67771 doi 10.1073/pnas.0609123104 eng McDade, T.W. Northwestern University. Institute for Policy Research. The Center on Social Disparities Northwestern University. Department of Anthropology Maternal ethnobotanical knowledge is associated with multiple measures of child health in the Bolivian Amazon Ethnobotanical knowledge is associated with indices of child health in the Bolivian Amazon Premi a l'excel·lència investigadora. Àmbit de les Ciències Socials. 2008 Culture is a critical determinant of human behavior and health, and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge regarding the use of available plant resources has historically been an essential function of culture. Local ethnobotanical knowledge is important for health and nutrition, particularly in rural low-resource settings, but cultural and economic transitions associated with globalization threaten such knowledge. This prospective study investigates the association between parental ethnobotanical knowledge and child health among the Tsimane', a horticulturalist and foraging society in Amazonian Bolivia. Anthropometric data and capillary blood samples were collected from 330 Tsimane' 2- to 10-year-olds, and mothers and fathers were interviewed to assess ethnobotanical knowledge and skills. Comprehensive measures of parental schooling, acculturation, and economic activities were also collected. Dependent variables included three measures of child health: (i) C-reactive protein, assayed in whole-blood spots as an indicator of immunostimulation; (ii) skinfold thickness, to estimate subcutaneous fat stores necessary to fuel growth and immune function; and (iii) height-for-age, to assess growth stunting. Each child health measure was associated with maternal ethnobotanical knowledge, independent of a wide range of potentially confounding variables. Each standard deviation of maternal ethnobotanical knowledge increased the likelihood of good child health by a factor of >1.5. Like many populations around the world, the Tsimane' are increasingly facing the challenges and opportunities of globalization. These results underscore the importance of local cultural factors to child health and document a potential cost if ethnobotanical knowledge is lost. Altres PREI 2008 Acute-phase response Culture Growth and development Maternal behavior Child nutrition article info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Reyes-García, V. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. ICREA. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals Blackinton, P. Northwestern University. Department of Anthropology Tanner, S. University of Georgia. Department of Anthropology Huanca, T. Brandeis University. Sustainable International Development Program. Heller School for Social Policy and Management Leonard, W.R. Northwestern University. Department of Anthropology Vol. 104, Núm. 15 (2007), p. 6134-6139 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America (PNAS) 27 116735 http://ddd.uab.cat/pub/artpub/2007/67771/PREI2008_pnasusa.pdf Post-print 6134 6139 15 104 v104n15 2007 ARTPUB UAB PREI artpubuab oai:ddd.uab.cat:67771 driver Tots els drets reservats http://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/