Demographic and health patterns in a rural community from the Basque area in Spain (1800-1990)

In this work, the evolution of demographic and health patterns in a Basque rural population from Spain is analysed, as they relate to progress in demographic and epidemiological transition. For this purpose, parochial record data on 13,298 births and 9,215 deaths, registered during the 19th and 20th centuries (1800-1990), were examined. The study area is a rural community called Lanciego, which is located at the southern end of the Rioja Alavesa area (Alava Province, Basque Country). In Lanciego, demographic transition began in the final decade of the 19th century, when a definite, irreversible trend began towards a reduction in mortality. The decrease in the birth rate came later than that in the death rate, and did not start until the 1930s. The post-transitional stage seemed to be reached in the 1970s, when the birth and death rates showed values below 20 per 1,000. Other characteristics observed for the post-transitional stage in Lanciego are: (i) very low rates of infant mortality achieved at the expense of effective control of exogenous mortality; (ii) the mortality curve by ages changes from a U-shape (typical of populations with a high infant mortality rate and low life expectancy at birth) to a J-shape more characteristic of modern societies where longevity and life expectancy are considerably higher; (iii) a certain level of over-mortality among women in the senior age group (>65); and (iv) a significant proportion of mortality in recent times (1970-90) resulting from cardiovascular diseases and malignant neoplasms (post-transition causes). This last point is in contrast with observations from the first four decades of the 20th century, when infectious diseases and respiratory ailments were determining factors in mortality among this population. The data provided by the study of the variation over time in demographic and health patterns indicate that reducing the risk of mortality is one of the most important preconditions for fertility decline.     

Factors influencing prereproductive mortality in the isolated and preindustrial western Mediterranean population of La Alpujarra, 1900-1950

We study the effects of several variables on the prereproductive mortality pattern in the isolated and rural population of La Alpujarra, located on the western Mediterranean coast (southeast Spain), in the first half of the 20th century. The study is a retrospective analysis from a total sample of 2,200 deliveries, 2,085 of which were born alive and 171 of which did not survive to the 20th birthday. The potential influences of birthdate of children, twinning, firstborn, parental inbreeding, and sex on Alpujarran mortality were analyzed through logistic regression. Parity, family size, and birth interval effects were estimated through the difference between observed and expected mortality rates. In every case four age groups of mortality were considered because of the large influence of child growth: neonatal (less than 1 month of life), postneonatal infant (between 1 month and 1 year old), childhood (1-5 years old), and youth (5-20 years old). The Alpujarran prereproductive mortality pattern can be summarized as the result of three main risk factors: biodemographic, biomechanical, and social and health determinants. In general, every factor showed a decreased effect as children grew. The most significant determinants were birthdate of children, which is more related to increased mother's awareness of child care than to health improvement, and family size associated with decreasing alimentary resources as the sibling number increased. Male mortality was higher than female mortality in children older than 1 year but not for infant mortality, possibly as a result of a reproductive behavior favorable to males. Although firstborn status and twinning appeared associated with high mortality, maternal age and birth interval were related to low risk, but these influences always ceased after the first month of life. Parental inbreeding did not show any effect on infant, childhood, or youth mortality.     

Life expectancy of the 20th century Venda: A compilation of skeletal and cemetery data

Little information is available on the 20th century mortality rates of rural black South African groups, such as the Venda. The purpose of this study was to apply abridged life tables in order to estimate life expectancy from both skeletal remains and death registry information of modern South African communities. Comparisons were also made with prehistoric and contemporary groups as a means to better evaluate life expectancy for this time period. The sample consisted of 160 skeletons of known Venda origin and burial registry information for 1364 black South Africans from the Rebecca Street and Mamelodi Cemeteries in Pretoria, South Africa. Standard anthropological techniques were applied to determine sex and estimate age from the skeletal remains. The stationary and non-stationary life table models were used to analyse the data. A high rate of child mortality, low juvenile and adult mortality with a steady increase in mortality after the age of 30 years was observed for both the Venda and the cemetery samples. Throughout the 20th century, life expectancy was shown to increase for black South Africans. However, due to the widespread HIV infection/AIDS of the 21st century, infant and young adult mortality rates continue to rise at such a speed that the decline in mortality seen for South Africans in the last 50 years will most likely to be lost in the next decade due to this disease.     

“Can breast feeding help you in later life? Evidence from German military heights in the early 20th century”

Considerable literature exists on the benefits of breast feeding on the health and survival of infants and young children, but there is less on the effects on later life outcomes. One such measure of health and well-being that has received attention in the historical literature is terminal adult stature. Information on height is rather widely available; however, it is much more difficult to obtain data on breast feeding. One country that does have such information is Imperial Germany (1871-1919). A number of physicians and local health officials collected information on the incidence and duration of breast feeding early in the 20th century, particularly because of concern about the unusually high infant mortality rates in parts of Germany. Hallie Kintner has surveyed the published results of these studies. The information on the prevalence of breast feeding for the period 1903/10 has been inputed into a database of demographic and economic variables for the counties (Regierungsbezirke) of Germany (1850-1939). There are also published data on heights of military recruits from the Imperial German military forces in 1906. These can be linked to areas in the database and related to breast feeding practices and infant mortality both contemporaneously and approximately 20 years previous to 1906. Results indicate a significant effect of infant feeding practices on later life outcomes operating through infant health conditions, proxied by the infant mortality rate.     

Early life environment and adult height: The case of Chile

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between adult height and early-life disease environment, proxied by the infant mortality rate (IMR) in the first year of life, using cohort-region level data for Chile for 1960–1989. IMRs show a remarkable reduction of 100 points per thousand over this thirty-year period, declining from 119.4 to 21.0 per thousand. We also document a 0.96 cm increase in height per decade.We find that the drop in IMRs observed among our cohorts explains almost all of the long-term trend in rising adult heights, and that per capita GDP does not appear to have any predictive power in this context. Results are robust in a variety of specifications, which include area and cohort dummies, an adjustment for internal migration, and urbanization rates. Our results point to the long-term effect of a public health policy.     

Health transition: examples from the western Pacific.

The Industrial Revolution ushered in a rapid transition from agriculture to industrialization. Some biological effects of this transition included increasing life expectancy, reduced infant mortality, and some decline in fertility. Reduced infant mortality first brought about an increase in life expectancy, but as humans were able to control infectious diseases, child and adult mortality also decreased. Now, accidents and chronic diseases are responsible for most mortality in many age groups. This shift from infectious diseases to accidents and chronic diseases is called the health transition. Japan and US are Pacific Basin countries which have relatively high life expectancy and low infant mortality (1988, 75.54 years vs. 71.38 years, and 4.4 vs. 9.9, respectively). These figures suggest that these countries rather advanced in the health transition. Japan may have better life expectancy than the US because of the effect of environmental factors, ethnic diversity, and health care differentials by social class on cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality. China and Thailand hold intermediate positions (67.98 years (1985-1990) vs. 63.82 years (1985-1986), and 32.4 vs. 39, respectively). Some research indicates that urban conditions and factory work increase the cardiovascular disease risk among the Chinese. Recent research suggests that access to immunization and modern medical care for acute disease are the only critical variables of the health transition rather than other variables. Papua New Guinea is not progressing very well (53.18 years and 58). Papua New Guinea has not yet been able to control infectious diseases, especially malaria. This comparison illustrates that populations progress through the health transition at different rates.     

The biological standard of living (and its convergence) in Colombia, 1870–2003: A tropical success story

During the 20th century, the evolution of the biological standard of living in Colombia was a tropical success story from the point of view of the secular increase in height as well as the reduction of inequality. During the period 1905-1985 the average height of females and males increased by nearly 9 cm on the basis of 9 million records examined from National Identification Cards. We also study the evolution of height of Colombians on the basis of passport records. The elite group of passport holders was much taller than average, and remained stable for the birth cohorts of 1870-1919. In the early 20th century the height of passport recipients was 168.7 cm (men) and 158 cm (women) compared with 162 cm and 150 cm for heights in the national ID cards. The results also show that Colombians experienced significant regional and intrapersonal convergence in height.     

Inferring the economic standard of living and health from cohort height: Evidence from modern populations in developing countries

Average adult height is a physical measure of the biological standard of living of a population. While the biological and economic standards of living of a population are very different concepts, they are linked and may empirically move together. If this is so, then cohort heights can also be used to make inferences about the economic standard of living and health of a population when other data are not available. We investigate how informative this approach is in terms of inferring income, nutrition, and mortality using data on heights from developing countries over the last 50 years for female cohorts born 1951–1992. We find no evidence that the absolute differences in adult height across countries are associated with different economic living standards. Within countries, however, faster increases in adult cohort height over time are associated with more rapid growth of GDP per capita, life expectancy, and nutritional intake. Using our instrumental variable approach, each centimeter gain in height is associated with a 6% increase in income per capita, a reduction in infant mortality of 7 per thousand (or an 1.25 year increase in life expectancy), and an increase in nutrition of 64 calories and 2 grams of protein per person per day relative to the global trend. We find that increases in cohort height can predict increases in income even for countries not used in the estimation of the relationship. This suggests our approach has predictive power out of sample for countries where we lack income and health data.     

Estimation of secular trends in adult height, and childhood socioeconomic circumstances in three Eastern European populations

The objective of these analyses was to estimate the strength and direction of secular trends in adult height and childhood socioeconomic circumstances in eight towns in three Eastern European countries in the mid-20th century, and to assess the extent to which childhood conditions might explain the height differences. We used cross-sectional data from the baseline survey of the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) study, conducted in 2002-2005. The study examined 24,012 men and women born between 1933 and 1957, randomly selected from the general populations of Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland) and six towns of the Czech Republic. To allow for age-related height loss we estimated maximum attained height. Parental education and household item ownership at age 10 were used as markers of childhood socioeconomic conditions. In all 5-year birth cohorts, Novosibirsk men and women were shortest. There were positive and statistically significant secular trends in childhood conditions and in maximum adult height. Adjustment for childhood conditions explained about one third of the trend in height. There appeared to be a small reduction in height of persons born during the Second World War which was, however, only significant in Novosibirsk. These results suggest that secular trends in height mirror, but are not wholly explained by, trends in socioeconomic circumstances in early life.     

The biological standard of living in Suriname,c. 1870–1975

The physical stature of Surinamese soldiers is estimated to have increased by more than 3 cm between 1870 and 1909. In the subsequent four decades, the increase in adult male and female height amounted to 0.3–0.5 cm and 0.9–1.0 cm per decade, respectively. This increase in height continued and accelerated during the second half of the twentieth century. Height increase among African and Hindustani Surinamese males and females was similar. Height differences between African and Hindustani Surinamese were therefore fairly constant over time, at 4–5 cm. Other indicators of nutritional and health status, such as infant mortality, showed continuous improvement, whereas per capita calorie and protein availability improved in the twentieth century.     

Historical and life course timing of the male mortality disadvantage in Europe: epidemiologic transitions, evolution, and behavior

This study employs vital statistics data from Sweden, England, Wales, France, and Spain to examine male:female mortality differentials from 1750 through 2000 and their interrelationship with epidemiological transitions. Across all ages and time periods, the largest relative mortality disadvantages are to young adult men. When crisis mortality from the two world wars is removed, we show that the mortality in this young male age group is about two to three times the level of female mortality across all countries sampled. In addition, we show that the timing of this stabilization in male mortality disadvantages occurs during the last half of the twentieth century, at the same point that our measure of epidemiological change also stabilizes at a new low level. The findings are consistent with an interdisciplinary theoretical model that links social, technological and epidemiological changes that occurred through the first half of the 20th century with the unmasking and accentuation of mortality disadvantages among young adult men.     

The evolution of adult height in Europe: A brief note

This paper presents new evidence on the evolution of adult height in 10 European countries for cohorts born between 1950 and 1980 using the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), which collects height data from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. Our findings show a gradual increase in adult height across all countries. However, countries from Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) experienced greater gains in stature than those located in Northern Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and Sweden).     

Socio-cultural factors in dental diseases in the Medieval and early Modern Age of northern Spain

The aim of this study is to present, discuss and compare the results of pathological conditions in teeth from skeletal remains found in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) in four Medieval cemeteries (late 15th century) and three cemeteries from the Modern Age (late 18th century). The final objective was to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic and cultural changes that took place during the early Modern Age in Spain, on oral health. Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss were considered as indicators of dental disease. A significant increase of both dental caries and antemortem tooth loss occurred in Modern Age individuals when compared to Medieval values, as reported for other regions. Increased trade with other continents may explain this deterioration of dental health, as food exchanges (mainly with America) contributed to diet changes for the overall population, including higher carbohydrate consumption (introduction of potatoes) at the expense of other vegetables. A sex-specific increase of dental disease with age, and a significantly higher prevalence of carious lesions in Modern Age females than in males, were also found. These changes can be explained by women having had limited access to dental care after the Middle-Modern Age transition, as a consequence of socio-cultural and political changes. In these changes, an increasing influence of the Catholic Church in Spanish society has to be noted, as it can contribute to the explanation of the unequal dental health of men and women. Women were socially excluded from dental care by regulations inspired by religious precepts.     

Adult male height in an American colony: Puerto Rico and the USA mainland compared, 1886–1955

The links between adult height and socioeconomic-political marginality are controversial. We test hypotheses by comparing secular trends between two groups of USA adult male citizens born during 1886-1930: (a) 9805 men surveyed in Puerto Rico during 1965 and (b) 3064 non-Hispanic Whites surveyed on the mainland during 1971-1975. Puerto Rico provides an apt case study because it is the oldest colony in the world and was the poorest region of the USA during the 20th century. During the period considered the average adult man in Puerto Rico was 164.8 cm tall, 8.3 cm shorter than the average adult man on the mainland (173.1cm). Both groups experienced secular improvements in height, with men on the mainland having higher rates than men in Puerto Rico. In neither case were results statistically significant. The modest changes in Puerto Rico likely reflect the offsetting role of improved health and a stagnant rural economy during the first half of the 20th century.     

Determinants of birth interval in a rural Mediterranean population (La Alpujarra, Spain)

The fertility pattern, in terms of birth intervals, in a rural population not practicing contraception belonging to La Alta Alpujarra Oriental (southeast Spain) is analyzed. During the first half of the 20th century, this population experienced a considerable degree of geographical and cultural isolation. Because of this population's high variability in fertility and therefore in birth intervals, the analysis was limited to a homogenous subsample of 154 families, each with at least five pregnancies. This limitation allowed us to analyze, among and within families, effects of a set of variables on the interbirth pattern, and to avoid possible problems of pseudoreplication. Information on birth date of the mother, age at marriage, children's birth date and death date, birth order, and frequency of miscarriages was collected. Our results indicate that interbirth intervals depend on an exponential effect of maternal age, especially significant after the age of 35. This effect is probably related to the biological degenerative processes of female fertility with age. A linear increase of birth intervals with birth order within families was found as well as a reduction of intervals among families experiencing an infant death. Our sample size was insufficient to detect a possible replacement behavior in the case of infant death. High natality and mortality rates, a secular decrease of natality rates, a log-normal birth interval, and family-size distributions suggest that La Alpujarra has been a natural fertility population following a demographic transition process.     

Changes in duration of developmental phases of durum wheat caused by breeding in Spain and Italy during the 20th century and its impact on yield

Background and Aims

Although the apical development of wheat has been widely described, studies analysing how genetic breeding over the 20th century influenced the developmental phases and its consequences on yield generation are lacking, especially for durum wheat under field conditions in Mediterranean environments. The aims of this study were to analyse the effects of breeding in Spain and Italy on crop development during the last century, to determine whether or not breeding significantly altered the developmental phases between sowing and maturity, and to evaluate the importance of each phase in determining the number of grains per spike of durum wheat (Triticum durum) cultivars representing the germplasm grown throughout the 20th century in Spain and Italy.

Methods

Eight field experiments were carried out during 4 years in two contrasting latitudes (Lleida and Granada, Spain). Plant material consisted of 24 durum wheat cultivars (12 Italian and 12 Spanish) grown throughout the 20th century in Spain and Italy.

Key Results

In Spanish materials, breeding reduced the duration of the period from sowing to anthesis, placing the grain-filling period in better conditions. In those cultivars, the sub-phase sowing–terminal spikelet formation was reduced while the duration of the period from booting to anthesis was increased. The number of grains per spike increased by 23 % from old to modern cultivars, by changes in the number of grains per spikelet in both Spanish and Italian cultivars. Floral abortion from booting to anthesis diminished by 24 % from old to modern cultivars, and grain setting increased by 13 %.

Conclusions

The results suggest that breeding reduced not only plant height, but also the time to anthesis. By extending the duration of the phase from booting to anthesis, which was associated with an increase in spike dry weight and grains per spike, it suggests that future increases in spike fertility could be achieved by enlarging that phase.     

Sex differences in infant mortality in Spitalfields, London, 1750-1839

This study examines sex differences in infant mortality in Spitalfields, London, and the estimated contribution of endogenous and exogenous factors to neonatal and infant mortality using the biometric model from 1750 to 1839. There was a marked decline in the risk of death during infancy and the neonatal period for both sexes during the study period. There was significant excess male infant mortality compared with that of females in the 1750-59 cohort, estimated from baptism and burial registers, but not in later cohorts. Similarly, males had higher neonatal mortality rates than females in 1750-59 but not in later cohorts. Biometric analyses suggest that the observed decrease in neonatal mortality in both sexes was caused by a reduction in both endogenous and exogenous causes of death. The contribution of maternal health and breast-feeding practices to the observed patterns of mortality is discussed in the light of available evidence.     

Does the level of infant mortality affect the rate of decline?: Time series data from 21 countries

Some scholars have suggested that an inverse care law holds for infant mortality--that infant mortality reductions are more rapid in regions with lower infant mortality. This theory has not been subjected to proper quantitative analysis. This paper examines time series data on infant mortality from 21 countries to test whether percentage reductions in infant mortality are larger when infant mortality is lower. We apply the Dickey-Fuller generalized least squares (DFGLS) unit root test to infant mortality rate (IMR) time series data from 21 mostly European nations for 1870-1988 to test the statistical significance of beta in a regression analysis of Deltaln IMR(t)=alpha+beta ln IMR(t-1)+epsilon(t). Evidence that beta is significant and negative would support the claim that infant mortality declines more rapidly when substantial mortality reductions have already been achieved. With the preferred specification, the DFGLS unit root test rejected the inverse benefit hypothesis in all countries except the Netherlands at the 5% and 10% cutoffs and Australia at the 10% cutoff. The rejection of the inverse benefit hypothesis was robust to alternative specifications of the lag structure of IMR and to transformations of IMR other than logarithmic. Based on late 19th and 20th century data from countries in Europe and Latin America, there is scarce evidence that percentage reductions in infant mortality are generally smaller in higher mortality countries. These findings suggest that large percentage reductions in infant mortality are possible for countries at any stage in economic development and are reflective of durable advances in human knowledge, social institutions and physical capital.     

Incidence of ecological factors on the evolution of infant mortality in a Mediterranean population (La Alpujarra,SE Spain)

The infant mortality evolution in the present century has been analyzed in a rural Mediterranean population (La Alpujarra, SE Spain). The “conventional infant mortality rate” shows a decrease from 184.82, in 1900–1904, to 25.16, in 1975–1978. The sexual proportion for all period studied indicates a male supermortality about 1.13. The biometric analysis reveals an excess of exogenous mortality at the first half of the century, attributed to digestive problems, as has been found in other Mediterranean populations. The seasonal distribution presents an evolutionary change from a maximum in estival months to a maximum in winter ones.