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Gaceta Medica de Mexico 2023The impact of diabetes mellitus has been shown to be differentially expressed between social groups.
BACKGROUND
The impact of diabetes mellitus has been shown to be differentially expressed between social groups.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate inequality gaps in diabetes mellitus mortality through absolute and relative measures according to geographic distribution and social conditions.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Diabetes mellitus-related deaths recorded in Mexico between 2010 and 2019 were analyzed, and inequality measurements at the state level were calculated by gender.
RESULTS
National age-adjusted diabetes mellitus mortality rate showed an increase during the study period.
CONCLUSION
The inequalities present in diabetes mortality should be considered for the design of health strategies.
Topics: Humans; Socioeconomic Factors; Mexico; Diabetes Mellitus; Social Group; Mortality
PubMed: 37094231
DOI: 10.24875/GMM.M22000755 -
Biology Letters Jan 2015Social learning offers an efficient route through which humans and other animals learn about potential dangers in the environment. Such learning inherently relies on the...
Social learning offers an efficient route through which humans and other animals learn about potential dangers in the environment. Such learning inherently relies on the transmission of social information and should imply selectivity in what to learn from whom. Here, we conducted two observational learning experiments to assess how humans learn about danger and safety from members ('demonstrators') of an other social group than their own. We show that both fear and safety learning from a racial in-group demonstrator was more potent than learning from a racial out-group demonstrator.
Topics: Adult; Animals; Black People; Conditioning, Classical; Fear; Female; Humans; Learning; Male; Racial Groups; Snakes; Social Behavior; Spiders; Sweden; White People
PubMed: 25631229
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0817 -
Trials Oct 2019The World Health Organization recommended (in 2010) universal testing for suspected malaria, due to some fundamental changes in malaria trends such as the declining...
Social group and health care provider interventions to increase the demand for malaria rapid diagnostic test among community members in Ebonyi state, Nigeria: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
The World Health Organization recommended (in 2010) universal testing for suspected malaria, due to some fundamental changes in malaria trends such as the declining incidence of malaria in high-burden countries, the emergence of parasite resistance to anti-malarial drugs especially artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and the increased availability of diagnostic testing such as the malaria rapid diagnostic test (MRDT). The Nigerian government has long adopted this recommendation and with the support of foreign partners has scaled up the availability of MRDT. However, the malaria/MRDT rate in the communities is still far short of the recommendation. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of social group and social group/provider interventions in increasing the demand (use and/or request) for MRDT among community members with fever or malaria-like illness in Ebonyi state, Nigeria.
METHODS
A three-arm, parallel, stratified cluster randomized design will be used to evaluate the effect of two interventions compared to control: control involves the usual practice of provision of MRDT services by public primary healthcare providers and patent medicine vendors; social group intervention involves the sensitization/education of social groups about MRDT; social group/provider intervention involves social group treatment plus the training of healthcare providers in health communication about MRDT with clients. The primary outcome is the proportion of children under 5 years of age with fever/malaria-like illness, in the 2 weeks preceding a household survey, who received MRDT. The co-primary outcome is the proportion of children ages 5 years and above and adults (excluding pregnant women) with fever/malaria-like illness, in the 2 weeks preceding a household survey, who received MRDT. The primary outcome will be assessed through household surveys at baseline and at the end of the study.
DISCUSSION
The pragmatic and behavioural nature of the interventions delivered to groups of individuals and the need to minimize contamination informed the use of a cluster-randomized design in this study in investigating whether the social group and social group/provider interventions will increase the demand for MRDT among community members. "Pragmatic" means the interventions would occur in natural settings or real- life situations.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN, ISRCTN14046444 . Registered on 14 August 2018.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Community Health Services; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Personnel; Health Services Needs and Demand; Humans; Inservice Training; Malaria; Male; Nigeria; Patient Education as Topic; Pragmatic Clinical Trials as Topic; Predictive Value of Tests; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; Social Behavior; Time Factors; Workflow; Young Adult
PubMed: 31601250
DOI: 10.1186/s13063-019-3620-0 -
Behavioral Ecology : Official Journal... 2024Living in groups can provide essential experience that improves sexual performance and reproductive success. While the effects of social experience have drawn...
Living in groups can provide essential experience that improves sexual performance and reproductive success. While the effects of social experience have drawn considerable scientific interest, commonly used behavioral assays often do not capture the dynamic nature of interactions within a social group. Here, we conducted 3 experiments using a social network framework to test whether social experience during early adulthood improves the sexual competence of bed bugs () when placed in a complex and competitive group environment. In each experiment, we observed replicate groups of bed bugs comprising previously socialized and previously isolated individuals of the same sex, along with an equal number of standardized individuals of the opposite sex. Regardless of whether we controlled for their insemination history, previously isolated males mounted and inseminated females at significantly higher rates than previously socialized males. However, we found no evidence of social experience influencing our other measures of sexual competence: proportion of mounts directed at females, ability to overcome female resistance, and strength of opposite-sex social associations. We similarly did not detect effects of social experience on our female sexual competence metrics: propensity to avoid mounts, rate of successfully avoiding mounts, opposite-sex social association strength, and rate of receiving inseminations. Our findings indicate that early social experience does not improve sexual competence in male and female bed bugs.
PubMed: 38690087
DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arae030 -
JDS Communications Nov 2020Intensively housed dairy cattle are commonly regrouped (mixed into a new social group) as part of routine farm procedures. This stressful procedure triggers heightened...
Intensively housed dairy cattle are commonly regrouped (mixed into a new social group) as part of routine farm procedures. This stressful procedure triggers heightened levels of agonistic behaviors and disrupts animals' time budgets. However, little is known regarding the effects of regrouping on cattle's affective states. The aim of this study was to explore whether regrouping (involving a change in both the social and physical environment) triggers anhedonia (i.e., the reduced ability to experience pleasure) in 6-mo-old dairy heifers, a phenomenon associated with negative mood. In this study, we assessed anhedonia using changes in the use of a mechanical brush. Holstein heifers (n = 16) were trained to use a mechanical brush and then given the opportunity to individually brush for 10 min every 2 d. Time spent brushing (during a 10-min brush test) was collected before, during, and after regrouping (2-d interval) with the assumption that heifers would reduce their use of the brush during regrouping. Each heifer was individually regrouped into a new social group composed of 12 older and unfamiliar heifers and allowed access to the brush at 8 and 56 h after the onset of regrouping. Immediately after the last test, each heifer was brought back to her original pen and allowed to mingle with familiar pen-mates before being tested again 2 and 4 d later. When tested 8 h after regrouping, heifers reduced time spent brushing by 44 ± 27% (95% confidence interval: -96.18 to -41.8) compared with before regrouping; however, no differences were detected 56 h after regrouping. There was no relationship between the intensity of the decrease in brush use and any behaviors (number of agonistic interactions received, time heifers spent resting, or synchronization at the feed bunk) recorded for the 8 h immediately before testing (i.e., between 0 and 8 h and between 48 and 56 h after regrouping). These results indicate that regrouping induces anhedonia-like responses in dairy heifers on the day of regrouping. This routine procedure may thus induce negative mood in dairy heifers. This response was not related to behaviors typically collected to assess the negative effects of regrouping. Maintaining dairy cattle in stable social groups should be favored.
PubMed: 36341145
DOI: 10.3168/jdsc.2020-0023 -
Journal of Child Psychology and... Nov 2022Adolescence is a critical period for social and emotional development. We sought to examine the impacts of Covid-19 and related social restrictions and school closures...
BACKGROUND
Adolescence is a critical period for social and emotional development. We sought to examine the impacts of Covid-19 and related social restrictions and school closures on adolescent mental health, particularly among disadvantaged, marginalised, and vulnerable groups.
METHODS
We analysed four waves of data - 3 pre-Covid-19 (2016-2019) and 1 mid-Covid-19 (May-Aug 2020; n, 1074; 12-18 years old, >80% minority ethnic groups, 25% free school meals) from REACH (Resilience, Ethnicity, and AdolesCent Mental Health), an adolescent cohort based in inner-London, United Kingdom. Mental health was assessed using validated measures at each time point. We estimated temporal trends in mental distress and examined variations in changes in distress, pre- to mid-Covid-19, by social group, and by pre- and mid-pandemic risks.
RESULTS
We found no evidence of an overall increase in mental distress midpandemic (15.9%, 95% CI: 13.0, 19.4) compared with prepandemic (around 18%). However, there were variations in changes in mental distress by subgroups. There were modest variations by social group and by pre-Covid risks (e.g., a small increase in distress among girls (b [unstandardised beta coefficient] 0.42 [-0.19, 1.03]); a small decrease among boys (b - 0.59 [-1.37, 0.19]); p for interaction .007). The most notable variations were by midpandemic risks: that is, broadly, increases in distress among those reporting negative circumstances and impacts (e.g., in finances, housing, social support and relationships, and daily routines) and decreases in distress among those reporting positive impacts.
CONCLUSIONS
We found strong evidence that mental distress increased among young people who were most negatively impacted by Covid-19 and by related social restrictions during the first lockdown in the United Kingdom.
Topics: Adolescent; Male; Female; Humans; Child; COVID-19; Communicable Disease Control; Pandemics; Mental Disorders; Mental Health
PubMed: 35199336
DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13586 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2023Stereotypes have traditionally been considered as "mental pictures" of a particular social group. The current research aims to draw the structure of gender stereotypes...
INTRODUCTION
Stereotypes have traditionally been considered as "mental pictures" of a particular social group. The current research aims to draw the structure of gender stereotypes and metastereotype schemes as complex systems of stereotypical features. Therefore, we analyze gender stereotypes as networks of interconnected characteristics.
METHOD
Through an online survey ( = 750), participants listed the common female and male features to build the structure of the gender stereotypes. Participants also listed the common features of how members of one gender think they are viewed by people of the other gender to build the structure of gender metastereotypes.
RESULTS
Our results suggest that female stereotypes are characterized by a single community of features consistently associated such as , and . Female metastereotype, however, combines the previous community with another characterized by and . On the contrary, the male stereotype projected by women is characterized by a community of features associated such as , and , but male in-group stereotypes and metastereotypes projected by men are a combination of this community with another one characterized by features associated such as , and .
DISCUSSION
A network approach to studying stereotypes provided insights into the meaning of certain traits when considered in combination with different traits. (e.g., strong-intelligent vs. strong-aggressive). Thus, focusing on central nodes can be critical to understanding and changing the structure of gender stereotypes.
PubMed: 37533725
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1193866 -
AJOB Neuroscience 2015Empathy shapes the landscape of our social lives. It motivates prosocial and caregiving behaviors, plays a role in inhibiting aggression, and facilitates cooperation...
Empathy shapes the landscape of our social lives. It motivates prosocial and caregiving behaviors, plays a role in inhibiting aggression, and facilitates cooperation between members of a similar social group. Thus, empathy is often conceived as a driving motivation of moral behavior and justice, and as such, everyone would think that it should be cultivated. However, the relationships between empathy, morality, and justice are complex. We begin by explaining what the notion of empathy encompasses and then argue how sensitivity to others' needs has evolved in the context of parental care and group living. Next, we examine the multiple physiological, hormonal, and neural systems supporting empathy and its functions. One troubling but important corollary of this neuro-evolutionary model is that empathy produces social preferences that can conflict with fairness and justice. An understanding of the factors that mold our emotional response and caring motivation for others helps provide organizational principles and ultimately guides decision-making in medical ethics.
PubMed: 26877887
DOI: 10.1080/21507740.2015.1047055 -
Ciencia & Saude Coletiva Jul 2019This article discusses trends in health inequalities and access to health services across the regions of Brazil using data from household surveys conducted between 1998...
This article discusses trends in health inequalities and access to health services across the regions of Brazil using data from household surveys conducted between 1998 and 2013. Social inequality was measured based on the ratio between the extremes of years of schooling considering two age groups (18 to 59 years and 60 years and over). The findings show a decline in health status and increase in prevalence of diabetes and hypertension in both age groups, which may be related to the expansion of primary healthcare. The findings regarding the percentage of people who had had a medical appointment in the last 12 months show that low levels of inequalities persist despite a general improvement in access. Despite an increase in the percentage of people with up to 3 years of schooling who had had a dental appointment in the last year, significant inequalities persist. The percentage of people who reported being admitted to hospital in the last 12 months was greater among people with up to 3 years of schooling throughout the study period. The hospitalization rate decreased in both age groups across almost all regions. The proportion of women aged between 50 and 69 years with up to 3 years of schooling who had had a mammogram increased, leading to a decrease in inequality. The findings show the need to ensure the continuity of household surveys to monitor inequalities in access to health care services by region and social group.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Brazil; Delivery of Health Care; Educational Status; Female; Health Services Accessibility; Health Status; Health Status Disparities; Healthcare Disparities; Hospitalization; Humans; Mammography; Middle Aged; Primary Health Care; Social Class; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
PubMed: 31340291
DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232018247.15812017 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Sep 2019Living in groups affords individuals many benefits, including the opportunity to reduce stress. In mammals, such 'social buffering' of stress is mediated by affiliative...
Living in groups affords individuals many benefits, including the opportunity to reduce stress. In mammals, such 'social buffering' of stress is mediated by affiliative relationships and production of the neuropeptide oxytocin, but whether these mechanisms facilitate social buffering across vertebrates remains an open question. Therefore, we evaluated whether the social environment influenced the behavioural and physiological recovery from an acute stressor in a group-living cichlid, . Individual fish that recovered with their social group displayed lower cortisol levels than individuals that recovered alone. This social buffering of the stress response was associated with a tendency towards lower transcript abundance of arginine vasotocin and isotocin in the preoptic area of the brain, suggesting reduced neural activation of the stress axis. Individuals that recovered with their social group quickly resumed normal behaviour but received fewer affiliative acts following the stressor. Further experiments revealed similar cortisol levels between individuals that recovered in visual contact with their own social group and those in visual contact with a novel but non-aggressive social group. Collectively, our results suggest that affiliation and familiarity do not mediate social buffering in this group-living cichlid, and the behavioural and physiological mechanisms responsible for social buffering may vary across vertebrates.
Topics: Animals; Cichlids; Female; Male; Oxytocin; Social Behavior; Vasotocin
PubMed: 31506060
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1626