Data from: Age-related physiological dysregulation progresses slowly in semi-free-ranging chimpanzees
Data files
Jul 03, 2024 version files 1.52 MB
Abstract
Lifestyle has widespread effects on human health and aging. Prior results from chimpanzees, one of the closest evolutionary relatives of humans, indicate that these lifestyle effects may also be shared with other species, as semi-free-ranging chimpanzees fed a naturalistic diet show healthier values in several specific health biomarkers, compared with their sedentary, captive counterparts. Here, we examined how lifestyle factors associated with different environments affect rates of physiological aging in closely related chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We compared physiological dysregulation, an index of biological aging, in semi-free-ranging chimpanzees in an African sanctuary versus captive chimpanzees in US laboratories. If the rate of aging is accelerated by a high-calorie diet and sedentism, we predicted greater age-related dysregulation in the laboratory populations. Conversely, if the costs of a wild lifestyle accelerate aging, then semi-free-ranging chimpanzees at the sanctuary, whose environment better approximates the wild, should show greater age-related dysregulation. We further tested whether dysregulation differed based on sex or body system, as in humans. We found that semi-free-ranging chimpanzees showed lower overall dysregulation, as well as lower age-related change in dysregulation, than laboratory chimpanzees. Males experienced lower dysregulation in both contexts, and the two populations exhibited distinct aging patterns based on the body system. Our results support the conclusion that naturalistic living conditions result in healthier aging in chimpanzees. These data provide support for the proposal that lifestyle effects on human health and aging are conserved from deeper into our evolutionary history.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.37pvmcvt7
Study Authors: M. Cole, P. Barnes, I. Monroe, J. Rukundo, M. Emery Thompson & A.G. Rosati
Contact: megancole@unm.edu or rosati@umich.edu
Description of the data and file structure
This data set consists of three data files (.xlsx format) for the different components of the data reported in this work. For each file, there is a key tab in the file defining each variable reported in the main data tab. NAs in these files indicate no available data for that specific measure for that individual in the noted year of sampling. The specific files are:
1. Data - Cole et al - Sanctuary Chimpanzee Biomarkers. This file comprises the raw biomarker data from the sanctuary-living chimpanzees that were used to derive dysregulation scores from this population.
2. Data - Cole et al - Chimpanzee Physiological Dysregulation. This file comprises the computed dysregulation scores from both sanctuary-living and lab-living chimpanzees, as computed following the methods described in the main manuscript. This file lists dysregulation scores, z-scored ages, and number of biomarkers for five distinct analyses described and reported in the main manuscript: (1) the primary analysis comprising all appropriate biomarkers from an age-matched sample of sanctuary and laboratory chimpanzees using a site-specific reference sample with a healthy weight cutoff; (2) an analysis using the full available age range of data, specifically incorporating older chimpanzee data from the laboratory populations; (3) an analysis using a pooled (rather than site-specific) reference sample; (4) an analysis using only a subset of common biomarkers available at all sites; and (5) analysis using an alternative (higher) overweight cutoff for the reference sample.
3. Data - Cole et al - Chimpanzee Physiological Dysregulation By Body System. This file comprises the computed dysregulation scores for specific body systems from both sanctuary-living and lab-living chimpanzees, as computed following the methods described in the main manuscript.
Sharing/Access information
Dysregulation scores for laboratory chimpanzees were derived from biomarker data from these populations. This chimpanzee biomarker data is deposited in the Primate Aging Database and are accessible at: https://primatedatabase.org/