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The rise in one-person households is one of the most significant sociodemographic phenomena Western societies have undergone since the mid-twentieth century. It is a phenomenon of particular interest in societies where family has traditionally held an important role in determining living arrangements. In Spain, only 4.1% of the population lived alone in 1991 while currently such percentage is more than 10% and approximately one in four homes are one-person households. This study analyses the process of generational replacement of these households taking into consideration four sociodemographic variables: age, sex, marital status and level of education. The influence of these variables, together with labour status, on solo-living is examined between 1991 and 2011 by applying demographic analysis and multivariate logistic regression models to census microdata samples from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics. Results show an inter-generational increase in solo living, affecting all age groups, as well as a diversification of the demographic profile of solo dwellers in Spain over the last three decades. This trend did not interrupt during the economic recession although being employed increased the probability of living alone invariably. Other factors contributing to a higher probability of living alone were being man and having higher education level (particularly among women). We find notable changes in the sociological profile of these households: an increase in the relative weight of young solo-dwellers and a drop in the weight of widowhood in favour of singlehood. These results are discussed in the context of the social changes that Spain has undergone [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: height variations across cohorts are a proxy of the evolution of living conditions and, specifically, of the nutritional status of a given population. However, the interpretation of the changes in stature sexual dimorphism are controversial. Objective: to test the association between nutritional status and the changes in height differentials between men and women (sexual dimorphism) in the long run (19th and 20th centuries). Methods: three data sources containing measured adult heights are used, namely: -- Data from previous works. -- Data from health examination surveys in OECD countries. -- Data from the NCD RisC Factor Collaboration project. Two indicators are analyzed: absolute sexual dimorphism (men's height minus women's height) and the ratio of sexual dimorphism (men's height divided by women's height). Results: a secular trend of sexual dimorphism is evidenced over the second half of the 20th century coinciding with the substantial improvement of environmental factors that determine the net nutritional status. Among cohorts born at the end of the 20th century in non-marginal environments, the average sexual dimorphism was found to be 13.69 cm --absolute- and 1.084 --ratio-. In comparison with these modern figures of sexual dimorphism, those found among cohorts born during the 19th century are abnormally low, especially during periods of worsening of living conditions. Conclusions: if properly addressed, sexual dimorphism has the ability to report on the degree of environmental stress and its impact on the nutritional status and its differentials across specific groups of the population both cross-sectionally and over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: many studies have used anthropometric data to approach the evolution of the net nutritional status but those focused on its socioeconomic differentials over time are still a few in Spain. Objective: to analyze the evolution of nutritional inequalities in the long run by using a sample of male statures from the Spanish towns of Elche and Orihuela. Methods: we use anthropometric and sociodemographic data entailed to conscripts aged 19-21 who were born between 1840 and 1964 and were measured between 1860 and 1984. Anthropometric inequalities are approached by analyzing height percentiles series, variation coefficient series as well as height series by socio-educational status: literate, illiterate and students. Results: there is a solid association between low height averages (poor nutritional status) and more heterogeneous height distribution (higher inequality). The highest values of the variation coefficient as well as the larger differences by socio-educational status are found during the central decades of the 19th century and during the context of the Spanish Civil War and the first postwar decade. Conclusion: nutritional inequalities as reflected by heights decreased from very high levels prior to the nutrition and epidemiological transitions moderate levels during such transitions. Nevertheless, an increase in nutritional inequality is found among the cohorts born during the decade of the 1940s which were fully or partially raised during the advanced stage of the nutrition transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: height variations across cohorts are a proxy of the evolution of living conditions and, specifically, of the nutritional status of a given population. However, the interpretation of the changes in stature sexual dimorphism are controversial.Objective: to test the association between nutritional status and the changes in height differentials between men and women (sexual dimorphism) in the long run (19th and 20th centuries).Methods: three data sources containing measured adult heights are used, namely: - Data from previous works. - Data from health examination surveys in OECD countries. - Data from the NCD RisC Factor Collaboration project. Two indicators are analyzed: absolute sexual dimorphism (men's height minus women's height) and the ratio of sexual dimorphism (men's height divided by women's height).Results: a secular trend of sexual dimorphism is evidenced over the second half of the 20th century coinciding with the substantial improvement of environmental factors that determine the net nutritional status. Among cohorts born at the end of the 20th century in non-marginal environments, the average sexual dimorphism was found to be 13.69 cm -absolute- and 1.084 -ratio-. In comparison with these modern figures of sexual dimorphism, those found among cohorts born during the 19th century are abnormally low, especially during periods of worsening of living conditions.Conclusions: if properly addressed, sexual dimorphism has the ability to report on the degree of environmental stress and its impact on the nutritional status and its differentials across specific groups of the population both cross-sectionally and over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: many studies have used anthropometric data to approach the evolution of the net nutritional status but those focused on its socioeconomic differentials over time are still a few in Spain.Objective: to analyze the evolution of nutritional inequalities in the long run by using a sample of male statures from the Spanish towns of Elche and Orihuela.Methods: we use anthropometric and sociodemographic data entailed to conscripts aged 19-21 who were born between 1840 and 1964 and were measured between 1860 and 1984. Anthropometric inequalities are approached by analyzing height percentiles series, variation coefficient series as well as height series by socio-educational status: literate, illiterate and students.Results: there is a solid association between low height averages (poor nutritional status) and more heterogeneous height distribution (higher inequality). The highest values of the variation coefficient as well as the larger differences by socio-educational status are found during the central decades of the 19th century and during the context of the Spanish Civil War and the first postwar decade.Conclusion: nutritional inequalities as reflected by heights decreased from very high levels prior to the nutrition and epidemiological transitions moderate levels during such transitions. Nevertheless, an increase in nutritional inequality is found among the cohorts born during the decade of the 1940s which were fully or partially raised during the advanced stage of the nutrition transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article underlines the relevance of anthropometric history among the disciplines concerned with health and nutrition. The examination of changes on the nutritional status and inequality in Spain focused the 4th Anthropometric History Workshop held at the beginning of 2018 where 18 original contributions were presented and discussed. We first show the ability of human stature to approach the impact of socioeconomic processes and environmental changes on the nutritional status over the last centuries. Then it is proceeded to present the main contents and advances achieved in the workshop. The papers coped with diverse dimensions of inequality regarding nutritional health and its determinants since the end of the 18th century until 2015. Aside of height and weight at different ages, principally adult ones, others anthropometric indicators were analyzed such as sexual dimorphism and low weight at birth. The results illustrate the large prevalence of malnutrition and social inequality in past Spain. These problems persisted over a good part of the 20th century (i.e. stunting) and, they acquired a different nature since the 1980s as the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity reveals. It is concluded that the determinants of nutritional status and health-related inequalities request multidimensional approaches and the dialogue between social sciences and biomedical sciences. Knowing about their dimensions in the past and their evolution over time provides a valuable basis in order to understand current problems in these areas and to address future public policies more adequately on childhood and adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the regional pattern of nutritional status and its evolution between the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in Spain. This period precedes the nutrition transition and it was characterized by the high prevalence of malnutrition. Methods: We use anthropometric data (province-level height means) from conscription in 1858 y 1913 as well as province-level means of height and weight from a large examination held among 119,571 soldiers in 1903-1906. These data are used to construct anthropometric cartography and descriptive statistics. Results: The complexion of Spanish conscripts as indicated by height and weight measures was among the lowest in Europe prior to the nutrition transition in this country. Male average height increased only 1.43 cm between 1858 and 1913. During that period significant changes in the anthropometric geography occurred in Spain which established a nutritional polarity on the eve of the World War I (WWI): inner and Southern provinces exhibited higher incidence of malnutrition whereas provinces in the North and East of the country displayed anthropometric figures above the national average. Conclusion: Spatial inequalities of nutritional status in Spain as reflected by anthropometric polarity may be largely associated with environmental changes. Such changes are related to the modernization and industrialization processes in this country at the time that a relative backwardness (e.g. economic and technological), structural scarcity, occasional subsistence and high exposure to illness persisted. Our results underline the utility of anthropometric data to approach the living conditions of past population and the process of nutrition transition in particular . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes two possible determinants of disability, birth cohort and socioeconomic status, among Spanish elderly aged 65-89 living independently. We use microdata from the Spanish Health Interview Survey, particularly the self-reported ability to perform daily activities, to construct a continuous measure of disability. Multivariate linear regression models are applied separately for men and women controlling for the following variables: age, birth cohort, educational attainment and self-reported height. Results indicate stability in disability levels across successive generations as well as the existence of a socioeconomic dimension of disability especially among women and within ages 70-79. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Applying sexual stature dimorphism (SSD) to history and the social sciences faces the difficulty of disentangling nature from nurture in addition to the limitations of sources (e.g. small, fragmented or heterogeneous samples). Aim: To investigate the relationship between inter-generational changes and social differences in SSD and the evolution of living conditions in 20th-century Spain. Subjects and methods: Self-reported height and socio-demographic information from individuals born 1910-1979 ( n = 99 023) were drawn from health interview surveys. Weighed least squares regression was used to construct continuous time-cohort series of SSD for the entire population and for specific socioeconomic groups represented by levels of educational attainment. Results: SSD remained below modern values among cohorts that were exposed to structural deprivation at pre-adult ages. Socioeconomic status mediated the correction of these deviations among subsequent cohorts. Lower classes (less educated segments of the population) systematically deviated to a greater extent from normal modern SSD values and they reached these values later in time. Conclusions: In Spain, variations in SSD have been found that are associated with both socioeconomic changes at a nationwide level and SES differentials at the individual level, thus continuous series of this indicator offer new opportunities in the study of living conditions of current and past generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Internacional de Sociología is the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Excess weight is becoming widespread in Spain due to changes in nutritional habits and lifestyles. Previous studies on this issue have focused on specific Spanish regions, subpopulations or relatively short time spans. This study analysed sex, age and cohort trends in the prevalence of adult overweight and obesity over the last two decades by applying a demographic methodology. Data came from the Spanish National Health Surveys that were held between 1987 and 2006. The respondent's demographic characteristics and self-reported height and weight were aggregated to a single dataset in order to analyse changes in weight and BMI by age and sex, over time and within and between quasi birth-cohorts. After correcting for sample bias and coding errors a total sample of about 100,000 subjects aged 20-79 was obtained. The results show that between 1987 and 2006 adult males and females increased their average weight by 8.2% and 2.8%, respectively. While among younger adults this is partly explained by height increases, prevalence in excess weight increased among 50- to 79-year-old males. Persons of the same 10-year age group but of a more recent 10-year quasi birth-cohort had a BMI that was 0.2-0.8 points higher. BMI increases were lower for women and mainly affected 60-79 year olds. In fact, even decreases were observed for 40- to 49 and 50- to 59-year-old women. Potential explanatory factors are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the long-term trends in stature in rural Eastern Andalusia based on data of height from adult males between the 18th century and 20th century. Time-cohort series and general trends were analyzed to compare average height with demographic and socioeconomic information to provide a basis for the potential interaction of variables. The possible implications of nutritional status shifts in social terms were considered. Results suggest a successive cycle of height variations until the mid-19th century. Institutional measures that may have interrupted the reproductive strategies of a significant portion of the rural population are discussed.

Copyright of Historia Agraria is the property of Historia Agraria and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: many studies have used anthropometric data to approach the evolution of the net nutritional status but those focused on its socioeconomic differentials over time are still a few in Spain., Objective: to analyze the evolution of nutritional inequalities in the long run by using a sample of male statures from the Spanish towns of Elche and Orihuela., Methods: we use anthropometric and sociodemographic data entailed to conscripts aged 19-21 who were born between 1840 and 1964 and were measured between 1860 and 1984. Anthropometric inequalities are approached by analyzing height percentiles series, variation coefficient series as well as height series by socio-educational status: literate, illiterate and students., Results: there is a solid association between low height averages (poor nutritional status) and more heterogeneous height distribution (higher inequality). The highest values of the variation coefficient as well as the larger differences by socio-educational status are found during the central decades of the 19th century and during the context of the Spanish Civil War and the first postwar decade., Conclusion: nutritional inequalities as reflected by heights decreased from very high levels prior to the nutrition and epidemiological transitions moderate levels during such transitions. Nevertheless, an increase in nutritional inequality is found among the cohorts born during the decade of the 1940s which were fully or partially raised during the advanced stage of the nutrition transition.

Introduction: height variations across cohorts are a proxy of the evolution of living conditions and, specifically, of the nutritional status of a given population. However, the interpretation of the changes in stature sexual dimorphism are controversial., Objective: to test the association between nutritional status and the changes in height differentials between men and women (sexual dimorphism) in the long run (19th and 20th centuries)., Methods: three data sources containing measured adult heights are used, namely: - Data from previous works. - Data from health examination surveys in OECD countries. - Data from the NCD RisC Factor Collaboration project. Two indicators are analyzed: absolute sexual dimorphism (men's height minus women's height) and the ratio of sexual dimorphism (men's height divided by women's height)., Results: a secular trend of sexual dimorphism is evidenced over the second half of the 20th century coinciding with the substantial improvement of environmental factors that determine the net nutritional status. Among cohorts born at the end of the 20th century in non-marginal environments, the average sexual dimorphism was found to be 13.69 cm -absolute- and 1.084 -ratio-. In comparison with these modern figures of sexual dimorphism, those found among cohorts born during the 19th century are abnormally low, especially during periods of worsening of living conditions., Conclusions: if properly addressed, sexual dimorphism has the ability to report on the degree of environmental stress and its impact on the nutritional status and its differentials across specific groups of the population both cross-sectionally and over time.

Knowledge about the potential effects of stressful events on smoking cessation is helpful for the design of health interventions. Previous studies on this topic tended to group together adults of all ages and of both genders. We investigate the contribution of marital and employment losses on smoking cessation by gender, specifically among older adults in Europe. We used panel data from waves 4 (2011) and 5 (2013) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for 3345 male and 3115 female smokers at baseline aged 50 and over from 13 countries. The associations between marital and employment losses and smoking cessation were derived from logistic regression models for each gender, controlling for age, educational attainment, diseases incidence and country of residence. Interactions between gender and marital and employment losses were tested. Over the analysed period, 119 smokers became widowed or divorced (1.8 %), 318 became retired (4.9 %) and 100 became unemployed (1.5 %). Becoming widowed or divorced was associated with lower probability of smoking cessation among both men (OR 0.36, 95 % CI 0.14-0.94) and women (OR 0.46, 95 % CI 0.21-0.99). Transitions to unemployment and to retirement were not significantly associated with smoking cessation (OR 0.62, 95 % CI 0.25-1.49; and OR 0.68, 95 % CI 0.43-1.07, respectively). Gender differences in the association between marital and employment losses and smoking cessation were not statistically significant ( p value > 0.05 for all interactions). Health interventions should take into account that male and female older adults affected by marital loss are at risk of continuing smoking.

The association between health and partnership status is a growing concern within the social sciences. Some partnership situations exhibit positive effects on health, while partnership breakdowns display negative impacts. However, case studies show that these associations may change with age, due to potential sources of heterogeneity within a population. The current analysis explored this association over the adult life course (ages 30-64) of Europeans aged 50 years and older based on retrospective information on health and partnership from SHARELIFE ( N  = 23,535 after data screening). The data allowed us to control for socio-demographic covariates as well as for individual infirmity, measured by childhood health. We also considered contextual survival selection effects by comparing 13 European countries for which pre-adult mortality levels largely differed among the cohorts involved (1907-1958). Discrete-time hazard analyses examined the risk of suffering from a major episode of poor health (self-reported) in adulthood as a function of partnership history, using two approaches: a pooled model and country-specific models. The results revealed no differences between those who lived with a partner (first union) and single individuals in terms of the retrospective hazards of poor health. We hypothesize that this result stems from the cumulative effect of survival selection on individuals in advanced ages according to partnership status. The results also partially point to the plausibility of a contextual survival selection, which should be confirmed by further research based on additional health indicators.