Untitled Quiz

Course Information

• Course Title: Anthropology 243 - Medical Anthropology: Human Biology and Health
• Course Year: Fall 2024
• Textbook: Medical Anthropology: A Biocultural Approach (4th Edition) by Andrea S. Wiley and John S. Allen
• Textbook Publisher: Oxford University Press

Announcements

• Homework 5 and 6 are posted on Brightspace.
• Homework 5 is due on Thursday, December 5th, at 11:59 pm.
• Homework 6 is due on Tuesday, December 10th, at 11:59 pm.
• Meg Gauck's guest lecture information is available.
• Exam 3 materials, including a review sheet, are now posted.
• Part 1 of the course material is posted.
• Part 2 (last lecture information) will be posted on Thursday.

Stress and Meaning

• The word cloud illustrates various aspects of stress.
• Stressors include anxiety, overwhelmed feelings, fear, trauma, mental health problems, and many other factors.
• Stress is often associated with physical and emotional responses such as exhaustion, digestive problems, and difficulty concentrating.

Student Stressors

• A survey shows common student stressors.
• Academic demands are most frequently cited stressor (93.9%).
• Finances are also among common concerns (66.7%).
• Relationships (romantic and family) are another significant factor (63.6%).
• Living away from home is a relatable stressor for students(27.3%).
• Post-graduation plans are a crucial source of stress (76.8%).
• Other significant issues create stress (10.1%).

Stress Responses/Consequences

• Stress responses can lead to tiredness or feeling worn out, being depressed or anxious, and physical illness (e.g., being physically sick).
• These issues are common in students.

Textbook Chapter 10 Outline

• The outline covers stress in humans and other animals.
• It addresses biological stress responses, including the autonomic and hormonal stress systems and allostatic load.
• Topics include health outcomes associated with chronic stress.
• Social inequality and its effects on health are discussed.
• Protective factors against stress-related disease, such as social cohesion and support, are examined.
• Material also covers race, stress, and the historical and flawed biological assumptions about race.

Human Stress vs. Animal Stress

• Animal stressors mainly concern survival and reproduction (food shortages, predators, and competitors).
• Human stressors are broader and touch upon survival but also concern social and personal factors. Timing, both immediate and anticipated, is a significant element, as well as frequency of the stressors which can be both episodic and chronic.

Contemporary Stress & Ancestral Environments

• The comparison between the stress levels of past hunter-gatherers and contemporary individuals is explored.
• The mismatch between ancestral and modern environments is a key concept, encompassing aspects like kin-based social groups versus social stratification.

Stressors and Internal Balance

• A stressor is something that disrupts physiological balance.
• Homeostasis refers to a body's ability to maintain internal stability despite environmental changes.
• Allostasis is the body's ability to adjust through physiological processes in response to stressors. Long-term stress causes allostatic load and detrimental effects on health.

Biological Stress Response

• The autonomic nervous system and its immediate stress response and hormonal stress response, also known as the delayed stress response.
• Immediate response involves mobilizing energy, increasing heart rate, and respiration.
• Delayed stress response includes replenishing energy by storing glucose and producing fat.

Fight or Flight Response

• This response involves inhibiting energy storage, mobilizing stored energy, increasing breathing rate and heart rate, increasing blood pressure, and retaining water to increase blood volume.
• These responses are adaptations that focus on essential body functions in response to danger/threat.

Autonomic Nervous System

• The parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems are components of the autonomic nervous system.
• Parasympathetic system is responsible for regulating rest and digestion.
• Sympathetic system regulates the fight-or-flight response.
• Both systems work together to maintain homeostasis.
• Norepinephrine and epinephrine are key neurotransmitters that are released to activate the sympathetic system.

Hormonal Stress Response

• The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis mediates the hormonal stress response.
• This involves corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and cortisol.
• Elevated cortisol levels affect glucose, blood pressure, and essential bodily activities.
• Chronic elevated cortisol levels can have negative health impacts.

Stress Response and Allostatic Load

• Environmental stress triggers the stress response, which can trigger physiologic changes.
• A build-up of stress-related responses can lead to health issues.

Stress-related Illness

• Prolonged or frequent activation of the stress response can damage the cardiovascular system and suppress the immune system.

Stress Hormones and Cardiovascular Disease

• Chronic release of epinephrine leads to elevated blood pressure and heart problems.
• Excessive production of cortisol can lead to negative metabolic effects, such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Stress and Immune Function

• Chronic stress can negatively impact the immune response, increasing susceptibility to illnesses.
• Studies demonstrate a correlation between stress and immune impairment.

Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Health

• SES is a composite measure of income, occupation, education, and housing conditions.
• Lower SES correlates with poorer health and a greater risk of numerous health conditions.
• The Whitehall studies show a link between lower rank in employment with heightened health risks.

Income Inequality Around the World

• An unequal income distribution is visualized using the Gini index across countries.

GDP and Average Life Expectancy

• This shows a generally positive association between a country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP, purchasing power adjusted) with average life expectancy.

Health and Social Problems in Unequal Countries

• Health and social issues are more prevalent in countries with high levels of income inequality.
• Indicators include life expectancy, literacy, homicide rates, teenage births, and other social issues.

Whitehall Studies Summary

• Detailed studies of British civil service workers reveal a connection between rank and health risks.
• Even with universal health care, significantly lower ranks had increased risks of illnesses and premature death.
• Several behavioral and environmental factors likely to explain part of the trend but do not fully explain the difference.

Whitehall Studies, Additional Information

• Lower SES increases risk factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity) while reducing favorable behaviors.
• People with lower SES are more likely to live in unhealthy neighborhoods or have limited access to adequate health resources, healthy foods, and amenities.

Whitehall Studies and Relative Status

• Relative status in society influences health outcomes.
• Subjects reporting lower status on a hierarchical scale had worse health outcomes than higher ranks.

Whitehall Studies and Chronic Heart Disease

• Studies on employees show a connection between low social ranks and elevated risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease.
• Differences in behavior between ranks explain some difference in health outcomes, but not all of it.

Social Moderators of the Stress Response

• Social cohesion and social capital are important protective factors.
• Social support is linked to improved recovery, decreased distress, and lower mortality.

Social Support and Morbidity

• Social support and fewer colds. Demonstrates a correlation linking social network diversity and reduced illness incidence.

Social Support and Mortality

• Social relationships are associated with decreased mortality.
• Other studies illustrate associations between various behaviors and decreased mortality rates.
• This information underscores the influence of social variables on health.

Next Time

• The next class will focus on mental health.
• Read Chapter 11 in Wiley and Allen.

Additional Topics

• Racial/ethnic variations in life expectancy.
• Racial disparities in low birth weight.
• The historic concept of race.
• Flaws in biological assumptions about race.
• Clinal variation in phenotypic traits.
• Race and ancestry are not synonymous.
• The social construction of race and its implications for health disparities.
• Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment.
• Racial disparities in medical treatment are shown.
• Increased maternal mortality in the U.S.A compared to other countries.
• Benefits of having a birth doula.