scholarly journals Gene–environment interactions related to body mass: School policies and social context as environmental moderators

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason D Boardman ◽  
Michael E Roettger ◽  
Benjamin W Domingue ◽  
Matthew B McQueen ◽  
Brett C Haberstick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
School Policies ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Genetic Components ◽  
Institutional Resources ◽  
Using Data ◽  
School Differences

This paper highlights the role of institutional resources and policies, whose origins lie in political processes, in shaping the genetic etiology of body mass among a national sample of adolescents. Using data from Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we decompose the variance of body mass into environmental and genetic components. We then examine the extent to which the genetic influences on body mass are different across the 134 schools in the study. Taking advantage of school differences in both health-related policies and social norms regarding body size, we examine how institutional resources and policies alter the relative impact of genetic influences on body mass. For the entire sample, we estimate a heritability of .82, with the remaining .18 due to unique environmental factors. However, we also show variation about this estimate and provide evidence suggesting that social norms and institutional policies often mask genetic vulnerabilities to increased weight. Empirically, we demonstrate that more restrictive school policies and policies designed to curb weight gain are also associated with decreases in the proportion of variance in body mass that is due to additive genetic influences.

scholarly journals The impact of late-career job loss and genetic risk on body mass index: Evidence from variance polygenic scores

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren L. Schmitz ◽  
Julia Goodwin ◽  
Jiacheng Miao ◽  
Qiongshi Lu ◽  
Dalton Conley
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Complex Traits ◽  
Job Loss ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

AbstractUnemployment shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic have reignited concerns over the long-term effects of job loss on population health. Past research has highlighted the corrosive effects of unemployment on health and health behaviors. This study examines whether the effects of job loss on changes in body mass index (BMI) are moderated by genetic predisposition using data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS). To improve detection of gene-by-environment (G × E) interplay, we interacted layoffs from business closures—a plausibly exogenous environmental exposure—with whole-genome polygenic scores (PGSs) that capture genetic contributions to both the population mean (mPGS) and variance (vPGS) of BMI. Results show evidence of genetic moderation using a vPGS (as opposed to an mPGS) and indicate genome-wide summary measures of phenotypic plasticity may further our understanding of how environmental stimuli modify the distribution of complex traits in a population.

A genomewide study of body mass index and its genetic correlation with thromboembolic risk

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 1036-1043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geórgia Pena ◽  
Andrey Ziyatdinov ◽  
Alfonso Buil ◽  
Sonia López ◽  
Jordi Fontcuberta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Genetic Correlation ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Thromboembolic Disease ◽  
Thromboembolic Risk ◽  
Genetic Components ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Thrombosis Risk ◽  
Bivariate Linkage Analysis ◽  
Genome Wide Scan

SummaryThrombosis and obesity are complex epidemiologically associated diseases. The mechanism of this association is not yet understood. It was the objective of this study to identify genetic components of body mass index (BMI) and their possible role in the risk of thromboembolic disease. With the self-reported BMI of 397 individuals from 21 extended families enrolled in the GAIT (Genetic Analysis of Idiopathic Thrombophilia) Project, we estimated the heritability of BMI and the genetic correlation with the risk of thrombosis. Subjects were genotyped for an autosomal genome-wide scan with 363 highly-informative DNA markers. Univariate and bivariate multipoint linkage analyses were performed. The heritability for BMI was 0.31 (p= 2.9×10–5). Thromboembolic disease (including venous and arterial) and BMI had a significant genetic correlation (ρG= 0.54, p= 0.005). Two linkage signals for BMI were obtained, one at 13q34 (LOD= 3.36, p= 0.0004) and other at 2q34, highly suggestive of linkage (LOD= 1.95). Bivariate linkage analysis with BMI and thrombosis risk also showed a significant signal at 13q34 (LOD= 3), indicating that this locus influences at the same time normal variation in the BMI phenotype as well as susceptibility to thrombosis. In conclusion, BMI and thrombosis are genetically correlated. The locus 13q34, which showed pleiotropy with both phenotypes, contains two candidate genes, which may explain our linkage pleiotropic signal and deserve further investigation as possible risk factors for obesity and thrombosis.

The Utility of Family Life Cycle as a Theoretical and Empirical Tool

2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn A. Kapinus ◽  
Michael P. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Family Life Cycle ◽  
Predictive Tool ◽  
The Family ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Married Men ◽  
Using Data

Using data from a 1980 national sample of married men and women, the analysis examines the utility of the family life cycle concept, employing as dependent variables constructs from Johnson’s conceptualization of commitment. They argue, in disagreement with two classic critiques of the family life cycle concept, that the predictive power of family life cycle is, for many dependent variables, quite independent of age or length of marriage. Their analyses demonstrate that, when using dependent variables one would expect to be related to the presence and ages of children, family life cycle remains a useful predictive tool.

54 Body Mass Index vs Weight-for-Length in Infancy and Cardiometabolic Outcomes at Age 8-10 Years

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. e39-e39
Author(s):  
Jean-Baptiste Roberge ◽  
Soren Harnois-Leblanc ◽  
Vanessa McNealis ◽  
Andraea van Hulst ◽  
Tracie A Barnett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Growth Monitoring ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Eta Squared ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Primary Subject area Public Health and Preventive Medicine Background The WHO provides body mass index (BMI) curves for infants 0 to < 2 years old, but how these compare to the recommended method (weight-for-length [WFL]) in predicting later adiposity and cardiometabolic measures is uncertain. Objectives Our project aimed to: 1) confirm that WFL and BMI in infancy are associated with adiposity and cardiometabolic measures at 8-10 years old; and 2) compare the predictive ability of the two methods. We hypothesized that both methods would perform similarly. Design/Methods WFL and BMI Z-scores (zWFL and zBMI) at 6, 12, and 18 months of age were computed using data extracted from health booklets, used among participants in a prospective cohort study investigating the natural history of obesity and cardiovascular risk in youth (n = 464). Outcome measures at 8-10 years included adiposity, lipid profile, blood pressure, and insulin dynamics. The relationships between zWFL, zBMI, and each outcome were estimated using multivariable linear regression models. Outcome prediction at 8-10 years was compared between the two methods, using eta-squared and Lin’s concordance correlation. Results zWFL and zBMI were associated with all measures of adiposity at 8-10 years. Associations with other cardiometabolic measures were less consistent. For both zWFL and zBMI across infancy, eta-squared were highly similar and the Lin’s coefficients were markedly high (> 0.991) for all outcomes. Conclusion zBMI measured in infants appeared to be equivalent to zWFL for predicting adiposity and cardiometabolic measures in childhood. This lends support to the sole use of zBMI for growth monitoring and screening of overweight and obesity from birth to 18 years.

scholarly journals Co-benefits associated with public support for climate-friendly COVID-19 recovery policies and political activism

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (05) ◽  
pp. A08
Author(s):  
Jagadish Thaker ◽  
Brian Floyd
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Using Data

Scientists highlight that actions that address environmental protection and climate change can also help with reducing infectious disease threats. Results using data from a national sample survey in New Zealand indicate that perceptions of co-benefits of actions to address environmental protection that also protect against infectious disease outbreaks such as the coronavirus is associated with policy support and political engagement. This association was partly mediated through perceived collective efficacy. Local councils with higher level of community collective efficacy were more likely to declare climate emergency. Communication about potential co-benefits is likely to shape public engagement and enact policy change.

scholarly journals Political Correlates of Apophatic and Cataphatic Listening Styles

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eike Mark Rinke ◽  
Patricia Moy
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Test ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Normative Concepts ◽  
Political Outcomes ◽  
Critical Error ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Task Oriented ◽  
And Task

While it is a truism that political voice is a cornerstone of democratic theory, less theorizing has focused on its counterpart, political listening. Drawing upon research related to listening practices, this study operationalizes for empirical study Dobson’s (2014) normative concepts of apophatic listening, which is dialogic and facilitates discussion across lines of difference, and cataphatic listening, which is monologic and disruptive in nature. Using data from a national sample survey of Latinos fielded shortly after the 2016 U.S. presidential election (N = 720), we provide an empirical test of these listening practices’ democratic value by examining how relational and analytical listening (dimensions of apophatic practices) and task-oriented and critical listening (dimensions of cataphatic practices) are associated with various political outcomes, including political interest, knowledge, trust, and participation. Findings indicate that, from a normative point of view, task-oriented listening was unrelated or negatively related to political outcomes while relational listening had ambivalent relations. However, the two cognitive-epistemic dimensions of both types of listening – analytical listening and critical (error-seeking) listening – were both strongly and positively related to most studied political outcomes. These findings offer nuanced evidence that apophatic and cataphatic listening might not necessarily be at odds with each other where democratically desirable outcomes are concerned.

Households’ Toilet Facility in Rural India: Socio-spatial Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjun Kumar
Keyword(s):  
National Sample ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Rural India ◽  
Baseline Survey ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Toilet Facility ◽  
Level Information ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Marginal Improvement

The 2030 agenda on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlights the importance of sanitation and sets the Goal #6: ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. While rural households in India have witnessed a marginal improvement in access to toilet facility in recent decades, they continue to face high levels of deprivation along with spatial and socio-economic disparities and exclusions, which have been highlighted in this article using data from Census of India, National Sample Surveys and Baseline Survey. Determinants of households having access to latrine facility in the house have been estimated using an econometric exercise and contribution of caste-based factors of the gap in access among various social groups have been estimated using decomposition technique on household-level information from National Sample Survey data. Households located in backward regions and belonging to the weaker sections of society, such as poor, wage labourers, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, have been found to be the most deprived and excluded. Thus, there is an urgent need to pace up the developmental efforts for rural sanitation to achieve the SDGs, along with complementary measures to focus on backward regions, weaker sections and socio-spatial position of households in rural India.

scholarly journals Gini Index Estimation within Pre-Specified Error Bound: Application to Indian Household Survey Data

Econometrics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Francis Bilson Darku ◽  
Frank Konietschke ◽  
Bhargab Chattopadhyay
Keyword(s):  
Error Bound ◽  
Confidence Level ◽  
Gini Index ◽  
Sequential Analysis ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Specific Distribution ◽  
Sampling Cost ◽  
Using Data

The Gini index, a widely used economic inequality measure, is computed using data whose designs involve clustering and stratification, generally known as complex household surveys. Under complex household survey, we develop two novel procedures for estimating Gini index with a pre-specified error bound and confidence level. The two proposed approaches are based on the concept of sequential analysis which is known to be economical in the sense of obtaining an optimal cluster size which reduces project cost (that is total sampling cost) thereby achieving the pre-specified error bound and the confidence level under reasonable assumptions. Some large sample properties of the proposed procedures are examined without assuming any specific distribution. Empirical illustrations of both procedures are provided using the consumption expenditure data obtained by National Sample Survey (NSS) Organization in India.

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