Atherosclerosis across 4000 years of human history: the Horus study of four ancient populations

Calcified structures associated with human skeletal remains: Possible atherosclerosis affecting the population buried at Amara West, Sudan (1300–800BC)

“…However, this assumption has recently been challenged through a comprehensive study of 137 non-elite mummies including Egyptian and Peruvian farming groups, Alaskan hunter-gatherers and a pre-Columbian population from the South-Western United States with a subsistence based on farming and foraging. Evidence for atherosclerosis was found in 34% of the analysed mummies and was present in all four groups (Thompson et al, 2013). Aside from dietary habits, chronic infectious diseases, particularly those of the lungs were identified as the main risk factor for atherosclerosis shared by all four populations.…”

“…Aside from dietary habits, chronic infectious diseases, particularly those of the lungs were identified as the main risk factor for atherosclerosis shared by all four populations. The findings further raise questions about a certain basic genetic predisposition present in some individuals or populations (Thompson et al, 2013).…”

“…Recent findings in mummies have led researchers to argue for a genetic background as the main reason for the development of atherosclerosis (Thompson et al, 2013). It has been suggested that ancient Egyptians had a genetic predisposition for the formation of atherosclerosis that accounts for the high prevalence of advanced atherosclerosis in Egyptian mummies (Zink et al, 2011).…”

“…13), and their morphological appearance and comparison with published clinical studies and analysis of intact mummies (e.g. Allam et al, 2009;Thompson et al, 2013;Towler, 2008). The calcifications recovered in the upper chest area of Sk244-6 (SS69a), Sk244-4 (SS68a) and Sk243-3 (SS67) are round and semi-cylindrical in shape and cross section suggesting they originated from a cylindrical structure with an estimated diameter of c. 2-2.5mm.…”

“…Aside from dietary habits, chronic infectious diseases, particularly those of the lungs were identified as the main risk factor for atherosclerosis shared by all four populations. The findings further raise questions about a certain basic genetic predisposition present in some individuals or populations (Thompson et al, 2013).In contrast to mummified remains, evidence from skeletal remains is only very rarely reported in the palaeopathological literature (Subirana-Domènech et al, 2012) even though one should expect calcified atheromatous plaques to survive burial (Aufderheide and Rodríguez-Martín, 1998: 79). Thus, the macroscopic appearance of these plaques in skeletonised remains is still largely unknown, and may contribute to the lack of recovery during excavation.…”