Socioeconomic inequality and stillbirth rate disparities among native and foreign mothers: evidence from Greece
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ABSTRACT: Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43545-022-00410-y.
SUBMITTER: Tsimbos C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9310690 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Anecdotal evidence suggests that unfamiliar languages sound faster than one's native language. Empirical evidence for this impression has, so far, come from explicit rate judgments. The aim of the present study was to test whether such perceived rate differences between native and foreign languages (FLs) have effects on implicit speech processing. Our measure of implicit rate perception was "normalization for speech rate": an ambiguous vowel between short /a/ and long /a:/ is interpreted as /a:/ following a fast but as /a/ following a slow carrier sentence. That is, listeners did not judge speech rate itself; instead, they categorized ambiguous vowels whose perception was implicitly affected by the rate of the context. We asked whether a bias towards long /a:/ might be observed when the context is not actually faster but simply spoken in a FL. A fully symmetrical experimental design was used: Dutch and German participants listened to rate matched (fast and slow) sentences in both languages spoken by the same bilingual speaker. Sentences were followed by non-words that contained vowels from an /a-a:/ duration continuum. Results from Experiments 1 and 2 showed a consistent effect of rate normalization for both listener groups. Moreover, for German listeners, across the two experiments, foreign sentences triggered more /a:/ responses than (rate matched) native sentences, suggesting that foreign sentences were indeed perceived as faster. Moreover, this FL effect was modulated by participants' ability to understand the FL: those participants that scored higher on a FL translation task showed less of a FL effect. However, opposite effects were found for the Dutch listeners. For them, their native rather than the FL induced more /a:/ responses. Nevertheless, this reversed effect could be reduced when additional spectral properties of the context were controlled for. Experiment 3, using explicit rate judgments, replicated the effect for German but not Dutch listeners. We therefore conclude that the subjective impression that FLs sound fast may have an effect on implicit speech processing, with implications for how language learners perceive spoken segments in a FL.
| S-EPMC5487441 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Personality traits such as conscientiousness and impulsivity correlate with temporal discounting, the degree to which individuals discount the value of future relative to present rewards. These variables have, in turn, been hypothesized to relate to income inequality in the United States. A key but untested assumption of this hypothesis is that the association among these variables is distinct across socioeconomic classes. The purpose of the present research is to test that assumption. N = 1,100 adults with annual income ranging from at or below the poverty line ($0-$20,000) to upper-middle class ($200,000+) completed personality measures and a measure of temporal discounting. The results of our preregistered analyses indicated a positive association of income with trait planfulness, and a negative association with trait impulsivity and one parameter of temporal discounting that captures a bias to prefer sooner rewards to a greater degree if they are delivered that day. Our results can inform psychological theories of inequality and a broader conversation about effective public policy.
| S-EPMC6980415 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundConflicting evidence exists on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on preterm birth (PTB) and stillbirth rates. We aimed to evaluate changes in PTB and stillbirth rates before and during the pandemic period and assess the potential effect modification of socioeconomic status (SES).MethodsUsing the linked administrative health databases from Manitoba, Canada, we conducted a cross-sectional study among all pregnant women, comparing 3.5 years pre-pandemic (1 October 2016 to 29 February 2020) to the first year of the pandemic (1 March 2020 to 31 March 2021). We used generalised linear models to assess the quarterly rates of PTB (<37 weeks) and stillbirths. We calculated the predicted trends based on pre-pandemic period data. Finally, we evaluated the PTB and stillbirth rates among lower and higher SES pregnant women (average annual household income) using subgroup analysis and interaction models.ResultsWe examined 70 931 pregnancies in Manitoba during the study period. The risk of PTB increased by 7.7% (95%CI 1.01 to 1.13) and stillbirths by 33% (95% CI 1.08 to 1.64) during the pandemic period. Following COVID-19 restrictions implemented in March 2020, there were increases in the quarterly rates of both PTB (immediate increase (β2)=1.37; p=0.0247) and stillbirths (immediate increase (β2)=0.12; p=0.4434). Among the lower income groups, the pandemic restrictions resulted in an immediate relative increase in PTB and stillbirth rates by 20.12% (immediate increase (β2)=3.17; p=0.0057) and 27.19% (immediate increase (β2)=0.48; p=0.0852). However, over the pandemic, the overall PTB rate significantly decreased as a rebound effect by 0.85% per quarter (p=0.0004), whereas the overall stillbirth rate did not decrease significantly (slope decrease (β3) =-0.01; p=0.8296) compared with the pre-pandemic period. The quarterly rates during the pandemic among the higher income group decreased by 0.39% (p=0.1296) for PTB and increased by 0.07% (p=0.1565) for stillbirth. We observed an effect modification by SES for PTB rates (p=0.047).ConclusionWhile the onset of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions was not associated with significant effects on stillbirth rates, we observed an immediate and rebound effect on PTB rates. The impact of COVID-19 on preterm birth was dependent on SES, with higher influence on families with lower SES. Further studies are needed to detect future trend changes during pandemic waves after 2021 and assess potential underlying mechanisms.
| S-EPMC9943698 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Objectives: To assess the health inequality caused by foreign trade in China using individual self-rated health data from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). Methods: The GMM model was used to explore the direct and indirect effects of foreign trade on health level, and the concentration index method was then used to decompose the contribution of foreign trade to health inequality. Results: The direct effect of foreign trade does not contribute to the current health inequality, although the indirect effects of trade contribute to health inequality through inequalities in income and healthcare utilization. The indirect pollution effect of trade does not cause health inequality. Subsequently, the direct effect of trade aggravates the dynamic expansion trend of health inequality, whereas the indirect effects of trade alleviate the increasing trend of health inequality. Conclusion: Although foreign trade improves the overall health level in China, it contributes to health inequality. Optimizing product structure of trade, adjusting income distribution, and enhancing medical securities for low-income groups are necessary to alleviate the health inequality caused by foreign trade.
| S-EPMC9515319 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionFew studies examined socioeconomic contributors to racial disparities in low birth weight outcomes between African-American and Caucasian adolescent mothers. This cross-sectional study examined the intersections of maternal racial status, age, and neighborhood socioeconomic status in explaining these disparities in low birth weight outcomes across a statewide sample of adolescent mothers.MethodsUsing data from the North Carolina State Center of Health Statistics for 2010-2011, birth cases for 16,472 adolescents were geocoded by street address and linked to census-tract information from the 2010 United States Census. Multilevel models with interaction terms were used to identify significant associations between maternal racial status, age, and neighborhood socioeconomic status (as defined by census-tract median household income) and low birth weight outcomes across census tracts.ResultsSignificant racial differences were identified in which African-American adolescents had greater odds of low birth weight outcomes than Caucasian adolescents (OR=1.88, 95% CI 1.64, 2.15). Although racial disparities in low birth weight outcomes remained significant in context of maternal age and neighborhood socioeconomic status, the greatest disparities were found between African-American and Caucasian adolescents that lived in areas of higher socioeconomic status (p<.001). Maternal age was not significantly associated with racial differences in low birth weight outcomes.ConclusionThese findings indicate that racial disparities in low birth weight outcomes among adolescent mothers can vary by neighborhood socioeconomic status. Further investigations using intersectional frameworks are needed for examining the relationships between neighborhood socioeconomic status and birth outcome disparities among infants born to adolescent mothers.
| S-EPMC5560161 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTribal peoples are among the most marginalised groups worldwide. Evidence on birth outcomes in these groups is scant. We describe inequalities in Stillbirth Rate (SBR), Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR), and uptake of maternal and newborn health services between tribal and less disadvantaged groups in eastern India, and examine the contribution of poverty and education to these inequalities.MethodsWe used data from a demographic surveillance system covering a 1 million population in Jharkhand State (March 2017 - August 2019) to describe SBR, NMR, and service uptake. We used logistic regression analysis combined with Stata's adjrr-command to estimate absolute and relative inequalities by caste/tribe (comparing Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) and other Scheduled Tribes (ST) with the less marginalised Other Backward Class (OBC)/none, using the Indian government classification), and by maternal education and household wealth.ResultsPVTGs had a higher NMR (59/1000) than OBC/none (31/1000) (rate ratio (RR): 1.92, 95%CI: 1.55-2.38). This was partly explained by wealth and education, but inequalities remained large after adjustment (adjusted RR: 1.59, 95%CI: 1.28-1.98). NMR was also higher among other STs (44/1000), but disparities were smaller (RR: 1.47, 95%CI: 1.23-1.75). There was a systematic gradient in NMR by maternal education and household wealth. SBRs were only higher in poorer groups (RRpoorest vs. least poor:1.56, 95%CI: 1.14-2.13). Uptake of facility-based services was low among PVTGs (e.g. institutional birth: 25% vs. 69% in OBC/none) and among poorer and less educated women. However, 65% of PVTG women with an institutional birth used a maternity vehicle vs. 34% among OBC/none. Visits from frontline workers (Accredited Social Health Activists [ASHAs]) were similar across groups, and ASHA accompaniment of institutional births was similar across caste/tribe groups, and higher among poorer and less educated women. Attendance in participatory women's groups was similar across caste/tribe groups, and somewhat higher among richer and better educated women.ConclusionsPVTGs are highly disadvantaged in terms of birth outcomes. Targeted interventions that reduce geographical barriers to facility-based care and address root causes of high poverty and low education in PVTGs are a priority. For population-level impact, they are to be combined with broader policies to reduce socio-economic mortality inequalities. Community-based interventions reach disadvantaged groups and have potential to reduce the mortality gap.
| S-EPMC9074184 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study investigates disparities in child height-an important marker of population-level health-among population groups in rural India. India is an informative context in which to study processes of health disparities because of wide heterogeneity in the degree of local segregation or integration among caste groups. Building on a literature that identifies discrimination by quantifying whether differences in socioeconomic status (SES) can account for differences in health, we decompose height differences between rural children from higher castes and rural children from three disadvantaged groups. We find that socioeconomic differences can explain the height gap for children from Scheduled Tribes (STs), who tend to live in geographically isolated places. However, SES does not fully explain height gaps for children from the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Among SC and OBC children, local processes of discrimination also matter: the fraction of households in a child's locality that outrank her household in the caste hierarchy predicts her height. SC and OBC children who are surrounded by other lower-caste households are no shorter than higher-caste children of the same SES. Our results contrast with studies from other populations where segregation or apartheid are negatively associated with health.
| S-EPMC8638789 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and aimsChildhood vaccination remains a cost-effective strategy that has expedited the control and elimination of numerous diseases. Although coverage of new vaccines in low- and middle-income countries increased exponentially in the last two decades, progress on expanding routine vaccination services to reach all children remains low, and coverage levels in many countries remains inadequate. This study aimed to examine the pattern of wealth and residence-based related inequality in vaccination coverage through an equity lens.MethodsWe used data from the 2017-2018 Benin Demographic and Health Survey. Statistical and econometrics modeling were used to investigate factors associated with childhood vaccination. The Wagstaff decomposition analysis was used to disentangle the concentration index.ResultsA total of 1993 children were included, with 17% in the wealthiest quintile and 63% were living in rural areas. Findings showed that wealth is positively and significantly associated with vaccination coverage, particularly, for middle-wealth households. A secondary or higher education level of women and partners increased the odds of vaccination compared to no education (p < 0.05). Women with more antenatal care visits, with multiple births, attending postnatal care and delivery in a health facility had increased vaccination coverage (p < 0.01). Inequalities in vaccination coverage are more prominent in rural areas; and are explained by wealth, education, and antenatal care visits.ConclusionInequality in child vaccination varies according to socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics and is of interest to health policy. To mitigate inequalities in child vaccination coverage, policymakers should strengthen the availability and accessibility of vaccination and implement educational programs dedicated to vulnerable groups in rural areas.
| S-EPMC10117389 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mounting evidence suggests that income inequality is associated with worse individual health. But does the visibility of inequality matter? Using data from a horticultural-foraging society of native Amazonians in Bolivia (Tsimane'), we examined whether village inequality in resources and behaviors with greater cultural visibility is more likely to bear a negative association with health than village inequality in less conspicuous resources. We draw on a nine-year annual panel (2002-2010) from 13 Tsimane' villages for our main analysis, and an additional survey to gauge the cultural visibility of resources. We measured inequality using the Gini coefficient. We tested the robustness of our results using a shorter two-year annual panel (2008-2009) in another 40 Tsimane' villages and an additional measure of inequality (coefficient of variation, CV). Behaviors with low cultural visibility (e.g., household farm area planted with staples) were less likely to be associated with individual health, compared to more conspicuous behaviors (e.g., expenditures in durable goods, consumption of domesticated animals). We find some evidence that property rights and access to resources matter, with inequality of privately-owned resources showing a larger effect on health. More inequality was associated with improved perceived health - maybe due to improved health prospects from increasing wealth - and worse anthropometric indicators. For example, a unit increase in the Gini coefficient of expenditures in durable goods was associated with 0.24 fewer episodes of stress and a six percentage-point lower probability of reporting illness. A one-point increase in the CV of village inequality in meat consumption was associated with a 4 and 3 percentage-point lower probability of reporting illness and being in bed due to illness, and a 0.05 SD decrease in age-sex standardized arm-muscle area. In small-scale, rural societies at the periphery of market economies, nominal economic inequality in resources bore an association with individual health, but did not necessarily harm perceived health. Economic inequalities in small-scale societies apparently matter, but a thick cultural tapestry of reciprocity norms and kinship ties makes their effects less predictable than in industrial societies.
| S-EPMC5136506 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human memory is prone to memory errors and distortion. Evidence from studies on cognitive functions in bilinguals indicates that they might be prone to different types of memory errors compared to monolinguals; however, the effect of language in false memories is still understudied. Source monitoring processes required for proper memory functioning, presumably, rely on inhibitory control, which is also heavily utilized by bilinguals. Moreover, it is suggested that thinking in a second language leads to more systematic and deliberate reasoning. All these results lead to expect that bilinguals are more analytical when processing information in their second language overcoming some memory errors depending on the language of information. To test this hypothesis, we run a classical misinformation experiment with an explicit source monitoring task with a sample of Russian-English bilinguals. The language of the misinformation presentation did not affect the degree of the misinformation effect between the Russian and English languages. Source monitoring demonstrated an overall higher accuracy for attributions to the English source over the Russian source. Furthermore, analysis on incorrect source attributions showed that when participants misattributed the sources of false information (English or Russian narrative), they favored the Russian source over the not presented condition. Taken together, these results imply that high proficiency in the second language does not affect misinformation and that information processing and memory monitoring in bilinguals can differ depending on the language of the information, which seems to lead to some memory errors and not others.
| S-EPMC8505984 | biostudies-literature