Doctoral Dissertation Research: Investigating the social and developmental determinants of vitamin D production

博士论文研究：调查维生素 D 产生的社会和发展决定因素

• 批准号: 1848357
• 负责人: Thomas McDade
• 金额: $ 2.97万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-03-15 至 2021-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1848357&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Investigating; social

Vitamin D is vital to the function of several organs and tissues, with decreased vitamin D levels hypothesized to be a contributing factor in several disease processes. Populations in higher latitudes are more likely to have vitamin D deficiencies due to lack of sun exposure; however, recent research indicates that vitamin D deficiency has become a global phenomenon, even in countries near the equator, with women often experiencing more severe deficiency. This doctoral dissertation project applies a biocultural perspective on vitamin D production from infancy through young adulthood to investigate how societal practices and norms create and dictate the physical environments that individuals experience. By using a longitudinal data set, the study delves deeper into the possible factors that contribute to vitamin D deficiency in both men and women, and for societies undergoing urbanization. The project not only addresses the complex interplay of human biology and culture, but also has the potential to inform public health efforts to understand and address vitamin D deficiency. Biological anthropology has elaborated the tradeoffs between the need for vitamin D production and the need to avoid damage from the harmful effects of exposure to ultraviolet rays, but unanswered questions remain regarding how vitamin D is regulated and why some individuals are at risk for vitamin D deficiency. The primary focus has been on sun exposure, but other aspects of the current environment, and aspects of the environment experienced early in life, may be equally important. This study will use longitudinal data collected from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey in the Philippines to assess the effects of rapid urbanization and socioeconomic change on vitamin D production in young adulthood. A range of environmental factors early in development, and in adulthood, will be tested as predictors of circulating vitamin D. Furthermore, DNA methylation - an epigenetic process that is associated with gene expression - will be measured at sites in genes associated with vitamin D production. DNA methylation is a plausible mechanism through which environments during development can regulate genome activity in adulthood, and the study will investigate the association between environments in childhood, DNA methylation of vitamin D genes, and vitamin D production in adulthood. The use of a biocultural anthropological approach allows for an exploration of how lived experience affects vitamin D production and well-being over the life course.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

维生素D对于多个器官和组织的功能至关重要，维生素D水平降低，假设是几种疾病过程中的一个因素。由于缺乏阳光，较高纬度的种群更有可能患有维生素D缺乏症。但是，最近的研究表明，即使在赤道附近的国家，维生素D缺乏症也已成为一种全球现象，女性经常经常遭受更严重的缺乏。该博士学位论文项目对从婴儿期到成年期维生素D产量的生产采用了生物文化的观点，以研究社会实践和规范如何创造和决定个人体验的物理环境。通过使用纵向数据集，该研究更深入地研究了导致男性和女性维生素D缺乏症的可能因素，以及正在进行城市化的社会。该项目不仅涉及人类生物学和文化的复杂相互作用，而且还有可能为公共卫生的努力提供理解和解决维生素D缺乏症的努力。 生物人类学阐述了对维生素D生产的需求与避免因紫外线暴露的有害影响损害的需求之间的权衡，但是关于维生素D的调节方式以及某些人为什么有维生素D缺乏症的风险仍然存在尚未解决的问题。 主要的重点是暴露在日光下，但是当前环境的其他方面以及生命早期经历的环境的各个方面也可能同样重要。 这项研究将使用菲律宾的宿雾纵向健康和营养调查收集的纵向数据，以评估快速城市化和社会经济变化对年轻成年维生素D产量的影响。 在发育早期和成年期的一系列环境因素将作为循环维生素D的预测指标。此外，DNA甲基化 - 与基因表达相关的表观遗传过程 - 将在与维生素D产生相关的基因中进行测量。 DNA甲基化是一种合理的机制，在发育过程中的环境可以调节成年期的基因组活性，该研究将研究儿童期环境，维生素D基因的DNA甲基化和成年期维生素D的产生。生物文化人类学方法的使用可以探索生活经验如何影响维生素D的生产和福祉。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的审查标准通过评估来获得支持。