Journal of epidemiology and community health
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Oct 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialText-messaging to reduce missed appointment in a youth clinic: a randomised controlled trial.
To assess the effectiveness of text-messages in reducing the proportion of non-attendance in a youth clinic of a University Hospital. ⋯ In our primary care youth clinic, text-message reminders are not effective in reducing the proportion of missed appointments. This may in part be due to the fact that most patients are referred by a professional or by their parents and do not initiate appointments themselves.
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Oct 2013
Alcohol-related mortality in deprived UK cities: worrying trends in young women challenge recent national downward trends.
Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, has high levels of deprivation and a poor-health profile compared with other parts of Europe, which cannot be fully explained by the high levels of deprivation. The 'excess' premature mortality in Glasgow is now largely attributable to deaths from alcohol, drugs, suicide and violence. ⋯ It is imperative that this early warning sign in young women in the UK is acted on if deaths from alcohol are to reduce in the long term.
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Sep 2013
A conditional model for estimating the increase in suicides associated with the 2008-2010 economic recession in England.
Although evidence of the effects of the economic crisis on suicides is quite low, a recent article shows that the increase in suicides in England between 2008 and 2010 could be associated with the rise in unemployment. Our study analysed whether this effect was the same for all regions of England, using a conditional model which explicitly allows estimation of regional time trends and the effects of unemployment on suicides at the regional level. ⋯ The study provides evidence that, even with statistically significant associations, finding variability, but no clear pattern, between trends and associations and/or numbers and rates might in fact suggest relatively spurious relationships; this is a result of not controlling for confounders.
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Sep 2013
Mortality differentials 1991-2005 by self-reported ethnicity: findings from the ONS Longitudinal Study.
Research on ethnic differentials in mortality in England and Wales has focused on immigrants because, until now, studies collecting data on ethnicity have not covered sufficient deaths to investigate the subject. International migrants are selected for good health and tend to have low mortality. ⋯ Immigrants are selected for good health. This has offset the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage on the mortality of minority ethnic groups. As the immigrant population ages and the UK-born minority ethnic population grows, ethnic differentials in all-cause mortality are likely to change.
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Aug 2013
Impact of income inequality on life expectancy in a highly unequal developing country: the case of Brazil.
Few studies have analysed the effects of income inequality on health in developing countries, particularly during economic growth, reduction of social disparities and reinforcement of the welfare and healthcare system. We evaluated the association between income inequality and life expectancy in Brazil, including the effect of social and health interventions, in the period 2000-2009. ⋯ In recent years, effective social policies have enabled Brazil to partially reduce absolute poverty and income inequality, contributing-together with PHC-to decreasing death rates in the population. Reducing income inequality may represent an important step towards improving health and increasing life expectancy, particularly in developing countries where inequalities are high.