No, this is not part of my tinder profile (idfw tinder or any dating sites/apps anymore) – though, I definitely wouldn’t mind hiring someone to drive me around for the rest of my life (even though I did FINALLY get my G1 the other day, nbd). But real talk, this may become part of Health Canada’s public health initiatives to screen men with driving occupations for prostate cancer. At least, according to a semi-recent study.
Young et al. (2009) surveyed the literature on the risk of prostate cancer in whole body vibration (WBV) related occupations (i.e. driving occupations) and found that, though not technically statistically significant, the pooled relative risk for prostate cancer found in their meta-analysis indicates that occupational exposure to WBV cannot be ruled out as a possible risk factor for the disease. In order to arrive at this conclusion, the authors systematically reviewed five case-control and three cohort studies between 1996 and 2004, that examined men with occupations with probable WBV exposure and whether they developed prostate cancer later in life, and then calculated a pooled relative risk estimate (Young et al. 2009). From this, they assert, “while there is no direct biological evidence that WBV may cause prostate cancer, WBV has been associated with increased testosterone levels and prostatitis, both of which have been associated with prostate cancer” (Young et al. 2009:555). Young et al. (2009) maintain that more epidemiological studies need to further examine the association between WBV and prostate cancer, as the prevalence of prostate cancer amongst Canadian men continues to increase.
Does this have anything to do with the typical anthropological literature students are typically exposed to (i.e. race, stress, or bones)? At the surface: no. However, this study does demonstrate a type of developmental approach in biology and social theory that currently excites sociocultural and medical anthropologists (especially me!) – embodiment. Nancy Kreiger defines embodiment as, “how we literally biologically incorporate our social and material world in which we live, from conception to death” (Gravlee 2009:51). This study looks at how one’s occupation can become embodied, which consequently, has the potential to negatively affect one’s health. Moreover, this study looks at how a social dimension of health – occupation – can become an important risk factor to the pathology of prostate cancer.
As Agarwal and Beauchesne (2011) maintain, our bodies are not exempt from the socio-cultural world in which we are situated. We inevitably fall victim to various stressors or as Nancy Scheper-Hughes would call them “the violences of everyday life”. Arguably, we embody these stressors, violences, or other social dimensions of health first through our emotions (Flinn 2007), which can thus negatively impact our overall health. Driving a vehicle all day, for multiple days, cannot be an “easy” or “stress-free” job (especially if you’ve ever driven in Toronto or driven a bunch of your obnoxiously drunken friends home from a bar). Adding to that stress, Young et al. (2009) have suggested that WBV may be an associated risk of prostate cancer, though more epidemiological research needs to explore this phenomenon. Grouping stress and WBV together, males who drive vehicles for a living are at risk for elevated testosterone levels and prostatitis, which are both associated with prostate cancer.
While Young et al. (2009) lack biological evidence for WBV and prostate cancer, they do demonstrate a type of thinking about the aetiology of prostate cancer that extends beyond the molecular or evolutionary developmental biological approaches. Thinking of the causes of diseases in a way that interweaves physiology with the “real world” is an important step in studies of prostate cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, or any other disease for that matter. Young et al. (2009) do a great job in taking the first step in welding “nature” and “nurture” together to look at how one’s “nurturing” (occupation) can affect and become embodied into one’s “nature”.
So, the next time you order an Uber, hop on the bus, or hitchhike your way to wherever you're going and are seated with a male driver who has either a) told you to smile; or b) tries to make small talk with you even though you would 10/10 prefer a silent ride, casually ask them if they’ve been screened for prostate cancer...and then ask him to smile. It’s a great way to break the ice and get back at all of those creepy men who have told you that you should smile more!
Just kidding. Don’t do that. Or do it and lmk how it goes.