African Americans are 40% more likely to be afflicted with hypertension than are non-Hispanic, white Americans, resulting in a 30% higher instance of mortality due to cardiovascular disease. There is debate about the relative contributions of genetic and sociocultural risk factors to the racial disparity in hypertension. We assayed three Alu insertion polymorphisms located in the ACE (angiotensin 1 converting enzyme), PLAT (plasminogen activator, tissue), and WNK1 (lysine deficient protein kinase 1) genes. We also estimated West African genetic ancestry and developed novel measures of perceived discrimination to create a biocultural model of blood pressure among African American adults in Tallahassee, Florida (n = 158). When tested separately, the ACE Alu noninsertion allele was significantly associated with higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In multiple regression analyses, West African genetic ancestry was not associated with blood pressure and reduced the strength of all blood pressure models tested. A gene × environment interaction was identified between the ACE Alu genotype and a new measure of unfair treatment that includes experiences by individuals close to the study participant. Inclusion of the WNK1 Alu genotype further improved this model of blood pressure variation. Our results suggest an association of the ACE and WNK1 genotypes with blood pressure that is consistent with their proposed gene functions. Measures of perceived unfair treatment of others show a threshold effect, with increased blood pressure occurring at higher values. The interaction between the ACE genotype and unfair treatment highlights the benefits of including both genetic and cultural data to investigate complex disease.

The study of human variation is central to both social and biomedical sciences, but social and biomedical scientists diverge in how variation is theorized and operationalized. Race is especially problematic because it is a cultural concept that contains implicit and explicit understandings of how collective bodies differ. In this article, we propose an operationalization of race that addresses both racial experience and human biological diversity, placing them within the same ontological sphere. Furthermore, this approach can more effectively advance antiracist pedagogy and politics. We argue that human biological diversity does not have to be in opposition to constructivist notions of race. Rather, racial experience is emphasized as an embodied experience that is as real and as valid as biological variation. By focusing on both racial experience and biological diversity, it becomes more feasible to operationalize race to fruitfully inform the pedagogy and politics of antiracism. To do so, racial experience must be more broadly conceived and should not always equate to negative outcomes. With the recognition that racial experience has the potential to be something other than damaging, an antiracist anthropology can more effectively address issues pertaining to racial health disparities.

Models that examine genetic differences between populations alongside a genotype—phenotype map can provide insight about phenotypic variation among groups. We generalize a simple model of a completely heritable, additive, selectively neutral quantitative trait to examine the relationship between single-locus genetic differentiation and phenotypic differentiation on quantitative traits. In agreement with similar efforts using different models, we show that the expected degree to which two groups differ on a neutral quantitative trait is not strongly affected by the number of genetic loci that influence the trait: neutral trait differences are expected to have a magnitude comparable to the genetic differences at a single neutral locus. We discuss this result with respect to population differences in disease phenotypes, arguing that although neutral genetic differences between populations can contribute to specific differences between populations in health outcomes, systematic patterns of difference that run in the same direction for many genetically independent health conditions are unlikely to be explained by neutral genetic differentiation.

Understanding the complexities of ancestry-related identity is a necessary component of ethically sound research related to the genetic ancestry of modern-day communities. This is especially true when working with indigenous populations, given the legal and social implications that genetic ancestry interpretations may have in these communities. This study employs a multicomponent approach to explore the intricacies of ancestry-related identity within one extended family with members who identify as Alaskan Native. The seven participants were interviewed about their own self-identity, perceptions regarding genetic ancestry estimation, and their knowledge of oral family history. Additionally, each participant consented to having his or her genetic ancestry estimated. The researchers also surveyed ancestry-related documents, such as census records, birth certificates, and Certificates of Indian Blood. These three different perspectives—oral family history and self-identity, genetic ancestry estimation, historical and legal documentation—illustrate the complex nature of ancestry-related identity within the context of indigenous and colonial interactions in North America. While estimates of genetic ancestry broadly reflected each individual's self-reported biogeographic ancestry and supported all described and historically reported biological relationships, the estimates did not always match federally recorded blood quantum values, nor did they provide any information on relationships at the tribe or clan level. Employing a multicomponent approach and engaging study participants may help to safeguard against genetic essentialism and provide a more nuanced understanding of ancestry-related identity within a larger political, legal, and historical context.

Variation in human pigmentation has long been an area of interest in biological anthropology, with the advent of genetic technologies allowing deeper plumbing of its evolutionary history. Genome-wide scans of selection show that pigmentation genes have undergone some of the strongest selection in many geographically distant populations. A variety of hypotheses for the photoprotective effects of melanin have been developed, but these hypotheses, as well as genetic studies, focus nearly exclusively on constitutive (basal) pigmentation levels. Failing to consider the contribution of the ultraviolet radiation (UVR) environment neglects the true interface between humans and our environment. Data drawn largely from dermatology demonstrate that constitutive pigmentation and tanning response are weakly coupled in populations from East Asia and the Americas. This suggests a possible role for persistent, UVR-induced pigmentation as a convergent adaptation akin to the protective effect of constitutive pigmentation. The adaptive potential of tanned skin, particularly in the Americas, where constitutive pigmentation is lower than expected, may fill in an important gap in our understanding of the evolution of skin color.

Despite major public health initiatives, significant disparities persist among racially and ethnically defined groups in the prevalence of disease, access to medical care, quality of medical care, and health outcomes for common causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. It is critical that we develop new and creative strategies to address such inequities; mitigate the social, environmental, institutional, and genetic determinants of poor health; and combat the persistence of racial profiling in clinical contexts that further exacerbates racial/ethnic health disparities. This article argues that medical education is a prime target for intervention and that anthropologists and human population geneticists should play a role in efforts to reform US medical curricula. Medical education would benefit greatly by incorporating anthropological and genetic perspectives on the complexities of race, human genetic variation, epigenetics, and the causes of racial/ethnic disparities. Medical students and practicing physicians should also receive training on how to use this knowledge to improve clinical practice, diagnosis, and treatment for racially diverse populations.