International journal of epidemiology
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Meta Analysis
Circulatory disease and smokeless tobacco in Western populations: a review of the evidence.
Use of oral snuff or 'snus' has risen in Sweden. Sales of snuff in the US have also risen, overtaking sales of chewing tobacco. There is some evidence that nicotine contributes to circulatory disease (CID) from smoking. We therefore reviewed the evidence relating smokeless tobacco (ST) to CID and related risk factors. ⋯ Any CID risk from ST appears to be substantially less than from smoking, and no clear risk from Swedish snuff is seen. However, the overall evidence is limited.
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There is a west-east mortality gradient in Europe, more pronounced in men. The objective of this article was to quantify the contribution of alcohol use to the gap in premature adult mortality between three old (France, Sweden and United Kingdom) and four new (Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania and Poland) European Union (EU) member states for the year 2002. Russia was added as an external comparator. ⋯ Alcohol is a strong contributor to the health gap between western and central and eastern Europe, with both average volume of consumption and patterns of drinking contributing to burden of disease and injury. Alcohol also contributes substantially to male-female differences in mortality and life expectancy. However, there are feasible and cost-effective measures to reduce alcohol-related burden that should be implemented in central and eastern Europe.
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The association between socioeconomic circumstances and health in adulthood could come about through processes that may be divided into factors experienced early in life and those experienced in later adulthood. In order to disentangle the influences on health of the early genetic, prenatal and rearing environmental factors from environmental factor later in life, we compared the health status among male and female twin pairs who lived together during childhood and were discordant or concordant on adult socioeconomic position. ⋯ This study suggests that the relationship between adult social class and health outcomes in Denmark is due mainly to selection effects rather than a causal effect of social class exposures on health and behaviour.