Increased in carbon isotope ratios of Brazilian fingernails are correlated with increased in socioeconomic status

Gabriela Bielefeld Nardoto; João Paulo Sena-Souza; Tiago Borges Kisaka; Fábio José Viana Costa; Paulo José Duarte-Neto; James Ehleringer; Luiz A Martinelli

doi:10.1038/s41538-020-0069-1

Increased in carbon isotope ratios of Brazilian fingernails are correlated with increased in socioeconomic status

NPJ Sci Food. 2020 Jul 16:4:9. doi: 10.1038/s41538-020-0069-1. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Gabriela Bielefeld Nardoto¹, João Paulo Sena-Souza², Tiago Borges Kisaka¹, Fábio José Viana Costa³, Paulo José Duarte-Neto⁴, James Ehleringer⁵, Luiz A Martinelli⁶

Affiliations

¹ Ecology Department, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Asa Norte, Brasília, CEP 70910-900 Brazil.
² Department of Geosciences, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, MG Brazil.
³ National Institute of Criminalistics, Federal Police, Asa Sul, Brasília, CEP 70610-200 Brazil.
⁴ Department of Statistics and Informatics, Rural Federal University of Pernambuco, R. Manuel de Medeiros, 35, Dois Irmãos, Recife, CEP 52171-050 Brazil.
⁵ School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT USA.
⁶ Laboratory of Isotope Ecology, Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Av. Centenário, 303, São Dimas, Piracicaba, CEP 13416-000 SP Brazil.

Abstract

High δ ¹³C in human tissues in Brazil indicate high consumption of C₄-based sources due to the consumption of highly processed food and animal protein. The significant positive correlation between the human developed index (HDI) developed by the United Nations Development Program, and fingernail δ ¹³C at the county level proved to be useful as a new proxy in tracking human nutrition. Regions with higher HDI are those with higher consumption of highly processed food.

Keywords: Environmental social sciences; Health sciences.