International journal of epidemiology
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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.
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Several studies in older people have shown that grip strength predicts all-cause mortality. The mechanisms are unclear. Muscle strength declines with age, accompanied by a loss of muscle mass and an increase in fat, but the role that body composition plays in the association between grip strength and mortality has been little explored. We investigated the relation between grip strength, body composition, and cause-specific and total mortality in 800 men and women aged 65 and over. ⋯ Grip strength is a long-term predictor of mortality from all-causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer in men. Muscle size and other indicators of body composition did not explain these associations.
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India is undergoing rapid epidemiological transition as a consequence of economic and social change. The pattern of mortality is a key indicator of the consequent health effects but up-to-date, precise, and reliable statistics are few, particularly in rural areas. ⋯ Non-communicable and chronic diseases are the leading causes of death in this part of rural India. The observed pattern of death is unlikely to be unique to these villages and provides new insight into the rapid progression of epidemiological transition in rural India.
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Leisure-time physical activity (LPA) has been associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. However, the potential effect of other types of physical activity on type 2 diabetes is still uncertain. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of occupational, commuting, daily living, and LPA on the incidence of type 2 diabetes in a cohort of middle-aged women. ⋯ This study suggests that physical activity, either from leisure-time exercise or daily activity reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes in women, supporting the current health promotion efforts encouraging both exercise and non-exercise activity levels.
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Constitutional factors and sun exposure are associated with skin cancer risk. However, these relations are complex and differ according to skin cancer type. ⋯ These data largely confirm past studies on risk factors for skin cancer but provide evidence of difference on the strength of these risk factors for melanoma compared with SCC and BCC.