Article
Anthropology
Nicoletta Zedda, Natascia Rinaldo, Emanuela Gualdi-Russo, Barbara Bramanti
Summary: This study assesses the overall frailty of plague victims and compares it with non-plague victims, finding that individuals with lower levels of frailty are more likely to die from the plague.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Terry L. Jones, Al W. Schwitalla, Marin A. Pilloud, John R. Johnson, Richard R. Paine, Brian F. Codding
Summary: The study examines the catastrophic decline of Indigenous populations in the Americas following European contact, attributing the population collapse to newly introduced diseases and severe cultural disruption by the Spanish colonial system. The findings suggest a significant shift in mortality risk occurred only after sustained contact with European invaders, leading to a plague-like population structure among Native Americans.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alexander Immel, Felix M. Key, Andras Szolek, Rodrigo Barquera, Madeline K. Robinson, Genelle F. Harrison, William H. Palmer, Maria A. Spyrou, Julian Susat, Ben Krause-Kyora, Kirsten Bos, Stephen Forrest, Diana Hernandez-Zaragoza, Juergen Sauter, Ute Solloch, Alexander H. Schmidt, Verena J. Schuenemann, Ella Reiter, Madita S. Kairies, Rainer Weiss, Susanne Arnold, Joachim Wahl, Jill A. Hollenbach, Oliver Kohlbacher, Alexander Herbig, Paul J. Norman, Johannes Krause
Summary: The study extracted DNA from plague victims in Germany from the 16th century and found potential impact of historical plagues on allele frequencies of human immunity genes. The research revealed differences in allele frequencies for immune-related genes between historical plague victims and modern population, suggesting the influence of past epidemics on human immune response genes.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Samantha L. Yaussy, Sharon N. DeWitte, Gail Hughes-Morey
Summary: This study uses skeletal data to examine differences in adult survivorship in London before and after industrialization and the second epidemiological transition. The results show a significant increase in adult survivorship during the industrial period. These findings support the use of skeletal demographic data to study the context of the second epidemiological transition in past populations.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Craig Martin
Summary: During the sixteenth century, Italian scholars redefined the field of history, expanding its purpose to include culture and nature. These scholars used newly available texts to argue for continuities between ancient, medieval, and Renaissance epidemics, rejecting the notion that the plague of 1347-1353 was unprecedented. Italian physicians catalogued and categorized plague based on severity and perceived origins, viewing medieval plague as one example of the many extreme epidemics throughout history.
JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND ALLIED SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Bronwyn Wyatt, Clare McFadden, Stacey Ward, Laura A. B. Wilson
Summary: This study used a medieval Gaelic population to assess the association between skeletal indicators of stress and age-at-death. Linear enamel hypoplasia was found to be associated with decreased survivorship but increased survivorship in sub-adults. Other indicators were associated with increased age-at-death. Therefore, these skeletal indicators may be more accurately viewed as records of stressor exposure and survival.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Roberta Zupo, Fabio Castellana, Vito Guerra, Rossella Donghia, Ilaria Bortone, Chiara Griseta, Luisa Lampignano, Vittorio Dibello, Madia Lozupone, Helio Jose Coelho-Junior, Vincenzo Solfrizzi, Gianluigi Giannelli, Giovanni De Pergola, Heiner Boeing, Rodolfo Sardone, Francesco Panza
Summary: Preventive nutritional management of frailty may reduce adverse health-related outcomes in older adults. A novel measure combining physical frailty with nutritional imbalance, known as nutritional frailty, was found to be a better predictor of all-cause mortality compared to physical frailty alone or cognitive frailty.
JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Vincenzo Solfrizzi, Emanuele Scafato, Carlo Custodero, Giuseppina Piazzolla, Lavinia Capogna, Annagrazia Procaccio, Claudia Gandin, Lucia Galluzzo, Silvia Ghirini, Alice Matone, Vittorio Dibello, Rodolfo Sardone, Antonio Daniele, Madia Lozupone, Francesco Panza
Summary: Frailty is a critical intermediate status of the aging process, and this study investigated its association with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its subtypes. The results showed that individuals with a biopsychosocial frailty phenotype had a higher risk of MCI, particularly nonamnestic MCI single domain and nonamnestic MCI multiple domain. However, no significant association was found between amnestic MCI and biopsychosocial frailty.
ALZHEIMERS & DEMENTIA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
George R. Milner, Jesper L. Boldsen
Summary: Through the analysis of human skeletal and archaeobotanical remains from small-scale societies distributed across the North American midcontinent over several millennia, it has been found that agriculture, particularly the intensification of food production and distribution, has supported the global population growth since the Holocene. The transition to an agricultural-based life in the midcontinent, indicated by plant remains, led to changes in age-independent mortality as reflected in the juvenility index (JI). The JI increased as people adopted a more intensive form of food production featuring maize, but declined later as they reverted to a more diverse diet and the overall population size reduced. Similar patterns of JI fluctuations have been observed in other parts of the world during the emergence of agricultural systems.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ryan R. Germain, Shaohong Feng, Lucas Buffan, Carlos P. Carmona, Guangii Chen, Gary R. Graves, Joseph A. Tobias, Carsten Rahbek, Fumin Lei, Jon Fjeldsa, Peter A. Hosner, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Guojie Zhang, David Nogues-Bravo
Summary: By combining morphological, ecological, and life-history trait data with genomic-based estimates of changing effective population size, this study explores the demographic-based shifts in avian functional diversity over the past million years and under pre-anthropogenic climate warming. The results show that functional diversity remained relatively stable over this period, but significant changes occurred in some key areas of trait space due to changing species abundances. Furthermore, the study identifies the vulnerability of different regions of functional space among taxa, enhancing our understanding of losses of biosphere integrity before human disturbances and contemporary biodiversity loss.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
You Deng, Yangyang Hui, Binxin Cui, Wen Xie, Chao Sun
Summary: Frailty is a newly emerging concept in hepatology, referring to increased vulnerability to pathophysiological stressors in geriatric patients. In cirrhosis patients, frailty indicates a debilitating condition that makes them prone to acute insults and difficult to recover even when liver function partially improves. Various tools have been proposed to assess frailty in cirrhosis patients, with the Liver Frailty Index showing promising predictive ability for disease progression, mortality, and hospitalization. However, alternative tests may be needed for critically ill patients. Understanding the interrelation between frailty and cirrhosis-associated pathologies is clinically important for identifying therapeutic targets and intervention endpoints. Efficient management of frailty remains challenging, but interventions such as home-based exercise and individualized nutrition therapy show promise in improving outcomes for cirrhosis patients.
LIVER INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Dimitri Richter, Luigina Guasti, David Walker, Ekaterini Lambrinou, Christos Lionis, Ana Abreu, Irina Savelieva, Stefano Fumagalli, Mario Bo, Bianca Rocca, Magnus T. Jensen, Luc Pierard, Isabella Sudano, Victor Aboyans, Riccardo Asteggiano
Summary: Frailty is a health condition that has a significant impact on healthcare systems, particularly in relation to advanced age, multimorbidity, and disability. It increases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in both patients with and without known cardiovascular disease. However, there is still uncertainty surrounding the definitions, screening, assessment, and management of frailty.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Florent Sebbane, Nadine Lemaitre
Summary: Plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, remains a deadly international public health concern with three main clinical forms. Early antibiotic therapy is crucial, and only monotherapy is currently recommended. Health authorities have approved various drugs for prophylactic or curative use, while concerns about multidrug-resistant strains have led to the development of new classes of antibiotics and other therapeutics.
Article
Anthropology
Kanya Godde, Samantha M. Hens
Summary: The study found that the rate of CO decreased over time and age-at-death, regardless of sex or status; post-medieval individuals were similar to 72% less likely to die with lesions than their medieval counterparts. Additionally, individuals with CO had a similar to 1% decrease in risk of dying with CO per year of age.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Emilia R. Franklin, Piers D. Mitchell, John Robb
Summary: This study examines the paleoepidemiology of Black Death mass graves in Hereford, England, through osteological analysis. It reveals that young adults were disproportionately affected by the plague, and that linear enamel hypoplasia may be more closely associated with vulnerability to the disease.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte, Gail Hughes-Morey, Jelena Bekvalac, Jordan Karsten
ANNALS OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Anthropology
Samantha L. Yaussy, Sharon N. DeWitte
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Anthropology
R. C. Redfern, S. N. DeWitte, J. Beaumont, A. R. Millard, C. Hamlin
ANNALS OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte, Samantha L. Yaussy
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Anthropology
Brittany S. Walter, Sharon N. DeWitte, Tosha Dupras, Julia Beaumont
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte, Mary Lewis
Summary: Bioarcheological evidence suggests that male stature increased while female stature decreased after the Black Death (1348-1350 CE). Changes in women's stature may be linked to earlier menarche and improved health conditions for adolescent females post-epidemic.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Tracy K. Betsinger, Sharon N. DeWitte
Summary: Urbanization is a key settlement shift in human history that has been studied for decades in bioarchaeology. By comparing urban and rural sites, studying variation within and between urban sites, and investigating changes over time within urban sites, researchers can gain insight into the complex effects of urbanization on human biology, demography, and behavior.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Emily J. Brennan, Sharon N. DeWitte
Summary: This study comparatively assesses the sexual stature difference in medieval London and finds a higher degree of difference in the post-Black Death period. The improvement in living conditions after the Black Death may have contributed to this increase in sexual stature difference.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Cecil M. Lewis Jr, Mercy Y. Akinyi, Sharon N. DeWitte, Anne C. Stone
Summary: By studying the genomes of ancient pathogens and microbiomes, this perspective explores the patterns of infectious diseases throughout the Holocene and investigates how the transition to and intensification of farming have influenced pathogens and their distributions. The findings from ancient DNA research, combined with archaeological and historical data, provide valuable insights into pathogen evolution and offer a contextual understanding of health in the past. These findings are relevant for contemporary challenges, such as the emergence of novel pathogens.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gwen Robbins Schug, Jane E. Buikstra, Sharon N. DeWitte, Brenda J. Baker, Elizabeth Berger, Michele R. Buzon, Anna M. Davies-Barrett, Lynne Goldstein, Anne L. Grauer, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Sian E. Halcrow, Kelly J. Knudson, Clark Spencer Larsen, Debra L. Martin, Kenneth C. Nystrom, Megan A. Perry, Charlotte A. Roberts, Ana Luisa Santos, Christopher M. Stojanowski, Jorge A. Suby, Daniel H. Temple, Tiffiny A. Tung, Melandri Vlok, Tatyana Watson-Glen, Sonia R. Zakrzewski
Summary: Climate change poses an undeniable threat to human health, particularly for societies already grappling with social inequality, political and economic uncertainty, and concurrent environmental challenges. Archaeological evidence from past climates and environments sheds light on the potential challenges humans may face and the long-term consequences of short-term adaptive strategies. Variations in human epidemiological patterns during rapid climate change (RCC) events and other periods of environmental change demonstrate that communities responded differently depending on historical, sociocultural, and biological factors. Factors such as social inequality and uneven resource distribution in complex societies can influence the likelihood of major sociopolitical disruptions or collapse. This survey of human-environment relations in the Holocene highlights the importance of flexibility, variation, and Indigenous knowledge in mitigating the impact of rapid and extreme environmental changes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Samantha L. Yaussy, Sharon N. DeWitte, Gail Hughes-Morey
Summary: This study uses skeletal data to examine differences in adult survivorship in London before and after industrialization and the second epidemiological transition. The results show a significant increase in adult survivorship during the industrial period. These findings support the use of skeletal demographic data to study the context of the second epidemiological transition in past populations.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Jane E. Buikstra, Sharon N. DeWitte, Sabrina C. Agarwal, Brenda J. Baker, Eric J. Bartelink, Elizabeth Berger, Kelly E. Blevins, Katelyn Bolhofner, Alexis T. Boutin, Megan B. Brickley, Michele R. Buzon, Carlina de la Cova, Lynne Goldstein, Rebecca Gowland, Anne L. Grauer, Lesley A. Gregoricka, Sian E. Halcrow, Sarah A. Hall, Simon Hillson, Ann M. Kakaliouras, Haagen D. Klaus, Kelly J. Knudson, Christopher J. Knusel, Clark Spencer Larsen, Debra L. Martin, George R. Milner, Mario Novak, Kenneth C. Nystrom, Sofia Pacheco-Fores, Tracy L. Prowse, Gwen Robbins Schug, Charlotte A. Roberts, Jessica E. Rothwell, Ana Luisa Santos, Christopher Stojanowski, Anne C. Stone, Kyra E. Stull, Daniel H. Temple, Christina M. Torres, J. Marla Toyne, Tiffiny A. Tung, Jaime Ullinger, Karin Wiltschke-Schrotta, Sonia R. Zakrzewski
Summary: This article presents outcomes from a workshop that aimed to explore reasons for the poor performance of research proposals by bioarchaeologists in recent funding competitions and provide advice for increasing success. The workshop discussed best practices for research design and training, as well as promising research trajectories related to contemporary topics of importance in bioarchaeology.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
Sharon N. DeWitte
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Anthropology
Brittany S. Walter, Sharon N. DeWitte
ANNALS OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2017)