Perception of uncontrollable mortality risk is associated with food insecurity and reduced economic effort among resource-insecure college students during COVID-19.

In the framework of the uncontrollable mortality risk hypothesis, resource scarcity intersects with mortality risk, shaping resource allocation strategies with enduring impacts on human health and wellbeing. Despite rising economic and food insecurity among US college students, little is known about how these insecurities relate to mortality risk, or how scarcity and mortality risk interact to shape college students' resource allocation strategies. We examine perceptions of resource scarcity and mortality risk and their associations with food insecurity and resource allocation strategies among economically insecure college students during COVID-19 lockdowns. Participants were recruited through an economic crisis response center at a major public university in the United States. A total of 118 participants completed an online Qualtrics survey assessing sociodemographic characteristics, perceptions of mortality risk and resource availability, food security, economic effort, and time perspective; a subset (n = 51) also participated in a telephone interview assessing psychological distress. In general, participants reported more environmental adversity and economic effort during COVID-19 lockdowns compared to before. Students experiencing higher levels of uncontrollable (and not controllable) mortality risk report lower levels of economic effort, and the association was strongest among students perceiving the fewest resources. We also found significant associations between uncontrollable mortality risk and food insecurity. Our results highlight uncontrollable mortality risk's influence on human well-being. Public health efforts should target the experiences and root structural causes of uncontrollable mortality risk, which among economically insecure college students increasingly involves food insecurity.

Investigating the linkages between food insecurity, psychological distress, and poor sleep outcomes among U.S. college students.

OBJECTIVE: Research overwhelmingly demonstrates that sleep is key to human health and wellbeing. Several factors likely contribute to sleep quality, including factors, such as food security and low income. In addition, exposure to structural inequalities early in life likely have downstream effects upon multiple dimensions of health. The objective of this study is to fill gaps in literature by specifically examining the associations between childhood food insecurity, current food insecurity, psychological distress, and sleep among college students. METHODS: QR codes were randomly distributed to students, linking them to an online quantitative survey. The survey measured sociodemographic variables, food security (current and childhood), diet, mental distress, and sleep quality. A total of n = 134 completed the entire survey. Data were analyzed using binary and multiple linear regressions, as well as cross-tabulations. RESULTS: The findings revealed that psychological distress was the primary factor influencing sleep health (𝛽 = 1.51, p < .01). Students reporting higher childhood food insecurity were more likely to experience extreme psychological distress (OR = 4.61), food insecurity in college (OR = 8.41), and lack of stable housing (OR = 5.86). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that potential linkages exist between childhood food insecurity, poor sleep, and greater psychological distress. While acknowledging the contribution of other factors, the study highlights the importance of addressing food insecurity in relation to sleep health, considering the significant impact of sleep to overall health and wellbeing.

Food insecurity, diet and mental distress among resource insecure students during COVID-19.

Background and objectives: It is well documented that college student populations are vulnerable to food insecurity and other adverse environmental conditions. Additionally, exposure to environmental adversity can have deleterious, long-term effects on physical and mental health. This study applies evolutionary life history theory to examine the relationship between environmental adversity, mental distress and diet among resource insecure university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: Structured and semi-structured surveys were used to assess perceptions of environmental adversity (including mortality risk, food insecurity and resource availability; and changes in these factors over the course of COVID-19), mental distress, diet and use of campus support services. Participants included 51 college students recruited through an economic crisis center located at a large public university in southern California. Results: Most students were experiencing mental distress and food insecurity, and food insecurity and other components of adversity increased during COVID-19. Food insecurity was significantly associated with both perceived extrinsic mortality risk and mental distress, whereas mental distress was significantly associated with reduced dietary quality and caloric intake. Use of two or more campus support resources and/or living with family or rent free disrupted the associations of food insecurity with extrinsic mortality risk and mental distress. Conclusion and Implication: This study contributes to a growing body of applied evolutionary frameworks concerned with the health and wellbeing of economically vulnerable populations. It also provides novel insights informed by life history theory into interventions and recommendations for improving support services for financially insecure college students.

Exploring biocultural models of chewing tobacco and paan among reproductive-aged women: Self-medication, protection, or gender inequality?

OBJECTIVES: Tobacco and areca nut are two of the most widely used psychoactive plant substances worldwide, yet the biocultural factors that account for variation in use patterns are not well understood. Here we attempt to understand the high prevalence of, and variation in, tobacco and areca nut use among reproductive-aged women. METHODS: Research was carried out in Mysore, Karnataka, India. First, we conducted a qualitative investigation where participants engaged in semistructured interviews and focus group discussions to uncover cultural norms of women's tobacco use. Findings informed the second stage of research which quantitatively tested three models of tobacco and areca nut use (N = 74). RESULTS: The qualitative study found that women were more likely to chew "natural" forms of tobacco and areca nut products (kaddipudi and paan). Quantitative tests of our hypotheses revealed that kaddipudi and combined tobacco use were best explained by the self-medication model, with somatic and environmental stress as strong indicators of use. The presence of cotinine, our biological indicator of tobacco use, was best modeled by gender inequality. We also found that men and women reported approximately equal tobacco use, even though their preferred types of tobacco and areca nut products differed. CONCLUSIONS: Findings did not support the protection hypothesis as it relates to plant toxins. Instead, this study suggests that women might exploit neurotoxins such as nicotine and arecoline to offset the cognitive and energetic costs associated with iron deficiency in stressful environments.

Medicinal foods and beverages among Maasai agro-pastoralists in northern Tanzania.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Pastoralist Maasai populations of east Africa use several different wild plants as dietary and medicinal additives in beverages (soups and teas), yet little is known about how the plants used and the rationales for use compare and contrast across different Maasai beverages, including how gender specific dietary and health concerns structure patterns of intake. AIM OF THE STUDY: We investigated three Maasai beverages: almajani (tea or herbal infusion); motorí (traditional soup); and okiti (psychoactive herbal tea). In order to build knowledge about the cultural functions of these Maasai food-medicines and their incidence of use we also investigated use rationales and self-reported frequencies of use. We conclude by examining gender differences and the possible pharmacological antimicrobial activity of the most frequently used plants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Research was conducted in 2015, with a population of semi-nomadic agropastoralist Maasai residing in northern Tanzania. Data were collected using key informant interviews, plant collections, n = 32 structured surveys, and n = 40 freelist interviews followed by a literature review to determine the known antimicrobial activity of the most used plants. RESULTS: We identified 20 plants that Maasai add to soup, 11 in tea, and 11 in the psychoactive tea, for a total of 24 herbal additives. Seven plant species were used in all three Maasai beverages, and these clustered with 10 common ailments. Based on self-reports, women use the beverages less frequently and in smaller amounts than men. There were also several gender differences in the plants that Maasai add to motorí and their associated use rationales. CONCLUSIONS: There are several intersections concerning the plant species used and their associated rationales for use in almajani, motori, and okiti. Moving outward, Maasai beverages and their additives increasingly involve gender specific concerns. Female use of food-medicines, relative to men, is structured by concerns over pregnancy, birth, and lactation. The frequent consumption of herbal additives, many of which contain antimicrobial compounds, potentially helps modulate infections, but could have other unintentional effects as well.

A two-month follow-up evaluation testing interventions to limit the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistant bacteria among Maasai of northern Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: In sub-Saharan Africa, efforts to control antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are aggravated by unregulated drug sales and use, and high connectivity between human, livestock, and wildlife populations. Our previous research indicates that Maasai agropastoralists-who have high exposure to livestock and livestock products and self-administer veterinary antibiotics-harbor antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli). Here, we report the results of a public health intervention project among Maasai aimed at reducing selection and transmission of E. coli bacteria. METHODS: Research was conducted in two Maasai communities in Northern Tanzania. Participants were provided with health knowledge and technological innovations to facilitate: 1) the prudent use of veterinary antibiotics (tape measures and dosage charts to calculate livestock weight for more accurate dosage), and, 2) the pasteurization of milk (thermometers), the latter of which was motivated by findings of high levels of resistant E. coli in Maasai milk. To determine knowledge retention and intervention adoption, we conducted a two-month follow-up evaluation in the largest of the two communities. RESULTS: Retention of antimicrobial knowledge was positively associated with retention of bacterial knowledge and, among men, retention of bacterial knowledge was associated with greater wealth. Bacterial and AMR knowledge were not, however, associated with self-reported use of the innovations. Among women, self-reported use of the thermometers was associated with having more children and greater retention of knowledge about the health benefits of the innovations. Whereas 70% of women used their innovations correctly, men performed only 18% of the weight-estimation steps correctly. Men's correct use was associated with schooling, such that high illiteracy rates remain an important obstacle to the dissemination and diffusion of weight-estimation materials. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that dietary preferences for unboiled milk, concerns over child health, and a desire to improve the health of livestock are important cultural values that need to be incorporated in future AMR-prevention interventions that target Maasai populations. More generally, these findings inform future community-health interventions to limit AMR.

Antimicrobial Use and Veterinary Care among Agro-Pastoralists in Northern Tanzania.

Frequent and unregulated use of antimicrobials (AM) in livestock requires public health attention as a likely selection pressure for resistant bacteria. Studies among small-holders, who own a large percentage of the world's livestock, are vital for understanding how practices involving AM use might influence resistance. We present a cultural-ecological mixed-methods analysis to explore sectors of veterinary care, loosely regulated AM use, and human exposure to AMs through meat and milk consumption across three rural to peri-urban Tanzanian ethnic groups (N = 415 households). Reported use of self-administered AMs varied by ethnic group (Maasai: 74%, Arusha: 21%, Chagga: 1%) as did consultation with professional veterinarians (Maasai: 36%, Arusha: 45%, Chagga: 96%) and observation of withdrawal of meat and milk from consumption during and following AM treatment (Maasai: 7%, Arusha: 72%, Chagga: 96%). The antibiotic oxytetracycline was by far the most common AM in this sample. Within ethnic groups, herd composition differences, particularly size of small-stock and cattle herds, were most strongly associated with differences in lay AM use. Among the Arusha, proxies for urbanization, including owning transportation and reliance on "zero-grazing" herds had the strongest positive associations with veterinarian consultation, while distance to urban centers was negatively associated. For Maasai, consultation was negatively associated with use of traditional healers or veterinary drug-shops. Observation of withdrawal was most strongly associated with owning technology among Maasai while Arusha observance displayed seasonal differences. This "One-Health" analysis suggests that livelihood and cultural niche factors, through their association with practices in smallholder populations, provide insight into the selection pressures that may contribute to the evolution and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.

A Biocultural Investigation of Gender Differences in Tobacco Use in an Egalitarian Hunter-Gatherer Population.

In the developing world, the dramatic male bias in tobacco use is usually ascribed to pronounced gender disparities in social, political, or economic power. This bias might also reflect under-reporting by woman and/or over-reporting by men. To test the role of gender inequality on gender differences in tobacco use we investigated tobacco use among the Aka, a Congo Basin foraging population noted for its exceptionally high degree of gender equality. We also tested a sexual selection hypothesis-that Aka men's tobacco use is related to risk taking. Tobacco use, income, tobacco purchases, tobacco sharing, reasons for using tobacco, risk taking, and other variables were measured using structured surveys and peer reports. Tobacco use was verified by testing for salivary cotinine, a nicotine metabolite. Contrary to expectations, we found a very large male bias in tobacco use. Low levels of use among females appeared to be explained by aversions to tobacco, concerns over its negative effects on fetal health, and a desire to attract husbands, who prefer nonsmoking wives. High male use appeared to be related to a desire to enhance hunting abilities and attract and/or retain wives, who prefer husbands that smoke. We conclude that low levels of smoking by Aka women are better explained by the hypothesis that women evolved to avoid plant toxins to protect their fetuses and nursing infants. High male use might be better explained by sexual selection. We also highlight the important role that recreational drugs appear to play in hunter-gatherer sharing relationships.

Teaching in hunter-gatherer infancy.

A debate exists as to whether teaching is part of human nature and central to understanding culture or whether it is a recent invention of Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, Democratic cultures. Some social-cultural anthropologists and cultural psychologists indicate teaching is rare in small-scale cultures while cognitive psychologists and evolutionary biologists indicate it is universal and key to understanding human culture. This study addresses the following questions: Does teaching of infants exist in hunter-gatherers? If teaching occurs in infancy, what skills or knowledge is transmitted by this process, how often does it occur and who is teaching? The study focuses on late infancy because cognitive psychologists indicate that one form of teaching, called natural pedagogy, emerges at this age. Videotapes of Aka hunter-gatherer infants were used to evaluate whether or not teaching exists among Aka hunter-gatherers of central Africa. The study finds evidence of multiple forms of teaching, including natural pedagogy, that are used to enhance learning of a variety of skills and knowledge.

High prevalence of cannabis use among Aka foragers of the Congo Basin and its possible relationship to helminthiasis.

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about cannabis use in hunter-gatherers. Therefore, we investigated cannabis use in the Aka, a population of foragers of the Congo Basin. Because cannabis contains anthelminthic compounds, and the Aka have a high prevalence of helminthiasis, we also tested the hypothesis that cannabis use might be an unconscious form of self-medication against helminths. METHODS: We collected self- and peer-reports of cannabis use from all adult Aka in the Lobaye district of the Central African Republic (n = 379). Because female cannabis use was low, we restricted sample collection to men. Using an immunoassay for Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-11-oic acid (THCA), a urinary biomarker of recent cannabis consumption, we validated cannabis use in men currently residing in camps near a logging road (n = 62). We also collected stool samples to assay worm burden. A longitudinal reinfection study was conducted among a subsample of the male participants (n = 23) who had been treated with a commercial anthelmintic 1 year ago. RESULTS: The prevalence of self- and peer-reported cannabis use was 70.9% among men and 6.1% among women, for a total prevalence of 38.6%. Using a 50 ng/ml threshold for THCA, 67.7% of men used cannabis. Cannabis users were significantly younger and had less material wealth than the non-cannabis users. There were significant negative associations between THCA levels and worm burden, and reinfection with helminths 1 year after treatment with a commercial anthelmintic. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of cannabis use among adult Aka men was high when compared to most global populations. THCA levels were negatively correlated with parasite infection and reinfection, supporting the self-medication hypothesis.

Explaining human recreational use of 'pesticides': The neurotoxin regulation model of substance use vs. the hijack model and implications for age and sex differences in drug consumption.

Most globally popular drugs are plant neurotoxins or their close chemical analogs. These compounds evolved to deter, not reward or reinforce, consumption. Moreover, they reliably activate virtually all toxin defense mechanisms, and are thus correctly identified by human neurophysiology as toxins. Acute drug toxicity must therefore play a more central role in drug use theory. We accordingly challenge the popular idea that the rewarding and reinforcing properties of drugs "hijack" the brain, and propose instead that the brain evolved to carefully regulate neurotoxin consumption to minimize fitness costs and maximize fitness benefits. This perspective provides a compelling explanation for the dramatic changes in substance use that occur during the transition from childhood to adulthood, and for pervasive sex differences in substance use: because nicotine and many other plant neurotoxins are teratogenic, children, and to a lesser extent women of childbearing age, evolved to avoid ingesting them. However, during the course of human evolution many adolescents and adults reaped net benefits from regulated intake of plant neurotoxins.