Life Course Perspectives on Women's Autonomy and Health Outcomes

Gender inequality leads to negative demographic consequences in many societies. Patterns of household formation and inheritance strongly influence these consequences. Peasant societies of preindustrial northern Europe emphasized the conjugal bond, while intergenerational bonds were weak. The reverse is true in contemporary northern India. As a result, greater potential exists there for marginalizing women. The convergence of low autonomy due to youth as well as gender means that women's autonomy is at its lowest point during the peak of childbearing years. This has considerable implications for demographic and health outcomes in terms of poorer child survival, slower fertility decline, and poorer reproductive health.     

Women's Health, Women's Lives

What Makes Women Sick: Gender and the Political Economy of Health. Lesley Doyal. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995. xii. 280 pp.
Gender and Health: An International Perspective. Carolyn F. Sargent and Caroline Brettell. eds. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1966. + 370 pp.
Women, Poverty and AIDS: Sex, Drugs and Structural Violence. Paul Farmer. Margaret Connors. and Janie Simmons. eds. Monroe, ME: Common Courage, 1966. xxi. 473 pp.
Choosing Unsafe Sex: AIDS-Risk Denial among Disadvantaged Women. E. J. Sobo. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. ix. 232 pp.
Women in Pain: Gender and Morbidity in Mexico. Kaja Finkier. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994. xix. 238 pp.     

A Life History Approach to Understanding Youth Time Preference

Following from life history and attachment theory, individuals are predicted to be sensitive to variation in environmental conditions such that risk and uncertainty are internalized by cognitive, affective, and psychobiological mechanisms. In turn, internalizing of environmental uncertainty is expected to be associated with attitudes toward risk behaviors and investments in education. Native American youth aged 10–19 years (n = 89) from reservation communities participated in a study examining this pathway. Measures included family environmental risk and uncertainty, present and future time perspective, adolescent attachment, attitudes toward risk, investments in education, and salivary cortisol. Results support the idea that environmental risk and uncertainty are internalized during development. In addition, internalizing mechanisms significantly predicted attitudes toward risk and education: (1) lower scores on future time perspective and higher cortisol predicted higher scores on risk attitudes, and (2) higher scores on future time perspective and lower scores on problems with attachment predicted higher self-reported school performance. Gender differences were seen, with males anticipating a shorter lifespan than females, which predicted higher scores on risk attitudes and lower school performance. Implications for research on adolescent problem behavior and academic achievement are discussed.     

Microbial Life and Temperature: A Semi Empirical Approach

Many groups have examined the effect of temperature on the survival of microorganisms, resulting in the development of several models. Some of these models are based on the Arrhenius equation and the others are based on multidimensional response surface equations. We argue that the former are inadequate and the latter lack biological meaning. We show that an equation (the GLE equation) deduced from the Theory of Rate Processes is more accurate than the Arrhenius equation. The excellent standard deviation values of the apparent free energy of activation obtained with the GLE equation for microbial growth, embryogenic and other processes show that this equation is more suitable than the Arrhenius equation. The GLE equation shows how temperature affects survival. Thus, organisms survive longer at low temperatures than at normal temperatures. The recent discovery of microorganisms in Siberian permafrost samples that are several million years old, in deep oil fields, mines and other extreme habitats appears to be consistent with the GLE equation. Another example, the enhanced resistance of spores at extreme temperatures can be easily explained by their high apparent free energy of activation We also examined the implications of the GLE equation on food sterilization practices and on exobiology.     

Environmental Health Education: A Participatory Holistic Approach

In response to the lack of theoretical foundations in the emerging field of “environmental health education,” this article presents a proposal for a theoretical framework which integrates complementary elements drawn mainly from the fields of environmental education, health education, and risk education. This framework is centred on a participatory holistic approach; it seeks to stimulate the development of personal and collective competencies for citizen involvement in improving the relationship between communities and their environment in order to simultaneously promote human health and the integrity of the closely interrelated life systems. The development of this proposal is based on an initial theoretical construct, produced from an anasynthesis of existing literature and results of previous projects, that is being validated and enriched by actual empirical fieldwork. The latter involves the collaborative design and experimentation of educational-intervention projects, among social groups in the region of Lac Saint-Pierre, concerning the issue of fish consumption, its benefit, and also the risks associated to lake chemical contamination.     

Quality of Life and Health Perceptions Among Fish-Eating Communities of the Brazilian Amazon: An Ecosystem Approach to Well-Being

Mercury (Hg) contamination in the Brazilian Amazon constitutes a serious environmental and public health issue. This study is part of the CARUSO Project, which uses an ecosystem approach to human health to examine the sources, transmission, and effects of Hg in the Brazilian Amazon, with a view to developing preventive intervention strategy. To date, studies have focused on measures of Hg exposure through fish consumption in relation to health effects; little attention has been given to quality of life (QoL). The objective of this study was to examine the relations between QoL and health perceptions, Hg exposure, sociodemographics, living conditions, and lifestyle in communities along the Tapajós River. A total of 456 adults from 13 villages were interviewed and provided hair samples for Hg analysis. Results showed that perceptions of QoL and health are relatively positive, despite elevated Hg exposure. Logistic regression analyses showed that a positive perception of QoL was associated with the absence of chronic illnesses, not smoking, fruit consumption, residing on the banks of the Tapajós, and living in an in-migrants’ community. The positive perception of health was associated with younger age, the absence of reported symptoms of chronic illnesses, and drinking alcoholic beverages. Cluster analysis revealed that the group that reported the highest QoL had a traditional lifestyle, involving daily fishing and high fish consumption. However, this traditional lifestyle is associated with elevated Hg levels and early reported symptoms potentially linked to Hg exposure. These findings underline the importance of understanding the factors underlying QoL to develop adequate strategies to reduce Hg exposure and promote well-being.     

Biomarkers of Whale Shark Health: A Metabolomic Approach

In a search for biomarkers of health in whale sharks and as exploration of metabolomics as a modern tool for understanding animal physiology, the metabolite composition of serum in six whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) from an aquarium collection was explored using ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and direct analysis in real time (DART) mass spectrometry (MS). Principal components analysis (PCA) of spectral data showed that individual animals could be resolved based on the metabolite composition of their serum and that two unhealthy individuals could be discriminated from the remaining healthy animals. The major difference between healthy and unhealthy individuals was the concentration of homarine, here reported for the first time in an elasmobranch, which was present at substantially lower concentrations in unhealthy whale sharks, suggesting that this metabolite may be a useful biomarker of health status in this species. The function(s) of homarine in sharks remain uncertain but it likely plays a significant role as an osmolyte. The presence of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO), another well-known protective osmolyte of elasmobranchs, at 0.1–0.3 mol L⁻¹ was also confirmed using both NMR and MS. Twenty-three additional potential biomarkers were identified based on significant differences in the frequency of their occurrence between samples from healthy and unhealthy animals, as detected by DART MS. Overall, NMR and MS provided complementary data that showed that metabolomics is a useful approach for biomarker prospecting in poorly studied species like elasmobranchs.     

A Stochastic Approach to Model Dynamic Systems in Life Cycle Assessment

This article presents a framework to evaluate emerging systems in life cycle assessment (LCA). Current LCA methods are effective for established systems; however, lack of data often inhibits robust analysis of future products or processes that may benefit the most from life cycle information. In many cases the life cycle inventory (LCI) of a system can change depending on its development pathway. Modeling emerging systems allows insights into probable trends and a greater understanding of the effect of future scenarios on LCA results. The proposed framework uses Bayesian probabilities to model technology adoption. The method presents a unique approach to modeling system evolution and can be used independently or within the context of an agent‐based model (ABM). LCA can be made more robust and dynamic by using this framework to couple scenario modeling with life cycle data, analyzing the effect of decision‐making patterns over time. Potential uses include examining the changing urban metabolism of growing cities, understanding the development of renewable energy technologies, identifying transformations in material flows over space and time, and forecasting industrial networks for developing products. A switchgrass‐to‐energy case demonstrates the approach.