DOI: 10.25349/d94c77
title: Data from: Flexibility of fetal tolerance: Immune function during pregnancy varies between ecologically distinct populations

description: Background and objectives: Among placental mammals, females
 undergo immunological shifts during pregnancy to accommodate the fetus
 (i.e. fetal tolerance). Fetal tolerance has primarily been characterized
 within post-industrial populations experiencing evolutionarily novel
 conditions (e.g. reduced pathogen exposure), which may shape maternal
 response to fetal antigens. This study investigates how ecological
 conditions affect maternal immune status during pregnancy by comparing the
 direction and magnitude of immunological changes associated with each
 trimester among the Tsimane (a subsistence population subjected to high
 pathogen load) and women in the United States. 
 Methodology: Data from the Tsimane Health and Life History
 Project (N=935) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination
 Survey (N=1395) were used to estimate population-specific effects of
 trimester on differential leukocyte count and C-reactive protein (CRP), a
 marker of systemic inflammation.  Results: In both
 populations, pregnancy was associated with increased neutrophil
 prevalence, reduced lymphocyte and eosinophil count, and elevated CRP.
 Compared to their US counterparts, pregnant Tsimane women exhibited
 elevated lymphocyte and eosinophil counts, fewer neutrophils and
 monocytes, and lower CRP. Total leukocyte count remained high and
 unchanged among pregnant Tsimane women while pregnant US women exhibited
 substantially elevated counts, resulting in overlapping leukocyte
 prevalence among all third-trimester individuals.  Conclusions
 and implications: Our findings indicate that ecological
 conditions shape non-pregnant immune baselines and the
 magnitude of immunological shifts during pregnancy via developmental
 constraints and current trade-offs. Future research should investigate how
 such flexibility impacts maternal health and disease susceptibility,
 particularly the degree to which chronic pathogen exposure might dampen
 inflammatory response to fetal antigens.  
description: This dataset was compiled by Carmen Hové and consists of
 data collected by the Tsimane Health and Life History Project (http://tsimane.anth.ucsb.edu/index.html) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/). 
description: This dataset contains total and differential leukocyte count (WBC
 = total leukocyte count, NEU = neutrophils, LYM = lymphocytes, MON =
 monocytes, EOS = eosinophis, BAS = basophils), leukocyte
 proportions (neu_pct = % neutrophils, lym_pct = % lymphocytes, eos_pct = %
 eosinophils, mon_pct = % monocytes, bas_pct = % basophils), C-reactive
 protein concentration (crp), number of live births (NumPartos), age (Age),
 body mass index (BMI), participant identification number (pid),
 reproductive state (RepStatus), age category (AgeCat), population/original
 dataset (Population), number of repeat measures (Repeats), and
 presence/absence of repeat measures (REF). There are some missing values
 (coded as NA), since not all participants had data on both leukocyte
 differential and C-reactive protein concentration.