Human Ovarian Function and Reproductive Ecology: New Hypotheses

Ellison, Peter T.

doi:10.1525/aa.1990.92.4.02a00050

Cited by 340 publications

(200 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…This hypothesis would explain, for example, the observation that increasing height, presumably as a proxy for hormone levels, is a risk factor for breast cancer (24). Adult stature is, itself, a sensitive reflection of energetic stress during growth (25): it has been dubbed a bioassay of environmental conditions (26) and is used as ''the biological standard of living'' by historical economists (27).…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpopulational differences in progesterone levels during conception and implantation in humans

Vitzthum

Spielvogel

Thornburg

2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

102

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Clinical studies of women from the United States demonstrate a sensitivity of the ovarian system to energetic stress. Even moderate exercise or caloric restriction can lead to lower progesterone levels and failure to ovulate. Yet women in many nonindustrial populations experience as many as a dozen pregnancies in a lifetime despite poor nutritional resources, heavy workloads, and typical progesterone levels only about two-thirds of those of U.S. women. Previous cross-sectional studies of progesterone may, however, suffer from inadvertent selection bias. In a noncontracepting population, the most fecund women, who might be expected to have the highest progesterone, are more likely to be pregnant or breastfeeding and hence unavailable for a crosssectional study of the ovarian cycle. The present longitudinal study was designed to ascertain whether lower progesterone also characterizes conception, implantation, and gestation in women from nonindustrialized populations. We compared rural Bolivian Aymara women (n ‫؍‬ 191) to women from Chicago (n ‫؍‬ 29) and found that mean-peak-luteal progesterone in the ovulatory cycles of Bolivian women averaged Ϸ71% that of the women from Chicago. In conception cycles, progesterone levels in Bolivian women during the periovulatory period were Ϸ63%, and during the peri-implantation period were Ϸ50%, those of the U.S. women. These observations argue that lower progesterone levels typically characterize the reproductive process in Bolivian women and perhaps others from nonindustrialized populations. We discuss the possible proximate and evolutionary explanations for this variation and note the implications for developing suitable hormonal contraceptives and elucidating the etiology of cancers of the breast and reproductive tract.I n an evaluation of demographic data from populations worldwide, Bongaarts (1) concluded that, except in cases of famine, nutritional factors play a relatively minor role in determining human fecundity (capacity to conceive) or fertility (number of live births). Despite characteristically marginal nutritional status and the demands of arduous activities, women in less developed countries often average seven to eight pregnancies, some having 12 or more during a lifetime. Differences among populations, or reductions from a theoretical maximum, appear fully attributable to a limited set of behavioral and physiological proximate fertility determinants apparently little affected by nutritional factors. If neither fecundity nor fertility is thus significantly influenced, neither is fecundability (the monthly probability of conception). Yet clinical studies of women from the United States indicate a sensitivity of ovarian function to both relatively low energy intake and͞or high energy expenditure. The most extreme response, failure to ovulate, may occur in the face of only moderate energetic stress (2-4) and, of course, reduces fecundity and fecundability to 0. Short of anovulation, milder disruptions of ovarian function may also reduce fecundability. Why should o...

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Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpopulational differences in progesterone levels during conception and implantation in humans

Vitzthum

Spielvogel

Thornburg

2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

102

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“…It is possible, however, that this may reflect plasticity in response to the adult environment. The increased social, emotional and financial resources that can be available within a stable pair bond may have changed the allocation of resources to reproduction and maintenance such that temporarily delaying reproduction may be beneficial [3,6,18]. Further investigation is needed to establish whether there is any adaptive significance of these interactions between the childhood and adult environments.…”

Section: Age At Menarche and Fecundity And Fertilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When circumstances are temporarily unfavourable for reproduction, it may be pertinent for the woman to focus scarce resources on her own health and maintenance and support of existing offspring, suppressing this specific reproductive event [3,18,32]. Evidence from different disciplines supports this.…”

Section: Does the Association Between Early Stress And Fertility Intementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multi-cellular plants and animals that develop in heterogeneous environments show some level of developmental plasticity that provides the time necessary to assess, and adjust to, both the biological and social developmental environments [3,[13][14][15][16][17][18]. The evolutionary significance of this plasticity is that it enables organisms to develop functionally integrated reproductive strategies that maximize an individual's fitness in variable environments [14,19,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developmental influences on fertility decisions by women: an evolutionary perspective

Coall

Tickner

McAllister

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Developmental environments are crucial for shaping our life course. Elements of the early social and biological environments have been consistently associated with reproduction in humans. To date, a strong focus has been on the relationship between early stress, earlier menarche and first child birth in women. These associations, found predominately in high-income countries, have been usefully interpreted within life-history theory frameworks. Fertility, on the other hand—a missing link between an individual's early environment, reproductive strategy and fitness—has received little attention. Here, we synthesize this literature by examining the associations between early adversity, age at menarche and fertility and fecundity in women. We examine the evidence that potential mechanisms such as birth weight, childhood body composition, risky health behaviours and developmental influences on attractiveness link the early environment and fecundity and fertility. The evidence that menarche is associated with fertility and fecundity is good. Currently, owing to the small number of correlational studies and mixed methodologies, the evidence that early adversity predicts fecundity and fertility is not conclusive. This area of research is in its infancy; studies examining early adversity and adult fertility decisions that can also examine likely biological, social and psychological pathways present opportunities for future fertility research.

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“…Considering the sensitivity of pregnant women to contaminated food and drink [71], pregnant women able to drink sterile fresh milk may have experienced special fitness benefits. Second, the extra calcium in milk could be beneficial due to its role in skeletal development and maintenance and to female reproductive maturation, as large pelvises are required for vaginal delivery [72]. Third, because fat is more calorically dense than proteins and carbohydrates, fat from milk could help the mother nourish her infant during pregnancy and lactation.…”

Section: Nutrients and Selection During Pregnancymentioning

confidence: 99%