Theresa E Gildner
Biographic Data
| ID | 4284495 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Theresa E Gildner |
| GIVEN NAMES | Theresa E |
| FAMILY NAME | Gildner |
| SIGNATURE | GILDNER T E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Department of Anthropology Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis Missouri USA |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7486-5208 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 48 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 31 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Market Integration and Reproductive Transitions Among Indigenous Shuar and Neighboring Nonindigenous Ecuadorians in Amazonian Ecuador
OBJECTIVE: Global reproductive transitions are well documented, yet less is known about how neighboring populations with divergent histories and exposure to market integration (MI) experience them. This study examines how sociocultural and economic proxies of MI predict variation in reproductive outcomes among indigenous Shuar and nonindigenous Ecuadorian mestizos (Colonos) from Amazonian Ecuador, focusing on menarcheal age, age at first birth, p…
Navigating Practical, Political, and Ethical Challenges of Long‐Term Human Biology Field Research
Major advances in understanding human biology and health have been made possible by long‐term field research projects with Indigenous peoples, whose ecological settings and lifeways are distinct from majority populations in high‐income settings. Long‐term fieldwork is central to human biology, yet much about this research approach remains opaque. This paper considers a single long‐term study—the Shuar Health and Life History Project in Amazonian …
The Shuar Health and Life History Project
The Shuar Health and Life History Project (established in 2005) is an interdisciplinary, integrated field and laboratory research project with the Indigenous Shuar population in Amazonian Ecuador. Grounded in human biology, behavioral ecology, evolutionary psychology, evolutionary medicine, and global health, the SHLHP has three key research foci: (1) To identify how market integration (via effects on diet, pathogen exposure, lifestyle, etc.) imp…
Helicobacter pylori in the Philippines
Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) is a bacterium that infects the stomach and is associated with various gastrointestinal outcomes and increased cardiovascular disease risk. We examined the role of sex in and the social and ecological factors associated with H. pylori seropositivity ( n = 124) and the relationship between seropositivity and systemic inflammation ( n = 116) among adults in Metro Cebu, Philippines. Data were drawn from the Cebu Lon…
Soil‐Transmitted Helminths and the Intricacies of Immunoregulation
OBJECTIVES: The old friends hypothesis (OFH) examines connections between the global increase in immunoregulatory diseases (e.g., allergy and autoimmunity) and reduced exposure to immune-priming symbionts like soil-transmitted helminths. Helminth species, however, vary in their effects on hosts and should be considered separately. We examined relationships between species-specific helminth infection and circulating biomarkers of adaptive immune a…
Testosterone, 8‐Oxo‐2′‐Deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) and Cu/Zn Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) in Adult Shuar Males of Amazonian Ecuador
Objectives Reproductive effort incurs the cost of biological aging and morbidity by compromising somatic maintenance when key resources are limited. Oxidative stress is positively correlated with reproductive effort in adult human females and non‐human male animal models, but human males are understudied. We hypothesized that due to its anabolic and metabolic promotion of reproductive effort in human males, testosterone would be positively associ…
Salivary Testosterone, Age, and Adiposity Associations Among Shuar Males in Amazonian Ecuador Challenge Assumptions of “Normal” Testosterone Patterns
Objectives Adult male testosterone concentrations in high income countries often decrease with age and adiposity, a pattern typically viewed as “normal.” However, testosterone is expected to be adaptively regulated within the range of resource constrained, high pathogen, natural fertility conditions across which it evolved to function. We therefore examine associations among testosterone diurnal variation, age, and adiposity among Indigenous Shua…
Toddler hair cortisol levels are associated with maternal prenatal depression
OBJECTIVES: Cortisol is an important metabolic hormone that regulates multiple physiologic systems. Cortisol metabolism is sensitive to early life environments, including that experienced prenatally. Limited research has evaluated factors that predict variation in maternal and offspring toddler hair cortisol, which is important since hair cortisol represents different dynamics of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA)-axis function than more common…
Variation in diurnal cortisol patterns among the Indigenous Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador
This study expands the documented range of global variation in HPA axis activity and diurnal cortisol production and provides important insights into the plasticity of human stress physiology across diverse developmental and socioecological settings
Dual burden of infectious and chronic disease in low-resource U.S. communities
For this disadvantaged U.S. sample, the association between adiposity and inflammation varies by the systemic/localised nature of inflammation and the likely underlying cause of inflammation. Defining these associations will improve understanding of how rising obesity rates shape long-term health inequities, with implications for more effective intervention design
A longitudinal study of how women's prenatal and postnatal concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic predicts their infants' social–emotional development
Infant social–emotional development may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated associations between maternal pre- and postnatal pandemic-related concerns and social–emotional developmental risk. Data, collected in 2020–2021, came from 220 mothers (87% white, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 1% American Indian, M age = 32.46 years), and infants (53.18% male, M age = 12.98 months) in the United States. Maternal postnatal pand…
Evidence and potential drivers of neglected parasitic helminth and protist infections among a small preliminary sample of children from rural Mississippi
INTRODUCTION: Intestinal infections with helminths (parasitic worms) and protists (single-celled eukaryotes) may be neglected health issues in low-resource communities across the United States. Because they predominantly infect school-aged children and can lead to nutritional deficiencies and developmental delays, these infections can affect lifelong health. More research is needed to understand the prevalence and risk factors of these parasitic …
Low prevalence of anemia among Shuar communities of Amazonian Ecuador
OBJECTIVE: Anemia is an important global health challenge. We investigate anemia prevalence among Indigenous Shuar of Ecuador to expand our understanding of population-level variation, and to test hypotheses about how anemia variation is related to age, sex, and market integration. METHODS: Hemoglobin levels were measured in a total sample of 1650 Shuar participants (ages 6 months to 86 years) from 46 communities between 2008 and 2017 to compare …
There and back again
BACKGROUND: Leaving "home" to pursue fieldwork is a necessity but also a rite of passage for many biological anthropology/human biology scholars. Field-based scientists prepare for the potential changes to activity patterns, sleep schedules, social interactions, and more that come with going to the field. However, returning from extended fieldwork and the reverse-culture shock, discomforts, and mental shifts that are part of the return process ca…
Hackademics
OBJECTIVE: The Sausage of Science is a podcast for the Human Biology Association and the American Journal of Human Biology through which we introduced a special series called #Hackademics. The podcast was initially used to highlight the scholarship and humanity of fellow human biologists through interviews about "how the sausage is made" in research-that is, the nuts and bolts that go into our publications. However, we soon realized there is much…
Bringing the lab bench to the field
Point‐of‐care testing (POCT) allows researchers and health‐care providers to bring the lab bench to the field, providing essential health information that can be leveraged to improve health care, accessibility, and understanding across clinical and research settings. Gaps in health service access are most pronounced in what we term RIR settings—rural/remote regions, involving Indigenous peoples, and/or within resource‐limited settings. In these c…
After Theranos
OBJECTIVES: The rise and fall of the health technology startup Theranos is emblematic of the promise and peril of point-of-care testing (POCT). Instruments that deliver immediate results from minimally invasive samples at the location of collection can provide powerful tools to deliver health data in clinical and public health contexts. Yet, POCT availability is driven largely by market interests, which limits the development of inexpensive tests…
Intersecting vulnerabilities in human biology
OBJECTIVES: Increasing obesity rates and accelerating climate change represent two global health challenges shaped by lifestyle change and human environmental modifications. Yet, few studies have considered how these issues may interact to exacerbate disease risk. METHODS: In this theory article, we explore evidence that obesity-related disease and climatic changes share socio-ecological drivers and may interact to increase human morbidity and mo…
Covid ‐19‐related financial stress associated with higher likelihood of depression among pregnant women living in the United States
OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented levels of unemployment and financial strain for many Americans. Among the individuals impacted by financial strain are pregnant women, for whom added financial stress may be particularly impactful due to the costs associated with prenatal care and providing for a newborn. Financial stress has been previously associated with elevated depression symptoms among pregnant women, which could ha…
Reproductive hormone measurement from minimally invasive sample types
Energetic investment in human reproduction has long been recognized as costly, influencing developmental, physiological, and behavioral patterns in males and females. These effects are largely coordinated through the actions of reproductive hormones (eg, testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone). Here, the utility and limitations of minimally invasive sampling techniques are explored, providing a novel perspective on how reproductive hormone mea…
Intestinal parasitic infection within a wealthy nineteenth century household from rural New England
Maternity Care Preferences for Future Pregnancies Among United States Childbearers
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted maternity care decisions, including plans to change providers or delivery location due to pandemic-related restrictions and fears. A relatively unexplored question, however, is how the pandemic may shape future maternity care preferences post-pandemic. Here, we use data collected from an online convenience survey of 980 women living in the United States to evaluate how and why the pandemic has affected women's f…
Birth plan alterations among American women in response to Covid‐19
To the editor: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically strained the American healthcare system.1 Crowded hospitals, overworked staff and a lack of medical equipment have implications for those needing medical care unrelated to COVID-19, including pregnant women. However, few studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on maternity care. What little work has been done has predominantly focused on treatment of pregnant women suffering from COVID…
Maternal and child health during the Covid ‐19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially impacted the lives and health of people worldwide; with millions of confirmed cases and thousands of deaths, the immediate medical effects of the pandemic are obvious and substantial. However, the COVID-19 pandemic will likely continue to negatively impact human health for years to come, especially among individuals experiencing pandemic-related stress during sensitive periods of the life course, including …
Soil‐transmitted helminth infection and intestinal inflammation among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador
OBJECTIVES: Little research exists documenting levels of intestinal inflammation among indigenous populations where exposure to macroparasites, like soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), is common. Reduced STH exposure is hypothesized to contribute to increased prevalence of elevated intestinal inflammation in wealthy nations, likely due to coevolutionary histories between STHs and human immune systems that favored anti-inflammatory pathways. Here, …
Heterogeneous effects of market integration on sub-adult body size and nutritional status among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador
This study provides novel insight into the complex socio-ecological pathways linking MI, physical growth and health among the Shuar and other indigenous Amazonian populations
Perceived Income Adequacy and Well-being Among Older Adults in Six Low- and Middle-Income Countries
As expected, income adequacy was correlated with SRH and QOL. However, the relationship between age and income adequacy varied cross-culturally, potentially due to differences in familial and governmental financial support
Soil‐transmitted helminth infection and intestinal inflammation among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador
OBJECTIVES: Little research exists documenting levels of intestinal inflammation among indigenous populations where exposure to macroparasites, like soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), is common. Reduced STH exposure is hypothesized to contribute to increased prevalence of elevated intestinal inflammation in wealthy nations, likely due to coevolutionary histories between STHs and human immune systems that favored anti-inflammatory pathways. Here, …
The application of knemometry to measure childhood short‐term growth among the indigenous Shuar of Ecuador
OBJECTIVES: Knemometry, the precise measurement of lower leg (LL) length, suggests that childhood short-term (e.g., weekly) growth is a dynamic, nonlinear process. However, owing to the large size and complexity of the traditional knemometer device, previous study of short-term growth among children has been restricted predominantly to clinical settings in industrialized Western nations. The aim of the present study is to address this limitation …
Sleep duration, sleep quality, and obesity risk among older adults from six middle‐income countries
OBJECTIVES: Changes in sleep patterns often occur in older adults. Previous studies have documented associations between sleep duration, sleep quality, and obesity risk in older individuals, yet few studies have examined these trends in lower-income countries. The present cross-sectional study uses nationally representative datasets from six countries to examine these relationships. METHODS: Two hypotheses related to obesity risk and sleep patter…
Physical growth of the shuar
OBJECTIVES: Information concerning physical growth among small-scale populations remains limited, yet such data are critical to local health efforts and to foster basic understandings of human life history and variation in childhood development. Using a large dataset and robust modeling methods, this study aims to describe growth from birth to adulthood among the indigenous Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador. METHODS: Mixed-longitudinal measures of heigh…
Perceived Income Adequacy and Well-being Among Older Adults in Six Low- and Middle-Income Countries
As expected, income adequacy was correlated with SRH and QOL. However, the relationship between age and income adequacy varied cross-culturally, potentially due to differences in familial and governmental financial support
The application of knemometry to measure childhood short‐term growth among the indigenous Shuar of Ecuador
OBJECTIVES: Knemometry, the precise measurement of lower leg (LL) length, suggests that childhood short-term (e.g., weekly) growth is a dynamic, nonlinear process. However, owing to the large size and complexity of the traditional knemometer device, previous study of short-term growth among children has been restricted predominantly to clinical settings in industrialized Western nations. The aim of the present study is to address this limitation …
Heterogeneous effects of market integration on sub-adult body size and nutritional status among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador
This study provides novel insight into the complex socio-ecological pathways linking MI, physical growth and health among the Shuar and other indigenous Amazonian populations
Tradeoffs between immune function and childhood growth among Amazonian forager-horticulturalists
Significance The energetic impact of immune function on human growth remains unclear. Using data from Amazonian forager-horticulturalists, we show that diverse, low-level immune activity predicts reduced childhood growth over periods of competing energy use ranging from 1 wk to 20 mo. We also demonstrate that modest body fat stores (i.e., energy reserves) protect children from the particularly detrimental impact of acute inflammation on growth. T…
Soil‐transmitted helminth infection and intestinal inflammation among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador
OBJECTIVES: Little research exists documenting levels of intestinal inflammation among indigenous populations where exposure to macroparasites, like soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), is common. Reduced STH exposure is hypothesized to contribute to increased prevalence of elevated intestinal inflammation in wealthy nations, likely due to coevolutionary histories between STHs and human immune systems that favored anti-inflammatory pathways. Here, …
Birth plan alterations among American women in response to Covid‐19
To the editor: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically strained the American healthcare system.1 Crowded hospitals, overworked staff and a lack of medical equipment have implications for those needing medical care unrelated to COVID-19, including pregnant women. However, few studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on maternity care. What little work has been done has predominantly focused on treatment of pregnant women suffering from COVID…
Maternal and child health during the Covid ‐19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially impacted the lives and health of people worldwide; with millions of confirmed cases and thousands of deaths, the immediate medical effects of the pandemic are obvious and substantial. However, the COVID-19 pandemic will likely continue to negatively impact human health for years to come, especially among individuals experiencing pandemic-related stress during sensitive periods of the life course, including …
Intersecting vulnerabilities in human biology
OBJECTIVES: Increasing obesity rates and accelerating climate change represent two global health challenges shaped by lifestyle change and human environmental modifications. Yet, few studies have considered how these issues may interact to exacerbate disease risk. METHODS: In this theory article, we explore evidence that obesity-related disease and climatic changes share socio-ecological drivers and may interact to increase human morbidity and mo…
Covid ‐19‐related financial stress associated with higher likelihood of depression among pregnant women living in the United States
OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented levels of unemployment and financial strain for many Americans. Among the individuals impacted by financial strain are pregnant women, for whom added financial stress may be particularly impactful due to the costs associated with prenatal care and providing for a newborn. Financial stress has been previously associated with elevated depression symptoms among pregnant women, which could ha…
Reproductive hormone measurement from minimally invasive sample types
Energetic investment in human reproduction has long been recognized as costly, influencing developmental, physiological, and behavioral patterns in males and females. These effects are largely coordinated through the actions of reproductive hormones (eg, testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone). Here, the utility and limitations of minimally invasive sampling techniques are explored, providing a novel perspective on how reproductive hormone mea…
Intestinal parasitic infection within a wealthy nineteenth century household from rural New England
Maternity Care Preferences for Future Pregnancies Among United States Childbearers
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted maternity care decisions, including plans to change providers or delivery location due to pandemic-related restrictions and fears. A relatively unexplored question, however, is how the pandemic may shape future maternity care preferences post-pandemic. Here, we use data collected from an online convenience survey of 980 women living in the United States to evaluate how and why the pandemic has affected women's f…
Low prevalence of anemia among Shuar communities of Amazonian Ecuador
OBJECTIVE: Anemia is an important global health challenge. We investigate anemia prevalence among Indigenous Shuar of Ecuador to expand our understanding of population-level variation, and to test hypotheses about how anemia variation is related to age, sex, and market integration. METHODS: Hemoglobin levels were measured in a total sample of 1650 Shuar participants (ages 6 months to 86 years) from 46 communities between 2008 and 2017 to compare …
There and back again
BACKGROUND: Leaving "home" to pursue fieldwork is a necessity but also a rite of passage for many biological anthropology/human biology scholars. Field-based scientists prepare for the potential changes to activity patterns, sleep schedules, social interactions, and more that come with going to the field. However, returning from extended fieldwork and the reverse-culture shock, discomforts, and mental shifts that are part of the return process ca…
Hackademics
OBJECTIVE: The Sausage of Science is a podcast for the Human Biology Association and the American Journal of Human Biology through which we introduced a special series called #Hackademics. The podcast was initially used to highlight the scholarship and humanity of fellow human biologists through interviews about "how the sausage is made" in research-that is, the nuts and bolts that go into our publications. However, we soon realized there is much…
Bringing the lab bench to the field
Point‐of‐care testing (POCT) allows researchers and health‐care providers to bring the lab bench to the field, providing essential health information that can be leveraged to improve health care, accessibility, and understanding across clinical and research settings. Gaps in health service access are most pronounced in what we term RIR settings—rural/remote regions, involving Indigenous peoples, and/or within resource‐limited settings. In these c…
After Theranos
OBJECTIVES: The rise and fall of the health technology startup Theranos is emblematic of the promise and peril of point-of-care testing (POCT). Instruments that deliver immediate results from minimally invasive samples at the location of collection can provide powerful tools to deliver health data in clinical and public health contexts. Yet, POCT availability is driven largely by market interests, which limits the development of inexpensive tests…
A longitudinal study of how women's prenatal and postnatal concerns related to the Covid-19 pandemic predicts their infants' social–emotional development
Infant social–emotional development may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated associations between maternal pre- and postnatal pandemic-related concerns and social–emotional developmental risk. Data, collected in 2020–2021, came from 220 mothers (87% white, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 1% American Indian, M age = 32.46 years), and infants (53.18% male, M age = 12.98 months) in the United States. Maternal postnatal pand…
Evidence and potential drivers of neglected parasitic helminth and protist infections among a small preliminary sample of children from rural Mississippi
INTRODUCTION: Intestinal infections with helminths (parasitic worms) and protists (single-celled eukaryotes) may be neglected health issues in low-resource communities across the United States. Because they predominantly infect school-aged children and can lead to nutritional deficiencies and developmental delays, these infections can affect lifelong health. More research is needed to understand the prevalence and risk factors of these parasitic …
Toddler hair cortisol levels are associated with maternal prenatal depression
OBJECTIVES: Cortisol is an important metabolic hormone that regulates multiple physiologic systems. Cortisol metabolism is sensitive to early life environments, including that experienced prenatally. Limited research has evaluated factors that predict variation in maternal and offspring toddler hair cortisol, which is important since hair cortisol represents different dynamics of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA)-axis function than more common…
Variation in diurnal cortisol patterns among the Indigenous Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador
This study expands the documented range of global variation in HPA axis activity and diurnal cortisol production and provides important insights into the plasticity of human stress physiology across diverse developmental and socioecological settings
Dual burden of infectious and chronic disease in low-resource U.S. communities
For this disadvantaged U.S. sample, the association between adiposity and inflammation varies by the systemic/localised nature of inflammation and the likely underlying cause of inflammation. Defining these associations will improve understanding of how rising obesity rates shape long-term health inequities, with implications for more effective intervention design
Helicobacter pylori in the Philippines
Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) is a bacterium that infects the stomach and is associated with various gastrointestinal outcomes and increased cardiovascular disease risk. We examined the role of sex in and the social and ecological factors associated with H. pylori seropositivity ( n = 124) and the relationship between seropositivity and systemic inflammation ( n = 116) among adults in Metro Cebu, Philippines. Data were drawn from the Cebu Lon…
Medicine (21 works) · Biology (14 works) · Environmental health (12 works) · Indigenous (9 works) · Population (9 works) · Demography (8 works) · Ecology (8 works) · Internal Medicine (8 works) · Geography (7 works) · Psychology (7 works)