Walter Brittany S, DeWitte Sharon N
a Department of Anthropology , University of South Carolina , Columbia , SC , USA.
Ann Hum Biol. 2017 Jun;44(4):338-348. doi: 10.1080/03014460.2016.1275792. Epub 2017 Jan 17.
Late medieval England underwent intensive urbanisation, particularly in its largest city: London. Urban dwellers were exposed to factors such as high population density, elevated risk of infection, unsanitary living conditions and precarious food supplies.
To assess whether the urban environment was more detrimental to health than the rural environment, this study compares risks of mortality and survival, as proxies for health, in medieval urban vs rural England.
This study uses samples from rural St. Peter's cemetery in Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire (c. 1150-1500) and urban St. Mary Spital cemetery in London (c. 1120-1539). Cox proportional hazards analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis are used to assess differences in mortality and survival between urban and rural environments, including differences between sexes.
The results indicate that urban adults faced elevated risks of dying and reductions in survivorship. Specifically, urban females faced elevated risks of dying and reductions in survivorship, while the risks for males were similar in both environments.
These results suggest that the effects of urbanisation in medieval England varied by sex. Deleterious conditions associated with urbanisation in London were hazardous for adults, particularly females who may have migrated into London from rural areas for labour opportunities.
中世纪晚期的英格兰经历了密集的城市化进程，尤其是在其最大的城市伦敦。城市居民面临着诸如人口密度高、感染风险增加、生活条件不卫生以及食物供应不稳定等因素。
为了评估城市环境是否比农村环境对健康更有害，本研究比较了中世纪英格兰城市与农村地区的死亡率和生存率风险，以此作为健康状况的指标。
本研究使用了林肯郡亨伯河畔巴顿的农村圣彼得墓地（约1150 - 1500年）和伦敦城市圣玛丽医院墓地（约1120 - 1539年）的样本。采用Cox比例风险分析和Kaplan - Meier生存分析来评估城市和农村环境之间死亡率和生存率的差异，包括性别差异。
结果表明城市成年人面临更高的死亡风险和生存率降低的情况。具体而言，城市女性面临更高的死亡风险和生存率降低，而男性在两种环境中的风险相似。
这些结果表明中世纪英格兰城市化的影响因性别而异。伦敦城市化相关的有害条件对成年人有害，尤其是那些可能从农村地区迁移到伦敦寻找工作机会的女性。
