Relationship between cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasia in the early medieval Slavic population at Borovce,Slovakia

Cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasia were examined in an early medieval (8^th to beginning of 12^th century AD) skeletal sample of 451 individuals from Borovce, Slovakia. More than 40% of these individuals died before reaching 20 years of age. The relationship between the occurrence of orbital and enamel lesions was analysed by focusing on the age‐specific distribution, and on its influence on demographic parameters. Both features were found in 11.2% of the observed skulls. The presence of orbital and dental lesions showed a considerable impact on mortality as well as the life expectancy. Generally, the highest mortality was observed among 0–4 year old individuals. The greatest discrepancy in the demographic parameters, however, appeared between the affected and unaffected individuals aged 10–14 and 15–19 years. In these two age groups the co‐occurrence of both lesions was most frequently recorded. These individuals obviously had a history of sickness, and thus could not cope with further bouts of disease and with the increased physiological demands of pubertal growth. The missing correlation in younger age categories can be largely explained by the difficulty of macroscopically examining the permanent dentition, since an interrelationship between the age at hypoplasia development and the occurrence of cribra orbitalia was detected. Several differences between the individuals with enamel defects and both conditions were observed in the distribution of age at hypoplasia formation. According to these results, several factors, such as impaired health status, growth demands and diet, influence the development of enamel hypoplasia and cribra orbitalia in a particular population. It is possible that after reaching a certain threshold, the underlying factors act synergistically in a kind of vicious cycle as the balance between the immune system, metabolism, and exogenous factors such as pathogens and nutrition, is disturbed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.