Is early childhood hemoglobin level a strong predictor of hemoglobin levels during later childhood among low-income Alaska children?
The early onset of anemia and the strong association between earlier and later Hb levels or anemia at both the individual and community levels suggest a role for prenatal effects that remain until at least age 5 years. This is true particularly of Yupik and Inupiat children, who make up the primary residents of western and northern Alaska.
From an evolutionary perspective, such similar temperature dependencies allow cells to adapt more rapidly to temperature changes, because they result in minimal perturbations of intracellular metabolite levels, thus circumventing the need for extensive modification of enzyme levels.