METHODS: We analyzed the association between ethnic as well as religious homogamy and woman's average number of offspring based on census data from ten countries provided by IPUMS international, encompassing a total of 1,485,433 married women aged 46-60 years (who have thus completed or almost completed reproduction) and their spouses.
RESULTS: We find a clear pro-fertile but nonadditive effect of both ethnic and religious homogamy, which is most pronounced in the case of double homogamy. Our results further indicate that homogamy for one trait may compensate for heterogamy of the other, albeit countries differ regarding which trait compensates for the other.
CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the interaction between ethnic homogamy, religious homogamy, and reproduction provides an interesting example for gene-culture co-evolution.
METHODS: Data were derived from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS). Data from 71176 adolescents aged 12-15 years residing in 23 countries were analyzed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2000 growth charts were used to identify underweight, normal weight, and overweight/ obesity. Weighted age- and gender-adjusted prevalence of weight categories and tobacco use was calculated. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the association between weight categories and tobacco use for each country, controlling for covariates. Pooled odds ratios and confidence intervals were computed using random- or fixed-effects meta-analyses.
RESULTS: A significant association between weight categories and tobacco use was evident in only a few countries. Adolescents reporting tobacco use in French Polynesia, Suriname, and Indonesia, had 72% (95% CI: 0.15-0.56), 55% (95% CI: 0.24-0.84), and 24% (95% CI: 0.61-0.94) lower odds of being underweight, respectively. Adolescents reporting tobacco use in Uganda, Algeria, and Namibia, had 2.30 (95% CI: 1.04-5.09), 1.71 (95% CI: 1.25-2.34), and 1.45 (95% CI: 1.00-2.12) times greater odds of being overweight/obese, but those in Indonesia and Malaysia had 33% (95% CI: 0.50-0.91) and 16% (95% CI: 0.73-0.98) lower odds of being overweight/obese.
CONCLUSIONS: The association between tobacco use and BMI categories is likely to be different among adolescents versus adults. Associating tobacco use with being thin may be more myth than fact and should be emphasized in tobacco prevention programs targeting adolescents.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Lethality was calculated as the rate of deaths in a determinate moment from the outbreak of the pandemic out of the total of identified positives for COVID-19 in a given area/nation, based on the COVID-John Hopkins University website. Lethality of countries located within the 5th parallels North/South on 6 April and 6 May 2020, was compared with that of all the other countries. Lethality in the European areas of The Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom was also compared to the territories of the same nations in areas with a non-temperate climate.
RESULTS: A lower lethality rate of COVID-19 was found in Equatorial countries both on April 6 (OR=0.72 CI 95% 0.66-0.80) and on May 6 (OR=0.48, CI 95% 0.47-0.51), with a strengthening over time of the protective effect. A trend of higher risk in European vs. non-temperate areas was found on April 6, but a clear difference was evident one month later: France (OR=0.13, CI 95% 0.10-0.18), The Netherlands (OR=0.5, CI 95% 0.3-0.9) and the UK (OR=0.2, CI 95% 0.01-0.51). This result does not seem to be totally related to the differences in age distribution of different sites.
CONCLUSIONS: The study does not seem to exclude that the lethality of COVID-19 may be climate sensitive. Future studies will have to confirm these clues, due to potential confounding factors, such as pollution, population age, and exposure to malaria.
AIMS: This study aimed to assess the pelvic floor ultrasound characteristics of Ugandan women suffering with obstetric fistula, unrepaired fourth degree obstetric tears and pelvic organ prolapse, and determine whether obstructed labour resulting in obstetric fistula causes more levator muscle defects compared to parous women without a history of obstructed labour.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective study in western Uganda assessing 82 women with obstetric fistula, unrepaired fourth degree obstetric tears and pelvic organ prolapse with a pelvic floor ultrasound scan.
RESULTS: Demographic characteristics were significantly different, with women suffering pelvic organ prolapse being older and more parous. Hiatal area on Valsalva was significantly smaller in the obstetric fistula group (mean 21.45 cm2 ) compared to non-obstetric fistula group (unrepaired fourth degree obstetric tears and pelvic organ prolapse; mean 30.44 cm2 ); a mean difference of 9.0 cm2 (95% CI: 5.4-12.6 cm2 , P