Hand grip strength, standing balance, and rapid foot tapping in relation to the menopausal transition in Campeche, Mexico.

OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional study investigated menopause status in relation to hand grip strength, standing balance, and rapid foot tapping. A secondary aim was to examine the relationship between physical performance and urban/rural residence with a focus on habitual daily tasks. METHODS: Maya and non-Maya women (40-60 years) were drawn from urban and rural sites in Campeche, Mexico (n = 543). Demographic, reproductive, and lifestyle information was collected in face-to-face interviews along with anthropometric and physical function measures. Linear regression was used to evaluate menopause status in relation to strength, balance, and foot tapping speed while adjusting for residence, ethnicity, and other variables. RESULTS: Hand grip strength was 22.5, 21.6, and 20.0 kg in pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women, respectively, but menopause status was not significantly related to grip strength in models adjusted for age. Grip strength was negatively associated with age and socioeconomic index, and positively associated with height and weight, self-reported health, and hours/week spent grinding corn/making tortillas. Postural stability was 9.4, 6.9, and 5.6 s across menopause categories; and menopause status remained significant in adjusted models. The number of foot taps in 10 s was 35.7, 33.4, and 33.9 taps in pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women. Parity was negatively associated with foot tapping in adjusted models. CONCLUSIONS: While age is a key predictor of physical function in women aged 40-60 years, menopausal status appears to have additional influences on postural control beyond age alone. Hours spent grinding corn/making tortillas were significantly associated with grip strength among rural women.

Age at menopause among rural and urban women in the state of Campeche, Mexico.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine age at natural menopause among women of Maya and non-Maya ancestry living in urban and rural communities in the state of Campeche, Mexico. METHODS: Women ages 40 to 60 (n = 543) participated in semi-structured interviews and anthropometric measures. The last names, languages spoken, and the birthplace of the woman, her parents, and her grandparents were used to determine Maya or non-Maya ethnicity. Recalled age at natural menopause was compared across four communities; analysis of variance was used to compare means and Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to compare medians. Probit analysis was also used to estimate median ages at menopause. Cox regression analyses were applied to identify variables associated with age at menopause. RESULTS: Mean recalled age at natural menopause across all sites was 46.7 years, ranging from 47.8 years in the city of Campeche to 43.9 years in the rural Maya communities in the municipality of Hopelchén. Median ages at menopause across all sites were 50.55 years by probit analysis and 50.5 years by Kaplan-Meier. Variables associated with a later age at menopause included higher socioeconomic status, higher parity, and a later age at menarche. CONCLUSIONS: The early mean recalled age at menopause in southern Hopelchén was consistent with previous studies in the Yucatán peninsula. As expected, probit and Kaplan-Meier analyses demonstrated later ages at menopause. Contrary to our expectations, Maya/non-Maya ethnicity was not associated with age at menopause. Demographic and reproductive factors were more important than ethnicity in explaining variation in age at menopause within the state of Campeche, Mexico.

[Food habitus: practices among migrant farm workers in a community of Sonora, Mexico]. / Habitus alimentario: prácticas entre trabajadores agrícolas migrantes en una comunidad de Sonora, México.

The objective is to analyze the food habitus and the changes in eating practices of pendulum and settled migrant agricultural workers in the city of Miguel Aleman in the state of Sonora. Based on an ethnographic approach, 21 in-depth interviews were conducted with both types of migrants from January 2016 to January 2018. We found that in these migrants, the consumption of industrialized products such as flours and sugars has increased, leading to malnutrition mainly in pendulum migrants and chronic diseases such as diabetes in settled migrants. We conclude that the food habitus is adjusted to the physical and economic availability of food and the logic of agricultural work, with eating structured as a practice of necessity. This reality materially and symbolically reproduces the subordinate position of agricultural workers in the face of the globalized economic and food production models, in which eating practices are debilitated by the difficulties of access to food.

El objetivo es analizar el habitus alimentario y los cambios en las prácticas de alimentación, comparando trabajadores agrícolas migrantes pendulares y asentados en la ciudad de Miguel Alemán, del estado de Sonora. A partir de un enfoque etnográfico, se realizaron 21 entrevistas en profundidad entre ambos tipos de migrantes desde enero de 2016 hasta enero de 2018. Encontramos que, en ambos tipos de migrantes, aumenta el consumo de productos industrializados, como harinas y azúcares, cuyos efectos en la salud provocan malnutrición, principalmente en migrantes pendulares, y enfermedades crónicas como diabetes, en migrantes asentados. Concluimos que el habitus alimentario se ajusta a la disponibilidad física y económica de los alimentos y la lógica del trabajo agrícola, así la alimentación se estructura como una práctica por necesidad. Esto reproduce material y simbólicamente la posición subordinada de los trabajadores agrícolas frente al modelo alimentario y económico globalizado, cuyas prácticas de alimentación se recrudecen por las dificultades de acceso a los alimentos.

Habitus alimentario: prácticas entre trabajadores agrícolas migrantes en una comunidad de Sonora, México / Food habitus: practices among migrant farm workers in a community of Sonora, Mexico

RESUMEN El objetivo es analizar el habitus alimentario y los cambios en las prácticas de alimentación, comparando trabajadores agrícolas migrantes pendulares y asentados en la ciudad de Miguel Alemán, del estado de Sonora. A partir de un enfoque etnográfico, se realizaron 21 entrevistas en profundidad entre ambos tipos de migrantes desde enero de 2016 hasta enero de 2018. Encontramos que, en ambos tipos de migrantes, aumenta el consumo de productos industrializados, como harinas y azúcares, cuyos efectos en la salud provocan malnutrición, principalmente en migrantes pendulares, y enfermedades crónicas como diabetes, en migrantes asentados. Concluimos que el habitus alimentario se ajusta a la disponibilidad física y económica de los alimentos y la lógica del trabajo agrícola, así la alimentación se estructura como una práctica por necesidad. Esto reproduce material y simbólicamente la posición subordinada de los trabajadores agrícolas frente al modelo alimentario y económico globalizado, cuyas prácticas de alimentación se recrudecen por las dificultades de acceso a los alimentos.

ABSTRACT The objective is to analyze the food habitus and the changes in eating practices of pendulum and settled migrant agricultural workers in the city of Miguel Aleman in the state of Sonora. Based on an ethnographic approach, 21 in-depth interviews were conducted with both types of migrants from January 2016 to January 2018. We found that in these migrants, the consumption of industrialized products such as flours and sugars has increased, leading to malnutrition mainly in pendulum migrants and chronic diseases such as diabetes in settled migrants. We conclude that the food habitus is adjusted to the physical and economic availability of food and the logic of agricultural work, with eating structured as a practice of necessity. This reality materially and symbolically reproduces the subordinate position of agricultural workers in the face of the globalized economic and food production models, in which eating practices are debilitated by the difficulties of access to food.

Variation in levels of AMH among Maya and non-Maya women in Campeche, Mexico.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels among women of Maya and non-Maya ancestry in the city of Campeche, Mexico. Levels of AMH can potentially predict age at menopause. Previous studies have indicated an early mean age at menopause among the Maya. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women aged 40-60 (n = 97) participated in semistructured interviews, anthropometric measures, and blood samples. Maya/non-Maya ethnicity was determined by the last names, languages spoken, and birthplace of the woman, her parents, and her grandparents. AMH values were categorized as detectable (0.05-4.19 ng/mL) and undetectable (<0.05 ng/mL). Logistic regressions calculated odds ratios (OR) for undetectable AMH. RESULTS: Women were categorized as Maya (n = 44), not Maya (n = 39), or not able to be clearly defined (n = 14). In bivariate comparisons, women with detectable levels of AMH were younger, more likely to be pre-menopausal, and not Maya. Age, menopausal status, and ethnicity remained significant in a logistic regression models after controlling for age at menarche. Maya women were more than five times as likely to have nondetectable AMH levels as non-Maya women. DISCUSSION: Increasing age and progression through the menopausal transition were both associated with declining levels of AMH. The association between Maya ethnicity and a lower likelihood of detecting AMH is consistent with the early ages at menopause reported in previous studies. We considered a rapid life history model as an explanatory framework, and suggest, from an ecological perspective, that future research should consider measures of developmental stress that may compromise ovarian reserves.

Stress and the menopausal transition in Campeche, Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Stress has been implicated as a factor in the presence and severity of symptoms during the menopausal transition. Our primary aim was to test the hypothesis that stress-sensitive biological measures and self-reported stress would be positively associated with a greater likelihood and intensity of hot flashes. Our secondary aim was to examine measures of stress in relation to the most often reported symptoms in Campeche, Mexico. We also hypothesized ethnic differences (Maya versus non-Maya) in relation to measures of stress and symptom reports. METHODS: Participants aged 40-60 (n = 305) were drawn from multiple sites across the city of San Francisco de Campeche to achieve a generally representative sample. Measures included C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation; Epstein-Barr virus antibodies (EBV-Ab), an indicator of immune function; the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); a symptom checklist; anthropometric measures; and a questionnaire that elicited symptoms, ethnicity (based on language, birthplace, and last names of the woman, her parents, and her grandparents) and ten dimensions of socioeconomic status (SES). The relationships between symptoms and stress-sensitive biological and self-reported measures were examined in bivariate analyses, and with logistic and linear regressions. RESULTS: The twelve most common symptoms reported, in descending order of frequency, were tiredness, muscle and joint pain, nervous tension, problems concentrating, feeling depressed, difficulty sleeping, headaches, feeling of ants crawling on the skin, loss of interest in sex, urinary stress incontinence, hot flashes, and night sweats. PSS scores were significantly associated with the likelihood of seven symptoms (yes/no), and with the intensity of ten symptoms after controlling for ethnicity, SES, education, cohabitation status, parity, smoking, body mass index, and menopausal status. The stress-sensitive biological measures of immune function (EBV-Ab and CRP) were not significantly associated with midlife symptoms. The PSS was associated with more symptoms among the Maya (e.g., feeling nervous/tense and having difficulty concentrating) than non-Maya. CONCLUSION: PSS scores were associated with the intensity, but not the likelihood, of hot flashes. Other symptoms were also associated with self-reported stress but not with physiological measures. Maya/non-Maya differences may indicate that either symptoms or stress were experienced and/or reported in culture-specific ways.

An investigation of life circumstances associated with the experience of hot flashes in Campeche, Mexico.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to better understand the experience of calores (hot flashes) in the state of Campeche, Mexico, and characteristics of women's lives. This study was carried out to understand the sociocultural context of women's lives before conducting a larger semistructured survey in the same communities. METHODS: Eighty-five women from rural and urban settings participated in open-ended interviews about the menopausal transition, with particular attention to hot flashes. Univariate and logistic regression analyses identified potential determinants of hot flashes. Qualitative responses were analyzed for central themes from the 40 women who experienced "calores" associated with menopause at the time of interview. RESULTS: The word "calores" was used to describe a variety of sensations and experiences related to the hot climate, infections, going in and out of air-conditioning, emotional stress, and physical exertion, as well as the symptom associated with menopause. In quantitative analyses, the likelihood of experiencing hot flashes varied by menopause status and rural/urban residence. In qualitative analyses, themes that characterized the lives of women with hot flashes were as follows: the search for, and the availability of, biomedical care; presence or absence of networks of social support; marital status and quality of the relationship; and occupational stress. CONCLUSIONS: Hot flash questionnaires can elicit different symptom frequencies depending on the language used and the sociocultural context of women's lives. Qualitative findings suggest that the themes most likely to influence the perception and experience of hot flashes in Campeche are biomedicine, social support, marriage, and stress.

[Human vulnerability to Trypanosoma cruzi vector transmission through health-disease processes and social appropriation of the territory]. / La vulnerabilidad humana a la transmisión vectorial de Trypanosoma cruzi a través de los procesos de salud-enfermedad y la apropiación social del territorio.

Risk studies of Trypanosoma cruzi vector transmission have classically overlooked the role of social behaviors and subjectivities within the natural landscape and social environment. A review and analysis of the literature on relevant biological, eco-epidemiological and sociocultural factors was combined with an ethnographic study in order to develop a risk model framework identifying the components of hazard and human vulnerability. Social practices, representations and knowledge regarding the health-disease-care process and the social appropriation of the territory are considered as elements explicative of human vulnerability. Exploring these components within an ethnographic analysis allows new options and more adequate prevention or comprehensive risk control measures to be identified.

Social Representations and Practices Towards Triatomines and Chagas Disease in Calakmul, México.

Vector-borne transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi (VBTTc) is dependent on the concomitant interaction between biological and environmental hazard over the entire landscape, and human vulnerability. Representations and practices of health-disease-care-seeking and territorial appropriation and use were analyzed for VBTTc in a qualitative ethnographic study in the Zoh-Laguna landscape, Campeche, Mexico. In-depth interviews and participatory observation explored representations and practices regarding ethno-ecological knowledge related to vector-transmission, health-disease-care-seeking, and land use processes. The population has a broad knowledge of biting insects, which they believe are all most abundant in the rainy season; the community´s proximity to natural areas is perceived as a barrier to control their abundance. Triatomines are mostly recognized by men, who have detailed knowledge regarding their occurrence and association with mammals in non-domestic fragments, where they report being bitten. Women emphasize the dermal consequences of triatomine bites, but have little knowledge about the disease. Triatomine bites and the chinchoma are "normalized" events which are treated using home remedies, if at all. The neglected condition of Chagas disease in Mexican public health policies, livelihoods which are dependent on primary production, and gender-related knowledge (or lack thereof) are structural circumstances which influence the environment and inhabitants´ living conditions; in turn, these trigger triatomine-human contact. The most important landscape practices producing vulnerability are the activities and mobility within and between landscape fragments causing greater exposure of inhabitants primarily in the dry season. A landscape approach to understanding vulnerability components of VBTTc from health-disease-care-seeking perspectives and based on territorial appropriation and use, is essential where there is continuous movement of vectors between and within all habitats. An understanding of the structural factors which motivate the population´s perceptions, beliefs, and practices and which create and maintain vulnerability is essential to develop culturally relevant and sustainable community-based VBTTc prevention and control.

La vulnerabilidad humana a la transmisión vectorial de Trypanosoma cruzi a través de los procesos de salud-enfermedad y la apropiación social del territorio / Human vulnerability to Trypanosoma cruzi vector transmission through health-disease processes and social appropriation of the territory

Los estudios sobre el riesgo de la transmisión vectorial de Trypanosoma cruzi a población humana han desatendido el rol del comportamiento y de la subjetividad de las relaciones sociales en el marco del paisaje natural y el contexto social. A través de una revisión y síntesis de la bibliografía sobre los factores biológicos, ecoepidemiológicos y socioculturales que intervienen en el fenómeno, en conjunto con un estudio etnográfico, se propone un modelo de análisis del riesgo que distingue los componentes de peligro y de la vulnerabilidad humana. Los conocimientos, prácticas y representaciones sociales respecto del proceso salud-enfermedad-atención y de la apropiación social del territorio se plantean como elementos explicativos de la vulnerabilidad humana. Los componentes de la vulnerabilidad propuestos se exploran en el marco de un análisis etnográfico, que permite identificar opciones y medidas preventivas o de control integral del riesgo más adecuadas.

Risk studies of Trypanosoma cruzi vector transmission have classically overlooked the role of social behaviors and subjectivities within the natural landscape and social environment. A review and analysis of the literature on relevant biological, eco-epidemiological and sociocultural factors was combined with an ethnographic study in order to develop a risk model framework identifying the components of hazard and human vulnerability. Social practices, representations and knowledge regarding the health-disease-care process and the social appropriation of the territory are considered as elements explicative of human vulnerability. Exploring these components within an ethnographic analysis allows new options and more adequate prevention or comprehensive risk control measures to be identified.

La vulnerabilidad humana a la transmisión vectorial de Trypanosoma cruzi a través de los procesos de salud-enfermedad y la apropiación social del territorio / Human vulnerability to Trypanosoma cruzi vector transmission through health-disease processes and social appropriation of the territory

Los estudios sobre el riesgo de la transmisión vectorial de Trypanosoma cruzi a población humana han desatendido el rol del comportamiento y de la subjetividad de las relaciones sociales en el marco del paisaje natural y el contexto social. A través de una revisión y síntesis de la bibliografía sobre los factores biológicos, ecoepidemiológicos y socioculturales que intervienen en el fenómeno, en conjunto con un estudio etnográfico, se propone un modelo de análisis del riesgo que distingue los componentes de peligro y de la vulnerabilidad humana. Los conocimientos, prácticas y representaciones sociales respecto del proceso salud-enfermedad-atención y de la apropiación social del territorio se plantean como elementos explicativos de la vulnerabilidad humana. Los componentes de la vulnerabilidad propuestos se exploran en el marco de un análisis etnográfico, que permite identificar opciones y medidas preventivas o de control integral del riesgo más adecuadas.(AU)

Risk studies of Trypanosoma cruzi vector transmission have classically overlooked the role of social behaviors and subjectivities within the natural landscape and social environment. A review and analysis of the literature on relevant biological, eco-epidemiological and sociocultural factors was combined with an ethnographic study in order to develop a risk model framework identifying the components of hazard and human vulnerability. Social practices, representations and knowledge regarding the health-disease-care process and the social appropriation of the territory are considered as elements explicative of human vulnerability. Exploring these components within an ethnographic analysis allows new options and more adequate prevention or comprehensive risk control measures to be identified.(AU)

Experiencias y prácticas curativas de las familias de cuatro comunidades de Calakmul, Campeche. Búsqueda y uso de los recursos de atención alopáticos, tradicionales y domésticos / Experiences and healing practices of the families of four communities of Calakmul, Campeche. Search and use of allopathic, traditional and domestic care resources

Las familias de cuatro comunidades de Calakmul, Campeche, utilizan tres estrategias de atención a la salud al enfermarse de infecciones respiratorias y gastrointestinales. Al padecer de molestias, dolores y cambios físicos y anímicos. Estos problemas comparten síntomas y pueden confundirse. Lo anterior lleva a los habitantes a buscar y experimentar tratamientos en ocasiones poco eficaces. La experiencia de la enfermedad y la búsqueda-uso de todos los tratamientos son vitales en el proceso de curación y conocimiento de las causas de sus males. En estas experiencias hay convivencias, complementariedades y/o contraposición de saberes y prácticas curativas. El uso de una, otra o todas las prácticas depende del diagnóstico y tratamiento inicial de la madre de familia, la experiencia de la enfermedad y la eficacia curativa de cada recurso de atención.

Medicina tradicional y la medicina basada en la evidencia. El caso de un huesero de dos comunidades afromestizas de Veracruz, México / Traditional medicine and evidence-based medicine. The case of a bonesetter from two afromestizas communities of Veracruz, Mexico

Actualmente la Organización Mundial de la Salud (oms) está interesada en promover la medicina tradicional como alternativa para la atención de los problemas de salud; empero, establece como condicionantes los parámetros ofrecidos por la Medicina Basada en la Evidencia, y al cuestionar con base en dichos parámetros los tratamientos ofrecidos por la medicina tradicional, le genera descrédito, limitando la posibilidad de aplicarla en sectores más amplios de la población e incluso, puede contribuir a su desaparición. Con la finalidad de coadyuvar en la consecución del propósito de la oms, se presenta como respuesta a dichos cuestionamientos la descripción del trabajo de un huesero de las localidades de Mata Clara y El Manantial, municipio de Cuitláhuac, en la Región de Yanga, Veracruz, así como testimonios de algunas personas que han sido objeto de sus beneficios.