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Objectives: Cortisol is an important metabolic hormone that regulates multiple physiologic systems. Cortisol metabolism is sensitive to early life environments, including that experienced prenatally. Limited research has evaluated factors that predict variation in maternal and offspring toddler hair cortisol, which is important since hair cortisol represents different dynamics of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA)‐axis function than more common salivary or serum measures. Methods: To address this gap, we longitudinally evaluated whether maternal depression measured in pregnancy and 1 month postnatal was associated with maternal and offspring hair cortisol levels approximately 15 months after birth (n = 46 mothers, 40 toddlers; mean 15.6 months postnatal, SD = 2.9 months). Results: Mean depression symptoms were highest during the prenatal period. Prenatal, but not postnatal, maternal depression was associated with offspring hair cortisol levels (B = 0.095, p =.01). Maternal hair cortisol was not associated with depression measured at either time point. Conclusions: These findings indicate that offspring hair cortisol more than a year after birth is associated with maternal prenatal depression, consistent with previous research in salivary cortisol, suggesting that long‐term offspring stress physiology may be influenced by conditions experienced in utero. These findings highlight the potential for hair cortisol—a minimally invasive and easy‐to‐collect measure— to index toddler HPA‐axis dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Biocultural perspectives combining methods and theories from biological and cultural anthropology are needed to better understand socioeconomic and race‐based health inequities in the United States. For example, the developmental trajectories of gastrointestinal health disparities based on embodied (i.e., internalized) inequities in resource access and environmental pathogen exposure are poorly understood. Here, we present a preliminary exploration of these relationships among 20 children (aged 3–14 years) from 12 families living in a low‐resource, predominantly Black, rural Mississippi community. Methods: Relationships between fecal calprotectin levels (FC; biomarker of intestinal inflammation measured from stool samples), BMI‐for‐age/Height‐for‐age z‐scores (calculated from standard anthropometric measures), household income/size (from parent interviews), and parasitic worm (helminth) infection status (detected in stool samples by 18 s rRNA gene amplification/sequencing) were tested using bootstrap linear regression and ANOVA/ANCOVA tests. Results: About 80% of sampled children had clinically elevated FC (> 50 μg/g). BMI z‐scores (95%CI = −154.63; −7.34) and household income (95%CI = −135.90; −16.44) were negatively associated with FC levels. Household size was positively associated with FC levels (95%CI = 4.65, 101.61). Helminth infections were detected (n = 6), with positive associations between infection and the FC level (p < 0.05) that were likely driven by two infected children with very high FC levels. Conclusion: The high levels of intestinal inflammation in this small sample of children suggest that gastrointestinal health disparities may appear in childhood. We explore how these disparities may be related to inequities in environmental exposures, nutritional and socioeconomic status, and barriers to medical care and resource access. Intestinal inflammation levels (mean fecal calprotectin) were significantly higher in children infected with platyhelmints (flatworms; Figure 2A), but this relationship appears to be driven by two infected children with very high levels of inflammation (Figure 2b) and more complex, interconnected factors are likely at play. Figure captions refer in meta xml. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The rise and fall of the health technology startup Theranos is emblematic of the promise and peril of point‐of‐care testing (POCT). Instruments that deliver immediate results from minimally invasive samples at the location of collection can provide powerful tools to deliver health data in clinical and public health contexts. Yet, POCT availability is driven largely by market interests, which limits the development of inexpensive tests for diverse health conditions that can be used in resource‐limited settings. These constraints, combined with complex regulatory hurdles and substantial ethical challenges, have contributed to the underutilization of POCT in human biology research. Methods: We evaluate current POCT capabilities and limitations, discuss promising applications for POCT devices in resource‐limited settings, and discuss the future of POCT. Results: As evidenced by publication trends, POCT platforms have rapidly advanced in recent years, gaining traction among clinicians and health researchers. We highlight POCT devices of potential interest to population‐based researchers and present specific examples of POCT applications in human biology research. Conclusions: Several barriers can limit POCT applications, including cost, lack of regulatory approval for non‐clinical use, requirements for expensive equipment, and the dearth of validation in remote field conditions. Despite these issues, we see immense potential for emerging POCT technology capable of analyzing new sample types and used in conjunction with increasingly common technology (e.g., smart phones). We argue that the fallout from Theranos may ultimately provide an opportunity to advance POCT, leading to more ethical data collection and novel opportunities in human biology research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Leaving "home" to pursue fieldwork is a necessity but also a rite of passage for many biological anthropology/human biology scholars. Field‐based scientists prepare for the potential changes to activity patterns, sleep schedules, social interactions, and more that come with going to the field. However, returning from extended fieldwork and the reverse‐culture shock, discomforts, and mental shifts that are part of the return process can be jarring, sometimes traumatic experiences. A failure to acknowledge and address such experiences can compromise the health and wellbeing of those returning. Aims: We argue for an engaged awareness of the difficult nature of returning from the field and offer suggestions for individuals and programs to better train and prepare PhD students pursuing fieldwork. Materials & Methods: Here, we offer personal stories of "coming back" and give professional insights on how to best ready students and scholars for returning from fieldwork. Discussion/Conclusion: By bringing forward and normalizing the difficulty of the fieldwork‐return process, we hope that this reflection acts as a tool for future scholars to prepare to come home as successfully and consciously as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Anemia is an important global health challenge. We investigate anemia prevalence among Indigenous Shuar of Ecuador to expand our understanding of population‐level variation, and to test hypotheses about how anemia variation is related to age, sex, and market integration. Methods: Hemoglobin levels were measured in a total sample of 1650 Shuar participants (ages 6 months to 86 years) from 46 communities between 2008 and 2017 to compare anemia prevalence across regions characterized by different levels of market integration. Results: Shuar anemia rates among children under 15 years (12.2%), adult women (10.5%), and adult men (5.3%) were less than half of those previously documented in other neo‐tropical Indigenous populations. Anemia prevalence did not vary between more traditional and market integrated communities (OR = 0.47, p =.52). However, anemia was negatively associated with body mass index (OR = 0.47, p =.002). Conclusions: Compared to other South American Indigenous populations, anemia prevalence is relatively low among Shuar of Ecuador and invariant with market integration. Understanding this pattern can provide valuable insights into anemia prevention among at‐risk populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Methods Results Conclusions The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and its primary end product, the glucocorticoid cortisol, are major components of the evolved human stress response. However, most studies have examined these systems among populations in high‐income settings, which differ from the high pathogen and limited resource contexts in which the HPA axis functioned for most of human evolution.We investigated variability in diurnal salivary cortisol patterns among 298 Indigenous Shuar from Amazonian Ecuador (147 males, 151 females; age 2–86 years), focusing on the effects of age, biological sex, and body mass index (BMI) in shaping differences in diurnal cortisol production. Saliva samples were collected three times daily (waking, 30 minutes post‐waking, evening) for three consecutive days to measure key cortisol parameters: levels at waking, the cortisol awakening response, the diurnal slope, and total daily output.Age was positively associated with waking levels and total daily output, with Shuar juveniles and adolescents displaying significantly lower levels than adults (p < .05). Sex was not a significant predictor of cortisol levels (p > .05), as Shuar males and females displayed similar patterns of diurnal cortisol production across the life course. Moreover, age, sex, and BMI significantly interacted to moderate the rate of diurnal cortisol decline (p = .027). Overall, Shuar demonstrated relatively lower cortisol concentrations than high‐income populations.This study expands the documented range of global variation in HPA axis activity and diurnal cortisol production and provides important insights into the plasticity of human stress physiology across diverse developmental and socioecological settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rising global obesity rates are linked with inflammation and associated morbidities. These negative outcomes are generally more common in low-resource communities within high-income countries; however, it is unclear how frequent infectious disease exposures in these settings may influence the relationship between adiposity and inflammation., Aim: We test associations between adiposity measures and distinct forms of inflammation among adults ( n  = 80) living in low-resource U.S. communities experiencing high levels of obesity and pathogen exposure., Subjects and Methods: Adiposity measures included BMI and percent body fat. Inflammation measures included systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP]) and localised intestinal inflammation (faecal calprotectin [FC]). The relationship between a condition characterised by elevated inflammation ( Helicobacter pylori infection) and adiposity was also considered., Results: Adiposity was not significantly related to FC concentration. However, both adiposity measures were positively related with odds of CRP elevation and H. pylori infection was associated with significantly lower adiposity measures (all p  < 0.05)., Conclusion: For this disadvantaged U.S. sample, the association between adiposity and inflammation varies by the systemic/localised nature of inflammation and the likely underlying cause of inflammation. Defining these associations will improve understanding of how rising obesity rates shape long-term health inequities, with implications for more effective intervention design.