Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

396 Jean Bourgeois-Pichat
sons concerned during their educational careers. It therefore goes far beyond a
mere study of mortality incidence; on the other hand, it is confined to a partic-
ular group of social classes and covers only a short phase of a lifetime.
135. In addition, there are the studies conducted in the United States by the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company on its clientkle. Although not represen-
tative of the American population as a whole, this clientkle, consisting of several
tens of millions of persons, enables the company to study the influence on the
death-rate of factors connected with the way of living. Research is also carried
out on morbidity.
136. Rapid progress is being made, too, in research on mortality of genetic
origin. There are frequent discoveries of chromosomal disorders responsible
for various physiological ailments. It has been demonstrated that the frequency
of chromosomal disorders in new-born children is 4 per 1,000, and that chromosomal
anomalies account for 20 % of the root cause of miscarriages.
137. The question of parental incompatibilities between blood groups raises a
number of problems at the present time from the point of view of selection. We
are well acquainted with the problem of Rh incompatibilities (hemolytic disease
in new-born children), but it is thought that they are to be found also in the
ABO and m systems, among others, with very different mechanisms: gametic
selection, selection in utero, mortinatality, post-natal selection, specific mortali-
ty. All these aspects are of great importance from the point of view of public
health.
Procreation in the human race
138. Works on the subject of procreation in the human race relate to another
equally important field of research. Three main sectors may be distinguished:
First, the study of the biological and physiological aspects of human repro-
duction. Here again, we find a vast programme of research launched by WHO.
A service specialized in the reproduction of the human species was established
in 1965 at the Organization’s headquarters in Geneva. It has carried out the
following work:
a. It has organized a number of meetings of experts with the object of
reviewing the present state of our knowledge and indicating new lines of re-
search. The conclusions of these discussions have been published in the series of
technical reports issued by WHO. The mere mention of their titles is enough to
show how they fit into the general scheme of this chapter: biology of reproduc-
tion (1963),34 physiology of breast-feeding (1963), effects of confinement on the
foetus and new-born child (1964), neuro-endocrinology and the reproduction
of the human species (1964), mechanisms of action of sexual hormones and
allied substances (1964), biochemistry and microbiology of the genital organs
of man and woman (1969, immunization of human reproduction (1969,
chemistry and physiology of oral contraceptives and their clinical aspects
(1969, gametes (1969, the sterilet and its clinical aspects (1966).