Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Dried Blood Spot Collection of Health Biomarkers to Maximize Participation in Population Studies
Published on: January 28, 2014
Tracking biocultural pathways in population health: the value of biomarkers
Carol M Worthman1, E Jane Costello
1Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. worthman@emory.edu
Background:
Cultural factors and biomarkers are emerging emphases in social epidemiology that readily ally with human biology and anthropology. Persistent health challenges and disparities have established biocultural roots, and environment plays an integral role in physical development and function that form the bases of population health. Biomarkers have proven to be valuable tools for investigating biocultural bases of health disparities.
Aims:
We apply recent insights from biology to consider how culture gets under the skin and evaluate the construct of embodiment. We analyse contrasting biomarker models and applications, and propose an integrated model for biomarkers. Three examples from the Great Smoky Mountains Study (GSMS) illustrate these points.
Subjects And Methods:
The longitudinal developmental epidemiological GSMS comprises a population-based sample of 1420 children with repeated measures including mental and physical health, life events, household conditions, and biomarkers for pubertal development and allostatic load.
Results:
Analyses using biomarkers resolved competing explanations for links between puberty and depression, identified gender differences in stress at puberty, and revealed interactive effects of birthweight and postnatal adversity on risk for depression at puberty in girls.
Conclusion:
An integrated biomarker model can both enrich epidemiology and illuminate biocultural pathways in population health.
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Biostatistics in Health Sciences
Biodiversity and Human Values
Analysis of Population Pharmacokinetic Data
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
Blood Studies for Cardiovascular System I: Cardiac Biomarkers
The essential diagnostic tools for detecting myocardial necrosis and monitoring individuals suspected of having acute coronary syndrome (ACS) include:
Troponins
Troponins, particularly cardiac troponins I and T, are the most precise and sensitive markers of myocardial injury. They are detectable within 4-6 hours of myocardial injury and remain...
Pharmacogenomics: Identification of New Drug Targets
