Urban–rural differences in Roman Dorset,England: A bioarchaeological perspective on Roman settlements

In the Roman period, urban and rural ways of living were differentiated philosophically and legally, and this is the first regional study of these contrasting life‐ways. Focusing on frailty and mortality risk, we investigated how these differed by age, sex, and status, using coffin type as a proxy for social status. We employed skeletal data from 344 individuals: 150 rural and 194 urban (1st–5th centuries A.D.) from Dorset, England. Frailty and mortality risk were examined using indicators of stress (cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, nonspecific periostitis, and enamel hypoplastic defects), specific metabolic and infectious diseases (rickets, scurvy, and tuberculosis), and dental health (carious lesions and calculus). These variables were studied using Chi‐square, Siler model of mortality, Kaplan–Meier analysis, and the Gompertz model of adult mortality. Our study found that overall, mortality risk and survivorship did not differ between cemetery types but when the data were examined by age, mortality risk was only significantly higher for urban subadults. Demographic differences were found, with urban cemeteries having more 0–10 and >35 year olds, and for health, urban cemeteries had significantly higher frequencies of enamel hypoplastic defects, carious lesions, and rickets. Interestingly, no significant difference in status was observed between rural and urban cemeteries. The most significant finding was the influence of the skeletal and funerary data from the Poundbury sites, which had different demographic profiles, significantly higher frequencies of the indicators of stress and dental health variables. In conclusion, there are significant health, demographic, and mortality differences between rural and urban populations in Roman Britain. Am J Phys Anthropol 157:107–120, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

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.     

Survival and Cause-Specific Mortality of Red Foxes in Agricultural and Urban Areas of Illinois

Abstract: Range expansion and population increase by coyotes (Canis latrans), reduced hunting and trapping, and intensified agricultural practices in the Midwest have altered red fox (Vulpes vulpes) mortality, although relative impacts of these factors are unknown. We examined mortality causes and survival of red foxes in urban and rural agricultural areas of Illinois, using radio telemetry data from 335 foxes (Nov 1996 to May 2002). We used Akaike's Information Criterion to evaluate six survival models for foxes reflecting 1) environmental effects, 2) intrinsic effects, 3) temporal effects, 4) behavioral effects, 5) social effects, and 6) a global model. Environmental and intrinsic models of survival were optimal for adult foxes. Adult foxes with low (0-20%) and high (80-100%) percentages of row crops in their home ranges had higher survival than adults with moderate percentages (40-70%). Heavier adults at capture also survived better. A global model (all covariates) was optimal for juvenile foxes. Higher juvenile survival associated with larger litters, lower body fat, and reduced dispersal time. Yearly survival ranged from 0.18 for rural male juveniles to 0.44 for rural female adults. Adult survival rates (0.35) were 11% higher than juvenile survival rates (0.24). Yearly survival varied for urban foxes due to cyclic outbreaks of sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabei). Thus, summer survival (May-Sep) of urban juveniles ranged from 0.10 (mange present) to 0.83 (no mange recorded). Mange was the most common (45% of all fatalities) source of mortality for urban foxes, followed by road kill (31%). We recorded only 4 mange fatalities (2%) for rural foxes. Rural foxes experienced low hunting mortality (7%) and equivalent road kill and coyote predation fatalities (40% each). Sources of mortality for midwestern foxes have dramatically changed since the 1970s when hunting was the major cause of mortality. Coyote predation has effectively replaced hunting mortality, and cyclic patterns of mange outbreaks in urban fox populations might indicate a dynamic source or sink relationship to surrounding rural fox populations. Absent mange, urban areas might provide refugia for red foxes where coyote populations persist at high densities in rural areas. Managers of sympatric urban and rural wildlife populations must understand survival dynamics influencing the population at the landscape level.     

Blood pressure trends and hypertension among rural and urban Jat women of Haryana, India

Hypertension is an important public health problem and the major causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among aged and elderly population in India. The present study is an attempt to assess age related trends of blood pressure and prevalence of hypertension in rural and urban women as well as correlation of blood pressure with obesity indicators (WC, BMI, and WHR). Data for present cross-sectional study were collected by purposive sampling method from six hundred Jat women (300 rural and 300 urban), aged 40 to 70 years. Karl Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) was employed to find the relationship between blood pressure and obesity indicators. The results revealed an age associated increase in mean values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in rural and urban women. Urban women showed significantly higher overall mean value of systolic (mm of Hg) (133.93 vs. 130.79, p < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (mm of Hg) (84.34 vs. 82.81, p < 0.01) and pulse rate (81.72 +/- 6.27 vs. 80.94 +/- 9.06, p > 0.05) as compared to rural women. The overall prevalence of hypertension was found to be 9% in rural and 26.66% in urban women as per JNC VII criteria. Increased prominence of hypertension among urban Jat women may be attributed to their modern lifestyle having more stress, less manual work and faulty dietary habits. There was a very low awareness of hypertension in the rural subjects (37%) than their urban (72%) counterparts. Rural and urban women revealed a positive and significant association of systolic blood pressure with body mass index, whereas only urban women displayed positive correlation of waist circumference with systolic (r = 0.183**) and diastolic (r = 0.151**) blood pressure.     

Growth in an English population from the Industrial Revolution

The rapid urbanization of the Industrial Revolution in 18th-19th century England presented new health challenges. Our aim is to investigate using English skeletal remains whether the living conditions for an urban working class group in the Industrial Revolution negatively impacted upon their skeletal growth compared with a population from a rural agrarian parish. The Industrial Revolution skeletal material is from St Martin's Churchyard, Birmingham (SMB), West Midlands. It dates primarily from the first half of the nineteenth century when Birmingham was a major manufacturing center. The rural group is from Wharram Percy (WP), North Yorkshire, and dates from 10th-19th century AD. The methodology involves plotting diaphyseal bone lengths versus dental age for subadults. No overall difference was found between the two populations in bone length-for-age among the 2- to 18-year cohort. However the younger parts of the SMB cohort were smaller than at WP; the opposite was true of the older parts of the cohort. Growth rate, as inferred from crosssectional data, appeared greater at SMB than at WP. The only result consistent with expectations is the larger bone dimensions in young children from WP, but this likely reflects prolonged breastfeeding at WP not differences in urban and rural environments. That the deleterious health effects that we know accompanied the major transition in human society from a rural agrarian to an urban industrialized living environment should be little manifest in skeletal endochondral growth data is discouraging for those who would use such methodology to monitor health in earlier populations.     

Consanguinity: Geographical variation and temporal evolution in the North of the Iberian peninsula, 1918–1968 (León,Spain)

We studied 71.740 marriage certificates from the Diocese of León, Northern Spain, between the years 1918 and 1968. If VI degree marriages are considered 6.27% of the total were among relatives. The inbreeding coefficient is very near the average for other Spanish populations from the same period (F=0.002). Within the area studied, levels of inbreeding are higher in rural than in urban zones and slightly higher in the montaña than in the meseta. Within the montaña it is higher in the non-mining zone of the North than in the mining zone of the South. Throughout the entire period under study there is a continuous tendency towards a decrease in inbreeding which is sharper in the rural than in the urban zone. Consequently there is a convergence of values in recent times. This tendency appears later in rural populations in the center of the peninsula than in those of northern Spain, and in the Spanish population later than in other European countries.     

Social life factors affecting the mortality, longevity, and birth rate of total Japanese population: effects of rapid industrialization and urbanization

To expand upon the findings that lower mortality was found in Japanese urban areas in contrast to the Western model where in the US and Britain the risk of death was higher in metropolitan areas and conurbations, 22 social life indicators are examined among 46 prefectures in Japan in terms of their effect on age specific mortality, life expectancy, and age adjusted marriage, divorce, and birth rates. The effects of these factors on age adjusted mortality for 8 major working and nonworking male populations, where also analyzed. The 22 social life factors were selected from among 227 indicators in the system of Statistical Indicators on Life. Factor analysis was used to classify the indicators into 8 groups of factors for 1970 and 7 for 1975. Factors 1-3 for both years were rural or urban residence, low income and unemployment, and prefectural age distribution. The 4th for 1970 was home help for the elderly and for 1975, social mobility. The social life indicators were classified form 1 to 8 as rural residence in 1970 and 1975, urban residence, low income, high employment, old age, young age, social mobility, and home help for the elderly which moved from 8th place in 1970 to 1st in 1975. Between 1960-75, rapid urbanization took place with the proportion of farmers, fishermen, and workers declining from 43% in 1960 to 19% in 1975. The results of stepwise regression analysis indicate a positive relationship of urban residence with mortality of men and women except school-aged and middle-aged women, and the working populations, as well as life expectancy at birth for males and females and ages 20 and 40 years for males. Rural residence was positively associated with the male marriage rate, whereas the marriage rate for females was affected by industrialization and urbanization. High employment and social mobility were positively related to the female marriage rate. Low income was positively related to the divorce rate for males and females. Rural residence and high employment were positively related to the birth rate. The birth rate is higher in rural areas. Mortality of professional, engineering, and administrative workers was slightly lower than the total working population, while sales workers, those in farming, fishing, and forestry, and in personal and domestic service had significantly higher mortality. The mortality of the nonworking population was 6-8 times higher than sales, transportation, and communication, and personal and domestic service as well as the total population.     

Study on the Trend and Disease Burden of Injury Deaths in Chinese Population, 2004–2010

Injuries are a growing public health concern in China, accounting for more than 30% of all Person Years of Life Lost (PYLL) due to premature mortality. This study analyzes the trend and disease burden of injury deaths in Chinese population from 2004 to 2010, using data from the National Disease Surveillance Points (DSPs) system, as injury deaths are classified based on the International Classification of Disease-10^th Revision (ICD-10). We observed that injury death accounted for nearly 10% of all deaths in China throughout the period 2004–2010, and the injury mortality rates were higher in males than those in females, and higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Traffic crashes (33.79–38.47% of all injury deaths) and suicides (16.20–22.01%) were the two leading causes of injury deaths. Alarmingly, suicide surpassed traffic crashes as the leading cause of injury mortality in rural females, yet adults aged 65 and older suffered the greatest number of fatal falls (20,701 deaths, 2004–2010). The burden of injury among men (72.11%) was about three times more than that of women''s (28.89%). This study provides indispensible evidence that China Authority needs to improve the surveillance and deterrence of three major types of injuries: Traffic-related injury deaths should be targeted for injury prevention activities in all population, people aged 65+ should be encouraged to take individual fall precautions, and prevention of suicidal behavior in rural females should be another key priority for the government of China.     

Dynamics of the genetic demographic structure of the Kursk province population: migration processes

Marriage records from parish books of the second half of the 19th century and marriage records of 1967-1970 and 1993-1995 obtained from registry offices were used to analyze the dynamics of genetically significant parameters of migration and marriage structure with respect to spouses' birthplaces in populations of different hierarchical levels in the Kursk oblast. It was found that, among the persons contracting marriage (both males and females), the proportions of those who were born in the same population and those who were born in any population of the Kursk oblast decreased by about one third and one fifth, respectively, for the 130-year period. In rural and small urban populations, the coefficients of marriage migration in the 19th century were an order of magnitude lower than in the 20th century. The immigration to urban populations was maximum in the late 1960s (m = 0.745 in small towns and m = 0.680 in Kursk), and that to rural populations, in the 1990s (m = 0.344). In both urban and rural populations, the mean distance between the spouses' birthplaces has increased by several times for the period studied. The endogamy level has decreased approximately twofold: from 0.797 to 0.380 in Kursk, from 0.897 to 0.419 in small towns, and from 0.958 to 0.440 in rural districts. The marriage assortativeness with respect to birthplace was maximum in the late 19th century (K = 0.393-0.491) and minimum in the 1960s (K = 0.155-0.246). The increase in genetic diversity of the urban population of the Kursk oblast due to migration has been slowing down since the late 20th century, whereas the outbreeding level is still increasing in rural populations.     

ANCIENT URBANIZATION PREDICTS GENETIC RESISTANCE TO TUBERCULOSIS

A link between urban living and disease is seen in recent and historical records, but the presence of this association in prehistory has been difficult to assess. If the transition to urban living does result in an increase in disease‐based mortality, we might expect to see evidence of increased disease resistance in longer‐term urbanized populations, as the result of natural selection. To test this, we determined the frequency of an allele (SLC11A1 1729 + 55del4) associated with natural resistance to intracellular pathogens such as tuberculosis and leprosy. We found a highly significantly correlation with duration of urban settlement—populations with a long history of living in towns are better adapted to resisting these infections. This correlation remains strong when we correct for autocorrelation in allele frequencies due to shared population history. Our results therefore support the interpretation that infectious disease loads became an increasingly important cause of human mortality after the advent of urbanization, highlighting the importance of population density in determining human health and the genetic structure of human populations.     

Genetic structure in urban and rural populations of Apodemus agrarius in Poland

The aims of this study were (i) to determine the genetic variability of the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius Pallas, 1771) population in the area of the Warsaw conurbation and the genetic differentiation among local populations of this species within the city, and (ii) to examine the influence of the degree of isolation on the appearance of such genetic structure. Comparison of the genetic structure of the urban population with that of populations inhabiting rural areas was intended to shed light on the depth of genetic changes in this species caused by life in an urban environment. Eight microsatellite loci were used for genotyping and these molecular analyses were successfully performed for 269 individuals. Genetic differentiation (F_ST) was much higher in the case of the urban population. STRUCTURE analysis indicated that this population was subdivided into several local populations, whereas for the rural locations, the highest likelihood was for a single genetic group (one genetically unstructured population). Moreover, in contrast to the rural population, we found no isolation by distance in the urban population. Despite clear subdivision of the urban population, the level of genetic variability was very similar in both analyzed groups. Our findings indicate the occurrence of an advanced process of differentiation of the urban population by microevolution, whereas populations from rural locations displayed very small and mainly insignificant genetic differentiation. Urban local populations, situated near the city borders or close to the natural ecological corridor (banks of the Vistula River), showed higher genetic variability and were less differentiated from populations inhabiting rural sites than from local populations in the city centre. These results provide support for the importance of ecological corridors in preserving the genetic variability of the urban striped field mouse population.     

Dynamics of the Genetic Demographic Structure of the Kursk Oblast Population: Migration Processes

Marriage records from parish books of the second half of the 19th century and marriage records of 1967–1970 and 1993–1995 obtained from registry offices were used to analyze the dynamics of genetically significant parameters of migration and marriage structure with respect to spouses' birthplaces in populations of different hierarchical levels in the Kursk oblast. It was found that, among the persons contracting marriage (both males and females), the proportions of those who were born in the same population and those who were born in any population of the Kursk oblast decreased by about one third and one fifth, respectively, for the 130-year period. In rural and small urban populations, the coefficients of marriage migration in the 19th century were an order of magnitude lower than in the 20th century. The immigration to urban populations was maximum in the late 1960s (m = 0.745 in small towns and m = 0.680 in Kursk), and that to rural populations, in the 1990s (m = 0.344). In both urban and rural populations, the mean distance between the spouses" birthplaces has increased by several times for the period studied. The endogamy level has decreased approximately twofold: from 0.797 to 0.380 in Kursk, from 0.897 to 0.419 in small towns, and from 0.958 to 0.440 in rural districts. The marriage assortativeness with respect to birthplace was maximum in the late 19th century (K = 0.393–0.491) and minimum in the 1960s (K= 0.155–0.246). The increase in genetic diversity of the urban population of the Kursk oblast due to migration has been slowing down since the late 20th century, whereas the outbreeding level is still increasing in rural populations.     

The modernizing Kazakhstan: a review of biomedical data

In order to focus the situation of Kazakhstan today in relation to the processes of modernization and transition to a market economy and to evidence their effects on the biology and health status of the population of Kazakhstan, we have reviewed recently available data for this region (1993-1999). Kazakhstan is still characterized by a pyramid shaped age distribution of its population and by a high incidence of not communicable diseases and lack of nutrient and micronutrients, especially among children. However, the population of Kazakhstan seems to be not immune to the diseases of the modernization. I.e., among women obesity is more frequent than underweight, especially in the urban areas. In rural populations the frequency of clinically relevant hypertension resulted low in the more isolated and traditionally living communities but it increased to 20% in the less isolated one. Although it is expected a strong increase of urbanized population in the next 25 years, currently, modernization is probably influencing life style and nutritional habits of almost only a minority of the inhabitants of Kazakhstan.     

Global Morbidity and Mortality of Leptospirosis: A Systematic Review

BackgroundLeptospirosis, a spirochaetal zoonosis, occurs in diverse epidemiological settings and affects vulnerable populations, such as rural subsistence farmers and urban slum dwellers. Although leptospirosis is a life-threatening disease and recognized as an important cause of pulmonary haemorrhage syndrome, the lack of global estimates for morbidity and mortality has contributed to its neglected disease status.Conclusions/SignificanceLeptospirosis is among the leading zoonotic causes of morbidity worldwide and accounts for numbers of deaths, which approach or exceed those for other causes of haemorrhagic fever. Highest morbidity and mortality were estimated to occur in resource-poor countries, which include regions where the burden of leptospirosis has been underappreciated.     

How birds colonize cities: genetic evidence from a common waterbird,the Eurasian coot

Much effort has been devoted to identify ecological and life‐history traits which facilitate urban colonization by wild avian species, but surprisingly little is known about the population‐level mechanisms of urbanization processes. In general, two different patterns of urban colonization have been proposed: 1) the model of independent colonization predicts that birds colonize cities independently in different geographical regions; 2) the model of leapfrog colonization assumes a single colonization event, while additional urban populations are established from the initial urban populations. The aim of this paper was to determine the pattern of urban colonization in a common waterbird, the Eurasian coot Fulica atra. For this purpose, we analysed microsatellite variation in three pairs of urban and rural coot populations from central Poland. We found that a newly‐established urban population was genetically more similar to neighbouring rural populations than to long‐established urban populations, as indicated by the analysis of fixation index, genetic distance and Bayesian assignment of individuals to genetic clusters. These results are consistent with the model of independent colonization, where neighbouring rural populations are a source of individuals that colonize new urban areas. However, our analysis also showed significant differentiation between long‐established urban populations and adjacent rural populations, suggesting that genetic connectivity between two types of habitat decreases with increasing time since urbanization. Our study shows high complexity of urbanization processes in wild animal populations, as well as it underpins utility of molecular tools in studying population‐level mechanisms of urbanization.     

Excess Mortality in Patients with Severe Mental Disorders in 1996-2010 in Finland

Unselected population-based nationwide studies on the excess mortality of individuals with severe mental disorders are scarce with regard to several important causes of death. Using comprehensive register data, we set out to examine excess mortality and its trends among patients with severe mental disorders compared to the total population. Patients aged 25–74 and hospitalised with severe mental disorders in 1990–2010 in Finland were identified using the national hospital discharge register and linked individually to population register data on mortality and demographics. We studied mortality in the period 1996–2010 among patients with psychotic disorders, psychoactive substance use disorders, and mood disorders by several causes of death. In addition to all-cause mortality, we examined mortality amenable to health care interventions, ischaemic heart disease mortality, disease mortality, and alcohol-related mortality. Patients with severe mental disorders had a clearly higher mortality rate than the total population throughout the study period regardless of cause of death, with the exception of alcohol-related mortality among male patients with psychotic disorders without comorbidity with substance use disorders. The all-cause mortality rate ratio of patients with psychotic disorders compared to the total population was 3.48 (95% confidence interval 2.98–4.06) among men and 3.75 (95% CI 3.08–4.55) among women in the period 2008–10. The corresponding rate ratio of patients with psychoactive substance use disorders was 5.33 (95% CI 4.87–5.82) among men and 7.54 (95% CI 6.30–9.03) among women. Overall, the mortality of the total population and patients with severe mental disorders decreased between 1996 and 2010. However, the mortality rate ratio of patients with psychotic disorders and patients with psychoactive substance use disorders compared to the total population increased in general during the study period. Exceptions were alcohol-related mortality among patients with psychoactive substance use disorders and female patients with psychotic disorders, as well as amenable mortality among male patients with psychotic disorders. The mortality rate ratio of persons with mood disorders compared to the total population decreased. The markedly high mortality amenable to health care intervention among patients with severe mental disorders found in our study suggests indirectly that they may receive poorer quality somatic care. The results highlight the challenges in co-ordinating mental and somatic health services.     

Significance of indices of potential selection for residents of the USSR

Crow's indices of the opportunity for selection and their components connected with differential mortality (Im) and differential fertility (If) were estimated for populations of Soviet Union republics and for a number of USSR ethnic groups on the basis of demographic statistics. More than 10-fold decrease in the Im value was revealed in the total population of the USSR during 1926-1987. At present, the Im values in republics vary from 0.020 to 0.094 for urban population and from 0.030 to 0.121 in rural population, the ratio of perinatal mortality in the whole structure of prereproductive mortality being higher in the republics with lower values of the Im. The range of the If values for different peoples (0.148-0.643) is wider than for the populations of the republics (0.326-0.578). Interethnic differences contribute 47% of the variance in fertility. The structure of Crow's indices is given for urban and rural populations of the republics. Genetic implications of the data presented are discussed with respect to possible manifestation of the effects of inter-group selection.     

Fertility and mortality differentials among the tribal population groups of Bastar District, Madhya Pradesh, India

The authors examine fertility and mortality differentials and their impact on health care and natural selection potentials among tribal populations in rural India. Data are from the Bastar District and concern 366 mothers who have completed their reproductive life span.     

Proximate determinants of fertility in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: an anthropological case study

The analytical model of Bongaarts and Potter is employed to compare the proximate determinants of fertility among 3 populations in Nepal's Kathmandu valley. 3 sub-groups are studied: high caste (Brahmin and Chetri) urban residents, high caste urban fringe residents, and low caste untouchables (Sarki). Both survey and anthropological methods are employed. According to the analytical model, the transition in fertility follows 4 phases. The changes in fertility levels from Phase 1 to Phase 4 generally indicate that the transition from natural to controlled fertility is characterized by declines in the proportions of women married and the duration of postpartum infecundability, and a substantial increase in the prevalence and effectiveness of contraceptive practices. The results of this study show that Nepal as a whole is entrenched in Phase 1 of the fertility transition. However, data from the 3 populations reported here clearly indicate that each has begun to experience a demographic transition to different degrees. The Sarkis in this study fall between Phases 2 and 3, as indicated by the total fertility rate (TFR). The rural high castes most closely approximate a population in Phase 3, while urban high castes included in this study are approaching Phase 4. Each of the 3 populations is characterized by a decline in the proportion of women married when compared to all of Nepal. It is also apparent that the relative use-effectiveness of contraceptive methods currently employed is high. Gains in the reduction of fertility, then, will have to be made from increasing and retaining the number of acceptors and in reducing the desired family size of those at reproductive risk.