BIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL APPROACH:
When we talk about the biological approach in medical anthropology, we are talking about the relationship between the environment, genetics, and individual lifestyle; including how each of these aspects of the approach interact with one another to explain an illness. A medical anthropologist may want to know if CKD can be inherited through genes, if there are any environmental conditions that would increase the risk of getting CDK, or if something like specific eating habits could trigger symptoms. Sometimes causes of an illness such as CDK can be explained by multiple aspects of the biological approach. For example, the pie chart on left depicts the main causes of kidney failure in Michigan for 2007. The two major causes are diabetes (42%) and high blood pressure (29%); however, 20% of the data indicates that other factors contribute to kidney failure [5]. What could these other causes be? An article written by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare claims, "Poor nutrition increases the risk of CKD through effects on other factors, such as blood glucose, blood pressure and body weight. The effect of nutrition can not be attributed to any one dietary component alone, but results from the combined effects of individual dietary factors and total energy intake". This journal article mainly focuses on the three main causes of CKD including Biomedical causes, including diabetes and high blood pressure; modifiable causes, including metabolic syndrome and tobacco smoking; as well as other factors, including socioeconomic status and aging [4]. Anthropologists may use this information and want to learn more about why certain individuals are more healthier than others, and some anthropologists may even turn to race to try and explain the answer as Clarence Gravlee states in his article, "There is abundant evidence of health inequalities among racially defined groups in many societies" [1]. The bar graph on the
When we talk about the biological approach in medical anthropology, we are talking about the relationship between the environment, genetics, and individual lifestyle; including how each of these aspects of the approach interact with one another to explain an illness. A medical anthropologist may want to know if CKD can be inherited through genes, if there are any environmental conditions that would increase the risk of getting CDK, or if something like specific eating habits could trigger symptoms. Sometimes causes of an illness such as CDK can be explained by multiple aspects of the biological approach. For example, the pie chart on left depicts the main causes of kidney failure in Michigan for 2007. The two major causes are diabetes (42%) and high blood pressure (29%); however, 20% of the data indicates that other factors contribute to kidney failure [5]. What could these other causes be? An article written by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare claims, "Poor nutrition increases the risk of CKD through effects on other factors, such as blood glucose, blood pressure and body weight. The effect of nutrition can not be attributed to any one dietary component alone, but results from the combined effects of individual dietary factors and total energy intake". This journal article mainly focuses on the three main causes of CKD including Biomedical causes, including diabetes and high blood pressure; modifiable causes, including metabolic syndrome and tobacco smoking; as well as other factors, including socioeconomic status and aging [4]. Anthropologists may use this information and want to learn more about why certain individuals are more healthier than others, and some anthropologists may even turn to race to try and explain the answer as Clarence Gravlee states in his article, "There is abundant evidence of health inequalities among racially defined groups in many societies" [1]. The bar graph on the
right shows the breakdown between the percent in age-adjusted prevalence of CKD between non-hispanic white, non-hispanic black, and Mexican american [3]. Although there is not a large difference between the age-adjusted prevalence in whites compared to blacks or Mexicans, there are many reasons why anthropologists would believe that this is the case. These reasons could be explained by the ecological approach many anthropologist use when studying an illness. In particular, medical ecology could be used to explain the reasons why whites have a lower prevalence of CKD than blacks or Mexican Americans. According to McElroy "The environment has three major components: biotic elements (sources of food, building materials, predators and vectors), abiotic (climate, solar energy, inorganic materials), and cultural elements (human systems)" [2]. For example, as civilization expanded in the United States and many ethnic groups were seeking advancement in employment opportunity, many ethnic groups (including the ones listed above) were unsuccessful in finding any kind of decent work especially in inner-cities. This resulted in neighborhoods with poor housing structure, little or no parks, and poor education. The ethnic groups that were stuck living in these neighborhoods with a poor or no job have no access to doctors or any sort of healthcare. When there is little or no access to doctors, many people are going to suffer from many diseases and go untreated, like Chronic Kidney Disease.
References
[1] Gravlee, Clarance. "How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality". American Journal of Physical Anthropology 139:47-57 (2009). Viewed on July 25, 2014.
[2] McElroy, Ann. "Evolutionary and Ecological Perspectives". Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology (Kluwer, 2004: pp31-37). Viewed on July 25, 2014.
[3] "2014 National Chronic Kidney Disease Fact Sheet". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last updated January 10, 2014. Viewed on July 25, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/factsheets/kidney.htm
[4] "Three Factors and Causes of Chronic Kidney Disease". Viewed on July 25, 2014. http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=6442459670
[5] "What is Kidney Disease". Senior Citizens' Guide to Detroit. Viewed on July 25,2014. http://www.seniorcitizensguide.com/articles/detroit/what-is-kidney-disease.htm
[1] Gravlee, Clarance. "How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality". American Journal of Physical Anthropology 139:47-57 (2009). Viewed on July 25, 2014.
[2] McElroy, Ann. "Evolutionary and Ecological Perspectives". Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology (Kluwer, 2004: pp31-37). Viewed on July 25, 2014.
[3] "2014 National Chronic Kidney Disease Fact Sheet". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last updated January 10, 2014. Viewed on July 25, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/factsheets/kidney.htm
[4] "Three Factors and Causes of Chronic Kidney Disease". Viewed on July 25, 2014. http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=6442459670
[5] "What is Kidney Disease". Senior Citizens' Guide to Detroit. Viewed on July 25,2014. http://www.seniorcitizensguide.com/articles/detroit/what-is-kidney-disease.htm