Papers by Sylvia Kirchengast
The selective pressures challenging the human population leave genetic signatures. This study was... more The selective pressures challenging the human population leave genetic signatures. This study was designed to detect positive and balancing selection on the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 6 (PCSK6) gene by four different approaches (FDIST, BayeScan, EHH, iHS). The outlier programs FDIST and BayeScan found 27 overlapping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) under selection, of which twelve are under strong positive directional selection and 15 under balancing selection. In the EHH analysis, all SNPs detected under positive selection show a slow decay of the derived extended haplotype. The integrated haplotype scores (iHS) for eight loci under positive selection were found to be larger than one. Based on these results, we provide a short overview of PCSK6-related mechanisms potentially associated with the detected positive or balancing selection patterns. Positive selection possibly reflects the key role of PCSK6 in tumorigenesis, in nociception, in rheumatoid arthritis...
OBM Geriatrics, 2019
Background: All over the world we are confronted with an absolute and relative increase in the pr... more Background: All over the world we are confronted with an absolute and relative increase in the proportion of older people. In order to develop strategies to keep older people healthy and independent as long as possible, analyses of factors influencing health related quality of life (HRQL) during old age are necessary. The aim of this review is to present the results of three projects carried out in Austria by the author focusing on the impact of social contact and physical activity on HRQL. Methods: The standardized WHOQOL BREF and the Geriatric Depression Scale was used to estimate HRQL and prevalence of geriatric depression in older Austrians. For the assessment of social network characteristics, a 50 item questionnaire was used. Physical fitness was estimated by hand grip strength and sarcopenia and bone loss were determined by DEXA measurements. Results: Higher face to face contact frequency and higher number of offspring increased HRQL and reduced geriatric depression. Sarcopenia and reduced bone density which might increase the risk of frailty syndrome were significantly interrelated. Conclusions: The ongoing change of life circumstances increase psychosocial problems such as loneliness and depression among older people who no longer live embedded in their
Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 2012
With 4 figures and 4 tables Summary: Auxology has developed from mere describing child and adoles... more With 4 figures and 4 tables Summary: Auxology has developed from mere describing child and adolescent growth into a vivid and interdisciplinary research area encompassing human biologists, physicians, social scientists, economists and biostatisticians. The meeting illustrated the diversity in auxology, with the various social, medical, biological and biostatistical aspects in studies on child growth and development.
Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 1997
Laterality, 2021
ABSTRACT Because self-report hand preference measures are limited to investigating cognitive aspe... more ABSTRACT Because self-report hand preference measures are limited to investigating cognitive aspects of manual laterality, valid, easy-to-administer and economic behavioural methods are needed for capturing the motoric component of handedness. Therefore, this study introduces the Handedness Index Practical Task (HI20) and tests it in a sample of 206 students (M age = 23.79 years, SD age = 3.01 years), half of whom were self-specified left-handers. After confirming good reliabilities at the subscale and total scale levels, k-means cluster analysis allowed an empirically based partitioning of test subjects into left- (n = 72), mixed- (n = 23) and right-handers (n = 111). To validate this categorization and the HI20 index, data were compared with the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI), EHI-short, HI22 and hand grip strength. The congruency between the HI20 clusters and alternative categorizations ranged from 95.6% to 84.0%, while the clusters explained large portions of variance in grip strength differences. The HI20 sub- and total scores showed strong correlations with other measures of lateral preference. Altogether, the freely available HI20 emerges as a reliable and valid alternative for behavioural handedness assessment, whose power lies in explaining differential hand use patterns and enabling fine-grained examinations of handedness.
Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation, 2000
B cell lymphoma/leukemia 2 mRNA 88 Binocular distance 24 Birth weight 92, 231 Breast cancer 136 C... more B cell lymphoma/leukemia 2 mRNA 88 Binocular distance 24 Birth weight 92, 231 Breast cancer 136 C677T 100 Calculi 64 Carboplatin 260 CD26, soluble 260 CD30, soluble 260 CD34+ cell counts 258 Cell cultures 1-cycle S33 Cervical carcinoma 60-, histological feature 214-intraepithelial neoplasia 264-invasion 133 Cervicoscopy 133 Cervix 158 Cesarean section 28 Chemotherapy 207, 269 Chlamydia trachomatis 278 Choriocarcinoma 198 Chorionic gonadotropin, human 186 Cisplatin 127, 269 Classification, intrauterine adhesions 178 Clear cell carcinoma S2 Clonality S44 c-MET 198 Coasting 186 Color Doppler 242 Conization 264 Cord blood units 258 Cyclooxygenase products 247 Cyclooxygenase-2 225 Cyclophosphamide 127
Anthropological Review, 2020
Human birth represents a critical and life-threatening event in the life of mother and child and ... more Human birth represents a critical and life-threatening event in the life of mother and child and is therefore of special importance for anthropological as well as public health research.
Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 2018
ABSTRACT Natural sciences are still considered as typical male fields, while humanities are inter... more ABSTRACT Natural sciences are still considered as typical male fields, while humanities are interpreted as typical female topics. Economic, social but also biological factors are discussed to influence the choice of study field. In the present study, the impact of prenatal sex hormone exposure - estimated by 2D:4D ratio - on the choice of study field was analyzed. Two hundred Viennese students between the ages 18 and 28 years were enrolled. Lengths of the index finger and the ring finger were measured directly from the hand of the participants. 2D:4D ratios were calculated. Male and female students differed significantly in 2D:4D ratio. As expected, female students showed significantly higher 2D:4D ratios than their male counterparts (p < 0.001). Male scientists and male humanists differed significantly in 2D:4D ratio. The 2D:4D of male humanists was significantly higher than that of scientists (p = 0.037). Female scientists and female humanists however, did not differ significantly in 2D:4D ratio. Both showed a typical female 2D:4D ratio. This was also true of male humanists. Consequently low prenatal androgen exposure may be associated with the choice of humanities among male students.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
The COVID 19 pandemic represents a major stress factor for non-infected pregnant women. Although ... more The COVID 19 pandemic represents a major stress factor for non-infected pregnant women. Although maternal stress during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction, an increasing number of studies yielded no negative effects of COVID 19 lockdowns on pregnancy outcome. The present study focused on pregnancy outcome during the first COVID 19 lockdown phase in Austria. In particular, it was hypothesized that the national lockdown had no negative effects on birth weight, low birth weight rate and preterm birth rate. In a retrospective medical record-based single center study, the outcome of 669 singleton live births in Vienna Austria during the lockdown phase between March and July 2020 was compared with the pregnancy outcome of 277 live births at the same hospital during the pre-lockdown months of January and February 2020 and, in addition, with the outcome of 28,807 live births between 2005 and 2019. The rate of very low gestational age was signif...
Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 1994
Anthropological Review, 2019
Asymmetry of bilateral anatomical structures is widely found in nature. Fluctuating asymmetry, i.... more Asymmetry of bilateral anatomical structures is widely found in nature. Fluctuating asymmetry, i.e. mostly tiny random deviations from perfect symmetry in bilateral structures, is mainly interpreted within the framework of developmental instability. This interpretation is mainly due to the fact, that higher fluctuating asymmetry is often found in association with various pathological conditions but also from increased stress during somatic development. Directional asymmetry, in contrast, describes a distinct pattern of bilateral variation in a group of individuals, characterized by the tendency to find the larger side mainly at the same side for all individuals. This kind of asymmetry is mostly caused by behavioral lateralization. Somatic stress during development affect not only asymmetry patterns, it is has also an adverse effect on somatic growth. Therefore, the present study tested the hypothesis, that increased asymmetry is associated with decreased body height as well as postc...
American Journal of Human Biology, 2016
The impact of sex and subsistence on fluctuating and directional asymmetry patterns was tested am... more The impact of sex and subsistence on fluctuating and directional asymmetry patterns was tested among! Kung San and Kavango people from northern Namibia. Methods: Fluctuating and directional asymmetry from 6 paired traits were measured in a sample of 236! Kung San and 248 Kavango people aged 18 to 65 years in the Kavango district and the Nyae-Nyae area of northern Namibia. Signed asymmetry, absolute and relative asymmetry, as well as composite fluctuating and directional asymmetry, were calculated. Results: Males of both ethnic groups exhibited higher fluctuating asymmetry in comparison to their female counterparts. Marked differences in directional asymmetry of the upper extremities were found between! Kung San and Kavango people. The! Kung San people showed a significantly higher directional asymmetry than the Kavango people. Conclusions: Foraging subsistence increased directional asymmetry of the upper extremities among males as well as females. In contrast, higher fluctuating asymmetry-indicating a higher degree of developmental instability-was found among males independent of subsistence group.
Journal of Osteoporosis and Physical Activity, 2016
Increased life expectancy on the one hand and dramatically reduced physical activity in daily lif... more Increased life expectancy on the one hand and dramatically reduced physical activity in daily life on the other hand are characteristic features of postmodern life. Consequently Homo sapiens is increasingly confronted with the problems associated with accelerated bone loss, osteoporosis and osteoporosis related fractures. This is true of Industrialised countries as well as of threshold countries. A major risk factor of osteoporosis and low bone mass is physical inactivity. Up to now, bone loss and osteoporosis are mainly focused on from a clinical viewpoint. In the present review a bioanthropological perspective of the association between physical inactivity and osteoporosis is provided. The problem is discussed from the viewpoint of life history theory, but also from the viewpoint of evolutionary biology, especially evolutionary medicine and paleopathology.
Zeitschrift für Gerontologie
The influence of several socioeconomic factors on age at menopause as well as on the mode of clim... more The influence of several socioeconomic factors on age at menopause as well as on the mode of climacteric have been investigated in 142 postmenopausal women, originating from Eastern Austria. A significant correlation between socioeconomic factors and the age at menopause could not be observed. Unlike the age at menopause, significant correlations between socioeconomic factors and the degree of severity of climacteric syndrome could be made, resp., the education level, the marital status, total number of children and number of children not living in the parents household correlated significantly with the degree of severity of several symptoms of climacteric syndrome. The socioeconomic factors influenced only the somatic symptoms, which are mainly caused by hormonal changes during the climacteric. According to the results of the present study, psychosocial stress may influence sex hormone levels during the climacteric and postmenopause and, thus, the mode of climacteric.
Acta medica Lituanica, 2009
Introduction. Growth references or growth charts are among the most commonly used and most valuab... more Introduction. Growth references or growth charts are among the most commonly used and most valuable tools for assessing health, development and well-being of individuals, groups of children and adolescents and the communities in which they live. Beside growth charts, reference curves of the weight status or nutritional status were published for many counties and are widely used today in medical practice. Th e last decades, however, the complex process of globalization and the ongoing phenomenon of transnational and transcontinental migration confronted the users of established growth charts and reference curves with new problems. Is it correct to use reference curves from the originating country if such reference curves are available, or should researchers prefer national standards of the host population? Materials and methods. Body mass index (kg/m 2) data of 962 children and adolescents of Turkish origin living in Vienna were collected. Four diff erent recommended weight status classifi cations were compared. Results. Th e weight status classifi cation diff ered signifi cantly among the diff erent reference chars. First of all, the reference charts according to Özer underestimated the amount of overweight and obese children and probands. Conclusions. In Austria, where immigration of people from all over the world takes place, an adequate evaluation of health and growth of migrant children still represents an unsolved problem.
Maturitas, 2001
Objecti6es: In the present study the associations between bone density of the proximal femur end ... more Objecti6es: In the present study the associations between bone density of the proximal femur end and weight status, fat distribution patterns (FDI) and body composition parameters i.e. amount of body fat and lean body mass were tested in a sample of old aged women and men. Methods: In 77 healthy women ranging in age from 60 to 92 years (x =71.8 years) and 62 healthy men ranging in age from 60 to 86 years (x =71.5 years) the bone mineral density (BMD of the proximal femur end and the body composition parameters absolute fat mass, relative fat mass, lean body mass and bone mineral content were estimated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Additionally, the weight status (body mass index, BMI) and the FDI were calculated. The bone density of the proximal femur end was correlated with the absolute fat mass and the lean body mass as well as with the BMI and the FDI. Results: BMD correlated in females significantly positively with parameters of body composition, in males no significant correlations between fat mass (absolute and relative) and BMD as well as BMD/stature was found. Furthermore, it was shown that the weight status (BMI; r 2 =0.13, PB 0.0003 in males and r 2 = 0.27, PB 0.000 in females), and the lean body mass (r 2 =0.21, P B0.001 in males, r 2 =0.36, P B0.004 in females) were associated significantly positively with the BMD of the proximal femur end in both sexes. The absolute fat mass had a significant impact on BMD in the female subsample only (r 2 = 0.24, PB0.000). Conclusions: A lower weight status and a low amount of lean body mass, indicating not only lack of biomechanical forces of the proximal femur end, but also a lack of physical activity can be assumed to be associated increased bone loss and the development of osteoporosis in both sexes. An association between low amount of fat tissue and decreased BMD was especially found in women and may be due to the reduced conversion rates from androgens to estrogens in a low amount of fat tissue.
Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 2009
Sarcopenia, the age related decline in skeletal muscle mass has dramatic consequences. It leads t... more Sarcopenia, the age related decline in skeletal muscle mass has dramatic consequences. It leads to impaired performance, increased vulnerability, frailty and an increased risk of falls. Various extrinsic and intrinsic factors contribute to the aetiology of sarcopenia. The aims of the present study was to analyse gender differences in the prevalence of sarcopenia and document gender differences in lean soft tissue mass in healthy elderly. 139 healthy subjects ageing between 59 and 92 years (x = 71.5 +/- 7.8), 77 females and 64 males, were enrolled in the study. Body composition was measured by means of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Additionally appendicular muscle mass (ASM) was calculated. While no linear decrease in lean soft tissue mass was found for both sexes, the prevalence of sarcopenia increased significantly with increasing age in females as well as in males. Significant gender differences in the prevalence of sarcopenia were found for people younger than 70 years and those older than 80 years. In the youngest age group (&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 70 years) sarcopenia was found more frequently among women, while in the oldest age group (&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; 80 years) the opposite was true. It can be concluded that the prevalence of sarcopenia differs between the two genders however these differences are influenced by age.
American Journal of Human Biology, 1994
The relationship between paternal somatic morphology and number and sex of the offspring was inve... more The relationship between paternal somatic morphology and number and sex of the offspring was investigated with 114 !Kung San males from Namibia. Significant correlations were observed between measures of facial and distal robustness and the total number of sons and daughters as well as for the sex ratio of children and the ratio of living to dead children. Anthropometric characteristics of !Kung San men correlated with the number of daughters more frequently than with the number of sons, and the majority of correlation coefficients were negative. This indicates that more slender men tend to have more daughters, while the positive correlations between body dimensions and the number of sons demonstrate that more robustly built and tall men tend to have more sons. Mortality of children also differs relative to the paternal body build. The mortality rate in children of more slender fathers is higher than in those of more robust fathers. Robust men have more male children and these children have a better chance to survive. The differential fertility ofthe !Kung may be explained by the association between a high social rank and robustness of physique which may lead to typical patterns of sexual selection. The results of the present study are consistent with the Trivers-Willard hypothesis, which describes differential sex-biased parental investment under different socioeconomic conditions. s c 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Fertility, quantified by the number of offspring, is determined by the interaction of various endogenous and exogenous factors such as sex hormones, body build, state of
Annals of Human Biology, 1995
The intercorrelations between 18 anthropometric variables, describing amount and distribution of ... more The intercorrelations between 18 anthropometric variables, describing amount and distribution of subcutaneous fat tissue, and 12 growth hormone (GH) levels which had been obtained at intervals of 2 hours over a period of 24 hours, were tested in 25 premenopausal and 23 postmenopausal women from Austria. The 12 GH levels were included in the analyses because the GH shows typical pulsatile secretion patterns with peak values about midnight. Initially, premenopausal and postmenopausal women showed significantly different secretion patterns of GH; furthermore it became evident that the GH constantly correlated positively, however insignificantly, with stature height, but significantly negatively with all those measures describing amount and distribution of subcutaneous fat tissue. Beyond that the present paper indicates that age and menopausal status have a marked influence on GH secretion patterns. It became evident that, independent of menopausal status, typical association patterns between frequency of GH pulses per 24 hours, as well as the amplitude of the individual bursts and the amount of subcutaneous fat tissue, occur.
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Papers by Sylvia Kirchengast