Shuar Health and Life History Project
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The Project
The Shuar Health and Life History Project, directed by Drs. Larry Sugiyama and Josh Snodgrass of the University of Oregon, is an interdisciplinary collaborative research effort that involves faculty and graduate students from several universities, Ecuadorian health providers, and Shuar colleagues. The project focuses on Shuar and non-indigenous Ecuadorians (Colonos) from the Morona-Santiago region of Ecuador. For more info on the field site, click here.

Traditionally forager-horticulturalists, Shuar currently experience a wide range of market integration (economic development) across their territory. This provides an important opportunity for addressing how economic, social, and dietary changes associated with market integration affect life history tradeoffs, and how those tradeoffs affect health. It allows examination of particular aspects of market integration, predicted life history changes, and actual behavior and health across a wide range of conditions within the same ethnic group. Simultaneously, comparison of Upano Valley Shuar, who are currently more market integrated, with their Colono neighbors provides an opportunity to examine these same variables among people from a different cultural background living under similar socio-ecological conditions. For more information on Shuar, click here.
Shuar Kids
Shuar kids in an Upano Valley community

The goals of the Shuar Health and Life History Project are threefold. First, we are investigating how cultural and economic changes in the region affect health and well-being. One component of this research focuses on growth and nutritional status in Shuar children. We have compared Shuar children to other populations and examined risk factors for poor growth. Our results are described in Blackwell et al. 2009. Another area of research is skeletal health and risk for osteoporosis. This research, led by recent Ph.D. Felicia Madimenos, has examined the reproductive and lifestyle factors that influence bone mineral density. Results of this research are detailed in a recent paper in the Archives of Osteoporosis (Madimenos et al. 2011), and were recently presented at the Human Biology Association meeting in Minneapolis, MN (Madimenos et al. 2011). We are also looking at the effects of social change on other chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and examining the role of physical activity, chronic psychosocial stress, and diet in shaping disease patterns among the Shuar. A full listing of presentation and publications can be found here.
Felicia Madimenos bone scan
Felicia Madimenos using a heel ultrasonometer to measure bone mineral density
 
Second, we are using the branch of evolutionary biology known as life history theory to better understand the tradeoffs between different branches of immune function in Shuar children, and to use this information to better understand how energy is allocated to competing priorities such as maintenance, growth, and reproduction. These findings have been detailed in a series of publications by recent Ph.D. Aaron Blackwell in the American Journal of Human Biology (Blackwell et al. 2010) and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (Blackwell et al. 2011). Further, we’ve investigated relationship between markers of immune function/inflammation (e.g., immunoglobulin E and C-reactive protein) and several measures of cardiovascular and metabolic health (e.g., fasting glucose and lipids). This research suggests important tradeoffs between immune responses and different aspects of cardiovascular and metabolic health. This research was recently presented at the annual meeting of the Human Biology Association meetings by graduate student Melissa Liebert (Liebert et al. 2011).
 
aaron blackwell skinfold and ajhb cover
Aaron Blackwell measuring body fat on a Shuar boy (left); American Journal of
Human Biology cover from November/December 2010 highlighting our work (right)
Finally, we seek to provide health information to participants and community partners in order to assist in targeting prevention and treatment efforts. 
Larry Sugiyama
Project founder and co-director Larry Sugiyama weighing a baby

 The project is in collaboration with the UCSB Center for Evolutionary Psychology's Human Universals Project, the Shuar Federation, the Ecuadorian Health Ministry Hospital in Sucúa, Ecuador, as well as several colleagues at universities in the US, including Northwestern University (Dr. Thom McDade and graduate student Paula Tallman), Harvard University (graduate students Heather Shattuck-Faegre & Sam Urlacher), and Yale University (Dr. Rick Bribiescas).