Hypertension among Polish males during the economic transition

Taking the pulse of nations: A biometric measure of well-being

A growing literature identifies associations between subjective and biometric indicators of wellbeing. These associations, together with the ability of subjective wellbeing metrics to predict health and behavioral outcomes, have spawned increasing interest in wellbeing as an important concept in its own right. However, some social scientists continue to question the usefulness of wellbeing metrics. We contribute to this literature in three ways. First, we introduce a biometric measure of wellbeing - pulse - that hs been little used. Using nationally representative data on 165,000 individuals from the Health Survey for England and Scottish Health Surveys we show that its correlates are similar in a number of ways to those for happiness, and that it is highly correlated with wellbeing metrics, as well as self-assessed health. Second, we examine the determinants of pulse rates in mid-life (age 42) among the 9000 members of the National Child Development Study, a birth cohort born in a single week in 1958 in Britain. Third, we track the impact of pulse measured in mid-life (age 42) on health and labor market outcomes at age 50 in 2008 and age 55 in 2013. The probability of working at age 55 is negatively impacted by pulse rate a decade earlier. The pulse rate has an impact over and above chronic pain measured at age 42. General health at 55 is lower the higher the pulse rate at age 42, while those with higher pulse rates at 42 also express lower life satisfaction and more pessimism about the future at age 50. Taken together, these results suggest social scientists can learn a great deal by adding pulse rates to the metrics they use when evaluating people's wellbeing.

Growth change in Polish women: Reduction of the secular trends?

The aim of the study was to analyse changes in the average height of adult Polish women born in 1931-2001 in the aspect of dynamically changing economic and socio-economic conditions of the living environment. An ethnically homogeneous group of 6,028 adult women from large Polish cities, born in 1931-2001, living between 1931 and 2020, were examined using the same research methods and research equipment. All women were divided into eight birth cohorts. The Kruskal-Wallis test and multiple regression analyses were used. Root Mean Square Standardized Effect (RMSSE), critical value of the test, and test power were calculated. The average height of women born during 70 years of the study increased by 9.63 cm, from 158.22 cm (SD = 5.57 cm) to 167.85 cm (SD = 6.91 cm) (H = 1084.84, p<0.001). The intensity of the intergenerational trend in subsequent cohorts of years of birth varied strongly between decades, averaging 1.34 cm/decade. The body height in women increased significantly up to the height of those born between 1970 and 1979 and then the trend weakened noticeably, although it remained positive. The observed secular trend confirms positive changes in the standard of living of Polish women between 1931 and 2020. Improving living conditions allow people to fully achieve their genetically determined growth potential.

Social class-specific secular trends in height among 19-year old Polish men: 6th national surveys from 1965 till 2010

The results presented in this study concern the assessment of the secular trend of body height in 10 % a random national sample (N = 134,224) representing all regions of Poland in 8 homogeneous social groups over 45 years in Poland (1965-2010). Very significant political, social and economic changes in Poland occurred in the period studied. The political revolution that began in Poland at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s dramatically changed the picture of social inequalities in the country. It rapidly transformed (in different directions and to a different degree) the economic situation, working conditions, lifestyles and the prestige of particular social classes and professional groups. A positive secular trend was observed in 19-year-old participants in the period analysed in all homogeneous socio-professional groups, however, with different intensity in each group. The highest body height increases in 1965-2010 were observed in the sons of farmers with post-primary father's education (7.77 cm). The lowest were observed among the sons of professionals, only 5.45 cm. Although social distances between extreme socio-economic groups significantly decreased (from 4.89 cm in 1965 to 2.76 cm in 2010), social gradients of body height, despite the improvement in the standards of living of the entire society remained exceptionally stable and unchanged for nearly half a century.

Age at menarche in Polish University students born before, during and after World War II: Economic effects

Although the relationships between economic conditions and biological variables over the past two centuries in Poland are reasonably well-documented, the influence of economic and political disruptions, including nutritional privation, during the years immediately before, during and shortly after World War II (WWII) has received less attention. This paper considers the association between age at menarche and body size of university students born before, during and after WWII and father's level of education, a commonly used indicator of family economic status in Poland. Subjects were 518 university students surveyed between 1955 and 1972, birth years 1931 through 1951. The sample was divided into three birth cohorts: before (n=237), during (n=247) and after (n=34) WWII. Age at menarche was compared among birth cohorts, and by weight status and father's level of education. Age at menarche increased slightly but significantly among women born during WWII (14.4 yrs) compared to those born before (14.2 yrs) and after (13.9 yrs) the war. Controlling for year of birth and age of the student, age at menarche was significantly earlier in overweight (13.42±0.35 yrs) than in normal weight (14.33±0.06 yrs) and thin (14.54±0.21 yrs) women. Adjusted mean ages at menarche in small samples of overweight women did not differ by father's level of education, and were earlier than corresponding ages of thin and normal weight women. Adjusted mean ages at menarche did not differ between thin and normal weight women with fathers having primary or no education, but were slightly later in thin than in normal weight women with fathers having a vocational, secondary or higher education. Although age at menarche was associated with father's level of education, young adult weight status was a somewhat more important correlate.

Biological costs of economic transition: Stress levels during the transition from communism to capitalism in Poland

At the end of the 1980s, Poland began the transformation from an essentially one-party communist system to a politically pluralistic democratic system. These political and economic changes had major social consequences, among others unemployment and a sharp decrease in real personal income. The aim of the study was to investigate the possible relationship between stress in adult men, measured by the Allostatic Load, and the socio-economic deterioration during the first part of the economic transition. The Allostatic Load included eleven markers assessing adverse nutritional intake, cardiovascular activity, inflammatory processes, and lung, hepatic and renal functions. The results indicate a significantly higher risk of metabolic dysregulation in men examined after 1990, compared to men from previous years. After adjustment for socioeconomic variables and lifestyle variables, men examined in 1991 had a 31% greater risk of higher Allostatic Load compared with men examined in 1985 (OR=1.31; p=0.0541), in 1992, this risk was 50% greater (OR=1.50; p<0.01), and in 1993, the risk was 66% greater (OR=1.66; p<0.05). The conclusion is drawn that significantly more stressogenic factors for men were those directly connected with the financial situation of their families, than a sudden but short increase of prices for goods and services.

Overweight trends among Polish schoolchildren before and after the transition from communism to capitalism

This study aims to reveal the secular trends in body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Polish schoolchildren between the years 1966-2012, during which intense socio-political changes took place. Four surveys were conducted in several districts of Poland looking at 69,746 schoolchildren aged 7-18. Significant increase in mean BMI as well as in the prevalence of overweight and obesity was observed. During this time the highest increase in both mean BMI and excess weight was observed between 1988 and 2012, i.e. after the political transformation, resulting in the improvement of living conditions. However, with respect to girls in late adolescence, between these years, the mean BMI as well as the prevalence of overweight were leveling off, while the percentage of boys with excess body fat in the same developmental category significantly increased in 2012. In the years 1966-1978 and 1978-1988 the pattern of changes in the prevalence of overweight and obesity reflected the social and economic circumstances, i.e. temporary economic improvements, or deepening political crises and food shortage. In conclusion, the weight status of schoolchildren strongly reflects socio-political changes that took place in Poland, as well as in most of the Central European countries in the last half century.

Secular trends in BMI and the prevalence of obesity in young Polish males from 1965 to 2010

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a serious public health problem, the prevalence of which is increasing dramatically all over the world. The aim of this study was to examine trends in body mass index (BMI) and the proportion of overweight and obese individuals among 19-year-old Polish males reporting for mandatory military fitness exams from 1965 to 2010.

METHODS

Height, weight and BMI [weight (kg)/height (m(2))] in five 10% nationwide random samples of 19-year-old conscripts examined in 1965, 1986, 1995, 2001 and 2010 were analysed.

RESULTS

From 1965 to 2010, mean BMI in 19-year-old Polish males increased from 21.7 to 22.9. The rate of change was not uniform, with a rapid increase in mean BMI from 1995 to 2010. Beginning in 1965, the proportion of men with a BMI over 25 has been steadily increasing from one decade to the next, and was four times higher in 2010 than it was in 1965. The rate of increase per decade was twice as high from 2001 to 2010 than it was from 1995 to 2001. In 2010, only 70.8% of young men were of ideal weight.

CONCLUSION

Increase in obesity can be attributed to the social and economic changes brought about by the transformation of the country from a communist to a free-market economy in 1989. The challenges of the obesity epidemic for public health services and its impact on morbidity and life expectancy are also discussed.

RISK FACTORS FOR ABDOMINAL OBESITY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS FROM CRACOW, POLAND (1983–2000)

The aim of this study was to determine abdominal obesity risk factors in two successive cohorts of children and adolescents aged 4–18 from Cracow, Poland, examined during the years of political transformation. The influence of biological, socio-demographic and lifestyle factors on abdominal obesity was analysed by calculating odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals using logistic regression analysis. It was found that for girls obesity in both parents (OR=4.31; 95% CI 1.73–20.70) and high birth weight (OR=1.78; 95% CI 1.12–2.82) were significant risk factors for abdominal obesity in the 1983 cohort. In the 2000 cohort obesity in both parents for boys and girls (boys: OR=5.85; 95% CI 1.36–25.10; girls: OR=4.82; 95% CI 1.17–19.77), low level of parental education in girls (OR=2.06; 95% CI 1.15–3.69), having only one son (OR=1.96; 95% CI 1.36–3.40), parents' smoking habits in girls (OR=2.94; 95% CI 1.46–5.91) and lack of undertaking physical activity in sport clubs in boys (OR=6.11; 95% CI 1.46–25.47) were significant abdominal obesity risk factors. Higher number of hours of leisure time physical activity (OR=0.89; 95% CI 0.81–0.97) significantly lowered the risk of abdominal obesity in boys in the 2000 cohort. The greater differentiation of abdominal obesity risk factors in the 2000 cohort in comparison to the 1983 cohort may have resulted from the social and economic changes taking place in Poland at the end of the 20th century.

The timing of sexual maturation among boys and girls in eastern Poland, 1980-2000: a rural-urban comparison

The aim of this study was to determine secular changes in the sexual maturation of children and adolescents from Eastern regions of Poland between 1980 and 2000, with special attention paid to rural-urban differences. Our sample comprised 34,055 girls and 28,100 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The age at which each gender reached each stage of sexual maturation was examined, along with menarcheal age in girls. An increase in the rate of sexual maturation was observed over the 20-year period of this study. Menarcheal age in girls decreased by 0.59 years. The length of sexual maturation decreased: from 6.58 years to 3.85 years in girls and from 5.84 years to 3.65 years in boys. A significantly faster rate of sexual maturation was observed between 1990 and 2000. Over the entire 20-year period, adolescents living in rural settings experienced a slower rate of sexual maturation than did their urban peers.

Hypertension and socioeconomic status

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The impact of socioeconomic status on hypertension is complicated and unclear. In this article, we review the findings of recently published studies pertaining to the association between socioeconomic status and hypertension. Specifically, we focus on several potentially modifiable modes of pathogenesis involved in this association, including education, occupation, and social environment. We also review several mechanisms through which the effects of socioeconomic status on hypertension may be mediated.

RECENT FINDINGS

Several modifiable socioeconomic determinants, such as education and occupation, are associated with hypertension. Additional socioeconomic status markers such as urban or rural dwelling and individual, local or national economic conditions are also associated with hypertension, although these associations are complicated and at times somewhat contradictory. Possible explanations for this impact include awareness of hypertension prevention and control and better accessibility and adherence to medical treatment among higher socioeconomic status groups, as well as low birth weight and higher job strain among lower socioeconomic status groups.

SUMMARY

Low socioeconomic status is associated with higher blood pressure. There is a need to develop and test culturally appropriate interventions to reduce the prevalence of hypertension among these populations to minimize the resultant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Nutrition transition and dietary energy availability in Eastern Europe after the collapse of communism

After the economic transition of the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a rapid increase in overweight and obesity in many countries of Eastern Europe. This article describes changing availability of dietary energy from major dietary components since the transition to free-market economic systems among Eastern European nations, using food balance data obtained at national level for the years 1990-92 and 2005 from the FAOSTAT-Nutrition database. Dietary energy available to the East European nations satellite to the former Soviet Union (henceforth, Eastern Europe) was greater than in the nations of the former Soviet Union. Among the latter, the Western nations of the former Soviet Union had greater dietary energy availability than the Eastern and Southern nations of the former Soviet Union. The higher energy availability in Eastern Europe relative to the nations of the former Soviet Union consists mostly of high-protein foods. There has been no significant change in overall dietary energy availability to any category of East European nation between 1990-1992 and 2005, indicating that, at the macro-level, increasing rates of obesity in Eastern European countries cannot be attributed to increased dietary energy availability. The most plausible macro-level explanations for the obesity patterns observed in East European nations are declines in physical activity, increased real income, and increased consumption of goods that contribute to physical activity decline: cars, televisions and computers.

Blood pressure and hypertension in an American colony (Puerto Rico) and on the USA mainland compared, 1886-1930

We compare blood pressure and hypertension between adult men on the USA mainland and in Puerto Rico born during 1886-1930 to test hypotheses about the link between cardiovascular health and large socioeconomic and political changes in society: (a) 8853 men surveyed in Puerto Rico in 1965 and (b) 1449 non-Hispanic White men surveyed on the mainland during 1971-1975. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and hypertension were regressed separately on demographic and socioeconomic variables and cardiovascular risk factors. Mainland men not taking anti-hypertensive medication showed statistically significant improvements in systolic blood pressure and hypertension at the beginning of the century and men in Puerto Rico showed improvements in diastolic blood pressure but only during the last two quinquenniums. An average man born on the mainland during the last birth quinquennium (1926-1930) had 7.4-8.7 mmHg lower systolic blood pressure and was 61% less likely to have systolic hypertension than one born before 1901. On average Puerto Rican men born during 1921-1925 had approximately 1.7 mmHg lower diastolic blood pressure than men born before 1901. Analyses of secular trends in cardiovascular health complements analyses of secular trends in anthropometric indicators and together provide a fuller view of the changing health status of a population.