They rule out the possibility that the 1918 Spanish flu affected healthy younger people more

A new study overturns long-held belief that the Spanish flu pandemic, which began in 1918 and killed nearly 50 million people worldwide, disproportionately affected healthy young people.

The study was led by researchers from McMaster University (Canada) and the University of Colorado Boulder (USA) and was published this Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Because so many people became sick so quickly, doctors at the time believed that healthy people were just as likely to die from the flu as those who were already sick or weak. Despite numerous historical records, there is no concrete scientific evidence to support this belief.

Researchers from McMaster University and the University of Colorado Boulder analyzed the ages at death and studied bone damage in some of the victims, concluding that people More likely to die from the flu Already indicated There were previous signs of environmental, social and nutritional stress.

Amanda Wissler, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at McMaster University and lead author of the study, said: “Our environments – social, cultural and immune – are intertwined and impact people’s lives all the time. and death, even in the distant past.”

Wissler added: “We saw this during Covid-19, our Social and cultural context influence who is more likely to die And who is most likely to survive. “

Most research on the 1918 influenza pandemic is based on historical documents such as vital statistics, census data, and life insurance records, which do not include data on preexisting conditions or environment, diet, or other factors that might have affected the general situation. information. A lifetime of good health.

two groups

For this new study, researchers 369 remains examined From the Harman-Todd Recorded Skeleton Collection, Cleveland Museum of Natural History (USA). They all died between 1910 and 1938.

The sample was divided into two groups: a control group, which included people who died before the pandemic, and a separate group of people who died during the health crisis.

A living person’s bone structure may undergo lasting changes resulting from poor health, such as reduced height, irregular growth, defects in tooth development, and other indicators.

Team looking for injury or Pressure indicators in calves of pandemic victims. For example, new bone forms in response to inflammation caused by trauma or infection in the body.

Researchers can determine whether a lesion is active, healing, or completely healed, all of which provide evidence of the underlying condition.

“By comparing who was injured and whether they were active or recovering at the time of death, we get Pictures of what we call vulnerability or people most likely to die. Our study shows that people with these active lesions are the most vulnerable,” explains study co-author Sharon DeWitte, a biological anthropologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Previous health conditions

Pre-existing medical conditions, such as Asthma or congestive heart failure are common risk factors This can lead to adverse consequences of infectious diseases such as influenza.

he institutional racism and discrimination Researchers say they can amplify these effects, as the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated.

For example, during the Black Death in London, people who had previously suffered environmental, nutritional, and disease stress were more likely to die than those who were healthy.

“result “Our work contradicts narratives and anecdotes from the time.”The remains analyzed in the Wissler ruling showed that, as with other epidemics, pre-existing medical conditions and socioeconomic factors increased the likelihood of death from the 1918 influenza pandemic.