Physiological Influences Flashcards
Christensen & Vaupel. (2011). Genetic factors and adult mortality.
Gist: For studying genetic factors influencing adult mortality, it’s the variation within a given cohort in a given country at a specific time that is important. There is evidence of lifespan correlations between parents and offspring & larger correlations between siblings. Research has included twin studies, adoption studies, exceptional longevity, and the telomere-mortality association.
Crimmins, Kim, Alley, Karlamangla, & Seeman. (2007). Hispanic paradox in biological risk profiles.
Gist: Examined biological risk profiles by race, ethnicity, and nativity to evaluate the Hispanic paradox. Used measures of blood pressure, metabolic, & inflammatory risk profiles controlling for age, gender, and SES. Hispanics had more risk factors above clinical risk levels than whites but less than blacks. Differences between Hispanics & whites disappeared after controlling for SES but results differed by nativity. After controlling for SES, differences between foreign-born Hispanics & whites eliminated, but US-born Mexican Americans still had higher biological risk scores than both whites and foreign-born Mexican Americans. No Hispanic paradox in biological risk profiles, but consistent with hypothesized effects of migrant health selectivity as well as some differences in health behaviors between US-born & foreign-born Hispanics.
Massey. (2004). Segregation and stratification: A biosocial perspective.
Gist: The U.S. remains a residentially segregated society in which blacks inhabit lower quality neighborhoods. Blacks experience greater poverty, social disorder, and violence that contributes to a high allostatic load among blacks that leads to worse health outcomes. The biosocial model of stratification connects elements of social structure (racial segregation and income inequality interacting to produce concentrated poverty and concentrated violence) to high allostatic loads among blacks (through their involuntary confinement in areas of concentrated poverty & violence) to an elevated risk of coronary heart disease (hypertension, thrombosis, atherosclerosis, diabetes, & obesity), a grater likelihood of inflammatory disorders (asthma, multiple sclerosis, arthritis), & impaired cognition (atrophy of memory, inhibition of synaptic learning, dendritic remodeling, & suppression of neurogenesis).
Duru, Harawa, Kermah, & Norris. (2012). Allostatic load burden and racial disparities in mortality.
Gist: Black-white disparities in mortality persist after adjustment for SES & health behaviors. Overall, blacks had higher allostatic load scores than whites. Allostatic load scores explained black-white mortality differences after accounting for SES and health behaviors. This was true for men and women (although explained more of the gap for women).
Crimmins & Vasunilashorn. (2011). Links between biomarkers and mortality.
Gist: Review of biomarkers in mortality research. Includes measures of the cardiovascular system, metabolic processes, inflammation, immunity, and infection, activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and sympathetic nervous system, and markers of organ function.
Crimmins, Kim, & Vasunilashorn. (2009). Biodemography: New approaches to understanding trends and differences in population health and mortality.
Gist: Reviews the use of biological information in large population surveys. The increased use of antihypertensives and lipid-lowering drugs was a likely cause of mortality reduction. Blacks and persons with lower educational attainment experience higher levels of biological risk factors, more diseases, and more frailty (all sources of higher mortality). Hispanics are less likely to have a higher prevalence of risk factors & diseases than the non-Hispanic populations (further evidence of the Hispanic paradox).
