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BACKGROUND: Disturbances in pelvic girdle tilt can cause compensatory changes affecting postural dysfunctions, and can lead to hip and groin strain changes and back pain. However, we still have no clear information on the normative values of pelvic girdle tilt and mobility. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to (1) evaluate the position and mobility of the pelvic girdle in the sagittal and frontal planes in asymptomatic adults aged 19–30, (2) evaluate the possible variation of results according to gender and to develop a proposal for normative values, and (3) evaluate whether body mass, height and BMI are related to the magnitude of hip girdle position and mobility. METHODS: The research was conducted in a sample group consisting of 346 men and women using the scaled form of the anthropometric level of the Duometr® The values of position and mobility of the pelvic girdle in the sagittal and frontal planes were analyzed. RESULTS: Differences were noted in the values of the pelvic tilt (p= 0.033) between the men and women. The women showed slightly higher values of posterior range of motion (p= 0.0002) and total range of motion (p= 0.002). The other parameters did not show any significant variation. There was no clear association between body weight, height and BMI and the study variables, except for a small, significant correlation between BMI and posterior pelvic tilt in women (r= 0.175, p= 0.005). In the frontal plane there were no differences in the analyzed variables in terms of gender or side of the body measured. CONCLUSIONS: There was no association between the anthropometric variables and the pelvic girdle tilt and mobility. No size variation by gender was observed in the frontal plane. Slight differences were observed in the sagittal plane. Normative values are proposed.

Background Studies have demonstrated a relationship between dental malocclusion and posture defects. The aims of the study were to present (1) the effect of a physiotherapeutic approach to a patient with a distal occlusion defect with the use of a set of exercises to strengthen the muscles responsible for mandibular protrusion, and (2) a non-invasive and easy-to-use method to monitor the effects of therapy. Methods Five year old girl with a distal occlusion and with a low basic postural tone was referred to physiotherapy. A therapeutic program i.a. concerning a strengthening of the temporomandibular joint muscles with the use of a flexible tape was proposed. To assess the functional changes of the masticatory apparatus a photoanthropometric method was used. In side-face photos, proportions of 2 linear measurements and values of two angles on the first day of therapy, after 2 and after 4 months of exercises, with the mandible located freely and in the maximum protrusion were compared. Results A comparison of indices and angles showed a marked improvement in mandibular mobility already after two and four months of the exercises. Using the elastic resistance tape in addition to general developmental exercises allowed for increasing the mobility in the temporomandibular joint. Conclusion Malocclusion should not be considered separately, without taking into account the body posture. The work of the physiotherapist can benefit the orthodontist, correcting postural defects and consequently affecting malocclusion. A comparison of linear measurements and angles can be used to assess the progress of the therapy.

Quality of sleep directly impacts quality of life, whilst lifestyle significantly impacts night rest. Cigarette smoking is a serious threat to overall health, including sleep. Nicotine in cigarettes affects the nervous system, whilst the respiratory system is impacted by carcinogenic substances, such as dusts and tarred substances, inhaled with smoke. Cigarettes are assumed to be a risk factor in sleep disorders, including breathing sleep disorders. This study’s aim was to analyze the impact of cigarette smoking on adult men’s polysomnographic parameters. Polysomnographic records for 94 adult men were obtained from the polysomnography laboratory in Opolskie Province, Poland. Additionally co-morbidities, height, weight and frequency of smoking were also noted. Three groups of men were categorised according to the frequency with which they smoked: non-smokers, smoking less than a pack a day, smoking more than a pack a day. Compared to non-smokers and mild smokers, men who were heavy smokers also exhibited the longest sleepless time (H=8.11; p=0.017), the maximum waking time following the onset of sleep (H=7.99; p= 0.018), the lowest sleep efficiency across the three groups (H=7.96; p=0.019), the greatest number of apnea events per hour of sleep (H=6.23; p= 0.045), the lowest Oxygen Level Nadir (H=11.44; p= 0.003) and the highest rate of limb movements per hour of sleep (H=9.81; p=0.007). The dose effect was identified, which correlated more cigarettes men smoked per day with lower sleep quality.

Stressful events and chronic tension are considered a burden and a threat to physical, mental, and social health. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the associations of variation in stress exposure with social factors, physical activity, basic components of physical fitness, body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat (BFP). An additional objective was to identify the main BFP modifiers among those analyzed. The material consisted of data of ethnically homogeneous group 355 men (32–87 yrs), invited to the study as part of the Wroclaw Male Study research project. The analyzed features included socioeconomic status (age, educational level), elements of lifestyle (physical activity), major and most important stressful life events—Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) and basic parameters of the somatic structure of the body (BMI, BFP). Statistical analyses included: chi-square test, Mann–Whitney U test and backward stepwise regression (significance level α = 0.05). Stress exposure showed significant socioeconomic variation among the adult Poles studied. Higher levels of education were associated with higher levels of stress. Significant correlations between SRRS and physical activity were found, especially in men older than 60 years and with higher levels of education. A positive relationship was shown between SRRS and BFP, especially in men under 60 years of age. BFP appeared to depend mainly on age and stress. The main determinants of SRRS were age and education level, while BFP turned out to be more sensitive to stress than BMI. The modifying force of physical activity for SRRS appears to be age dependent.

Background Temporomandibular joint ankylosis (TMJ ankylosis) manifests itself as a locked jaw and reduced mouth opening. We hypothesized that the efficacy of TMJ ankylosis surgery in a child may largely depend on physiotherapeutic management. Case description : In this case report, we present the treatment of a girl between 1 and 4 years of age, who was unable to open her jaws immediately after birth. Congenital ankylosis was diagnosed. Intervention : Two models of therapeutic management were presented, with a surgical procedure to release bone fusion adopted as a starting point. In the first model, the rehabilitation procedure started 21 days after surgery. Outcomes : Despite rehabilitation, no clinical improvement was achieved (i.e. the child was still unable to open her jaws). In the second model, rehabilitation started from the day after surgery and management according to the second model allowed for obtaining therapeutic benefits. After therapy, the girl was able to abduct the mandible to a degree allowing for improved speech and the ability to crush food. Conclusions : This clinical case shows that the efficacy of surgical procedures may depend on the type of postoperative management. It was demonstrated that physiotherapy started immediately after the procedure to release the ankylosis improved the mandible mobility outcomes for this child.

An increasing number of subjects are affected by health problems related to the advanced involutional processes. It is extremely important to identify the determinants of the rate of occurrence of physiological, psychological, and social manifestations of aging. The aim was to determine how factors such as lifestyle, level of education, or severity of stressful life events indicate the appearance of aging symptoms in adult men. The material consisted of data of ethnically homogeneous group of 355 men (32–87 years), invited to the study as a part of the Wroclaw Male Study research project. The analyzed features included (1) socioeconomic status: age, educational level, marital status, and having children; (2) elements of lifestyle: alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, and physical activity; (3) major and most important stressful life events—the Social Readjustment Rating Scale; (4) symptoms related to male aging—the Aging Males’ Symptoms. The backward stepwise regression models, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and multiple comparisons of mean ranks were used. Noncentrality parameter δ (delta), two-tailed critical values of the test, and test power with α = 0.05 were calculated. Among the analyzed variables, age was most strongly associated with the intensity of almost all groups of andropausal symptoms in men (p = 0.0001), followed by the level of education (p = 0.0001) and the intensity of stressful life events (p = 0.0108). Selected lifestyle elements turned out to be much less important (p > 0.01). Preventive actions aimed at slowing down the intensification of involutional processes, including teaching strategies for coping with stressful life events, should be implemented in groups of men with specific risk factors from an early age.

In this paper, a method for evaluating the chronological age of adolescents on the basis of their voice signal is presented. For every examined child, the vowels a, e, i, o and u were recorded in extended phonation. Sixty voice parameters were extracted from each recording. Voice recordings were supplemented with height measurement in order to check if it could improve the accuracy of the proposed solution. Predictor selection was performed using the LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) algorithm. For age estimation, the random forest (RF) for regression method was employed and it was tested using a 10-fold cross-validation. The lowest absolute error (0.37 year ± 0.28) was obtained for boys only when all selected features were included into prediction. In all cases, the achieved accuracy was higher for boys than for girls, which results from the fact that the change of voice with age is larger for men than for women. The achieved results suggest that the presented approach can be employed for accurate age estimation during rapid development in children.

Treatment of temporomandibular ankylosis is challenging and frequently leads to re-ankylosis, relapse, dangerous complications and, in turn, the need for multiple operations. In this article, we present a protocol for the treatment of ankylosis of the temporomandibular joints that assumes earlier intervention with the assistance of 3D virtual surgical planning (3DVSP) and custom biomaterials for better and safer surgical outcomes. Thirty-three patients were treated due to either uni- or bilateral temporomandibular ankylosis. Twenty individuals received temporomandibular prosthesis, whereas seventeen required simultaneous 3D virtual surgical/planned orthognathic surgery as the final correction of the malocclusion. All patients exhibited statistically significant improvements in mouth opening (from 1.21 ± 0.74 cm to 3.77 ± 0.46 cm) and increased physiological functioning of the mandible. Gap arthroplasty and aggressive rehabilitation prior to temporomandibular prosthesis (TMJP) placement were preferred over costochondral autografts. The use of 3DVSP and custom biomaterials enables more precise, efficient and safe procedures to be performed in the paediatric and adolescent population requiring treatment for temporomandibular ankylosis.

Background Children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are an identified group with postural disturbances resulting from a lack of integration among the visual, vestibular and proprioceptive systems. The insufficient level of maturity of the sensory systems is at least partly responsible for disturbances in maintaining body balance. More sway can increase the risk of falls and body injuries. The aims of the study were (1) to compare the ability to maintain the body balance of children and youth with a varying degree of ID, both with the eyes open and closed, and (2) to determine to what extent factors such as sex, level of ID, visual stimulus and body height independently affect the ability to maintain body balance in children and adolescents with ID. Method The study involved 131 people aged 13-21 years (65 girls and 66 boys). The participants were classified as (1) with mild disability (42 girls and 47 boys) and (2) with moderate disability (23 girls and 19 boys), based on IQ test results. Sway measures were collected with the Zebris platform, with the eyes open and closed. Sway path, sway path in anterio-posterior and medio-lateral directions and sway area were analysed. Results Boys with moderate ID were characterised by a significantly more sway indicating their worse postural balance ability than boys with mild ID, both in the trials with open eyes and closed ones. The type of test (eyes open/eyes closed) to a small extent had influenced the body balance of the examined children with ID. Results of analyses of covariance had showed that all analysed factors (sex, level of ID, type of the test performance and body height), irrespectively from direction of sway (sway path in anterio-posterior and medio-lateral directions), worked independently influencing body balance. Conclusions It could be assumed that lower height, moderate disability and male sex are factors significantly reducing ability of maintenance of balance of children and youth with ID.

During archaeological excavations in burial sites, sometimes stoned organic objects are found, in addition to human remains. Those objects might be of a different origin, depending on various factors influencing members of a community (i.e. diseases, trauma), which provides information about their living conditions. The St. Nicholas Church archaeological site (Libkovice, Czechia) in the 18th century horizon of the cemetery, yielded a maturus-senilis female skeleton with a stone object in the left iliac fossa. This object was an oviform cyst-like rough structure, measuring 54 mm in length, 35 mm in maximum diameter and 0.2–0.7 mm shell thickness. Within the object there were small fetal bones (long bones, i.e. femur and two tibias, two scapulas, three ribs, vertebrae and other tiny bone fragments). Methods utilized to analyze the outer and inner surface morphology of the cyst and its inside, included: X-ray, CT imaging, SEM, histological staining and EDS. The EDS analysis revealed the presence of primarily oxygen, calcium and phosphorus in bone samples, and oxygen and silicon, in stone shell. Based on the length of the femur (20.2 mm) and tibia (16 mm) shafts, the fetal age was determined as being in the 15–18 week of pregnancy. The differential diagnosis was conducted, including for the three most probable cases: fetiform teratoma (FT), fetus-in-fetu (FIF) and lithopedion. The possibility of fetiform teratoma was discounted due to the presence of an anatomically correct spine, long bones and the proportions of the find. Although the low calcium content in the shell (2.3% atom mass), the lack of skull bones and the better developed lower limbs indicate fetus-in-fetu rather than lithopedion, the analyses results are unable to conclusively identify the object under one of these two categories since there are insufficient such cases in excavation material with which to draw comparison.

For years, body posture, its defects and methods of therapy have been the point of interest of specialists in many fields. The observed civilizational progress, sedentary lifestyle, and excessive use of electronic gadgets electronic gadgets are unfortunately associated with the growth of postural problems. This is associated with the increasing incidence of degenerative changes and pain in the musculoskeletal system and, in turn, decreasing quality of life. The paper presents the basic notions connected with the body posture, describes the existing concepts of postural defects therapy and based thereof, proposes a new model of diagnostic and therapeutic procedure. The DISC4SPINE system of dynamic individual stimulation and control for spine and posture interactive rehabilitation (D4S) is a modern system which uses professional knowledge and experience of experts in many fields. D4S is also an integrated biomechatronic system enabling: (a) diagnosis prior to rehabilitation, (b) real time therapy monitoring, and (c) personalization of therapeutic activities focusing on spinal conditions and postural disorders.

Evidence is being found for the diversity of factors which can cause scoliosis. These factors range from a lifestyle to genes and intracellular phenomena taking place in human body. To treat idiopathic scoliosis, different equipment and kinesiotherapy exercises are used. If preventive methods prove ineffective, or sometimes parallel to them, orthopedic solutions are applied, such as innovative braces or less and less invasive surgeries and materials which grow with the patient and allow to avoid next surgical interventions in the future. In this paper D4S method is presented. It enables active therapy of scoliosis and postural disorders in three planes. It includes a diagnostic module for complex diagnosis of the body posture and scoliosis, using a wide range of parameters. It also allows to monitor the patient during the therapeutic session and the “Database” module enables archiving and optimization of therapy procedure, which may improve its effectiveness.

Summary Objectives From a human evolution perspective, identifying a link between physique and vocal quality could demonstrate dual signaling in terms of the health and biological condition of an individual. In this regard, this study investigates the relationship between men's body size, shape, and composition, and their vocal characteristics. Materials and Methods Eleven anthropometric measurements, using seven indices, were carried out with 80 adult Polish male participants, while the speech analysis adopted a voice recording procedure that involved phonetically recording vowels /ɑː/, /ɛː/, /iː/, /ɔː/, /uː/ to define the voice acoustic components used in Praat software. Results The relationship between voice parameters and body size/shape/composition was found. The analysis indicated that the formants and their derivatives were useful parameters for prediction of height, weight, neck, shoulder, waist, and hip circumferences. Fundamental frequency (F0) was negatively correlated with neck circumference at Adam's apple level and body height. Moreover neck circumference and F0 association was observed for the first time in this paper. The association between waist circumference and formant component showed a net effect. In addition, the formant parameters showed significant correlations with body shape, indicating a lower vocal timbre in men with a larger relative waist circumference. Discussion Men with lower vocal pitch had wider necks, probably a result of larynx size. Furthermore, a greater waist circumference, presumably resulting from abdominal fat distribution in men, correlated with a lower vocal timbre. While these results are inconclusive, they highlight new directions for further research.

Ankyloses in the area of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) are mentioned as a potential etiological factor of mandibular growth disorders and facial asymmetry. The aim of this case study was to evaluate the changes in the mandible of a child with zygomatic-coronoid ankylosis during the first five years of life, in which two adhesion release procedures were performed. The adopted symmetrical approach is based on the assumption of symmetry of the structure of the stomatognathic system in relation to the sagittal median plane. However, the assessment of pathological changes in the structure of the skeletal system was performed using an asymmetrical approach. Computed tomography techniques and a system of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) were used in the case study. During the child’s growth, linear and angular measurements were made thrice (at the age of 16, 25 and 54 months). The degree of asymmetry was estimated in the measurements made on the right and left sides of the three-dimensional mandible. Unilateral congenital hypoplasia of the articular process and zygomatic-coronoid adhesion caused asymmetrical growth of the mandible in the child along with shortening of the mandibular branch and body on the damaged side and a visible difference in the size of the mandibular angles. Removal of the adhesions during surgical procedures made it possible to reduce the asymmetry of the mandible and catch-up growth, although at the age of five, the mandible was still smaller than the mandible in healthy peers. It was shown that the early adhesion release procedures supported by the CAD analysis enabled the restoration of mandibular symmetry.

The results presented in this study concern the assessment of the secular trend of body height in 10 % a random national sample (N = 134,224) representing all regions of Poland in 8 homogeneous social groups over 45 years in Poland (1965–2010). Very significant political, social and economic changes in Poland occurred in the period studied. The political revolution that began in Poland at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s dramatically changed the picture of social inequalities in the country. It rapidly transformed (in different directions and to a different degree) the economic situation, working conditions, lifestyles and the prestige of particular social classes and professional groups. A positive secular trend was observed in 19-year-old participants in the period analysed in all homogeneous socio-professional groups, however, with different intensity in each group. The highest body height increases in 1965-2010 were observed in the sons of farmers with post-primary father’s education (7.77 cm). The lowest were observed among the sons of professionals, only 5.45 cm. Although social distances between extreme socio-economic groups significantly decreased (from 4.89 cm in 1965 to 2.76 cm in 2010), social gradients of body height, despite the improvement in the standards of living of the entire society remained exceptionally stable and unchanged for nearly half a century.

The aim of this work was to estimate the size and direction of relationships between the size of sway and variables describing the building and shape of the body of children and adolescents. The study involved 98 people (48 boys and 46 girls) aged 10.2–17.7 years. Body building data was acquired using the GPM anthropometer for linear measurements, caliper for width measurements, tape for body circuits. Body sway measures were collected with the CQ Stab 2P balance platform (CQ Elektronik System, Poland), which measures the center of pressure under the participant’s feet. All balance measurements were carried out with eyes open and closed, both twice. Generally, in both boys and girls, regardless of their age, the size of sway increased with decreasing body height and weight, decreasing body circumferences and body width and flattening of the chest. In addition, for most anthropometric variables, when the eyes were closed, these relationships increased, which was particularly evident in the case of mediolateral sway. Obtained results showed a significant although weak relationship between the sway size and body building. Regardless of age, participants characterized by smaller morphological parameters have beed swayed more in saggital and mediolateral planes. These observations indicate that the body building should be taken into account when standing posture is assessed in healthy, disabled or special group i.a. athletes.

The development of a child is characterized by the serial changes as a result of which an adult organism is formed. There are many factors that could disrupt this process, so it is important to detect them as early as possible and focus on appropriate treatment and therapy. For this purpose, early and comprehensive diagnostics are necessary. Depending on the age of the child and the purpose of the physiotherapeutic examination, (1) methods based on a subjective feeling supported by knowledge and experience of a physiotherapist or doctor, and (2) objectified tests using measuring tools are used to assess the correctness of development. The aim of the work was (1) to compare the subjective efficacy (and thus those with a greater diagnostic error) and objective methods, and (2) to demonstrate the need to search for new diagnostic tools to estimate the measurable developmental deficits in young children from 0 to 3 years old. Diagnostic methods used during the assessment of the child’s development level and the level of its developmental disorders are presented in the tables, and in the place where it was possible, the value of the estimator of the method’s efficiency was given. The methods and scales of the child’s psychomotor development assessment listed in the tables clearly show that subjective tools are much more than objective methods, and their effectiveness expressed in reliability ranges from 0.76–0.98. The separate and combined use of the measuring methods are evaluated in this article.

A biometric photo can be a research material allowing to limit the participation of a measured and measuring person, shortening the process of data collection and reducing the measurement error. The aim of the study was to compare anthropometric indices obtained from measurements made by single measurer and team of measurers. Measurements made by single measurer were more accurate, they were characterized by a smaller standard deviation than those performed by team of measurers. Most of the mean values of anthropometric indices obtained by both methods differed significantly. The largest discrepancies were noted for indices based on the measurements of the height of the nose (n-sn) and width of the mandible (go-go), which indicates difficulties in the exact position of these anthropometric points in the photo. Selection of point position performed by single measurer ensures greater accuracy and repeatability of the technique used to apply points to the face image.

The paper presents the results of boys’ age modeling on the basis of the features of their voice. The research group has been divided according to age and the threshold has been 14 years. 98 boys have been examined (57 aged less than 14 years, 41 aged 14 years or more). Voice data has been acquired and processed. The obtained coefficients have been subjected to Principal Component Analysis and then linear models have been built, estimeting the boys’ age. The obtained results are promising and are especially good in case of the group of younger boys, where the median absolute error has been less than 6 months and the median relative error has been equal to 2.1%.

In this paper, a method for girls’ pubertal status evaluation is presented. The proposed algorithm uses voice features. Spectral analysis, Support Vector Machine and Random Forest Trees were employed. The obtained results are promising. Sensitivity reached 89.38%, when all features were included in the calculations (SVM). The highest specificity was achieved when only standard deviations were used (80.14% for the RF). Accuracy was greater than 80% for both classifiers when all features were used.

Objectives The aim was to determine whether an intergenerational trend toward increased stature is slowing down, and whether body weight has recently increased among young men in Poland, as it has in Western European countries. Methods Data were taken from six national surveys of 19-year-old Polish male conscripts from cohorts 1965, 1976, 1986, 1995, 2001, and 2010. Results The mean stature of this population increased throughout the last 45 years from 170.5 cm in 1965 to 178.3 in 2010. However, the average gain in stature per decade declined from 2.4 cm in the period 1965 to 1976 to 0.8 cm per decade in 1995 to 2001, but increased to 1.0 cm in the last period. The average of body weight increased from 63.2 kg in 1965 to 73.1 in 2010 and body mass index (BMI) rose from 21.73 to 22.94 in the same period. The tempo of increase varied in different periods; between 1965 and 1986 an insignificant increase was observed (of circa 0.12); in 1986 to 1995 there was no increase, whereas the period of 2001 to 2010 witnessed a significant increase (of circa 0.76). Conclusions The trend of body size and stature increase within the Polish population, although decelerating, remained positive and steady during the last 45 years. No significant impact of the past half-century's socioeconomic crises was observed in these measures of growth. We concluded that during the economic crises some effective mechanism protecting the living conditions of the children and youth were operating within the population. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 27:704–709, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Background : Obesity is a serious public health problem, the prevalence of which is increasing dramatically all over the world. The aim of this study was to examine trends in body mass index (BMI) and the proportion of overweight and obese individuals among 19-year-old Polish males reporting for mandatory military fitness exams from 1965 to 2010. Methods : Height, weight and BMI [weight (kg)/height (m2)] in five 10% nationwide random samples of 19-year-old conscripts examined in 1965, 1986, 1995, 2001 and 2010 were analysed. Results : From 1965 to 2010, mean BMI in 19-year-old Polish males increased from 21.7 to 22.9. The rate of change was not uniform, with a rapid increase in mean BMI from 1995 to 2010. Beginning in 1965, the proportion of men with a BMI over 25 has been steadily increasing from one decade to the next, and was four times higher in 2010 than it was in 1965. The rate of increase per decade was twice as high from 2001 to 2010 than it was from 1995 to 2001. In 2010, only 70.8% of young men were of ideal weight. Conclusion : Increase in obesity can be attributed to the social and economic changes brought about by the transformation of the country from a communist to a free-market economy in 1989. The challenges of the obesity epidemic for public health services and its impact on morbidity and life expectancy are also discussed.

A method for evaluating the menarcheal status of girls on the basis of their voice features is presented in the paper. The registration procedure consists of voice recording and measuring 20 anthropological features. The input feature vector is a combination of voice and anthropometric parameters, counting 220 features. The optimal set of parameters was selected using five different methods: Method A - stepwise regression (first forward, then backward regression) performed on features with statistically different means/medians; Method B - stepwise regression (forward and backward) on all features, with age; Method C - stepwise regression as in B; including age, Method D - all features with statistically different means/medians, Method E - all features excluding age. For classification purposes three methods were employed: random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier. They were tested with 10-fold cross validation. The classification accuracy for RF using only voice features is higher than using only anthropometric data: 86.86% vs. 81.02% respectively. For the other two classifiers, the results do not show as large a difference: 80.60% vs. 82.80% for SVM and 80.66% vs. 82.34% for LDA. The advantage of voice features is more noticeable with sensitivity: 91.92% vs. 83.06% for RF. The obtained results suggest that the presented method can be used for automatic recognition of girls' menarcheal status using voice signal.

Objectives Married people live longer and are healthier than unmarried people. This can be explained in terms of marriage protection and marriage selection. The aim of the present study was to examine the direct effect of marriage selection on health status. Methods Data were collected from the archives of the Lower Silesian Medical Center (DOLMED) in Wroclaw, Poland. The sample consisted of 2,265 adult (never married or currently married) men. Subjects were assigned to categories for selected variables, including age, level of education, military category upon conscription, height, hearing acuity, and visual acuity. Military category, objective data gathered upon military conscription at age 18, was used to assess initial health status. To identify any relationships between marital status and health status, generalized linear models with binomially distributed dependent variable were used. Results The never-married subjects were more likely to have been assigned to lower military categories, which indicates that their health status at age 18 was inferior to those conscripts who would later marry. Hearing acuity and visual acuity were generally worse in never-married subjects than in married subjects. Never-married subjects were also more likely to be short and less likely to be tall. Conclusions The results provide evidence for direct health-related marriage selection in men between 25 and 60 years of age. Poor health status reduces the likelihood of marriage. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 26:747–752, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Introduction Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death. Life satisfaction is a predictor of morbidity and mortality, irrespectively of objective measures of health status. The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between life satisfaction (LS) and cardiovascular disease risk (CVD) assessed with the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in Polish adults. Material and methods Past, present and projected LS were estimated. The FRS reflecting 10-year CVD risk was calculated from health indices and lifestyle parameters. Relationships between LS and FRS were tested by two-way analysis of variance in 489 men and 591 women, 40–50 years of age. Results Subjects with a reduction in LS over time had a higher FRS compared to peers with an improvement in LS. The relationship between current LS and FRS had a J-shape in men; FRS was lowest in men with an LS of 5–7 (average LS), slightly higher in men with an LS of 8–10 (highest LS), and highest in men with an LS of 1–4 (lowest LS). Among women, there was an inverse linear relationship between LS and FRS: the higher the LS, the lower FRS. There was a strong linear relationship between predicted LS and CVD risk. Highest risk was evident in subjects with low LS in whom low LS was predicted over the next five years. Conclusions Low LS (dissatisfaction) thus has a long-term negative effect on CVD risk in Polish adults of both sexes.

SummaryThis study considers the relationship between a cumulative index of biological dysregulation (allostatic load) and several dimensions of socioeconomic status (SES) and lifestyle in adult Polish males. The extent to which lifestyle variables can explain SES variation in allostatic load was also evaluated. Participants were 3887 occupationally active men aged 25–60 years living in cities and villages in the Silesia region of Poland. The allostatic load indicator included eleven markers: % fat (adverse nutritional intake), systolic and diastolic blood pressures (cardiovascular activity), FEV1 (lung function), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (inflammatory processes), glucose and total cholesterol (cardiovascular disease risk), total plasma protein (stress-haemoconcentration), bilirubin, creatinine clearance and alkaline phosphatase activity (hepatic and renal functions). A higher level of completed education, being married and residing in an urban area were associated with lower physiological dysregulation. The association between indicators of SES and allostatic load was not eliminated or attenuated when unhealthy lifestyle variables were included in the model. Smoking status and alcohol consumption played minimal roles in explaining the association between SES and allostatic load; physical activity, however, had a generally protective effect on allostatic load.

Population health and its determinants are one of the major challenges to social and economic policy. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between occupational activity and biological condition in adult working Polish men. The participants of the study were 300 men (30-65 years), healthy inhabitants of the city of Wroclaw, Poland. Seventeen measures of biological condition were examined. The subjects were divided into three different occupational groups: professionals, soldiers and skilled workers. A comparison of biological age profiles of three occupational groups showed that in the majority of characteristics, professionals had the youngest biological age, whereas skilled workers had the highest biological age. The results for soldiers were not as unambiguous, but biological parameters were generally closer to those for professionals. Inborn biological predispositions and long-term impact of the working environment can influence on the biological condition of various professional groups. Knowledge of the determinants of biological condition might result in efficient use of predisposition to work or may be of help in extending their time of work ability.

Acoustic stimulation in prenatal period is the issue that interest growing group of people. In this paper the ratio of maternal internal sounds (noise) and attenuated sounds from external environment (signal) is considered. There is indicated that only narrow range of frequencies is not drowned by internal sounds. The problem of a distance of sound source was also considered. It was noticed that the application of sound source on maternal abdomen does not increase the sound level in the uterus.

The purpose of the study was to compare the blood pressure of rural–to–urban migrants and the sedentary population (non–migratory) of the city of Wrocław, Poland. Additionally, the effect of time spent in the rural area on blood pressure was also assessed. The study sample consisted of 2753 males aged 25–75 years, following a medical examination, underwent an interview and anthropometric measurements between 1989–90. Based on the place of origin all males were divided into rural–to–urban migrant inhabitants of Wrocław (N=1222) and sedentary inhabitants of Wrocław (N=921). The percentage of time spent in the rural area [(time spent in rural area/age)*100] was then calculated and was used in analysis. In each age category, the rural–urban migrants were found to be shorter in height. Age, BMI, level of education and time of migration had a significant effect on both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure irrespective of the level of education. It was demonstrated that the time of migration, allowing for age, body size and education level, significantly correlated with blood pressure. The later in time, the males migrated from rural to urban areas, the higher their blood pressure. It was hypothesized that unhealthy behavior could still have continued in a new urban environment, resulting in migrant – sedentary differences in health parameters.

Sexual selection is a well established evolutionary process based on preferences for specific traits in one sex by members of the other sex. It is important in the evolution of morphological traits, and several sexually dimorphic traits in humans, such as facial hair and facial shape1, are assumed to be the outcome of such a process. Here we demonstrate that taller men are reproductively more successful than shorter men, indicating that there is active selection for stature in male partners by women.

Bronchitis is a common health problem in children. Frequent bronchitis in infancy increases the risk of developing chronic respiratory diseases. The aim of the study was to assess the level of growth and the nutritional status in children and youths with special regard to the level of body fatness assessed by measuring skin-fold thickness. Relationships between somatic development, pulmonary function and the course of the disease were also explored. The study was carried out using anthropometric and spirometric measurements and also information on the severity and course of the disease in 141 children with chronic or recurrent bronchitis. All of the subjects were patients of the Pulmonary Medicine and Allergology Center in Karpacz, Poland. The mean body height did not differ significantly between the children examined and their healthy peers. However, the infection-prone children had excessive body fatness and muscle mass deficiency. The increased level of subcutaneous adipose tissue occurred especially in children with short duration of the disease, i.e. a maximum of 1 year. The functional lung parameters were generally normal. The presence of atopic diseases such as allergic rhinitis or atopic dermatitis did not impair the course of the children's somatic development. Also, long-term disease or the presence of additional allergic diseases did not impair lung function in the examined children. Taking appropriate preventive measures is recommended to achieve and maintain normal body weight in children who receive therapy due to bronchitis.

The paper describes an approach to the kids and youth pubertal evaluation using voice signal. The results of preliminary study conducted on a group of 109 children (58 boys and 51 girls aged 10–18 years) has been presented. The analysis of the voice fundamental frequency proves that this parameter strongly depends on the age (for boys) and on the time of the first menarche (for girls). Such a method for girls and boys maturation assessment is very important for, among others, anthropologist in their studies on social inequalities and observing secular trends.

The article presents changes in body composition in adolescent girls. A review of available measurement techniques is preceded by an analysis of the physiology of puberty, whose social significance is very high, especially in the present stage of development of civilization. Measurement techniques are classified depending on the used equipment, with attention to the bioelectrical impedance. Girls aged 9.3 to 18.6 y. from schools in Cieszyn were analysed. On the basis of their status of maturation they were divided into two groups: before menarche and after menarche. The comparison of body composition of pre– and post–menarcheal girls had shown the change in all body components. However, increased weight associated with the development and maturation is mainly the result of the growth of fatness, which was reflected in both the anthropometric parameters (waist, hip circumferences, skinfolds) and BIA analysis.

Studies on the process of acoustic stimulation in prenatal period require to assess the beneficial condition for child development, as well as characteristic sounds which could negatively affect the development of auditory system, brain or even entire body. It can be provided with the simplified model of sound attenuation in the uterus, which can be represented by first order passive low pass filter. On the basis of total harmonic distortion analysis for a single sound, a proposal indicating the sound reduction in the intrauterine environment is formulated. It is hypothesised that the sound stimuli in the uterus is not the same sound as the music in the source.

The article is the result of studies on the effects of music on human characteristics, with particular emphasis on the effectiveness of the performance of mathematical and logical operations. The material describes briefly some problems in the field of music therapy and presents results of a pilot study concerning possible improving of the intellectual work efficiency. A group of students who was faced with performance-related stress (standardized psychological tests and mathematical tasks) under music (Mozart and Beethoven) and no music condition was examined. Analyses showed that there was no significant difference in time of solving the tasks in silent and Mozart’s music condition. Also, time of performing exercises was longer during Beethoven stimulation than during silent condition. It may be concluded that commonly applied Mozart’s work does not always give the expected results and the other work can have stronger (but not necessarily better) effect on human being.

The social position of a husband or wife can influence the health status of the individual and his/her partner. Also, social position can change over time as a result of education, job, income, marriage and/or divorce.To examine the association of mobility by marriage based on educational discrepancy between spouses and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Polish men and women of 40-50 years of age.The sample included 394 married men and 453 married women of 40-50 years of age. All were residents of Wrocław located in southwestern Poland. Risk of CVD was assessed with the Framingham Risk Score (FRS). The sex-specific effect of social mobility on CVD risk (FRS) was tested by multiple regression analyses.Among Polish married men and women, social mobility by marriage had a significant association with risk of CVD. Downwardly mobile men and women had a higher risk of CVD, while upwardly mobile men and women had a lower risk of CVD compared with individuals from homogamous marriages. The sole exception to this trend was poorly educated men among whom marriage with a better educated wife did not affect CVD risk.Social mobility by marriage influences CVD risk. The results provide additional insights for studies examining socioeconomic differentials in CVD risk.