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Title: Working Our Fingers to the Bone: Osteoarthritis in a Historic Population
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2012
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Abstract: This study examines osteoarthritis (OA) progression in the hands of an urban working class population born during the 19th century. The lives of these individuals were marked by the changing atmosphere propagated by the Industrial Revolution. The present study offers important insight into the lives of these individuals through osteological and archival analysis.A total of 816 hands representing 412 individuals from the Hamann-Todd anatomical collection were macroscopically examined for evidence of OA. Using a nonrandom multi-stage sampling strategy, approximately equal numbers of specimens were selected from each demographic subgroup: 101 African-American males, 102 African-American females, 104 European-American males, and 105 European-American females.Individuals were grouped into cohorts by age, birth year, sex and ancestry; frequency differences were assessed using multivariate logistic regression, Kruskal Wallis H, Fishers exact, and Chi Square tests. OA was discovered in 43% of the sample with European-Americans (104/206) having significantly higher rates (p = 0.0052) than African-Americans (74/202). Multivariate logistic regression results reveal that the odds of a female developing OA during this time period were nearly 4.0 times that of a male. Also, at any given age, the odds of a female having OA are estimated at 1.9 times greater than for a male at the same age.Archival research utilizing the Minnesota Population Centers Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) was used to help contextualize these results with regard to occupational stress from the antebellum period to the second industrial revolution in Cleveland, Ohio. As these results demonstrate, industrialism took its toll on the American work force as they toiled in factories and mills in an ever advancing industrial age.
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Authors: Chambers, Candice
Institution: North Carolina State University
Department: Anthropoligy
Advisor: D. Troy Case
Degree: Master of Arts
Publisher Location: Raleigh, NC
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Health, Labor Force and Occupational Structure
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