Post-Cranial Traumatic Injury Patterns in Two Medieval Polish Populations: The Effects of Lifestyle Differences

Sex differences in workload in medieval Poland: Patterns of asymmetry and biomechanical adaptation in the upper limb at Giecz

OBJECTIVES

This study characterizes sexual dimorphism in skeletal markers of upper limb mechanical loading due to lateralization as evidence of division of labor in medieval Giecz, Poland.

METHODS

Twenty-six dimensions for paired humeri, clavicles, and radii representing adult males (n = 89) and females (n = 53) were collected from a skeletal sample from the cemetery site Gz4. Percent directional asymmetry (DA) and absolute asymmetry (AA) for each dimension were compared among bones, osteometric subcategories, and sex. Additionally, side bias and sex differences were assessed in degenerative joint disease (DJD) and entheseal changes (ECs).

RESULTS

Nearly all measurements revealed significant asymmetry favoring the right side. Asymmetry was most pronounced in midshaft dimensions with few sex differences. There were more correlations among dimensions within elements than between elements, mainly in the midshaft. No laterality in DJD frequencies was noted for either sex, but females demonstrated significantly lower odds of having DJD than males in most joints. Most ECs demonstrated a right-bias and association with DA with no sex-specific patterns except the biceps brachii insertion, where females were ~5 times more likely to be scored "right" than males.

DISCUSSION

The general lack of sex differences in asymmetry and ECs suggests similarly demanding workloads for females and males, with the exception of sex-specific functional loading differences in the forearm. Further, DJD data suggest males engaged in more intensive activities involving the upper limb. These results enhance understanding of workload in this important historical period and provide a comparison for asymmetry in past populations.

Effect of integrated perioperative rehabilitation intervention under the fast-track surgery concept on stress and complications in patients undergoing craniocerebral injury surgery

Objective

To observe the intervention effect of perioperative rehabilitation intervention of integrated medical care the concept of FTS on stress response and postoperative complications in patients undergoing craniocerebral injury surgery.

Methods

70 patients with Traumatic brain injury (TBI) admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery of our Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were as the research objects and were divided into general group and FTS group according to the random number table method, with 35 cases in each group. The general group was intervened with perioperative basic nursing measures for TBI, and the FTS group was intervened with perioperative rehabilitation model of integrated medical care under the concept of FTS on the basis of the general group. The two groups of patients were compared in hemodynamic indexes (heart rate, mean arterial pressure), stress hormone levels (CORT, GLU, E), changes in motor neurological function (GCS score, NHISS score, FMA score), occurrence of postoperative complications (infection, pressure sores, rebleeding, central hyperthermia), short-term quality of life (SF-36) before and after the intervention.

Results

After intervention, the levels of HR, MAP, COR, GLU, and E were significantly lower in FTS group than in the general group (all P < 0.05). After intervention, the Fugl-Meyer score and Barthel index score of upper and lower extremities in both groups were significantly higher than those before intervention, and the FTS group was higher than the general group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). After the intervention, the NIHSS scores were significantly lower in both groups than before the intervention, and the FTS group was lower than the general group, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Short-term physical function, somatic pain, physical function, general health status, social function, energy, mental health, and emotional function scores were significantly higher in the FTS group than in thegeneral group, and all differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The total incidence of infection, pressure ulcers, rebleeding, central high fever and other complications in the FTS group was significantly lower than that in the general group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The implementation of integrated perioperative rehabilitation interventions under the concept of FTS for patients with TBI can significantly alleviate patients' stress, promote recovery, reduce the incidence of complications, and improve short-term quality of life, which is worthy of clinical promotion.

Sex-Based Differences in Age-Related Changes of the Vertebral Column from a Bronze Age Urban Population in Ancient China

The health disparities between males and females in bioarchaeological settings are important indicators of gender-based differences in socioeconomic roles. In this study, sex-based differences of the vertebral column in spine pathology were investigated in human skeletons excavated from a Bronze Age cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty at the Dahekou site in Shanxi, China. Results demonstrated that females had a higher prevalence of vertebral compressive fractures, with the majority found in those between twenty-five and thirty years old, suggesting that the fractures were a consequence of osteoporosis and its early onset in females. In contrast, males expressed overall more severe ageing in all vertebral divisions compared to females. Males also had a higher prevalence of vertebral facet joint osteoarthritis in cervical and thoracic divisions than females. Likewise, the incidence of facet joint osteoarthritis was more asymmetric between the left and right joints in males than in females. These findings reflect disparities of vertebral health between the two sexes in an urban setting, in which ageing and injuries of the vertebral column might be driven by different mechanisms. Age-related changes in female vertebral columns may have been more influenced by conditions of hormone deficiency such as menopause, while male vertebral columns might have been more prone to age-related changes due to heavy labor-induced physical stressors. Further studies on the differentiation of ageing mechanisms between the two sexes based on physiology, socioeconomic roles, and living conditions are warranted. The studies are necessary in understanding how multiple sociocultural and physiological factors contribute to health disparities in historic and contemporary environments.

Toward a bioarchaeology of urbanization: Demography, health, and behavior in cities in the past

Urbanization is one of the most important settlement shifts in human history and has been the focus of research within bioarchaeology for decades. However, there have been limited attempts to synthesize the results of these studies in order to gain a broader perspective on whether or how urbanization affects the biology, demography, and behavior of humans, and how these potential effects are embodied in the human skeleton. This paper outlines how bioarchaeology is well-suited to examine urbanization in the past, and we provide an overview and examples of three main ways in which urbanization is studied in bioarchaeological research: comparison of (often contemporaneous) urban and rural sites, synchronic studies of the variation that exists within and between urban sites, and investigations of changes that occur within urban sites over time. Studies of urbanization, both within bioarchaeology and in other fields of study, face a number of limitations, including a lack of a consensus regarding what urban and urbanization mean, the assumed dichotomous nature of urban versus rural settlements, the supposition that urbanization is universally bad for people, and the assumption (at least in practice) of homogeneity within urban and rural populations. Bioarchaeologists can address these limitations by utilizing a wide array of data and methods, and the studies described here collectively demonstrate the complex, nuanced, and highly variable effects of urbanization.

Medieval injuries: Skeletal trauma as an indicator of past living conditions and hazard risk in Cambridge, England

Objective

To explore how medieval living conditions, occupation, and an individual's role within society impacted their risk of skeletal trauma.

Materials

The skeletal remains of 314 individuals from medieval Cambridge that were buried in the parish cemetery of All Saints by the Castle (n = 84), the Augustinian friary (n = 75), and the cemetery of the Hospital of St John the Evangelist (n = 155) were analyzed.

Methods

Macroscopic examination and plain radiographs were used to classify fracture type. The causative mechanisms and forces applied to a bone were inferred based on fracture morphology.

Results

The skeletal trauma observed represents accidental injuries, likely sustained through occupational or everyday activities, and violence. The highest prevalence rate was observed on the individuals buried at All Saints by the Castle (44%, n = 37/84), and the lowest was seen at the Hospital of St John (27%, n = 42/155). Fractures were more prevalent in males (40%, n = 57/143) than females (26%, n = 25/95).

Conclusions

Skeletal trauma was highest in All Saints parish burial ground, indicating that the poor, whether working urban or rurally, had the highest risk of injury. The pattern and types of fractures observed suggests that males experienced more severe traumatic events than females. However, females that were routinely involved in manual labor were also at increased risk of injury.

Significance

This article enhances our understanding of how traumatic injuries differed by age, sex, and burial locations in the medieval period.

Further research

Additional comparative studies in different geographical regions are needed to determine how representative these findings are.

A tale of two cities: A comparison of urban and rural trauma in Medieval Denmark

OBJECTIVE

This study explores the differences in frequency and type of trauma found in two Medieval cemeteries in Denmark, as well as the cultural and community implications of those differences.

MATERIALS

We examined 235 skeletons from the cemetery at Tjærby (rural) and 170 skeletons from the cemetery at Randers (urban) for trauma from the Medieval period in Denmark, 1050 to 1536 CE.

METHODS

Trauma was assessed through macroscopic examination and odds ratio and relative risk assessments were run to assess the difference in trauma.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in the presence of trauma between the rural and urban cemeteries or between males and females. There were some significant differences in relative risk for trauma between the two cemeteries.

CONCLUSIONS

The division and variation in trauma between the two cemeteries is most likely related to differences in economy and occupation.

SIGNIFICANCE

There are relatively few studies that examine the difference in inherent risk of trauma between rural and urban Medieval communities, especially in Denmark. This research also adds to the growing body of literature in paleopathology that uses epidemiology to explore the parallels between patterns of trauma and community lifeways.

LIMITATIONS

The cemeteries are approximately 5 km distance from each other so similarities in the sample could be a result of location.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

A wider sample of Medieval cemeteries in Denmark needs be added to this analysis to provide a more complete picture of trauma patterns during this time period.

Spondylolysis in the past: A case study of hunter-gatherers from Southern Patagonia

Spondylolysis is a fracture of the pars interarticularis, the portion of the neural arch that lies between the superior articular facets and the inferior articular facets. Clinical evidence has suggested repetitive trauma to be the most probable cause, even though morphological weakness of the vertebra is probably also involved. Prevalence is between 3% and 8% in modern populations, while in archaeological samples it varies from 0% to 71.4%. Considering that very little data about this condition is available in past populations from the southern extreme of South America, the aim of this paper is to analyze the spondylolysis in a human skeletal sample from Southern Patagonia and, at the same time, to explore the prevalence of spondylolysis in archaeological contexts around the world to gain a better understanding of the results presented here. The Southern Patagonian skeletal series analyzed here showed a prevalence of 20%, with lower prevalence in the pre contact sample (11.1%) than in the contact period (23.1%). Skeletons from the Salesian Mission "Nuestra Señora de La Candelaria" showed a higher prevalence (25%) than the sample of skeletal remains recovered from outside the mission (20%), suggesting that changes in lifestyle of hunter-gatherers during contact could be implicated in the development of spondylolysis in this sample. A worldwide survey displays a wide range of prevalence figures in American and Asian samples and low diversity between African and European populations. Hunter-gatherers from Southern Patagonia showed similar values to those observed in other American samples.

Risk of Vertebral Fracture in Patients Diagnosed with a Depressive Disorder: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE:

Previous studies have reported that depression may play a crucial role in the occurrence of vertebral fractures. However, a clear correlation between depressive disorders and osteoporotic fractures has not been established. We explored the association between depressive disorders and subsequent new-onset vertebral fractures. Additionally, we aimed to identify the potential risk factors for vertebral fracture in patients with a depressive disorder.

METHODS:

We studied patients listed in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database who were diagnosed with a depressive disorder by a psychiatrist. The comparison cohort consisted of age- and sex-matched patients without a depressive disorder. The incidence rate and hazard ratios of subsequent vertebral fracture were evaluated. We used Cox regression analysis to evaluate the risk of vertebral fracture among patients with a depressive disorder.

RESULTS:

The total number of patients with and without a depressive disorder was 44,812. The incidence risk ratio (IRR) between these 2 cohorts indicated that depressive disorder patients had a higher risk of developing a subsequent vertebral fracture (IRR=1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.26-1.57, p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, the depressive disorder cohort showed a higher risk of vertebral fracture than the comparison cohort (adjusted hazard ratio=1.24, 95% CI=1.11-1.38, p<0.001). Being older than 50 years, having a lower monthly income, and having hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, autoimmune disease, or osteoporosis were considered predictive factors for vertebral fracture in patients with depressive disorders.

CONCLUSIONS:

Depressive disorders may increase the risk of a subsequent new-onset vertebral fracture.