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Updated: Nov 17, 2025
08:38
Using a Bacterial Pathogen to Probe for Cellular and Organismic-level Host Responses
Published on: February 22, 2019
6.1K
Pathogen disgust sensitivity protects against infection in a high pathogen environment.
Tara J Cepon-Robins1, Aaron D Blackwell2, Theresa E Gildner3
1Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO 80918; trobins3@uccs.edu.
Summary
Higher pathogen disgust sensitivity (PDS) is linked to lower infection rates, particularly for viral and bacterial pathogens. This sensitivity appears to adapt to local socioeconomic conditions and market integration, influencing disease avoidance strategies.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary psychology
- Human ecology
- Infectious disease epidemiology
Background:
- Disgust is an evolved emotion regulating avoidance of pathogen-related stimuli.
- Higher pathogen disgust sensitivity (PDS) is hypothesized to reduce pathogen exposure and infection.
- PDS is predicted to be calibrated to local pathogen types and socioeconomic factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that PDS is negatively associated with infection.
- To examine the environmental calibration of PDS.
- To investigate the socioecological variation of PDS in relation to market integration.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study in three Ecuadorian Shuar communities with 75 participants.
- Assessed PDS, market-related lifestyle factors, and biomarkers of bacterial, viral, and macroparasitic infection.
- Analyzed associations at individual, household, and community levels.
Main Results:
- Strong negative associations found between PDS and biomarkers of viral/bacterial infection.
- Weaker associations observed between PDS and macroparasite infection.
- Market integration mediated some observed differences, supporting PDS calibration to socioeconomic conditions.
Conclusions:
- PDS is negatively associated with infection, supporting its role in disease avoidance.
- PDS varies and calibrates to local socioeconomic conditions, including market integration.
- Evolved psychological mechanisms are crucial for understanding human health outcomes.
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