Maternal ethnobotanical knowledge is associated with multiple measures of child health in the Bolivian Amazon
McDade, T. W. (Northwestern University. Institute for Policy Research. The Center on Social Disparities)
Reyes-García, Victoria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Blackinton, P. (Northwestern University. Department of Anthropology)
Tanner, Susan (University of Georgia. Department of Anthropology)
Huanca, Tomás (Brandeis University. Sustainable International Development Program. Heller School for Social Policy and Management)
Leonard, William R (Northwestern University. Department of Anthropology)

Additional title:	Ethnobotanical knowledge is associated with indices of child health in the Bolivian Amazon
Date:	2007
Abstract:	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.
Note:	Premi a l'excel·lència investigadora. Àmbit de les Ciències Socials. 2008
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	PREI 2008 ; Acute-phase response ; Culture ; Growth and development ; Maternal behavior ; Child nutrition
Published in:	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America (PNAS), Vol. 104, Núm. 15 (2007) , p. 6134-6139

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0609123104
PMID: 17389376

Post-print 27 p, 114.0 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles