Virtual Poster Session for HBA Virtual Posters 2023

HBA Virtual Posters 2023

Human Biology Association

48th Annual Meeting of the Human Biology Association


More info: https://www.conftool.org/hba2023/

Filter displayed posters (159 tags)

#Brazil (4) #inflammation (4) #mentalhealth (4) #Amazon, (3) #nutrition (3) #HBA2023 (2) #Hpylori (2) #gender (2) #immunology (2) #pregnancy (2) #stress (2) show more... # (1) #AdolescentSleep (1) #Africa (1) #AllostaticLoad (1) #Amazonia (1) #Amazonpopulation (1) #Brazil, (1) #CLHNS (1) #COVID-19 (1) #COVID-19, (1) #Cebu (1) #Cortisol (1) #Cultural (1) #DBS (1) #Dysmenorrhea (1) #Ecuador (1) #Ethnicity (1) #FatStigma (1) #FirstNation (1) #FoodAllergy (1) #Health (1) #Indigenous (1) #Life (1) #MacArthurLadder (1) #Market (1) #Menstrual (1) #Muslim (1) #Point-Of-Care-Technologies (1) #Quilombola, (1) #Race (1) #SES (1) #SSS (1) #SchoolMeals (1) #Shuar (1) #SleepEcology (1) #SleepEfficiency (1) #Social (1) #Stress (1) #UnitedStates (1) #WHO (1) #Washington (1) #WeightLoss (1) #WeightTeasing (1) #Youth (1) #acceleratedaging (1) #aces (1) #adolescentpregnancy (1) #allostaticload (1) #anemia, (1) #antibodies, (1) #barriers (1) #bioarchaeology (1) #biocultural, (1) #bioelectricalimpedance (1) #biology (1) #bodycomposition (1) #bodycompositionmethods (1) #bodyfat (1) #brain (1) #cardiometabolic (1) #cardiovascular (1) #caregiving (1) #causalinference (1) #childhealth (1) #childmalnutrition, (1) #chronicdisease (1) #cognitivedecline (1) #colorWhite (1) #contraception (1) #coping (1) #covid (1) #covid19 (1) #demography (1) #depression (1) #development (1) #diabetes (1) #diagnostic (1) #diseaserates (1) #earlylifenutrition (1) #eatinghabits, (1) #ecuador (1) #embodiedstress (1) #emotions#anger (1) #evolutionarymedicine (1) #fertility (1) #foodprofile, (1) #globalhealth (1) #hba1c (1) #health (1) #householdcomposition, (1) #human (1) #interdisciplinary (1) #intergenerational (1) #intestinal (1) #ireland (1) #ironstatus, (1) #jaundice (1) #lowresource (1) #machinelearning (1) #maternalhealth (1) #maternalparity (1) #mexico (1) #midlife (1) #migration (1) #moderatedmediation (1) #neighborhoods (1) #neonatalhyperbilirubinemia (1) #neuro (1) #nurses (1) #occupational (1) #pica (1) #podcast (1) #pointofcare (1) #puberty (1) #publicengagement (1) #refugees#trauma#chronic (1) #religion (1) #reproduction (1) #sausageofscience (1) #sausageofsciencepodcast (1) #skinfolds (1) #sleep (1) #socialsupport (1) #southafrica (1) #stableisotopedilution (1) #stress, (1) #transgender (1) #transhealth (1) #waterinsecurity (1) @aoc_study (1) COVID-19 (1) Consonance (1) Determinants (1) Disparities (1) Health, (1) History (1) Integration (1) Pain (1) care (1) factors (1) health (1) health#physiology (1) health, (1) of (1) risk (1) risk, (1) stress#mental (1) to (1)
Show Posters:

Social Determinants of Health of a young quilombola population in Amazonia, Brazil

Ligia A FILGUEIRAS1, Hilton P SILVA2, Edson MLS RAMOS2

Abstract
Quilombolas are vulnerable groups formed by populations originated from black Africans who lived in Brazil as slaves. They live by subsistence agriculture, artisanal fisheries, extraction of forest products, selling products in local markets. Their life conditions have not been investigated properly but it is known they are vulnerable as any other groups from the Amazon region. We analyzed 664 children and young people (358 women, 306 men) aged 0 to 19 years from six quilombola communities in the State of Pará, Amazon, Brazil, in relation to the WHO international parameters of growth. Children aged 0 to 4 years showed 5.8% of long and severe delay in growth in height for age, while 19% are at risk of being overweight, as well as 27.6% of women aged 15 to 19 years, which characterizes nutritional transition. The social determinants of health continue to affect the quality of life of these populations: there is no environmental sanitation or running water, homes are still precarious, with no internal bathroom, favoring high levels of intestinal parasitism, skin infections and other diseases. There are no schools and access to health centers is poor, taking much longer than in urban areas. These populations have to deal daily with the structural racism and necropolitics of the state, with high rates of violence, whether territorial, environmental or physical. Despite the specific laws for their health protection, such as the National Policy for the Comprehensive Health of the Black Population (PNSIPN), quilombola populations are still far from international growth parameters in the 21st century. These results can be used to strengthen public policies in health and education in order to combat and prevent racism and the advance of chronic degenerative diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and arterial hypertension.
Presented by
Ligia Filgueiras
Institution
1. University of the State of Pará, Brazil. 2. Pará Federal University
Hashtags
#Quilombola, #Social Determinants of Health, #Amazon, #Brazil
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FOOD PROFILE OF A YOUNG BRAZILIAN POPULATION ASSISTED IN PRIMARY CARE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM

Vivian C AVELINO, Randerson JA SOUSA, Ana Gabriela S COSTA, João Paulo M SOARES, Maria Juliana M SOUZA, Letícia S RODRIGUES, Bruno AG SILVA, Clara SM SILVA, Ligia A FILGUEIRAS

Abstract
Following the global scenario, Brazil faces nutritional transition. Eating habits have become widely variable as a result of the work routine, prioritizing fast food consumption and setting aside structured meals. The north of Brazil is recognized for its nutritional variability, with priority given to fruits, vegetables and cereals. We evaluated whether individuals from a city in the interior of the Brazilian Amazon have reproduced this change in food profile. We applied questionnaires about the number of meals (breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner), addition of salt, frequency of fried food consumption, food groups and types of most consumed proteins from June 2021 to September 2022 to users of the public health system in the country, aged 20 to 50 years old. We excluded pregnant women and people with neuropsychiatric deficits. Our sample consisted of 88 people with female gender (72 | 81.8%) predominating. Most have four meals a day (72 | 81.8%) and breakfast was the least consumed (4 | 4.5%). Most do not add extra salt to their meals (76 | 86.3%) and their main protein is chicken (55 | 62.5%). The daily most consumed group was “Cereals” (75 | 85.2%), the least consumed was “Canned and Ready Seasonings” (7 | 7.9%) and the intake of fried foods was mostly weekly (54 | 61, 3%). We found an inclination to maintain eating habits with low intake of processed foods and sodium, contrary to current trends and consistent with the dietary profile of the northern region of the country.
Presented by
Ana Gabriela Costa
Institution
University of the State of Pará, Brazil
Hashtags
#foodprofile, #eatinghabits, #Amazon, #Brazil
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Cardiometabolic risk from the body composition of a young population using the public health system

Randerson JA SOUSA, Ana Gabriela S COSTA, Vivian C AVELINO, João Paulo M SOARES, Maria Juliana M SOUZA, Letícia S RODRIGUES, Bruno AG SILVA, Clara SM SILVA, Ligia A FILGUEIRAS

Abstract
Body composition is directly related to cardiometabolic disorders. Excess weight triggers inflammation that culminates in cardiovascular disease and metabolic changes. We evaluated the percentage of body fat (BF), visceral fat (VF) and skeletal muscle (SM), together with the body mass index (BMI), to infer possible cardiometabolic risks in a population of young adults. Our research took place on the outskirts of the municipality of Santarém, Amazônia, Brazil, within the scope of primary care of the public health system. We analyzed people between 20 and 50 years of age, excluding pregnant women, people with neuropsychiatric deficits and cardiac pacemakers. All were submitted to anthropometry – height (m) and weight (kg) – and to the assessment of body composition, using the OMRON whole-body sensor – HBF 516. We sampled 88 participants, mostly female (72 | 81.8%), height (Me=1.58m), weight (Me=75.27kg) and BMI (Me=30.16kg/m² | p=0.3959). Regarding the weight condition, 31% (p=0.0214*, highlighting statistical difference between genders) were overweight and 50% (p=0.0807) were obese. The percentage of VF was “very high” in 76% of the sample and SM was “low” in 59% of the participants, in both genders. The VF level was normal in 63% (p-value=0.4720) of the people evaluated. We evidenced a sample with high body mass, due to fat deposits and not lean mass, but that does not have abdominal fat accumulation, that is, a population with peripheral obesity, which may suggest individuals with low risk of developing disorders related to obesity. insulin resistance and early cardiovascular events.
Presented by
Ana Gabriela Costa <ligiafilgueiras@gmail.com>
Institution
University of the State of Pará, Brazil
Hashtags
#cardiometabolic risk, #Amazon, #Brazil,
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The Value of Women's Work: Comparing Energetic Costs of Postpartum Acorn Foraging Methods

Alexandra Niclou, Alexandra Greenwald, Cara Ocobock

Abstract
Prehistoric males are often depicted as primary providers through game hunting while females remain passive beneficiaries of resources by foraging for plants and rearing children. The high nutritional value of acorns, a main energy source in subsistence populations of the American West, sheds new light on the evolutionary role of foraging and the energetic value of women’s work. Here we compare the energetic costs of acorn foraging in females (n=6, ages: 21-37 years) under three different infant-carrying conditions. We measured physical activity levels through accelerometry and metabolic rate (MR, Kcal/h) through indirect calorimetry of foraging “unloaded” and carrying a 10lbs load (mimicking a newborn) in a cradle and in a chest sling. MR increased by 1.40% between unloaded and cradle-carrying foraging bouts (P=0.77) and decreased by 4.8% from unloaded to sling-carrying bouts (P=0.14). Cradle-carrying was 4.30% more energetically costly than sling-carrying (P=0.26). Participants spent 67.87% and 54.74% more time in moderate compared to light exercise during cradle and sling bouts, respectively. Average weight of acorns foraged was greatest for unloaded bouts (2781g) compared to cradle (2668g) or sling bouts (2374g). Our results show no statistical differences in energetic burden between acorn foraging methods; however, this is likely due to the small number of participants. Cradle-carrying, a traditional technology, provides greater freedom of movement than the more constrictive sling-carrying method. The greater caloric output associated with cradle compared to sling technology may reflect greater opportunities for effective foraging resulting in increased numbers of acorns foraged and associated caloric value collected.

Presented by
Alexandra Niclou
Institution
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, University of Notre Dame
Hashtags

COVID-19, Home Birth, and Home-to-Hospital Transfer Experiences in the U.S. Midwest

Aulds, Meredith; Mann, Aubrey; Veile, Amanda

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a rise in birthing people seeking a home rather than hospital birth, largely due to fears of changing hospital policy. Pre-pandemic, ~30,000 people attempted a homebirth and an estimated 3,000-12,000 transferred to the hospital during or after labor. In 2020, ~45,000 people gave birth at home in the US; the number of home-to-hospital transfers also likely rose. The persistence and increase of US homebirths necessitates an investigation of home-to-hospital transfer experience. This research examines the beliefs and attitudes of home birthers and birth workers surrounding the possibility of home-to-hospital transfer in the Midwestern US. Virtual, semi-structured interviews were therefore conducted with birthing people who participated in and/or birth workers who attended a homebirth in the Midwestern US during the COVID-19 pandemic (n=28; March 2020-November 2020). Each birthing person was asked whether they underwent a home-to-hospital transfer. Birthers were also asked what they thought about the possibility of themselves or their infant transferring to the hospital. Of the 18 birthing people interviewed, 5% (n=1) did not give birth at home, 5% had a postpartum transfer, and 5% had a newborn transfer. Furthermore, 72% (n=13) of birthing people cited home-to-hospital transfer as a significant concern when considering homebirth; the other 28% (n=5) did not cite home-to-hospital transfer as a significant concern. This suggests that while home-to-hospital transfer is not common, transfer is an important factor in how birthing people assessed health risks and birth setting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presented by
Meredith Aulds
Institution
Purdue University, Anthropology Department
Hashtags

Adverse childhood experiences and adult cardiovascular disease risk and outcomes: a cross-sectional, population-based study in rural South Africa

Bobbie Maxine Benavidez(a), Nomsa Mahlalela(b), Andrew Wooyoung Kim(c,d)

Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are responsible for more than 30% of non-communicable disease-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, and CVD related morbidity and associated illnesses are expected to double in the region by 2030. These trends are led by South Africa, which has among the highest prevalence of CVD in sub-Saharan Africa. Growing evidence suggests that early developmental experiences, including psychosocial stress, may contribute to an increased risk of CVD across adulthood. Despite these growing health concerns, the long-term physical health impacts of early life adversity remain an understudied area of research, particularly in rural South African communities that experience poor healthcare infrastructure and post-apartheid violence. Here we assess the association between childhood adversity and adult cardiovascular disease risk factors and outcomes in a rural South African sample. We used data from the Health and Aging in Africa (HAALSI) longitudinal cohort study to assess past experiences of childhood adversity and adult CVD outcomes (n=1,814). Multiple regression models were run to test the association between childhood adversity and multiple measures of adult CVD risk. In this sample, childhood adversity was not associated with CVD risk and outcomes in adulthood, including self-reported CVD diagnoses and objective measures of systolic/diastolic blood pressure and glucose. These findings suggest childhood adversity in rural SSA communities may not play a strong role in the development of CVD risk in this sample. However, future work using prospectively collected data, including objective stress and cardiovascular measures, will be needed to confirm this conclusion.
Presented by
Benavidez
Institution
(a)Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA (b)MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa (c)Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, USA (d)SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Theorizing “extrasomatic energy” in Homo sapiens: Biocultural adaptability and human “social metabolism”

Jared M. Bragg

Abstract
Extrasomatic energy is energy harnessed by humans to do work outside physiological metabolism, e.g., controlled use of fire. Another term for discussing this external energy is social metabolism, which refers to the throughput of energy and materials in human social groups. These ideas address similar phenomena at different levels of analysis: external energy focuses on energy utilization relative to individual biological metabolism (e.g., cooking as extrasomatic ‘digestion’). Social metabolism highlights the resource and energy throughput consumed in creating the organizational and physical structures necessary for the persistence and replication of societies. In either case, energy is viewed as extrasomatic when it does work outside an individual organism’s metabolism. This raises the question: what of food transfers, crucial in the human adaptive complex? Here, one individual’s extrasomatic energy comes from work done by another’s physiological (endosomatic) metabolism. This poster reviews previous work on the life history consequences of this form of ‘extrasomatic energy,’ in a first step towards a biocultural framework for theorizing more elaborate forms of ‘external energy’ and ‘social metabolism.’ These models suggest two thoughts regarding the frameworks for conceptualizing extrasomatic energy mentioned above: 1. The first important source of ‘external energy’ in hominin evolution was likely work done by other hominins to e.g., provide food 2. The social metabolism does not occur in a separate causal sphere (social vs. biological). Rather, the social metabolic process involves the re-arrangement of entities into a larger system, with “wholes” and “parts” undergoing mutual transformation.

Presented by
Jared Bragg <bragg1@kenyon.edu>
Institution
Northwestern University, Kenyon College
Hashtags
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Available April 19th 10 - 11am

Rural Life, Pesticide Exposure, and Puberty: A preliminary analysis of the relationship between industrial agriculture and pubertal timing among girls in rural Costa Rica

Mecca Howe-Burris and Andrea Wiley

Abstract
Presented by
Mecca Howe-Burris
Institution
Indiana University
Hashtags
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“It is important to bring up throughout pregnancy and not just after”: how authoritative knowledge shapes postpartum health experiences among Chicagoland birthing parents

Margaret S. Butler

Abstract
It is well established that biomedicine shapes individual experiences across pregnancy and birth, but this has rarely been considered postpartum. Because the biomedical context is the most common source of healthcare in the US, it is the most dominant and accepted knowledge system shaping reproductive health outcomes. Postpartum depression and suboptimal breastfeeding are two common complications lying at the intersection of healthcare with biological and social experiences. Often co-occurring, both can cause detrimental health outcomes for the parent-infant dyad which persist across the life course. Therefore, I aimed to examine how birthing people in Chicagoland receive and use biomedical information about postpartum depression and suboptimal breastfeeding. Semi-structured phone interviews (n=25) were conducted November 2020-March 2021 during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Participants also completed two surveys measuring how biomedical information shaped their understanding of breastfeeding and postpartum depression. Interviews were thematically coded and analyzed in Atlas.ti9, characterizing the sources of information participants used (e.g., social media, prenatal classes, books,) the types of information received (e.g., anecdotal, expert, none,) and participants’ perspectives on the quality and utility of the information types and sources. Salient themes include postpartum mental health was rarely discussed during prenatal care visits and the type of information deemed appropriate for infant feeding or mental health varied on an individual basis. Finally, information avoidance was believed by some to be protective against negative experiences. This study highlights clear gaps in perinatal healthcare and information dissemination, with lasting effects on dyadic health and well-being.
Presented by
Butler
Institution
Northwestern University, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags

Water insecurity and perceptions of stress among women from Mexico City

Paloma S. Contreras(1), Abigail Bigham(2)

Abstract
Water insecurity is a problem defined as the lack of adequate, reliable, and affordable water for a healthy life. Therefore, it represents a major psychosocial stressor negatively impacting well-being. This study addresses the connections between water insecurity, “water-worry”, and psychosocial stress among women from Mexico City. Using surveys applied through interviews to 200 women from water-secure (WS) and water-insecure (WI) neighborhoods, we studied the subjective experiences and emotional responses of women that are responsible of securing water access for all household members. This study provides a better understanding of the extent to which the experience of water insecurity impacts mental health.
Presented by
Paloma S. Contreras <palomacz@umich.edu>
Institution
(1) University of Michigan, Anthropology; (2) University of California, Los Angeles
Hashtags
#waterinsecurity #mentalhealth #stress #mexico #health
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Available Apr 19th, 10 to 11 am

Weight-based teasing, allostatic load markers, and weight loss strategies among U.S. youth attempting weight loss

JM Cullin; KE White

Abstract
Objectives: Fat stigma has been linked to impaired cardiovascular health and allostatic load in adults, young adults, and late adolescents. Less is known about how experiences with weight-based teasing (WBT) is related to potential physiologic dysregulation in youth. We assessed cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune function markers in children and adolescents trying to lose weight, and compared those who did and did not list WBT as a reason for attempted weight loss. Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2012) included WBT as reason for attempted weight loss (binary yes/no) and covariates, as well as cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune function biomarkers among 968 US youths aged 8-15 years. We used these markers to calculate allostatic load and also assessed weight loss strategies. Results: CRP varied between groups (β = 0.38; 95% CI: 0.09 - 0.68; p=0.01). Neither allostatic load nor the other biomarkers varied significantly between the two groups. All participants were attempting weight loss, but those actively trying to lose weight because of WBT were more likely to view their weight as “overweight” and were more likely to skip meals as a strategy to lose weight. Conclusions: WBT was associated with higher CRP, higher weight perception, and greater likelihood of skipping meals. Skipping meals has been associated with atrial fibrillation, reduced diet quality, development of type 2 diabetes, and menstrual disorders. Longitudinal research is needed to elucidate potential mediating factors in the relationship between fat stigma and allostatic load as well as timing of onset of physiologic dysregulation related to WBT.
Presented by
Cullin & White <jcullin@iu.edu>
Institution
Indiana University, Human Biology Program; Indiana University, School of Public Health
Hashtags
#HBA2023 #WeightTeasing #FatStigma #AllostaticLoad #WeightLoss
Chat with Presenter
Available April 19, 10-11am

Pregnancy After Gender Affirming Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy

Lukas Daniels

Abstract
Presented by
Lukas <d.lukas@wustl.edu>
Institution
Washington University in Saint Louis
Hashtags
#gender #transgender #barriers to health care #pregnancy #fertility
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Associations between psychosocial stress, food insufficiency, and cortisol in a small-scale horticultural population

A Dervarics1, M Emery Thompson2, D Cummings3, P Hooper3, D Eid Rodriguez4, H Kaplan3, J Stieglitz5, M Gurven6, BC Trumble1,7

Abstract
Cortisol has long been associated with psychosocial stress and anxiety, but it also plays critical metabolic roles. Associations between cortisol and stress have been repeatedly assessed in industrialized populations with low levels of physical activity and high levels of adiposity, but fewer studies have been conducted in physically active subsistence populations with occasional food insufficiency. We assed associations between log urinary cortisol and a 15-question psychosocial stress screening among the Tsimane, a small-scale horticulturalist population in Bolivia. First morning urinary samples were collected from 710 individuals (50.3% female, aged 30-90, mean age 52.5 years) who were screened for symptoms of psychosocial stress. Controlling for age, sex, and bodyfat, log cortisol was associated with a composite measure of self-rated stress (Std B=0.173. p<0.001). Reporting anxiety about food insufficiency was among the strongest predictors of higher cortisol (Std B =0.101, p=0.022), controlling age, sex and bodyfat. This suggests that associations between psychological stress and cortisol can be generalized to populations living outside of industrialized contexts, and that food insufficiency is associated with both higher levels of cortisol, and psychosocial stress.
Presented by
Audrey Dervarics <adervari@asu.edu>
Institution
1School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona; 2Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico; 3Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, California; 4Institute of Biomedical Research, Faculty of Medicine, San Simon University, Cochabamba, Bolivia; 5Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse, France; 6Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California; 7Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Hashtags

Does social safety predict health inequality among college-educated participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)?

Alicia Fahrner, Jake Aronoff, Thom McDade, Christopher W Kuzawa

Abstract
Self-identified race can be used to predict certain health outcomes in the United States, with Black Americans experiencing higher rates of hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Although income, education, and other measures of SES can contribute to these differences, race-related health inequality has been documented among all socioeconomic strata, and some studies find larger racial disparities among high SES individuals. One potential cause stems from perceptions of social safety, reflected in deficiencies in respectful treatment, explicit inclusion, and racism-related vigilance. We evaluate the role of insufficient social safety as a contributor to health outcomes among middle/upper-class, highly educated non-Hispanic Black Americans (n=559). Data come from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a representative US study that has followed a multi-ethnic sample from adolescence into adulthood. Building on our prior work with this cohort, and controlling for appropriate confounding variables, we use early neighbourhood disadvantage, perceptions of prejudice, interpersonal treatment, and life expectations as indices of social safety from Waves 1 (ages 12-19), which we will relate to BMI, waist circumference, C-reactive protein, depressive symptoms and self-rated health as markers of chronic disease risk and overall health measured in Wave 4 (2008-2009, ages 24-32). Our models will clarify the role between social safety and important causes of US health disparities.
Presented by
Fahrner
Institution
Northwestern University, Department of Anthropology; Northwestern University, Institute for Policy Research
Hashtags

Dietary habits, visceral fat and the risk of cardiovascular disease in young people assisted by primary health care

Ana Gabriela S COSTA, Randerson JA SOUSA, Vivian C AVELINO, João Paulo M SOARES, Maria Juliana M SOUZA, Letícia S RODRIGUES, Bruno AG SILVA, Clara SM SILVA, Ligia A FILGUEIRAS

Abstract
Changes in eating habits in Brazil have led to epidemiological shifts, with greater exposure to cardiovascular risk factors (CVR). The Amazon, despite preserving much of its food culture, suffers great external influence to adopt contemporary trends. We evaluated eating habits through the number of meals eaten per day, main protein consumed, addition of salt to meals and visceral fat (VF) to infer the impact on CVR. We carried out the research in a city in the north of Brazil – Santarém, state of Pará –, and we applied questionnaires to 20-50-year-old users of the public health system in the country, with VF being evaluated with the OMRON whole body sensor – HBF 516. We excluded pregnant women, people with pacemakers and neuropsychiatric deficits. Among the total sample of 88 people, the predominant gender was female (72 | 81.8%). We noticed the majority do not add extra salt to their meals (76 | 86.3%), the most consumed protein was chicken (55 | 62.5%) and the consumption of fried foods was mostly weekly (54 | 61.3%). As for VF, we observed a normal value in 63% (p-value=0.4720) of the sample. Given the higher consumption of chicken in relation to red meat, sodium intake and self-reported non-excessive fried foods and abdominal fat with a predominance of normal value, there are indications these young adults do not present factors that significantly impact the risk of having cardiovascular diseases.
Presented by
Ligia Filgueiras <ligiafilgueiras@gmail.com>
Institution
University of the State of Pará, Brazil
Hashtags
#nutrition #cardiovascular risk factors #Amazonpopulation #Brazil
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Inflammatory profiles, adiposity, and cardiometabolic health amongst Yakut Adults

JS Griffin, P Saravanan, MV Sorensen

Abstract
Presented by
Jacob Griffin
Institution
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Pubertal Timing in Medieval Ireland

Allison C. Ham

Abstract
In living populations, variation in pubertal timing is used as a measure of health, as delays can be associated with factors such as high disease burdens and inadequate nutrition. Using the skeletal remains of individuals dating to the medieval period in Ireland (CE 500-1550), this study analyzes pubertal timing in conjunction with vertebral neural canal (VNC) size to elucidate the effects of environmental conditions and developmental stress on patterns of health in the past. Pubertal timing was assessed on individuals between 8-26 years (n=115) using osteological markers associated with the adolescent growth spurt: mandibular canine mineralization, cervical vertebrae maturation, and fusion of the hand, elbow, wrist, and iliac crest. The threshold for delayed pubertal timing was based on the 95% confidence interval (pooled sex) for expected age of attainment for pubertal stage (e.g., peak height velocity). Small VNC anteroposterior and transverse measurements were defined as falling below the mean for age category. A Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between delayed pubertal timing and small VNC size. A significant association was found between delayed pubertal timing and small VNC size for thoracic (p=.016) and lumbar (p=.042) transverse measurements, but not any anteroposterior measurements. The results of the analysis suggest that environmental conditions during the late childhood/early adolescence period have more of an effect on pubertal maturation than early childhood conditions. These findings improve our understanding of the effect of environmental conditions during critical periods on past health outcomes and promotes the use of shared measures between biological disciplines.
Presented by
Ham <acham@email.sc.edu>
Institution
University of South Carolina, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags
#puberty #ireland #bioarchaeology

‘Too young to decide’: Experiences of prenatal care in primiparous adolescents in a in a public healthcare center in Veracruz, Mexico

KI Hernández-Gámiz1, N Paredes Ruvalcaba2, A Núñez-de la Mora3

Abstract
El apoyo y acompañamiento a las mujeres gestantes tanto familiar como social, incluídos los de los servicios de salud, son fundamentales para una gestación y un parentaje saludables. Además del seguimiento de los aspectos biomédicos del embarazo, las visitas prenatales ofrecen a las mujeres gestantes, sus parejas y sus familias, consejería e información sobre conductas saludables y de prevención, detección de casos de violencia interpersonal, y acompañamiento psicológico, particularmente importantes para los grupos de adolescentes en contextos de alta vulnerabilidad. Sin embargo, la evidencia en relación con los determinantes de la calidad de la atención prenatal que reciben las mujeres adolescentes en el sistema de salud mexicano y sus efectos en la salud es muy escasa. Este estudio documentó la experiencia de un grupo de mujeres primigestas de entre 15 y 18 años de edad que recibió atención prenatal en un centro público de salud en Veracruz, una de las ocho entidades que concentran la mitad de los nacimientos en mujeres de edad adolescente, y las tasas de mortalidad perinatal más altas del país. Además de barreras estructurales que afectan la atención, las entrevistas en profundidad revelaron que, si bien las mujeres participantes consideran haber recibido una buena atención, existen aspectos socioculturales, incluyendo las relaciones de género, clase y discriminación por edad que limitan o perjudican las interacciones y la comunicación entre las partes, entorpeciendo el proceso de atención prenatal, provocando malestar e impactando las decisiones de cuidado y conductas de salud de las mujeres gestantes.
Presented by
Hernández-Gámiz <karlaivanna@outlook.es>
Institution
Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, México 2 Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 3 Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, México
Hashtags
#adolescentpregnancy
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Marital conflict, parental well-being, and hormone reactivity during the postpartum period for U.S. mothers and fathers

Carolyn Homolka, Lee T. Gettler

Abstract
Marital conflict impacts mental and physical health for the partners involved. Less is known about these dynamics in couples in the post-partum period when parents face heightened psychosocial stress and daily childcare demands and are also at increased risk for developing a range of mental health conditions. Studying couples with three- to six-month-old infants in Indiana (n = 95), we assessed parental mental well-being (depressive symptoms, parental distress), markers of marital conflict (partner hostility and verbal aggression, conflict frequency), and parenting (direct childcare, play). For mothers, markers of marital conflict were not meaningfully correlated with measures of mental health or distress. In contrast, fathers who reported more frequent conflict scored higher for depressive symptoms (r = 0.33; p < 0.05), and fathers who perceived more hostility tended to show more depressive symptoms (r = 0.27; p = 0.07). Although not statistically significant, fathers tended to play less with their child when they were more distressed or more depressed (r’s = -0.21, -0.23), whereas mothers’ caregiving was not meaningfully linked to our measures of mental well-being. We will also examine cortisol and oxytocin responses to a contested marital interaction in relationship to the measures of conflict and mental health. Our contrasting results between mothers and fathers, with stronger links with conflict among the latter, tend to differ from previous findings. They may point to greater flexibility in care demands for fathers than mothers in this population and suggest a role for the marital relationship in fathers’ mental well-being during the post-partum.
Presented by
Carolyn Homolka
Institution
University of Notre Dame, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags

Mental health, blood pressure, and nail cortisol among refugees in Serbia

Jelena Jankovic-Rankovic1,2, Rahul C Oka3,5, Jerrold S Meyer4, Lee T Gettler 3,5

Abstract
Traumatic experiences have been associated with changes in neuroendocrine and cardiovascular function and are strongly linked to adverse health outcomes. Refugees frequently experience uncertainty, trauma, and chronic psychosocial stress throughout their transitory migratory stages, with women often at greater risk of exposure to specific traumatic experiences, such as physical violence. However, we know little about how individual variation in those domains relates to their physiological and mental health. Building from our prior work, we draw on new mental health, blood pressure, and fingernail cortisol data collected in 2019-2020 from refugees (n = 98) in two Asylum Centers in Serbia. We found that refugees who reported experiences of trauma had higher recent stress and poorer mental and physical health (all p<0.05). We also found that women reported poorer well-being and physical health (p<0.05). However, refugees’ PTSD-related symptoms were not meaningfully linked to trauma or gender. Women and men exhibited different stress-relevant physiological profiles. We found that women had lower cortisol (p=0.07), whereas men exhibited higher arterial blood pressure (p<0.05). Trauma was not statistically significantly associated with refugees’ cortisol or blood pressure. Our results suggest that exposure to migration-related trauma may increase refugees’ susceptibility to psychosocial distress and adverse health, with women reporting poorer mental and physical health outcomes following displacement. Although correlative, our findings are suggestive of gender differences in physiological profiles that may result from the dynamics of their experiences in intermittent transitional stages and point to potential risks for both women’s and men’s long-term health.
Presented by
Jelena Jankovic-Rankovic
Institution
1Center for Global Health, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA 2Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA 3Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA 4Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts- Amherst, MA, USA 5Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
Hashtags
#refugees#trauma#chronic stress#mental health#physiology
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Available April 19 from 10-11 am PDT

Gender-minority stress and health among transgender and gender diverse people in the United States

Dee Jolly, Alicia DeLouize, Kelsi Kuehn, Tian Walker, Jae A. Puckett, Debra A. Hope, Richard Mocarski, Robert-Paul Juster, L. Zachary DuBois

Abstract
Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people endure high levels of gender minority stress, the psychosocial stress endured in response to gender-based stigma. Embodied stress effects can negatively impact health, with exacerbated effects for those with multiple marginalized identities. Here we aim to understand embodied stress effects among various groups and gain insights into the experiences of TGD individuals living in Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, and Tennessee (N=158). From Fall 2019 – March 2020, baseline interviews and surveys measured global health, physical symptoms, resilience, mental health, and enacted stigma. Enacted stigma events in the past year were positively associated with the number of physical symptoms (B: .460, 95% CI: .217, .703, p <.001), but not with global health (p = .471). Moderation analyses examining race, social support, depression, resilience, gender identity, state of residence, and rural/suburban/urban residence showed no significant interaction effects. However, being a BIPOC (B: 1.841, 95% CI: .235-3.447, p=.025), resilience (B: -1.606, 95% CI: -2.381, -.831, p < .001), depression (B: .242, 95% CI: .132, .352, p < .001), living in a rural environment (B: -2.513, 95% CI: -4.601, -.425, p=.019), and being nonbinary/genderqueer (B: 2.902, 95% CI: 1.199, 4.605, p=.001) were associated with physical symptoms. Being a BIPOC (B: -.721, 95% CI: -1.385, -.057, p=.034), resilience (B: .468, 95% CI: .145, .790, p = .004), and depression (B: -.073, 95% CI: -.120, -.026, p=.003) were associated with global health. These results highlight need for further investigation of how marginalization and stigma can negatively affect health and well-being.
Presented by
Dee Jolly
Institution
University of Oregon
Hashtags
#transhealth #embodiedstress
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Body composition assessment methods are not created equal: Investigating the suitability of body fat measurement approaches among Shuar children experiencing rapid market integration

EY Kim1, JJ Snodgrass2,3, MA Liebert4, FC Madimenos5, LS Sugiyama2, LR Dugas6,7, H Pontzer8, SS Urlacher9,10

Abstract
Human biologists and anthropologists apply numerous methods for measuring human body composition and body fat percentage (BF%) in evolutionary- and health-related studies. These methods are often used interchangeably across diverse human groups. Problematically, a growing body of research indicates that the method-specific accuracy of BF% assessment varies with factors such as population, age, and obesity status. In this study, we determine the suitability of several BF% assessment methods for Indigenous Amazonian youth and use them to investigate metabolic risk factors for obesity. BF% was assessed via three methods among Shuar children (N = 65, age 4-13y) of Ecuador: 1) doubly labeled water (BF%DLW), 2) Lange caliper measurement of triceps and subscapular skinfolds (BF%SF), 3) RJL Quantum II bioelectrical impedance analysis (BF%BIA). Initial results treating BF%DLW as the reference measure indicate that a significant difference from BF%BIA (p = <0.001), but not BF%SF (p = 0.653), accurately reflects BF% among rural living children. The opposite is found for peri-urban living children, with significant difference in BF%SF (p = <0.001), but not BF%BIA (p = 0.981), proving reliable. This relationship appears to be driven by group differences in BF% (p = <0.001) but may also relate to other market-integration factors (e.g., hydration status) now being investigated. These findings highlight the need to identify appropriate BF% methods for specific groups and stages of market integration. Analysis is underway to advance this work by testing the usefulness of these BF% measures for investigating pathways of metabolic fat oxidation linking market-integration with obesity risk.
Presented by
Lizzy Kim
Institution
1Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX; 2Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR; 3Global Station for Indigenous Studies & Cultural Diversity, Hokkaido University, Japan; 4Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ; 5Department of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY), Queens, NY; 6Department of Public Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL; 7Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Cape Town, South Africa; 8Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC; 9Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX; 10Child and Brain Development Program, CIFAR, Toronto, Canada
Hashtags
#bodycomposition #bodyfat #bodycompositionmethods #skinfolds #bioelectricalimpedance #stableisotopedilution
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Available April 19th 10:00-10:45am

Intergenerational associations between maternal adverse childhood experiences and child mental health, and the mediating effect of maternal depression: A cross-sectional, population-based study of mother-child dyads in rural, southwestern Uganda

Andrew W. Kim, Amber D. Rieder, Christine E. Cooper-Vince, Bernard Kakuhikire, Charles Baguma, Emily N. Satinsky, Jessica M. Perkins, Allen Kiconco, Elizabeth B. Namara, Justin D. Rasmussen, Scholastic Ashaba, David R. Bangsberg, Eve S. Puffer, Alexander C. Tsai

Abstract
The long-term consequences of childhood adversity on the development of future diseases across the lifecourse are becoming well-known, and growing evidence suggests that these effects could manifest into the next generation. Studies have shown that maternal childhood adversity may increase children’s risk of psychopathology, highlighting a potential intergenerational mechanism of psychiatric risk. While recent studies have implicated a number of biological, psychological, and behavioral pathways, the intergenerational mechanisms that may mediate the child mental health effects of maternal childhood adversity are not well understood. Furthermore, the extent to which these mediating pathways are modifiable is also not known. In this analysis, we examine the intergenerational effects of maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and child mental health outcomes in rural Uganda, as well as the potentially mediating role of maternal depression in this pathway. Additionally, we test the extent to which the mediating effect of maternal depression on child mental health was moderated by maternal structural social capital. In our sample of 218 mother-child pairs, 61 mothers (28%) and 47 children (22%) showed symptoms meeting cutoffs for clinically significant psychological distress. Maternal ACEs was significantly associated with the severity of child conduct problems, peer problems, and total child difficulty scores. Maternal depression mediated the relationship between maternal ACEs and conduct problems, peer problems, and total difficulty, but this mediating effect was not moderated by maternal structural social capital. These findings highlight the importance for structural interventions and social programs aimed at mitigating child abuse and improving mental health and family outcomes.
Presented by
Andrew Wooyoung Kim <awkim@berkeley.edu>
Institution
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA USA; Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, NC, USA; Départment de Psychiatrie, Universitié de Genève, Switzerland; Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; Center for Global Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Oregon Health and Science University - Portland State University School of Public Health, Portland, OR, USA; Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Hashtags
#mentalhealth #intergenerational #aces #moderatedmediation

Extreme Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia: Its global predictors, and the potential role of placentation

Catherine Kitrinos

Abstract
Over 1 million infants globally experience severe hyperbilirubinemia that is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. However, the causes of this condition are not well understood. In this study, I asked: 1) which factors predict the prevalence of extreme neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (ENH) across 83 countries and 2) whether there may be an evolutionary explanation for ENH in humans. I used data on extreme neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, neonatal sepsis, preterm birth, and malaria prevalence from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, breastfeeding prevalence from Unicef, altitude data from Tremblay & Ainslie, 2021, GDP per capita from the United Nations, and relative country peacefulness from the Global Peace Index. I used linear models to test for associations between ENH and my predictors while controlling for each factor, and the Sum of AICc weights to determine which factors best predict ENH. I reviewed literature on the mechanism, ontogeny, phylogeny, and adaptive significance of ENH. I found that the Global Peace Index, GDP per capita, sepsis, longitude, and G6PD deficiency are the strongest predictors of ENH. I also found that, 1) neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is only found in hemochoriate mammals, 2) in primates, bilirubin control mirrors trends in placental invasiveness, 3) bilirubin is an antioxidant under the control of a xenobiotic sensor, and 4) hyperbilirubinemia is associated with in-utero exposure to pollutants. I propose neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a defense against maternal stressors, necessitated by the uniquely invasive human placenta, and that recent increases in environmental pollutants may have led to mismatch which exacerbates this condition.
Presented by
Catie Kitrinos
Institution
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Hashtags
#evolutionarymedicine #globalhealth #neonatalhyperbilirubinemia #jaundice
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Available April 18: 8-12 am

Do SARS-CoV-2 antibodies predict cellular immune response in an ex-vivo SARS-CoV-2 antigen challenge using small volumes of capillary whole blood?

Keegan C. Krause, Aaron A. Miller, Amilia Sancilio, Matthew Caputo, Sally M. McFall, Robert M. Murphy, Chad J. Achenbach, Thomas W. McDade

Abstract
The antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination is widely and easily measured with serological assays; however, the level of cellular immunity and inflammatory response following previous infection or vaccination is less understood, particularly in non-clinical settings. To address this gap, we developed a capillary blood collection and cell culture protocol to evaluate the association between antibody-mediated and cellular immune defenses against SARS-CoV-2 in a community-based setting. We will also test the hypothesis that cellular immunity will be a stronger predictor of infection outcomes than antibody levels. Using the initial participant pool of adults over 18 years (N=7) from the ongoing Long Immuno-DASH (LID) study, we quantified IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein for Wild Type 1 (WT), Omicron (O), and Delta (D) variants in dried blood spot samples, and the cytokine response (IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, TNF𝛂, IFN𝛾) to an ex-vivo SARS-CoV-2 antigen challenge. All participants tested positive for COVID-19 within 5 days of baseline (Day 0). Capillary whole blood spots were taken at Day 0 and Day 7, and point-of-care nasal and throat SARS-CoV-2 tests on Days 0 through 7. Preliminary analyses from Day 0 with all initial samples (N=21) show moderate Spearman’s correlations between Wild Type, Omicron, Delta and Nucleocapsid IgG antibodies and cytokine responses: IL-1β, IL-2, and IFNy. Prior SARS-Cov-2 infection appears to shift response to the cell-mediated immune response, particularly in a pronounced (non- statistically significant) expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IFNγ) and potential Th1 T cell activation.
Presented by
Krause
Institution
Northwestern University, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags
#immunology #inflammation # COVID-19
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Available April 19th

The Sausage of Science Podcast Increases Views of Articles in American Journal of Human Biology

HFM Lewellyn, CD Lynn, C Ocobock

Abstract
Recent studies of Twitter use by scholars suggests that posting about articles on the social media platform increases article views. Podcasts are becoming a popular medium for promoting scholarly work, but the impact of this podcasting for highlighting research is unknown. The Human Biology Association and American Journal of Human Biology have supported the affiliated Sausage of Science (SoS) Podcast, which has been in production for five years. The show has 180 episodes with over 82,000 combined views. To help explore the potential of this avenue of public engagement for human biology research, we compare views of American Journal of Human Biology articles featured on SoS (n = 27) to views of control articles appearing in the journal but not highlighted on the podcast. Control articles were those appearing directly above or below the highlighted article in the same issue of the journal. Analysis was conducted using independent samples t-test. Mean views for podcast-highlighted articles was greater than mean views for control articles, but the difference was not significant. However, there were influential data points in the small sample and closer scrutiny suggests a trend that merits further investigation. We discuss the implications for these findings in considering the impacts of podcasting in public engagement.
Presented by
Flynn Lewellyn
Institution
The University of Alabama, Department of Anthropology, The University of Notre Dame, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags
#publicengagement #podcast #sausageofscience #sausageofsciencepodcast #interdisciplinary

How Market Integration Gets Under the Skin: Cultural Consonance Models of Lifestyle Success and Embodied Stress among Indigenous Shuar Youth

Melissa A. Liebert (1), Felicia C. Madimenos (2), Samuel S. Urlacher (3,4), Theresa E. Gildner (5), Tara J. Cepon Robins (6), J. Josh Snodgrass (7,8), and Lawrence S. Sugiyama (7)

Abstract
Cultural consonance – the degree to which a person aligns with a cultural model – can identify pathways through which sociocultural changes associated with market integration (MI) become biologically embodied as stress; however, limited research has applied these models with youth. Here, we developed cultural consonance models of lifestyle success for Indigenous Shuar youth (aged 5-15 years) and examined their associations with physical and psychological stress. Data were collected in three stages from the market-integrated Upano Valley (UV) and the remote Cross-Cutucú (CC) regions: 1) free-list data were collected from 37 UV and 20 CC children to identify lifestyle success items; 2) 23 UV and 28 CC children rated the importance of each item to construct regional lifestyle success models; and 3) agreement scores were determined for 21 UV and 24 CC children to estimate cultural consonance. Measures of stress were also collected from Stage 3 participants, including Epstein-Barr virus antibodies (EBV-Ab), salivary diurnal cortisol parameters, and self-reported emotional states and day quality. CC children had significantly lower cultural consonance scores than UV children (.52 vs. .67; p < .001), suggesting CC children maintain lower adherence to the cultural model, potentially due to limited access to relevant lifestyle items. For CC children only, cultural consonance significantly predicted EBV-Ab (r = -0.55, p = .028) and day quality (r = 0.48, p = .028), indicating that lower cultural consonance is associated with higher levels of stress. This study demonstrates how cultural consonance models may elucidate links between MI and psychosocial stress for youth.
Presented by
Melissa A. Liebert <melissa.liebert@nau.edu>
Institution
(1) Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University; (2) Department of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY); (3) Department of Anthropology, Baylor University; (4) Child and Brain Development Program, CIFAR; (5) Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis; (6) Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs; (7) Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon; (8) Global Station for Indigenous Studies & Cultural Diversity
Hashtags
#Shuar #Ecuador #Life History #Youth #Cultural Consonance #Market Integration #Stress #Cortisol #Health Disparities
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Available Wednesday, April 19, 2023 - 10-11AM PDT - Password: 215904

Evidence of the inverse care law: Rates of depression diagnosis and symptom-based depression are differentially associated with socioeconomic status in the Study of global AGEing and adult health (SAGE)

AK Locke, AM DeLouize, MA Liebert, Tian Walker, and JJ Snodgrass

Abstract
Globally, older adults experience depression at almost twice the rate of other populations, but underdiagnosis is likely common due to low socioeconomic status (SES) and limited access to healthcare. This phenomenon is described by the inverse care law, which states that access to healthcare is less available for the populations in greatest need. Here we investigate the inverse care law and its relationship to depression using data from Wave 1 of the World Health Organization's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE), which includes nationally representative samples of people age 50 years and older from China, Ghana, India, Mexico, and South Africa (N = 23,351). Notably, this study collected both self-reported depression diagnoses and symptom-based questions using a validated diagnostic algorithm. It was hypothesized there would be an interaction between wealth and symptom-based depression when predicting depression diagnosis rates, such that there would be a higher likelihood of having symptom-based depression without a clinical diagnosis in lower wealth groups. Results from a multiple linear regression showed there was an interaction between wealth and depression when predicting diagnosis in all five countries (bs = -0.07 to 1.15, ps < .001). Specifically, rates of depression without a diagnosis were high in low SES groups whereas rates of depression diagnosis without the presence of depression in the last 12 months was higher in high SES groups. These findings illustrate an imbalance of care and highlights discrepancies that occur when measuring depression exclusively based on self-reported clinical diagnoses.
Presented by
Locke <abiell@uoregon.edu>
Institution
University of Oregon, Department of Biology
Hashtags
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Available April 19th 10am-11am

The Effect of the Birth Experience on Breastfeeding Outcomes among non-Hispanic Black Women in North Carolina

Julia A, Mackessy, Amanda L. Thompson, Margaret E. Bentley, Heather M. Wasser

Abstract
The influence of cesarean section on breastfeeding initiation and duration has been well-documented. However, few studies have looked at the impact of the birth experience on breastfeeding outcomes, despite evidence from countries outside of the United States that birth complications influence breastfeeding duration. The present study predicted that among a population of non-Hispanic Black (NHB) women in North Carolina, a mismatch between a person’s intention to deliver and their delivery outcome would affect their ability to achieve their intended breastfeeding duration. This study used data from Mothers & Others, a two-group randomized control trial. Data were collected between November 2013 and December 2017 from women who self-identified as NHB, English-speaking and were 18-39 years old. Participants were enrolled at 28-weeks’ gestation and received an education intervention via follow-up home visits at 3-, 6-, 9-, 12- and 15-months postpartum from a peer educator. Data were collected via survey at enrollment and each home visit. 128 of the 265 participants (48.30%) had a mismatch between their delivery intent and delivery outcome (labor mismatch). In bivariate analysis, maternal BMI and low-income status, was associated with labor mismatch. Logistic regression models were used to test whether a labor mismatch is associated with a mismatch between their breastfeeding intent and their breastfeeding duration outcome controlling for maternal and sociodemographic variables. Our results suggest that NHB women with an obese pre-pregnancy BMI may need extra support in achieving their birth and breastfeeding goals.
Presented by
Julia Mackessy
Institution
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Hashtags
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Available April 19th, 8am-10am PDT

Evaluating the burden of caregiving on diabetes management in Mexico using the Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE)  

Zag McDowall, Tian Walker, Alicia M DeLouize, J. Josh Snodgrass

Abstract
Rates of diabetes are continuing to rise globally, with disproportionate impacts on low- and middle-income countries. The risks of complications, including eye damage and limb loss, increase exponentially with high glucose levels. Caregivers, who are balancing their caregiving responsibilities with managing their diabetes, are at higher risk for complications. Additional societal pressures, cultural expectations, and chronic psychosocial stress may further increase this risk, disproportionately impacting low-income women. The present study was designed to assess how caregiving impacts diabetes through measures of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c – an average of blood glucose levels over 2-3 months) by examining survey and biomarker data on women age 50 and older (n = 420) with diabetes (by HbA1c or diagnosis) collected in the World Health Organization’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) in Mexico. We found no significant difference in HbA1c levels, b = -0.41, 95% CI [-1.21, 0.39], underdiagnosis, b = 0.14, 95% CI [-0.13, 0.40], taking medication in the past 2 weeks, b = -0.09, 95% CI [-0.26, 0.09], or following a diet and exercise plan for diabetes, b = -0.20, 95% CI [-0.43, 0.03] between caregivers with diabetes and non-caregivers with diabetes. This was an unexpected finding, based on similar studies in high-income countries. These results suggest variations in efficacy of diabetes treatments or in the notion of caregiver burden. With both increasing needs for caregivers and rising diabetes rates, understanding the variation in the relationship between the two is vital to public health.
Presented by
Zag McDowall
Institution
University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags
#caregiving #diabetes #hba1c

Maternal and household predictors of nutritional outcomes in children in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

PP Meléndez Noriega 1, SK Winter 1, M Gauck 1, J Macher 1, B Kitali 2,3,4, F Shirima 2,3,4, N Ng’unda 2,3,4, Z Massawe 2,3,4, B Kavishe 2,3,4, R Uronu 2,3,4, E Muro2,3,4, T Assenga 2,3,4, N Sawe 2,3,4, I Haule 2,3,4, AA Uronu 2,3,4, L Masokoto 2,3,4, E Samky 2,3,4, E Ngomu 2,3,4, H Uronu 2,3,4, I Mushi 2,3,4, J Feruzi 2,3,4, S Semuva 2,3,4, I Swai 2,3,4, R Philemon 2,3,4, I Kiwelu 2,3,4, B Mmbaga 2,3,4, K Wander 1

Abstract
Malnutrition is multifactorial; it can be caused by inadequate food quantity or quality, or nutrient loss to infectious agents. Malnutrition is also multi-dimensional, including both energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency. We evaluated whole capillary blood for iron deficiency via soluble transferrin receptor (sTfr ≥ 11.7 mg/L) and anemia via hemoglobin (Hb < 11 g/dl) among 190 children and asked parents to describe household and individual characteristics. We assessed cross-sectional predictors for multiple components of nutrition: height for age Z-score (HAZ), anemia, and iron deficiency. HAZ increased with maternal age (0.028; 95%CI: -0.005, 0.062), declined with maternal parity (-0.156; 95%CI: -0.327, 0.013), and increased with household income (0.167; 95%CI: 0.024, 0.310). Anemia was more common among children with positive stool microscopy (i.e., intestinal infection with a macroparasite) (Coef: 1.323; 95%CI: 0.019, 2.628). Iron deficiency was unassociated with any of the maternal or household characteristics considered. Overall, these findings suggest that larger family size and/or fewer familial resources may compromise the energy available to children to support growth, but do not seem to be a primary driver of micronutrient deficiency. Blood loss due to intestinal parasites seems to be a primary driver of anemia. Understanding of the nutritional ecology in which outcomes like stunting and anemia occur is important to shaping both public health programs aimed at preventing malnutrition and research aimed at understanding malnutrition's downstream impacts on health outcomes.
Presented by
Meléndez Noriega, Pamela & Winter, Sierra <pmelend1@binghamton.edu>
Institution
1 Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, New York, USA; 2 Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania; 3 Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania; 4 Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Hashtags
#ironstatus, #anemia, #childmalnutrition, #householdcomposition, #maternalparity
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Available April 19, 10-11 PDT

Impacts of COVID-19 Psychosocial Stress On Sleep Duration and Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study in South Africa

Shubhra Murarka and Andrew Wooyoung Kim

Abstract
Poor sleep quality is associated with an increased risk for a wide variety of physical and mental health outcomes, including cardiovascular diseases, mental illnesses, autoimmune disorders. Since the onset of the pandemic, studies worldwide have reported an increase in sleep-related conditions, possibly due to the rapid transition into the stressful conditions of the pandemic and lockdown. While stress is known to be a leading cause of poor sleep quality, the role of COVID-19 related psychosocial stress on sleep quality is relatively understudied, particularly in non-Western and low- and middle-income contexts. Here, we aimed to examine the association between COVID-19 stress and multiple indices of sleep quality in South Africa. Data came from a national online survey of South African adults between January-July 2021 during the second and third waves of COVID-19. Participants (n=145) completed an ethnographically-derived survey of stressful events during COVID-19 and three questions on sleep, which queried average hours of sleep, days feeling rested, and subjective sleep quality. In this sample, the average sleep duration per night was seven hours. Participants reported feeling rested three of the past seven days of the week, and rated their sleep quality as “average” over the past month. Multiple regression models showed that COVID-19 stress is strongly associated with poorer sleep quality across all three indices (p < 0.03). These findings highlight the potential short-term and long-term effects of COVID-19 on sleep health. They may also help elucidate the social and biological mechanisms of stress and its impacts on sleep.
Presented by
Shubhra Murarka
Institution
University of California-San Diego, University of California- San Diego
Hashtags
#covid #sleep #southafrica

Analyzing Covid-19 Related Disruptions and Psychosocial Stress in NCAA Student-Athletes

Anamika Nanda1 and Robert L Tennyson2,3

Abstract
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted daily life across the world and forced society to reinvent how we live and function. Colleges had to close their campuses and substantially change curricula to keep students safe. Unfortunately, research indicates that these large-scale disruptions led to increased mental distress for many students. Student-athletes, however, may have been relatively protected from these disruptions and resulting distress. Many athletic departments developed policies to return student-athletes to their sports safely, and this relative stability (e.g., consistent social support) throughout the pandemic may have buffered them against disruptions and increased mental distress. We investigated this idea by testing whether National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division-1 and 3 student-athletes (N=38) reported fewer COVID-19-related disturbances (CRD) than their non-student-athlete counterparts (N=55) and assessed the association between self-reported CRD and perceived stress (Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale; PSS). We found that student-athletes reported fewer CRD than non-athletes (p=0.006; 𝜷= -9.74) and that increased CRD predicted higher PSS scores (p=0.000; 𝜷=0.189). Notably, student-athletes reported lower PSS scores (p=0.003; 𝜷=-4.47) but adjusting for CRD attenuated this effect (p=0.05; 𝜷=-2.80). Together, our results support the hypothesis that student-athletes experienced fewer CRD than non-athletes and that this may have lessened their mental distress during the pandemic. In our presentation, we discuss plausible reasons for these results (including sex differences in behavior) and the implications for college students’ mental and physical well-being. We publicly preregistered our analyses to Open Science Frameworks before conducting any tests (https://osf.io/25f4h/).
Presented by
Anamika Nanda <ananda23@uw.edu>
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle WA; 2Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City UT; 3Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle WA​ ​ ​
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Use of self-collected dried blood spots and a multiplex microsphere immunoassay to measure IgG antibody levels in response to COVID-19 vaccines

KL Nemeth, E Yauney, JM Rock, R Bievenue, MM Parker, LM Styer

Abstract
Serosurveys can provide important information about community exposure to and vaccination against COVID-19. However, serosurveys require extensive resources which are scarce during a pandemic. Using self-collected dried blood spots (DBS) is a way to minimize resources needed for sample collection. Here, we use a Luminex based multiplex microsphere immunoassay (MIA) – which has previously been used to assess COVID-19 seroprevalence in New York State – and self-collected DBS to assess IgG spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination. 171 participants submitted 507 samples suitable for testing. Participants previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 (n = 7) reached high S antibody levels after the first vaccine dose, while individuals not previously infected (n =161) reached similarly high S antibody levels after the second dose (S index values of naïve vs. recovered individuals, 6 weeks post dose 1, U = 42.5, p = 0.65). Individuals who received the Pfizer-BioNTech (n =137) versus the Moderna (n = 29) vaccines reached similar peak antibody levels (U = 200, p = 0.74), although these peaks were reached 5- and 8- weeks post dose 1 respectively. Among non-infected individuals who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, there were no consistent differences in antibody levels between sex and age groups. This study shows that using self-collected DBS and a multiplex MIA is a convenient way to assess antibody response to vaccination. Future modifications of this assay may allow for quantification of IgG S antibodies, detecting antibodies to other common respiratory pathogens, and distinguishing between prior infections with different COVID-19 variants.

Support: National Cancer Institute Serological Sciences Network Grant (U01CA260508); US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cooperative agreement (NU50CK000516)
Presented by
Katherine Nemeth
Institution
Washington University in St. Louis
Hashtags
#COVID-19, #antibodies, #DBS

Relationships among healthcare investment, underdiagnosis, and perceptions of healthcare across socioeconomic groups in the Tunisia Health Examination Survey

Hanna Nguyen, Alicia DeLouize, Josh Snodgrass

Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) has a variable relationship with healthcare outcomes and satisfaction in different populations, yet the reasons for this are unclear. The present study considers the relationship between out-of-pocket cost of care (using dinars/USD and percentage of household income) and health outcomes and satisfaction between SES groups. We used the 2016 Tunisian Health Examination Survey (N = 10,158, age 15-101) to investigate the relationships among wealth quintiles based on total household income, financial investments in healthcare, and the resulting health outcomes of each group. Lower wealth quintile groups were hypothesized to have higher rates of diabetes underdiagnosis and worse self-reported outcomes and satisfaction of health visits than higher wealth quintiles. Results indicated that rates of diabetes underdiagnosis were similar among wealth quintiles (b = 0.02, p = .11). However, higher wealth quintiles reported better outcomes (b = 0.05, p < .001) and higher satisfaction with their last visit (b = 0.09, p < .001). Each wealth quintile reported spending an average of $2.40 USD more than the quintile below them on their last visit (p = .008), with the lowest quintile spending 88% and the highest quintile spending 6% of household income on average (p < .001). Comparing models, percent of household income provided a better fit than absolute out-of-pocket costs. Despite low variation in diabetes underdiagnosis, self-reported healthcare outcomes and satisfaction were worse for lower income groups. This study highlights the potential causes of socioeconomic inequality in healthcare systems, with low-income groups reporting a higher burden of costs.
Presented by
Hanna Nguyen
Institution
University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology
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Available April 19, 10-11am

Associations between perceptions of safety, patient autonomy, and mental health outcomes among postpartum parents

BW Orinda, TE Gildner

Abstract
Associations between perceptions of safety, patient autonomy, and mental health outcomes among postpartum parents

BW Orinda, TE Gildner

Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Perceptions and choice of alternative methods of care may reflect trends in what makes patients feel ‘safe’ throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. We surveyed participants who experienced pregnancy within the last two years (n = 46) to assess factors that influenced provider choice and perceptions of birth experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from postpartum individuals (n = 34) were used to determine if participants who could create and execute a birth plan experienced increased satisfaction with overall care and positive postpartum mental health outcomes. We hypothesized that those who utilized birth plans would be more likely to experience positive postpartum outcomes physically and mentally. Preliminary analyses show that 48% of participants had a birth plan, and 67% were able to execute it. There was no significant relationship between participants who executed their birth plans and higher self-reported mental health outcomes as determined by Fisher’s exact test comparing those who rated their postpartum mental health as positive vs. okay/negative. The results of this small sample may be trending toward significant (p = 0.097). Similarly, depression risk as assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (score > 13) was not associated with the ability to stick to a birth plan (p=0.065), although more people who reported an inability to execute their birth plan exhibited high depression scores. Additional analyses are underway to determine if COVID-19-related disruptions, race, provider type, the presence of similarities between providers and patients, or birth settings contribute to health outcomes based on the sample collected.

Funding: WUSTL Summer Undergraduate Research Award (SURA); St. Louis University McNair Scholars Program
Presented by
Beldina W. Orinda <borinda@wustl.edu>
Institution
Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
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Association between age at menarche and cardiometabolic risk among Samoan females

S Oyama, RL Duckham, A Pomer, A Rivara, T Naseri, MS Reupena, ST McGarvey, NL Hawley

Abstract
Introduction: Research from European, North American, and Asian countries have associated early menarche with increased adult cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality. No studies have examined this association in the Pacific Islands, where obesity prevalence is among the highest globally. We examined associations between age at menarche (AAM) and cardiometabolic risk factors and disease among Samoan females.

Methods: Participants were from the Soifua Manuia study (n=278, age 32-72 years) conducted in Samoa between 2017 and 2019. Logistic regressions were conducted to estimate odds ratios of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic syndrome per year increase in AAM. Linear regressions were conducted to examine associations between AAM and continuous measures of body size and composition. All regressions were adjusted for menopause status, number of biological children, contraceptive use, education level, household assets, smoking, and BMI (substituted with height for body size and composition measures).

Results: Median AAM was 14 years (IQR=2). Each one-year increase in AAM was associated with a 15% decrease (OR=0.85, 95% CI 0.72-1.01, p=0.067) in odds of having hypertension, but a 21% increase (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.01-1.45, p=0.044) in odds of having diabetes and 18% increase (OR=1.18, 95% CI: 0.98-1.42, p=0.081) in odds of having high total cholesterol. Each one-year increase in AAM was associated with a 1.60 ± 0.52 kg (p=.002) decrease in lean mass and 1.56 ± 0.51 kg (p=.003) decrease in fat-free mass.

Conclusion: Current and historical local disease and nutritional ecologies may influence the presence and directionality of associations between AAM and cardiometabolic disease risk.
Presented by
Sakura Oyama
Institution
Yale University, Department of Anthropology
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Available April 19 from 10-11 am PDT

An evolutionary perspective on betel nut

Laura Perez, Kristin Sznajder, Katherine Wander, Siobhán Mattison, Tami Blumenfield, Nurul Alam, Mary K. Shenk

Abstract
Evolutionary medicine perspectives on substance use focus primarily on ancient endogenous reward pathways and addiction; potential health and fitness benefits of non-nutritive substances have received comparably little attention. Here, we assessed whether betel nut use was unilaterally associated with adverse health outcomes. Betel nut, the seed of the Areca catechu palm, is the fourth most used addictive substance globally (~10% of the world’s population). Among a random sample of 765 women and 499 men in Matlab, Bangladesh, we found a positive association between betel use and anemia that was mediated by iron deficiency and stronger among men (aOR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.12, 2.89) than women (aOR: 1.36; 95% CI: 0.94, 1.97). By contrast, betel use was inversely associated with T2D among men (aOR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.86). Betel use was unassociated with hypertension. We further assessed predictors of betel use and found that perceived worsening of childhood deaths (aOR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.09, 2.54) and childhood socioeconomic status (aOR: 0.64, 05% CI: 0.53, 0.79) were associated with betel use among men, while betel use declined among women with older first birth (aOR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.87, 0.96). Our results suggest that the effects of betel use are not uniformly adverse and that non-nutritive benefits (lower T2D risk) may help to explain the persistence of its use in Bangladesh. The positive association between childhood environmental risk and betel use is consistent with a life history interpretation that mortality risk is associated with higher levels of future discounting and behavioral risk-taking.
Presented by
Perez
Institution
Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Binghamton University, University of New Mexico, Yunnan University, icddr,b
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The impact of food insecurity at the end of the journey: Malnutrition as the leading cause of death among older adults in Xochitepec, Mexico

AG Perroni-Marañón, ME Castillo-Miñaca, V Aureoles-García, GW Chale-Pool, AAM García-Díaz, JL Delgado-Gallegos, AG Gutiérrez-Martínez , LM Lara-López, M Galarde-López, JF Molina-Rodríguez

Abstract
Presented by
Perroni-Marañón
Institution
School of Public Health of Mexico, National Institute of Public Health
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"Normalizing" menstrual pain: dysmenorrhea experiences of urban women in Mexico City.

Martha Alicia Ruiz Velasco Muñoz, Alejandra Núñez de la Mora, Florencia Peña Saint Martin

Abstract
Dysmenorrhea is a condition in which women experience varying degrees of pelvic pain. In Mexico approximately 8.5 million (51%) women suffer from it. It is a theme considered taboo and unworthy of being shared with strangers or of the opposite sex, and at the same time, pain is seen as an inevitable condition of being a woman, this condition is crossed by various structural and sociocultural barriers such as the delay in seeking care or the lack of adherence to treatments, lack of communication and knowledge of aspects of menstrual health in society in general, which determines their experience, health behaviors, management strategies, their quality of life . This study employed a qualitative and phenomenological design and was conducted virtual format during the covid-19 pandemic. Interviews analyzed and coded by category. Semi structured interviews were conducted with women from three age cohorts about their experiences of dysmenorrhea. Some results showed that in urban women, menstruation and dysmenorrhea are still considered as a taboo topic, the information received at home is minimal and almost not discussed and had to be stabilized hidden. Several participants have experienced some type of violence by health personnel. Most of them have had hormonal treatments from an early age, which made them seek alternative treatments without favorable results, and some even mention that they are not correctly diagnosed. All the participants have had to modify at least once some activity of their daily life.

Presented by
RUIZ VELASCO MUÑOZ, MARTHA ALICIA <marthalicias@yahoo.com>
Institution
Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Ciudad de México, México / Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Méxcio.
Hashtags
#Menstrual Pain #Dysmenorrhea
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Available April 19th

Social and biological transgenerational underpinnings of adolescent pregnancy

Amanda Rowlands; Emma C. Juergensen; Ana Paula Prescivalli Costa; Katrina G. Salvante; Pablo A. Nepomnaschy

Abstract
Adolescent pregnancy (occurring < age 20) is considered a global problem that creates and perpetuates inequities. Approximately 13 million adolescent girls give birth each year. This reproductive outcome is linked to increased morbidity risks during gestation, birth, and early post-partum, and is the leading cause of death among girls aged 12-19 years old globally. Adolescent pregnancy is often treated as an individual problem linked to individual behaviors, yet interventions resulting from this approach present very low efficacy levels. We propose that shifting the focus of interventions towards upstream socio-ecological contexts in which girls develop may increase their efficacy of curbing the rates of adolescent pregnancy. We conducted a literature review of the social, ecological, and biological determinants of adolescent pregnancy, focusing our attention on two key developmental milestones associated with this reproductive outcome: age at girls’ first menstrual bleed (menarche) and age at first sexual intercourse (coitarche). To interpret the information collected, we generated a novel paradigm that merges “Life History theory”, “Eco-Social theory”, and “Developmental Origins of Health and Disease”. Existing evidence suggests that adolescent pregnancy risks are influenced by exposures starting as early as gametogenesis. These risks are compounded by interactions between socio-ecological factors including housing and food security, family structure, and gender-based power dynamics. We use this new emerging theory to identify biological mechanisms mediating the links between socio-ecological risks, reproductive development, and pregnancy, and explain how this evidence could be used to inform socio-structural programs aimed at reducing adolescent pregnancy risk.
Presented by
Amanda Rowlands
Institution
Maternal and Child Health Laboratory, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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Use of the terms race and ethnicity in public/collective health in the American Continent: concepts to be reconsidered?

Ariana Kelly L S Silva

Abstract
The use of the terms race and ethnicity are used in epidemiological research in Brazil, the USA and other countries in the aforementioned categories that address the issue of public or collective health. Bibliographic data were collected in the analysis of the definition and use of methodologies in studies that incorporate “race” and “ethnicity” in epidemiological applications of health and disease of varied populations. The approach on the concepts in the context of public/collective health and clinical practice are correlated indicating that the use of "race" and "ethnicity" has been used to identify populations that receive unequal treatment and screening, making the survival of patients also unequal in terms of treatment. according to socioeconomic status that influence access to and care for human health. Multiethnic identities and ethnic fluidity are issues raised as well as the heterogeneity of social and ethnic groups, with the 2000 US Census categorized as “black”, “white” or “indigenous” populations within very different groups from each other and the 2010 Brazilian Census applies specific categories for "race/color" and self-identification to generate public policies, factors that generate inconsistencies in epidemiological terms. A multidimensional construction of race and ethnicity is necessary in the contribution of more effective tools and methodologies in the classifications and evaluation models in epidemiological health that involve social factors, until now insufficient for a better understanding of the various social realities that encompass the concepts in question.
Presented by
SILVA, ARIANA K L S
Institution
University of Pará State
Hashtags
#Race #Ethnicity #Brazil #Amazonia
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The influence of high stress occupational conditions on nurse gastrointestinal and cardiometabolic health: a case study from the Nurses’ Occupational Health, Metabolism, and Microbiome Study (NOHMMS) 

C Super1, KE Mari1, MK Hoke2

Abstract
High-stress work environments promote adverse physiological and psychological responses due to chronic hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation. However, social support systems and overall mental health may create resilience to adverse allostatic feedback. This investigation focuses on nurses as workers who experience challenging occupational conditions (OC), examining how more stressful job positions and higher perceived challenging OC may ultimately result in increased incidence cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), metabolic disorders, and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases/symptoms. Data comes from the ongoing Nurses’ Occupational Health, Metabolism, and Microbiome Study (NOHMMS) which surveys nurses across differing units/conditions at Pennsylvania Hospital (n=72). Surveys used a Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) to detail nurses’ perceived conditions, and scores of predicted nursing position-relation stress (SP) to detail job aspects such as maximum nurse to patient ratio during shift and total hours worked in previous week. Composite scores were created for four domains of OC including nurse agency, management quality, collegial nurse-physician relations, staffing/resource adequacy, and overall OC. Health indices detailed presence/absence of GI symptoms, GI disease, CVDs, CV/metabolic/autoimmune disorders, metabolic syndrome symptoms, and self-measured blood pressure. We predicted OC scores would differ by unit and would negatively associate with health indices, with possible interactions/associations with age. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined nurse-physician relations scores did differ by unit (p<0.02, F= 5.05). Logistic regression models controlling for age determined significant associations of OC score with odds of high blood pressure (aOR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.01-1.39*) but no other observed associations. The significant relationship of OC score and blood pressure indicates synergistic effects of more stressful occupational conditions may be associated with preclinical biological response to perceived stress. Short term chronic elevated blood pressure could have future implications for GI and cardiometabolic illness that are not yet observed in this sample of relatively young nurses. This biocultural approach investigates conditions of nursing on multiple levels, from institution to individual, how nursing labor becomes embodied and how broader occupational forces get under the skin of our crucial healthcare workers.
Presented by
Super
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA  2Department of Anthropology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Hashtags
#biocultural, #occupational health, #stress, #nurses

Water, food and the dual burden of disease in Galapagos, Ecuador: pathways through mental health

AL Thompson 1,2,3, JD Miller 2, KM Nicholas 2, E Teran 4,5, J Stewart 6, ME Bentley 2

Abstract
Rapid socioeconomic and environmental development in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) has contributed to the dual burden of obesity and cardiometabolic disease (OWT/CMD) and undernutrition and infectious disease (UND/ID). Yet, how water and food exposures shape this dual burden of disease or how psychological distress associated with insecure access to high quality water and food may mediate the dual burden remains underexamined. Using data from 110 households (n=389 individuals) participating in the Healthy Families Study in San Cristobal, Galápagos, we examine the pathways linking water and food environments to UND/ID and OWT/CMD and test whether distress mediates these associations. We use structural equation models, adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and clustering by household, to test the direct paths linking water and food access, quality, and security to OWT/CMD and UND/ID and test for an indirect path through distress (i.e. depression, anxiety, and stress). We find a high burden of disease from all three conditions, with a prevalence of 67% for UND/ID, 76% for OWT/CMD and 23% for distress (measured in adults only). Poorer water security and quality were associated with an increased risk of UND/ID and food insecurity with an increased risk of OWT/CMD. Water and food access, quality and security were directly associated with distress and indirectly with UND/ID through distress. Our results suggest that, along with the direct impacts of water and food environments on the dual burden of disease, mental health may serve as an important mediator between environmental exposures and physical health in LMIC settings.
Presented by
Amanda Thompson <althomps@email.unc.edu>
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; 2Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; 3Center for Galapagos Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; 4Colegio de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador; 5Galapagos Science Center, San Cristobal, Ecuador; 6Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
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Pandemic Numeracy: Assessing the 2020/211 COVID-19 pandemic in Indigenous populations in Canada

Lianne Tripp & Larry Sawchuk

Abstract
Previous studies on Indigenous populations and COVID-19 have argued for the need to collect COVID-19 data on Indigenous populations because during times of pandemics they experience more severe health outcomes in relation to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Counterintuitively, studies have found that the COVID-19 rates for some countries (such as in Canada) are higher in non-Indigenous population than Indigenous populations. A re-examination of COVID-19 in Canada reveals misinterpretations and misrepresentations of the data. The failure to recognize that the Canadian COVID-19 data for Indigenous populations was collected for First Nations living on reserves only is one misinterpretation. By end of December 2020, the prevalence rates were higher in First Nations populations living on reserves (1730.11 per 100 000) than non-First Nations populations (1548.73 per 100 000), and COVID-19 mortality rates in First Nations exceeded the rest of the country by the end of April 2021 (64.58 per 100 000 vs. 64.51 per 100 000). There was also considerable regional variation in rates of COVID-19 among First Nations communities across the country, where in western Canada the highest rates were observed. Therefore, three prerequisites for assessing pandemic disease rates across populations are: 1. Understand the Population at risk in its ecological and demographic setting 2. Include proper citation allowing fellow researchers to verify the data set and subsequent conclusions 3. Include correct numbers of cases and deaths the disease COVID-19

Future research will assess the monthly variation of the Indigenous COVID-19 experience at the provincial level.
Presented by
Lianne Tripp <lianne.tripp@utoronto.ca>
Institution
University of Toronto, Scarborough, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags
#HBA2023 #COVID-19 #Indigenous #FirstNation #diseaserates #demography
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Available April 19th 10-11am PDT (or by email)

Influence of paid leave on breastfeeding duration rates

E Tyler¹; LM Schell¹²³

Abstract
Breastfeeding is recommended for a minimum of six months as it imparts mental and physical benefits to mother and child. The United States is one of the few developed countries that lacks a national parental leave policy, making this goal unattainable for many mothers. This is impactful as a mother’s return to work is often cited as a critical reason for cessation of breastfeeding. Recently, individual states and localities have enacted family leave policies to improve maternal and child health outcomes. This study assesses the impact of paid parental leave policies on breastfeeding duration rates.

The New York City Work and Family Leave survey was a retrospective telephone study conducted in 2016 for mothers (n=820) who gave birth in 2014. Maternal demographics, socioeconomic factors, health of mother and infant, job leave, and social support were self-reported.

Variables were paid/unpaid leave, breastfeeding duration, maternal education, and income. Median age of the mothers was 31 years (min= 19, max= 41). Sixty percent of mothers with paid leave who ever breastfed were able to do so for at least six months. Self-employed mothers were most likely to take unpaid leave (52.4%), had the shortest duration of leave (two months) but still breastfed on average for seven months. A significant finding (p=0.016) was found between employment sector and duration of breastfeeding with Government employment noted as the shortest duration of breastfeeding at six months. These findings show that the type of employment in addition to the availability of paid leave impacts breastfeeding duration rates.
Presented by
Erica Tyler
Institution
Department of Anthropology¹, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics², Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities³, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222
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Application of point-of-care testing to measure health biomarkers in the World Health Survey Plus (WHS+)

Micah Warner-Carey, Alicia M. DeLouize, Madeleine Getz, Rosa Taylor, Ava Hearn, Adriana Wisniewski, Zag McDowall, Tian Walker, and J.Josh Snodgrass

Abstract
The Global Health Biomarker Laboratory is collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO) to design and implement the World Health Survey Plus (WHS+). The initial World Health Survey (2002-2004) gathered interview and performance data from 69 countries worldwide. WHS+ builds on the WHS by adding point-of-care testing (POCT) of health biomarkers and a multi-platform survey to accommodate fluctuating needs and fill in gaps in current data. Data will include information about a variety of health, sociodemographic, and policy topics, functional measures, anthropometrics, and health biomarkers such as hemoglobin, HbA1C (glycated hemoglobin), glucose, and lipids. The objective of the current paper is twofold: 1) to evaluate feasibility of POCT in WHS+ by examining results from the WHS+ pilot study, the Tunisian Health Examination Survey (THES; N =10,158), and 2) to present study protocols and training videos to share with human biology researchers. Results from THES indicate feasibility for the use of these POCTs in nationally-representative, population-based studies. In the pilot, 3.67% refused to give finger-prick blood samples, with people who refused being younger (t = -2.24, p = 0.03) and having less education (t = 4.08, p < 0.001). There were no differences in gender (t = 1.66, p = 0.09). All POCTs (except LDL cholesterol) registered “out of range” results on <3% of samples, showing sufficient range for population-based studies. WHS+ will provide countries with crucial population-level and nationally-representative objective data concerning health outcomes and determinants of health for target populations, facilitating continued enhancement of health systems worldwide.
Presented by
Warner-Carey, Taylor
Institution
University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags
#WHO #Point-Of-Care-Technologies
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Available April 19th, 10:00-11:00 AM

A descriptive analysis of gender, migration status, and inflammation among adults living in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador in 2012

Elijah Jiles Watson, Amanda Logan Thompson

Abstract
Strict migration policies and the tourism-centric economy in Galapagos may contribute to differential stress burdens across migration status and gender. We aimed to describe the gender-stratified prevalence of inflammation by migration status among adults living in Galapagos in 2012 using data from Ecuador’s nationally representative health survey (ENSANUT-ECU). A cut-off of 3 mg/L of C-reactive protein (CRP) was used to dichotomize low versus moderate inflammation. Individuals with CRP levels at 10 mg/L or above (indicating probable active infection) were excluded. Gender-stratified log-binomial regressions were used to estimate prevalence ratios for moderate versus low inflammation by migration status, defined as “born in or always lived in Galapagos" versus "migrant to Galapagos”. We also considered models that additionally adjusted for age and obesity status, but results did not change appreciably. Among men, 10.53% of migrants (n= 76) had moderate inflammation in comparison to 27.27% of those were born or had always lived in Galapagos (n= 33) [unadjusted PR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.91]. Among women, 27.39% of migrants (n=157) had moderate inflammation in comparison to 27.40% of those who were born or had always lived in Galapagos (n=73) [unadjusted PR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.64, 1.57]. In the Galapagos in 2012, approximately 27% of non-migrant men, non-migrant women, and migrant women had moderate inflammation. Migrant men had an approximately 40% lower prevalence of moderate inflammation in comparison to non-migrant men. Future studies should consider how the socioeconomic dynamics of migration status in Galapagos may become embodied along gendered and biocultural pathways.
Presented by
Elijah Watson
Institution
Northwestern University, Department of Anthropology; University of North Carolina, Departments of Anthropology and Nutrition
Hashtags
#inflammation #migration #gender #ecuador
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Available April 19, 10:00am - 11:00am

Porous bodies and epidemic gaps: exploring the determinants and perceptions of pesticide suicide in Guyana

Mark A. Williams Jr., Andrew Wooyoung Kim

Abstract
Suicide by the ingestion of agricultural pesticides is a leading cause of death amongst farmers worldwide, particularly those who live in resource-limited settings. Focusing on Guyana, a small Caribbean nation of 780,000 that maintains one of the world’s highest suicide rates, I consider the sociocultural conditions and psychobiological processes shaping pesticide suicide in adult farmers. Although there exists a dearth of epidemiological data on the country’s suicide epidemic, I draw from limited published literature on suicide behavior and ideation in Guyana, non-epidemiological data sources such as popular media, domestic and international news reports, and ethnographic interviews to discern local understandings of suicide and opportunities for further epidemiological and ethnographic investigation. This analysis not only explores the determinants of pesticide suicide that lend themselves easily to epidemiological categorization and biological analysis, but also examines how a range of interested parties problematize and make sense of the ongoing suicide epidemic in non-epidemiological terms. In bringing together a wide spectrum of data for exploratory analysis, my goal is to 1) identify possible points of intervention for community-based mental health care delivery, 2) develop anthropologically based heuristics of psychosocial distress in Guyana, and 3) explore opportunities for health promotion and education.
Presented by
Mark A. Williams Jr.
Institution
The University of California, Berkeley and The University of California, San Francisco
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Rural Embodiment and Community Health (REACH) study: Comparing results from Point of Care testing devices and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays detecting intestinal infections and inflammation among low-resource communities in the United States

A Zhang, TJ Cepon-Robins, EK Mallott3, S Waimon, KL Nemeth, JB Thomas, AB Shing, TE Gildner

Abstract
Approximately half the global population is infected with Helicobacter pylori (a bacteria that causes gastrointestinal inflammation, ulcers, and cancer in severe cases). However, it is unclear how common these infections are in the U.S, and it is particularly difficult to test for them in areas with restricted healthcare and laboratory access. We collected stool samples in low-resource communities from the Mississippi Delta (n = 79) and Southwestern Illinois (n = 51) and used Point of Care (POC) devices---efficient diagnostic tests that can be done outside of a laboratory---and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs) to detect H. pylori and measure fecal calprotectin (FC) levels, a biomarker of gastrointestinal inflammation. We hypothesized that differences between field POC results and lab ELISA results would be insignificant. The POC devices indicated 22 of 91 adults (24.2%; 16 from Mississippi and 6 from Illinois) and 1 of 29 children (3.4%; from Mississippi) tested positive for H. pylori. Our results suggest that the ELISA analysis detects significantly more positive H. pylori cases than the POC devices (chi-squared (1) = 42.7, p < 0.001). These findings indicate field H. pylori POC tests may miss a substantial number of infections. FC POC tests indicated that 59 adults (64.8%; 38 from Mississippi and 21 from Illinois) and 19 children (65.5%; 14 from Mississippi and 5 from Illinois) exhibited elevated intestinal inflammation (FC concentration > 50 ug/g). Our results suggest that the ELISA analysis detects significantly more cases of moderate to high FC elevation than the POC devices (chi-squared (4)= 149.89, p < 0.001). This research may provide a starting point for the design of better interventions to address healthcare inequities.
Presented by
Angela Zhang
Institution
Washington University in St. Louis
Hashtags
#pointofcare #Hpylori #intestinal #inflammation #diagnostic #lowresource
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Available April 18 8-11 AM

Down with the sickness: a qualitative analysis of 'tattoo flu' and its effects on future tattoo motivations

A Marker, B Bundy, M Hofer, G Salazar, C Claussen, E Anderson, A Anderson, C Lynn, E Shattuck, J Perrotte, S Kelmelis

Abstract
‘Tattoo flu’ is a short-term sickness response to receiving a new tattoo and reportedly consists of flu-like symptoms. While recognized among tattoo artists and clients, there remains ambiguity about the underlying biological and behavioral factors contributing to this health consequence of tattoos. As part of a larger collaborative tattoo-health study with researchers and artists in Alabama, South Dakota, and Texas, this research qualifies tattoo flu and documents what biological, social, and environmental factors contribute to its occurrence. We explore if tattoo flu is a signal of a negative health response to the tattoo, possibly influenced by pre-tattoo preparation (i.e. nutrition, sleep) or anxiety, and, consequently, will negatively affect the client’s motivation to get future tattoos. Participants were women (n=5) and men (n=10) (aged 18 to 65) who are clients of three tattoo shops in South Dakota. We measured tattoo experience as a record of number of tattoos, hours tattooed, years between tattoos and tattoo flu experiences, pre-and post-tattoo care, and symptoms following tattoo experiences. We conducted semi-structured interviews investigating the client’s personal relationship with their tattoos, their tattoo artist, and motivations for future tattoos. Preliminary findings suggest biological factors, like location of the tattoo (i.e. shoulder and upper thigh) and BMI, contribute to tattoo flu, although intra- and interpersonal variation was observed and requires further investigation. Even when clients reported having multiple instances of tattoo flu, their underlying personal motivations and rapport with the artists outweighed their deterrence from getting more tattoos.
Presented by
Anna Marker, Brandie Bundy, Saige Kelmelis
Institution
University of South Dakota
Hashtags

Comparing the Relationship Between Neighborhood Level and Individual Level Measures of Socioeconomic Adversity on Prenatal Depressive Symptoms

Anneliese Long, Alison Brinson, Khristopher Nicholas, Amanda Thompson, Margaret Bentley, and Heather Wasser

Abstract
The prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms among women have been previously demonstrated to vary based on individual socioeconomic status (SES). Individual financial strain has been identified as a key factor in the association between depression and SES. However, the joint role of neighborhood environment and SES on maternal mental health during the sensitive period of pregnancy remains relatively unexplored. To explore the relationship between neighborhood environment, SES, and depressive symptoms, we employ logistic regression analysis using baseline data measured at 28-weeks gestation from 428 African American pregnant women in North Carolina participating in the Mothers and Others Study. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Neighborhood environment is examined using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), an index developed using a principal components analysis measuring the area deprivation using census-block data. Individual-level variables for maternal SES include low-income, Medicaid, WIC and/or SNAP participation, education, and food security. Covariates include age, number of children, social support, marital status, and household chaos. We hypothesized that the inclusion of the neighborhood environment would improve the model compared to models using individual measures of socioeconomic status alone. Our results suggest that further research is needed to explore the interactions between neighborhood environments and individual socioeconomic adversity in shaping mental health.
Presented by
Anneliese Long <annelong@live.unc.edu>
Institution
University of North Carolina, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags
#depression #pregnancy #SES #neighborhoods
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Available By appointment

Drinking water salinity, blood pressure, and kidney function in Northern Kenya

Asher Rosinger*, Tom Otube, Srishti Sadhir, Leslie Ford, Amanda McGrosky, Maria Bossert, Rosemary Nzunza, Emmanuel Ndiema, David Braun, Matthew Douglass, Herman Pontzer

Abstract
Presented by
Asher Rosinger
Institution
Pennsylvania State University
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Does Birthweight Predict Circadian Cortisol Profiles in Young Adulthood? A test in Cebu, Philippines

Ca’la Connors, Nanette Lee, and Christopher W Kuzawa

Abstract
Birthweight has been widely used to predict relationships between in utero environments and later health outcomes. However, the specific pathways through which fetal exposures and growth impact adult biology are only partially understood. Cortisol is a metabolic/stress hormone with broad health effects that is produced by the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, and changes in HPA axis regulation are considered an important candidate pathway linking prenatal environments to adult health. Additionally, in females, impacts of early environments on adult HPA regulation could influence the gestational hormone environment of their offspring, potentially contributing to intergenerational effects. Here we explore the links between birth outcomes and adult cortisol in participants in a longitudinal birth cohort. Diurnal salivary cortisol profiles (waking, wake+30, and pre-bed samples) were collected in 1402 adults (802 males and 600 non-pregnant females, ages 20.8-22.6 years) participating in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey, located in metropolitan Cebu, Philippines. We use regression models to evaluate relationships between gestational age-adjusted birth weight (mean 3.02 +/- 0.42 kg) and adult waking (mean 7.4+/-4.1 mmol/L) and pre-bed cortisol (mean 2.14 +/- 2.48 mmol/L), diurnal slope (mean -0.33 +/- 0.28 mmol/L/hr) and the cortisol awakening response (2.11 +/- 4.88 mmol/L), adjusting for potential confounding influences. Because past work at Cebu has identified sex differences in relationships between birth weight and later health, we stratify models on sex.

While all data are currently available, we are refraining from conducting preliminary analyses until all models are finalized and pre-registered to avoid inadvertent p-hacking.
Presented by
Ca'la K Connors
Institution
Northwestern University
Hashtags
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Available Wednesday April 10th (PT)

Association of pica with cortisol and inflammation among Latina pregnant women

Dayoon Kwon, Delaney A. Knorr, Kyle S. Wiley, Lyra Johnson, Sera L. Young, Molly M. Fox

Abstract
Pica, the urge to consume items generally not considered food, such as dirt, raw starch, and ice, are particularly common among pregnant women. However, the biological causes and consequences of pica in pregnancy are not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to assess how pica relates to endocrine stress and immune biomarkers in a cohort of pregnant Latina women in Southern California. Thirty-four women completed a structured pica questionnaire. Maternal urinary cortisol and plasma cytokine levels were measured between 21-31 weeks’ gestation. Associations between pica during pregnancy and biomarkers were assessed using linear regression models adjusting for gestational age. Twelve (35.3%) of the pregnant women reported pica, which involved the consumption of commonly amylophagic and pagophagic substances during pregnancy. In multivariate models, those who engaged in pica had higher levels of cortisol (beta: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.073) and lower levels of IL-1beta (beta: -0.06, 95% CI: -0.11, -0.02), IL-8 (beta: -0.30, 95% CI: -0.56, -0.05), IL-21 (beta: -0.35, 95% CI: -0.63, -0.08), and type-1 inflammation composite (beta: -0.29, 95% CI: -0.44, -0.14) than women who did not engage in pica. These results suggest that biological stress and immune response differ for women with pica behavior compared to those without.
Presented by
Dayoon Kwon
Institution
UCLA, Department of Epidemiology; UCLA, Department of Anthropology; UCLA, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences; Northwestern University, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags
#human #biology #nutrition #pica #reproduction

Does early-life nutrition impact cognitive decline among older Filipino women? Evidence from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey

Emily H. Barron, Christopher W Kuzawa

Abstract
Senescence is marked by cognitive decline that can constrain activities and limit self-sufficiency, with the pace and magnitude of decline varying widely across individuals. There is currently much interest in the impact of early life environments on cognitive decline. Infancy and early childhood in particular is a period of rapid brain growth and development when nutritional stress may negatively impact cognitive function in childhood, adolescent and young adulthood. However, the links between early nutrition and cognitive senescence are less well understood owing to the long follow-up period required to investigate these links. To address this question, we use data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey to test whether knee height—a retrospective marker of infancy/childhood nutrition—predicts measures of cognitive function measured in late life. We employ multivariable regression to understand the relationship between knee height and late life cognitive function in 1559 women (45.8-78.9 years, mean 58.7 years) constituting the cohort of original mothers enrolled in 1983-84. Knee height (mean 46.6 +/- 2.0 cm) will be related to measures of cognitive function obtained from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) administered in participants’ homes in 2015-2016, which provide indices reflecting cognitive impairment and dementia. These analyses will clarify whether an easily measured retrospective marker of early life nutrition predicts the pace of cognitive decline in this Filipino cohort.
Presented by
Emily Barron <emilybarron2026@u.northwestern.edu>
Institution
Northwestern University
Hashtags
#cognitivedecline #earlylifenutrition #acceleratedaging #Cebu #CLHNS #development #brain #neuro

The contribution of limitations in physical activity to the relationship between adiposity and joint aches/stiffness in midlife women

LM Gerber,1 BW Whitcomb,2 MA Verjee,3 LL Sievert4

Abstract
In previous analyses among this sample of midlife women in Qatar, we observed a threshold effect in the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and likelihood of aches/stiffness in joints. Mean BMI was high (34.3 kg/m2), and higher adiposity was associated with increased likelihood of aches/stiffness up to a threshold of about 38 kg/m2. We hypothesized that this threshold may exist because of limitations from physical activity at very high BMI. To address this hypothesis, we limited the sample to those without rheumatoid arthritis (n=804) and evaluated the relationship between BMI and aches/stiffness in models stratified on limitations from vigorous activity in categories including little to none vs. a lot. In bivariate analyses, limitations from vigorous activity were associated with higher BMI and higher aches and pains. Among those reporting high limitations from vigorous activity, 81% were obese compared with 61% among those with little to no limitations. Similarly, those with high limitations from vigorous activity reported 75% prevalence of aches/stiffness compared with 58% prevalence in those with no or little limitation. Among women with no or little limitation from vigorous activity, there was a linear relationship between higher BMI and higher prevalence of aches/stiffness. In contrast, among women with a lot of limitation, this relationship held until a threshold at class 2 obesity. These results suggest that limitations in physical activity may moderate the relationship between BMI and symptom reporting. Evaluation of potential influences on symptom reporting should take this into account.
Presented by
Gerber
Institution
1Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, NY, NY, 2Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, UMass Amherst, 3Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, Doha, Qatar, 4Department of Anthropology, UMass Amherst.
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Metropolitan location and enrollment associated with increased allergies in school foodservice.

E Hosein, AS Wiley

Abstract
The prevalence of food allergies is rising, particularly in westernized nations. Food allergies are due to both genetic and environmental conditions, and this trend suggests that environmental factors are particularly important. Determining the prevalence of food allergies in populations is difficult; the current assessment gold standard is an oral food challenge, while true allergies are often over-reported in surveys. Here we offer a novel way of collecting data on allergies in school-aged children through reports of special diets in federal nutrition programs. District participants in these programs track students with dietary restrictions that deviate from the federally-mandated standard pattern.

We undertook a survey of 65 foodservice professionals from districts in Texas and Indiana. Overall, they reported 24,084 special diets to accommodate food allergies among over 1.1 million students. Based on a univariate analysis of reported allergies in each district in relation to factors such as enrollment, ethnicity, economic disadvantage, and location, a significant correlation emerged between reported allergies and populations with higher enrollment. T-tests revealed significantly higher numbers of food allergies in metropolitan compared to nonmetropolitan areas. After adjusting for enrollment, there was still a higher frequency in urban locations. This is consistent with other geographical food allergy studies and predictions of the hygiene hypothesis for variation in allergy risk.

Further research is needed on food allergies in school food programs, including analysis of policies. Semi-structured interviews with those in charge of maintaining these special diets will provide additional insight into the landscape of food allergies in school-aged populations.
Presented by
Hosein <erhosein@iu.edu>
Institution
Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Hashtags
#SchoolMeals #FoodAllergy

The mental health impacts of loans during the COVID-19 pandemic among Black South African adults in Johannesburg, South Africa: The Birth to Thirty Study

Josephine Tang, Nokubonga Ndaba, Lindile Cele, Zamantsele Cebekhulu, Someleze Swana, Linda Richter, Shane Norris, Andrew Wooyoung Kim

Abstract
The widespread societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa led to the exacerbation of socioeconomic inequalities and various household strategies to mitigate financial loss. Growing research suggests that some households relied on loans from informal lenders to sustain their livelihoods, which compound an already high level of average household debt in the country. While greater socioeconomic adversity is a well-known risk factor for various poor health outcomes, including psychological distress and risk for mental illness, loans have largely been neglected in the assessment of the socioeconomic determinants of health. We aimed to examine the mental health impacts of household loans in a sample of Black South African adults in Johannesburg, South Africa. Study participants were recruited from Birth to Thirty, a longitudinal birth cohort study, and participated in a cross-sectional survey between January and July 2021 (n=203). The number of loans adults reported was directly associated with greater depressive (b = 0.82, 95% CI [0.06, 1.6] but not anxiety symptoms (b = 0.67, 95% CI [-0.03, 1.4]), highlighting the possible and underappreciated mental health risks of financial debt. Stronger assessment of exact loan amounts, the duration of loans, and perceived psychosocial strain due to household debt require further investigation.
Presented by
Josephine Tang
Institution
School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley
Hashtags

Social support, coping, and adult mental health outcomes related to COVID-19 stress in South Africa

Mallika S. Sarma & Andrew W. Kim

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic created broad-reaching disruptions to everyday life setting the stage for a global mental health crisis. Individual experiences of elevated stress are linked to well-known negative mental health outcomes like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, this stress can be mitigated by increased social support and accessing coping resources, which may also ameliorate subsequent psychological burdens. Recovering from the systemic violence and ongoing repercussions of apartheid, communities in South Africa have now had to face the additional negative mental health effects from stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we aimed to assess the potential buffering effects of social support and coping resources on the negative mental health effects of COVID-19 stress. Data came from a national online survey of South African adults between January – July 2021 during the second and third waves of COVID-19. We measured self-reported levels of COVID-19 related stress, perceived social support, coping mechanisms, and symptom severity of four negative mental health conditions: depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. Our results showed strong associations between COVID-19 stress and all four mental health outcomes (p < 0.01). While perceived social support did not buffer against the mental health impacts of COVID-19 stress, the use of coping resources significantly attenuated the adverse psychological consequences of COVID-19 stress, with exception to bipolar symptoms. These results suggest that using a multitude of coping resources like peer support, but also strategies like crying, physical activity, or therapy, may buffer against events as pervasive as pandemic stress.
Presented by
Mallika Sarma <msarma1@jhu.edu>
Institution
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Hashtags
#covid19 #mentalhealth #socialsupport #coping

A retrospective study of contraceptive discontinuation across multiple Sub-Saharan African countries

V Akinwande, C Cintas, E Karavani, M MacGregor, D Wei, K Varshney, P Nepomnaschy

Abstract
Contraceptive discontinuation represents a grave public health problem. Thus, understanding its causes is paramount for developing and implementing policies aimed at curbing this phenomenon. Discontinuation rates vary by method and across socio-economical contexts. Injectable contraceptives tend to be amongst the most frequently discontinued family planning methods. Here we estimate the effect of injectable contraceptive use on discontinuation over a 12-month period using retrospective observational study data from seven sub-Saharan African countries captured by the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). We use machine learning methods to obtain and characterize data regions that share common covariate support. We find that the use of injectables increases the risk of discontinuation in four of the seven countries analyzed due to the contraceptive side-effects concerns. These risks are lower after adjusting for socio-economic factors. Given that we analyze observational data, the risk estimates may not apply uniformly. Thus, we characterize the sub-population for which the estimate generalizes by their geographical region, level of unmet need, marital status, level of education, and age of first sex. Identifying the groups of women for which causal estimates can be generalized could help policymakers plan and deploy programs more effectively.
Presented by
Megan MacGregor
Institution
Simon Fraser University, Faculty of Health Sciences
Hashtags
#causalinference #contraception #Africa #machinelearning
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Available April 19 11a-12p

Prevalence and assessment of environmental, social, and biological risk factors associated with Helicobacter pylori infection among the Awajún of the Peruvian Amazon

Sophea Brandley, Paula Tallman, Aaron Miller, Shalean Collins

Abstract
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacteria spread primarily through firsthand contact with bodily fluids such as saliva, urine, and feces. It can cause infection in the stomach lining and is linked to peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. Prior research indicates that H. pylori infection is associated with race, overcrowding, nutrient deficiencies, unsanitary living conditions, age, and gender, with men typically presenting higher rates of infection with H. pylori. In this paper, we investigate the factors associated with H. pylori antibody concentrations in a sample of 212 adult Awajún men and women in a study conducted in 2013. The Awajún are an indigenous group living in the northern Peruvian Amazon. H. pylori antibodies were assessed in dried blood spots, with concentrations ranging from 9.564 to 1077.584 EU/mL. Concentrations >15.3 EU/mL are considered positive. 99% of individuals sampled in this study were sero-positive for H. pylori. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that H. pylori concentrations were not significantly associated with water insecurity scores, nutritional biomarkers, or socioeconomic status. However, H. pylori concentrations were significantly positively associated with being male (B = 61.14, p = 0.020). We conclude by discussing gendered norms among the Awajún and how both biological and cultural factors may explain why men in this group have significantly higher H. pylori antibody concentrations in comparison to women.
Presented by
Sophea Brandley <sopheabrandley12@gmail.com>
Institution
Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University, Tulane University
Hashtags

Physiologic impacts of TikTok and phone use among young adults in Aotearoa New Zealand

SA Geisel-Zamora, ZM Thayer

Abstract
Over the past two decades, the use of technologies such as smartphones and their component applications have become integral in many individuals’ day-to-day lives. Social media, including the short-form video platform TikTok, are especially popular among young adults as they aim to foster virtual human-to-human connections. It is unclear how the nature and extent of these evolutionarily novel exposures may impact acute or baseline measures of human physiology. Using data collected June-August 2022 in Aotearoa New Zealand (N=60), we evaluated how TikTok and more general phone use associates with autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning in young adults (18-24 years). We use heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of ANS functioning as previous research shows that lower HRV indicates sympathetic dominance, poorer cardiac functioning, and worse mental health. Total phone use over a two week period was associated with lower baseline HRV (p < 0.002), thereby indicating poorer cardiac functioning and mental health. Conversely, viewing TikTok was associated with higher HRV relative to a baseline measurement (p < 0.001), indicating a relaxing effect. These results suggest that the momentary relaxation of TikTok use may need to be weighed against the potential adverse effects of chronic phone use. Additional research is needed to understand how other lifestyle factors, such as exercise, may be protective against phone use’s effect on ANS functioning.
Presented by
Suzanna Geisel-Zamora
Institution
Dartmouth College
Hashtags

The meanings of menstrual bleeding: significance for contraceptive preferences and counseling in three countries (India, South Africa, and the United States)

VJ Vitzthum1, M Kulkarni2, J Thornburg3, AA Shea2

Abstract
Contraceptive decision-making is complex, influenced by cultural and structural factors and by individual circumstances, preferences and health concerns. For example, some health models favor more 'natural lifestyles' and non-hormonal contraception (non-HC) that doesn't interfere with menstrual bleeding or other bodily functions. Other models favor a lifestyle unfettered by menstruation, which may promote a preference for hormonal contraception (HC) to achieve this goal. We tested the hypothesis that those with more favorable attitudes towards menstrual bleeding were more likely to be averse to using HC. Questionnaires regarding contraceptive use and bleeding attitudes were distributed to users of a menstrual tracking app in three countries (India; South Africa [SA]; United States [US], selected in part because of differences in their contraceptive use profiles. Analytical groups were based on a respondent's current contraceptive method and their explicitly stated acceptance or rejection of HC (those ambivalent about HC were excluded). We compared current HC users who were explicitly open to hormone use (‘H-receptive’) and non-HC users who explicitly rejected hormone use (‘H-averse’). In all countries, a desire “not to change my natural cycle” was associated with H-aversion (US, SA: p<0.0001; India: p<0.015), suggesting counselors’ explicit discussion of contraceptive-associated cycle changes can improve client satisfaction. In India and SA, other bleeding attitudes did not significantly differ by H-aversion/receptivity. However, in US respondents, favorable views of bleeding (e.g., “I need to have periods to be in good health”) were consistently significantly associated with H-aversion, suggesting bleeding attitudes are salient factors in contraceptive preferences in that population.
Presented by
Virginia J. Vitzthum <vitzthum@indiana.edu>
Institution
1Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; 2Clue by Biowink GmbH, Berlin, Germany; 3Astronomy, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN;
Hashtags
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Rural Embodiment and Community Health (REACH) Study: Testing differences in chronic inflammatory disease between low-resources rural and urban communities in the United States​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

S Waimon, TJ Cepon-Robins, SS Urlacher, A Zhang, M Pfaff-Nash, KL Nemeth, JB Thomas, A Shing, TE Gildner

Abstract
Allergies and asthma (AA) are highly prevalent in adults in the United States. Leading theories on AA prevalence, such as the Hygiene Hypothesis, suggest that individuals in high-resource countries are more at risk due to limited microbe exposure. However, less research has been done to examine AA prevalence in rural, low-resource communities of the US. To test associations between AA prevalence and community, data were collected using participant surveys measuring household and health history (N=93). Preliminary findings suggest that prevalence of adult AA’s are similar across both urban (Southwestern Illinois, N=49) and rural (Mississippi Delta, N=44) low-resource communities. Overall, 57.45% of participants reported AAs. Chi-squared analysis (x2=0. 0915, p=0.762) found no significant difference in the number of participants who reported AAs across populations. Dried blood spots were analyzed for AA-related immunomarkers (IgE and C-reactive proteins). No significant difference between mean levels of IgE (mMississippi = 709. 6 𝑛𝑔/𝑚𝑙, mIllinois = 815. 8 𝑛𝑔/𝑚𝑙; t(91) = -1.65, p=0.101) or elevated CRP levels (>1 mg/L; x2 =3.82, p=0.051, mMississippi = 7.06 mg/L mIllinois = 2.53 mg/L) were found. Preliminary results suggest that low-resource communities have similar AA burden across urban and rural communities in the US. Shared environmental factors such as flooding, water quality, and parasite burden may standardize AA prevalence in these communities. Further testing is underway to analyze how these factors are related to AA risk in low-resource communities in the US.
Presented by
Waimon
Institution
Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Anthropology
Hashtags

Surdis oportere modi, vituperante, sectatur causa circumstant da dum.

Alexander Anderson, James Kim, Alyssa Lee, Michael Kim, Madison Smith

Abstract
Tuum hi det est castissime orare imaginatur vivendum nota agito, ubi iugo invenimus depromi quae nota. Ita cura spectandum formas dormientis humana tu posse hi inveniret magis deum reconditae da accedimus multique cor pulchra. Benedicendo hi excellentiam lux nota muscas bone. Tu exciderunt hos quamdiu da cedendo itaque molestiam, agam cor placet die persentiscere credit. Hymno vanae ungentorum animam re fueram haec eligam rationes inveni clamore da qui dicens. Amat accedam se vel corones.
Presented by
Alexander Anderson <alexander.anderson@demo.virtualpostersession.org>
Institution
The Western Washington Virtual University
Hashtags
#Washington #colorWhite
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Available from 10am-noon
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Hierarchies and health: subjective social status and its association with maternal and child allostatic load and maternal mental health in Mwanza, Tanzania

Amanda B. Seyler [1], Kristan E. Kushlyk [1], Jason A. DeCaro [2], Mange F. Manyama [3], Benedikt Hallgrimsson [4], Warren M. Wilson [1]

Abstract
The social environment has a strong influence on human health. Current social inequalities may be stressors that manifest in extant health disparities cross-culturally. One measure of social inequality, subjective social status (SSS), an individual's perception of their own rank within a social hierarchy, has been found to be more predictive of health outcomes than objective measures of socioeconomic status. However, understanding the relationship between SSS and health is compromised by a paucity of data for low-and-middle-income countries. To address this gap in the literature, we explore the relationship between maternal SSS and maternal physical and mental health and child physical health in Mwanza, Tanzania. Among 148 maternal-child dyads, we measured SSS with the MacArthur SSS scale and maternal mental health with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. Physical health was measured via an allostatic load index, incorporating anthropometric measures and C-reactive protein (CRP) for mothers and anthropometric measures, CRP, and transferrin receptors for children. Allostatic load scores were generated using principal components analysis, and linear regression models were computed to evaluate SSS and health outcomes. Before covariate adjustment, lower SSS was significantly associated with an increased risk for poor mental health (adj R2=.06, p=.001). After adjusting for covariates, analyses revealed nonsignificant associations between maternal SSS and maternal mental health (adj R2=.17, p=.900), maternal allostatic load (adj R2=.10, p=.513), and child allostatic load (adj R2=.03, p=.229). These findings indicate an important link between SSS and mental health. Further, they suggest that additional predictors have critical implications for the relationship between SSS and health.
Presented by
Amanda B. Seyler <amanda.seyler@ucalgary.ca>
Institution
[1] Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; [2] Department of Anthropology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama; [3] Weill Cornell Medicine, Qatar; [4] Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Hashtags
#maternalhealth #childhealth #allostaticload #SSS #MacArthurLadder
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Is adolescent sleep quality higher in WEIRD contexts?

A Silva-Caballero1,2, HL Ball2, KL Kramer3, RD Greaves4, GR Bentley2

Abstract
Sleep quality has been proposed as a practical measure to evaluate an individual’s restedness and an indicator of “optimal” sleep function. We tested the Sleep Intensity Hypothesis among 145 teenagers (aged 11-16, x̄=13.7 ± 1.21) who were: 1) Totonac agriculturalists, 2) Maya agriculturalists, and 3) urbanites from Mexico City, predicting that adolescents in industrial environments will have a deeper, less fragmented sleep compared to their counterparts in non-industrial contexts not subject to the same cultural influences as WEIRD teenagers (such as technological gadgets with screens, gendered physical activity, the materiality of sleep, etc.). We collected 1405 sleep observations from February-November, 2019, using actigraphy, sleep diaries, interviews, and ethnographic observations. We employed mixed-effects models to examine bio-socio-ecological predictors of nightly sleep efficiency (SE) (i.e., the ratio of total sleep time to time in bed). Teenagers from Mexico City had the highest SE (Mdn=87.6, IQR=7.7), while the Maya participants had the lowest SE (Mdn=76.5, IQR=13.8). Strikingly, however, teenagers from Mexico City had the highest scores for self-rated daytime drowsiness and participants in Puebla the lowest. No significant differences were identified between SE measures during school and free nights (p > 0.05). SE was consistently influenced by gender across weekdays, with girls having more efficient sleep than boys. Meanwhile, co-sleeping practices positively affected SE only during free nights (95% CI). Our results suggest that social cues can significantly shape sleep architecture and health outcomes. More attention should therefore be applied towards the value of social sleep for adolescent sleep regulation and development.
Presented by
Andrea Silva-Caballero <andrea.silva-caballero2@durham.ac.uk>
Institution
1 Institute of Anthropological Research, UNAM; 2 Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, UK; 3 Anthropology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, US
Hashtags
#AdolescentSleep #SleepEcology #SleepEfficiency
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Available April 19, 10:00-11:00 PDT

Religious minority identity associates with stress and psychological health for Muslim and Hindu women in Bangladesh and London.

SJ Dornisch1, LL Sievert1, T Sharmeen2, S Muttukrishna3, K Begum4, L Murphy1, O Chowdhury5, GR Bentley4

Abstract
Religious identification has been associated with mental health outcomes. However, the cultural and personal context of specific religious identities are often unaddressed. A religion’s minority or majority status within a culture may moderate that religion’s association with mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of minority religious identification (Hindu or Muslim) on stress and psychological health among sedentary and migrant Bangladeshi women, aged 39-59 years, in London, UK, and Sylhet, Bangladesh (N=531). In bivariate analyses, minority religious identification was examined in relation to self-reported measures of stress and psychological health by chi-square. Logistic regression was applied to examine the relation between psychological symptoms (no/yes) and minority religious identification while adjusting for parity, perceived financial comfort, marriage status, and daily walking. In bivariate analyses, Muslim and Hindu minorities reported higher stress compared to religious majority groups (p<0.05), and Muslim minorities also reported more nervous tension and depressed mood compared religious majorities. In logistic regression models of stress, Muslim minorities compared to Muslim majorities was significant (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.18-3.39), as was Muslim minorities compared to non-Muslim British (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.51-6.17). In logistic regression models of nervous tension, minority Muslim status was significant compared to non-Muslim British (OR 3.37, 95% CI 1.66-6.87). Financial comfort was significant in all regression models. Muslim identity differentially associates with stress and nervous tension depending on Islam’s cultural position.
Presented by
Dornisch
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, UMass Amherst, MA, USA 2Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University College Cork, Ireland 4Department of Anthropology, Durham University, UK 5Parkview Medical College, Sylhet, Bangladesh
Hashtags
#religion #mentalhealth #stress #Muslim #midlife
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Irritable bowel syndrome and the nutrition transition: contextualizing modern disease within cultural shifts

Makenna B. Lenover, Mary K. Shenk

Abstract
Commonly studied diseases of modern environments, such as type-2 diabetes and obesity, are linked to the dietary shifts seen alongside the nutrition transition. Another such disease is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional gastrointestinal disease seemingly correlated with industrialization. A large segment of IBS research focuses on dietary interventions and food intolerances, but these findings have yet to be framed within an ultimate context alongside the nutrition transition. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize the dietary-focused IBS literature within the context of the nutrition transition. We analyzed 351 papers, including reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical trials. Our review suggests that five core cultural changes during the agricultural revolution and industrialization are implicated in IBS: a.) increased consumption of gluten and lactose, b.) increased consumption of FODMAP (fermentable carbohydrate) foods, c.) introduction of processed foods with chemical additives, d.) decreased fiber consumption, and e.) increased consumption of alcohol and caffeine. Our review also revealed key limitations of research conducted to date, including a focus on food-based interventions involving the consumption or elimination of food, while research on the role food plays disease etiology and symptom exacerbation is much less prevalent. It is difficult to determine if the relationship between food and IBS is correlational (possibly due to the placebo effect) or instead causal. More work is needed to parse out the timeline relating diet to IBS development. We identify a need for a well-rounded understanding of people’s full diets alongside symptoms and also to examine microbiotic changes in relation to diet.
Presented by
Makenna Lenover <mbl66@psu.edu>
Institution
Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
Hashtags
#chronicdisease #nutrition
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Spontaneous facial reaction to the demonstration of anger in Tuvans, Mongolian pastoralists

AA Mezentseva1., VV Rostovtseva1., ML Butovskaya1,2,3

Abstract
A recent experimental study revealed an untypical case of gender differences in emotional recognition (Mezentseva et al., 2022). Women of the Tuvans, Mongolian pastoralists from Southern Siberia, were less successful than men in the recognition of anger displayed through photographs of Tuvan men. The revealed sex differences are not consistent with the literature data on other populations, according to which women are more likely to outperform men in emotional recognition, especially in negative emotions. To clarify the obtained effect, we have conducted a follow-up study and analyzed video recorded facial emotional reactions of Tuvan men and women to male anger displays. Video of each participant, 35 men and 32 women, was decoded in the facial expression recognition system "FaceReader", which identified and measured intensities of 6 basic emotional displays on the target videos. According to the results, for men the leading mimic reaction to the demonstration of male anger was anger and fear, and for women it was sadness. At the same time, when perceiving the expression of anger on a male face, Tuvan women expressed sadness and contempt more intensively than Tuvan men, and men, in turn, expressed anger more than women. All obtained results are statistically significant. We conclude that the spontaneous reactions of Tuvan men, but not women, were associated with negative emotions, which are commonly experienced in the contexts of conflicts. Presumably, men in this population are more familiar with the manifestation of male anger in intrasexual conflicts, which in turn may explain the efficiency of recognition. The study was conducted with the support of a research grant funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant ID: 075-15-2022-328)
Presented by
Mezentseva
Institution
1 Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; 2 Russia National Research University Higher School of Economic, Moscow, Russia; 3 Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia
Hashtags
#emotions#anger
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Rural Embodiment and Community Health (REACH) study: Helicobacter pylori infection prevalence and associated immune responses in adult participants from Mississippi and Southwestern Illinois

TJ Cepon-Robins1, SS Urlacher2,3, A Zhang4, S Waimon4, M Pfaff-Nash2, KL Nemeth4, JB Thomas4, A Shing4, TE Gildner4

Abstract
One half of the global population, especially those living in low-resource countries, are infected with the bacteria Helicobacter pylori. Infection prevalence is likely underestimated in high-income countries. Pathogenic H. pylori infection occurs in ~20% of cases, leading to inflammation, ulcers, and stomach cancer. Disparities in infection outcomes are poorly understood and likely stem from variation in immune responses. Using ELISA, we analyzed H. pylori infections in stool samples collected in June 2022 from 90 adults (ages 18-84 years) in low-resource communities in the Mississippi Delta and southwestern Illinois as part of the REACH study. We hypothesized: 1) H. pylori infection prevalence would be higher than the national average of 31%; and 2) H. pylori infection would be associated with higher levels of intestinal inflammation (measured from Fecal Calprotectin [FC] in stool samples) in individuals experiencing systemic proinflammatory immune responses (measured from C-reactive protein [CRP] levels in bloodspots using ELISA). 44% of participants were infected with H. pylori. For individuals with elevated CRP (>1 mg/L), FC was higher in H. pylori infected participants (n = 30) compared to uninfected individuals (n = 35) (p = 0.05, η2 = 0.06). There was no significant difference in FC between H. pylori infected (n = 9) and uninfected participants (n = 15) without elevated CRP (p = 0.98, η2 = 0.00). Results suggest low-resource areas of the U.S. may have higher H. pylori prevalence than the national average and that factors contributing to systemic inflammation may prime individuals toward pathogenic H. pylori infection.

Support: Boettcher Foundation’s Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Award; Washington University in St. Louis Seeding Projects for Enabling Excellence & Distinction (SPEED) Award; University of Colorado Colorado Springs Anthropology Department; Washington University in St. Louis Anthropology Department
Presented by
Tara J. Cepon-Robins <trobins3@uccs.edu>
Institution
1Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO; 2Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX; 3Child and Brain Development Program, CIFAR, Toronto, Canada; 4Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Hashtags
#Hpylori #immunology #inflammation #UnitedStates
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Available April 19, 8am to 10am (or anytime by email)
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The Art of Creation (AoC) study: integrated knowledge translation (iKT) for periconceptional health information through participatory support, art-based focus groups

Tina Moffat, Jordan Chin, Sara Dickinson, Beth Murray-Davis, Mary Barker, Stephan Dombrowski, Kym Rae, and Deborah M Sloboda

Abstract
The Art of Creation (AoC) Study is an arts-based, community-engaged research project with the goal of mobilizing knowledge about the science of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) and the importance of being healthy before and during pregnancy. In partnership with the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the AoC team work collaboratively with local artists, pregnant people, and a community advisory board comprised of local health and social care providers to mount a public exhibit that will educate and engage the public, including the media and policymakers, about periconceptional health and the need to recognize and support pregnancy as a crucial stage in health trajectories over the lifecourse. The research methodology of the study includes conducting art-based participatory focus groups and working with professional artists to use artmaking as a means of fostering conversations about barriers and enablers to health, pregnancy experiences, and DOHaD. Integrated knowledge translation (iKT) is integral to the AoC study to have sustainable impacts on community engagement and translation of DOHaD-based concepts. Throughout the study, we engage our participants, artists and board members as collaborators in our research process. This enables us to align the research with the priorities of the end-users – that is pregnant individuals, their supports and the community at large. This iKT breaks from traditional approaches by building knowledge translation into the study early on rather than at the end. In this paper we discuss both the benefits and challenges of this iKT for both stakeholders and researchers.

Presented by
Tina Moffat
Institution
McMaster University
Hashtags
@aoc_study
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Available April 19th from 10 to 11 am PDT