Biodemography And Social Biology[JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
Entry Body Mass and Earnings: Once Penalized, Ever Penalized?
Kim TH, Han E
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 29199868 · Publisher ↗
It has previously been reported that an individual's body mass index (BMI) contemporaneously penalizes wages for women, but has no effect and sometimes rewards wages for men. In young adults, we estimate the association...
It has previously been reported that an individual's body mass index (BMI) contemporaneously penalizes wages for women, but has no effect and sometimes rewards wages for men. In young adults, we estimate the association of BMI status with initial wages to assess whether initial BMI at the beginning of an individual's career affects initial and later earnings. We pooled data from 388 men and 305 women, aged 20-40 years, with BMI information for the first year of employment, using the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study. A labor market penalty for a higher BMI among women was found only for overweight or obese segments, particularly those with relatively higher monthly wages. Meanwhile, a higher BMI in underweight or normal weight segments could reward employment probability for women and monthly wages for men. Such rewards of relatively higher monthly wages were also estimated for men in the overweight segment. Our findings suggest discrimination as one factor penalizing higher BMI in the labor market.
The Contribution of Weight Status to Black-White Differences in Mortality.
Elo IT, Mehta N, Preston S
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 29035108 · Full text
This article examines the contribution of weight status to black-white (B-W) differences in mortality at ages 40-79 using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We measured body mass index (BMI)...
This article examines the contribution of weight status to black-white (B-W) differences in mortality at ages 40-79 using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We measured body mass index (BMI) based on the highest BMI attained and contrasted the contribution of BMI to that of smoking and educational attainment. We estimated both additive and multiplicative models. In addition to estimating regression coefficients we asked what would happen to B-W differences in mortality if blacks had the BMI distribution of whites, the smoking prevalence of whites, or the educational distribution of whites. B-W differences in BMI account for close to 30 percent of the B-W difference in female mortality but only about 1 percent of the B-W difference in male mortality at ages 40-79. In contrast, smoking makes a much larger contribution to the B-W difference in male (17 percent) than female (6 percent) mortality. Differences in educational attainment in turn explain 19 to 25 percent of the B-W mortality difference among men and women, respectively. Our results underscore the importance of two key risk factors as well as educational attainment in generating B-W differences in mortality.
Maternal Social Disadvantage and Newborn Telomere Length in Archived Dried Blood Spots from the Michigan Neonatal Biobank.
Needham BL, Hicken MT, Govia IO … +2 more , Mitchell C, Abdou CM
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 29035107 · Publisher ↗
Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Short telomere length is associated with morbidity and mortality among adults and may mark the biological impact of social experiences. Using archi...
Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Short telomere length is associated with morbidity and mortality among adults and may mark the biological impact of social experiences. Using archived dried blood spots from the Michigan Neonatal Biobank, this study examined markers of maternal social disadvantage (educational attainment, receipt of public assistance, marital status, and race/ethnicity) from linked birth certificates as predictors of telomere length at birth in a sample of 192 singleton neonates born to non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, and Latina mothers aged 20-35 years. Consistent with two recent studies in newborns, but counter to the idea that maternal social disadvantage is associated with shorter offspring telomere length, we found that infants born to black mothers had longer telomeres than those born to white mothers (b = 0.12, SE = 0.06, p = .05). However, black/white differences in newborn telomere length varied by receipt of public assistance. Among newborns whose mothers received WIC and/or Medicaid, there were no significant black/white differences in telomere length (b = 0.09, SE = 0.08, p = .25). In contrast, among those whose mothers did not receive public assistance-just 6 out of 69 infants born to black mothers versus 41 out of 69 infants born to white mothers-we found that babies born to black mothers had longer telomere length than babies born to white mothers (b = 0.37, SE = 0.16, p = .03). The interaction between black race/ethnicity and receipt of public assistance did not reach the conventional threshold for statistical significance (b = -0.22, SE = 0.15, p = .13), suggesting that this finding may be due to chance. No other markers of maternal social disadvantage were related to infant telomere length. Although replication of these results in a larger sample with more infants born to black mothers with relatively high socioeconomic status is needed, this study offers preliminary support for the hypothesis that race/ethnic differences in newborn telomere length depend on social context.
Does the Hispanic health advantage extend to better management of hypertension? The role of socioeconomic status, sociobehavioral factors, and health care access.
Bacon E, Riosmena F, Rogers RG
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 29035106 · Full text
Hispanics in the United States (and foreign-born Hispanics in particular) have relatively favorable health given their lower socioeconomic status compared to, for example, non-Hispanic whites. This phenomenon is often ca...
Hispanics in the United States (and foreign-born Hispanics in particular) have relatively favorable health given their lower socioeconomic status compared to, for example, non-Hispanic whites. This phenomenon is often called the Hispanic health paradox (HHP). This study examines whether the previously documented HHP in hypertension prevalence extends to its management using clinical and self-reported measures from the 2007-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Multivariate models adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and sociobehavioral characteristics show an advantage among foreign-born Mexicans in hypertension prevalence relative to non-Hispanic whites (adjusted OR = 0.85). However, compared to non-Hispanic whites, foreign-born Mexicans were 38% less likely to receive treatment recommendations and, when advised to undergo treatment, were 60% less likely to adhere to treatment. Adjusting for health care access and utilization dramatically reduces disparities in hypertension control between foreign-born Mexicans and non-Hispanic whites, suggesting that insufficient systematic access to and use of quality health care erodes the HHP and contributes to the deterioration of health throughout the immigrant experience. Without appropriate interventions, particularly in health care access and utilization, poorer hypertension management among foreign-born Mexicans may negatively affect the Hispanic health profile, increase risk of cardiovascular disease-related mortality, and erode the Hispanic health advantage in the future.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Early-Life Mortality in the United States.
Rogers RG, Lawrence EM, Hummer RA … +1 more , Tilstra AM
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 29035105 · Full text
U.S. early-life (ages 1-24) deaths are tragic, far too common, and largely preventable. Yet demographers have focused scant attention on U.S. early-life mortality patterns, particularly as they vary across racial and eth...
U.S. early-life (ages 1-24) deaths are tragic, far too common, and largely preventable. Yet demographers have focused scant attention on U.S. early-life mortality patterns, particularly as they vary across racial and ethnic groups. We employed the restricted-use 1999-2011 National Health Interview Survey-Linked Mortality Files and hazard models to examine racial/ethnic differences in early-life mortality. Our results reveal that these disparities are large, strongly related to differences in parental socioeconomic status, and expressed through different causes of death. Compared to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks experience 60 percent and Mexican Americans 32 percent higher risk of death over the follow-up period, with demographic controls. Our finding that Mexican Americans experience higher early-life mortality risk than non-Hispanic whites differs from much of the literature on adult mortality. We also show that these racial/ethnic differences attenuate with controls for family structure and especially with measures of socioeconomic status. For example, higher mortality risk among Mexican Americans than among non-Hispanic whites is no longer significant once we controlled for mother's education or family income. Our results strongly suggest that eliminating socioeconomic gaps across groups is the key to enhanced survival for children and adolescents in racial/ethnic minority groups.
Association between discrimination and obesity in African-American men.
Thorpe RJ, Parker LJ, Cobb RJ … +2 more , Dillard F, Bowie J
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 29035104 · Full text
The objective of this study was to examine the association between discrimination and obesity among a U.S. nationally representative sample of African-American men. Data from the 2001-2003 National Survey of American Lif...
The objective of this study was to examine the association between discrimination and obesity among a U.S. nationally representative sample of African-American men. Data from the 2001-2003 National Survey of American Life (NSAL) were used to collect measures of everyday and major discrimination, and body mass index (BMI) taken from self-reports. Poisson regression with robust standard errors was applied to estimate the prevalence ratios of everyday and major discrimination as it relates to obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m), controlling for potential confounders. In the model that included both everyday and major discrimination, men who experienced any major discrimination had a higher likelihood of obesity (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06, 1.66) than those who did not experience any major discrimination, controlling for age, marital status, income, education, major stressors, two or more chronic conditions, and physical activity. Exposure to any major discrimination was found to be associated with obesity in African-American men. Future studies among this population are needed to examine whether the observed changes in self-reports of major discrimination are associated with obesity, measured by BMI, over time. The health of African-American men must be a priority in reducing excess disparities in disease, disability, and death.
Racial Disparities in the Association between Alcohol Use Disorders and Health in Black and White Women.
Ransome Y, Carty DC, Cogburn CD … +1 more , Williams DR
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 29035103 · Full text
Adverse health attributed to alcohol use disorders (AUD) is more pronounced among black than white women. We investigated whether socioeconomic status (education and income), health care factors (insurance, alcoholism tr...
Adverse health attributed to alcohol use disorders (AUD) is more pronounced among black than white women. We investigated whether socioeconomic status (education and income), health care factors (insurance, alcoholism treatment), or psychosocial stressors (stressful life events, racial discrimination, alcoholism stigma) could account for black-white differences in the association between AUD and physical and functional health among current women drinkers 25 years and older (N = 8,877) in the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Generalized linear regression tested how race interacted with the association between 12-month DSM-IV AUD in Wave 1 (2001-2002) and health in Wave 2 (2004-2005), adjusted for covariates (age group, alcohol consumption, smoking, body mass index, physical activity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis). Black women with AUD had poorer health than white women with AUD (β = -3.18, SE = 1.28, p < .05). This association was partially attenuated after adjusting for socioeconomic status, health care, and psychosocial factors (β = -2.64, SE = 1.27, p < .05). In race-specific analyses, AUD was associated with poorer health for black but not white women. Accounting for black-white differences in AUD and physical and functional health among women requires investigation beyond traditional explanatory mechanisms.
Early-Life Socioeconomic Status and Adult Physiological Functioning: A Life Course Examination of Biosocial Mechanisms.
Yang YC, Gerken K, Schorpp K … +2 more , Boen C, Harris KM
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28521624 · Full text
A growing literature has demonstrated a link between early-life socioeconomic conditions and adult health at a singular point in life. No research exists, however, that specifies the life course patterns of socioeconomic...
A growing literature has demonstrated a link between early-life socioeconomic conditions and adult health at a singular point in life. No research exists, however, that specifies the life course patterns of socioeconomic status (SES) in relation to the underlying biological processes that determine health. Using an innovative life course research design consisting of four nationally representative longitudinal datasets that collectively cover the human life span from early adolescence to old age (Add Health, MIDUS, NSHAP, and HRS), we address this scientific gap and assess how SES pathways from childhood into adulthood are associated with biophysiological outcomes in different adult life stages. For each dataset, we constructed standardized composite measures of early-life SES and adult SES and harmonized biophysiological measurements of immune and metabolic functioning. We found that the relative importance of early-life SES and adult SES varied across young, mid, and late adulthood, such that early-life SES sets a life course trajectory of socioeconomic well-being and operates through adult SES to influence health as adults age. We also documented evidence of the detrimental health effects of downward mobility and persistent socioeconomic disadvantage. These findings are the first to specify the life course patterns of SES that matter for underlying biophysiological functioning in different stages of adulthood. The study thus contributes new knowledge critical for improving population health by identifying the particular points in the life course at which interventions might be most effective in preventing disease and premature mortality.
Enzyme-Linked Immunoassay-Based Quantitative Measurement of Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) in Dried Blood Spots, a Biomarker of Cardiovascular Disease Risk.
Eick GN, Kowal P, Barrett T … +2 more , Thiele EA, Snodgrass JJ
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28521623 · Publisher ↗
Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) is a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of mortality in both higher and lower income countries. Here, we adapted an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELIS...
Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) is a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of mortality in both higher and lower income countries. Here, we adapted an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) development kit for quantitative determination of ApoB levels in serum and plasma for use with dried blood spots (DBS). After confirming the dilution linearity of the assay for DBS, we measured ApoB in 208 venous DBS samples. Then, using Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Spearman rank correlation analysis, we evaluated the correspondence in ApoB values between matched plasma and finger-prick DBS samples from 40 individuals who had ApoB values spanning the range of ApoB values observed in the 208 vDBS samples. We also evaluated assay precision and recovery, the effects of hematocrit, number of freeze-thaw cycles, and different storage temperatures on ApoB levels in DBS. There was a strong, significant correlation between plasma and DBS ApoB levels with little bias. Assay precision and recovery were within the range recommended by the U.S. government's industry guidelines for bioanalytical assay validation. The assay was not affected by the DBS matrix or physiological hematocrit levels. This DBS-based ELISA assay will facilitate population-scale assessment of cardiovascular risk in previously unexplored populations.
Exodus from Hunger: The Long-Term Health Consequences of the 1959-1961 Chinese Famine.
Zhang Z, Song S, Wu X
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28521622 · Publisher ↗
This article examines the long-term health consequences of China's 1959-1961 famine by comparing people who stayed in Guangdong and endured the famine with people who crossed the border to immigrate to Hong Kong and thus...
This article examines the long-term health consequences of China's 1959-1961 famine by comparing people who stayed in Guangdong and endured the famine with people who crossed the border to immigrate to Hong Kong and thus escaped the famine. Based on data from the Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics (HKPSSD) and the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we focused on two health indicators-body mass index (BMI) and self-rated health (SRH)-of the cohort born before 1959. Our results show that the stayers who experienced the famine have a lower BMI than the emigrants, and they are likely to have a poor SRH. The difference-in-differences (DID) estimates further show that the famine exposure reduced the odds of giving higher ratings of SRH by 60 and 42 percent, respectively, for the 1923-1940 and 1941-1958 birth cohorts. For the 1923-1940 cohort, famine exposure also reduced their BMI by 1.5 points.
Family Member Deaths in Childhood Predict Systemic Inflammation in Late Life.
Norton MC, Hatch DJ, Munger RG … +1 more , Smith KR
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28521621 · Full text
Biological and epidemiological evidence has linked early-life psychosocial stress with late-life health, with inflammation as a potential mechanism. We report here the association between familial death in childhood and...
Biological and epidemiological evidence has linked early-life psychosocial stress with late-life health, with inflammation as a potential mechanism. We report here the association between familial death in childhood and adulthood and increased levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation. The Cache County Memory Study is a prospective study of persons initially aged 65 and older in 1995. In 2002, there were 1,955 persons in the study with data on CRP (42.3 percent male, mean [SD] age = 81.2 [5.8] years), linked with objective data on family member deaths. Using logistic regression, high (> 10 mg/L) versus low (≤ 10 mg/L) CRP was regressed on cumulative parental, sibling, spouse, and offspring deaths during childhood and during early adulthood, adjusted for family size in each period (percentage family depletion; PFD). Findings revealed PFD during childhood to be significantly associated with CRP (OR = 1.02, 95% CI [1.01, 1.04]). Individuals with two or more family deaths were 79 percent more likely to have elevated CRP than those with zero family deaths (OR = 1.79, 95% CI [1.07, 2.99]). Early adulthood PFD was not related to CRP. This study demonstrates a link between significant psychosocial stress in early life and immune-inflammatory functioning in late life, and suggests a mechanism explaining the link between early-life adversity and late-life health.
Depression, Inflammation, and Physiological Risk in Late Life: A National Longitudinal Study.
Das A
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28521620 · Publisher ↗
This nationally representative study queried effects of community dwelling older adults' depression and inflammation at baseline on over-time changes in surrogate markers of their cardiometabolic risk. Data were from the...
This nationally representative study queried effects of community dwelling older adults' depression and inflammation at baseline on over-time changes in surrogate markers of their cardiometabolic risk. Data were from the 2005-2006 and 2010-2011 waves of the U.S. National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. Inflammation was indicated by C-reactive protein and depression by the CES-D scale. Cardiometabolic markers included hemoglobin A1c and systolic BP. Lagged dependent variable models were used to examine effects. In none of the models did Wave 1 depression predict residual change in cardiometabolic states (i.e., Wave 2 values net of Wave 1). In contrast, men's baseline C-reactive protein predicted their Wave 2 hemoglobin A1c (Coeff. = 0.02, p < .05) as well as their systolic BP (Coeff. = 3.22, p < .05). No such effects were found among women. Contrary to a growing clinical literature, depression may not increase cardiometabolic risk among older adults on average. Moderators that may interact with depression to yield such effects in delimited samples remain to be identified. Inflammation, in contrast, does seem linked to increase in physiological risk-but only among men, not women. Clinical research is needed to identify biological factors responsible for this sex difference.
Processes Linking Religious Involvement and Telomere Length.
Hill TD, Vaghela P, Ellison CG … +1 more , Rote S
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28521619 · Publisher ↗
Although numerous studies suggest that religious involvement is associated with better health and longer life expectancies, it is unclear whether these general patterns extend to cellular aging. The mechanisms linking in...
Although numerous studies suggest that religious involvement is associated with better health and longer life expectancies, it is unclear whether these general patterns extend to cellular aging. The mechanisms linking indicators of religious involvement with indicators of cellular aging are also undefined. We employed longitudinal data from the 2004 and 2008 Health and Retirement Study, a national probability sample of Americans aged 50 and older, to test whether average telomere length varied according to level of religious attendance. We also tested several potential mechanisms. Our results showed that respondents who attended religious services more frequently in 2004 also exhibited fewer stressful events, lower rates of smoking, fewer symptoms of depression, and lower levels of C-reactive protein in 2008. Respondents who increased their level of attendance from 2004 to 2008 also exhibited lower rates of smoking in 2008. Although religious attendance was not directly associated with telomere length, our mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects through depression and smoking, but not stressful events or C-reactive protein. We conclude that religious attendance may promote telomere length indirectly by reducing symptoms of depression and the risk of smoking. There was no evidence to support stressful events or C-reactive protein as mechanisms of religious attendance.
Physical Functioning Trends among US Women and Men Age 45-64 by Education Level.
Zajacova A, Montez JK
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28287310 · Full text
Functional limitations and disability declined in the US during the 1980s and 1990s, but reports of early 21st century trends are mixed. Whether educational inequalities in functioning increased or decreased is also poor...
Functional limitations and disability declined in the US during the 1980s and 1990s, but reports of early 21st century trends are mixed. Whether educational inequalities in functioning increased or decreased is also poorly understood. Given the importance of disability for productivity, independent living, and health care costs, these trends are critical to US social and health policies. We examine recent trends in functional limitations and disability among women and men aged 45-64. Using 2000-2015 National Health Interview Surveys data on over 155,000 respondents, semiparametric and logistic regression models visualize and test functioning trends by education. Among women and men with at least a college degree, there was no change in disability and mild increase in limitations over time. All other education levels experienced significant increases in functioning problems ranging from 18% higher odds of functional limitations in 2015 compared to 2000 among men with some college to about 80% increase in the odds of disability among women and men with less than high school education. The similar trends for both genders suggest common underlying causes, possibly including the worsening economic well-being of middle- and working-class families. The pervasive growth of functioning problems is a cause for concern that necessitates further scholarly investigation.
"You've Come a Long Way, Baby": The Convergence in Age Patterns of Lung Cancer Mortality by Sex, United States, 1959-2013.
Rivadeneira NA, Noymer A
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28287309 · Publisher ↗
We analyze lung cancer mortality by age and sex in the United States, 1959-2013. It is already known that male lung cancer death rates exceed those of women and that tobacco use is the leading reason for the sex differen...
We analyze lung cancer mortality by age and sex in the United States, 1959-2013. It is already known that male lung cancer death rates exceed those of women and that tobacco use is the leading reason for the sex difference. We elaborate on this knowledge by showing that unlike most causes of death, lung cancer mortality patterns by age are a very good fit to a quadratic-Gompertz model, i.e., log mortality rates are quadratic by age, with the mode above age 70. With a little additional historical data on sex differences in tobacco use, the quadratic models help to paint a clear quantitative picture of behavior-led convergence in lung cancer mortality by sex. The shape of the sex-specific mortality curves have converged dramatically: since 1983, the sexes have had statistically indistinguishable shapes of their quadratic-Gompertz mortality curves. Female lung cancer mortality patterns have shown a transformation from a nonsmoking to a smoking pattern. The modal age of the quadratic-Gompertzian lung cancer death rates has potential application in countries at earlier stages of the global tobacco epidemic. Where the modal age is falling (year-on-year), we can infer that the local lung cancer epidemic is getting worse, and where it is rising, that it has begun to abate.
Gender and Health Behavior Clustering among U.S. Young Adults.
Olson JS, Hummer RA, Harris KM
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28287308 · Full text
U.S. trends in population health suggest alarming disparities among young adults, who are less healthy across most measureable domains than their counterparts in other high-income countries; these international compariso...
U.S. trends in population health suggest alarming disparities among young adults, who are less healthy across most measureable domains than their counterparts in other high-income countries; these international comparisons are particularly troubling for women. To deepen our understanding of gender disparities in health and underlying behavioral contributions, we document gender-specific clusters of health behavior among U.S. young adults using nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We find high levels of poor health behavior, but especially among men; 40 percent of men clustered into a group characterized by unhealthy behavior (e.g., poor diet, no exercise, substance use), compared to only 22 percent of women. Additionally, women tend to age out of unhealthy behaviors in young adulthood more than men. Further, we uncover gender differences in the extent to which sociodemographic position and adolescent contexts inform health behavior clustering. For example, college education was more protective for men, whereas marital status was equally protective across gender. Parental drinking mattered for health behavior clustering among men, whereas peer drinking mattered for clustering among women. We discuss these results in the context of declining female advantage in U.S. health and changing young adult social and health contexts.
Introduction to Issue on Gender Dynamics and Disparities in Health and Mortality.
Crimmins E
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28287307 · Full text
Abstract loading — click title to view on PubMed.
Sex-Based Differences in the Determinants of Old Age Life Expectancy: The Influence of Perimenopause.
Falconi AM
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28287306 · Full text
Studies using the sensitive periods framework typically examine the effects of early life exposures on later life health, due to the significant growth and development occurring during the first few years of life. The me...
Studies using the sensitive periods framework typically examine the effects of early life exposures on later life health, due to the significant growth and development occurring during the first few years of life. The menopausal transition (i.e., perimenopause) is similarly characterized by rapid physiological change, yet rarely has been tested as a sensitive window in adulthood. Cohort mortality data drawn from three historic populations, Sweden (1751-1919), France (1816-1919), and England and Wales (1841-1919), were analyzed using time series methods to assess whether conditions at midlife significantly influenced or "programmed" later life longevity. Results indicated a significant inverse association between mortality at ages 45-49, the average age range in which perimenopause occurred, and life expectancy at age 60 among females in all three countries. Study findings suggest a degree of plasticity associated with women's aging and, in particular, the age group correlated with perimenopause.
Parity Conditions the Risk for Low Birth Weight after Maternal Exposure to Air Pollution.
Merklinger-Gruchala A, Jasienska G, Kapiszewska M
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28287305 · Publisher ↗
Multiparous mothers have greater umbilical blood flow and thus more efficient transport of pollutants than primiparous mothers. We tested a hypothesis that multiparous mothers are more prone to have an infant with low bi...
Multiparous mothers have greater umbilical blood flow and thus more efficient transport of pollutants than primiparous mothers. We tested a hypothesis that multiparous mothers are more prone to have an infant with low birth weight (LBW) after prenatal exposure to air pollution. A study was conducted on a representative group of more than 74,000 singleton, live, full-term infants. Birth data were obtained from the birth registry, while pollution data were from an environmental monitoring system (Poland). Multiple comparisons were controlled by the false discovery rate procedure (FDR). After standardization, the harmful effect of carbon monoxide (CO) on the odds ratio (OR) for LBW was seen among the multiparous mothers (OR = 1.28; 95% CI 1.06-1.54), while in primiparous mothers it was nonsignificant. The effect of CO on the OR for LBW differed according to parity, which was confirmed by the test for interaction (FDR-adjusted p = 0.03). The interaction between parity and sulfur dioxide (SO) was statistically nonsignificant (FDR-adjusted p = 0.08). Multiparous mothers may be more vulnerable to CO than primiparous mothers. Parity may be the modifier of the association between pollutants and the risk of LBW.
Mortality from Suicide, Chronic Liver Disease, and Drug Poisonings among Middle-Aged U.S. White Men and Women, 1980-2013.
Masters RK, Tilstra AM, Simon DH
Biodemography Soc Biol · 2017 · PMID 28287304 · Full text
Recent increases in all-cause mortality rates among the middle-aged U.S. white population have been explained in terms of elevated levels of midlife distress. This brief report provides evidence against this explanation...
Recent increases in all-cause mortality rates among the middle-aged U.S. white population have been explained in terms of elevated levels of midlife distress. This brief report provides evidence against this explanation for recent mortality trends among U.S. white men and women. Official mortality rates for U.S. white men and women aged 45-54 from suicide, chronic liver disease, drug poisonings, and other "extrinsic" causes of death (i.e., causes external to the body) between 1980 and 2013 are examined. Results suggest that recent increases in extrinsic mortality among the middle-aged U.S. white population are overwhelmingly driven by rapid increases in drug-related mortality. The contributions of chronic liver disease and suicide to U.S. white men's and women's mortality levels have been fairly stable for the past 30 years. Further, large gender differences in extrinsic mortality trends are observed. These two findings are inconsistent with the explanation that distress among the middle-aged U.S. white population is a common cause driving trends in U.S. white mortality.
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