Przegląd Antropologiczny - Anthropological Review, 2003, vol. 66
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Morphological classification of patients with sleep obstructive disturbances(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2003) Mrowicka, Blanka; Kosińska, Magdalena; Cofta, SzczepanIt has been suggested that enlarged values of morphoogical measurements manifesting obesity intensify the risk of sleep disturbances. The main goal of this work was to find a set of predictor morphometric variables that best distinguish between the mutually exclusive sleep apnoea (OSA) syndrome, and healthy patients. Somatic measurements of 96 males were taken. To analyze the dependencies between the degree of intensity of the studied pathology (oxygen desaturation index) and the values of the somatic measurements, the discriminant function analysis was applied. The use of this method allowed obtaining a set of sleep obstructive disturbance predictors. The correctness of classification into the group healthy individuals was estimated at 81.4%, while correctness of classification into the group of OSA was estimated at 91.3%. The results showed that somatic measurements could be used as a preliminary index of individuals requiring further examination.Item Fluctuating asymmetry of some head structures and its possible causes(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2003) Żądzińska, ElżbietaThe analysis of eight cephalometric paired characters of 1236 children aged 7 to 10 was carried out. The standarized variance of differences between right and left values of same individuals were used to assess the fluctuating asymmetry (FA) level of each character and each individual. The highest values of FA were observed for the width of the wings of the nose (ala) (al-sn) and for the lenght of the nostrils (na-np), and the lowest for the length of the auricle (sa-sba) and length of the mandibular body (go-gn). Using the multiple regression the associations between the FA of the head and characterisics of individuals at birth as well as selected prenatal factors were estimated. These variables as a complex explain about 8% of the FA variability. Heavier newborns with bigger head and smaller chest circumference are characterized by more symmetric faces. Among the analyzed prenatal factors the declared alcohol consumption by the mother and smoking cigarettes by the father increased the FA level of a child's head.Item Race: Tradition and convenience, or taxonomic reality? More on the race concept in Polish anthropology(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2003) Kaszycka, Katarzyna A.; Strzałko, JanAgainst the background of the race debate and the principal elements of the current understanding of human intraspecific variation, we present the status of the race concept in Polish anthropology. Using questionnaires, we twice surveyed physical anthropologists about their agreement with the statement "There are biological races within he species Homo sapiens." In the 1999 study, 62% of respondents disagreed with race (defined as subspiecies) and 31% accepted it. In the 2001 study, this proportion was reversed: only 25% rejected race (by any definition) with the remaining respondents (75%) differing widely as to its accepted meaning. Each time, age was significant factor in differentiating the replies - in general, acceptance of race increased with age while rejection declined. It appears that Polish anthropologists regard race as a term without taxonomic value and often in a populational sense. Here we point out, however, the risks associated with the "metaphorical" use of the term "race", as it relativizes the essential error of perceiving the existence of subspecific taxa within our species.Item The decline of race in American physical anthropology(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2003) Lieberman, Leonard; Kirk, Rodney C.; Corcoran, MichaelThis paper is a review of how and why the race concept has changed in the United States during the 20th century. In the 19th century the concept of race provided the unchallenged folk taxonomy and the prevailing scientific paradigm for placing human biological and cultural variation into categories called races. At the height of the eugenic and anti-immigration movement of the early decades of the 20th century, Boas and his students began the critique of racism and aspects of the race concept. In the early 1950s Washburn proposed that the modern synthesis replace race typology with the study of processes and populations. In the 1960s new data on clinal genetic gradations provided tools for studying human variation while challenging the race concept. We present the several kinds of ducumentaion of the decline of the race concept over 20th century, and place the above changes in the context of the essential development of new genetic evidence. We also relate the decline of race to historical developments, the growth of the culture concept, and the biographies of the participants. We reject political correctness and view science as a self-correcting endeavor to relate concepts to the empirical world.Item Biological fitness at middle-age is reduced in both very lean and obese males(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2003) Lipowicz, AnnaIt is well-documented fact that the relationship between body weight and premature mortality is not linear. Very often it is described as J- or U-shaped. There is solid evidence for strong relationships in adults between obesity (as defined by high values of the body mass index, BMI), mortality, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and non-insulin dependent diabetes. However, the opposite end of the BMI distribution (leanness) remains an area of controversy among European populations. Many authors have indicated that leanness elevates the risk of premature mortality, although to a lesse degree than obesity. The aim of this sudy is to examine whether abnormalities in blood pressure and lung function occur more frequently at both extremes of the BMI distribution than in its middle range.Item Associations between blood pressure and economic modernization among adults on Rarotonga, the Cook Islands(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2003) Ulijaszek, Stanley J.; Kozieł, SławomirPopulations in the Pacific islands undergoing economic modernization have experienced a steady rise in the prevalance of hypertension across the second part of the twentieth century. In this analysis, a comparison is made between blood pressure of the Rarotonga, Cook Islands, population in 1996 with values obtained for this population in 1964. In addition, the extent to which education and occupation, as markers of modernization, associate with blood pressure and island of origin is examined, taking into account the use of anti-hypertensive drugs by a subset of the sample. For the males, mean blood pressure shows no difference between 1964 and 1996; for the females, the characteristic increase in blood pressure across the age groups is not statistically significant in the 196 study population. This might be due to the much more extensive use of anti-hypertension medication in the 1996 sample. Island of origin is a significant predictor of blood pressure irrespective of occupation, use of anti-hypertension medication, age and body mass index. Females born on Rarotonga had higher systolic blood pressure, which was also associated with education level, than those born on other Cook Islands. Males born on Rarotonga had significantly higher diastolic blood pressure than males born elsewhere in the Cook Islands.Item Physical activity and normal body mass of women aged 45-55(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2003) Nowak, Maria; Szczepanowska, EwaThe aim of this paper was to determine the degree to which physical activity in women aged 45-55 was an independent influence on body mass, as expressed by BMI, and to what degree it occured in interaction with their level of education, financial status, and self-evaluated physical effieciency and health status. The material consisted of 212 female inhabitants of three cities in Poland, participating in physical exercises for at least one year. Statistical analysis of the collected data was carried out by the chi-squared test, the H test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). A statistically significant relation between the level of physical activity and BMI values was observed. Women with a medium and high level of physical activity were most often of normal body mass, whereas women with low activity were characteristically overweight. Analysis of the data revealed that the normal body mass of women aged 45-55 was influenced by: the level of physical activity, level of education, and financial status of respondents. Physical activity was an independent factor influencing normal body mass of women, irrespective of social features (i.e., education and financial status).