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OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether heavy load carrying, wearing a patuka, and body position at work are risk factors for uterine prolapse among Nepali women. METHODS:Community-based case-control study of 448 women (170 cases of uterine prolapse; 278 controls) aged 18-60 years in Kaski district, Nepal was conducted. Women diagnosed with uterine prolapse were cases. Two controls were recruited for each case, frequency-matched by residential area and age. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate associations between outcome and exposures. RESULTS:No association of heavy load carrying with uterine prolapse was observed; women who never used a patuka had lower odds of uterine prolapse (odds ratio = 0.18, 95% confidence interval = 0.05-0.71). Women working in a sitting position had higher odds than those working in a standing position (odds ratio = 2.94, 95% confidence interval = 1.74-4.96), as did women who mainly worked in a bending position (odds ratio = 2.45, 95% confidence interval = 1.12-5.34). Housewives were more prone to uterine prolapse than women engaged in farming (odds ratio = 2.13, 95% confidence interval = 1.31-3.47). CONCLUSION:Using a patuka, occupation, and body position during work were all associated with uterine prolapse. No association was found with heavy load carrying, although that might be attributable to the cross-sectional nature of study recruitment.

Aims: To measure the independent consequences of community‐level armed conflict beatings on alcohol use disorders (AUD) among males in Nepal during and after the 2000–2006 conflict. Design: A population‐representative panel study from Nepal, with precise measures of community‐level violent events and subsequent individual‐level AUD in males. Females were not included because of low AUD prevalence. Setting: Chitwan, Nepal. Participants: Four thousand eight hundred seventy‐six males from 151 neighborhoods, systematically selected and representative of Western Chitwan. All residents aged 15–59 were eligible (response rate 93%). Measurements Measures of beatings in the community during the conflict (2000–2006), including the date and distance away, were gathered through neighborhood reports, geo‐location and official resources, then linked to respondents' life histories of AUD (collected in 2016–2018) using the Nepal‐specific Composite International Diagnostic Interview with life history calendar. Beatings nearby predict the subsequent onset of AUD during and after the armed conflict. Data were analyzed in 2021–2022. Findings Cohort‐specific, discrete‐time models revealed that within the youngest cohort (born 1992–2001), those living in neighborhoods where armed conflict beatings occurred were more likely to develop AUD compared with those in other neighborhoods (odds ratio = 1.66; 95% confidence interval = 1.02–2.71). In this cohort, a multilevel matching analysis designed to simulate a randomized trial showed the post‐conflict incidence of AUD for those living in neighborhoods with any armed conflict beatings was 9.5% compared with 5.3% in the matched sample with no beatings. Conclusions: Among male children living in Chitwan, Nepal during the 2000–2006 armed conflict, living in a neighborhood where armed conflict beatings occurred is associated with increased odds of developing subsequent alcohol use disorder. This association was independent of personal exposure to beatings and other mental disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories of family stability and change, demographic processes, and social psychological influences on behavior all posit that parental attitudes and beliefs are a key influence on their children's behavior. We have evidence of these effects in Western populations, but little information regarding this social mechanism in non-Western contexts. Furthermore, comparisons of mothers' and fathers' independent roles in these crucial intergenerational mechanisms are rare. This article uses measures from a 10-year family panel study featuring independent interviews with mothers and fathers in rural Nepal to investigate these issues. We test the association of specific attitudes, rather than broad ideational domains, about childbearing and old-age care with sons' subsequent marriage behavior. Our results indicate that both mothers' and fathers' attitudes have important and independent influences on sons' marriage behavior. Simultaneous study of both parents' attitudes reveals that gender-specific parenting contexts can shape the relationship between parental attitudes and children's behaviors. This crucial mechanism of intergenerational continuity and change is strong in this non-Western setting, with substantial implications for studies of intergenerational influences on behavior in all settings. (Contains 12 notes, 3 tables and 1 figure.)

This article examines the influence of community context and land use on the monthly odds of first birth in a society in the midst of dramatic fertility transition. The theoretical framework guiding our work predicts that proximity to nonfamily services should delay first births by creating opportunities for competing nonfamily activities and spreading new ideas that change expectations about family life. On the other hand, living in agricultural settings that provide opportunities for higher returns to child labor should speed first births. We use a longitudinal, multilevel, mixed-method data from the Nepalese Himalayas to test these predictions. The empirical results reveal that nonfamily services during childhood and during early adulthood both have important independent influences on the odds of first birth. Also, as predicted, a high density of agricultural land use affects the odds of first births in the opposite direction, speeding first births. This clear pattern of contrasting effects provides important new evidence of the contextual dynamics that produce watershed changes in postmarital birth timing.

We investigate the effects of non-family experiences on marital relationships in a setting characterized by high levels of arranged marriage until recently. Drawing on theoretical frameworks for the study of families and social change, we argue that the expansion of opportunities for non-family experiences will increase the likelihood of marital relationships based on an emotional bond between husbands and wives. Using data from 3,724 individuals in rural Nepal, we find consistent effects of educational experiences across multiple dimensions of marriage. These effects point toward the spread of education as a stimulus to marriages characterized by higher levels of love and discussions between spouses, and lower levels of conflict and spouse abuse. Results suggest that studies of marital dynamics in non-Western settings provide a fruitful avenue for new research on marriage.

Family change has been of central interest in both academia and the policy arena for some time. Because family has always had the primary responsibility for raising children, caring for [...]