Demographic Implications Research Articles

Fertility Rate In Uzbekistan (1890-1990): Demographic Analysis of Gender Equality and Development (SDG 5)

Objective: This study aims to analyze the trends in birth rates in Uzbekistan from 1890 to 1990, identifying key factors influencing these trends and examining their demographic implications in relation to SDG 5: Gender Equality. Theoretical Framework: Grounded in demographic transition theory, this research explores how birth rates fluctuate due to social, economic, and historical changes, with a particular focus on gender and age structure, and the impact of women’s education and employment on fertility rates, aligning with SDG 5. Method: The study employs a historical analysis of birth rates in Uzbekistan over a century. It examines data from population censuses and assesses changes in demographic processes during periods of civil war, World War II, and the post-war years. Findings: The results indicate that significant shifts in Uzbekistan's birth rates are closely tied to historical events, such as wars, government policies, and economic transitions. Improvements in women’s education and employment are shown to have influenced fertility rates, in line with the goals of SDG 5. Research Implications: This study offers valuable insights for policymakers, contributing to demographic research and supporting strategies for gender equality in Uzbekistan.

Sensitivity of development goals to water scarcity of Iraq and transboundary regions

Iraq and its transboundary regions have significant challenges from water scarcity in combination with other social and environmental factors. There are short- and long-term implications for vulnerable demographics, such as youth. With Iraq's dependence on upstream water management, there is a need to address several critical factors of transboundary watersheds such as the Haditha, Mosul, Dokan, and Euphrates-Tigris basin. This paper develops the use of particular social, hydrological, and other environmental factors in a risk register of basins and vulnerable populations, where societal priorities vary across scenarios of hydrology and water. Social data (i.e., gridded youth population data) and hydrological observations (i.e., precipitation, temperature, root zone soil moisture, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)) are obtained from publicly available satellite-based Earth observations and global models. Risk is defined and quantified as the disruption of basin order and spatial plots are provided to improve understanding of the spatial distribution of water scarcity challenges in the region with regard to vulnerable populations. The results feature identification of the most and least disruptive scenarios including: 1) population density is lowest in basins exposed to the highest air temperatures, 2) an urban-to-rural migration pattern (such as prompted by a public health crisis) would significantly disrupt basin order, and 3) populations with greatest exposure to extreme hydrological conditions of water scarcity are found in the southern basins of Iraq in or near the Al-Muthanna governorate. The impacts of this work are to steer future investments that mitigate risk of disrupted system orders and to increase system resilience of vulnerable populations to water scarcity.

The Demography of Crisis‐Driven Outflows from Venezuela

AbstractThe Venezuelan exodus represents the largest known displacement of people in recent Latin American history. The regional crisis caused by this mass Venezuelan migration drove the development of multiple interagency initiatives (such as the R4V platform) as well as academic attempts to keep track of outflow intensity. However, little is known about the age and gender composition of the emigrants since most existing literature to date has focused primarily on total volume and country‐specific shares of migration outflows. This study examines the demographics of recent outflows from Venezuela, the chronology of associated changes, and the demographic implications for those remaining in the country. Official counts of Venezuelan‐born populations compiled in seven main destinations are used to estimate annual outflows by age and gender from 2011 to 2021. Changes in the demographic composition of emigration are traced using parameters of the Rogers–Castro model, specifically the children‐to‐labor force dominance, and by decomposing the age contributions to the annual gross migraproduction rate. In the early phase of the crisis (2014–2017), emigration flows had high child dependency ratios. As the crisis entered its most acute phase (peaking in 2019), the mean age of migrants increased. Outward migration has resulted in the current Venezuelan population having 20 percent fewer women of reproductive age and 17.8 percent fewer individuals of working age. Consequently, the share of the population aged 60 or older has increased.

Emergency laparotomy in older adults with geriatric medicine input: implications of demographics, frailty and comorbidities on outcomes.

We (1) describe West Australian (WA) older adults undergoing emergency laparotomy (EL) in a tertiary-centre Acute Surgical Unit (ASU) with proactive geriatrician input and (2) explore the impact of Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and Charlson's Comorbidity Index (CCI) on patient outcomes. We performed a prospective cohort-study of older adults undergoing EL, between April 2021 and April 2022, in a tertiary ASU, with dedicated geriatrician-led perioperative care via the Older Adult Surgical Inpatient Service (OASIS). Of 114 patients, average age was 76.7 ± 7.61 years-old (range 65-96), with 35.1% (n = 40) frail (CFS 5-7), 18.4% (n = 21) vulnerable (CFS 4) and 46.5% (n = 74) not frail (CFS 1-3). 61.4% (n = 70) were severely comorbid (CCI ≥5), 34.2% (n = 39) moderately comorbid (CCI 3-4), and 4.4% (n = 5) mildly comorbid (CCI 1-2). 95.9% (n = 109) EL patients were reviewed by OASIS. Inpatient mortality was 7.9% (n = 9) and 1-year mortality 16.7% (n = 19). Majority, 64.9% (n = 74), were discharged directly home with 17.5% (n = 20) discharged with in-home rehabilitation. Each increment in CCI was associated with increased in-hospital (HR 1.38, p = 0.034) and 1-year (HR 1.39, p = 0.006) mortality, and each increment in CFS with 1-year mortality (HR 1.62, p = 0.016). Higher CFS but not CCI was associated with increased level of care at discharge. Age was not statistically significant with any outcomes. We describe demographics, frailty and comorbidity of 114 older adults undergoing EL in ASU. We suggest CFS and CCI as independent risk-stratification tools, and proactive management of both comorbidity, and frailty, should be incorporated into preoperative optimisation.

Health indicators of NFHS-5 and their demographic implications.

Health indicators of NFHS-5 and their demographic implications.

Does the old-age dependency ratio place a drag on secular growth?

The secular stagnation hypothesis suggests that population aging (65+) places a drag on long-run growth, but this assertion remains a matter of debate. To address this issue, we use a panel of OECD countries for the years 1975–2014 to estimate the relationship between the old-age dependency ratio (population 65+/population 15–64) and secular growth (10- and 20-year intervals). Our empirical evidence clearly shows that the old-age dependency ratio has a negative effect on growth, confirming the demographic implications of the secular stagnation hypothesis. We also propose an overlapping generations model that explains this pattern in the data. Within this framework, optimizing households invest in their children's human capital and save for retirement. We show that an increase in the old-age dependency ratio reduces productivity through a reduction in human and physical capital as more resources are transferred to the elderly. This reduction in productivity results in slower growth and secular stagnation.

Age and sex differences in pharmaceutical contamination in a keystone scavenger

Pharmaceutical contaminants have a recognized negative impact on wildlife health. However, there are still many knowledge gaps on the factors influencing exposure and metabolic processing of compound mixtures as a function of season and individual characteristics such as age and sex. We evaluated age and sex differences in a set of seventeen compounds, including eleven antibiotics, five NSAIDs and caffeine, evaluated by HPLC-MS-TOF analysis in griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) from central Spain. Pharmaceutical cocktails (up to 10 compounds simultaneously) were found in all individuals. Lincomycin was detected in all individuals, and fluoroquinolones were found at high frequencies, while NSAIDs were at low frequencies and concentrations, including flumixin meglumine, which can be lethal to vultures. A higher total number of compounds and sum of concentrations, as well as prevalence and concentration of several of the pharmaceuticals tested was found in females than in males for both nestlings and adults. This is the first study to present evidence of sex differences in the pharmacokinetics of dietary drug contaminants in a vulture species. Chronic exposure to “medications” in entire populations can potentially have sub-lethal health effects that affect fitness differently according to age and sex, with demographic implications for population viability. Specifically, if females have higher mortality after fledging due to high pharmaceutical contamination, this should be considered when modelling the population dynamic of this species for conservation purposes.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Medically Assisted Live Birth Rates in the United States in 2020 and 2021

Initial declines in births due to medically assisted reproduction (MAR) in December 2020 have been documented. However, the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on U.S. MAR birth rates has not yet been evaluated. Negative-binomial regression analyses were employed using counts of MAR births from the National Vital Statistics System and female population counts from the Current Population Survey as the exposure variable. Interaction terms were used to investigate whether trends varied by sociodemographic groups. The descriptive analyses showed sharp declines in the percentage of births due to MAR in December 2020 (1.05%) and January 2021 (1.08%). Multivariable negative-binomial regression showed the incident rates of MAR births were lower in December 2020 relative to all other periods with the exception of January 2021 (IRR = 0.97, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.77–1.22). Negative-binomial regression analyses with interaction terms found the decline and rebound in MAR births differed by educational attainment. Overall, however, the yearly incidence rates of MAR births in 2020 and 2021 were not different from rates from prior years (2017–2019). Thus, COVID-19 service suspension likely had a substantive effect on U.S. MAR birth rates, but this reduction quickly rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. This study extends prior research, which focused on data from 2020, and sheds further light on behavior related to MAR use and its potential demographic implications during the pandemic.

Demographic implications on Sustainable Consumption: An Indian case study.

Sustainable consumption refers to a mind-set where the consumers adopt environmentally and socially responsible consumption behaviour with the focus on meeting one has needs and simultaneously reducing its impact on society and the environment at large. Literature review suggests that sustainable consumption is a very flexible concept that incorporates various factors and these factors can differ among consumers. As a result, this paper aims to study if consumers with different demographics in India differ in sustainable consumption behaviour. Specifically, consumers of different genders, age groups, and income groups differ in their consumption behaviour due to factors such as Quality of Life, Environmental Concerns, and Care for Future Generations. Quantitative research was undertaken for this study and data was collected through a structured questionnaire from 281 samples selected via a non-probability sampling method. The data was analysed using ANNOVA (normally distributed data) and Mann Whitney U Test/Wallis H test (not normally distributed data). Findings indicate that men and women significantly differ in their consumer behaviour on factors of quality of life, care for the environment, and care for future generations. Quality of life also significantly affects sustainable consumption behaviour among the various income groups and age groups. These findings therefore can in the future support marketers in adopting various sustainable practices according to the importance attached to their target audience.

The implications of changing demographics and brain plasticity to prosthodontics.

The implications of changing demographics and brain plasticity to prosthodontics.

Ab. No. 171 Correlation between Gait Speed and Movement Time of Upper Limb Tasks in Younger Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Movement Time is an important variable as it influences the way we control our movement. An estimation of movement time in normal individuals helps physiotherapists constitute normative values. The gait speed of a person is used as a guide to implement intervention strategies and is a measure of functional independence. A correlation between gait speed and movement time would allow us to recognize various changes in the early stages of movement disorders.The study aims to find a correlation between the gait speed and movement time of upper limb tasks in younger adults. Methods: 30 subjects between the age of 18-25 were selected based on convenience sampling. A cross-sectional study was conducted. Gait Speed was analyzed by GAITRite and Movement Time of Upper Limb tasks by Video recording and time analysis. Result: The Shapiro-Wilk test affirmed the normal distribution of the data. Utilizing Pearson’s correlation coefficient, we observed a moderate correlation (r = -0.533) with a statistically significant p-value of 0.001 between the Average Gait Speed and Average Movement Time of upper limb tasks in the younger adult population. Conclusion: The average gait speed of an individual exhibits a moderate correlation with the movement time required for upper limb tasks. Subsequent research within this realm could explore the inclusion of older adults as subjects, considering that interventions targeting either outcome could prove particularly advantageous for this demographic Implications: Exploring the interplay between gait speed and movement time in the upper limbs among individuals without movement disorders is essential for gaining insights into how these factors may vary in people affected by such conditions.

Demographic change and urban health: Towards a novel agenda for delivering sustainable and healthy cities for all.

The focus is on the demographic drivers and demographic implications of urban health and wellbeing in towns and cities across the globe. The aim is to identify key linkages between demographic change and urban health - subjects of two largely disparate fields of research and practice - with a view to informing arguments and advocacy for urban health while identifying research gaps and priorities. The core arguments are threefold. First, urban health advocates should express a globalized perspective on demographic processes, encompassing age-structural shifts in addition to population growth and decrease, and acknowledging their uneven spatial distributions within and between urban settings in different contexts. Second, advocates should recognize the dynamic and transformational effects that demographic forces will exert on economic and political systems in all urban settings. While demographic forces underpin the production of (intra)urban inequities in health, they also present opportunities to address those inequities. Third, a demographic perspective may help to extend urban health thinking and intervention beyond a biomedical model of disease, highlighting the need for a multi-generational view of the changing societal bases for urban health, and enjoining significant advances in how interested parties collect, manage, analyse, and use demographic data. Accordingly, opportunities are identified to increase the availability of granular and accurate data to enable evidence-informed action on the demographic/health nexus.

The Thule Migration: A Culture in a Hurry?

Abstract The process by which the Thule Inuit migrated from the region around Bering Strait into Arctic Canada and Greenland, which is notable for its logistical complexities, the varied and difficult regions traversed and then populated, and for the enormous distance covered, is almost invariably described in terms emphasizing the pace at which it took place. The most common description is “rapid,” and some descriptions conclude it may have been accomplished within just a few decades, despite researchers not having explored the logistical and demographic implications of that inference. This article explores several possible meanings of “rapid” in the context of the Thule migration and reviews the evidence that is informative concerning its pace, including radiocarbon dates, historical encounters, logistics, and demography. It concludes that the Thule Inuit may indeed have felt a sense of urgency to expand into new regions, but they did this at a far slower pace than most researchers have concluded, over centuries rather than decades.

Larval plastic responses to warming and desiccation delay gonadal maturation in postmetamorphic spadefoot toads.

Developmental plasticity allows organisms to adjust life-history traits to varying environmental conditions, which can have concomitant effects across life stages. Many amphibians are suitable model systems to study plasticity because their larvae can adjust growth and differentiation under fluctuating environments. It is unknown, however, whether somatic and gonadal differentiation are equally affected by environmentally induced plasticity or whether their decoupling alters gonadal maturation postmetamorphosis, which may affect fitness. We tested if developmental acceleration in response to warming and desiccation risk results in shifts in gonadal maturation during metamorphosis and postmetamorphic growth in western spadefoot toads (Pelobates cultripes). We found additive effects of increased temperature and desiccation risk on development and growth at metamorphosis, which largely constrained gonadal maturation in metamorphic and postmetamorphic individuals of both sexes. Furthermore, the conditions experienced by larvae incurred sex-specific carryover effects on the gonadal maturation of juveniles 5 months after metamorphosis. In females, high temperature delayed ovarian maturation regardless of the water level. In males, exposure to high temperature and high water levels slightly delayed the testes' maturation. These results highlight the relevance of larval plasticity in the gonadal maturation of species undergoing metamorphosis, which may have implications for population demographics and the evolution of life histories.

Seed mucilage as a defense against granivory is influenced by substrate characters.

Many seeds are consumed by granivores despite numerous adaptations to prevent detection or exploitation. The environment can influence the efficacy of these defensive traits. Understanding the mechanisms by which environmental factors modify defensive efficacy is important for understanding spatial patterns of granivory and seed recruitment. Seed mucilage is a sticky coating that binds imbibed seeds to substrates; this attachment has been demonstrated to lessen exploitation by granivores. Seed mucilage as a defense has been recognized for decades, though rarely studied. Here, we investigated whether the environment alters this seed defense by addressing two questions: (1) Does substrate particle size affect attachment strength? (2) Does a change in particle size lead to changes in granivore-related mortality? In the field experiment, ants removed more seeds from finer substrates than their coarser counterparts. Across that same grit range, seeds took less force to dislodge when mucilage-bound to fine sandpaper; however, an investigation across a wider range of grits demonstrated nonlinearities occurred for many species, probably due to structural and chemical mucilage properties. Small differences in substrate grit lead to differential mortality in mucilaginous seeds due to alterations in attachment strength, suggesting that the defensive efficacy of this trait differs across the landscape. This work paves the way for a more integrative look at mucilaginous seeds. Seed mucilage is a widespread trait that is easily studied and has important demographic implications. It represents an ideal system to examine dispersal, germination, and granivory to gain a more holistic view of seed ecology.

The acoustic activity of Physalaemus cuvieri (Anura Leptodactylidae) is strongly influenced by climatic conditions, but not by latitude or landscape metrics

Understanding the factors that influence acoustic activity of anuran species is essential for proper species management and herein, we investigated the influence of landscape metrics (% native vegetation cover and number of patches), latitude and climatic variables (temperature and relative humidity) on the acoustic activity of Physalaemus cuvieri. We used Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) to record the acoustic activity in males of the target species in 29 water bodies distributed throughout the Cerrado, the Brazilian savanna. We investigated whether the rate of call emission by P. cuvieri males is influenced by predictor variables based on generalized linear mixed models. The call rate of P. cuvieri males was influenced only by air temperature variation throughout night. We found a peak of acoustic activity in the warmer hours in the beginning of the night followed by a decrease as the air temperature declines throughout the dawn. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find any significant influence of latitude, relative humidity or landscape metrics (number of fragments or percentage of native vegetation cover) on the acoustic activity of P. cuvieri. The impacts of landscape metrics on the acoustic activity of P. cuvieri are not significant, because it is a species with more generalist ecological requirements, which to allow the individuals to move across the landscape to be successful in colonizing water bodies situated in altered environments. Previous studies have suggested that changes in temperature may affect species phenology, since individuals alter their vocal activity, or their time spent in chorus in response to climate change. In this sense, our results are important because they allow us to predict the impact of future climate change on the acoustic activity of the target species, as well as demographic implications.

Mental health and psychiatry: Distinctions, links, and ethical/bioethical perspectives

Introduction. Mental health and psychiatry have been terms of intense and complex use for almost a century, and they may have reached a critical level of ambiguous and imprecise synonymy that makes their definition and validation difficult. Objective. To examine these concepts in depth, establishing precise distinctions, ontological connections, and instrumental scope reinforced by well-defined ideas in ethics and bioethics. Method. Narrative review of pertinent literature, consultation with diverse scientific, medical, historical, philosophical, and literary sources, with appropriate analysis of ethical and bioethical practices. Results. A broad, comprehensive definition is elaborated of mental health as a field with sociocultural, political, and demographic implications, and of psychiatry as a medical specialty. In addition to making clear distinctions and describing the specific impact of both fields on diverse populations, various levels of conceptual linkages, sociopolitical action, and ethical content are highlighted, as well as in processes of administration, education, and research. Discussion and conclusion. There are factors that reinforce or weaken the scope of mental health and psychiatry, including their ethical and bioethical dimensions. Their effectiveness requires a reaffirmation of objectives and the reinforcement of individual and institutional initiatives, as well as the search for authentic connections and a social projection that is objective, comprehensive, and just.

Demographic change and urban health: Towards a novel agenda for delivering sustainable and healthy cities for all

The focus is on the demographic drivers and demographic implications of urban health and wellbeing in towns and cities across the globe. The aim is to identify key linkages between demographic change and urban health – subjects of two largely disparate fields of research and practice – with a view to informing arguments and advocacy for urban health while identifying research gaps and priorities. The core arguments are threefold. First, urban health advocates should express a globalized perspective on demographic processes, encompassing age-structural shifts in addition to population growth and decrease, and acknowledging their uneven spatial distributions within and between urban settings in different contexts. Second, advocates should recognize the dynamic and transformational effects that demographic forces will exert on economic and political systems in all urban settings. While demographic forces underpin the production of (intra)urban inequities in health, they also present opportunities to address those inequities. Third, a demographic perspective may help to extend urban health thinking and intervention beyond a biomedical model of disease, highlighting the need for a multi-generational view of the changing societal bases for urban health, and enjoining significant advances in how interested parties collect, manage, analyse, and use demographic data. Accordingly, opportunities are identified to increase the availability of granular and accurate data to enable evidence-informed action on the demographic/health nexus.

Farmer-Herder Conflict and Human Security in Agatu Community in Benue State

This study seeks to investigate into Farmer-Herder Conflict and its implication on Human Security in Agatu Community. Having experienced the unpleasant event in Benue state, the state government enacted the open grazing prohibition and ranches establishment law in November 1, 2017 to prevent further escalation. Extant literature have focused on the impact, demographic implications and understanding of farmer-herder dispute. However, studies are yet to look into the conflict and it affective nature on Human security. The study adopted qualitative method research design. A sample size of 35 participants was randomly selected through Purposive sampling Technique for data collection. The researcher through open-ended interview guide and focus group discussion randomly selected participants from the communities. Content Analysis was used to analyzed data generated from respondents. Findings reveal that the conflict affected the people negatively which made some families to depend on their fellow indigenes for survival with the assistances of concerned Non Governmental Organisations. It was also revealed that Herdsmen no longer exist in Agatu community. The study concludes that nothing significant has been done by the government to assist the farmers in Agatu. The study recommends that there should be more sensitization on how to manage and resolve communal conflict through dialogue and establish ranches for Herdsmen. Keywords: Agatu, Conflict, Farmers, Herders, Human security.

Cultural Acculturation: Forms, Processes, and Communication Strategies in Multicultural Families in Central Sulawesi

Diversity in diversity, but still one, has become the founding oath of the Indonesian nation so it must be avoided from cracks, let alone riots triggered by weak cultural acculturation. This study aims to describe the forms, processes, and communication strategies of immigrant communities who are culturally acculturated with indigenous people in Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. With a qualitative approach, this type of research is a document study on acculturation of multicultural cultures and a study of centralized interviews with informants from ethnic groups in Central Sulawesi Province, namely Javanese, Kaili, Touna, Toli-toli, and Bugis. For this reason, the source of data is in the form of text documents as evidence of published cultural acculturation, as well as information from the interview process. Simultaneously with data collection, content analysis was carried out on verbal data presented in a descriptive-qualitative manner. The results showed that the cultural acculturation of ethnic-ethnic multicultural communities in Central Sulawesi Province took the form of social gatherings (family gatherings, clan gatherings, and cultural arts performances) with a family communication process (multilingual, namely Indonesian and regional languages, as well as media) that utilized strategies cross-promotional communication (introduction, engagement, and marriage). Thus it can be concluded that acculturation of multicultural family culture in Central Sulawesi Province can be carried out by forming a new (multicultural) family. As a demographic implication, inter-ethnic differences still exist, but the formation of new cross-ethnic families can support the unity of multicultural society so that peace and harmony among citizens in Central Sulawesi is more humane