between boys and girls.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biological Mechanisms for Allen's Rule: DNA Methylation as Mediator of the Association Between In Utero Exposure to Environmental Heat and Tibial Growth in Childhood","authors":"Bilinda Straight,&nbsp;Xi Qiao,&nbsp;Duy Ngo,&nbsp;Charles E. Hilton,&nbsp;Charles Owuor Olungah,&nbsp;Claudia Lalancette,&nbsp;Amy Naugle,&nbsp;Belinda L. Needham","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70086","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70086","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Understanding human phenotypic plasticity in response to social, ecosystem, and climate interactions can be an important tool for designing social and public health strategies that increase climate change resilience. Sensitivity of the tibia to environmental perturbations is well established; moreover, Allen's rule predicts relatively longer tibial length in hotter climates. In this study, we hypothesized DNA methylation (DNAm) changes as potential mechanisms for impacts of environmental heat exposure in utero persisting in childhood tibial growth in Kenyan Samburu pastoralist children ages 1.8–9.6 years living in a global climate change vulnerability hotspot.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>DNAm data was measured from whole saliva using the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip array. To test our hypothesis, we tested for differential DNAm and we performed high-dimensional mediation analysis using high-resolution (0.05 × 0.05) land surface temperature variables (LST) for each trimester of gestation and compared this to models using a coarser method (contrasting climate zones).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We found differentially methylated CpG sites in both LST and comparison models, near genes relevant to linear growth, with some overlap between models, as expected. We identified 37 CpG sites mediating the association between LST &gt; 37°C exposure in utero and tibial growth into childhood, and 13 CpG sites as mediators in comparison models.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To our knowledge, these are the first results to identify biological mediators linking environmental heat to lower limb growth in children. The findings contribute evidence of epigenetic mechanisms relevant to Allen's rule and of the tibia as a key biomarker of early life conditions.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70086","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144536956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Structure of the Ukrainian Population Based on Surname Distribution","authors":"Vladyslav Shuba,&nbsp;Yaroslav Yasinskyi,&nbsp;Liubov Atramentova","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70097","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This paper examines the consequences of migration and other demographic processes for Ukraine's population through the analysis of surname distribution.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The dataset included 697 147 surnames of 46 431 365 residents of Ukraine in 2001. The research methodology follows the approach of I. Barrai and applies the indicator CRSED proposed by J. Chen to assess the diversity of surnames in 25 regions of Ukraine in the context of historical population dynamics.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A comparison of surname frequency distributions across regions reveals greater cultural and demographic stability in areas with high CRSED values. Low CRSED values correspond to regions with extensive and diverse immigration accompanied by high levels of migrant assimilation.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The distribution of surnames in Ukraine reflects the influence of historical events, including colonization, industrialization, armed conflicts, and political transformations. The application of isonymy and <i>CRSED</i> indices enables the detection of underlying demographic and social processes that have shaped the modern population structure. The study offers new insights into the historical development of Ukraine's population and provides guidance for population policy planning.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144524577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}