Type and developmental timing of childhood adversity predicts psychopathology symptoms in a South African birth cohort.

True blueberries (i.e., wild, Ait.; and cultivated highbush, L. or rabbiteye, Ait.) are native to North America, while the closely related wild bilberries () are native to Europe (). Also known as lowbush blueberries, wild blueberries are perennial plants that grow in unique soil and environmental conditions endemic to the state of Maine and the maritime provinces of Canada, and few other regions in North America (). Wild blueberry plants colonize vast expanses of irregular terrain through the spread of their rhizome systems. Because these plantings are endemic and naturally colonize their terrain, they do not require the extensive inputs (e.g., transplanting, pesticide applications, herbicides, fertilizers) that most cultivated plants require to compete and thrive. Typically, commercial treeless wild blueberry fields (i.e., wild blueberry barrens) are cared for through disturbance practices such as mowing or fire, which increase yields. The berry plants spread to cover all the surrounding terrain, so the soil is not tilled as in conventional, cultivated plantings. In the northern climates in which they grow, they are exposed year-round to environmental stressors characteristic of their habitat – bitter winter cold, fierce winds and short daylengths in the winter, salty coastal spray, and longer days during the summertime. These stressors provoke the accumulation of a diverse array of secondary metabolites, particularly polyphenols including flavonoids, in wild blueberry plants, a phenomenon known as elicitation. This process triggers more diversified secondary metabolite profiles and is often deliberately used industrially to provoke metabolite accumulation in various plants (; ). The diversity and concentration of polyphenols, particularly flavonoids in wild blueberry fruits (including anthocyanin pigments), may be responsible for many of their human health-relevant properties (; ; ). At the same time, research suggests that wild blueberry anthocyanins and their circulating metabolites may be primary drivers of functional modulation of the vasculature (). Historically, wild blueberries were consumed by native peoples, birds, and other wildlife. Evidence indicates that wild blueberries were dried in the sun and ground into a powder that was used in soups, stews, and meat curation (). Wild blueberries were combined with other foodstuffs for preservation throughout the year (e.g., dried berries and meat; pemmican or bread made with cornmeal and beans; manna in winter) (). Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge included multiple additional uses of wild blueberries such as a naturally sourced dye for fabric, as a tea, and as medicine (). Medicinal uses included gynecological treatments, wound healing preparations, and remedies for gastrointestinal disorders. Subsequently, early European colonizers harvested and used wild blueberries and practiced crop management to maintain fields and facilitate new field development. This led to commercial berry harvesting and use in the food industry, more sophisticated management practices, and marketing. Industry leaders from Maine in the United States and Canada formed the Wild Blueberry Association of North America (WBANA) in 1981 to bring together growers and producers for the purpose of raising awareness of wild blueberries and promoting wild blueberry product quality (). For the past several decades, wild blueberries have been investigated for their human health effects. They were initially recognized to be rich in various polyphenols, notably flavonoids with demonstrated antioxidant effects inversely associated with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, and cancer (). Initial research directions focused on the evaluation of wild blueberries for their antioxidant and anticar-cinogenic effects, antioxidant effects in humans, and cardiovascular health effects in animal models. Since then, our understanding of the health effects of food-based interventions—particularly polyphenol-rich foods including wild blueberries—has evolved. Evidence now suggests that their cardiovascular benefits are unlikely to stem from direct antioxidant activity (), prompting a shift toward evaluating their physiological relevance through more mechanistic and translational approaches. Several cardiovascular and metabolic (i.e., cardiometabolic) risk factors are predictive of CVD risk and events and can be clinically assessed to understand and improve human cardiovascular health and reduce disease risk. Cardiometabolic risk factors such as elevated blood pressure (BP), obesity, metabolic syndrome, and dyslipidemia predispose individuals to CVD, in large part due to adverse effects on the vascular system including development of endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffening (). Wild blueberries are rich in numerous nutrients and polyphenols linked to cardiometabolic health. Since initial research efforts with wild blueberries, numerous studies have been perf