Apolipoprotein-ε4 is associated with higher fecundity in a natural fertility population

Benjamin C. Trumble, Mia Charifson, Thomas S. Kraft, Angela Garcia, Daniel Cummings, Paul L. Hooper, Amanda J. Lea, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Stephanie Koebele, Kenneth Buetow, Bret A. Beheim, Riana Minocher, Maguin Gutierrez Cayuba, Gregory Thomas, Margaret Gatz, Jonathan Stieglitz (), Caleb Ellicott Finch, Hillard Kaplan and Michael Gurven
Additional contact information
Benjamin C. Trumble: Unknown
Mia Charifson: Unknown
Thomas S. Kraft: Unknown
Angela Garcia: Unknown
Daniel Cummings: Unknown
Paul L. Hooper: Unknown
Amanda J. Lea: Unknown
Daniel Eid Rodriguez: Unknown
Stephanie Koebele: Unknown
Kenneth Buetow: Unknown
Bret A. Beheim: Unknown
Riana Minocher: Unknown
Maguin Gutierrez Cayuba: Unknown
Gregory Thomas: Unknown
Margaret Gatz: Unknown
Jonathan Stieglitz: IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse
Caleb Ellicott Finch: Unknown
Hillard Kaplan: Unknown
Michael Gurven: Unknown

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Abstract: In many populations, the apolipoprotein-ε4 (APOE-ε4) allele increases the risk for several chronic diseases of aging, including dementia and cardiovascular disease; despite these harmful effects at later ages, the APOE-ε4 allele remains prevalent. We assess the impact of APOE-ε4 on fertility and its proximate determinants (age at first reproduction, interbirth interval) among the Tsimane, a natural fertility population of forager-horticulturalists. Among 795 women aged 13 to 90 (20% APOE-ε4 carriers), those with at least one APOE-ε4 allele had 0.3 to 0.5 more children than (ε3/ε3) homozygotes, while those with two APOE-ε4 alleles gave birth to 1.4 to 2.1 more children. APOE-ε4 carriers achieve higher fertility by beginning reproduction 0.8 years earlier and having a 0.23-year shorter interbirth interval. Our findings add to a growing body of literature suggesting a need for studies of populations living in ancestrally relevant environments to assess how alleles that are deleterious in sedentary urban environments may have been maintained by selection throughout human evolutionary history.

Date: 2023-08
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Published in Science Advances , 2023, vol. 9 (n° 32), pp.1-9. ⟨10.1126/sciadv.ade9797⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04260539

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade9797

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