Journal of epidemiology and community health
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Dec 2015
Ambient air pollution and racial/ethnic differences in carotid intima-media thickness in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
In the USA, ethnic disparities in atherosclerosis persist after accounting for known risk factors. Ambient air pollution is associated with increased levels of atherosclerosis and differs in the USA by race/ethnicity. We estimated the influence of ambient air pollution exposure to ethnic differences in common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). ⋯ The smaller carotid IMT levels in Chinese participants were even smaller after accounting for higher PM2.5 concentrations in Chinese participants compared with Caucasian-American participants. Air pollution was not related to IMT differences in African-American and Hispanic participants compared with Caucasian-American participants.
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Dec 2015
Decreasing educational differences in mortality over 40 years: evidence from the Turin Longitudinal Study (Italy).
Recent studies suggest that inequalities in premature mortality have continued to rise over the last decade in most European countries, but not in southern European countries. ⋯ Absolute inequalities in mortality strongly declined over the study period in both genders. Relative educational inequalities in mortality were generally stable among men; while they tended to narrow among women. In general, this study supports the hypothesis that educational inequalities in mortality have decreased in southern European countries.
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Dec 2015
Associations between individual socioeconomic position, neighbourhood disadvantage and transport mode: baseline results from the HABITAT multilevel study.
Understanding how different socioeconomic indicators are associated with transport modes provide insight into which interventions might contribute to reducing socioeconomic inequalities in health. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between neighbourhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage, individual-level socioeconomic position (SEP), and usual transport mode. ⋯ The relationships between socioeconomic characteristics and transport modes are complex, and provide challenges for those attempting to encourage active forms of transportation. Further work is required exploring the individual-level and neighbourhood-level mechanisms behind choice of transport mode, and what factors might influence individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds to change to more active transport modes.
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Dec 2015
Increasing active travel: results of a quasi-experimental study of an intervention to encourage walking and cycling.
There is increased interest in the effectiveness and co-benefits of measures to promote walking and cycling, including health gains from increased physical activity and reductions in fossil fuel use and vehicle emissions. This paper analyses the changes in walking and cycling in two New Zealand cities that accompanied public investment in infrastructure married with programmes to encourage active travel. ⋯ Comparing the intervention cities with the matched controls, we found substantial changes in walking and cycling, and conclude that the improvements in infrastructure and associated programmes appear to have successfully arrested the general decline in active mode use evident in recent years.