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Thayer Z, Uwizeye G, McKerracher L. Toolkit article: Approaches to measuring social inequities in health in human biology research. Am J Hum Biol 2022; 34:e23804. [PMID: 36173013 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Across populations, human morbidity and mortality risks generally follow clear gradients, with socially-disadvantaged individuals and groups tending to have higher morbidity and mortality at all life stages relative to those more socially advantaged. Anthropologists specialize in understanding the proximate and ultimate factors that shape variation in human biological functioning and health and are therefore well-situated to explore the relationships between social position and health in diverse ecological and cultural contexts. While human biologists have developed sophisticated methods for assessing health using minimally-invasive methods, at a disciplinary level, we have room for conceptual and methodological improvement in how we frame, measure, and analyze the social inequities that might shape health inequities. This toolkit paper elaborates on some steps human biologists should take to enhance the quality of our research on health inequities. Specifically, we address: (1) how to frame unequal health outcomes (i.e., inequalities vs. disparities vs. inequities) and the importance of identifying our conceptual models of how these inequities emerge; (2) how to measure various axes of social inequities across diverse cultural contexts, and (3) approaches to community collaboration and dissemination. We end by discussing (4) future directions in human biology research of health inequities, including understanding the ultimate causes of sensitivity to social inequities and transitioning from research to action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaneta Thayer
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Glorieuse Uwizeye
- Arthur Labatt School of Nursing, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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Bowland GB, Bernstein RM, Koster J, Fiorello C, Brenn-White M, Liu J, Schwartz L, Campbell A, von Stade D, Beagley J, Pomerantz J, González A, Quick M, McKinnon K, Aghaian A, Sparks C, Gross JB. Fur Color and Nutritional Status Predict Hair Cortisol Concentrations of Dogs in Nicaragua. Front Vet Sci 2020; 7:565346. [PMID: 33195542 PMCID: PMC7604343 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.565346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examined the relationships between hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) and sex, age, nutritional status (as determined by body condition scores, or BCS), and body mass (geometric mean calculated from morphometric measurements), as well as the potential influence of hair pigmentation (light, dark, or agouti/mixed) on HCC in dogs of the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, Nicaragua. The dogs examined in this study live in a marginal environment where disease, malnutrition, and mortality rates are high. For fur color, HCC was significantly higher in light fur than in than dark and mixed fur (p < 0.001). In addition, BCS scores were found to have a negative effect on HCC (p < 0.001). Measures of sex and body size exhibited inconclusive effects on HCC, and when compared to adult dogs, juvenile dogs did not exhibit significantly different HCC. Repeated measures of dogs over time reveal a moderate intra-class correlation, suggesting that there are unmeasured sources of individual-level heterogeneity. These findings imply a need to account for fur color in studies of HCC in dogs, and the study suggests an overlooked relationship between cortisol and body condition scores in undernourished dogs in diverse settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace B Bowland
- Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Robin M Bernstein
- Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States.,Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Jeremy Koster
- Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Maris Brenn-White
- University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.,Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - James Liu
- University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Laura Schwartz
- University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | | | - Devin von Stade
- University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.,Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Andrea Aghaian
- University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Corey Sparks
- Department of Demography, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Joshua B Gross
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States
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