The reception of Mendelism in the United States, 1900-1930

Scholars have differed on the question of why Mendel's work was neglected between 1865 and 1900, and the (by contrast) relatively rapid acceptance of Mendelism in many countries after 1900. This paper focuses on two factors that have not been well explored in the debate. The first is that Mendelism fit perfectly into the atomistic philosophy associated with mechanistic materialism in western science, and thus was strongly promoted by a younger group of biologists around 1900 to raise the prestige of biology to the rigorous level of the physical sciences. The second factor was that Mendelian theory, with its experimental and predictive qualities, fit well into the new demands for industrialization of agriculture both to feed a growing urban population and to provide an arena for capital expansion. This paper proposes that the early promotion of Mendelian research, by both private and public funds, owed as much to economic and social as to biological causes.     

Birthplace, years of residence in the United States, and obesity among Mexican-American adults

Objective: To evaluate the association between birthplace (Mexico or U.S.) and obesity in men and women and to analyze the relationship between duration of U.S. residency and prevalence of obesity in Mexican immigrants. Research Methods and Procedures: We used cross‐sectional data from 7503 adults of Mexican descent residing in Harris County, TX, to evaluate the relationships among BMI, birthplace, and years of residency in the U.S., controlling for demographic characteristics, physical activity level, and acculturation level. Results: U.S.‐born adults had an increased risk (between 34% and 65%) of obesity compared with their Mexican‐born counterparts. After controlling for recognized confounders and risk factors, this association was maintained in the highly acculturated only. Among highly acculturated obese U.S.‐born men, 6% of the cases were attributable to the joint effect of birthplace and acculturation; in women, this proportion was 25%. Among Mexican‐born women, there was an increasing trend in mean BMI with increasing duration of residency in the U.S. Compared with immigrants who had lived in the U.S. for <5 years, Mexican‐born women who had resided in the U.S. for ≥15 years had an adjusted BMI mean difference of 2.12 kg/m² (95% confidence interval, 1.53–2.72). Discussion: Mexican‐born men and women have a lower risk of obesity than their U.S.‐born counterparts, but length of U.S. residency among immigrants, especially in women, is directly associated with risk of obesity. Development of culturally specific interventions to prevent obesity in recent immigrants may have an important public health effect in this population.     

The endless hESC controversy in the United States: history, context, and prospects

Human embryonic stem cell research has faced a long, tough political battle in the United States. The article explores the history of this controversy and the motives behind it, leading up to the August 23, 2010 district court injunction temporarily stopping all U.S. federal funding for research with human ESCs.     

Evidence on the impact of child labor on child health in Indonesia, 1993–2000

Despite an abundant literature on child labor in developing countries, few papers have attempted to investigate the consequences of child labor on health. This paper explores whether child labor affects child health using data from the Indonesian Socio-Economic Surveys during the 1990s. For our empirical analysis, we restrict our attention to children currently enrolled in school and we use several discrete indicators for health. Our results show that child labor is associated negatively with health. We obtain this result by introducing labor participation as an exogenous covariate in the different health equations. Similar results are found once the work decision is instrumented.     

First Recipients of Anthropological Doctorates in the United States, 1891-1930

This article seeks to show the origins of the professionalization of anthropology by examining early doctoral dissertations in this field and their authors. The bibliography consists of citations with biographical details of the authors, when known, of doctoral dissertations in anthropology from United States educational institutions up to 1930. One hundred twenty-four citations are given all, representing 18 institutions. Forty-one of the dissertations were not written for degrees in anthropology. Besides documenting existence of anthropological work outside recognized graduate programs of anthropology, the bibliography provides a demographic profile of anthropology and shows the distribution of subdiscipline concentrations and regional foci, as well as patterns in the professional domination of anthropology by graduates of various programs and in the publication of doctoral research. [Keywords: dissertations, anthropology—history, anthropology—bibliography, scholarly communication, graduate education]     

Reproductive health among married and unmarried mothers aged less than 18, 18–19, and 20–24 years in the United States, 2014–2019: A population-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundStudies in low- and middle-income regions suggest that child marriage (<18 years) is a risk factor for poor reproductive outcomes among women. However, in high-income-country contexts where childbearing before age 18 occurs predominantly outside marriage, it is unknown whether marriage is adversely associated with reproductive health among mothers below age 18. This study examined the joint associations of marriage and adolescent maternal age group (<18, 18–19, and 20–24 years) with reproductive, maternal, and infant health indicators in the United States.Methods and findingsBirth registrations with US resident mothers aged ≤24 years with complete information on marital status were drawn from the 2014 to 2019 Natality Public Use Files (n = 5,669,824). Odds ratios for the interaction between marital status and maternal age group were estimated using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for covariates such as maternal race/ethnicity and nativity status, federal program participation, and paternal age. Marriage prevalence was 3.6%, 13.2%, and 34.1% among births to mothers aged <18, 18–19, and 20–24 years, respectively. Age gradients in the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) were present for most indicators, and many gradients differed by marital status. Among births to mothers aged <18 years, marriage was associated with greater adjusted odds of prior pregnancy termination (AOR 1.64, 95% CI 1.52–1.77, p < 0.001), repeat birth (AOR 2.84, 95% CI 2.68–3.00, p < 0.001), maternal smoking (AOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.15–1.35, p < 0.001), and infant morbidity (AOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01–1.14, p = 0.03), but weaker or reverse associations existed among births to older mothers. For all maternal age groups, marriage was associated with lower adjusted odds of late or no prenatal care initiation, sexually transmitted infection, and no breastfeeding at hospital discharge, but these beneficial associations were weaker among births to mothers aged <18 and 18–19 years. Limitations of the study include its cross-sectional nature and lack of information on marriage timing relative to prior pregnancy events.ConclusionsMarriage among mothers below age 18 is associated with both adverse and favorable reproductive, maternal, and infant health indicators. Heterogeneity exists in the relationship between marriage and reproductive health across adolescent maternal age groups, suggesting girl child marriages must be examined separately from marriages at older ages.

In a population-based study, Andrée-Anne Fafard St-Germain and colleagues examine the joint associations of marriage and adolescent maternal age group (<18, 18-19, and 20-24 years) with reproductive, maternal, and infant health indicators in the United States.     

Widening educational disparities in premature death rates in twenty six States in the United States, 1993-2007

Background

Eliminating socioeconomic disparities in health is an overarching goal of the U.S. Healthy People decennial initiatives. We present recent trends in mortality by education among working-aged populations.

Methods and Findings

Age-standardized death rates and their average annual percent change for all-cause and five major causes (cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and accidents) were calculated from 1993 through 2007 for individuals aged 25–64 years by educational attainment as a marker of socioeconomic status, using national vital registration data for 26 states with consistent educational information on the death certificates. Rate ratios and rate differences were used to assess disparities (≤12 versus ≥16 years of education) for 1993 through 2007. From 1993 through 2007, relative educational disparities in all-cause mortality continued to increase among working-aged men and women in the U.S., due to larger decreases of mortality rates among the most educated coupled with smaller decreases or even worsening trends in the less educated. For example, the rate ratios of all-cause mortality increased from 2.5 (95% confidence interval (CI), 2.4–2.6) in 1993 to 3.6 (95% CI, 3.5–3.7) in 2007 in men and from 1.9 (95% CI, 1.8–2.0) to 3.0 (95% CI, 2.9–3.1) in women. Generally, the rate differences (per 100,000 persons) of all-cause mortality increased from 415.5 (95% CI, 399.1–431.9) in 1993 to 472.7 (95% CI, 460.2–485.2) in 2007 in men and from 165.4 (95% CI, 154.5–176.2) to 256.2 (95% CI, 248.3–264.2) in women. Disparity patterns varied largely across the five specific causes considered in this study, with the largest increases of relative disparities for accidents, especially in women.

Conclusions

Relative educational differentials in mortality continued to widen among men and women despite emphasis on reducing disparities in the U.S. Healthy People decennial initiatives.