Evolution, medicine, and public health

Evolutionary mismatches between the reproductive life histories of women in industrialized societies and their Paleolithic ancestors are established risk factors for gynecological pathologies and breast cancer. In contemporary women, these …

Abstract We provide the first analysis and synthesis of the evolutionary and mechanistic bases for risk of endometriosis in humans, structured around Niko Tinbergen's four questions about phenotypes: phylogenetic history, development, mecha…

Evidence linking endometriosis to low prenatal testosterone, and evidence that risk of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with high prenatal testosterone, have motivated the hypothesis that endometriosis and PCOS exhibit inverse…

Background and objectivesThe underlying reasons why some women experience debilitating premenstrual symptoms and others do not are largely unknown. Here, we test the evolutionary ecological hypothesis that some negative premenstrual symptom…

Background and objectivesInterbirth intervals (IBIs) mediate a trade-off between child number and child survival. Life history theory predicts that the evolutionarily optimal IBI differs for different individuals whose fitness is affected b…

Background and objectivesIs there a trade-off between children ever born (CEB) and post-reproductive lifespan in humans? Here, we report a comprehensive analysis of reproductive trade-offs in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) dataset using p…