NDVI predicts birth seasonality in historical Baja California Sur, Mexico: adaptive responses to arid ecosystems and the North American Monsoon.

Birth seasonality is a phenomenon whereby populations can be characterized by a single month or season in which births peak. While non-human animal research suggests that seasonal birth-pulses are related to variation in climate and local energy availability, social scientists debate the mechanisms responsible for it in humans. Here we investigate the role of precipitation, temperature, and energy availability on seasonal conception and birth pulses using a historical dataset from the Baja California peninsula - a hot, arid desert that experiences seasonal climatic fluctuations associated with the North American Monsoon. Analyses suggest that 1) local energy availability had a negative relationship with conception pulses; and 2) birth pulses had a positive relationship with local energy availability and a negative relationship with temperature. Taken together, our analyses suggest that women timed conceptions when local energy availability was lowest (challenging expectations of conception rates as simply reflecting ecological influences on female fecundity), so that children were born during the seasonal "green-up" associated with the North American Monsoon. Given our results, we speculate that birth seasonality represents a form of traditional ecological knowledge to improve neonate health and wellbeing.

Urinary Phthalate Metabolites and Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in a Mexican-American Cohort: Variability in Early and Late Pregnancy.

People are exposed to phthalates through their wide use as plasticizers and in personal care products. Many phthalates are endocrine disruptors and have been associated with adverse health outcomes. However, knowledge gaps exist in understanding the molecular mechanisms associated with the effects of exposure in early and late pregnancy. In this study, we examined the relationship of eleven urinary phthalate metabolites with isoprostane, an established marker of oxidative stress, among pregnant Mexican-American women from an agricultural cohort. Isoprostane levels were on average 20% higher at 26 weeks than at 13 weeks of pregnancy. Urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations suggested relatively consistent phthalate exposures over pregnancy. The relationship between phthalate metabolite concentrations and isoprostane levels was significant for the sum of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate and the sum of high molecular weight metabolites with the exception of monobenzyl phthalate, which was not associated with oxidative stress at either time point. In contrast, low molecular weight metabolite concentrations were not associated with isoprostane at 13 weeks, but this relationship became stronger later in pregnancy (p-value = 0.009 for the sum of low molecular weight metabolites). Our findings suggest that prenatal exposure to phthalates may influence oxidative stress, which is consistent with their relationship with obesity and other adverse health outcomes.