Evolutionary Medicine and Health

Medical Anthropology ANTH 2301 Evolutionary Medicine and Health Evolutionary medicine is the last theoretical branch of medical anthropology that came from biological anthropology. At the nexus of evolutionary biology and human health, evolutionary medicine applies evolutionary theory and the evolutionary framework to comprehend human health. The questions of why human health developed in the manner that it did, how surroundings impact health, and how humans continue to influence our health via various variables such as migration, diet, and epigenetics are all addressed by evolutionary medicine. Human migration and gene flow are important to the story of human evolution. Every human possesses a unique mix of genes, and every human community shares a common set of genes. Those genes follow people when they travel. They transmit those genes on in different combinations if they become parents. Two ways that culture affects population genetics are: Genetic variety in a human population is influenced by the frequency of gene alleles, which is determined by culturally specified sexual selection criteria and migratory patterns. These genes frequently influence health outcomes, such as the risk of contracting specific cancers or building immunity to particular microorganisms via exposure. Genetic material from one community will most likely be transferred into another through migration, commerce, and other types of cultural contact across human communities on a regular basis. The degree of globalisation that exists now allows genes to go across national borders. Whether forced or chosen, integrating into a new culture necessitates adaptability. The health of the migrant population can be impacted by adjusting one's identity to being a minority or experiencing persecution or discrimination, as well as adjusting one's culture to new laws, customs, and expectations. The impact of slavery on Africans brought to the Americas is a clear illustration of this. This influence may be seen in their cultures as well as in their genomes, which is covered in more detail later in this chapter. Religions that have been synthesised, such as Candomblé, Haitian Vodou, and other faiths influenced by African culture, demonstrate how African people modified their beliefs to endure encounters with injustice and brutality, purging certain aspects of them while accepting others. Long-term physical isolation may have detrimental consequences on populations due to genetic drift, which is the gradual increase in the frequency of uncommon alleles. In a similar vein, cultural communities adhering to rigorous endogamy may suffer from genetic drift. Maladaptive gene variations can occasionally become more common in isolated communities. Tay-Sachs illness, for example, is more common among endogamy-practicing ethnic minority groups like Ashkenazi Jews and French Canadians. The Tay-Sachs gene has grown more prevalent in these communities than in other populations because they have been comparatively isolated from the surrounding populations. This implies that the gene pool of a population may alter unhealthily as a result of segregation and isolation. The study of how urbanisation and agricultural development have affected human health is another example of evolutionary medicine. The evolution of agriculture has had a multifaceted impact on human health. Food availability grew, but diet became less diversified and food procurement became more laborintensive. Regular mobility linked with a hunting and gathering lifestyle led to strong general fitness, but there was also a higher risk of death from a tragic accident before an individual reached an age when they could effectively reproduce. Our current way of life, where a lot of us spend eight hours a day, five days a week, in front of a desk, is bad for our backs and our general health. Although Western countries have an abundance of food, their citizens suffer from health issues associated with being overweight and inactive. Every way of existence includes trade-offs, and evolution has had distinct effects on contemporary and neolithic people during the last 10,000 years. We are able to monitor these alterations and their adaptations because to evolutionary health. Disease rates have skyrocketed as a result of population growth and migration into metropolitan regions. Nowadays, infections may spread quickly around the world. Disease has historically had a catastrophic impact on human communities. For instance, the Black Death, which spread through Silk Road traders and the Mongol Empire's conquests, claimed the lives of almost one-third of the people in Europe. In addition to dealing with the catastrophic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced countries to restrict their borders and those inside them to reduce social contact with one another, we currently witness annual outbreaks of influenza and Ebola. In addition to facilitating the spread of diseases and pandemics, globalisation enables countries to work together to coordinate efforts to limit viruses and to collaboratively distribute vaccinations. Today, countries may cooperate with one another to separate and quarantine the sick and infected and to share medical data to aid in the development of cures. International collaboration, however, can impede local action and keep governments, towns, provinces, and countries from acting in their own best interests. Epigenetics, the study of how a gene changes its expression over the course of a person's lifespan, lies at the core of all three fields of research. Epigenetic shifts are heritable variations in an individual's DNA that are phenotypical, or associated with characteristics that are displayed externally. They are frequently brought about by lifelong mutations and exposure to the environment. Research indicates, for instance, that adults who were exposed to smoking as children typically had lower statures. In a similar vein, trauma can impede development or raise the risk of certain maladaptations. A 2016 study by Juliana Lindenau et al. connected the emergence of sickle cell anaemia in the African American population to epigenetic adaptation to slavery in the United States. According to this and previous research, trauma may be passed down through generations. Epigenetics demonstrates how evolution operates in real time, impacting present and future generations alike.