Browsing by Autor "Carrie L. Jenkins"

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    Inflammaging is minimal among forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon
    (Royal Society, 2025) Jacob E. Aronoff; Carrie L. Jenkins; Angela R. García; Stephanie V. Koebele; Suhail Ghafoor; Kate L. Woolard; Mia Charifson; Ivan Maldonado Suarez; Daniel Eid Rodríguez; Bret Beheim
    An increase in chronic systemic inflammation in later life, termed inflammaging, is implicated in health risk. However, it is unclear whether inflammaging develops in all human populations, or if it is the product of environmental mismatch. We assessed inflammaging in Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of the Bolivian Amazon, using serum cytokines in a primarily cross-sectional sample (1134 samples from <i>n</i> = 714 individuals, age 39-94, 51.3% female). IL-6 was positively associated with age (<i>β</i> = 0.013, <i>p</i> < 0.01). However, other pro-inflammatory markers, including IL-1β and TNF-α, did not increase with age (<i>β</i> = -0.005 and <i>β</i> = -0.001, respectively). We then compared the Moseten, a neighbouring population that has experienced greater market integration (423 samples from <i>n</i> = 380 individuals, age 39-85, 48.2% female). The Moseten also showed a positive age association for IL-6 that attenuated at later ages (age <i>β</i> = 0.025, <i>p</i> < 0.01; age<sup>2</sup> <i>β</i> = -0.001, <i>p</i> < 0.05). Further, IL-1β and TNF-α were both positively associated with age (<i>β</i> = 0.021, <i>p</i> < 0.05 and <i>β</i> = 0.011, <i>p</i> < 0.01, respectively). Our results demonstrate minimal inflammaging in the Tsimane, highlighting variation across populations in this age-related process. They also suggest that inflammaging is exacerbated by lifestyle shifts.
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    Poor Oral Health Is Associated With Inflammation, Aortic Valve Calcification, and Brain Volume Among Forager-Farmers
    (Oxford University Press, 2024) Benjamin C. Trumble; Matthew Schwartz; Andrew T. Ozga; Gary T. Schwartz; Christopher M. Stojanowski; Carrie L. Jenkins; Thomas S. Kraft; Angela R. García; Daniel K. Cummings; Paul L. Hooper
    Poor oral health is associated with cardiovascular disease and dementia. Potential pathways include sepsis from oral bacteria, systemic inflammation, and nutritional deficiencies. However, in post-industrialized populations, links between oral health and chronic disease may be confounded because the lower socioeconomic exposome (poor diet, pollution, and low physical activity) often entails insufficient dental care. We assessed tooth loss, caries, and damaged teeth, in relation to cardiovascular and brain aging among the Tsimane, a subsistence population living a relatively traditional forager-horticulturalist lifestyle with poor dental health, but minimal cardiovascular disease and dementia. Dental health was assessed by a physician in 739 participants aged 40-92 years with cardiac and brain health measured by chest computed tomography (CT; n = 728) and brain CT (n = 605). A subset of 356 individuals aged 60+ were also assessed for dementia and mild cognitive impairment (n = 33 impaired). Tooth loss was highly prevalent, with 2.2 teeth lost per decade and a 2-fold greater loss in women. The number of teeth with exposed pulp was associated with higher inflammation, as measured by cytokine levels and white blood cell counts, and lower body mass index. Coronary artery calcium and thoracic aortic calcium were not associated with tooth loss or damaged teeth. However, aortic valve calcification and brain tissue loss were higher in those who had more teeth with exposed pulp. Overall, these results suggest that dental health is associated with indicators of chronic diseases in the absence of typical confounds, even in a population with low cardiovascular and dementia risk factors.