Grażyna Liczbińska

INFANT AND CHILD MORTALITY AMONG CATHOLICS AND LUTHERANS IN NINETEENTH CENTURY POZNAŃ

The purpose of this study was to show the differences in the mortality rates of children from Catholic and Lutheran families in 19th century Poznań, and to elucidate the causes of these differences. Data from Catholic and Lutheran parish death registers were used. The infant death rate (IDR), neonatal and postneonatal death rates and life table biometric functions were calculated and causes of deaths were characterized. The worst child mortality values (IDR=394.4; neonatal and postneonatal death rates, respectively, 117.1 and 277.4; e0=16.14 years; Crows Index=2.47) were obtained for the poor Catholic Parish of St Margaret. The lowest infant and neonatal and postneonatal death rates were observed to have occurred in the Catholic Parish of St Maria Magdalena situated in the citys more affluent central area (mortality rates, respectively, 269.9, 93.1 and 176.9; e0=24.63 years; Crows Index=0.96). The widest range of differences with regard to death rates was found for the Lutheran Parish of St Cross (the infant, neonatal and postneonatal death rates were, respectively, 293.1, 99.1 and 193.9; e0=28.03 years; Crows Index=0.92). The St Cross Parish encompassed a fairly large area of the city characterized by varying ecological conditions. Among infants and young children from the three studied populations a high frequency of deaths due to infectious diseases, diarrhoeas, dysenteries and tuberculosis were observed. Differences in the mortality of children from Catholic and Lutheran families in 19th century Poznań resulted from ecological conditions, among which water played the most important role, rather than from religious differences.

Diseases, health status, and mortality in urban and rural environments: The case of Catholics and Lutherans in 19th-century Greater Poland

Diseases, health status, and mortality in urban and rural environments: The case of Catholics and Lutherans in 19th-century Greater Poland The aim of the study is to show in the mortality measures calculated for Catholics and Lutherans from 19th-century Greater Poland: 1) stratification dependent on the size of place of residence, 2) stratification dependent on religious denomination in population centres of various size. The data on mortality are drawn from Catholic and Lutheran parish death registers: from Poznań (the poor Catholic St. Margarets Parish, the wealthy St. Mary Magdalenes Parish, and the Lutheran Holy Cross Parish), small towns such as Leszno (the Lutheran Holy Cross Parish) and Kalisz (the Catholic St. Josephs Parish) as well as the rural Lutheran parish of Trzebosz and the Catholic parish of Dziekanowice. Stratification in the causes of death and mortality measures among Catholics and Lutherans from 19th-century Greater Poland depends on the size of their places of residence and broadly understood ecological conditions. Smaller deleterious effects of the environment were observed in the rural areas and small towns and, therefore, a relationship between death rate values and religious denominations is more visible in these than in Poznań. The cultural benefits accruing to the Lutherans and Catholics living in 19th century Poznań were insufficient to reduce the high infant death rate. Celem pracy było zbadanie, czy mierniki umieralności i przyczyny zgonów w populacjach katolików i ewangelików z XIX-wiecznej Wielkopolski: 1) rozwarstwiają się w zależności od wielkości miejsca zamieszkania 2) rozwarstwiają się w zależności od wyznania w ośrodkach różniących się wielkością. Wykorzystano dane o umieralności z parafialnych ksiąg zgonów dla parafii katolickich i ewangelickich z następujących ośrodków: Poznania (katolickie parafie: św. Małgorzaty; N = 6893 i św. Marii Magdaleny; N = 5376, ewangelicka parafia św. Krzyża; N = 7587), małych miast: Leszna (ewangelicka parafia św. Krzyża; N = 2573) i Kalisza (katolicka parafia św. Józefa; N = 1351). Tereny wiejskie reprezentują: ewangelicka parafia Trzebosz (N = 314) oraz katolicka parafia Dziekanowice. Scharakteryzowane współczynniki zgonów niemowląt, wartości oczekiwanego dalszego życia noworodka i osoby dorosłej oraz główne przyczyny zgonów silnie rozwarstwiają się na niekorzyść Poznania. W Poznaniu II połowy XIX wieku umieralność niemowląt zamykała się w przedziale od 270 do 390 niemowląt na 1000 żywo urodzonych. Na terenach wiejskich wartości współczynnika zgonów dzieci do 1. roku życia wynosiły od 230 do 250 ‰ (Tabele 2 i 3). Podobnie różnice na niekorzyść Poznania obserwujemy w wartościach e0 i e20 (Tabele 3 i 4). Przeciętny mieszkaniec Poznania w momencie urodzenia miał szansę żyć 28 lat, a w ubogich robotniczych dzielnicach nawet 16 lat, gdy tymczasem jego rówieśnik z terenów wiejskich 20, a nawet 30 lat więcej. Ów niekorzystny obraz umieralności katolików i ewangelików z Poznania, w porównaniu z mniejszymi ośrodkami, na który złożyła się głównie wysoka śmiertelność niemowląt i małych dzieci, odbijał szeroko rozumiane warunki ekologiczne. Poznań w II połowie XIX wieku był miastem zaniedbanym i pozbawionym infrastruktury: do połowy lat sześćdziesiątych XIX wieku nie posiadał nowoczesnych wodociągów, a dopiero pod koniec wieku doczekał się kanalizacji. Braki ujęć czystej wody pitnej, kanalizacji i niski poziom opieki medycznej przyczyniały się do częstych epidemii chorób zakaźnych, które bez względu na wyznanie i pochodzenie społeczne, zbierały ogromne żniwo. W II połowie XIX wieku tylko w rynku miejskim znajdowały się studnie z czystą wodą oraz działały prymitywne kanalizacje odprowadzające nieczystości. Inaczej rzecz się miała w wioskach i małych miastach, które w XIX wieku charakteryzowały się przede wszystkim mniejszą gęstością zaludnienia i nieskażonym jeszcze środowiskiem. W odniesieniu do XIX-wiecznej Europy Zachodniej, badacze niejednokrotnie podkreślali różnice w miernikach umieralności między katolikami i ewangelikami. Ewangelicy byli, w przeciwieństwie do biednych i konserwatywnych katolików, zwykle lepiej wykształceni i zaawansowani ekonomicznie, co podnosiło jakość ich życia, a otwarta na zdobycze cywilizacyjne religia ewangelicka nakazywała im podejmowanie wszelkich form aktywności w trosce o zdrowie. Wszystko to przekładało się na mniejszą umieralność niemowląt z rodzin ewangelików w porównaniu z katolikami oraz szybsze spadki umieralności ogólnej w czasie. W XIX-wiecznym Poznaniu różnice między katolikami i ewangelikami w poziomie umieralności są niejednoznaczne: najwyższe wartości umieralności niemowląt odnotowano tak wśród ewangelików, jak i ubogich katolików. Z kolei, wartości oczekiwanego dalszego trwania życia noworodka e0 (miernika wyrażającego w syntetyczny sposób stosunki wymieralności) wypadły jednakowo korzystnie wśród katolików mieszkających w uprzywilejowanym pod względem infrastruktury rynku miejskim, jak i ewangelików, najgorzej - w ubogiej parafii katolickiej. Na wsiach i w małych miastach negatywny wpływ czynników środowiskowych był zdecydowanie słabszy niż w przemysłowym, przeludnionym i cierpiącym na niedostatki w zakresie infrastruktury Poznaniu, stąd też silniej zaznaczyły się różnice w miernikach umieralności pomiędzy katolikami i ewangelikami.

Fertility and family structure in the Lutheran population of the parish of Trzebosz in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century

The aim of this study is to analyze the model of fertility based on reconstructed individual histories of families in the Lutheran Parish of Trzebosz in the borderland between Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) and Silesia in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. In total, 656 pieces of information on deliveries by 132 women were reconstructed. Fertility was assessed on the basis of the length of protogenetic and intergenetic intervals. Partial fertility rates by age of women and the relative cumulative number of births were calculated. In the Lutheran Parish of Trzebosz the average age at marriage was 26.6 for grooms and 25.1 for brides. The fertility of women with a completed reproduction cycle was 6.72 children. The average age of women giving birth to their first child was 25, while they had their last child at 39.6. The average length of protogenetic intervals was 19.9 months, while the average lengths of successive intergenetic intervals were 26 and 27 months. The shortest birth intervals characterized women aged 20–29, which confirms high fertility in this age category. The high fertility among Lutherans under 30 is also supported by partial fertility rates and the relative cumulative number of births. The model of fertility in the Lutheran Parish of Trzebosz differs from those proposed for the Lutheran populations of historical Western Europe. Here the fertility figures became similar to those of Catholic parishes from historical Polish territories representing the non-Malthusian model of reproduction, without the use of birth-control agents and methods.

Body mass index values of conscripts in the Polish lands under Prussian rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

The Body Mass Index (BMI) of conscripts from the Polish lands under Prussian rule and its causative factors and changes over time was to characterize. A total of 9965 conscripts aged 20 were examined. Differences in the mean BMI were tested using one-way analysis of variance ANOVA and Tukeys-test (post-hoc test). Factor analysis and multiple regression were employed. The highest BMI values characterized sons of peasants, workers and craftsmen, and the lowest, sons of intelligentsia: the difference for peasants/intelligentsia -0.59kg/m(2) (p=0.0004), and that for workers/intelligentsia and craftsmen/intelligentsia, 0.48 and 0.5kg/m(2) (p=0.0004 and p=0.0057, respectively). The difference in BMI of conscripts from the first and last birth cohorts was 0.61kg/m(2) (p=0.0001). The highest BMI values were noted in conscripts from villages (21.50kg/m(2)), and the lowest, in those from towns (21.15kg/m(2)) and cities (21.19kg/m(2)). The differences for village/town and village/city were statistically significant (p=0.0026 and p=0.0026, respectively). The BMI difference between Poles and Germans was 0.35kg/m(2) (higher value among Poles).

Height as an indicator of economic status in the Polish territories under Russian rule at the turn of the 19th to 20th century.

Height is regarded as one of the indicators of environmental stress at population level, being an excellent barometer of standard of living. The aim of this study was to describe diversity in height among populations living in different regions of the Kingdom of Poland in terms of the economic factors in the second half of the 19th and early 20th century. This study examines the height of adult inhabitants from five guberniyas (provinces) of the Kingdom of Poland (Łomża, Warsaw, Radom, Kalisz and Płock) collected in the years 1897-1914 (N = 732 men, N = 569 women). Differences in average height of male and female inhabitants across the five guberniyas were examined using ANOVA and the Fishers LSD (Least Significant Difference) test of multiple comparisons. Statistically significant differences in the height between the guberniyas were observed. Diversity in the economic development in the studied guberniyas of the Kingdom of Poland translated into differences in the height of their inhabitants. Moreover, an increase in mean height over time was noted.

Marriage patterns among Lutherans from the parish of Trzebosz in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century

The aim of this study is to characterize marriage patterns in a rural parish of Trzebosz in the borderland between Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) and Silesia in the years 1855–1913. A total of 343 data on marriages were gathered from the parish registers. The percentage of Lutheran–Catholic marriages was calculated. The distribution of age at marriage by martial status was assessed. The intensity of endogamy and exogamy was calculated as well as the coefficients of exogamy and biological polygamy. The annual rhythm of marriages was determined. In Trzebosz mixed marriages accounted for 3.94% in 1855–1899 and 14% in 1900–1913. The average age of brides and grooms was 25.36 and 26.22 years, while of widows and widowers they were 37.26 and 42.35 years, respectively. The average age of brides and grooms declined over time. In 1855–1899 the levels of endogamy and exogamy outside the parish were 19% and 81%, respectively. In 1900–1913 exogamy outside the parish decreased to 62%, while endogamy increased to 37%. The average mating distances for all marriages and exogamous ones were 24 and 42 km, respectively, in 1855–1899, while for 1900–1913 the respective figures were 7.4 and 8.7 km. The coefficient of exogamy declined from 0.78 in 1855–1899 to 0.67 in 1900–1913, while the coefficient of biological polygamy grew from 1.19 to 1.30 between those periods. The religious factor, apart from an economic strategy, shaped the annual rhythm of marriage. The outflow of the parishioners from Trzebosz in the early 20th century led to its ageing.

BODY MASS INDEX VALUES IN THE GENTRY AND PEASANTRY IN NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY POLAND

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of social and occupational status on the BMI of the gentry and peasantry in the Kingdom of Poland at the turn of 19th and early 20th centuries. Use was made of data on the height and weight of 304 men, including 200 peasants and 104 gentlemen, and 275 women, including 200 from the peasantry and 75 from the gentry. Gentlemen were characterized by a greater body height than peasants (169.40 cm and 166.96 cm, respectively), a greater body weight (67.09 kg and 60.99 kg, respectively) and a higher BMI (23.33 kg/m2 and 21.83 kg/m2, respectively). Landowners and intelligentsia had a greater BMI than peasants (23.12 kg/m2 and 24.20 kg/m2 vs 21.83 kg/m2, respectively). In the case of women, there were no statistically significant differences in mean height, weight and BMI by their social position, and in BMI by occupational status. Underweight occurred less frequently in the gentry and more frequently in the peasantry (0.97% and 2.04%, respectively). Overweight was five times more common in gentlemen than in peasants (26.21% and 5.10%, respectively). Differences in the BMI of gentlefolk and peasants resulted from differences in diet and lifestyle related to socioeconomic status.

Warriors Die Young: Increased Mortality in Early Adulthood of Scythians from Glinoe, Moldova, Fourth through Second Centuries bc

Scythians were nomadic groups who played a dominant role on the Eurasian steppes in the Early Iron Age according to many archaeological and historical sources. In this paper, we assess demographic features and dynamics of a Scythian population from the Black Sea region. We hypothesize that they differed from other societies in terms of not only culture but also demography: their fertility was lower, and life expectancy higher, than in other contemporaneous populations. We examined 220 skeletons from Glinoe (Moldova), dated to the fourth to second centuries bc, to assess fertility and biological status from life table parameters and basic indicators of reproductive potential. The main difference between Scythians and other Early Iron Age societies seems to be a higher probability of dying in early adulthood, which could partly result from their engagement in warfare. Scythian fertility was rather low, a finding in line with studies of modern nomads.

Body size of young adult Polish college-age women born before, during, and after WWII

The aim of this study was to compare the young adult body size of Polish female university students born before, during, and after WWII.

Age at menarche in Polish University students born before, during and after World War II: Economic effects

HighlightsStudents born during WWII attained menarche later than those born in the pre‐war and post‐war periods.Age at menarche was significantly earlier in overweight than in normal weight and thin students.The influence father’s level of education on age at menarche was apparent in thin and normal weight, but not in overweight students. Abstract Although the relationships between economic conditions and biological variables over the past two centuries in Poland are reasonably well‐documented, the influence of economic and political disruptions, including nutritional privation, during the years immediately before, during and shortly after World War II (WWII) has received less attention. This paper considers the association between age at menarche and body size of university students born before, during and after WWII and father’s level of education, a commonly used indicator of family economic status in Poland. Subjects were 518 university students surveyed between 1955 and 1972, birth years 1931 through 1951. The sample was divided into three birth cohorts: before (n = 237), during (n = 247) and after (n = 34) WWII. Age at menarche was compared among birth cohorts, and by weight status and father’s level of education. Age at menarche increased slightly but significantly among women born during WWII (14.4 yrs) compared to those born before (14.2 yrs) and after (13.9 yrs) the war. Controlling for year of birth and age of the student, age at menarche was significantly earlier in overweight (13.42 ± 0.35 yrs) than in normal weight (14.33 ± 0.06 yrs) and thin (14.54 ± 0.21 yrs) women. Adjusted mean ages at menarche in small samples of overweight women did not differ by father’s level of education, and were earlier than corresponding ages of thin and normal weight women. Adjusted mean ages at menarche did not differ between thin and normal weight women with fathers having primary or no education, but were slightly later in thin than in normal weight women with fathers having a vocational, secondary or higher education. Although age at menarche was associated with father’s level of education, young adult weight status was a somewhat more important correlate.