Publication Date:
2015-11-21
Description:
Infection with intestinal helminths results in immunological changes that influence co-infections, and might influence fecundity by inducing immunological states affecting conception and pregnancy. We investigated associations between intestinal helminths and fertility in women, using 9 years of longitudinal data from 986 Bolivian forager-horticulturalists, experiencing natural fertility and 70% helminth prevalence. We found that different species of helminth are associated with contrasting effects on fecundity. Infection with roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) is associated with earlier first births and shortened interbirth intervals, whereas infection with hookworm is associated with delayed first pregnancy and extended interbirth intervals. Thus, helminths may have important effects on human fertility that reflect physiological and immunological consequences of infection.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Blackwell, Aaron D -- Tamayo, Marilyne A -- Beheim, Bret -- Trumble, Benjamin C -- Stieglitz, Jonathan -- Hooper, Paul L -- Martin, Melanie -- Kaplan, Hillard -- Gurven, Michael -- P01AG022500/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- R01AG024119/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- R56AG024119/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Nov 20;350(6263):970-2. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7902.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. Tsimane Health and Life History Project, San Borja, Bolivia. Broom Center for Demography, University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. blackwell@anth.ucsb.edu. ; Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. ; Tsimane Health and Life History Project, San Borja, Bolivia. Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. ; Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. Tsimane Health and Life History Project, San Borja, Bolivia. Broom Center for Demography, University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. Center for Evolutionary Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. ; Tsimane Health and Life History Project, San Borja, Bolivia. Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse, France. ; Tsimane Health and Life History Project, San Borja, Bolivia. Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. ; Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. Tsimane Health and Life History Project, San Borja, Bolivia. Broom Center for Demography, University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26586763" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Age Factors
;
Animals
;
Ascariasis/epidemiology/immunology
;
Ascaris lumbricoides/immunology
;
Bolivia/epidemiology
;
Coinfection
;
Female
;
Fertility/*immunology/physiology
;
Gravidity/*immunology/physiology
;
Helminthiasis/*immunology
;
Humans
;
Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/epidemiology/*immunology
;
Pregnancy
;
Prevalence
;
Young Adult
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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