Low trabecular bone density in recent sedentary modern humans

Chirchir, Habiba; Ruff, Christopher B.; Junno, Juho‐Antti; Potts, Richard

doi:10.1002/ajpa.23138

Cited by 59 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…It seems nonetheless interesting to note that, besides the ambiguous evidence from TM 1517g because of its low bone-matrix contrast, the two specimens from Swartkrans share the presence of more numerous and thick struts, locally resulting into a more closed network of plate-like structures from the accumulation of more material in the cell wall (Dalstra and Huiskes, 1995;Gibson, 1985;Stauber and Müller, 2006). At any comparable site, struts are invariably thicker in the fossil specimens than in the extant human humeri available to us, which is consistent with the process of skeletal gracilisation and trabecular bone density reduction occurred in recent humans (Chirchir et al, 2015(Chirchir et al, , 2017Ryan and Shaw, 2015). It is also noticeable that the medullary cavity of the OH 80-10 distal humerus fragment from the P. boisei partial skeleton of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, is filled by trabecular bone (Domínguez-Rodrigo et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Inner structural organization of the distal humerus in Paranthropus and Homo

Cazenave

Braga

Oettlé

et al. 2017

Comptes Rendus Palevol

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Inner structural organization of the distal humerus in Paranthropus and Homo

Cazenave

Braga

Oettlé

et al. 2017

Comptes Rendus Palevol

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“…Recent trabecular analyses have demonstrated the potential influence of activity levels on trabecular architecture in modern humans, including BV/TV quantified from micro‐CT scans or converted from pQCT measures of volumetric mineral density (Chirchir et al. , ; Ryan & Shaw, ; Scherf et al. ; Saers et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, differences in trabecular BV/TV, quantified using pQCT, in particular of the lower limb, can be related to subsistence strategy in recent populations (Chirchir et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chirchir et al. () quantified trabecular bone fraction from pQCT data in the forelimb and hindlimb of five groups of modern humans, with a range of lifestyles, from foraging to industrial sedentary populations. This revealed a reduction in hindlimb robusticity with increased sedentism, and more variable changes in forelimb robusticity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a notable example, recent humans have been shown to have low trabecular bone volume throughout the postcranial skeleton, including highly loaded lower limb bones, such as the femur (e.g. Maga et al 2006;Griffin et al 2010;Tsegai et al 2013;Chirchir et al 2015Chirchir et al , 2017Ryan & Shaw, 2015;Saers et al 2016;Stephens et al 2016). In contrast, chimpanzees tend to have high bone volume across different skeletal elements in comparison with other hominoids (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Systemic patterns of trabecular bone across the human and chimpanzee skeleton

et al. 2018

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Aspects of trabecular bone architecture are thought to reflect regional loading of the skeleton, and thus differ between primate taxa with different locomotor and postural modes. However, there are several systemic factors that affect bone structure that could contribute to, or be the primary factor determining, interspecific differences in bone structure. These systemic factors include differences in genetic regulation, sensitivity to loading, hormone levels, diet, and activity levels. Improved understanding of inter-/intraspecific variability, and variability across the skeleton of an individual, is required to interpret properly potential functional signals present within trabecular structure. Using a whole-region method of analysis, we investigated trabecular structure throughout the skeleton of humans and chimpanzees. Trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV), degree of anisotropy (DA) and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) were quantified from high resolution micro-computed tomographic scans of the humeral and femoral head, third metacarpal and third metatarsal head, distal tibia, talus and first thoracic vertebra. We found that BV/TV is, in most anatomical sites, significantly higher in chimpanzees than in humans, suggesting a systemic difference in trabecular structure unrelated to local loading regime. Differences in BV/TV between the forelimb and hindlimb did not clearly reflect differences in locomotor loading in the study taxa. There were no clear systemic differences between the taxa in DA and, as such, this parameter might reflect function and relate to differences in joint loading. This systemic approach reveals both the pattern of variability across the skeleton and between taxa, and helps identify those features of trabecular structure that may relate to joint function.

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What is normal bone health? A bioarchaeological perspective on meaningful measures and interpretations of bone strength, loss, and aging

Agarwal

2021

American J Hum Biol

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Bioarchaeological (the study of archeological human remains together with contextual and documentary evidence) offers a unique vantage point to examine variation in skeletal morphology related to influences such as activity, disease, and nutrition. The human skeleton is composed of a dynamic tissue that is forged by biocultural factors over the entire life course, providing a record of individual, and community history. Various aspects of adult bone health, particularly bone maintenance and loss and the associated skeletal disease osteoporosis, have been examined in numerous past populations. The anthropological study of bone loss has traditionally focused on the signature of postmenopausal aging, costs of reproduction, and fragility in females. The a priori expectation of normative sex‐related bone loss/fragility in bioanthropological studies illustrates the wider gender‐ideological bias that continues in research design and data analysis in the field. Contextualized data on bone maintenance and aging in the archeological record show that patterns of bone loss do not constitute predictable consequences of aging or biological sex. Instead, the critical examination of bioarchaeological data highlights the complex and changing processes that craft the human body over the life course, and calls for us to question the ideal or “normal” range of bone quantity and quality in the human skeleton, and to critically reflect on what measures are actually biologically and/or socially meaningful.

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Low trabecular bone density in recent sedentary modern humans

Cited by 59 publications

References 55 publications

Inner structural organization of the distal humerus in Paranthropus and Homo

Inner structural organization of the distal humerus in Paranthropus and Homo

Systemic patterns of trabecular bone across the human and chimpanzee skeleton

What is normal bone health? A bioarchaeological perspective on meaningful measures and interpretations of bone strength, loss, and aging

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