Journal of Biosocial Science最新文献

The decline in fertility, rapid urbanization and the increase in women's education levels in Turkey are simultaneous transformations. The coexistence and interaction of these transformations is the focal point for the interpretation of fertility trajectories in Turkey. This article explores Turkey's heterogeneous fertility structure by examining the fertility trajectories of women between 1949 and 1978 cohorts. It also examines changes in these trajectories in light of Turkey's fertility decline and interprets those changes through comparisons of women whose fertility behaviors are similar. Using three waves (1998, 2008 and 2018) of the Turkey Demographic and Health Survey data, we employed sequence analysis to calculate fertility trajectories and form clusters from these trajectories. The background similarities of women in the same fertility clusters were investigated with distance analysis, and we calculated predicted probabilities from multinomial logistic regression results and predicted cluster membership. The heterogeneous nature of fertility in Turkey during the demographic transition period shaped the transition process and it can be predicted that such heterogeneity will shape post-transition fertility. The behavior of having two children became the norm during this period, and greater spacing between births or even stopping after the first child became a preferred option among educated women who grew up in cities. For women who grew up in rural areas and uneducated women, we observed a transition from higher parities to three-norm.

Short Birth Interval (SBI) is one of the main causes of adverse maternal and child health outcomes. A 33-month birth-to-birth interval between two successive live births should be followed to minimize the risk of adverse maternal and child health. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of SBI and the associated factors in rural India. Information on 98,522 rural mothers from the fourth round of National Family Health Survey data was analyzed. Bivariate statistics, logistic regression, Moran's I, and Cluster and Outlier Analysis have been used to assess the prevalence and spatial pattern of SBI in rural India. Results revealed that about half of the mothers in rural India had experienced SBI. Rural Indian mothers whose child was not alive (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.63-1.90), were not using any contraceptive methods (OR = 1.42, 95 % CI = 1.37-1.48) and not breastfeeding (OR = 2.73, 95% CI = 2.50-2.97) were more likely to experience SBI. On the other hand, rural mothers from the middle, richer and richest wealth quintiles (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.86-0.97; OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.80-0.92; OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.55-0.66) and of age over 30 years (OR = 0.38., 95% CI = 0.36-0.39) were less likely to experience SBI. Analysis of spatial patterns revealed clear east-west differences in the prevalence of SBI. There was strong clustering of high values of SBI in most districts across the central, northern, western, and southern regions. The study suggests the need to introduce appropriate interventions and programs focused on reducing the prevalence of SBI in rural India.

Substantial intergenerational transmission of diabetes mellitus (DM) risk exists. However, less is known regarding whether parental DM and DM among extended family members relate to adult offspring's body mass index (BMI), and whether any of these associations vary by sex. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 cohort (NLSY97), we assess the sex-specific relationship between DM present in first-degree parents and second-degree relatives and BMI among the parents' young adult offspring.Multivariate regressions reveal a positive relationship between parental DM and young adults' BMI for both daughters and sons, and the magnitude of coefficients is somewhat larger for the same-sex parent. Further, we observe that the link between parental DM and young adults' BMI is strongest when both parents have diagnosed diabetes. In contrast, the relationship between second-degree relatives with DM and the respondent's BMI is weaker and appears to be sex-specific, through same-sex parent and respondent. Logistic regressions show the association is especially strong when assessing how parental DM status relates to young adults' obesity risk. These results generally persist when controlling for parental BMI. The findings of this study point to the need to better distinguish the role of shared family environments (e.g., eating and physical activity patterns) from shared genes in order to understand factors that may influence young adults' BMI. Young adult offspring of parents with diabetes should be targeted for obesity prevention efforts in order to reduce their risks of obesity and perhaps diabetes.

Induced abortion is closely associated with maternal morbidity, mortality, and reproductive rights of women and thus continues to draw research interest. This study assesses the reasons for abortion and their predictors using India's National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) data. The sample of women aged 15-49 who had terminated their last pregnancy by induced abortion in the five years preceding the survey (n=5835) was considered for analysis. Multinomial logistic regression was used to check the adjusted effects of the socioeconomic predictors on the reasons for abortion. Stata (v16.0) was used for the data analysis. Women were more likely to abort their pregnancy at home/other than in the public health sector if unintended pregnancies (RR: 2.79; CI: 2.15-3.61) and sex-selective abortions (RR: 2.43; CI: 1.67-3.55) rather than life risk. The study found unintended pregnancy as the primary contributor to induced abortion. However, some women undergo the procedure due to medical reasons and the undesired gender of the unborn child. Unintended pregnancies that end in abortion are strongly correlated with gestational age, method of abortion, place of abortion, number of surviving children, religion, place of residence, and region. Again, there is a strong association between the sex-selective reason for abortion and the gestational age, method of abortion, place of abortion, number of surviving children, proper knowledge of the ovulatory cycle, religion, wealth quintile, and region. Women had abortions mainly due to unintended pregnancies, and there was socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic variation in the reasons for abortion in India. Sex-selective abortions continue to exist, especially among women of higher parity, poorest households and from the central, eastern, and north-eastern regions. The key to reducing unintended pregnancies and abortions is raising the understanding of contraception and empowering women in reproductive decisions. Reducing unintended pregnancies will contribute to lower induced abortion and thus improve women's health.

The aim of this study was to assess the changes in the prevalence of overweight, obesity and high adiposity in children and adolescents from Krakow (Poland), between the years 2010 and 2020. Two cross-sectional series of anthropometric measurements were carried out in 2010 and 2020. Analysed characteristics included: body height and weight, BMI (Body Mass Index), body adiposity (%BF). The subjects were categorised according to their BMI (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obesity), as well as %BF (low, normal, high body fat).The research was conducted in randomly selected primary schools in Krakow (Poland). Studied cohorts (8-15 years of age), which represented four of the traditional residential districts: Śródmieście, Podgórze, Krowodrza and Nowa Huta. Among the girls, there was a negative secular trend regarding the prevalence of underweight and obesity. On the other hand, there also was a positive trend concerning the prevalence of overweight and low and high body fat. In boys, there was a negative secular trend regarding the prevalence of underweight and low adiposity. There was also a generally positive secular trend regarding the prevalence of overweight, obesity as well as high adiposity in boys. The findings of this study are particularly significant because detailed knowledge of the prevalence of overweight/obesity in childhood and adolescence is crucial for the future health of entire populations. Further studies should also take into account the levels of physical fitness and activity of the examined population.

The role of household structure, especially the mother-in-law (MIL) influencing daughter-in-law's maternal health care (MHC) seeking behaviour, has been a continuing debate due to the former's advantageous position in the household. This study assesses the association of household structure and particularly the presence of MIL with MHC utilisation in India using the National Family Health Survey-4 data (2015-16). The sample of women aged 15-49 years who have given birth during the last five years preceding the survey (n=184,641) was considered for analysis. The outcome variables were full-antenatal care, institutional delivery, and postnatal care. Binary logistic regression was used to check the adjusted effects of the household structure on MHC utilisation. The analyses were done with STATA (version 13) with a significance level of 5%. Adjusting the effects of socio-demographic and economic characteristics, women from non-nuclear households with MIL had higher odds of full-antenatal care (OR= 1.04, CI= 0.99-1.08) and institutional delivery (OR=1.05, CI=1.01- 1.10) than their counterparts from nuclear households. Women from non-nuclear households without MIL had lower chances of postnatal care (OR=0.98, CI=0.96-1.00) than those from nuclear households. The study unearths a very weak association between the presence of MIL in the household and MHC services utilisation of the daughter-in-law, a notable change from the earlier literature often portraying MIL as a barrier.

The prevalence of anaemia and its continuous growth, especially among women, is a global health concern. The present study aims to examine the prevalence of anaemia and its determinants in the North Eastern region of India. The study used secondary data from the National Family Health Survey 2015-2016 on women of reproductive age group in India. The data were adjusted for sampling weight, stratification and cluster sampling design for analysis. Binary logistic regression and multivariable regression analysis were performed to determine factors associated with anaemia. Of the 65941 participants, 25993 (40%) had anaemia. High prevalence of mild or moderate anaemia was found among women with following socio-demographic characteristics: residing in the rural area (41.20%), having no education (43.07%), belonging to the low-income family (43.39%), having a well as source of drinking water (46.29%), using the traditional method of contraception (44.55%), underweight (42.18%) and those who had first delivery before 20 years of age (40.66%). Logistic regression (adjusted odds ratio) showed that women in the following categories were more likely to develop anaemia: in the age-group of 35-49 years, with no education, with poor wealth, having low nutrition levels; using traditional contraception and women who ate pulses or fish once a week. Alarming rates of anaemia (two in every five), found in the study, need effective strategies for fortification of iron supplement among women. Generation of mass awareness in this regard by utilizing the ongoing adolescent, maternal, child health and nutrition programmes will help in reducing the incidence of anaemia among women.

The study primarily focuses on analyzing married women's attitudes towards negotiating safer sex in two contexts. The first context is when a woman refuses to have sex with husband if she knows her husband has a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the second is when she does so if she knows he has sex with other women. The study examined predictors of Indian women's attitude towards negotiating safer-sex using data on 92,306 ever married women from the state module of the 2015-16, National Family Health Survey 4. Descriptive and multilevel logistic regression was used to understand the interplay between the attitude towards negotiation of safer sexual relationships with husband and the selected background characteristics with a primary focus on controlling behaviour and power relations. About 17% of women did not believe in negotiating safer sexual relations with the husband. An approximately equal proportion of ever-married women (79% each) believed in doing so under the two specific conditions, that is, if they knew the husband had an STD and they knew he had sex with other women. Multilevel regression analysis showed that women who had household decision-making power [AOR=0.71; p<0.01] and those whose husbands displayed low control towards them [AOR=0.91; p<0.05] were more likely to believe in negotiating safer-sex. Our findings suggest that women who have controlling partners or those who live under the umbrella of the husband's authority lack the power to negotiate for safer sex. Interventions promoting sexual well-being must deal with negative male perceptions and expectations that perpetuate unhealthy sexual habits and marriage ties.

People who are overweight and obese suffer from significant health impacts that have increased globally. Concurrently, usage of information and communication devices such as television and mobile phones have also been growing, affecting people's weight. This study examined the association between watching television and owning a mobile phone with overweight and obesity among reproductive-aged women in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). Data of 21 LLMICs reported between 2015 and 2020 were collected from the Demographic and Health Surveys. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine the association into three pooled segments: a group of 21 countries, the World Bank income classification and the regional categorisation of the countries. The all-inclusive prevalence of overweight or obesity was found at 27.1% among 175,370 reproductive-aged women, and this prevalence varied among countries. Overall, the odds of being overweight or obese were 1.20 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-1.24), 1.40 (AOR=1.40, 95% CI: 1.35-1.44) and 1.18 (AOR=1.18, 95% CI: 1.03-1.35) times higher among those who watched television less than once a week, at least once a week and almost every day, respectively, compared with those who did not watch television. Besides, women's mobile phone ownership is more likely to experience overweight or obesity (AOR=1.72, 95% CI: 1.67-1.77). Consistent results were found for the countries categorised according to the World Bank income and regional classification. Focus on sedentary behaviour, such as television watching and mobile phone use, of women and regional or country-specific innovative strategies and programs are of great immediate importance to decrease the prevalence of overweight and obesity.