Brush G, Harrison G A, Boyce A J, Lourie J A
Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Oxford.
Ann Hum Biol. 1989 Sep-Oct;16(5):437-41. doi: 10.1080/03014468900000562.
Swelling of the parotid salivary glands is commonly observed among males and females of highland Papua New Guinea. Evidence suggests that the condition is related to the highlanders' high starch consumption in the form of sweet potato. In this paper we regard parotid enlargement as an indicator of high energy intake and test its association with two measures of reproductive performance, the number of live births and living offspring, in a sample of 274 women from Lufa in the Eastern Highlands District of Papua New Guinea. Multiple regression analysis including maternal age showed that parotid enlargement is positively correlated with both measures of reproductive performance. Given that parotid gland enlargement in this population is due to persistent starch consumption, and that the condition represents above average energy intake, these results suggest that increases in energy intake relate to increases in reproductive performance in this sample of highland females.
在巴布亚新几内亚高地的男性和女性中，腮腺唾液腺肿胀是常见现象。有证据表明，这种情况与高地居民以甘薯形式摄入的高淀粉量有关。在本文中，我们将腮腺肿大视为高能量摄入的一个指标，并在来自巴布亚新几内亚东部高地省卢法的274名女性样本中，测试其与两种生殖表现指标（活产数和存活后代数）之间的关联。包括产妇年龄在内的多元回归分析表明，腮腺肿大与这两种生殖表现指标均呈正相关。鉴于该人群中腮腺肿大是由于持续的淀粉摄入，且这种情况代表高于平均水平的能量摄入，这些结果表明，在这个高地女性样本中，能量摄入的增加与生殖表现的提高有关。
