Cribra orbitalia: Dissecting an ill‐defined phenomenon

Objectives: Cribra orbitalia (CO) and porotic hyperostosis (PH) are porous cranial lesions (PCLs) classically associated with iron-deficiency anemia in bioarchaeological contexts. However, recent studies indicate a need to reassess the interpretation of PCLs. This study addresses the potential health correlates of PCLs in a contemporary sample by examining relationships between the known cause of death (COD) and PCL presence/absence. Methods: This study includes a sample of 461 juvenile individuals (6 months to 15 years of age) who underwent examination at the University of New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator between 2011 and 2019. The information available for each individual includes their sex, age at death, and their COD and manner of death. Results: Odds ratio of having CO (OR = 3.92, p < .01) or PH (OR = 2.86, p = .02) lesions are increased in individuals with respiratory infections. Individuals with heart conditions have increased odds of having CO (OR = 3.52, p = .03) lesions, but not PH. Conclusion: Individuals with respiratory infection are more likely to have CO and/or PH. CO appears to have a greater range of health correlates than PH does, as indicated by the heart condition results. However, individuals with congenital heart defects are at higher risk for respiratory infections, so bony alterations in cases of heart conditions may be due to respiratory illness. Since respiratory infection remains a leading cause of mortality today, CO and PH in bioarchaeological contexts should be considered as potential indicators of respiratory infections in the past.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis are associated with respiratory infections in a contemporary mortality sample from New Mexico

O’Donnell

Hill

Anderson

et al. 2020

“…Rural Islamic individuals exhibited lower stature than earlier Ibiza populations and medieval Islamic and Christian groups from mainland Spain. However, the Rural Islamic group also showed lower frequencies of cribra orbitalia, an indicator of anemia or other nonspecific stress (Cole & Waldron, 2019). This study explores how health, workloads, and behavior varied across approximately 1,000 years in Ibiza's history by comparing the Late Roman‐Early Byzantine (300–700 AD) to the Islamic period (902–1,235 AD) using measures of body size and cross‐sectional properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of diet and sociopolitical change on physiological stress and behavior in lateRoman‐EarlyByzantine (300–700AD) and Islamic (902–1,235AD) populations from Ibiza, Spain

Osipov

Alaica

Pickard

et al. 2020

Objectives: This study evaluated chronological changes in physiological stress and levels of habitual loading of Ibizan populations from the Late Roman-Early Byzantine (LREB) to the Islamic period (300-1,235 AD) using measures of body size and bone cross-sectional properties to compare Urban LREB, Urban Medieval Islamic, and Rural Medieval Islamic groups. It also explored the effect of diet, modeled using stable isotopes, on physiological stress levels and behavior. Materials and methods: The sample comprised individuals from three archeological populations: Urban Late Roman-Early Byzantine (LREB) (300-700 AD), Medieval Urban Islamic (902-1,235 AD), and Medieval Rural Islamic. Bone lengths, femoral head dimensions, and cross-sectional properties, diaphyseal products and circumferences, were compared to assess differences in body size and habitual loading in 222 adult individuals. Ordinary least squares regression evaluated the correlations between these measures and carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) stable isotope ratios in 115 individuals for whom both isotope values and osteological measures are available. Results: The Medieval Rural Islamic group had shorter stature and reduced lower limb cross-sectional properties compared to the two urban groups. Limb shape differs between Urban LREB and Urban Medieval Islamic groups. Measures of body size length were positively correlated with δ 13 C values in all individuals and separately in the Urban LREB and Rural Medieval Islamic groups. δ 15 N showed a positive correlation with left humerus shape in the Urban LREB sample. Conclusions: The low stature and cross-sectional properties of the Medieval Rural Islamic group may be an indicator of greater physiological stress, potentially due to poorer diet. Positive correlations between measures of body size and δ 13 C values further suggest that greater access to C 4 resources improved diet quality. Alternatively, this relationship could indicate greater body size among migrants from areas where individuals consumed more C 4 resources. K E Y W O R D S behavior, bone functional adaptation, dietary reconstruction, Ibiza, Mediterranean, stable isotopes

“…The present study examines differential survival and frailty in Ancestral Puebloans through testing whether healed lesions that are indicative of systemic disturbance in childhood are associated with decreased mortality risk and lower frailty as well as whether absence of lesions is associated with increased frailty. Further, this study assesses whether CO and PH have different impacts on mortality risk, in part to address whether they have different etiologies, as suggested by recent studies (Cole & Waldron, ; Rivera & Mirazón Lahr, ; Rothschild, ; Walker et al, ). CO occurs in cases of chronic illness, including anemia associated with disorders such as renal failure: the end stages of this disease are associated with hypoplastic bone marrow (Rivera & Mirazón Lahr, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indicators of stress and their association with frailty in the precontact Southwestern United States

O’Donnell

2019

Objectives: Physiological disturbances in early life have been shown to increase individual mortality risk and impact health in adulthood. This study examines frailty through analysis of lesion status of two commonly collected skeletal indicators of stress (cribra orbitalia [CO] and porotic hyperostosis [PH]) and their association with mortality risk in the precontact U.S. Southwest. Several predictions are addressed: (a) individuals with active skeletal lesions are the frailest; (b) individuals with healed lesions are the least frail; (c) CO lesions, regardless of status, are associated with increased mortality risk. Materials and methods: Odds ratios and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis are used to examine the association between stress indicators and mortality in the U.S. Southwest. This study includes 335 individuals (75 females, 81 males, 20 adults of unknown sex, and 159 juveniles) from precontact New Mexico archaeological sites dating to A.D. 1,000-1,400. Results: Active CO and PH lesions are associated with lower survivorship and greater mortality risk than healed or absent lesions. Only juvenile individuals have active CO and PH lesions, as is expected given their physiology. CO lesions in any state are associated with greater mortality risk and earlier ages of death. Discussion: Individuals with active lesions are the frailest; while individuals with healed lesions are the least frail. CO and PH likely have different etiologies: CO lesions are associated with increased mortality risk and decreased individual longevity. These results indicate that CO's presence suggests a more severe underlying condition than PH lesions alone. K E Y W O R D S cribra orbitalia, hidden heterogeneity, porotic hyperostosis, stress, survival analysis