Dataset Information

Social status and parasitism in male and female vertebrates: a meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT: Social status is an important predictor of parasite risk in vertebrates. To date, general frameworks to explain status-related variation in parasitism have remained elusive. In this meta-analysis, we evaluated five hypotheses proposed to explain status-related variation in parasitism in male and female vertebrates by leveraging variation in hierarchy type, mating system, parasite transmission mode, and allostatic load to test associated predictions. Our meta-analyses span 66 analyses (26 studies) of male vertebrates (two orders and five classes), and 62 analyses (13 studies) of female vertebrates (four vertebrate orders). Contrary to the prevailing paradigm that low status is linked to poor health, we found that dominant animals typically faced higher parasite risk than subordinates. This pattern was especially well-supported in analyses of males versus females, in linear versus egalitarian hierarchies, in mating systems where dominance rank predicts mating effort, and for contact- and environmentally-transmitted parasites rather than vector-borne parasites. These findings supported the priority-of-access and tradeoffs hypotheses suggesting that variation in parasitism is driven by rank-associated differences in exposure to parasites and mating effort. Together, these results suggest that high parasite risk might sometimes be an unappreciated cost of high rank, and conversely, reduced parasite risk might be a benefit of social subordination.

SUBMITTER: Habig B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5827031 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Social status and parasitism in male and female vertebrates: a meta-analysis.

Habig Bobby B Doellman Meredith M MM Woods Kourtney K Olansen Jonathan J Archie Elizabeth A EA

Scientific reports 20180226 1

Social status is an important predictor of parasite risk in vertebrates. To date, general frameworks to explain status-related variation in parasitism have remained elusive. In this meta-analysis, we evaluated five hypotheses proposed to explain status-related variation in parasitism in male and female vertebrates by leveraging variation in hierarchy type, mating system, parasite transmission mode, and allostatic load to test associated predictions. Our meta-analyses span 66 analyses (26 studies ...[more]

PMID: 29483573

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Project description:ImportancePopulation-based findings on physician suicide are of great relevance because this is an important and understudied topic.ObjectiveTo evaluate male and female physician suicide risks compared with the general population from 1980 to date and test whether there is a reduction of SMR in cohorts after 1980 compared with before 1980 via a meta-analysis, modeling studies, and a systematic review emphasizing physician suicide risk factors.Data sourcesThis study uses studies retrieved from PubMed, Scielo, PsycINFO, and Lilacs for human studies published by October 3, 2019, using the search term "(((suicide) OR (self-harm) OR (suicidality)) AND ((physicians) OR (doctors)))." Databases were also searched from countries listed in articles selected for review. Data were also extracted from an existing article by other authors to facilitate comparisons of the pre-1980 suicide rate with the post-1980 changes.Study selectionOriginal articles assessing male and/or female physician suicide were included; for the meta-analysis, only cohorts from 1980 to the present were included.Data extraction and synthesisThe preregistered systematic review and meta-analysis followed Cochrane, PRISMA, and MOOSE guidelines. Data were extracted into standardized tables per a prespecified structured checklist, and quality scores were added. Heterogeneity was tested via Q test, I2, and τ2. For pooled effect estimates, we used random-effects models. The Begg and Egger tests, sensitivity analyses, and meta-regression were performed. Proportional mortality ratios were presented when SMR data could not be extracted.Main outcomes and measuresSuicide SMRs for male and female physicians from 1980 to the present and changes over time (before and after 1980).ResultsOf 7877 search results, 32 articles were included in the systematic review and 9 articles and data sets in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed a significantly higher suicide SMR in female physicians compared with women in general (1.46 [95% CI, 1.02-1.91]) and a significantly lower suicide SMR in male physicians compared with men in general (0.67 [95% CI, 0.55-0.79]). Male and female physician SMRs significantly decreased after 1980 vs before 1980 (male physicians: SMR, -0.84 [95% CI, -1.26 to -0.42]; P < .001; female physicians: SMR, -1.96 [95% CI, -3.09 to -0.84]; P = .002). No evidence of publication bias was found.Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, suicide SMR was found to be high in female physicians and low in male physicians since 1980 but also to have decreased over time in both groups. Physician suicides are multifactorial, and further research into these factors is critical.

Project description:Inferring from patterns observed in biomedical research, ecoimmunological theory predicts that oxidative stress is a ubiquitous physiological cost that contributes to generating variation in immune function between individuals or species. This prediction is, however, often challenged by empirical studies testing the relationship between immune response or infection and oxidative status markers. This points out the importance of combining ecological immunology and oxidative stress ecology to further our understanding of the proximate causes and fitness consequences of individual variation in health, and adaptability to natural and anthropogenic environmental changes. I reviewed evidence and performed phylogenetic meta-analyses of changes in oxidative status markers owing to either injection of an antigen or infection in captive and free-living vertebrates (141 studies, 1262 effect sizes, 97 species). The dataset was dominated by studies on fish, birds and mammals, which provided 95.8% of effect sizes. Both antigen injection and parasite exposure were associated with changes of oxidative status. There were significant effects of taxonomic class and experimental environment (captivity vs. wild). In contrast with my predictions, age category (young vs. adult), study design (correlational vs. experimental) and proxies of pace of life (clutch size, litter size, and body mass; for birds and mammals only) were negligible in this dataset. Several methodological aspects (type of immunostimulant, laboratory assay, tissue analysed) showed significant effects on both strength and direction of effect. My results suggest that alterations of oxidative status are a widespread consequence of immune function across vertebrates. However, this work also identified heterogeneity in strength and direction of effect sizes, which suggests that immune function does not necessarily result in oxidative stress. Finally, this work identifies methodological caveats that might be relevant for the interpretation and comparability of results and for the application in conservation programs.

Project description:Background: Social dominance status (e.g., dominant or subordinate) is often associated with individual differences in behavior and physiology but is largely neglected in experimental designs and statistical analysis plans in biomedical animal research. In fact, the extent to which social dominance status affects common experimental outcomes is virtually unknown. Given the pervasive use of laboratory mice and culminating evidence of issues with reproducibility, understanding the role of social dominance status on common behavioral measures used in research may be of paramount importance. Methods: To determine whether social dominance status-one facet of the social environment-contributes in a systematic way to standard measures of behavior in biomedical science, we conducted a systematic review of the existing literature searching the databases of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Experiments were divided into several domains of behavior: exploration, anxiety, learned helplessness, cognition, social, and sensory behavior. Meta-analyses between experiments were conducted for the open field, elevated plus-maze, and Porsolt forced swim test. Results: Of the 696 publications identified, a total of 55 experiments from 20 published studies met our pre-specified criteria. Study characteristics and reported results were highly heterogeneous across studies. A systematic review and meta-analyses, where possible, with these studies revealed little evidence for systematic phenotypic differences between dominant and subordinate male mice. Conclusion: This finding contradicts the notion that social dominance status impacts behavior in significant ways, although the lack of an observed relationship may be attributable to study heterogeneity concerning strain, group-size, age, housing and husbandry conditions, and dominance assessment method. Therefore, further research considering these secondary sources of variation may be necessary to determine if social dominance generally impacts treatment effects in substantive ways.

Dataset Information

Social status and parasitism in male and female vertebrates: a meta-analysis.

Publications

Social status and parasitism in male and female vertebrates: a meta-analysis.

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