Height and health in late eighteenth-century England

Jaadla, Hannaliis; Shaw‐Taylor, Leigh; Davenport, Romola

doi:10.1080/00324728.2020.1823011

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(128 reference statements)

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“…Although young adult rural-urban migrants were at higher risk of death from some urban diseases than their urban-born peers on account of their immunological naiveté, they may have enjoyed health advantages in other respects. Children in rural areas were generally less exposed to infectious diseases during development, and may have been less stunted than their urban counterparts ( Jaadla et al, 2020 ; Kirby, 2013 ). In addition, labour migrants are often positively selected for health, as well as other characteristics such as education, a phenomenon dubbed the ‘healthy migrant effect’ (e.g.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600–1870

Davenport

2021

International Journal of Paleopathology

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Objective This study tests the argument that industrialisation was accompanied by a dramatic worsening of urban health in England. Materials Family reconstitutions derived from baptism, marriage and burial records for the period before 1837, and from civil registration of deaths and census populations between 1837 and 1900. Methods Age-specific mortality rates are used as indicators of population health. Results The available evidence indicates a decline in urban mortality in the period c.1750-1820, especially amongst infants and (probably) rural-urban migrants. Mortality at ages 1-4 years demonstrated a more complex pattern, falling between 1750 and 1830 before rising abruptly in the mid-nineteenth century. Conclusions These patterns are better explained by changes in breastfeeding practices and the prevalence or virulence of particular pathogens than by changes in sanitary conditions or poverty. Mortality patterns amongst young adult migrants were affected by a shift from acute to chronic infectious diseases over the period. Significance Pathogen evolution, infant care and migration exerted major influences on mortality trends and should be given greater attention in studies of the health impacts of British industrialisation. Limitations Evidence of urban mortality rates is very limited before 1837 and may not be fully representative of industrialising populations. Mortality also provides only a partial picture of the health of urban populations and may be distorted by migration patterns. Further research There is enormous scope for collaboration between archaeologists and historians to investigate the health of industrial populations, through the triangulation and contextualisation of diverse sources of evidence.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600–1870

Davenport

2021

International Journal of Paleopathology

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“…Furthermore, it is widely accepted that environmental factors are mediated by the socioeconomic status of individuals as both energy intake and energy expenditure are often socially determined. This leads us to consider height differentials across diverse social groups as potential indicators of inequalities in the biological dimensions of well-being ( Blum, 2013 ; Carson, 2009 ; Gomula et al, 2021 ; Jaadla et al, 2021 ; Lopuszanska-Dawida et al, 2020 ). 3…”

Section: Introduction and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growing taller unequally? Adult height and socioeconomic status in Spain (Cohorts 1940–1994)

Candela-Martínez

Cámara

López-Falcón

et al. 2022

SSM - Population Health

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“…See, for example, Leunig (2009a, pp. 466-69), andJaadla, Shaw-Taylor and Davenport (2020, p. 13) for England and Wales in the early nineteenth century,Cinnirella (2008, p. 340) for early and mid-nineteenth-century Britain, andHeyberger (2014, pp. 128-30) for mid-nineteenth-century France.…”

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The urban–rural height gap: evidence from late nineteenth-century Catalonia

Ramón-Muñoz

Ramon-Muñoz

2023

Cliometrica

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This paper aims to establish whether there was a gap in biological living standards between urban and rural areas in late nineteenth-century Catalonia, and if so, to determine its extent. The study makes use of a large new dataset based on military records for the cohort of males born in the year 1890 and enlisted in the year 1911. By combining individual heights with information at municipal level, we conclude that the 1890 cohort of conscripts living in rural areas were shorter than those that resided in towns and cities with populations of more than 20,000 people. We also hypothesise about the reasons why urban dwellers in late nineteenth-century Catalonia were taller than their rural counterparts by considering the potential role of rural–urban migration, improvements in public sanitation and health care, and progresses in the quantity and quality of food availability for urban dwellers.

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Height and health in late eighteenth-century England

Cited by 8 publications

References 83 publications

Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600–1870

Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600–1870

Growing taller unequally? Adult height and socioeconomic status in Spain (Cohorts 1940–1994)

The urban–rural height gap: evidence from late nineteenth-century Catalonia

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