Birth Of Man Research Articles

The difference between healthy life expectancy and life expectancy at birth in men is smaller than that in women in populations with high life expectancy

The difference between healthy life expectancy and life expectancy at birth in men is smaller than that in women in populations with high life expectancy

Exploring U.S. men's birth intentions.

While recently there have been renewed interest in women's childbearing intentions, the authors sought to bring needed research attention to understanding men's childbearing intentions. Nationally representative data from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) was used to examine pregnancy intentions and happiness for all births reported by men in the 5 years preceding the interview. We used bivariate statistical tests of associations between intention status, happiness about the pregnancy, and fathers' demographic characteristics, including joint race/ethnicity and union status subgroups. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to calculate adjusted odds ratios of a birth being intended, estimated separately by father's union status at birth. Using comparable data and measures from the male and female NSFG surveys, we tested for gender differences intentions and happiness, and examined the sensitivity of our results to potential underreporting of births by men. Nearly four out of ten of births to men were reported as unintended, with significant variation by men's demographic traits. Non-marital childbearing was more likely to be intended among Hispanic and black men. Sixty-two percent of births received a 10 on the happiness scale. Happiness about the pregnancy varied significantly by intention status. Men were significantly happier than women about the pregnancies, with no significant difference in intention status. Potential underreporting of births by men had little impact on these patterns. This study brings needed focus to men's childbearing intentions and improves our understanding of the context of their role as fathers. Men need to be included in strategies to prevent unintended pregnancy.

An examination of the association between premature mortality and life expectancy among men in Europe

A feature of the health of men across Europe is their higher rates of premature mortality and shorter life expectancy at birth than women. Following the publication of the first State of Men's Health in Europe report, we sought to explore possible reasons. We analyzed trends in life expectancy at birth in 19 European Union member states (EU19) between 1999 and 2008 using mortality data obtained from Eurostat. We then used Pollard's decomposition method to identify the contribution of deaths from different causes and at different age groups to differences in life expectancy. Between 1999 and 2008, life expectancy at birth in the EU19 increased by 2.74 years for men and by 2.09 years for women. Most of these improvements were due to reductions in mortality at ages >60, with cardiovascular disease accounting for approximately half these improvements for men. In 2008, life expectancy of men in the EU19 was 5.92 years lower than that of women. Deaths from all major groups of causes, and at all ages, contributed to this gap, with external causes contributing 0.96 years, cardiovascular disease 1.80 years and neoplasms 1.61 years. Improvements in the life expectancy at birth of men and women have mostly occurred at older ages. There has been little improvement in the high rate of premature death in younger men, suggesting a need for interventions to tackle their high death rate.

Caesarean section and body mass index among danish men

We conducted a prevalence study to examine the association between Caesarean section and body mass index (BMI) in 21,051 adult Danish men born in 1977-1983 who presented for mandatory conscription evaluation around age 18 years. Data on BMI from conscription records were linked to the men's birth records to identify mode of delivery and other perinatal data. Two thousand one hundred thirty-eight men (10%) had been delivered by a Caesarean section. Prevalence of obesity at conscription was 6% for those born vaginally and 9% for those born by a Caesarean section. The adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) for obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2) ) was 1.35 (95% CI 1.14-1.60); the adjusted PR for overweight (25 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m(2) ) was 1.05 (95% CI 0.94-1.17). The adjusted mean difference in BMI was 0.38 kg/m(2) (95% CI 0.16-0.60) comparing men born by Caesarean versus vaginal delivery. The estimates were similar for planned and nonplanned Caesarean deliveries. Birth by a Caesarean section was associated with an increased risk of obesity among men.

His and Her Job: What Matters Most for Fertility Plans and Actual Childbearing?

This study examines workplace culture and fertility plans and transitions in Sweden. This study goes beyond previous research in examining the effect of particular job characteristics as well as the influence of a partner's job characteristics on women's and men's birth plans and transitions. We use data from the 1999 and 2003 Swedish Young Adult Panel Study. Results indicate that men are more likely to intend to have a child if their partner's job makes it easy to take parental leave or work part‐time. Women are more likely to intend to have a child if their partner's job pays well. In addition, men whose job pays well are more likely to have a child. This research suggests that family‐friendly policies may enhance fertility indirectly through men's fertility decision making.

Modifiable factors that may increase young men's birth control method awareness

Modifiable factors that may increase young men's birth control method awareness

Will Russia cope with healthcare reform?

Russia demonstrates one of the lowest levels of health indicators among the developed countries. In terms of life expectancy at birth, Russia is in the 160th place out of 224 countries ranked in the CIA Fact Book, behind India (1). This situation is particularly appalling among men. Data from 2006 show that life expectancy at birth for men is 17 years shorter than in the EU-15 (60.47 to 77.44), and the probability of dying between the ages of 15 to 60 is more than four times higher (2). Russia also stands out negatively among other countries of the former Soviet Union, such as Belarus and Ukraine (3).

Reduction of social inequalities in life expectancy in a city of Southeastern Brazil

BackgroundAround the world the life expectancy at birth has risen steadily over time. However, this increase in life years is not equally distributed among different social segments of the population. Studies have demonstrated that social groups living in deprived areas have a shorter life expectancy at birth in comparison to affluent ones. The aim of this study was to evaluate inequalities in life expectancy by socioeconomic strata in a city with one million inhabitants in Southeastern Brazil, in 2000 and 2005.MethodsThrough an ecological approach, the 49 areas of health care units of the city were classified into three socioeconomic strata, defined according to variables of income and educational level of the heads of household obtained from the 2000 Census. Life tables were constructed by sex for each of the three socioeconomic strata in 2000 and 2005.ResultsThe life expectancy at birth for men and women living in poor areas was 6.9 and 5.5 years lower in comparison to the affluent ones in 2000. Between 2000 and 2005, these social inequalities in life expectancy at birth reduced, since the groups with lower socioeconomic level had gained more life years. The increase in life expectancy at birth experienced by areas with worse living conditions was 3 times higher than the increment estimated for prosperous areas for both sexes. Males had the greatest gain in life years, leading to a narrowing of gender differentials in life expectancy between 2000 and 2005.ConclusionsThe reduction of social inequalities in life expectancy suggests that living and health conditions have improved over time, due to social and health policies. The expansion of both health care coverage and cash transfer policies could have had positive effects on mortality reduction and on the consequent increase in the life expectancy, especially for the poor population.

Managing the aging man in Asia: A review

The aging man is becoming a major burden to Asian countries because of the current poor health status of Asian men and the aging Asian population. Life expectancy at birth for men is shorter than women by an average of 4 years in Asian countries and major causes of death are cardiovascular disease, cancers, injuries and infections. However, there are considerable variations between Asian countries because of great disparity in socioeconomic status. Male-specific disorders, such as male sexual health and urological conditions, are other major health burdens because they have a great impact on men's quality of life. More importantly, many risk factors to the causes of mortality and morbidities, such as high-risk behavior and smoking, can be improved with health promotion and early intervention. The current evidence suggests that the poor health status of men is the result of their poor health care utilization, negative health-seeking behavior, the adverse social environment for men and gender-insensitive health care delivery. However, much evidence is still needed as Asian countries have great diversity in culture, societal values and men's needs. Asian time-tested wisdom on a balanced healthy lifestyle to longevity should be explored as potential men's health promotional programs. Taking into account Asian men's health-care needs, a gender-streamlined approach and man-friendly health care delivery should be on the national agenda in managing the aging man.

The saga of Vikings and trade marks

Trade marks have served as indicators of commercial origin, particularly of mass-produced goods, and along with the use of owners' marks, have probably existed since the birth of man. In this article the author explores the history of Viking trade marks with early examples of weapons bearing the maker's mark. He also investigates contemporary use of trade marks with a Viking theme, citing well-known examples such as “Bluetooth”.

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection: Views and perceptions about swallowing nevirapine in rural Lilongwe, Malawi

BackgroundIn 2006 the World Health Organization described the status of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) service implementation as unacceptable, with an urgent need for a renewed public health approach to improve access. For PMTCT to be effective it needs to be accessible, acceptable and affordable; however research in Africa into accessibility, uptake and acceptability of PMTCT services has been predominately urban based and usually focusing on women who deliver in hospitals. The importance of involving other community members to strengthen both PMTCT uptake and adherence, and to support women emotionally, has been advocated. Urban men's and rural traditional birth attendants' (TBAs) involvement have improved uptake of HIV testing and of nevirapine.MethodsA qualitative study was carried out in a rural district of Malawi's central region to explore the views about and perceptions of PMTCT antiretroviral treatment. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were held with antenatal and postnatal women, fathers, grandmothers, TBAs, community leaders and PMTCT health workers.ResultsTwo broad themes of findings emerged: those that relate to the hospital PMTCT service, and those that relate to the community. Trust in the hospital was strong, but distance, transport costs and perceived harsh, threatening health worker attitudes were barriers to access. Grandmothers were perceived to have influence on the management of labour, unlike fathers, but both were suggested as key people to ensure that babies are brought to the hospital for nevirapine syrup. TBAs were seen as powerful, local, and important community members, but some as uneducated.ConclusionPMTCT was seen as a community issue in which more than the mother alone can be involved. To support access to PMTCT, especially for rural women, there is need for further innovation and implementation research on involving TBAs in some aspects of PMTCT services, and in negotiating with women which community members, if any, they would like to support them in ensuring that newborn babies receive nevirapine.

Gestational age differences in health and development among young Swedish men born at term

Although increased morbidity and mortality associated with pre-term birth and restricted fetal growth have been extensively studied, relatively little is known about variations in health outcomes among term births, because they are often assumed to be homogeneous. We examined variations in height, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), and intellectual performance by gestational age and fetal 'growth' (birth weight for gestational age) among young Swedish men born at term (37-41 weeks of gestation). We also compared the magnitude of associations among 314,642 men from different families and among 72,212 full brothers from 35,215 families to assess whether the associations are explained by familial factors shared by siblings. Gestational age in completed weeks was positively associated with height [0.11 cm, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.09-0.13] and intellectual performance (0.01, 95% CI: 0.00-0.02) and negatively associated with SBP (-0.28 mmHg, 95% CI: -0.33 to -0.24), after controlling for birth weight, maternal age at the men's birth, parity, family socio-economic position and family structure. The associations with height and SBP were observed also among brothers within families, suggesting that they are not explained by shared family characteristics. However, the positive association between gestational age and intellectual performance was no longer present within families. Birth weight for gestational age (z-score) was positively associated with height, BMI and intellectual performance and negatively associated with SBP. These associations were robust within families. Among young men born at term, fetal growth and even gestational age are independently associated with adult size, BP and cognitive ability. The extent to which shared family characteristics explain the associations varies across outcomes.

Aging in America in the Twenty‐first Century: Demographic Forecasts from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on an Aging Society

The aging of the baby boom generation, the extension of life, and progressive increases in disability-free life expectancy have generated a dramatic demographic transition in the United States. Official government forecasts may, however, have inadvertently underestimated life expectancy, which would have major policy implications, since small differences in forecasts of life expectancy produce very large differences in the number of people surviving to an older age. This article presents a new set of population and life expectancy forecasts for the United States, focusing on transitions that will take place by midcentury. Forecasts were made with a cohort-components methodology, based on the premise that the risk of death will be influenced in the coming decades by accelerated advances in biomedical technology that either delay the onset and age progression of major fatal diseases or that slow the aging process itself. Results indicate that the current forecasts of the U.S. Social Security Administration and U.S. Census Bureau may underestimate the rise in life expectancy at birth for men and women combined, by 2050, from 3.1 to 7.9 years. The cumulative outlays for Medicare and Social Security could be higher by $3.2 to $8.3 trillion relative to current government forecasts. This article discusses the implications of these results regarding the benefits and costs of an aging society and the prospect that health disparities could attenuate some of these changes.

Assumptions for long-term stochastic population forecasts in 18 European countries

The aim of the ‘Uncertain Population of Europe’(UPE) project was to compute long-term stochastic (probabilistic) population forecasts for 18 European countries. We developed a general methodology for constructing predictive distributions for fertility, mortality and migration. The assumptions underlying stochastic population forecasts can be assessed by analysing errors in past forecasts or model-based estimates of forecast errors, or by expert judgement. All three approaches have been used in the project. This article summarizes and discusses the results of the three approaches. It demonstrates how the—sometimes conflicting—results can be synthesized into a consistent set of assumptions about the expected levels and the uncertainty of total fertility rate, life expectancy at birth of men and women, and net migration for 18 European countries.

Construction and validation of a list of common Middle Eastern surnames for epidemiological research

Purpose: Middle Eastern (ME) population is rapidly growing in the US but cannot be easily identified in cancer registry or other databases for epidemiological research. The purpose of this study was to develop a list of common Middle Eastern surnames and validate it by linking with a cancer registry incidence files. Methods: Surnames and place of birth in the Middle East were obtained from various sources. After exclusion of the non-specific entries, the final combined list included 49,610 surnames and was matched with the California Cancer Registry incidence file for 1988–2003. Results: Overall, 1.4% of all registered cases were positively identified as ME that is similar to the proportion of ME population in California. Two third of the identified cases had known place of birth in the Middle East and of those, 70% were non-Arabs. The sensitivity of the list in detecting ME birth in men and women are 91% and 86%, respectively. The positive predictive values for men and women are 72% and 65%. The specificity and negative predictive values are universally over 99%. Conclusion: The high accuracy reported for this Middle Eastern surname list (MESL) makes it a valuable tool for epidemiological studies of this ethnic population.

“Successful Ageing for Singapore”?: Financial (in)security of elderly persons

Many developed countries across the world have populations that are rapidly ageing. In East and South-East Asia, Singapore, together with Japan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand, has the fastest growing 65 years and older population (Westley, 1998: 1; Gubhaju, 2003: 3). While Japan has doubled its proportion of elderly persons from 10 to 20 per cent over 28 years, Singapore will reach this demographic leap in 17 years. In 2003, 7.6 per cent of the Singapore population was over 65 years of age (Ministry of Community Development and Sports (MCDS)**, 2004a). Owing to improved health care, health insurance and socio-economic conditions, life expectancy has increased in Singapore with large numbers of people from the pre-war baby boom era surviving into their 60s and forming the country’s growing elderly population. According to estimates for 2004, life expectancy at birth for men stands at 76.9 of age and for females at 80.9 (Department of Statistics, 2004). As such, demographers have attested to Singapore having the fastest ageing population in the world (Ogawa, 2003: 95-96; Mehta and Vasoo, 2001: 186; ESCAP, 2002); it has been projected that its ageing population is growing at an unprecedented rate of 3.7 per cent annually (MCDS, 2004b), with the oldest-old cohort (aged 85 and above) growing the fastest (Chan, 2001: 3).

Birth weight, hypertension and ‘white coat’ hypertension: size at birth in relation to office and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure

We investigated the association of size at birth with hypertensive status defined by office blood pressure (BP) and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring in a historical cohort study of 736 men born 1920-1924 and examined at age 70 years. Office BP was measured after 10-min supine rest with a sphygmomanometer, ambulatory BP was recorded with Accutracker 2, and anthropometric and other measurements were taken at a clinic. Birth weight and gestational age were abstracted from the men's birth records. A total of 24% of the men were treated for hypertension at the time of the study. Among not treated subjects, there was a weak positive association of birth weight with daytime and 24-h diastolic ambulatory BP. In subjects treated for hypertension, both office and ambulatory BP were inversely related to birth weight, although these associations were not statistically significant. Birth weight did not show significant association with sustained hypertension (elevated office and daytime ambulatory BPs) but showed a strong and statistically significant inverse association with "white coat" hypertension (elevated office BP and normal daytime ambulatory BP) when adjusted for concurrent body mass index (odds ratios 1.91, 1.59, 1 and 1.21 from lowest to highest quartile of birth weight, P-value for trend 0.035). We conclude that BP measured by 24-h-ambulatory monitoring is not related to birth weight in a pattern previously reported for office BP and that factors related to growth in utero are particularly related to higher risk of "white coat" hypertension.

The birth of man from the spirit of violence: Frantz Fanon the revolutionary

(2005). The birth of man from the spirit of violence: Frantz Fanon the revolutionary. Wasafiri: Vol. 20, No. 44, pp. 13-18.

Weight from birth to 53 years: A longitudinal study of the influence on clinical hand osteoarthritis

To determine the influence of body weight throughout the life course on the development of clinical hand osteoarthritis (OA). A British national survey was used to perform a prospective cohort study of 1,467 men and 1,519 women born in 1946. Weight was measured at birth and at subsequent followup visits through childhood and adulthood. The main outcome measure was the odds ratio for the presence of hand OA at the age of 53 years. Two hundred eighty men (19%) and 458 women (30%) had OA in at least 1 hand joint. Hand OA was significantly associated with increased weight at ages 26 years, 43 years, and 53 years and with decreased weight at birth in men. Birth weight and adult weight showed independent effects, such that men with the highest risk for OA represented those who had been heaviest at age 53 years and lightest at birth. These findings were not explained by grip strength. There was no significant relationship between weight and hand OA in women. The results of this study show that increased adult weight is associated with, and may precede, development of hand OA in men. An association between hand OA and weight was not observed in women. The relationship between hand OA and decreased birth weight is a new finding and may reflect the persisting influence of prenatal environmental factors on adult joint structure and function.

Early modern childbirth.

THIS 16TH-CENTURY WOODCUT shows a pregnant woman sitting in a birthing chair, attended by 3 women, at least 1 of whom (seated, at left) is a midwife. This image was published in Ein schon lustig Trostbuchle von den Empfengknussen und Geburten der Menschen (A Very Cheerful Booklet of Encouragement Concerning the Conception and Birth of Man) in 1554.1 The book was written by Jacob Rueff (1500–1558), a surgeon and obstetrician in Zurich. Rueff was responsible for the instruction and examination of midwives in Zurich and, indeed, had copies of his book sent to all the midwives in the region. Much of Rueff’s book is essentially copied from Eucharius Rosslin’s Der Swangern Frauwen und Hebammen Rosegarten (The Rose Garden for Pregnant Women and Midwives), 1513, the first printed work dealing exclusively with obstetrics—and also intended as an instruction guide for midwives.2 In the later work, Rueff added some new material from his own experiences and placed more emphasis on the use of instruments as aids to childbirth. In this image, for example, one can see the obstetrical instruments and equipment on the table behind the women, whereas in Rosslin’s almost identical image, the background is plain. Rueff advocated new obstetrical instruments such as the toothed duck beak forceps and the use of internal and external manipulation for footling (feet first) presentations. Some version of the birthing stool or chair had been used for millennia, there being evidence of its use in Egyptian papyri and the Old Testament.3,4 The chair shown here incorporates certain early modern technical innovations, such as the sloping back that allows the birthing woman to recline slightly during contractions. One scholar even argues that this birthing chair was itself a technical innovation inspired by male professionals as a way to gain control over the birthing process and to displace earlier practices in which pregnant women sat on the laps of their birth attendants.5 As male midwives and obstetrical attendants gradually wrested control of the birth process from female midwives and from women themselves, the birthing chairs would be replaced by flat beds, these being more convenient to the person in charge of the “delivery.” Birthing chairs are now making something of a comeback in modern obstetrics as case– control studies are finding that their use may reduce the pain of childbirth, diminish perineal trauma, decrease the need for episiotomies, and increase the mother’s satisfaction with her birthing experience.6–9