Peter M Elias
Biographic Data
| ID | 88696 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Peter M Elias |
| GIVEN NAMES | Peter M |
| FAMILY NAME | Elias |
| SIGNATURE | ELIAS P M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Harvard University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0069-9064 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 83 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 516 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 83 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1977 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
Optimised emollient mixture for skin barrier repair: Applications to global child health
INTRODUCTION: IMPORTANCE OF SKIN BARRIER HOMEOSTASIS Maintenance of epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis is required for life in a desiccating, often hostile, terrestrial environment. Children over six months of age and adults who are armed with robust metabolic machinery readily cope with most external stressors [1]. In contrast, individuals with sub-optimal permeability barriers – including the [...]
Behavioral Endocrinology: Integrating Mind and Body
The nervous system and the endocrine system interact to integrate behavior and physiology. Hormones play an important role in this interaction, particularly steroid hormones. Other molecules, notably oxytocin, can serve both as hormones in the soma and neuromodulators in the central nervous system. Understanding the influence of the endocrine system on human behavior, both individual and social, has been a primary focus of behavioral endocrino…
Variability of C‐reactive protein in first‐generation Ecuadorian immigrants living in the United States
The variability of CRP levels in individuals with relatively high childhood pathogen exposure is comparable to previously reported studies in North America and Europe. However, CRP values are relatively low. CRP is an appropriate measure of subacute inflammation in this sample
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…
One hundred years and counting
The evolution of physical anthropology
The old physical anthropology was primarily a technique. The common core of the science was measurement of external form with calipers. The new physical anthropology is primarily an area of interest, the desire to understand the process of primate evolution and human variation by the most efficient techniques available (Washburn, 1951, p. 298). This year, 2018, marks the centennial of the founding of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology,…
T he vitamin D hypothesis: D ead or alive
Basis for the gain and subsequent dilution of epidermal pigmentation during human evolution: The barrier and metabolic conservation hypotheses revisited
The evolution of human skin pigmentation must address both the initial evolution of intense epidermal pigmentation in hominins, and its subsequent dilution in modern humans. While many authorities believe that epidermal pigmentation evolved to protect against either ultraviolet B (UV‐B) irradiation‐induced mutagenesis or folic acid photolysis, we hypothesize that pigmentation augmented the epidermal barriers by shifting the UV‐B dose–response cur…
Women who are married or living as married have higher salivary estradiol and progesterone than unmarried women
OBJECTIVES: Extensive research has demonstrated that marriage and parenting are associated with lower testosterone levels in men, however, very little is known about associations with hormone concentrations in women. Two studies have found lower testosterone in relation to pair-bonding and motherhood in women, with several others suggesting that estradiol levels are lower among parous women than nulliparous women. Here, we examine estradiol and p…
Digit ratio (2D: (4D) does not correlate with daily 17β‐estradiol and progesterone concentrations in healthy women of reproductive age
OBJECTIVES: Second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is proposed as a proxy for the prenatal balance of sex hormones, is related to hormone-dependent characteristics in adult life, and is a possible predictor of disease later in life. Here, we studied the relationship between 2D:4D and ovarian steroid hormones (17β-estradiol and progesterone) among women of reproductive age. METHODS: From 186 healthy premenopausal women, aged 24-37 years, we collecte…
Obituary: Irven DeVore 1934–2014
Endocrine responses, weight change, and energy sparing mechanisms during Ramadan among Gambian adolescent women
Even using energy sparing behaviors, adolescent women enter negative energy balance when Ramadan and the agricultural season co-occur. Metabolic physiology shows a transient response to high glycemic index foods consumed at night. Older and larger individuals sustain greater losses during Ramadan
Diurnal variation in salivary cortisol across age classes in A che A merindian males of P araguay
Ache Amerindian men exhibit a flattening of the diurnal rhythm across age classes. Our results were able to capture both within- and between-individual variations in cortisol levels, and reflected age-related contrasts in daily cortisol fluctuations. The flattening of the diurnal rhythm with age among the Ache may reflect a common and shared aspect of male senescence across ecological contexts and lifestyles. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 27:344-348, 2015. ©…
Ovarian function in Samoan women shows stronger association with signals of energy metabolism than fat reserves
This study adds to the growing evidence that peripheral regulation of ovarian function likely involves permissive signals that emphasize a state of energy surplus, related primarily to energy metabolism rather than energy reserves, and warrant more extensive study
Integration under the big tent
Re-appraisal of current theories for the development and loss of epidermal pigmentation in hominins and modern humans
Testosterone levels correlate with the number of children in human males, but the direction of the relationship depends on paternal education
Demography Part 2: Population Growth and Fertility Regulation
This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Population Growth Biological Regulation of Human Fertility Social Regulation of Fertility Looking Back and Looking Forward Chapter Summary References Cited Recommended Readings
Metabolic hypothesis for human altriciality
The classic anthropological hypothesis known as the “obstetrical dilemma” is a well-known explanation for human altriciality, a condition that has significant implications for human social and behavioral evolution. The hypothesis holds that antagonistic selection for a large neonatal brain and a narrow, bipedal-adapted birth canal poses a problem for childbirth; the hominin “solution” is to truncate gestation, resulting in an altricial neonate. T…
Special issue on global obesity, and introduction of Toolkit: Methods in Human Biology
Puberty as a life history transition
BACKGROUND: James Tanner's landmark publication, Growth at Adolescence, was not only the first and most comprehensive treatise on the subject of human pubertal development of its time, its core insights have held up remarkably well over time. REVIEW: This review connects Tanner's contributions to contemporary understanding of puberty as a process fundamentally driven by neuroendocrine maturation. It introduces the concepts of the 'hour-glass of p…
Male Life History, Reproductive Effort, and the Evolution of the GenusHomo: New Directions and Perspectives
The evolution of male life history traits was central to the emergence of the genus Homo. Compared with earlier hominins, changes in the behavioral and physiological mechanics of growth, survivorship, reproductive effort, and senescence all likely contributed to shifts in how males contributed to the evolution of our genus. For example, the range of paternal investment in modern Homo sapiens is unusual compared with most mammals and primates, all…
Barrier requirements as the evolutionary “driver” of epidermal pigmentation in humans
Current explanations for the development of epidermal pigmentation during human evolution are not tenable as stand‐alone hypotheses. Accordingly, we assessed instead whether xeric‐ and UV‐B‐induced stress to the epidermal permeability barrier, critical to survival in a terrestrial environment, could have “driven” the development of epidermal pigmentation. (1) Megadroughts prevailed in central Africa when hominids expanded into open savannahs [≈1.…
Pooled energy budgets: Resituating human energy ‐allocation trade‐offs
Across taxa, many life-history traits vary as a function of differences in body size.1-5 Among primates, including humans, allometric relationships explain many trends in metabolic, growth, reproductive, and mortality rates.6-8 But humans also deviate from nonhuman primates with respect to other developmental, reproductive, and parenting characteristics.9-13 Broad relationships between life-history traits and body size assume that energy expended…
Developmental plasticity in a biocultural context
Death, Hope, and Sex: Life-History Theory and the Development of Reproductive Strategies [and Comments and Reply]
Human Ovarian Function and Reproductive Ecology: New Hypotheses
A series of eight hypotheses is presented, based on the results of current research, concerning the responsiveness of the human ovary to constitutional and environmental variables. These hypotheses are motivated by a theoretical position that seeks to understand human reproductive physiology as the product of natural selection. The hypotheses are: (1) Ovarian responsiveness occurs along a graded continuum. (2) The graded continuum of response for…
Human salivary steroids: Methodological considerations and applications in physical anthropology
The measurement of steroid hormones in saliva presents a number of attractive opportunities to physical anthropologists and human biologists in areas including reproductive ecology, growth and development, behavioral physiology, and nutrition. Among the key advantages of salivary steroid assays, as opposed to plasma or urinary assays, are the noninvasive and nondisruptive nature of sample collection. Significant disadvantages exist as well, stemm…
Pooled energy budgets: Resituating human energy ‐allocation trade‐offs
Across taxa, many life-history traits vary as a function of differences in body size.1-5 Among primates, including humans, allometric relationships explain many trends in metabolic, growth, reproductive, and mortality rates.6-8 But humans also deviate from nonhuman primates with respect to other developmental, reproductive, and parenting characteristics.9-13 Broad relationships between life-history traits and body size assume that energy expended…
Ecology and ovarian function among Lese women of the Ituri forest, Zaire
Ovarian function is examined in 35 Lese women inhabiting the Ituri Forest of northeastern Zaire over a period of 4 months through measurements of progesterone in saliva samples collected twice weekly. Ovulatory frequency is found to be only 56% on average, with a pattern of age variation similar to that observed in western women, though lower in level at each age. Average luteal progesterone levels of the Lese women are lower than those of Boston…
Male Life History, Reproductive Effort, and the Evolution of the GenusHomo: New Directions and Perspectives
The evolution of male life history traits was central to the emergence of the genus Homo. Compared with earlier hominins, changes in the behavioral and physiological mechanics of growth, survivorship, reproductive effort, and senescence all likely contributed to shifts in how males contributed to the evolution of our genus. For example, the range of paternal investment in modern Homo sapiens is unusual compared with most mammals and primates, all…
Sex dimorphism in digital formulae of children
This paper presents results of a study designed to: 1) test for a sex difference in the relative lengths of the finger bones, including the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), using left-hand radiographs taken in young children, 2) test whether sex differences can be explained by sex differences in fetal growth, and 3) test the serial stability of sex differences in relative digit lengths, including 2D:4D. Results are presented from 1,060 subje…
Testosterone and Marriage among Ariaal Men of Northern Kenya
Recent studies suggest that differential human male investment in mating (male-male competition and mate-seeking behavior) and parenting effort may be associated with variation in testosterone levels. The Ariaal present an interesting test case because marital relations tend to be aloof and direct paternal care minimal by cross-cultural standards. Polygyny is prevalent and increases with age, and the age-set system highly structures the transitio…
Girl helpers and time allocation of nursing women among the Toba of Argentina
Women's strategies to alleviate nutritional stress in a rural African society
Potential applications of urinary C‐peptide of insulin for comparative energetics research
The study of comparative energetics offers a valuable way to identify broad ecological principles and assess the functional significance of energetic adaptations during the course of evolution. Yet, the quantification of energetic status for nonhuman primates under natural conditions remains one of the most challenging aspects of comparative energetics research. Here, we report on the development of a noninvasive field method for measuring energe…
Human male pair bonding and testosterone
Effect of coca‐leaf chewing on salivary progesterone assays
Although there is evidence for reduced fertility in Andean and Himalayan populations at higher altitudes, factors other than hypoxia may be primarily responsible. A valuable approach in the investigation of these fertility determinants is the use of salivary steroid assays. However, coca‐leaf chewing—a ubiquitous practice among high altitude Andean populations—has negative consequences for the accurate measurement of ovarian steroids. This report…
The evolution of physical anthropology
The old physical anthropology was primarily a technique. The common core of the science was measurement of external form with calipers. The new physical anthropology is primarily an area of interest, the desire to understand the process of primate evolution and human variation by the most efficient techniques available (Washburn, 1951, p. 298). This year, 2018, marks the centennial of the founding of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology,…
Endometrial thickness is not independent of luteal phase day in a rural Polish population
The endometrium is important for luteal phase function, implantation, placentation, and gestation. Endometrial morphology has been shown to impact early pregnancy success in in vitro fertilization and egg donor cycles and has been implicated in conception success in spontaneous cycles. However, few studies have monitored endometrial morphology in normo-ovulatory women or examined possible population variation in its physiology or thickness. Furth…
Extinction and descent
Threshold hypotheses, developmental age, and menstrual function
Hypotheses relating the onset and maintenance of menstrual function to threshold levels of various parameters have been subject to statistical critique. Analysis of trends in parameter variance, applied here to data from the Berkeley Guidance Study, discriminates between the predictions of such hypotheses and those of the more traditional concept of developmental age
Moderate anxiety, whether acute or chronic, is not associated with ovarian suppression in healthy, well‐nourished, Western women
The relationship between psychological stress and reduced fecundity has been a matter of speculation and investigation for decades. Most previous studies have been compromised, however, by a number of problems including ambiguous direction of causation, poorly operationalized variables, and the confounding of psychological with energetic stress. We present a two‐part study of the relationship between moderate anxiety, both acute and chronic, and …
Prediction of age at menarche from annual height increments
The divergence in height velocity of early and late maturing girls in early adolescence is exploited to predict menarcheal age from a year's growth in height. Simple prediction equations are generated based on data from the Berkely Guidance Study, and are subsequently tested against an independent sample from the Stuart Growth Study. The success of this prediction method compares favorably with others based on x‐ray determinations of bone age; it…
The Revision of OPCS Social Classifications
Anomalously low endemic goiter prevalence among Efe pygmies
The existence of endemic goiter, caused by iodine deficiency and the presence of a dietary goitrogen, has been noted in eastern Zaire by a number of authors (De Visscher et al.: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 21:175–188, 1961; Delange et al.: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 34:1059, 1972). In the Ituri Forest of Huate‐Zaire, two distinct populations, the Efe (pygmy) and Lese (Bantu), live in association with eac…
Basis for the gain and subsequent dilution of epidermal pigmentation during human evolution: The barrier and metabolic conservation hypotheses revisited
The evolution of human skin pigmentation must address both the initial evolution of intense epidermal pigmentation in hominins, and its subsequent dilution in modern humans. While many authorities believe that epidermal pigmentation evolved to protect against either ultraviolet B (UV‐B) irradiation‐induced mutagenesis or folic acid photolysis, we hypothesize that pigmentation augmented the epidermal barriers by shifting the UV‐B dose–response cur…
Re-appraisal of current theories for the development and loss of epidermal pigmentation in hominins and modern humans
Salivary measurement of episodic progesterone release
Episodes of luteal progesterone release which have been identified from serum samples can also be observed in saliva. Components of these release episodes—amplitude, duration, and frequency—can be separated and characterized. In a sample of 16 cycle days collected from 6 normal women, pulse duration and frequency increased significantly from the early to the mid‐luteal phase, and then decreased by the late luteal phase (2–4 days before menses). P…
Obituary: Irven DeVore 1934–2014
A eugenic effect of medical care
When sophisticated medical attention substantially increases the life expectancy of individuals with a severe homozygous condition without significantly raising their reproductive success, an increase in parental investment should render a concomitant decrease in parental ability to reproductively compensate. This process will lower the expected number of heterozygous carriers produced by heterozygous parents and, in turn, will lower the equilibr…
Threshold hypotheses, developmental age, and menstrual function
Hypotheses relating the onset and maintenance of menstrual function to threshold levels of various parameters have been subject to statistical critique. Analysis of trends in parameter variance, applied here to data from the Berkeley Guidance Study, discriminates between the predictions of such hypotheses and those of the more traditional concept of developmental age
Prediction of age at menarche from annual height increments
The divergence in height velocity of early and late maturing girls in early adolescence is exploited to predict menarcheal age from a year's growth in height. Simple prediction equations are generated based on data from the Berkely Guidance Study, and are subsequently tested against an independent sample from the Stuart Growth Study. The success of this prediction method compares favorably with others based on x‐ray determinations of bone age; it…
Margaret Mead and Samoa: The making and unmaking of an anthropological myth
Correlations of basal oestrogens with adrenal androgens and relative weight in normal women
Serum levels of androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate, cortisol, oestrone, and oestradiol are studied in 24 normal young women, and variation in basal oestrogen levels is examined in relation to adrenal androgen levels and relative weight. Between subjects no positive correlation is found between adrenal androgen levels or relative weight and basal oestrogen. Within subjects changes in adrenal androgen levels ar…
Biological Anthropology: Human Evolution: An Introduction to Man's Adaptations. Bernard Campbell
Human salivary steroids: Methodological considerations and applications in physical anthropology
The measurement of steroid hormones in saliva presents a number of attractive opportunities to physical anthropologists and human biologists in areas including reproductive ecology, growth and development, behavioral physiology, and nutrition. Among the key advantages of salivary steroid assays, as opposed to plasma or urinary assays, are the noninvasive and nondisruptive nature of sample collection. Significant disadvantages exist as well, stemm…
Development of protocols for the application of salivary steroid analysis to field conditions
The simple and noninvasive nature of sample collection for salivary steroid assay makes this technique well suited for anthropological field studies of human reproduction function. In this study, a series of controlled experiments was done to investigate the effects of modifying common clinical sample collection and storage procedures for field use. Matched sets of samples were assayed for four steroids to test the effects of using plastic, rathe…
Salivary testosterone levels in males from the Ituri Forest of Zaïre
Morning and evening testosterone levels were measured in the saliva of Efe pygmies (N = 11) and Lese villagers (N = 18) living in the Ituri Forest of northeast Zaïre and compared with levels in Boston controls (N = 10). With one exception, levels in the individual Zaïrois subjects fall within the normal ranges reported for Western clinical populations. Daily variation in the Zaïrois subjects (a.m./p.m. ratio = 1.32 for Efe, 1.22 for Lese) is also…
Ecology and ovarian function among Lese women of the Ituri forest, Zaire
Ovarian function is examined in 35 Lese women inhabiting the Ituri Forest of northeastern Zaire over a period of 4 months through measurements of progesterone in saliva samples collected twice weekly. Ovulatory frequency is found to be only 56% on average, with a pattern of age variation similar to that observed in western women, though lower in level at each age. Average luteal progesterone levels of the Lese women are lower than those of Boston…
Anomalously low endemic goiter prevalence among Efe pygmies
The existence of endemic goiter, caused by iodine deficiency and the presence of a dietary goitrogen, has been noted in eastern Zaire by a number of authors (De Visscher et al.: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 21:175–188, 1961; Delange et al.: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 34:1059, 1972). In the Ituri Forest of Huate‐Zaire, two distinct populations, the Efe (pygmy) and Lese (Bantu), live in association with eac…
Effect of moderate weight loss on ovarian function assessed by salivary progesterone measurements
The effects of moderate, voluntary weight loss on ovarian function are studied by monitoring the daily levels of salivary progesterone in 8 dieting women (18 cycles) and 9 age-matched controls (19 cycles). Both groups of women were within normal standards of weight for height, though the dieters were significantly heavier than the controls. Dieters lost weight at an average rate of 1.9 ± 0.3 kg/mo during the study. Dieters' cycles during periods …
Salivary measurement of episodic progesterone release
Episodes of luteal progesterone release which have been identified from serum samples can also be observed in saliva. Components of these release episodes—amplitude, duration, and frequency—can be separated and characterized. In a sample of 16 cycle days collected from 6 normal women, pulse duration and frequency increased significantly from the early to the mid‐luteal phase, and then decreased by the late luteal phase (2–4 days before menses). P…
Human Ovarian Function and Reproductive Ecology: New Hypotheses
A series of eight hypotheses is presented, based on the results of current research, concerning the responsiveness of the human ovary to constitutional and environmental variables. These hypotheses are motivated by a theoretical position that seeks to understand human reproductive physiology as the product of natural selection. The hypotheses are: (1) Ovarian responsiveness occurs along a graded continuum. (2) The graded continuum of response for…
Normative study of age variation in salivary progesterone profiles
Daily luteal progesterone levels were measured for 124 regularly menstruating women, aged 18–44, by radioimmunoassay of steroid levels in saliva. A consistent pattern of age variation in luteal function was found, with the lowest levels of progesterone in the 18–19-year-old and 40–44-year-old groups, the highest values in the 25–34 year olds, and intermediate values in the 20–24 and 35–39-year-old groups. The striking similarity of this pattern o…
The ecology of birth seasonality among agriculturalists in central Africa
The Lese are subsistence farmers living in the Ituri Forest of north-east Zaïre. They exhibit significant birth seasonality, with lowest frequencies of conception when food production is least, nutritional status is low and ovarian function, as measured by salivary steroid hormone levels, is reduced. Efe pygmy foragers, who live in the same geographical area but are less dependent on cultivated foods and have a more flexible life style, do not ex…
The ecological context of human ovarian function
New methods for monitoring ovarian function have allowed an extension of research venue beyond typical clinical settings to studies of human populations in their natural settings. Such studies have confirmed that patterns of variation in ovarian function with age and energetic factors are general features of human reproductive biology. Age patterns of ovarian function are extremely robust across populations of distinct genetic, ecological and cul…
Seasonality of reproductive function and weight loss in rural Nepali women
Menstrual and hormonal disturbances have been reported in thin, dieting and exercising Western women, and also recently in rural African women. A study of salivary progesterone profiles was undertaken in a Nepali population to examine whether seasonal increases in workload and changes in energy balance influenced ovarian function. Women's energy expenditure levels were moderately heavy in the winter and very heavy in the monsoon, and body mass fl…
Seasonal effects on salivary testosterone levels among lese males of the Ituri Forest, Zaire
Salivary testosterone levels were measured in 33 Lese horticulturalist men in June and August 1989 in order to examine the effects of improved nutritional status on testicular function. The Lese experience an annual hunger season from March through June that varies in impact from year to year, and was particularly severe in 1989. Even before annual weight losses, the Lese are at the low end of the desirable range and are below the desirable popul…
Effect of coca‐leaf chewing on salivary progesterone assays
Although there is evidence for reduced fertility in Andean and Himalayan populations at higher altitudes, factors other than hypoxia may be primarily responsible. A valuable approach in the investigation of these fertility determinants is the use of salivary steroid assays. However, coca‐leaf chewing—a ubiquitous practice among high altitude Andean populations—has negative consequences for the accurate measurement of ovarian steroids. This report…
Death, Hope, and Sex: Life-History Theory and the Development of Reproductive Strategies [and Comments and Reply]
Advances in Human Reproductive Ecology
Human reproductive ecology pertains to reproduction biology and changes due to environmental influences. The research literature relies on clinical, epidemiological, and demographic analysis. The emphasis is on normal, nonpathological states and a broad range of ecological conditions. This review focused on the importance of age and energetic stress from ecological conditions rather than dieting or self-directed exercise in changing female fecund…
Extinction and descent
The Revision of OPCS Social Classifications
Age and developmental effects on human ovarian function
Ever since Malthus assigned fertility regulation to the realm of social behaviour and ‘ moral restraint ’, there appears to have been a reluctance on the part of demographers to view normal (i.e. non-pathological) biological factors as presenting anything more than some upper limit on human fecundity. Menarche, menopause, the fixed duration of gestation, perhaps some unavoidable frequency of pregnancy loss, these are often viewed as providing a s…
Biology (52 works) · Medicine (44 works) · Demography (31 works) · Endocrinology (30 works) · Population (26 works) · Internal Medicine (23 works) · Hormone (22 works) · Physiology (22 works) · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior (21 works) · Endocrinology (19 works)