Mukhtiar Hussain Ibupoto, Athar Ali Shah, Anqi Sang
Introduction
Increasing fertility has been the main challenge for Pakistan. It has been characterized as the sixth most populous country in the world, having a total population of 208 million, with a growth rate of 2.4% annually, by census report 2017. This study examines the relationship between women's education, employment status, and fertility outcomes in Pakistan.
Method
Utilizing the Demographic and Health Survey of 2017–2018, the study involves 1796 married women of reproductive age (15–49), belonging to polygynous families. Data are analyzed using multiple analytical techniques, including Chi-Square tests, negative binomial regression, and marginal plots.
Results
The results reveal that higher educational attainment is significantly associated with reduced fertility, with the decline being most pronounced at secondary and higher education levels. However, the interaction between education and employment status demonstrates that education alone is insufficient to lower fertility unless it translates into paid employment. Unemployed women consistently exhibit higher fertility, even among those with higher education, except at the secondary level.
{"title":"The Association Between Women's Education and Fertility, Moderating Effect of Unemployment in Context of Polygyny in Pakistan","authors":"Mukhtiar Hussain Ibupoto, Athar Ali Shah, Anqi Sang","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70023","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Introduction</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Increasing fertility has been the main challenge for Pakistan. It has been characterized as the sixth most populous country in the world, having a total population of 208 million, with a growth rate of 2.4% annually, by census report 2017. This study examines the relationship between women's education, employment status, and fertility outcomes in Pakistan.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Method</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Utilizing the Demographic and Health Survey of 2017–2018, the study involves 1796 married women of reproductive age (15–49), belonging to polygynous families. Data are analyzed using multiple analytical techniques, including Chi-Square tests, negative binomial regression, and marginal plots.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The results reveal that higher educational attainment is significantly associated with reduced fertility, with the decline being most pronounced at secondary and higher education levels. However, the interaction between education and employment status demonstrates that education alone is insufficient to lower fertility unless it translates into paid employment. Unemployed women consistently exhibit higher fertility, even among those with higher education, except at the secondary level.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143554402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
<p>In 2014 I published “Development and validation of assay protocols for use with dried blood spot samples” in the <i>American Journal of Human Biology</i> (McDade <span>2014</span>). It appeared as part of the <i>AJHB</i> “Toolkit: Methods in Human Biology” series, a newly established mechanism for maintaining a virtual methods handbook that tracks new research directions, and provides up-to-date protocols for important, long-standing methods (Ellison and McDade <span>2012</span>). I served as inaugural series editor, and took advantage of a lull in the Toolkit pipeline to contribute an article on the advantages and disadvantages of dried blood spot (DBS) sampling, and to share detailed “how-to” information that I hoped would encourage more colleagues to develop assays for use with DBS samples. With this commentary, I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on developments over the past 10 years, but I also aim to highlight the critical role that field-friendly methods like DBS sampling play in advancing a more holistic and contextualized understanding of human biology and health.</p><p>I am reminded how important this role is each time I teach my introductory undergraduate course on social inequalities and health. Before the first class I ask the students to complete an online survey with the following question: “There can be many causes of problems with a person's health. What do you think are the three most important things that determine someone's health?” I compile the responses into a word cloud to generate discussion on the first day. It probably will not come as a surprise that “genes” and “genetics,” as well as “lifestyle choices” like “diet,” “exercise,” and “smoking” feature prominently in the responses. I point out that the students are privileging individual-level determinants that are either inherited and fixed, or health-related behaviors that imply personal responsibility. But human biology is a contingent biology, and most students are surprised to learn that the broader social and physical worlds we inhabit have powerful effects on our bodies, and that they activate multiple molecular, physiological, behavioral, and neurological pathways to influence our health.</p><p>There are many historical, political-economic, and cultural reasons why we—particularly in the United States—favor explanatory models of health that focus on individual action and responsibility (Lewontin and Levins <span>2007</span>). There are epistemological ones as well, drawing on and reinforcing assumptions regarding appropriate study designs and measurement protocols for the production of knowledge about the causes of health and disease. Simply put, methods play a critical role in defining how we study and conceptualize human health. And if we only measure health-related systems in experimental animal models or in clinical settings attached to academic medical complexes, we will have a very narrow and de-contextualized perspective on the human body and
{"title":"Doing More With Less: Advancing a Contextualized Understanding of Human Biology With Minimally-Invasive Approaches to Capillary Blood Sampling","authors":"Thomas W. McDade","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70019","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In 2014 I published “Development and validation of assay protocols for use with dried blood spot samples” in the <i>American Journal of Human Biology</i> (McDade <span>2014</span>). It appeared as part of the <i>AJHB</i> “Toolkit: Methods in Human Biology” series, a newly established mechanism for maintaining a virtual methods handbook that tracks new research directions, and provides up-to-date protocols for important, long-standing methods (Ellison and McDade <span>2012</span>). I served as inaugural series editor, and took advantage of a lull in the Toolkit pipeline to contribute an article on the advantages and disadvantages of dried blood spot (DBS) sampling, and to share detailed “how-to” information that I hoped would encourage more colleagues to develop assays for use with DBS samples. With this commentary, I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on developments over the past 10 years, but I also aim to highlight the critical role that field-friendly methods like DBS sampling play in advancing a more holistic and contextualized understanding of human biology and health.</p><p>I am reminded how important this role is each time I teach my introductory undergraduate course on social inequalities and health. Before the first class I ask the students to complete an online survey with the following question: “There can be many causes of problems with a person's health. What do you think are the three most important things that determine someone's health?” I compile the responses into a word cloud to generate discussion on the first day. It probably will not come as a surprise that “genes” and “genetics,” as well as “lifestyle choices” like “diet,” “exercise,” and “smoking” feature prominently in the responses. I point out that the students are privileging individual-level determinants that are either inherited and fixed, or health-related behaviors that imply personal responsibility. But human biology is a contingent biology, and most students are surprised to learn that the broader social and physical worlds we inhabit have powerful effects on our bodies, and that they activate multiple molecular, physiological, behavioral, and neurological pathways to influence our health.</p><p>There are many historical, political-economic, and cultural reasons why we—particularly in the United States—favor explanatory models of health that focus on individual action and responsibility (Lewontin and Levins <span>2007</span>). There are epistemological ones as well, drawing on and reinforcing assumptions regarding appropriate study designs and measurement protocols for the production of knowledge about the causes of health and disease. Simply put, methods play a critical role in defining how we study and conceptualize human health. And if we only measure health-related systems in experimental animal models or in clinical settings attached to academic medical complexes, we will have a very narrow and de-contextualized perspective on the human body and ","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143554400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Despite growing evidence linking adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with physical health conditions such as obesity and hypertension, research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including India, remains limited. This study aims to examine the relationship between ACE exposure and the risk of overweight/obesity and hypertension among young adults in Delhi-NCR, India.
Methods
The present cross-sectional study involved 1702 young adults of both sexes. Participants were recruited from two universities in Delhi–NCR, India. ACEs were measured using the ACE-International questionnaire (ACE-IQ), while anthropometric (weight, height, waist circumference, and hip circumference) and blood pressure parameters were assessed using standard protocols.
Results
The prevalence of overweight/obesity increased with higher ACE categories, from 38% among participants with no ACEs to 49.7% among those with ≥ 4 ACEs (p = 0.006). Linear regression showed a significant positive association between ACE scores and BMI (β = 0.182, p = 0.004), waist circumference (WC; β = 0.351, p = 0.022), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR; β = 0.002, p = 0.026). Odds ratio analysis revealed that participants with 3 or more ACEs had increased odds of being overweight/obese compared to unexposed individuals. No consistent associations were found between ACE exposure and blood pressure parameters. Among specific ACE domains, household mental illness was associated with higher odds of both general and central obesity, and bullying showed the highest odds for overweight/obesity.
Conclusions
ACE-exposed young adults may be at a higher risk of overweight/obesity; however, the risk of hypertension may not be immediate. Early intervention may help offset the risk of obesity and related disorders among ACE-exposed youth.
{"title":"Adverse Childhood Experiences in Obesity and Hypertension Among Young Adults in Delhi-NCR, India","authors":"Vineet Chaudhary, Gagandeep Kaur Walia, Oishi Choudhury, Naorem Kiranmala Devi, Kallur Nava Saraswathy","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70016","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Despite growing evidence linking adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with physical health conditions such as obesity and hypertension, research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including India, remains limited. This study aims to examine the relationship between ACE exposure and the risk of overweight/obesity and hypertension among young adults in Delhi-NCR, India.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The present cross-sectional study involved 1702 young adults of both sexes. Participants were recruited from two universities in Delhi–NCR, India. ACEs were measured using the ACE-International questionnaire (ACE-IQ), while anthropometric (weight, height, waist circumference, and hip circumference) and blood pressure parameters were assessed using standard protocols.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The prevalence of overweight/obesity increased with higher ACE categories, from 38% among participants with no ACEs to 49.7% among those with ≥ 4 ACEs (<i>p</i> = 0.006). Linear regression showed a significant positive association between ACE scores and BMI (<i>β</i> = 0.182, <i>p</i> = 0.004), waist circumference (WC; <i>β</i> = 0.351, <i>p</i> = 0.022), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR; <i>β</i> = 0.002, <i>p</i> = 0.026). Odds ratio analysis revealed that participants with 3 or more ACEs had increased odds of being overweight/obese compared to unexposed individuals. No consistent associations were found between ACE exposure and blood pressure parameters. Among specific ACE domains, household mental illness was associated with higher odds of both general and central obesity, and bullying showed the highest odds for overweight/obesity.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>ACE-exposed young adults may be at a higher risk of overweight/obesity; however, the risk of hypertension may not be immediate. Early intervention may help offset the risk of obesity and related disorders among ACE-exposed youth.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143554401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
<p>We are honored to be among the “Invited Commentaries on Influential Papers” for the 50th Anniversary of the Human Biology Association. The <i>AJHB</i> Editor, Bill Leonard, wrote that “These contributions will span the broad scope of research encompassed by the field of human population biology, including theoretical advancements … evolutionary/adaptive dimensions of human biology … insights into human health disparities … and methodological innovations …” (Leonard <span>2024</span>). Bill placed our article (Bogin and Smith <span>1996</span>) in the “evolutionary/adaptive” category. Human growth, as studied and taught in the 1970s and 80s, was not a particularly evolutionary field. Existing textbooks were written by physicians, with the medical student in mind or as a practical guide for parents. At the University of Michigan Center for Human Growth and Development (CHGD), where Bill and Holly studied and crossed paths with Barry at lectures, emphasis was placed on human variation, plasticity and health disparities. In paleontology, growth and development was seen through the 19th century lens of “heterochrony” as resurrected by Gould (<span>1977</span>), with its subset of hypothetical processes by which morphology and size might evolve. Neither of those paths lead toward a model of when and what shaped the human life cycle.</p><p>By the early 1990s, however, decades of work on <i>Pan troglodytes</i> growth and development (Krogman <span>1930</span>; Schultz <span>1940</span>, <span>1960</span>; Gavan <span>1953</span>; Nissen and Riesen <span>1964</span>) and ethology (see Goodall <span>1986</span>) had described ways in which chimpanzees resembled humans (e.g., tool use, group hunting, sharing meat, strong mother-infant bonds, male–male affiliations) and the ways they did not (e.g., extremely prolonged nursing, dental and skeletal maturation almost twice as fast as humans, lack of an adolescent growth spurt). In addition, the anthropology of human societies had been enriched by a new human ecology that had an eye to growth, work, demography, and energy production and consumption by age, sex, and gender (Draper <span>1976</span>; Howell <span>1979</span>; Lee <span>1979</span>; Leonard <span>1994</span>; Hill and Hurtado <span>1996</span>). An evolutionary paradigm coming from comparative biology and the relatively new discipline of ‘life history,’ which studied how organisms evolved to allocate time and energy to growth, maintenance and reproduction, was bringing breadth and rigor into interpretations of life cycle and behavior (Stearns <span>1992</span>; Charnov <span>1993</span>).</p><p>Our pre-1996 independent research formed the basis of our working together. Barry started toward research in biological development and evolution in 1969 via a job in the lab of Richard L. Miller, a developmental biologist who was the first to discover fertilization by sperm chemotaxis in an animal (Miller <span>1966</span>). It was Barry's junior year at
{"title":"Evolution of the Human Life Cycle, Revisited","authors":"Barry Bogin, B. Holly Smith","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70018","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We are honored to be among the “Invited Commentaries on Influential Papers” for the 50th Anniversary of the Human Biology Association. The <i>AJHB</i> Editor, Bill Leonard, wrote that “These contributions will span the broad scope of research encompassed by the field of human population biology, including theoretical advancements … evolutionary/adaptive dimensions of human biology … insights into human health disparities … and methodological innovations …” (Leonard <span>2024</span>). Bill placed our article (Bogin and Smith <span>1996</span>) in the “evolutionary/adaptive” category. Human growth, as studied and taught in the 1970s and 80s, was not a particularly evolutionary field. Existing textbooks were written by physicians, with the medical student in mind or as a practical guide for parents. At the University of Michigan Center for Human Growth and Development (CHGD), where Bill and Holly studied and crossed paths with Barry at lectures, emphasis was placed on human variation, plasticity and health disparities. In paleontology, growth and development was seen through the 19th century lens of “heterochrony” as resurrected by Gould (<span>1977</span>), with its subset of hypothetical processes by which morphology and size might evolve. Neither of those paths lead toward a model of when and what shaped the human life cycle.</p><p>By the early 1990s, however, decades of work on <i>Pan troglodytes</i> growth and development (Krogman <span>1930</span>; Schultz <span>1940</span>, <span>1960</span>; Gavan <span>1953</span>; Nissen and Riesen <span>1964</span>) and ethology (see Goodall <span>1986</span>) had described ways in which chimpanzees resembled humans (e.g., tool use, group hunting, sharing meat, strong mother-infant bonds, male–male affiliations) and the ways they did not (e.g., extremely prolonged nursing, dental and skeletal maturation almost twice as fast as humans, lack of an adolescent growth spurt). In addition, the anthropology of human societies had been enriched by a new human ecology that had an eye to growth, work, demography, and energy production and consumption by age, sex, and gender (Draper <span>1976</span>; Howell <span>1979</span>; Lee <span>1979</span>; Leonard <span>1994</span>; Hill and Hurtado <span>1996</span>). An evolutionary paradigm coming from comparative biology and the relatively new discipline of ‘life history,’ which studied how organisms evolved to allocate time and energy to growth, maintenance and reproduction, was bringing breadth and rigor into interpretations of life cycle and behavior (Stearns <span>1992</span>; Charnov <span>1993</span>).</p><p>Our pre-1996 independent research formed the basis of our working together. Barry started toward research in biological development and evolution in 1969 via a job in the lab of Richard L. Miller, a developmental biologist who was the first to discover fertilization by sperm chemotaxis in an animal (Miller <span>1966</span>). It was Barry's junior year at","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143554592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Molly M. Fox, Adiba Hassan, Kyle S. Wiley, Dayoon Kwon, Delaney A. Knorr
Objectives
Previous studies found that children with siblings, farm residence, and other proxies of greater microbial contacts had lower rates of hyper-responsive immune disorders. Yet, scientific debate persists regarding whether the human immune system is educated in early life primarily as a function of pathogenic or benign microbial exposures, or both. Furthermore, pregnancy relies on women's intrinsic immunosuppressive function, yet it remained unknown how immunoregulation in pregnant women relates to early-life microbial exposures. Here, we conduct a preliminary examination of whether childhood microbial exposures prime women's pregnancy-related immunoregulatory capacity.
Methods
We administered retrospective questionnaires to estimate 55 pregnant women's early-life exposure to pathogenic (e.g., illness) and benign (e.g., pets; rural residence) microbes. Tolerogenic regulatory T-cells (Tregs) and Treg subtypes were measured by flow cytometry from peripheral blood.
Results
Results show that proxies for both pathogenic and benign exposures were positively associated with Treg concentrations.
Conclusions
These findings offer insights that may help elucidate the relative contributions of early-life pathogenic (“hygiene hypothesis”) and benign (“old friends hypothesis”) microbial exposures toward the expansion of the Treg compartment. Human evolutionary history is characterized by changing microbial exposures as human residency patterns, living environments, and subsistence strategies changed. In this context, our findings suggest the possibility of less gestational pathology in human evolutionary past conditions typified by richer diversity of microbial exposure.
{"title":"Regulatory T-Cells During Pregnancy Relate to Women's Own Childhood History of Microbial Exposure","authors":"Molly M. Fox, Adiba Hassan, Kyle S. Wiley, Dayoon Kwon, Delaney A. Knorr","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70013","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Previous studies found that children with siblings, farm residence, and other proxies of greater microbial contacts had lower rates of hyper-responsive immune disorders. Yet, scientific debate persists regarding whether the human immune system is educated in early life primarily as a function of pathogenic or benign microbial exposures, or both. Furthermore, pregnancy relies on women's intrinsic immunosuppressive function, yet it remained unknown how immunoregulation in pregnant women relates to early-life microbial exposures. Here, we conduct a preliminary examination of whether childhood microbial exposures prime women's pregnancy-related immunoregulatory capacity.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We administered retrospective questionnaires to estimate 55 pregnant women's early-life exposure to pathogenic (e.g., illness) and benign (e.g., pets; rural residence) microbes. Tolerogenic regulatory T-cells (Tregs) and Treg subtypes were measured by flow cytometry from peripheral blood.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Results show that proxies for both pathogenic and benign exposures were positively associated with Treg concentrations.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>These findings offer insights that may help elucidate the relative contributions of early-life pathogenic (“hygiene hypothesis”) and benign (“old friends hypothesis”) microbial exposures toward the expansion of the Treg compartment. Human evolutionary history is characterized by changing microbial exposures as human residency patterns, living environments, and subsistence strategies changed. In this context, our findings suggest the possibility of less gestational pathology in human evolutionary past conditions typified by richer diversity of microbial exposure.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143521998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sharon N. DeWitte, Eric E. Jones, Catherine Livingston
Objectives
A number of studies have examined changes in mortality and health during industrialization in both the United States and Western Europe; however, most of this work has focused on urban communities. Despite theories regarding differences between rural and urban patterns of mortality at this time, few analyses of data from rural communities have been done. Our goal is to examine trends in mortality, c. 1850–1880, for a rural county in central New York State at a time when farming, the economic base of this county, was becoming commercialized and industrialization was impacting the wider region.
Materials and Methods
Using census mortality records from Madison County, NY (1850–1880), we examine trends in hazards of death, survivorship, and cause of death. In order to contribute a rural perspective to this area of study, we examine trends from the mortality records at several scales: town-specific, groups of towns based on population density, and the county as a whole.
Results
Our results suggest that the hazards of death decreased and survivorship increased at the county level across this 30-year period. In general, the rates of communicable diseases decreased and the rates of non-communicable diseases increased. Individual towns had variable outcomes, and higher population density towns had better apparent outcomes than those with medium and lower densities.
Conclusions
Overall, mortality patterns changed noticeably during this period. These changes were likely at least partially a result of changing economic conditions, but may also have been affected by socio-spatial factors and access to healthcare, both of which continue to impact rural communities today.
{"title":"Health and Mortality in the 19th-Century Rural United States: The Second Epidemiological Transition in Madison County, New York","authors":"Sharon N. DeWitte, Eric E. Jones, Catherine Livingston","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70017","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A number of studies have examined changes in mortality and health during industrialization in both the United States and Western Europe; however, most of this work has focused on urban communities. Despite theories regarding differences between rural and urban patterns of mortality at this time, few analyses of data from rural communities have been done. Our goal is to examine trends in mortality, <i>c</i>. 1850–1880, for a rural county in central New York State at a time when farming, the economic base of this county, was becoming commercialized and industrialization was impacting the wider region.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Using census mortality records from Madison County, NY (1850–1880), we examine trends in hazards of death, survivorship, and cause of death. In order to contribute a rural perspective to this area of study, we examine trends from the mortality records at several scales: town-specific, groups of towns based on population density, and the county as a whole.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Our results suggest that the hazards of death decreased and survivorship increased at the county level across this 30-year period. In general, the rates of communicable diseases decreased and the rates of non-communicable diseases increased. Individual towns had variable outcomes, and higher population density towns had better apparent outcomes than those with medium and lower densities.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Overall, mortality patterns changed noticeably during this period. These changes were likely at least partially a result of changing economic conditions, but may also have been affected by socio-spatial factors and access to healthcare, both of which continue to impact rural communities today.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70017","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143522026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Relethford, J. H.Population History and Anthropometric Variation of West Coast Irish Islands. American Journal of Human Biology2025; 37:e24177.
FIGURE 3 | Principal coordinates plot of Mahalanobis D2 between the means of the six Irish populations and England. Each axis has been scaled by the square root of its corresponding eigenvalue following Harpending and Jenkins (1973) to show the proportional contribution of each axis. The two axes account for 79% of the total variation (axis I=53%, axis II=26%).
I apologize for this error.
{"title":"Correction to “Population History and Anthropometric Variation of West Coast Irish Islands”","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p>\u0000 <span>Relethford, J. H.</span> <span>Population History and Anthropometric Variation of West Coast Irish Islands</span>. <i>American Journal of Human Biology</i> <span>2025</span>; <span>37</span>:e24177.\u0000 </p><p>FIGURE 3 | Principal coordinates plot of Mahalanobis <i>D</i><sup>2</sup> between the means of the six Irish populations and England. Each axis has been scaled by the square root of its corresponding eigenvalue following Harpending and Jenkins (1973) to show the proportional contribution of each axis. The two axes account for 79% of the total variation (axis I=53%, axis II=26%).</p><p>I apologize for this error.</p>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70014","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143489823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sexual selection via contest competition has equipped countless organisms with weaponry in their appendages to overpower their opponents. Here, we tested (1) whether greater upper limb length—measured as span controlling for biacromial width—confers an advantage in contest competition among adult humans, (2) several possible means by which upper limb length might increase success in intrasexual contest competition, and (3) whether, consistent with male–male contest competition creating stronger selection pressures than female–female contest competition, male Homo sapiens have greater upper limb length.
Methods
We collected fight statistics and facial and body photographs from professional combatants (N = 715) in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC; Study 1). Sexual dimorphism in upper limb length was then examined via diverse and demographically representative samples from four studies (total N = 6915), from Croatian adolescents and older Singaporean adults to United States Army personnel born across all major world regions (Studies 2a–2d).
Results
First, we found that greater upper limb length is associated with increased success in intrasexual contest competition, an effect driven by both the capacity to grapple opponents to submission and to knock opponents unconscious (Study 1). Second, we found unequivocal, cross-cultural evidence of unique sexual dimorphism in upper limb length after controlling for allometry: across four studies, men exhibited longer upper limbs than women (Studies 2a–2d).
Conclusion
Upper limb length may have been shaped by intrasexual selection, with implications across the biological, anthropological, and psychological sciences.
{"title":"Intrasexual Selection for Upper Limb Length in Homo sapiens","authors":"Neil R. Caton, David M. G. Lewis","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70010","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Sexual selection via contest competition has equipped countless organisms with weaponry in their <i>appendages</i> to overpower their opponents. Here, we tested (1) whether greater upper limb length—measured as span controlling for biacromial width—confers an advantage in contest competition among adult humans, (2) several possible means by which upper limb length might increase success in intrasexual contest competition, and (3) whether, consistent with male–male contest competition creating stronger selection pressures than female–female contest competition, male <i>Homo sapiens</i> have greater upper limb length.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We collected fight statistics and facial and body photographs from professional combatants (<i>N</i> = 715) in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC; Study 1). Sexual dimorphism in upper limb length was then examined via diverse and demographically representative samples from four studies (total <i>N</i> = 6915), from Croatian adolescents and older Singaporean adults to United States Army personnel born across all major world regions (Studies 2a–2d).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>First, we found that greater upper limb length is associated with increased success in intrasexual contest competition, an effect driven by both the capacity to grapple opponents to submission and to knock opponents unconscious (Study 1). Second, we found unequivocal, cross-cultural evidence of unique sexual dimorphism in upper limb length <i>after controlling for allometry</i>: across four studies, men exhibited longer upper limbs than women (Studies 2a–2d).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Upper limb length may have been shaped by intrasexual selection, with implications across the biological, anthropological, and psychological sciences.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajhb.70010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143438812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Madeleine J. Getz, Alicia M. DeLouize, Felicia C. Madimenos, Glorieuse Uwizeye, Zaneta M. Thayer, Luseadra J. McKerracher, Alejandra Núñez-de la Mora, J. Josh Snodgrass
Global health projects—a source of inspiration and collaboration for applied human biology—benefit scholars, governments, NGOs, and aid organizations. While such research is intended to improve population health, direct benefits to individuals and communities are often excluded from published works and/or not considered in study designs and framing. This exclusion is increasingly recognized as a colonial legacy that hinders global health equity, particularly for Indigenous and other marginalized populations. Collaboration and community engagement are avenues for addressing these injustices, but they require planning, intention, and resources. Drawing on our collective experience and ongoing dialogues about community engagement in human biology, we propose six recommendations to increase equity in global health research. These include: (1) Incorporating trusted local specialists and stakeholders at all project levels; (2) disseminating health information to participants in strengths-based and culturally meaningful ways and contributing to solutions wherever possible; (3) investing in local healthcare, research, and infrastructure; (4) making study results/data available to stakeholders; (5) working within data frameworks that respect community sovereignty; and, (6) applying culturally informed bioethics frameworks. Our discussion highlights persistent needs to address community rights and benefits and to dismantle colonial legacies within global health and human biology while recognizing structural barriers to implementing these needed changes, particularly within the context of global health projects wherein human biologists are not the main power brokers or resource holders. When interfacing with global health, human biologists must continue to pursue health equity and decolonization through implementing critical, culturally informed bioethics frameworks centering community engagement.
{"title":"Bioethics Recommendations to Increase Culturally Informed Global Health Survey Research: A Framework for Centering Community Engagement","authors":"Madeleine J. Getz, Alicia M. DeLouize, Felicia C. Madimenos, Glorieuse Uwizeye, Zaneta M. Thayer, Luseadra J. McKerracher, Alejandra Núñez-de la Mora, J. Josh Snodgrass","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70011","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Global health projects—a source of inspiration and collaboration for applied human biology—benefit scholars, governments, NGOs, and aid organizations. While such research is intended to improve population health, direct benefits to individuals and communities are often excluded from published works and/or not considered in study designs and framing. This exclusion is increasingly recognized as a colonial legacy that hinders global health equity, particularly for Indigenous and other marginalized populations. Collaboration and community engagement are avenues for addressing these injustices, but they require planning, intention, and resources. Drawing on our collective experience and ongoing dialogues about community engagement in human biology, we propose six recommendations to increase equity in global health research. These include: (1) Incorporating trusted local specialists and stakeholders at all project levels; (2) disseminating health information to participants in strengths-based and culturally meaningful ways and contributing to solutions wherever possible; (3) investing in local healthcare, research, and infrastructure; (4) making study results/data available to stakeholders; (5) working within data frameworks that respect community sovereignty; and, (6) applying culturally informed bioethics frameworks. Our discussion highlights persistent needs to address community rights and benefits and to dismantle colonial legacies within global health and human biology while recognizing structural barriers to implementing these needed changes, particularly within the context of global health projects wherein human biologists are not the main power brokers or resource holders. When interfacing with global health, human biologists must continue to pursue health equity and decolonization through implementing critical, culturally informed bioethics frameworks centering community engagement.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143431452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mukhtiar Hussain Ibupoto, Athar Ali Shah, Anqi Sang
Background
Differential sex child mortality is an important indicator of gender-based discrimination. Decentralization refers to the distribution of power from the federal to the provincial governments in Pakistan. Present research highlights the sex differential sex trends in infant, neonatal, and child mortality before and after decentralization.
Methodology
The research utilizes the four waves of the Demographic and Health Survey from 1990 to 2018, applying Cox proportional regression in STATA. The sample size includes 164 005 total live births and 24 089 deaths across all years, with 8204 neonatal, 5107 infants, and 11 778 child deaths.
Results
This study provides crucial insights into the gendered patterns of neonatal, infant, and child mortality in Pakistan before and after key policy reforms. This study reveals persistent gender disparities in neonatal, infant, and child mortality in Pakistan before and after policy reforms. While girls initially had a biological survival advantage, this diminished at higher birth orders, where they faced increased mortality risks. Despite some improvements post-reform, gender-based discrimination and son preference continue to disadvantage female children, particularly in larger families.
Conclusion
The findings highlight the need for targeted policies to address healthcare inequities and discriminatory practices. Strengthening gender-sensitive interventions is crucial to improving female child survival and achieving long-term progress in reducing mortality disparities.
{"title":"Differential Sex Trends in Infant, Neonatal, and Child Mortality Before and After Decentralization in Pakistan","authors":"Mukhtiar Hussain Ibupoto, Athar Ali Shah, Anqi Sang","doi":"10.1002/ajhb.70012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70012","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Differential sex child mortality is an important indicator of gender-based discrimination. Decentralization refers to the distribution of power from the federal to the provincial governments in Pakistan. Present research highlights the sex differential sex trends in infant, neonatal, and child mortality before and after decentralization.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methodology</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The research utilizes the four waves of the Demographic and Health Survey from 1990 to 2018, applying Cox proportional regression in STATA. The sample size includes 164 005 total live births and 24 089 deaths across all years, with 8204 neonatal, 5107 infants, and 11 778 child deaths.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study provides crucial insights into the gendered patterns of neonatal, infant, and child mortality in Pakistan before and after key policy reforms. This study reveals persistent gender disparities in neonatal, infant, and child mortality in Pakistan before and after policy reforms. While girls initially had a biological survival advantage, this diminished at higher birth orders, where they faced increased mortality risks. Despite some improvements post-reform, gender-based discrimination and son preference continue to disadvantage female children, particularly in larger families.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The findings highlight the need for targeted policies to address healthcare inequities and discriminatory practices. Strengthening gender-sensitive interventions is crucial to improving female child survival and achieving long-term progress in reducing mortality disparities.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":50809,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Human Biology","volume":"37 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143431453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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