Living on the edge: precariousness and why it matters for health

The post-war period in Europe, between the late 1940s and the 1970s, was characterised by an expansion of the role of by the state, protecting its citizens from risks of unemployment, poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity. This security began to erode in the 1980s as a result of privatisation and deregulation. The withdrawal of the state further accelerated after the 2008 financial crisis, as countries began pursuing deep austerity. The result has been a rise in what has been termed ‘precariousness’. Here we review the development of the concept of precariousness and related phenomena of vulnerability and resilience, before reviewing evidence of growing precariousness in European countries. It describes a series of studies of the impact on precariousness on health in domains of employment, housing, and food, as well as natural experiments of policies that either alleviate or worsen these impacts. It concludes with a warning, drawn from the history of the 1930s, of the political consequences of increasing precariousness in Europe and North America

Visceral leishmaniasis and Acquired Immunodeficiency Sydrome (AIDS): case report Leishmaniose visceral e Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida (SIDA): relato de um caso

This is a case report that describe an association of AIDS, visceral leishmaniasis and probable disseminated tuberculosis. Due to the spread of AIDS in developing areas worldwide this association would be more frequently, seen on subjects from endemic areas where this protozoonosis is prevalent. More than one opportunistic infection related with the endemic diseases of the developing regions can be associated with those immunocompromised patients.<br>Os autores descrevem um caso de associação de leishmaniose visceral, SIDA e provável tuberculose disseminada. Discutem a possibilidade de associação desta protozoonose e infecção pelo vírus da Imunodeficiência Adquirida (VIH) principalmente pelo aumento de prevalência de infecção pelo VIH em áreas endêmicas para o calazar. A presença de imunodepressão pelo VIH possibilita manifestações de agentes oportunistas muitas vezes associados e relacionados com as endemias prevalentes nestas regiões de subdesenvolvimento

Heights across the Last 2,000 Years in England

This chapter uses a dataset of heights calculated from the femurs of skeletal remains to explore the development of stature in England across the last two millennia. We find that heights increased during the Roman period and then steadily fell during the “Dark Ages” in the early medieval period. At the turn of the first millennium, heights grew rapidly, but after 1200 they started to decline coinciding with the agricultural depression, the Great Famine, and the Black Death. Then they recovered to reach a plateau which they maintained for almost 300 years, before falling on the eve of industrialization. The data show that average heights in England in the early nineteenth century were comparable to those in Roman times, and that average heights reported between 1400 and 1700 were similar to those of the twentieth century. This chapter also discusses the association of heights across time with some potential determinants and correlates (real wages, inequality, food supply, climate change, and expectation of life), showing that in the long run heights change with these variables, and that in certain periods, notably the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the associations are observable over the shorter run as well. We also examine potential biases surrounding the use of skeletal remains