Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2020 May;171 Suppl 70:87-117. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23965. Epub 2019 Nov 24.
The germ theory of disease and the attendant public health initiatives, including sanitation, vaccination, and antibiotic treatment, led to dramatic increases in global life expectancy. As the prevalence of infectious disease declines, mental disorders are emerging as major contributors to the global burden of disease. Scientists understand little about the etiology of mental disorders, however, and many of the most popular psychopharmacological treatments, such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, have only moderate-to-weak efficacy in treating symptoms and fail to target biological systems that correspond to discrete psychiatric syndromes. Consequently, despite dramatic increases in the treatment of some mental disorders, there has been no decrease in the prevalence of most mental disorders since accurate record keeping began. Many researchers and theorists are therefore endeavoring to rethink psychiatry from the ground-up. Anthropology, especially biological anthropology, can offer critical theoretical and empirical insights to combat mental illness globally. Biological anthropologists are unique in that we take a panhuman approach to human health and behavior and are trained to address each of Tinbergen's four levels of analysis as well as culture. The field is thus exceptionally well-situated to help resolve the mysteries of mental illness by integrating biological, evolutionary, and sociocultural perspectives.
疾病的细菌理论和随之而来的公共卫生措施，包括卫生、疫苗接种和抗生素治疗，导致了全球预期寿命的显著提高。随着传染病的流行率下降，精神障碍正在成为全球疾病负担的主要因素。然而，科学家对精神障碍的病因知之甚少，许多最受欢迎的精神药理学治疗方法，如抗抑郁药和抗精神病药，在治疗症状方面只有中等至弱的疗效，并且无法针对与离散精神综合征相对应的生物系统。因此，尽管一些精神障碍的治疗有了显著的增加，但自从准确的记录开始以来，大多数精神障碍的流行率并没有下降。因此，许多研究人员和理论家正在努力从根本上重新思考精神病学。人类学，特别是生物人类学，可以为全球对抗精神疾病提供关键的理论和经验见解。生物人类学家的独特之处在于，我们对人类健康和行为采取泛人类的方法，并接受过解决廷伯根的四个分析层面以及文化的培训。因此，该领域非常适合通过整合生物、进化和社会文化观点来帮助解决精神疾病的奥秘。
