Low Birth Weight of Contemporary African Americans: An Intergenerational Effect of Slavery?
Low Birth Weight of Contemporary African Americans: An Intergenerational Effect of Slavery?
复制标题
DOI：
10.1002/ajhb.20824
复制
发表时间：
2009-01-01
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Jasienska, Grazyna
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Jasienska, Grazyna
当代非洲裔美国人的平均出生体重比欧洲裔美国人的平均出生体重低约250克。这两个群体之间存在的遗传和社会经济因素的差异只能解释部分出生体重差异。我提出一个假设，即当代非裔美国人的低出生体重不仅是由于目前已知影响胎儿发育的生活方式因素的差异造成的，而且也是由于奴隶制时期经历的条件造成的。由于膳食摄入不足，加上体力劳动和传染病的高能量消耗，奴隶在生命的各个阶段的营养状况都很差。 “胎儿编程”的概念表明，生理和新陈代谢，包括发育中胎儿的生长和脂肪积累，以及其出生体重，取决于母系祖先世代相传的环境质量的代际信号。我认为，自美国废除奴隶制（1865年）以来已经过去了几代人，但还不足以消除奴隶制对非裔美国人目前的生物和健康状况的影响。是。 J.哼。生物。 21:16-24, 2009。(C) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The average birth weight in the contemporary African-American population is about 250 g lower than the average birth weight of European Americans. Differences in genetic and socioeconomic factors present between these two groups can explain only part of birth weight variation. I propose a hypothesis that the low birth weight of contemporary African Americans not only results from the difference in present exposure to lifestyle factors known to affect fetal development but also from conditions experienced during the period of slavery. Slaves had poor nutritional status during all stages of life because of the inadequate dietary intake accompanied by high energetic costs of physical work and infectious diseases. The concept of "fetal programming" suggests that physiology and metabolism including growth and fat accumulation of the developing fetus, and, thus its birth weight, depend on intergenerational signal of environmental quality passed through generations of matrilinear ancestors. I suggest that several generations that have passed since the abolition of slavery in the United States (1865) has not been enough to obliterate the impact of slavery on the current biological and health condition of the African-American population. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 21:16-24, 2009. (C) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.