Biosocial Interactions Research Articles

Syndrome of substance abuse, violence and HIV-infection/AIDS (SAVA) and some related factors among sex workers in 4 cities in Russian Federation

Introduction. Social determinants of health are often a major topic for syndemic research. This is consistent with the fundamental idea of syndemic conditions that share common social factors and bio-social interactions. One of the earliest syndemies was the reported abuse of psychoactive substances in the United States, the experience of victimization from interpersonal violence and HIV infection (SAVA).The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of SAVA syndrome and its relationship with risk factors for HIV infection in key groups — female sex workers (SW). Materials and methods. The analysis is based on data from a biobehavioral study carried out in 4 cities of the Russian Federation and involving 817 SWs (time-place sampling). The study included a questionnaire survey and determination of HIV status.Results and discussion. The prevalence of SAVA syndemics in the groups of SWs and MSM was relatively low because of relatively low (in comparison with IDUs) prevalence of HIV infection. Full syndemics occurred in 1.27%, [95% CI=0.30–2.24%] female sex workers. Incomplete syndemics (excluding HIV infection from definition) was detected in 7.31%, [95% CI=4.59–10.02%] of SW.SWs who were physically and sexually abused had HIV infection in 16.7% of cases, only physically abused — in 10% of cases, while among those who denied violence against them — only 6.5%.

A syndemic born of war: Combining intersectionality and structural violence to explore the biosocial interactions of neglected tropical diseases, disability and mental distress in Liberia.

The intersections between NTDs, disability, and mental ill-health are increasingly recognised globally. Chronic morbidity resultant from many NTDs, particularly those affecting the skin-including lymphatic filariasis (LF), leprosy, Buruli ulcer (BU) and onchocerciasis-is well known and largely documented from a medicalised perspective. However less is known about the complex biosocial interaction shaping interconnected morbidities. We apply syndemic theory to explain the biosocial relationship between NTDs and mental distress in the context of structural violence in Liberia. By advancing syndemic theory to include intersectional thought, it is apparent that structural violence becomes embodied in different ways through interacting multi-level (macro, meso and micro) processes. Through the use of in-depth qualitative methods, we explore the syndemic interaction of NTDs and mental distress from the vantage point of the most vulnerable and suggest that: 1) the post-conflict environment in Liberia predisposes people to the chronic effects of NTDs as well as other 'generalised stressors' as a consequence of ongoing structural violence; 2) people affected by NTDs are additionally exposed to stigma and discrimination that cause additional stressors and synergistically produce negative health outcomes in relation to NTDs and mental distress; and 3) the impact and experience of consequential syndemic suffering is shaped by intersecting axes of inequity such as gender and generation which are themselves created by unequal power distribution across multiple systems levels. Bringing together health systems discourse, which is focused on service integration and centred around disease control, with syndemic discourse that considers the biosocial context of disease interaction offers new approaches. We suggest that taking a syndemic-informed approach to care in the development of people-centred health systems is key to alleviating the burden of syndemic suffering associated with NTDs and mental distress currently experienced by vulnerable populations in resource-limited settings.

P186 The association between social deprivation and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic literature review

Abstract Background/Aims It is clear that physical and mental illnesses are driven by ethnicity, social, environmental and economic determinants. Novel theoretical frameworks in RA focus on links between biological and non-biological (social) factors and adverse interactions within specific social contexts. This review aimed to summarise the existing evidence on associations between social deprivation and RA disease activity, and implications for research going forward. Methods Articles studying the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and RA disease activity were included, published from 1946 until March 2021. Initial scoping reviews were performed to optimise the search strategy, especially with regards to the exposure and outcome variables. The focus of the review was on the effect of “socioeconomic status” or similar database indexing terms, on disease activity (and similar indexing terms). The databases Medline, Embase, International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment, PsychInfo and Cochrane Databases were searched. The research question, using the ‘Patients, Intervention, Comparator or Control, Outcome, Type of study’ format was as follows: Is there an association between social deprivation and disease activity in people with rheumatoid arthritis? The search was restricted to English-language articles only. Articles deemed eligible were: observational studies, qualitative studies and randomised controlled trials. Titles and abstracts were screened to assess eligibility. The full articles which met inclusion criteria were then examined in detail by one author. For validation, 10% of articles were screened at the abstract and full paper stage by a second author. Disagreements were resolved through discussion and input from a third reviewer. Information was extracted on definition/measure of SES, ethnicity, education, employment comorbidities, disease activity and the presence/absence of association between social deprivation and disease activity. Results In the initial search, 1750 articles and 797 conference abstracts were identified. After deduplication, this was reduced to 1299 full papers. After screening title and abstract, 1268 papers were excluded, with 31 proceeding to full-text screening. Ultimately, 30 articles (all observational studies) were included in the review. There was marked variation in definition of SES, with ten articles using a formal scale or measure, the majority using educational attainment as a proxy. Most studies controlled for lifestyle factors including smoking and BMI, as well as comorbidities. 25 articles concluded an association between SES and RA disease activity, two articles were unclear, and three found no association. Conclusion Our review highlights the association between low SES and worse disease outcomes in patients with RA, consistent with previous work in this area. We have demonstrated the complex multifaceted relationships giving rise to this association. There is a need for increased application of mixed-methods methodology and consideration of syndemic frameworks to understand bio-bio and bio-social interactions, to examine drivers of disease and poor clinical outcomes more holistically. Disclosure M. Dey: None. A. Busby: None. H. Elwell: None. H. Lempp: None. A. Pratt: None. J.D. Isaacs: None. E. Nikiphorou: None.

A new approach to measuring the synergy in a syndemic: Revisiting the SAVA syndemic among urban MSM in the United States

ABSTRACT Syndemic theory hypothesises that observed clusters of diseases are the result of harmful social conditions. Critiques of syndemics present the theory as ambiguous and lacking empirical evidence. Syndemics are evidenced through qualitative assessments drawing on observations, epidemiology, and biomedical evidence to explain bio-bio and bio-social interactions. Quantitative syndemic studies commonly apply a summative approach, whereby the outcome is a result of the cumulative effect of the individual elements. More recently, quantitative studies apply analyses to assess mechanical interactions among conditions. This paper applies a synergy factor analysis to measure synergy – the enhancement of the effect of one element on the effect of the others. Data from the canonical quantitative syndemic analysis study was reanalysed to assess synergy among the elements of the SAVA syndemic (substance ab/use, violence, HIV/AIDS). Contrary to original study findings, which applied a summative approach, no synergy was measured. Synergistic interactions were confirmed among a subset of the study population; the effects of substance ab/use and violence on HIV were more than two times greater in White MSM than the predicted joint effect (SF = 2·32, 95%CI 1·02–5·11, p = 0·044), indicating synergy. Synergy factor analysis presents an accessible tool to measure syndemic interactions and facilitate timely global health responses.

EXPERIENCING SYNDEMIC: DISENTANGLING THE BIOSOCIAL COMPLEXITY OF TUBERCULOSIS THROUGH QUALITATIVE RESEARCH.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health problem that has become a crisis fuelled by HIV and the increasing occurrence of antimicrobial resistance. What has been termed the biosocial nature of TB challenges effective control of the disease. Yet, biosocial interactions involved in the persistence of TB in diverse settings are difficult to systematically account for. The recently developed framework of syndemics provides a way to capture how complex health problems result from the interactions between diseases such as HIV and TB, and harmful social conditions such as unemployment, malnutrition and substance abuse. This article advances the syndemics scholarship by examining health conditions that cluster together with TB in the Russian Federation, by eliciting a set of social processes that precipitate this clustering and exacerbate health outcomes, and by analysing interactions between these health conditions and social processes. To provide an account of this complexity, the article takes a qualitative approach and draws on the perspectives and experiences of people with TB. The results demonstrate emergence of a syndemic of stress, substance abuse, TB and HIV that is sustained by poverty, occupational insecurity, marginalization and isolation. Frictions between the narrow focus of the health care system on TB and the wider syndemic processes in which the lives of many persons with TB are embedded, contribute to poorer health outcomes and increase the risks of developing drug resistance. Finally, the article argues that the large-scale and impersonal forces become embodied as individual pathology through the crucial interface of the ways in which persons experience and make sense of these forces and pathologies. Qualitative research is needed for the adequate analysis of this biosocial complexity in order to provide a solid basis for responses to TB-centred syndemics in various settings.

Biosocial Interactions Between Relational Victimization and Physiological Stress Reactivity in Relation to Anxious/Depressive Symptoms and Cognitive Biases in Adolescent Girls

Biosocial Interactions Between Relational Victimization and Physiological Stress Reactivity in Relation to Anxious/Depressive Symptoms and Cognitive Biases in Adolescent Girls

Development of a Synchronization Coefficient for Biosocial Interactions in Groups and Teams

Body movements, autonomic arousal, and electroencephalograms (EEGs) of group members are often coordinated or synchronized with those of other group members. Linear and nonlinear measures of synchronization have been developed for pairs of individuals, but little work has been done on measures of synchronization for groups. We define a new synchronization coefficient, SE, for a group based on pairwise correlations in time series data and employing the notions of a group driver, who most drives the group’s responses, and empath, who is most driven by the group. SE is developed here in the context of emotional synchronization based on galvanic skin response time series. A simulation study explores its properties, the balance between strong versus weak autocorrelational effects, transfer, group size, and direct versus oscillatory functions. Distributions of SE are not affected by group size up to 16 members. Norms for interpreting the coefficient are presented along with directions for new research.

Ectoparasitic Syndemics: Polymicrobial Tick-borne Disease Interactions in a Changing Anthropogenic Landscape.

Based on an assessment of the available research, this article uses syndemic theory to suggest the role of adverse bio-social interactions in increasing the total disease burden of tick-borne infections in local populations. Given the worldwide distribution of ticks, capacity for coinfection, the anthropogenic role in environmental changes that facilitate tick dissemination and contact, evidence of syndemic interaction in tick-borne diseases, and growing impact of ticks on global health, tick-borne syndemics reveal fundamental ways in which human beings are not simply agents of environmental change but objects of that change as well.

The syndemics of childhood diarrhoea: A biosocial perspective on efforts to combat global inequities in diarrhoea-related morbidity and mortality

Diarrhoea remains the second leading cause of death in children under 5 years. Moreover, morbidity as a result of diarrhoea is high particularly in marginalised communities. Frequent bouts of diarrhoea have deleterious and irreversible effects on physical and cognitive development. Children are especially vulnerable given their inability to mount an active immune response to pathogen exposure. Biological limitations are exacerbated by the long-term effects of poverty, including reduced nutrition, poor hygiene and deprived home environments. Drawing from available literature, this paper uses syndemic theory to explore the role of adverse biosocial interactions in increasing the total disease burden of enteric infections in low-resources populations and assesses the limitations of recent global calls to action. The syndemic perspective describes situations in which adverse social conditions, including inequality, poverty and other forms of political and economic oppression, play a critical role in facilitating disease–disease interactions. Given the complex micro- and macro-nature of childhood diarrhoea, including interactions between pathogens, disease conditions and social environments, the syndemic perspective offers a way forward. While rarely the focus of health interventions, technologically advanced biomedical strategies are likely to be more effective if coupled with interventions that address the social conditions of disparity.

Negative Peer Status and Relational Victimization in Children and Adolescents: The Role of Stress Physiology

The purpose of the current investigation was to determine the unique associations between two subtypes of low peer status, peer rejection and unpopularity, and changes in relational victimization over time. This study also investigated if these associations were moderated by sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) reactivity to peer stress. Sixty-one girls attending (Mage = 11.91 years, SD = 1.62; predominantly Caucasian) a residential summer camp were followed across 1 calendar year. Participants' skin conductance and respiratory sinus arrhythmia were assessed during a laboratory stress protocol. Peer rejection and unpopularity were measured using peer nomination techniques and counselors reported on relational victimization. Both unpopularity and rejection were associated with increased relational victimization over time among girls who exhibited reciprocal SNS activation (i.e., high SNS reactivity coupled with PNS withdrawal). Rejection was also associated with subsequent victimization among girls exhibiting reciprocal PNS activation (i.e., low SNS reactivity, PNS activation). Findings underscore the biosocial interactions between low peer status and physiological reactivity in the prediction of peer maltreatment over time.

Psychophysiology of Adolescent Peer Relations II: Recent Advances and Future Directions

Researchers have made significant progress in the investigation of how physiological measures can inform the study of adolescent peer functioning, including peer processes involving antisocial behavior, victimization, and peer social status. This paper highlights how the inclusion of physiological processes in research studies can address several critical questions regarding adolescent peer relations, with a particular emphasis on (1) developmental processes; (2) subtypes of adolescent peer relations; (3) gender differences; (4) biosocial interactions; and (5) the role of within‐person variability. In addition, several important directions for future research, including longitudinal studies assessing bidirectional effects and the incorporation of additional indices of peer functioning and additional psychophysiological systems, are discussed.

Autism spectrum disorders: Toward a gendered embodiment model

One of the most consistent observations in the epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is the preponderance of male cases. A few hypotheses have been put forth which attempt to explain this divergence in terms of sex-linked biology, with limited success. Feminist epidemiologists suggest the importance of investigating specific mechanisms for male-female differences in health outcomes, which may include sex-linked biology and/or gender relations, as well as complex biosocial interactions. Neither domain has been systematically investigated for autism, and the possible role of gender has been particularly neglected. In this article, we posit hypotheses about how social processes based on perception of persons as male or female, particularly patterns of social and physical interaction in early development, may affect the observed occurrence and diagnosis of ASD. We gesture toward an embodiment model, incorporating hypotheses about initial biological vulnerabilities to autism – which may or may not be differentially distributed in relation to sex biology – and their interactions with gender relations, which are demonstrably different for male and female infants. Toward building such a model, we first review the epidemiology of ASD with an eye toward male-female differences, then present a theory of gender as a “pervasive developmental environment” with relevance for the excess burden of autism among males. Finally, we suggest research strategies to further investigate this issue.

TOWARD A CRITICAL BIOSOCIAL MODEL OF ECOHEALTH IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: THE HIV/AIDS AND NUTRITION INSECURITY SYNDEMIC

Increasingly, it is recognized that traditional narrow approaches to environment and health relations are insufficient to comprehend and respond effectively to the complexity of factors influencing human health. In response, a new approach, referred to as Ecohealth has emerged with the goal of assessing the multiple interactions that occur between components the ecosystem, the local and global political economy, and cultural systems, on the one hand, and the ways in which these biosocial interactions influence the nature, concentration, and entwinement of health problems in human populations, on the other. Those contributing to the development of the Ecohealth orientation also seek to identify evidence‐based strategies for improving the health and living conditions of human populations and the sustainability of the ecosystems in which they live. Within anthropology and public health, in particular, one reflection of the broader Ecohealth approach is expressed in the concept of syndemics, which was developed during the 1990s to label the various interactions among comorbid diseases and other health conditions that increase the burden of suffering in populations and the encompassing social relations and conditions that amplify the likelihood of adverse disease interactions occurring. In southern Africa, a notable synergism has developed between HIV/AIDS and food insecurity that significantly threatens the health and well‐being of diverse populations in the region. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the key epidemiological, environmental, social, and political economic features of the entwined HIV‐affected food insecurity and food insecurity‐affected HIV syndemics of southern Africa.

The role of family relationship quality and testosterone levels in adolescents' peer experiences: A biosocial analysis.

Grounded in a biosocial model, this study examines the interaction between adolescents' testosterone levels and qualities of the parent-adolescent and sibling-adolescent relationship in adolescents' peer experiences and contributes to empirical research on the role of biological factors and family socialization processes in adolescents' peer competence and involvement. Participants included 331 adolescents (M = 14.68 years of age, SD = 1.53) and their mothers and fathers in 173 families. During home visits, data were collected from family members regarding adolescents' family relationships, peer relationships, and psychosocial adjustment; daily time-use data were gathered during a series of 7 nightly phone interviews; and testosterone levels were assessed through saliva samples. Hierarchical regression results revealed that when boys had close relationships with mothers and sisters, testosterone was positively associated with their peer competence and involvement. Discussion focuses on the value of exploring biosocial interactions and highlights the particular importance of boys' relationships with opposite-sex family members in efforts to understand their peer experiences.

Reconsidering Risk: Adapting Public Policies to Intergenerational Determinants and Biosocial Interactions in Health-Related Needs

According to recent research, interactions between infant health and environment can play crucial roles in clustering health and economic disadvantage among certain families. Researchers have provided a clear example of such intergenerational biosocial cycles when they document that interactions between parental low birth weight status and prenatal environment are associated with the risk of a low birth weight, and that interactions between a child's birth weight status and early childhood environment are associated with adult socioeconomic outcomes. In this article, we consider how existing policies may be revised to more effectively address such interactions between social and biological risk categories. We are particularly concerned in this discussion with revising risk categories so they can encompass biological risk, social risk, and developmental frameworks. A framework of biosocial risk is quite flexible and may be applied to a variety of issues and programs; however, in this article we focus on the single case of low birth weight to illustrate our argument. In considering specific applications, we further explore how attention to biosocial interactions may reshape Medicaid, special education, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Testosterone, antisocial behavior, and social dominance in boys: pubertal development and biosocial interaction

BackgroundStudies linking testosterone and antisocial behavior in humans have produced mixed results. Adolescence offers a promising period to study this relationship; circulating testosterone increases dramatically in boys during puberty, and antisocial behavior increases during the same period. MethodsOur analyses were based on boys aged 9–15 years who were interviewed during the first three waves of the Great Smoky Mountains Study. Measures included interview assessment of DSM-IV conduct disorder (CD) symptoms and diagnosis, blood spot measurement of testosterone, Tanner staging of pubertal development, and assessment of leadership behaviors and peer deviance. ResultsThe adolescent rise in CD was primarily attributable to an increase in nonphysically aggressive behaviors. Increasing levels of circulating testosterone and association with deviant peers contributed to these age trends. There was no evidence that physical aggression was related to high testosterone. Evidence of biosocial interactions was identified; testosterone was related to nonaggressive CD symptoms in boys with deviant peers and to leadership in boys with nondeviant peers. ConclusionsThe results are consistent with the hypothesis that testosterone relates to social dominance, with the assumption that behaviors associated with dominance differ according to social context.

Community violence exposure in a young adult sample: III. Psychophysiology and victimization interact to affect risk for aggression

AbstractAn initial study of young adults with high and low exposure to community violence found that aggression was related to increased baseline heart rate variability (HRV), reduced baseline heart rate (HR), and increased poststressor cortisol level. Based upon previous research on biosocial interactions, this study tested specific predictions that the cardiovascular–aggression link would be found only in nonvictims and the cortisol–aggression link only in victims. Forty‐seven victims and nonvictims completed self‐reports of aggression and two stressor tasks. Results supported the hypotheses for HRV and cortisol. However, reduced HR was associated with aggression in both victims and nonvictims, and its variance was explained by increased HRV. Findings support biosocial theories of violence and are discussed in terms of vagally mediated HR underarousal and emotion dysregulation in antisocial populations. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 31: 321–338, 2003.

Birth Weight and Income: Interactions across Generations

This paper attempts to answer a series of questions regarding the interaction of income and birth weight across generations. First, does the effect of the income of a mother during her pregnancy on her infant's birth weight depend on the family's birth weight history (genetic predisposition)? Second, does the effect of low birth weight status on adult life chances depend on income during early childhood? These questions have implications for the way we envision the biological and social worlds as interacting across generations. To address these issues, this study uses intergenerational data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, survey years 1968 through 1992. Results of sibling comparisons (family-fixed-effects models) demonstrate that maternal income has a significant impact on birth weight for those infants who are already at high risk hereditarily (i.e., who have a low birth weight parent). However, it is not clear whether income acts as a developmental buffer for low birth weight infants as their lives progress. These findings suggest the existence of biosocial interactions between hereditary predisposition and socio-economic environment.

Biosocial bases of antisocial behavior: Psychophysiological, neurological, and cognitive factors

In this paper we review biosocial research and theory in the area of antisocial behavior. In particular, we focus on interactions between biological and social variables in predicting antisocial outcome. While many psychological researchers make statements concerning the potential importance of biosocial interactions, very few researchers actually test for such interactions in their data. The few studies that have reported biosocial interactions suggest that biological variables can protect against antisocial behavior in socially vulnerable individuals, and that social variables can protect against antisocial behavior in biologically vulnerable individuals. Further research is necessary to determine whether the effects of biosocial interactions on antisocial outcome are dependent upon particular biological or social factors. Preliminary evidence suggests that policy interventions that ameliorate the effects of perinatal risk factors could protect against antisocial and violent outcome.

Social behaviour of microbial populations

AbstractThis paper covers the recent data on the biosocial interactions of microbial cells in populations. These interactions are considered in terms of general ethological and sociobiological concepts such as agonistic behaviour, affiliation, cooperation and coordination. Microbial social behaviour exemplified by the interactions among individuals in the supraorganismic structures of myxobacteria, Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, myxomycetes and fungi is compared (i) to the cell behaviour involved in the development of animal embryos and immune responses of multicellular organisms and (ii) to the collective behaviour of higher animals in groups or communities. Special attention is given to the biotechnological implications of microbial sociality.