Male-female differences in mortality in the developed world

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Marital history, health and mortality among older men and women in England and Wales.

BACKGROUND: Health benefits of marriage have long been recognised and extensively studied but previous research has yielded inconsistent results for older people, particularly older women. At older ages accumulated benefits or disadvantages of past marital experience, as well as current marital status, may be relevant, but fewer studies have considered effects of marital history. Possible effects of parity, and the extent to which these may contribute to marital status differentials in health, have also been rarely considered. METHODS: We use data from the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, a large record linkage study of 1% of the population of England & Wales, to analyse associations between marital history 1971-1991 and subsequent self-reported limiting long-term illness and mortality in a cohort of some 75,000 men and women aged 60-79 in 1991. We investigate whether prior marital status and time in current marital status influenced risks of mortality or long term illness using Poisson regression to analyse mortality differentials 1991-2001 and logistic regression to analyse differences in proportions reporting limiting long-term illness in 1991 and 2001. Co-variates included indicators of socio-economic status at two or three points of the adult life course and, for women, number of children borne (parity). RESULTS: Relative to men in long-term first marriages, never-married men, widowers with varying durations of widowerhood, men divorced for between 10 and twenty years, and men in long-term remarriages had raised mortality 1991-2001. Men in long-term remarriages and those divorced or widowed since 1971 had higher odds of long-term illness in 1991; in 2001 the long-term remarried were the only group with significantly raised odds of long-term illness. Among women, the long-term remarried also had higher odds of reporting long-term illness in 1991 and in 2001 and those remarried and previously divorced had raised odds of long-term illness and raised mortality 1991-2001; this latter effect was not significant in models including parity. All widows had raised mortality 1991-2001 but associations between widowhood of varying durations and long-term illness in 1991 or 2001 were not significant once socio-economic status was controlled. Some groups of divorced women had higher mortality risks 1991-2001 and raised odds of long-term illness in 1991. Results for never-married women showed a divergence between associations with mortality and with long-term illness. In models controlling for socio-economic status, mortality risk was raised but the association with 1991 long-term illness was not significant and in 2001 never-married women had lower odds of reporting long-term illness than women in long-term first marriages. Formally taking account of selective survival in the 20 years prior to entry to the study population had minor effects on results. CONCLUSIONS: Results were consistent with previous studies in showing that the relationship between marital experience and later life health and mortality is considerably modified by socio-economic factors, and additionally showed that taking women's parity into account further moderated associations. Considering marital history rather than simply current marital status provided some insights into differentials between, for example, remarried people according to prior marital status and time remarried, but these groups were relatively small and there were some disadvantages of the approach in terms of loss of statistical power. Consideration of past histories is likely to be more important for later born cohorts whose partnership experiences have been less stable and more heterogeneous

Revisiting convergence and divergence: support for older people in Europe

Recent commentators have distinguished ‘weak’ from ‘strong’ family societies, arguing that older people in less family-oriented societies receive less support from family members than those in countries with strong family ties (e.g. Southern Europe). This study explored the north-south divide in various dimensions associated with support for older people among selected European countries participating in a European Scientific Foundation network, ‘Family Support for Older People: Determinants and Consequences’ (FAMSUP). Employing data from a wide variety of sources (e.g. nationally representative surveys, censuses, and official publications) we used principal components and cluster analysis to investigate patterns across countries in four dimensions designed to be indicative of the balance between family and formally provided resources for older people and the socio-economic, demographic and policy contexts in which these are provided. Rather than a clear-cut north-south division European countries reflect a more complex classification in terms of support for older individuals when a wide range of measures associated with different dimensions of support for older people are used. Future research requires comparable cross-national data on key indicators of family support

Vertebrados del Cenozoico Tardío del sudoeste de la Región Pampeana: actualización sistemática y bio-cronoestratigráfica

The knowledge of the vertebrate systematics and bio-chronostratigraphy of late Cenozoic from the southwest of the Buenos Aires Province is updated. The study is focused on 12 localities that encompass the latest Miocene to the Holocene. Biochronologic units were identified and correlated to those of other areas of the Pampean Region. Farola Monte Hermoso, Bajo San José and Playa del Barco outstand because they yielded a large amount of fossil remains. In turn, the quarries near Grünbein allowed refining the age of "Huayquerian" faunas and their relationship with "Montehermosan" ones. The localities Cantera Seminario, Barrancas de Sarmiento, Cantera Vialidad, and Cantera Relleno Sanitario are assigned to the latest Miocene-earliest Pliocene; Farola Monte Hermoso and Las Oscuras, to the Early Pliocene; Bajo San José to the Middle Pleistocene; Puesto La Florida, Chacra Santo Domingo, and García del Río to the Late Pleistocene-Holocene; Playa del Barco to the Late Pleistocene; Pliocene s.l., and Pleistocene-Holocene levels are exposed at Balneario Saldungaray.Se realiza una actualización del conocimiento de la sistemática de los vertebrados y la bio-cronoestratigrafía del Cenozoico tardío del sudoeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. El trabajo se enfoca en 12 localidades que abarcan desde el Mioceno más tardío hasta el Holoceno. En ellas se identificaron unidades biocronológicas que se correlacionan con otras áreas de la Región Pampeana. Se destacan Farola Monte Hermoso, Bajo San José y Playa del Barco como las localidades más fosilíferas. Por su parte, las canteras cercanas a la localidad de Grünbein se destacan por permitir la aproximación a las edades de faunas “huayquerienses” y su relación con las “montehermosenses”. Las localidades Cantera Seminario, Barrancas de Sarmiento, Cantera Vialidad y Cantera Relleno Sanitario se asignan al Mioceno más tardío–Plioceno más temprano; Farola Monte Hermoso y Las Oscuras al Plioceno temprano; Bajo San José al Pleistoceno medio; Puesto La Florida, Chacra Santo Domingo y García del Río al Pleistoceno tardío–Holoceno; Playa del Barco al Pleistoceno tardío; en Balneario Saldungaray afloran niveles asignados al Plioceno s.l. y al Pleistoceno–Holoceno.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Biostratigraphic reassignment of the neogene Caenolestines (Marsupialia) of the pampean region: the case of Pliolestes Tripotamicus Reig, 1955

La reinterpretación estratigráfica de un sitio paleontológico controvertido, como las barrancas del río Quequén Salado, permitió ajustar el biocrón del marsupial cenolestino Pliolestes tripotamicus Reig. En estos afloramientos se identificaron dos unidades fosilíferas: una inferior, AUA (Huayqueriense), y una superior, AUB (Montehermosense). P. tripotamicus fue hallado en la unidad AUA, pero no en la AUB ni en localidades típicamente montehermosenses o chapadmalalenses. Esto sugiere que el taxón no fue parte de los elencos montehermosenses–chapadmalalenses. La otra especie, P. venetus Goin et al. (Huayqueriense), y Caenolestidae n. sp. aff. P. tripotamicus (Chasiquense) indican que el género se restringe a los pisos/edades Chasiquense–Huayqueriense. La retracción de los cenolestinos hacia la Región Andina, donde habitan actualmente, habría tenido lugar a comienzos del Plioceno, posiblemente más relacionada con cambios ambientales que con la competencia con roedores cricétidos como se había propuesto.The stratigraphic reinterpretation of a controversial paleontological site such as the Quequén Salado River banks allowed refinement of the biochron of the caenolestine marsupial Pliolestes tripotamicus Reig. Two fossil bearing units were proposed for these exposures: a lower one, AUA (Huayquerian) and an upper one, AUB (Montehermosan). P. tripotamicus is found in AUA, but not in AUB or in typical Montehermosan and Chapadmalalan localities, which suggests that this taxon was not part of the Montehermosan–Chapadmalalan assemblages. The other species, P. venetus Goin et al. (Huayquerian), and Caenolestidae n. sp. aff. P. tripotamicus (Chasicoan) indicate the genus was restricted to the Chasicoan–Huayquerian stages/ages. The retraction of the caenolestines toward the Andean Region (where they live today) would have taken place at the beginning of the Pliocene, probably more related to environmental changes than to competence with cricetid rodents as first proposed.Fil: Deschamps, Cecilia Marcela. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; ArgentinaFil: Gasparini, Germán Mariano. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Beilinson, Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; ArgentinaFil: Zárate, Marcelo Arístides. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Geológico del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología. Instituto Geológico del Sur; Argentin

Associations of family and social contact with health among Italian grandparents

Abstract Past research has documented the positive influence of frequent interactions with social networks on several health outcomes in later life, with different patterns by gender. In this study, we explore the association of frequent contact with different members of the social network (namely partner, grandchildren, siblings, friends and neighbours) on self-perceived health status and the limitation of illnesses among older grandparents in Italy, using a large national representative survey. Our results confirm the positive association between good health indicators and frequent contact with members of the "horizontal" network (partner, siblings and friends), while a more ambiguous association has been found with frequent face-to-face contact with children and grandchildren. The results hold for both male and female grandparents. The Mediterranean family-focused culture may possibly explain the distinctly Italian results

Ciencia académica y género: trayectorias académicas de varones y mujeres en dos disciplinas del conocimiento dentro de la Universidad de la República, Uruguay

En esta investigación se analiza la construcción de trayectorias académicas de varones y mujeres en las disciplinas de Ingeniería en Computación y Biología dentro de la Universidad de la República (UdelaR). Principalmente se evidencia cómo las mujeres construyen sus trayectorias enfrentando más discontinuidades y obstáculos que sus colegas varones. La acumulación de los efectos negativos de diferentes tipos de barreras (contextua les, materiales y de roles de género) coloca a las mujeres en una situación de desventaja. El punto más crítico de estas desventajas es la asunción de responsabilidades de cuidados durante el inicio de las trayectorias académicas. El avance y desarrollo de diversos mecanismos de estímulo, la mayor especialización disciplinar y la creación de una institucionalidad que sustenta la formación de grado y pos grado, permite hablar hoy de la proyección de trayectorias académicas "normales". Algunos de los cambios dentro de la organización de la ciencia académica nacional pueden aumentar las desigualdades en la construcción de las trayectorias de varones y mujeres, por ejemplo, la institucionalización de la formación de posdoctorado a nivel nacional y la medición de la productividad, dado el ritmo con que se espera se publiquen resultado

Gender inequality in Latin American Neuroscience community

Gender bias in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has been identified since a long time ago. However, gender imbalance in neuroscience has not yet been adequately explored worldwide. Here we report the first study on the development of the careers of men and women neuroscientists in Latin America in relation to family life and their perceptions of obstacles to success. Apart from revealing gender inequality in the neuroscience field, distinctive Latin American traits have become evident, thus providing novel insights into the global comprehension of gender imbalance in the region, which is required for guiding future actions, including the design of public policies in the region.Fil: Silva, Ana. International Brain Research Organization. Latin American Regional Committee; Uruguay. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Tomassini, Cecilia. International Brain Research Organization. Latin American Regional Committee; Uruguay. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Zurbrigg, Julieta. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in Montevideo; UruguayFil: Palacios, Adrian. Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso; Chile. International Brain Research Organization. Latin American Regional Committee; UruguayFil: Amarante, Verónica. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean; UruguayFil: Bouzat, Cecilia Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. International Brain Research Organization. Latin American Regional Committee; Urugua

Stability and Change in the Living Arrangements of Older Italian Women, 1990-1995

In this work we analyze the living arrangements of elderly unmarried women in Italy. We use data from three surveys, collected in 1990, 1994, and 1995 by the Italian statistical agency ISTAT. We consider unmarried women aged 65 and older, and three household types (living alone, with children, or with others), taking into account the availability of children with whom they might share a household. During this period the percentage of elderly living alone fell slightly. We investigate these patterns with a structural analysis based on multinomial models. Results indicate that some individual variables (living in southern Italy, health status) have lost their significance in explaining the probability of living with children or with other persons. We conclude that, in contrast to the past, when there was an emphasis on the mother’s dependency in coresidence, choices in living arrangements in Italy seem to reflect the needs of both generations

Shrinking Kin Networks in Italy Due to Sustained Low Fertility

Among the closely watched demographic trends of the late 20th Century is a pronounced drop in fertility rates throughout much of the world. Italy presents a particularly interesting case for study: in 1960, Italy’s total fertility rate (TFR) was 2.41; by 1995 it had fallen to 1.17. According to United Nations projections, by 2050 Italy will be the second oldest country in the world, with 3.4 persons aged 60 or older for each person under age 15. Besides overall population aging, another implication of sustained low fertility is smaller families and kin groups. We investigate the consequences of projected changes in Italy’s birth and death rates on the composition of kin groups using microsimulation techniques. Using a starting population taken from the 1994 “Indagine Multiscopo sulle Famiglie” survey and projected rates of mortality and fertility by age and parity produced by the Italian Institute of Statistics, we simulate the path of kin-group patterns in Italy during the period 1994-2050. While we reproduce the aggregate population patterns found in official projections, we conduct our estimates at the “micro” level, keeping track of the relationships between individuals, which underlie kin group patterns. We show the effects of the demographic trends on the existence of daughters and sons for older mothers, on the number of sisters and brothers with whom an adult woman could share the responsibilities of caring for an elderly mother, and the effect of the joint action of the increase in longevity and the mean age at fertility on the proportion of adult women with a living mother