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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Demography of the Hadza, an increasing and high density population of Savanna foragers.

This is a report on the demography of the Hadza, a population of East African hunter-gatherers. In it, we describe the results of a census, and our estimation of age structure, survivorship, mean age of women at childbearing, number of live children, total population size and density, and rate of change since 1967. We show that relevant measures fit closely the stable population model North 6 chosen by Dyson to represent Hadza demography in the 1960s. We compare aspects of Hadza demography with surrounding non-Hadza and with the !Kung. Among other things, we find that the Hadza have a higher population density, higher fertility, and a faster population growth rate than do the !Kung. These demographic differences are consistent with our expectations, which were based on differences in the costs and benefits of foraging in the two regions. We also show that Hadza demographic parameters display remarkable consistency over the past 20 years. Since neighboring populations have been encroaching on the area used by the Hadza, and Hadza foragers have been subject to interludes of externally imposed settlement, this consistency is surprising. We discuss some of the implications.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The politics of Alzheimer's disease: a case study in apocalyptic demography.

Catastrophic projections of the burden to society of an increasing aging population abound. The prevailing belief is that an increasing dependent aging population means increasing demands on the resources of society, including health care resources, in the face of competing interests and diminishing, or at best finite, resources. But how justified is this "apocalyptic demography"? This article presents one challenge to the apocalyptic scenario by considering the politics surrounding the most publicized, although not the most prevalent, disease of elders: Alzheimer's disease. The recent emergence of Alzheimer's disease as the "fourth or fifth leading cause of adult deaths" is critically examined, and the evidence for the social construction of Alzheimer's disease in terms of the "biomedicalization of aging" discussed. The author considers that it is, in part, the response of the health care system (as it is currently constituted) to changes in demography and disease distribution--and not, as is commonly asserted, the numbers of elders or their increasing "morbidity"--that drives up health care costs.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Estimation of age structure in anthropological demography.

The past decade has produced considerable debate over the feasibility of paleodemographic research, with much attention focusing on the question of reliability of age estimates. We show here that in cases where age is estimated rather than known, the traditional method of assigning individuals to age classes will produce biased estimates of age structure. We demonstrate the effect of this bias both mathematically and by computer simulation, and show how a more appropriate method from the fisheries literature (the "iterated age length key") can be used to estimate age structure. Because it is often the case that ages are also estimated for extant groups, we suggest that our results are relevant to the general field of anthropological demography, and that it is time for us to improve the statistical basis for age structure estimation. We further suggest that the oft noted paucity of older individuals in skeletal collections is a simple result of the use of inappropriate methods of age estimation, and that this problem can be rectified in the future by using maximum likelihood estimates of life table or hazard functions incorporating the uncertainty of age estimates.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1991

The service system at the crossroad of demography and policy making--implications for the elderly.

In many countries today, there is an ongoing debate regarding health in 'crisis'. Each country seems to experience a crisis regardless of the level of expenditures in the field of social and health services. This article discusses different influences that affect social and health service systems in relation to the elderly, and brings up the controversy concerning the elderly as a threat to available resources in society. Most examples are based on Swedish sources, but some American and British sources are used as well. Borrowing from the age stratification model, the concepts role and cohort are used as analytical concepts. The role concept is discussed in relation to the development of organizations for retired people. The analysis offered little support for the thesis that the elderly would attain a power position. Thus, a demand for societal resources by means of political strength is less feasible. When looking at the elderly from the cohort perspective, the article includes a discussion of the interdependent forms of care for the elderly; self-care, informal care and formal care. Although great challenges await social and health services systems in this respect, the article concludes that any possible crisis in health and social service systems is socially constructed and not a deterministic effect of demography as such.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

A statistical distribution with an unbounded hazard function and its application to a theory from demography.

We introduce a statistical distribution with hazard function mu(t) proportional to (psi-t)beta-1 for 0 less than or equal to t less than psi and shape parameter beta satisfying 0 less than beta less than 1. This hazard function is suggested by a theory of aging in demography. We discuss properties of this distribution and maximum likelihood estimates of its parameters. Mixture distributions are considered to account for pooling across dissimilar populations. This model is compared with the Gompertz and generalized Pareto distributions and used to estimate a finite limit on human lifespan based on the survival of a group of female centenarians.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

The Scottish Motor Neuron Disease Register: a prospective study of adult onset motor neuron disease in Scotland. Methodology, demography and clinical features of incident cases in 1989.

The Scottish Motor Neuron Disease Register (SMNDR) is a prospective, collaborative, population based study of motor neuron disease (MND) in Scotland. The register started in January 1989 with the aim of studying the clinical and epidemiological features of MND by prospectively identifying incident patients. It is based on a system of registration by recruitment from multiple sources, followed by the collection of complete clinical data and follow up, mainly through general practitioners. In this report the register's methodology and the demography and incidence data for the first year of study are presented. One hundred and fourteen newly diagnosed patients were identified in 1989 giving a crude incidence for Scotland of 2.24/100,000/year. Standardised incidence ratios showed a non-significant trend towards lower rates in north eastern regions and island areas.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pediatric dentists: evolving demography.

The changing gender, racial and ethnic distribution of enrollees in advanced dental education programs is noted for the period 1983-1988. The evolving demography of pediatric dentistry provides positive role-models and represents an opportunity for better services to American youth.

Dentists, Women↗
PubMed1975

Demography and evolution of an urban ethnic community: Polish Hill, Pittsburgh.

Polish Hill is an urban, ethnic enclave of approximately 3000 residents residing in a 25-block area of Pittsburgh. This paper documents changes in the fertility, morbidity, and mortality patterns in the community from the turn of the century to the present. The demographic reconstruction is based upon baptismal and marriage records, the administration of demographic proformae and population censuses. The high mortality, morbidity, and fertility variance suggest that the immigrant population has experienced a period of high opportunity for selection in the early 1900's and that Crow's index was gradually reduced to its present level.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The demography of primary biliary cirrhosis in Ontario, Canada.

The demographics of primary biliary cirrhosis in Ontario, Canada, are described. Two hundred and twenty-five primary biliary cirrhosis patients were identified by 85 of 502 gastroenterologists (or internists) practicing in Ontario acute care hospitals that have 150 or more beds. Two hundred and six patients were verified as being antimitochondrial antibody-positive, resulting in an incidence of 3.26 per million per year and a prevalence of 22.39 per million. Questionnaire data were obtained on 88.5% of these patients. Twenty-nine percent of the patients were found to be asymptomatic. Geographical clustering and racial predisposition were not seen. No increase in breast cancer prevalence was noted. By the time the diagnosis of primary biliary cirrhosis was established, the patients had consulted a median number of 3.5 physicians. Fatigue was reported as the most disabling symptom. The diagnosis of primary biliary cirrhosis in patients referred from across the province of Ontario was independently confirmed by us, using standard criteria (antimitochondrial antibody testing and liver biopsy), and was found to be reliable.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed2025

Estimation of demography and mutation rates from one million haploid genomes.

As genetic sequencing costs have plummeted, datasets with sizes previously unthinkable have begun to appear. Such datasets present opportunities to learn about evolutionary history, particularly via rare alleles that record the very recent past. However, beyond the computational challenges inherent in the analysis of many large-scale datasets, large population-genetic datasets present theoretical problems. In particular, the majority of population-genetic tools require the assumption that each mutant allele in the sample is the result of a single mutation (the "infinite-sites" assumption), which is violated in large samples. Here, we present DR EVIL, a method for estimating mutation rates and recent demographic history from very large samples. DR EVIL avoids the infinite-sites assumption by using a diffusion approximation to a branching-process model with recurrent mutation. This approach results in tractable likelihoods that are accurate for rare alleles. We show that DR EVIL performs well in simulations and apply it to rare-variant data from one million haploid samples. We identify mutation-rate heterogeneity even after accounting for trinucleotide context and methylation status. We also predict that at modern sample sizes, the alleles at most polymorphic sites with high mutation rates represent the descendants of multiple mutation events.

Haploidy↗
PubMed1990

Demography of Muslims in Australia.

This paper describes the origins and size of the Muslim population in Australia, at present about 1% of the total population. Their age distribution is younger and their sociodemographic characteristics are different from those of the rest of the Australian population.

Australia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Genetic demography of the Moscow population: migration, outbreeding and assortative mating.

Using marriage records, census data, and other statistical sources, some demographic parameters of Moscow population in 1955 and 1980 have been studied, such as age at marriage, birthplace, nationality and profession of permanent residents. Migration has been shown to be the main factor of Moscow population dynamics. Genetically significant, quantitative and geographic parameters of this process have been obtained (migration rates, migration and marital distances, proportion of interethnic marriages). During the past two centuries the mean distance travelled by migrants, arriving in Moscow, increased by several times, the genetic contribution from eastern and southern parts of the country being especially marked. In the period of maximum migration rates the percentage share of marriages between Moscow-born people was only 10%. The percentage share of interethnic marriages was 14.75% in 1955 and 16.53% in 1980. The degree of isolation by distance, predicted by Malécot's model, appeared to be quite low. Positive assortative mating for nationality, birthplace, age and profession was characterized as a factor, counteracting outbreeding. While the deleterious effects of isolation and inbreeding are well known, the genetic consequences of alternative state are still obscure.

Adult↗