Doctoral Dissertation Research: Demographic Patterns of Human Frailty

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。发病率和死亡率的差异受遗传、激素、行为和环境机制的影响。在几乎所有活着的人类中，女性的寿命更长，死亡风险更低，但也许出人意料的是，与男性相比，某些年龄的女性患病率更高。这项博士论文研究探索死亡风险(即脆弱)的性别差异，以促进对文化依赖的女性死亡优势的出现和本质的了解。对过去人口骨骼收集的分析被用来审查关于过去增加死亡风险和影响人口趋势的生物和社会因素的时间和背景信息。人类学关于过去健康差距产生的工作可以帮助管理现代公共卫生挑战，包括产生目前不同的健康结果。此外，这项研究还强调了特定背景的性别构成与生理健康之间的联系。该项目还支持学生科学培训以及公共科学教育和外联活动。该项目通过检查发病率、死亡率、发育压力和青春期时机的骨骼标记物，使用估计的性别作为性别的替代，来检查性别经历和生理结果之间的关系。研究人员调查了现代女性死亡率优势的由来已久(即女性是否活得更长，但整体健康状况更差？)通过阐明生物文化和环境因素参与了基于性别的生存优势的产生。该项目使用人口统计数据(年龄和性别)和骨骼压力指标来检查不同时期和地区死亡风险的性别差异，并评估青春期时机，以更好地了解生活水平的性别差异。该项目使用适合于古人口统计数据的统计模型(风险分析)，并结合骨架和背景证据。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Differences in morbidity and mortality are influenced by genetic, hormonal, behavioral, and environmental mechanisms. In nearly all living human populations, females experience longer lifespans and lower mortality risks, but perhaps unexpectedly, greater morbidities at some ages compared to males. This doctoral dissertation research explores sex differentials in mortality risk (i.e., frailty) to advance knowledge about the advent and nature of the culturally-dependent female mortality advantage. Analyses of skeletal collections from past populations are used to examine temporal and contextual information on past biological and social factors that increased mortality risks and affected demographic trends. Anthropological work on the production of health disparities in the past can aid in the management of modern public health challenges, including the production of current differential health outcomes. Additionally, the research highlights the connection between context-specific gender formations and physiological well-being. The project also supports student scientific training and public science education and outreach activities. The project examines the relationship between gendered experiences and physiological outcomes by examining skeletal markers of morbidity, mortality, developmental stress, and pubertal timing, using estimated sex as a proxy for gender. The researchers investigate the antiquity of the modern female mortality advantage (i.e., did females live longer, but have poorer overall health?) by elucidating the biocultural and environmental factors involved in the production of sex-based survival advantages. The project uses demographic data (age and sex) and markers of skeletal stress to examine sex differentials in mortality risk across time periods and regions and assess pubertal timing to better understand sex disparities in standards of living. The project utilizes statistical models (hazards analysis) suited to paleodemographic data, in conjunction with skeletal and contextual evidence.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.