Variation in grandmaternal investment in Ukraine.

BACKGROUND: Grandmothers vary in their contributions to grandchildren based on their relatedness and the sex of the child. Maternal grandmothers decrease grandchildren's risk of mortality and increase grandchildren's health more significantly than paternal grandmothers, but limited evidence suggests that paternal grandmothers may invest more in female than male grandchildren. AIMS: In this study, I test whether contact frequency between grandmothers and grandchildren is influenced by their relatedness (maternal vs paternal) or the sex of the child. This research was carried out in Ukraine because it is neither matrilocal nor patrilocal, and Ukrainian grandmothers are known to provide a high rate of childcare. METHODS: This study included interviews with 60 grandmothers that asked about contact frequency with grandchildren, relatedness (maternal or paternal), and contact frequency between the grandchild and the other grandmother. A dataset generated for each grandchild (n = 128) included sex, age, and contact frequency with both maternal and paternal grandmothers. Linear mixed models were fit to the data to explore the relationship between grandmother relatedness and contact frequency. RESULTS: On average, maternal grandmothers saw their grandchildren 173.8 days/year, while paternal grandmothers saw their grandchildren 87.5 days/year (p < 0.001). The sex of the child was not a significant factor in determining contact frequency. CONCLUSION: In Ukraine, maternal grandmothers have more frequent contact with their grandchildren. This finding supports the idea that grandmaternal investment is an evolutionarily adaptive strategy. However, the bias towards maternal grandmothers may also be explained by a post-socialist cultural context, which necessitates grandmaternal care.

The influence of habitual physical activity and sedentary behavior on objective and subjective hot flashes at midlife.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate relationships between physical activity, sedentary time, and hot flashes during both waking and sleeping periods using concurrent objective and subjective measures of hot flashes in midlife women. METHODS: Women aged 45 to 55 years (n = 196) provided self-reported data on physical activity and underwent 24 hours of hot flash monitoring using sternal skin conductance. Participants used event marking and logs to indicate when hot flashes were perceived. Wake and sleep periods were defined by actigraphy. Mean ambient temperature and humidity were recorded during the study period. Generalized linear regression modeling was used to evaluate the effect of physical activity types and sedentary time on hot flash outcomes. Isotemporal substitution modeling was used to study the effect of replacing sedentary time with activity variables on hot flash frequency. RESULTS: Modeled results indicated that increasing sitting by 1 hour was associated with a 7% increase in the rate of objectively measured but not subjectively reported hot flashes during sleep. Replacing 1 hour of sitting with 1 hour of vigorous activity was associated with a 100% increase in subjectively reported but not objectively measured waking hot flashes. There was little evidence for an effect of temperature or humidity on any hot flash outcome. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide support for relations between sedentary time, physical activity, and hot flashes and highlight the importance of using objective and subjective assessments to better understand the 24-hour hot flash experience.

Acute increases in physical activity and temperature are associated with hot flash experience in midlife women.

OBJECTIVE: This study determined the association between acute changes in physical activity, temperature, and humidity and 24-hour subjective and objective hot flash experience. METHODS: Data collection occurred during the cooler months of the year in Western Massachusetts (October-April). Women aged 45-55 across three menopause stages (n = 270) were instrumented with ambulatory monitors to continuously measure hot flashes, physical activity, temperature, and humidity for 24 hours. Objective hot flashes were assessed via sternal skin conductance, and subjective hot flashes were recorded by pressing an event marker and data logging. Physical activity was measured with wrist-worn accelerometers and used to define sleep and wake periods. Logistic multilevel modeling was used to examine the differences in physical activity, humidity, and temperature in the 10 minutes preceding a hot flash versus control windows when no hot flashes occurred. The odds of hot flashes were considered separately for objective and subjective hot flashes as well as for wake and sleep periods. RESULTS: Data from 188 participants were included in the analyses. There was a significantly greater odds of a hot flash following acute increases in physical activity for objective waking hot flashes (odds ratio [OR], 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-1.47; P < 0.001) and subjective waking hot flashes (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.0-1.33; P = 0.03). Acute increases in the actigraphy signal were associated with significantly higher odds of having an objective (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.03-1.35; P < 0.01) or subjective (OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.52-2.01; P < 0.001) sleeping hot flash. Increases in temperature were significantly related to the odds of subjective sleeping hot flashes only (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.15-1.62; P < 0.001). There was no evidence for a relationship between humidity and odds of experiencing any hot flashes. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that acute increases in physical activity increase the odds of hot flashes that are objectively measured and subjectively reported during waking and sleeping periods. Temperature increases were only related to subjectively reported nighttime hot flashes.

A comparison of stress, symptoms, physical activity, and adiposity among women at midlife before and during the pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges that disproportionately impacted women. Household roles typically performed by women (such as resource acquisition and caretaking) became more difficult due to financial strain, fear of infection, and limited childcare options among other concerns. This research draws from an on-going study of hot flashes and brown adipose tissue to examine the health-related effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among 162 women aged 45-55 living in western Massachusetts. METHODS: We compared women who participated in the study pre- and early pandemic with women who participated mid-pandemic and later-pandemic (when vaccines became widely available). We collected self-reported symptom frequencies (e.g., aches/stiffness in joints, irritability), and assessments of stress, depression, and physical activity through questionnaires as well as measures of adiposity (BMI and percent body fat). Additionally, we asked open-ended questions about how the pandemic influenced women's health and experience of menopause. Comparisons across pre-/early, mid-, and later pandemic categories were carried out using ANOVA and Chi-square analyses as appropriate. The Levene test for homogeneity of variances was examined prior to each ANOVA. Open-ended questions were analyzed for yes/no responses and general themes. RESULTS: Contrary to our hypothesis that women would suffer negative health-related consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found no significant differences in women's health-related measures or physical activity across the pandemic. However, our analysis of open-ended responses revealed a bi-modal distribution of answers that sheds light on our unexpected findings. While some women reported higher levels of stress and anxiety and lower levels of physical activity, other women reported benefitting from the remote life that the pandemic imposed and described having more time to spend on physical activity or in quality time with their families. CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional comparison of women during the pre-/early, mid-, and later-pandemic, we found no significant differences across means in multiple health-related variables. However, open-ended questions revealed that while some women suffered health-related effects during the pandemic, others experienced conditions that improved their health and well-being. The differential results of this study highlight a need for more nuanced and intersectional research on risk, vulnerabilities, and coping among mid-life women.