Articles

Introduction. Rapid life style changes are leading causes of increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks among people in India today. Despite the country’s high ethnic diversity, studies related to physiology and such health risks, particularly among the tribal populations have been limited.

Materials and methods. The present cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,434 tribal participants belonging to six tribes from the two states of West Bengal and Odisha. The aim of the present study was to understand the relationship of age (in years), sex and raised Body Mass Index (BMI) (kg/m²) with selected CVD risk factors among the six tribes of India.

Results. In the males, raised BMI (kg/m²) was found to influence CVD risks by significantly increasing the blood glucose among the age group (in years) of <40 years (Odds Ratio (OR)= 6.396, p≤ 0.05); isolated systolic hypertension among the age groups <40 years (OR= 2.387, p≤ 0.01) and ≥40 years (OR= 2.123, p≤ 0.05); isolated diastolic hypertension among the age groups <40 years (OR=4.74, p≤0.001) and >40 years (OR= 3.24, p≤ 0.001); hypertensive MAP among the age group <40 years (OR= 5.769, p≤ 0.001) and hypertensive blood pressure among the age groups <40 years (OR= 5.865, p≤ 0.01) and ≥40 years (OR= 3.127, p≤ 0.01).

Conclusion. Among females low BMI (kg/m²) was seen to be linked with higher CVD risk. Influence of BMI (kg/m²), age (in years) and sex on CVD risks can explain the increasing health threat among the tribal populations in India. Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) can be considered to correctly indicate the cardiovascular risks; particularly in case of the younger population. An increasing tendency towards a double burden of disease is evident in the studied populations. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. The goal of study – quantitative conformities of intergroup variability of the level of sexual dimorphism (SD) of somatic traits of children of early and first childhood in connection with ecological factors – the degree of urbanization and the geographic latitude of the residence place of population.

Material and methods. The analysis embraces the wide specter of ethno-territorial samples of 3-year-old and 6-year-old children from Russia and former USSR of the second part of XX century (literary data). Each sample has minimal necessary number of statistical characteristics: number of sex/age groups, means and standard deviations for height, weight, chest girth. The quantitative estimation of SD level is performed using Kullback divergence, the analogue of Makhalanobis distance. To estimate the direction and the level of associations of SD of anthropometric traits and ecological parameters the classic correlation analysis for pair combinations of indices in age groups of 3- and 6-year-old children was used.

Results. For the compact block of Slavonic samples, examined in 1960s–1970s, the increase of the level of the quantity of population of the residence place is associated with significant decrease of SD of height and SD of weight. The same association for 3-year-old children has the character of tendency, but the same vector of dynamics. SD of chest girth has some small negative significant correlations with the latitude for 3-year-old children and close to significant level for 6-year-old children. The estimation of comparable dynamics of SD of somatic traits in pairs of rural and urban samples of the same region revealed less meanings of SD of height and weight of urban children, that is higher synchrony of growth processes of sexes through the increase of the level of urbanization.

Conclusion. The decrease of SD of height/weight parameters and greater sex synchrony of growth dynamics apart with increase of the level of urbanization of the residence place may be the result of better quality of the urban environment (medicine service, nutrition quality, social family status). The decrease of the level of SD of chest girth apart with the increase of the values of geographic latitude witness to the greater sex uniformity of adaptive reactions to the more extremal climatic conditions. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. Physical development indicator variables can be used to estimate the population health status. Mature and elderly male residents of Magadan region, Aborigines and Caucasians by origin, were examined to study basic anthropometric indicators.

Materials and methods. This study presented data obtained in the 2022 Evensk and Magadan Reproductive Health pilot project and Kolyma Longevity regional program surveys. The data of medical examination records of one hundred and seven male residents from the district of Evensk and eight hundred ninety-nine from the city of Magadan were assessed. The following anthropometric indicators were put into general database: body length, body mass, waist circumference, and body mass index was also calculated. Age and ethnic criteria were applied to form 6 groups.

Results. The research showed that negative tendencies in physical development were characteristic of both ethnic groups in both regions: all examinees exhibited high percentage of overweight and shorter body length with the incidence growing with increasing age. The higher waist circumference index at older age in Caucasian populations of Magadan indicated subjective abdominal obesity. The ethnicity proved to specify the dynamics of physical development indicators with age: Caucasian examinees, mostly from the city of Magadan, tended to get shorter in body length with an increase in waist circumference and body mass variables. Aboriginals pronouncedly reduced body length with a tendency to a decrease in body mass, body circumference and body mass index.

Conclusion. Age and ethnicity have an influence on somatometric status of northern residents, which should be considered when forming regional standards of physical development. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. This review is a continuation of the research devoted to the assessment of the development of auxology in Russian anthropology. The first part was devoted to a comprehensive assessment of the processes of growth and development of children from birth to 3 years old, living both in our country and in the countries of the near abroad. The analyzed sources describe factors influencing growth processes (evolutionary, climatic, geographical, ethnic and genetic factors, constitutional features of mothers, circumstances of intrauterine growth) [Permiakova, 2023]. This article examines and describes in more detail the main activities of auxologists, as well as physicians and psychologists working both within our country and in cooperation with foreign researchers from various academic institutions.

Materials and methods. In this part of the work, the author analyzed articles devoted to the comprehensive assessment of physical development (as well as factors affecting it) of the school and student contingent living in Russia and some other countries. All these articles were published in Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin from 2009 to 2022.

Results and discussion. Works in the designated area, on the one hand, analyze the physical development of children and youth of the Moscow region, on the other hand, assess the differences in the rates and dynamics of growth processes of residents of different regions of our country and abroad, including the secular aspect. In addition, representative samples are used to analyze socio-economic factors affecting these processes and determining the features of their course in a particular territory. Complex studies involving the relationship of somatic development indicators not only with socio-economic or environmental parameters, but also the psychological characteristics of the subjects are also important.

Conclusion. The number of works devoted to the subject under study is quite numerous, which allows us to speak about the undiminished interest of domestic anthropologists in studying the problems of growth and development. The complex nature of most of them, among other things, indicates an integrative approach to solving the problems posed to this field of science. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. The paper deals with the issue of pressure blademaking emergence chronology in the North-Western Caucasus. The possible paths of the innovation diffusion are discussed.

Materials and methods. The study of the lithic technology is based on the materials from the Early Holocene layers of the Dvoinaya Cave and the Chygai Rockshelter. The series of AMS dates were obtained for the layers. The earliest use of pressure blademaking was revealed in the layer 4/5 of the Dvoinaya Cave and the layers 3-5 of the Chygai Rockshelter dated to 11,3–8,5 cal kyr BC and 11,1–8,5 cal kyr BC respectively.

Results. The full technological context of the bladelet and microbladelet production with the use of pressure was revealed at the Dvoinaya Cave. The blanks were produced from the conical cores with faceted platforms. In layers 3–5 of the Chygai Rockselter the pressure bladelets and microbladelets were discovered. In both cases the metrics of the pressure produced blanks indicate the use of Mode 3 of the pressure technique (pressure with the use of short crutch in a sitting position).

Discussion. We don’t consider possible the diffusion of the technique from the Elbrus region of the North Caucasus as there were two technologically distinct traditions that were partly synchronous. The lower chronological range of the Mode 3 pressure emergence in the North-Western Caucasus roughly coincides with the Early Mlefaatian and the Nemrikian in the south and the Early Butovo in the north. The possible intermediate industries dated to the Early Holocene have not been discovered so far in the neighboring regions to the south or to the north of the North-Western Caucasus.

Conclusion. The early timе of the complex mode of the pressure technique emergence in the North-Western Caucasus is indicative of the external adoption and an extremely fast pace of the innovation diffusion in the Early Holocene. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. Until now, no work has been carried out to reconstruct the external appearance of the ancient population of Transcaucasia. In order to fill this gap, this study of the skull of a man from an early medieval catacomb burial in the Shamakhi region of Azerbaijan was undertaken. Craniometric and odontometric measurements determined the sex, racial type, age at death, revealed pathologies of the dentition and various traumatic injuries.

The purpose of the work was to obtain primary information about the appearance of people who lived in the first centuries of our era on the territory of Azerbaijan and thereby attract scientific attention to this problem.

Materials and methods. The skull, found in 1949 by the expedition of R.M. Kasimova with the participation of G.F. Debets, underwent an anthropological study according to classical programs to determine age, gender and race. Lifetime appearance restoration in the form of a graphic portrait in isometric projection was carried out according to the method of M.M. Gerasimov and E.V. Veselovskaya using Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 graphics editor.

Results. A table of individual measurements of the skull is presented, lifetime dimensions of the head are calculated, and a verbal description of the appearance is given. In racial terms, the subject can be attributed to the Caspian subtype of the Indo-Mediterranean race, the most characteristic modern representatives of which are Azerbaijanis, which also illustrates the reconstructed graphic appearance.

Discussion. The metric data of the skull were compared with similar characteristics of the closest male samples, which included a total of over 1300 skulls from the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Southwestern Europe. Based on the results of applying the corresponding discriminant analysis equations, it was found that the studied skull in the racial format belongs to the Caspian anthropological type.

Conclusion. As a result of the reconstruction of the appearance of the skull of a man from the early medieval burial ground in the Shamakhi region of Azerbaijan, paleoanthropological material unique for the Transcaucasian region was obtained for the first time. Previous archaeogenetic studies confirmed its belonging to the local population of Transcaucasia. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. This work is devoted to the assessment of the Upper Paleolithic sites of the Northern Tien Shan.

Materials and methods. Plains and foothills of Kazakhstan occupies a large western part of Central Asia and stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east. There are many Paleolithic sites, the vast majority of which are open-air (surface) sites. Recently several multilayer Upper Paleolithic sites have been discovered in the Northern Tien Shan. Among them are the sites of Maibulak, Rakhat, Uzynagash 1–3, Saryzhazyk and some others. The sites have been studied intermittently since 2004. A new research phase began in 2018.

Results and discussion. The sites are located in similar geomorphological conditions. The cultural layers of the sites are nested in loess-like loams covering the northern foothills of the Zailiysky Alatau Range. Most of the cultural layers are interpreted as habitation levels with preserved hearths, burn spots, charcoal spots, and storage pits. Accumulations of lithic artefacts and sometimes animal bone remains are tightly linked with those features of cultural layers. This is an interdisciplinary research.

Conclusion. The chronology of these sites covers the Early Upper Paleolithic, the Middle Upper Palaeolithic and the beginning of the Late Upper Paleolithic. The development of the Northern Tien Shan Upper Paleolithic took place within the framework of a single cultural vector, characteristic for the western part of Eurasia. There are cultural horizons with Aurignation-like, Gravettian-like lithic industries, as well as a culture with geometric microliths (scalene triangles). At the same time, lithic industries show considerable originality. Further work is aimed at studying the classification, typology of lithic collections and their correlation with each other. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. The paper defines pathological conditions arguably developed as the result of the cranium deforming practices.

Material and methods. One hundred and fifty-eight brain capsules dating back to the Middle Bronze Age were studied; 42 showed traces of artificial deformation. Comparison of the series of normal and deformed skulls was carried out on the basis of 21 signs identified. The author compared frequencies of pathological conditions between the deformed and non-deformed skulls using nonparametric Mann-Whitney and Pearson's Chi-square (χ2) tests. Thus, differences in the occurrence of traits in the two independent samples was assessed. Additionally, we tested the association between 14 features using Spearman's correlation coefficient (r-Spearman's).

Results. As a result of the comparative analysis, it was possible to establish statistically significant differences in the series of adult individuals between the non-deformed and deformed skulls in three following categories: hyperostosis frontalis interna, external exostosis of the auditory canal and injuries of the cranial vault. The identified pathological conditions are prevalent on the skulls artificially deformed skulls. No significant differences were identified between the compared groups of children and adolescents.

Conclusion. The absence of significant differences for most of the pathological conditions, such as the state of the dentition, growth processes, the development of intracranial hypertension, inflammatory processes and mechanisms that cause metabolic disorders, indicates that artificial deformation does not have a significant effect on the development of the pathology of this character. On the contrary, hyperostosis frontalis interna is a pathological condition that may have been stimulated by the impact of artificial deformation. The high incidence of external exostoses of the auditory canal and injuries on the deformed skulls are most likely markers of the social or ethnic affiliation of the population that practiced this custom.

It should be stated that, intentional artificial deformation of the cranium is quite compatible with a normal health state and human activity. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. The relationship between the Human Development Index, life expectancy and the level of innovative development of the economy as a whole for the countries of the world and separately for 85 subjects of the Russian Federation is considered.

Materials and methods. The source of information for assessing the level of development of the innovative economy in the countries of the world was the Global Innovation Index for 2019, and in the regions of Russia – the data of the Association of Innovative Regions of Russia.

The Human Development Report 2020 published by the United Nations Development Program was used to obtain information on Human Development Indices in the countries of the world. The source of information on Human Development Indices in the regions of Russia was the Analytical Note “Human Development Index in Russia: Regional Differences”, published by the Analytical Center under the Gov-ernment of the Russian Federation in 2021. The source of information on the life expectancy of the popu-lation of 85 regions of Russia is the collections of Rosstat. Correlation and non-parametric analysis of variance was used to assess the relationship between the studied indicators.

Results. It is shown that the Spearman correlation coefficient between the Global Innovation Index (GII) and the Human Development Index (HDI) according to the data for the countries of the world is 0.905 (significance level – <0.0001), the correlation coefficients between GII and life expectancy, both average and separately for men and women, are quite high: 0.834; 0.794 and 0.852 respectively.

The correlation coefficient between the Innovative Economy Development Index (IEDI) and the HDI according to data for 85 regions of the Russian Federation is 0.578 (significance level is < 0.0001), the correlation coefficients between the IEDI and average life expectancy and separately for men are not statistically significant, but for the female population – 0.233 (significance level – 0.033).

Conclusion. In the world, with the development of an innovative economy, the Human Development Index is growing, which, in turn, accelerates the development of the economy. In the world, with the growth of the level of development of the innovative economy, the average life expectancy is growing.

In Russia, the relationship between the Human Development Index and the level of development of the innovative economy is rather linear, and the correlation coefficient between these indicators is much lower compared to the correlation coefficient for the countries of the world. In Russia, there is a significant positive correlation between the Innovative Economy Development Index and life expectancy only for the female population. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. As a part of paleopathological studies of people inhabiting the Volga-Ural and Southern Ural steppes and forest-steppes in the Bronze Age, it became necessary to study and generalize the available extensive data on diet of this population provided by specialists from various related fields. Indeed, the state of “health” is largely related to what and how a person eats and under what pathogenic burden he lives.

Materials and methods. The paper summarizes main results of archaeological, zooarchaeological, paleobotanical, geochemical, isotope and paleopathological studies.

Results. It has been almost reliably established that animal husbandry was the economic basis of the studied population with elements of hunting and gathering and the absence of crop cultivation. Zooarchaeological studies show that cattle played dominant role and were used both for meat and milk, with some territorial and temporal variations in which of these components was more important. Hunting and fishing played, apparently, a secondary role. It is obvious that the use of plant foods did take place. Researchers agree that the studied population consumed wild plants growing in the steppes and forest-steppes, such as Chenopodium, Amaranthus and a number of others.

Conclusion. Studies of associated disciplines are in many ways interrelated and mutually interpretable, which allows us to create a general picture. At the same time, a number of unresolved issues remain that require further, more detailed analytical developments, including those involving paleopathological data. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. Canonical discriminant analysis, based on the mean values of the traits, is widely used by anthropologists. These analyses use standard deviation means, as well as standard correlation coefficients. The question of the comparability of the results of such analysis with the results based on individual values remains open. Moreover, the existing intergroup variability in correlation coefficients can lead to altered analysis results when applying the correlation matrix calculated for the specific under analysis groups.

This study compares the results of three variants of the canonical discriminant analysis: based on individual data, based on average values and a generalized (species-specific) correlation matrix, and based on average values and a regional (calculated for a certain region) correlation matrix.

Materials and methods. Data from 48 ethno-territorial groups from the Old World were used. The series are dated close to modern times, from the 16th to the 20th century. Twenty-five craniometric linear features have been measured. For canonical analysis on individual data we used the R language package, and for average data analysis the MultiCan software was used.

Results. The results of the two analyses performed on individual data and on average data turned out to be quite similar.

A comparison of the results of a series of discriminant analyses carried out on samples of the three major races using different correlation matrices reveals some small differences in the mutual arrangement of groups. In general, the distribution of samples in the scatter plots, as well as the standardized coefficients of discriminant functions coincide, regardless of the type of initial data.

Conclusion. In general, it may be concluded that the use of both individual values and sample averages in most cases leads to the same results. When individual values are used, the results may be distorted as a result of a strong reduction in the number of samples. Also, sample differentiation in this case is strongly influenced by a higher real intra-group variability. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. Childhood and adolescent obesity are associated with impairment of motor skills. However, studies assessing effect of underweight on motor skills as well as the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and motor skills are limited. The purpose of the study was to evaluate relationship between motor skills and BMI in the group of school-aged boys (7–12 years).

Material and methods. The data were collected fr om 7–12-year-old boys (1–5th grade) in the 38 Russia's federal constituent entities of eight federal districts. Height and weight were measured, BMI was calculated. Physical education teachers conducted the testing: endurance 6-minute run test (meters), 3x10 m shuttle run test (seconds), long standing jump (centimeters), forward bend test (centimeters), and 30-m sprint run test (seconds). The dataset contained 54 381 observations. The linear, quadratic and general additive models were built to check relationships between the motor skills and BMI.

Results. It was identified that high values of BMI are associated with impaired results of endurance and speed-strength abilities. Male children with a low and normal BMI values did not differ in motor skills. Despite a low level of explained variation of proportion of motor skills, a significant relationship between of motor development and BMI are noted. In the group of 7-year-old male children, the relationship was not identified. Whereas in the group of 8–12-year-old children it has a curvilinear relationship.

Conclusion. The relationship between motor skills and BMI is curvilinear (quadratic) in the group of 8–12-year-old boys. Hereafter, the modeling of non-linear relationship between motor development and BMI with other predictors might help identifying the optimum zone of body composition wh ere the adaptation potential will be the highest. It is also allowed to compare this zone in the groups of different ages and sexes. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. Adolescence period requires special supervision as these years link the impact of generational and early childhood factors to adult outcomes. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines 10-19 years as adolescence period, an important stage of growth and development in the lifespan of an individual. The present study assessed nutritional status among adolescents of two villages of Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India.

Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study of 443 (208 boys; 235 girls) rural high school students aged 10–15 years of Ajaya and Deulpota villages, Khejuri- I block, Purba Medinipur district, West Bengal, India, was undertaken to evaluate their growth pattern and nutritional status. Anthropometric measurements, including height (cm), weight (kg), mid-upper arm circumference (cm), were measured following standard techniques. Stunting, underweight and thinness were used as indicators of nutritional status.

Results. The overall prevalence of stunting, underweight and thinness were 20.32%, 1.81% and 46.95%, respectively. The prevalence of stunting was similar in both sexes (20.67% in boys; 20.0% in girls). The prevalence of thinness was very high among the studied participants (46.63% in boys; 47.23% in girls). According to the WHO classification for assessing severity of malnutrition, the rate of stunting and under-weight were medium and low in both sexes, respectively. However, they had very high prevalence of thinness thus indicating a critical situation of undernutrition.

Conclusion. The nutritional status of these rural school going adolescents was not satisfactory. The existing prevalence of stunting and thinness among the studied population indicates chronic nutritional deficiency while the low prevalence of underweight reflects that the chronic food deprivation they have undergone was during childhood, not in recent period. Follow up studies and intervention of government schemes are required to ameliorate this problem. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. The knowledge about the prevalence of hand osteoarthritis (OA) in different populations, the pattern of joint involvement, and the association with age, sex, and weight might be helpful in the understanding of the etiology and in developing the prevention strategy of hand OA. It can be important from a public health perspective. The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and pattern of radiographic hand OA in the Turkmen community-based sample and its association with age, sex, and body mass index.

Materials and methods. The study population was comprised of Turkmens (277 males and 427 females, aged 19–90 years). Radiographic hand OA was evaluated for 14 joints of each hand according to the Kellgren and Lawrence grading scheme. Statistical analyses included prevalence estimation, linear regression, and χ2 tests.

Results. 13.8% of individuals before age 36 had at least one joint with OA, and the prevalence reached 100% after age 65. After adjustment for age, we found that females with severe obesity have a higher risk of development of radiographic hand OA than those with normal weight (OR(95%CI): 3.88 (1.20-12.60)).

Conclusion. In the present study, after adjusting for age, we found that in men there was no association between the prevalence of hand OA and BMI. However, women with severe obesity are almost four times more likely to develop hand OA than women of normal weight. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Introduction. Morphofunctional (MF) status of school children of Nizhny Novgorod region is analysed in connection with the degree of urbanization and the level of anthropogenic pressure in contrastive ecological clusters with satisfactory (1), comparatively tense (2), tense (3) and critical ecological situation.

Material and methods. Over 5 thousand of school children aged 7–17 years, examined in 2010–12, are under discussion. The program includes height, weight, BMI, chest girth, lung vital capacity (VC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, somatotype according to Shtefko-Ostrovskiy method. Each cluster is characterized by absolute and standardized values of MF indices; significance of differences between means of parameters with continuous variability for separate ecological groups is estimated by using of analysis of variance and Scheffe-tests. Frequency of somatotypes (%) is calculated for each ecological group, Pearson's chi-square criterion is used. Comparative estimation of total somatic dimensions of rural and urban (literary data) children is held.

Results. The accelerating influence of modern level of anthropogenic stress (clusters 2 and 3) on indices of transversal body development (weight, BMI, chest girth) and VC of prepubertal (9 years) children irrespective of sex is shown. Decelerating influence of critical stress level (cluster 4) on indices of transversal body development of pubertal children aged 13 years is revealed. No significant differences in frequency of somatotypes in contrastive ecological clusters are fixed. Some gracilization of urban prepubertal boys compared to rural boys is shown. Some macrosomization (height and weight) of urban girls aged 7–13 years combined with modest decrease of chest girth as compared to rural girls is fixed. Up to 16–17 years all described differences are obviously smoothed.

Conclusion. The effect of anthropoecological correlations depends on the level of anthropogenic stress, sex and age of examined population and the system of MF indices. Height in our case is less sensitive to the increase of the level of anthropogenic stress. Ecosensitivity of girls is presumably less than boys. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.