THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INTESTINAL PARASITE INFECTION AND CRIBRA ORBITALIA IN THE MEDIEVAL POPULATION OF CAMBRIDGE, UK.

The consensus of opinion among biological anthropologists is that cribra orbitalia is a skeletal indicator of chronic anemia in an individual. There has been debate as to whether any type of anemia will cause it, or only specific etiologies such as iron deficiency. A number of papers have proposed that the widespread occurrence of cribra orbitalia in past populations may be due to chronic intestinal parasite infection, as parasites often cause anemia today. Our aim is to investigate whether there is any association between intestinal parasite infection and cribra orbitalia in the medieval population of Cambridge, UK. The individuals under study were excavated from the Augustinian Friary and the All Saints by the Castle parish cemetery. We undertook parasite analysis of the pelvic sediment and control samples of 43 burials with intact orbital roofs. Human roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and/or whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) were identified in the pelvic sediment of 19 individuals, and cribra orbitalia was noted in 11 individuals. Chi square test showed no association between parasite infection and cribra orbitalia (p=.921). Although roundworm and whipworm infections are known to cause anemia in modern populations, we found no association between infection and cribra orbitalia infection in this medieval population. It is possible that only parasites that cause marked anemia (such as hookworm, schistosomiasis or malaria) may cause cribra orbitalia, while less marked anemia from roundworm and whipworm may not do so. However, our findings do not support the hypothesis linking intestinal parasite infection and cribra orbitalia formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]