Diet, tuberculosis, and the paleopathological record.

Area of Science:

• Paleopathology
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Osseous manifestations of infectious diseases are crucial for understanding ancient health.
• Factors like host genetics, nutrition, and immune function complicate disease progression and skeletal involvement.
• Mycobacterial diseases, particularly tuberculosis, are highly sensitive to these variables, showing varied severity.

Observation:

• The osteological record reflects complex host-pathogen interactions affecting skeletal lesions.
• Dietary protein and iron intake are key modulators of immune response.
• Nutritional status can influence the dissemination of pathogens to bone and lesion development.

Findings:

• This study models the impact of dietary protein and iron on Mycobacterium tuberculosis dissemination and skeletal lesion formation.
• Nutritional factors are hypothesized to influence the prevalence and distribution of skeletal lesions in ancient populations.
• Analysis applied to prehistoric New World sites generated and tested hypotheses regarding nutritional influences.

Implications:

• Understanding nutritional impacts refines paleopathological interpretations of infectious disease.
• Archaeological data on diet can inform models of ancient disease dynamics.
• Discrepancies between models and skeletal evidence prompt new research questions on host-pathogen-environment interactions.