Researchers uncover how specific genetic and cardiovascular traits give Tibetan women an edge in surviving and thriving at high altitudes, linking better oxygen delivery to more successful pregnancies. Study: Higher oxygen content and transport characterize high-altitude ethnic Tibetan women with the highest lifetime reproductive success . Image Credit: sanyanwuji / Shutterstock In a recent study published in the journal PNAS , researchers explored how characteristics related to oxygen delivery among ethnic Tibetan women between 46 and 86 and living in high altitudes in Nepal are related to their number of live births.
Their findings indicate that women showing better oxygen delivery to their tissues had the highest reproductive success during their lifetimes, particularly those who gave birth early and had long marriages. Background Women with the highest lifetime reproductive success exhibited low hypoxic heart rate responses (HHRR), suggesting a more efficient cardiovascular system that supports better oxygen delivery under stress. Studying how natural selection affects adaptive traits requires combining data on genetics, physiology, sociocultural factors, and reproductive history.
For this reason, human communities that are exposed to stress over long periods, such as those that experience hypoxic conditions at high altitudes, are ideal for researchers to study natural selection. Tibetan people have been exposed to high-altitude conditions for approximately 10,000 years a.