Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Lifestyle and Reproductive Effects on Bone Mineral Density in an Amazonian Forager-Horticulturalist Population

与市场一体化相关的生活方式改变与慢性病风险增加密切相关，尽管很少有研究涉及对骨密度和骨质流失的影响。骨密度（BMD）是一项重要的骨健康诊断指标，在临床中经常作为未来骨折风险和骨质疏松症的标志。尽管人们认为各种生活方式和生殖因素会影响骨密度，但数据往往不一致，而且我们目前的知识存在重大差距。这在一定程度上源于相对同质的研究人群，以及对有时有问题的自我报告数据的依赖。拟议的研究将集中在厄瓜多尔的土著舒阿人身上，这是一个亚马逊地区的采食和园艺人口，目前正经历着快速的文化和经济变化。该研究将评估生活方式和生殖对六个经历不同程度市场一体化的Shuar社区成年人骨密度的影响。该研究将采用横断面和城乡设计，采用成人样本（14岁；90名女性，90名男性，来自两个地区）。采用定量-定性混合的方法，收集基本的人体测量和骨密度数据（使用定量超声技术测量）以及身体活动（使用加速度计评估）、饮食、女性生殖史（怀孕次数和母乳喂养模式）、社会经济地位和生活方式变化。智力优势：这项研究的结果将通过增加骨骼成分来扩展先前关于经济发展和生活方式改变对健康影响的研究。这项研究还将增加目前对人类骨骼如何受到生活方式因素影响的理解，并将提高生物人类学家解释过去人群骨骼变异的能力。更广泛的影响：除了加强国际研究合作和向研究伙伴提供当地相关的健康信息外，拟议的研究还有可能为骨质疏松症的治疗和预防工作提供信息。本博士论文研究项目将有助于从一个代表性不足的群体培养一名女研究生。

Lifestyle changes associated with market integration have been closely linked with increased risk of chronic disease, although minimal research has addressed the effects on bone density and bone loss. Bone mineral density (BMD) is a critical diagnostic measure of bone health and is often applied in clinical settings as a marker for future fracture risk and osteoporosis. Although various lifestyle and reproductive factors are suggested to shape BMD, data are often inconsistent and there are major gaps in our current knowledge. This, in part, stems from relatively homogenous study populations and a reliance on sometimes problematic self-report data. The proposed research will focus on the indigenous Shuar of Ecuador, an Amazonian forager-horticulturalist population currently undergoing rapid cultural and economic change. The study will assess the effects of lifestyle and reproduction on BMD among adults in six Shuar communities experiencing varying degrees of market integration. The study will be cross-sectional and employ an urban-rural design with an adult sample ( 14 years old; 90 females, 90 males from each of the two regional areas). Using a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach, basic anthropometric and BMD data (measured using quantitative ultrasound techniques) will be collected along with measures of physical activity (assessed using accelerometry), diet, female reproductive history (number of pregnancies and breastfeeding patterns), socioeconomic status, and lifestyle change. Intellectual Merit: The results from this study will expand upon previous research on the health effects of economic development and lifestyle change by adding a skeletal component. This study will also increase current understanding of how the human skeleton is affected by lifestyle factors, and will improve the ability of biological anthropologists to interpret skeletal variation in past populations. Broader Impacts: In addition to strengthening international research collaborations and providing locally relevant health information to study partners, the proposed research has the potential to inform osteoporosis treatment and prevention efforts. This doctoral dissertation research project will contribute to the academic training of a female graduate student from an underrepresented group.