ArticleEvolution, medicine, and public health2020
Immune function during pregnancy varies between ecologically distinct populations.
Article in Evolution, medicine, and public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- VaginalJournal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Female reproductive status and ecological conditions impact the magnitude of sex differences in human immune status across the lifespan.Research square · 2026Article
- Effects of Maternal and Cumulative Stress on Immune Phenotype and Stress Reactivity in Sows Later in Life.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Lower Socioeconomic Status Predicts Increased Proinflammatory Signaling in Late Pregnancy: Evidence From a Filipino Cohort.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2024Article
- Association between Disgust Sensitivity during Pregnancy and Endogenous Steroids: A Longitudinal Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Poor Oral Health Is Associated With Inflammation, Aortic Valve Calcification, and Brain Volume Among Forager-Farmers.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2024Article
- Host-gut microbiota interactions during pregnancy.Evolution, medicine, and public health · 2024Review
- Article
- Natural selection of immune and metabolic genes associated with health in two lowland Bolivian populations.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- 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 · 2022Review
- Immune cell type and DNA methylation vary with reproductive status in women: possible pathways for costs of reproduction.Evolution, medicine, and public health · 2022Article
- High prevalence of sternal foramina in indigenous Bolivians compared to Midwest Americans and indigenous North Americans (sternal foramina in indigenous Bolivians).Anatomical science international · 2021Article
- Article
- Helminth infection is associated with dampened cytokine responses to viral and bacterial stimulations in Tsimane forager-horticulturalists.Evolution, medicine, and public health · 2021Article
- Old friends and friendly fire: Pregnancy, hookworm infection, and anemia among tropical horticulturalists.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2020Article
- Reduced Readiness for Social Interaction as a Strategy for Pathogen Avoidance by Women in Various Stages of Pregnancy and Postpartum.Evolutionary psychology : an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behaviorArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesAmong placental mammals, females undergo immunological shifts during pregnancy to accommodate the fetus (i.e. fetal tolerance). Fetal tolerance has primarily been characterized within post-industrial populations experiencing evolutionarily novel conditions (e.g. reduced pathogen exposure), which may shape maternal response to fetal antigens. This study investigates how ecological conditions affect maternal immune status during pregnancy by comparing the direction and magnitude of immunological changes associated with each trimester among the Tsimane (a subsistence population subjected to high pathogen load) and women in the USA. METHODOLOGY: Data from the Tsimane Health and Life History Project (
resultsIn both populations, pregnancy was associated with increased neutrophil prevalence, reduced lymphocyte and eosinophil count and elevated CRP. Compared to their US counterparts, pregnant Tsimane women exhibited elevated lymphocyte and eosinophil counts, fewer neutrophils and monocytes and lower CRP. Total leukocyte count remained high and unchanged among pregnant Tsimane women while pregnant US women exhibited substantially elevated counts, resulting in overlapping leukocyte prevalence among all third-trimester individuals. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Our findings indicate that ecological conditions shape non-pregnant immune baselines and the magnitude of immunological shifts during pregnancy via developmental constraints and current trade-offs. Future research should investigate how such flexibility impacts maternal health and disease susceptibility, particularly the degree to which chronic pathogen exposure might dampen inflammatory response to fetal antigens. LAY SUMMARY: This study compares immunological changes associated with pregnancy between the Tsimane (an Amazonian subsistence population) and individuals in the USA. Results suggest that while pregnancy enhances non-specific defenses and dampens both antigen-specific immunity and parasite/allergy response, ecological conditions strongly influence immune baselines and the magnitude of shifts during gestation.
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Registered trials
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