Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20865759›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council

Life history, immune function, and intestinal helminths: Trade-offs among immunoglobulin E, C-reactive protein, and growth in an Amazonian population.

Aaron D Blackwell, J Josh Snodgrass, Felicia C Madimenos, Lawrence S Sugiyama

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
38citing papers in PubMed
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

38 citing papers in PubMed, 111 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Tradeoffs between immune function and childhood growth among Amazonian forager-horticulturalists.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2018
    Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. The Shuar Health and Life History Project: Overview at 20 Years and Introduction to the Special Issue.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Circulating Epstein-Barr Virus Antibody Levels as a Biomarker of Socioecological Adversity in Amazonian Ecuador.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025
    Article
  9. Poorer Longitudinal Growth Among HIV Exposed Compared With Unexposed Infants in Kenya.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2025
    Article
  10. Seasonality and Differential Growth Patterns of Body Dimensions of Children in a Rural Community of Yucatan, Mexico.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Ecoimmunology in the field: Measuring multiple dimensions of immune function with minimally invasive, field-adapted techniques.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2022
    Review
  15. Minimally invasive biomarkers in human and non-human primate evolutionary biology: Tools for understanding variation and adaptation.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2022
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Pathogen disgust sensitivity protects against infection in a high pathogen environment.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Aaron D BlackwellIntegrative Anthropological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-3210, USA. ablackwell@isber.ucsb.edu
J Josh Snodgrass
Felicia C Madimenos
Lawrence S Sugiyama
Decision Sciences (United States) · USUniversity of California, Santa Barbara · US

Funding

NIH Director's Pioneer Award (RMI)DP1OD000516 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA · PI COSMIDES, LEDA · 2005 to 2009
$3.6M
NCCDPHP CDC HHS 5DP1O000516-04NIH HHS DP1 OD000516
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesInfection with helminths is associated with shifts in host immunity, including increased production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) and reduced inflammation. Given limited energy budgets, these shifts may involve changes in energy allocation toward competing demands. Here we test for potential trade-offs between growth, IgE, and the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP).

methodsDried blood spots and anthropometrics were collected from 162 Shuar forager-horticulturalists from a village in southeastern Ecuador. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used to measure IgE and CRP. Relationships among IgE, CRP, and anthropometrics were examined in three groups: children aged 2-7 years (n = 63), children aged 8-15 (n = 61), and adults over age 18 (n = 37).

resultsGeometric mean IgE was 1,196 IU ml⁻¹ while geometric mean CRP was 1.33 mg l⁻¹. In children, IgE and CRP were negatively correlated (r = -0.21, P = 0.02, df = 122). Controlling for fat stores and age, IgE was associated with lower stature in children (t = -2.04, P = 0.04, df = 109), and adults (t = -3.29, P < 0.01, df = 33). In children there was a significant interaction between age and CRP, such that in younger children CRP was associated with shorter stature, but in older children was associated with greater stature (t = 2.15, P = 0.04, df = 109).

conclusionsThese results suggest that infection with helminths may have hidden costs associated with immunological changes, and that these costs may ultimately affect growth and other life history parameters.

Indexed as

Indians, South AmericanAdolescentAdultBody Weights and MeasuresChildChild, PreschoolC-Reactive ProteinEcuadorEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayFemaleGrowthHealth SurveysHelminthiasisHumansImmunityImmunoglobulin EC-Reactive ProteinImmunoglobulin E

Identifiers

PMID20865759
PMCPMC4512836
OpenAlexW2127715883

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.