Vulnerability factors in conflict-related mental health.

INTRODUCTION: Societies marked by armed conflict face huge challenges in mental health care provision due to lowered resources and destruction of infrastructure along with an increased need for care. This especially affects the vulnerable groups already facing bigger challenges in terms of higher disease burden and limited access to care. AIM: To examine how the association between conflict-related trauma and mental health is affected by different factors affecting the individual's vulnerability, and to address the provision of and barriers in access to mental health services in conflict and post-conflict contexts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Scoping literature review based on a focused literature search in PubMed and DIGNITY Documentation Centre and Library. RESULTS: Population mental health may be affected by violence and by general hardship by (1) causing new mental health conditions, predominantly PTSD, depression and anxiety, and (2) exacerbating pre-existing mental health conditions. Violence, stigmatization, social and physical capital, gender and access to health care were identified as the main vulnerability factors affecting the association between conflict and mental health conditions. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The associations between violence, vulnerability and mental health might be overlapping and multi-directed. Vulnerability is considered an effect-modifier on the associations between conflict/trauma and mental health.

Análisis de la morfología dental en escolares afrocolombianos de Villa Rica, Cauca, Colombia / Dental morphology analysis of Afro-Colombian schoolchildren from Villa Rica, Cauca, Colombia

Introducción: el estudio de la morfología dental permite esclarecer el estado evolutivo (distancia biológica y grado demestizaje) de una población, aportando información sobre los procesos etnohistóricos de las comunidades colombianas, dentro de los contextos antropológico, odontológico y forense. Métodos: estudio descriptivo transversal cuantitativo que caracterizó la morfología dental mediante el sistema Asudas (Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System) de trece rasgos morfológicos dentales coronales(winging, crowding, incisivos centrales y laterales en pala, doble pala, rasgo de Carabelli, reducción del hipocono, pliegue acodado, protostílido, patrón cuspídeo, número de cúspides, cúspides 6 y 7) observados en 116 modelos de yeso (59 mujeres y 57 hombres) deun grupo de escolares afrocolombianos del municipio de Villa Rica, departamento del Cauca. Resultados: se observaron frecuencias significativas del rasgo de Carabelli, configuración de los patrones cuspídeos X5 y X6 (LM1) y +4 y +5 (LM2), ausencia de reduccióndel hipocono, frecuencia relativa de la cúspide 7 y bajas frecuencias de incisivos en pala y doble pala. También, se puede afirmar que los Rasgos Morfológicos Dentales Coronales (RMDC) estudiados no presentan dimorfismo sexual y asimetría bilateral. Conclusiones: la muestra observada cuenta con una morfología dental propia de poblaciones que conforman el complejo dental caucasoide, sinembargo, es evidente la influencia de grupos regionales de origen mongoloide y la afinidad biológica con grupos regionales de mestizos caucasoides y de afrocolombianos.

Introduction: the study of dental morphology allows establishing the evolutionary state (biological distance and crossbreeding status) of a community, offering information on its ethno-historical processes (in this case a Colombian population) within the anthropological, dental, and forensic contexts. Methods: this was a quantitative, transversal, descriptive study with the intention of establishing dental morphology by means of the Asudas system (Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System) based on thirteen crown morphologic dental traits (winging, crowding, shovel-shaped central incisors, shovel-shaped lateral incisors, double shoveling,Carabelli’s cusp, hypocone reduction, deflecting wrinkle, protostylid, cusp pattern, cusp number, cusp 6, and cusp 7) Results: significant frequencies of these traits were observed: Carabelli’s cusp, configuration of cuspid patterns X5 and X6 (LM1) and +4 and +5 (LM2),absence of hypocone reduction, relative frequency of cusp 7, and low frequencies of shovel-shaped incisors and double shoveling. It may also be stated that the studied crown morphologic dental traits (CMDT) do not show sexual dimorphism or bilateral asymmetry. Conclusions: the analyzed sample shows a dental morphology typical of populations of the Caucasoid dental complex; however, the influence of Mongoloid groups and biological affinities with Caucasoid mestizo groups and Afro-Colombian populations is also evident.