Candida Fenton | University of Edinburgh (original) (raw)

Papers by Candida Fenton

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020

Fi een-year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial of ultrasonographic screening for abdominal ... more Fi een-year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial of ultrasonographic screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms.

BMC Public Health, 2016

Background: Lone parents and their children experience higher than average levels of adverse heal... more Background: Lone parents and their children experience higher than average levels of adverse health and social outcomes, much of which are explained by high rates of poverty. Many high income countries have attempted to address high poverty rates by introducing employment requirements for lone parents in receipt of welfare benefits. However, there is evidence that employment may not reduce poverty or improve the health of lone parents and their children. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies reporting lone parents' accounts of participation in welfare to work (WtW), to identify explanations and possible mechanisms for the impacts of WtW on health and wellbeing. Twenty one bibliographic databases were searched. Two reviewers independently screened references and assessed study quality. Studies from any high income country that met the criteria of focussing on lone parents, mandatory WtW interventions, and health or wellbeing were included. Thematic synthesis was used to investigate analytic themes between studies. Results: Screening of the 4703 identified papers and quality assessment resulted in the inclusion of 16 qualitative studies of WtW in five high income countries, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, covering a variety of welfare regimes. Our synthesis found that WtW requirements often conflicted with child care responsibilities. Available employment was often poorly paid and precarious. Adverse health impacts, such as increased stress, fatigue, and depression were commonly reported, though employment and appropriate training was linked to increased self-worth for some. WtW appeared to influence health through the pathways of conflict and control, analytical themes which emerged during synthesis. WtW reduced control over the nature of employment and care of children. Access to social support allowed some lone parents to manage the conflict associated with employment, and to increase control over their circumstances, with potentially beneficial health impacts. Conclusion: WtW can result in increased conflict and reduced control, which may lead to negative impacts on mental health. Availability of social support may mediate the negative health impacts of WtW.

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2014

The environment has long been associated with physical activity engagement, and recent developmen... more The environment has long been associated with physical activity engagement, and recent developments in technology have resulted in the ability to objectively quantify activity behaviours and activity context. This paper reviews studies that have combined Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and accelerometry to investigate the PA-environment relationship in children and young people (5-18 years old). Literature searches of the following bibliographic databases were undertaken: Sportdiscus, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Psychinfo and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA). Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, and covered topics including greenspace use, general land use, active travel, and the built environment. Studies were largely cross-sectional and took place across developed countries (UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia). Findings suggest that roads and streets, school grounds, and the home location are important locations for total PA, and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). The relationship between greenspace was positive, however, multiple definitions and outcome measures add complexity to the results. MVPA was more likely in those exposed to higher levels of greenspace compared to sedentary individuals. Total MVPA time in greenspace is low, but when framed as a proportion of the total can be quite high. Domestic gardens may be an important area for higher intensity activity. Researchers are encouraged to show transparency in their methods. As a relatively new area of research, with ever-evolving technology, future work is best placed in developing novel, but robust, methods to investigate the PA and environment relationship. Further descriptive work is encouraged to build on a small but increasing knowledge base; however, longitudinal studies incorporating seasonal/weather variation would also be extremely beneficial to elicit some of the nuances associated with land use. A greater understanding of geographic variation (i.e. within and between countries), as well as urban/suburban and rural dwelling is welcomed, and future work should also include the investigation of psycho-social health as an outcome, as well as differences in socioeconomic status, sex and adiposity.

Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation, 2014

Guidelines recommend screening stroke-survivors for cognitive impairments. We sought to collate p... more Guidelines recommend screening stroke-survivors for cognitive impairments. We sought to collate published data on test accuracy of cognitive screening tools. Index test was any direct, cognitive screening assessment compared against reference standard diagnosis of (undifferentiated) multidomain cognitive impairment/dementia. We used a sensitive search statement to search multiple, cross-disciplinary databases from inception to January 2014. Titles, abstracts, and articles were screened by independent researchers. We described risk of bias using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool and reporting quality using Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy guidance. Where data allowed, we pooled test accuracy using bivariate methods. From 19 182 titles, we reviewed 241 articles, 35 suitable for inclusion. There was substantial heterogeneity: 25 differing screening tests; differing stroke settings (acute stroke, n=11 articles), and reference standards used (neuropsych...

Systematic Reviews, 2014

Background: Review of theory is an area of growing methodological advancement. Theoretical review... more Background: Review of theory is an area of growing methodological advancement. Theoretical reviews are particularly useful where the literature is complex, multi-discipline, or contested. It has been suggested that adopting methods from systematic reviews may help address these challenges. However, the methodological approaches to reviews of theory, including the degree to which systematic review methods can be incorporated, have received little discussion in the literature. We recently employed systematic review methods in a review of theories about the causal relationship between income and health. Methods: This article discusses some of the methodological issues we considered in developing the review and offers lessons learnt from our experiences. It examines the stages of a systematic review in relation to how they could be adapted for a review of theory. The issues arising and the approaches taken in the review of theories in income and health are considered, drawing on the approaches of other reviews of theory. Results: Different approaches to searching were required, including electronic and manual searches, and electronic citation tracking to follow the development of theories. Determining inclusion criteria was an iterative process to ensure that inclusion criteria were specific enough to make the review practical and focused, but not so narrow that key literature was excluded. Involving subject specialists was valuable in the literature searches to ensure principal papers were identified and during the inductive approaches used in synthesis of theories to provide detailed understanding of how theories related to another. Reviews of theory are likely to involve iterations and inductive processes throughout, and some of the concepts and techniques that have been developed for qualitative evidence synthesis can be usefully translated to theoretical reviews of this kind. Conclusions: It may be useful at the outset of a review of theory to consider whether the key aim of the review is to scope out theories relating to a particular issue; to conduct in-depth analysis of key theoretical works with the aim of developing new, overarching theories and interpretations; or to combine both these processes in the review. This can help decide the most appropriate methodological approach to take at particular stages of the review.

Journal of the Society of Archivists, 2010

Little attention has previously been paid to the use of controlled vocabularies and subject keywo... more Little attention has previously been paid to the use of controlled vocabularies and subject keywords for indexing archival finding aids in the UK. Qualitative and quantitative responses to a questionnaire of UK repositories concerning the use of subject keywords and controlled vocabularies ...

International Journal of Epidemiology, 2012

Background Geographical variation in dementia prevalence and incidence may indicate important soc... more Background Geographical variation in dementia prevalence and incidence may indicate important socio-environmental contributions to dementia aetiology. However, previous comparisons have been hampered by combining studies with different methodologies. This review systematically collates and synthesizes studies examining geographical variation in the prevalence and incidence of dementia based on comparisons of studies using identical methodologies. Methods Papers were identified by a comprehensive electronic search of relevant databases, scrutinising the reference sections of identified publications, contacting experts in the field and reexamining papers already known to us. Identified articles were independently reviewed against inclusion/exclusion criteria and considered according to geographical scale. Rural/urban comparisons were meta-analysed. Results Twelve thousand five hundred and eighty records were reviewed and 51 articles were included. Dementia prevalence and incidence varies at a number of scales from the national down to small areas, including some evidence of an effect of rural living [prevalence odds ratio (OR) ¼ 1.11, 90% confidence interval (CI) 0.79-1.57; incidence OR ¼ 1.20, 90% CI 0.84-1.71]. However, this association of rurality was stronger for Alzheimer disease, particularly when early life rural living was captured (prevalence OR ¼ 2.22, 90% CI 1.19-4.16; incidence OR ¼ 1.64, 90% CI 1.08-2.50). Conclusions There is evidence of geographical variation in rates of dementia in affluent countries at a variety of geographical scales. Rural living is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer disease, and there is a suggestion that early life rural living further increases this risk. However, the fact that few studies have been conducted in resource-poor countries limits conclusions.

ARCLIB: Architecture school librarians' group. …, 1999

Welfare to work interventions and their effects on health and wellbeing of lone parents and their... more Welfare to work interventions and their effects on health and wellbeing of lone parents and their children.

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

BMJ Global Health

IntroductionThere is increasing interest in the transferability of parenting interventions from h... more IntroductionThere is increasing interest in the transferability of parenting interventions from high-income countries (HICs) to low-income countries (LICs) in order to improve child development and health outcomes. This is based on the premise that associations between parenting practices and child outcomes are similar in both settings. Many parenting interventions in HICs are evidence-based, but less evidence exists on associations of parenting practices with child outcomes in LICs, in particular, sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. This review synthesises evidence on the association of parenting practices with child outcomes in SSA in order to compare findings with those from HICs.MethodsWe searched electronic databases—Web of Science, ASSIA, Embase, IBSS and PsycINFO—to identify studies from SSA that reported quantitative associations between parenting practices and child health or psychosocial outcomes (eg, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), mental health, conduct disorders)...

BMC public health, Jan 3, 2018

Participatory budgeting (PB), citizens deliberating among themselves and with officials to decide... more Participatory budgeting (PB), citizens deliberating among themselves and with officials to decide how to allocate funds for public goods, has been increasingly implemented across Europe and worldwide. While PB is recommended as good practice by the World Bank and the United Nations, with potential to improve health and wellbeing, it is unclear what evaluations have been conducted on the impact of PB on health and wellbeing. For this scoping review, we searched 21 databases with no restrictions on publication date or language. The search term 'participatory budget' was used as the relevant global label for the intervention of interest. Studies were included if they reported original analysis of health, social, political, or economic and budgetary outcomes of PB. We examined the study design, analysis, outcomes and location of included articles. Findings are reported narratively. From 1458 identified references, 37 studies were included. The majority of evaluations (n = 24) we...

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess... more This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of taxation of fat content in food on consumption of total fat and saturated fat, energy intake, overweight, obesity, and other adverse health outcomes in the general population.

Protocols, 2016

Preventive action and interventions are urgently needed to curb the obesity epidemic and its detr... more Preventive action and interventions are urgently needed to curb the obesity epidemic and its detrimental health impacts (WHO 2000). Overweight and obesity are serious global public health issues, with increasing prevalences in low-, middle-, and high-income countries (De Onis 2010; James 2004; WHO 2000). Ac-1 Taxation of unprocessed sugar or sugar-added foods for reducing their consumption and preventing obesity or other adverse health outcomes (Protocol)

Protocols, 2016

To assess the effects of taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) on SSB consumption, energy ... more To assess the effects of taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) on SSB consumption, energy intake, overweight, obesity, and other adverse health outcomes in the general population.

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 2014

Program: electronic library and information systems, 2007

International Journal of Epidemiology, 2011

Background. A number of prospective cohort studies have examined the association between intellig... more Background. A number of prospective cohort studies have examined the association between intelligence in childhood or youth and life expectancy in adulthood; however, the effect size of this association have yet to be quantified and previous reviews require updating. Methods. The systematic review included an electronic search of EMBASE, MEDLINE and PSYCHINFO databases. This yielded 16 unrelated studies that met inclusion criteria, comprising 22,453 deaths among 1,107,022 participants. Heterogeneity was assessed, and fixed effects models were applied to the aggregate data. Publication bias was evaluated, and sensitivity analyses were conducted. 35 Results. A one SD advantage in cognitive test scores was associated with a 24% (95% CI 23-25%) lower risk of death, during a 17 to 69 year follow-up. There was little evidence of publication bias (Egger's intercept = 0.10, p = 0.81), and the intelligencemortality association was similar for men and women. Adjustment for childhood socioeconomic status (SES) in the nine studies containing these data had almost no 40 impact on this relationship, suggesting that this is not a confounder of the intelligencemortality association. Controlling for adult SES in five studies and for education in six studies attenuated the intelligence-mortality hazard ratios by 34% and 54%, respectively.

It has been hypothesized that one way in which lower socioeconomic status (SES) affects health is... more It has been hypothesized that one way in which lower socioeconomic status (SES) affects health is by increasing the rate of biological aging. A widely used marker of biological aging is telomere length. Telomeres are structures at the ends of chromosomes that erode with increasing cell proliferation and genetic damage. We aimed to identify, through systematic review and meta-analysis, whether lower SES (greater deprivation) is associated with shorter telomeres. Thirty-one articles, including 29 study populations, were identified. We conducted 3 meta-analyses to compare the telomere lengths of persons of high and low SES with regard to contemporaneous SES (12 study populations from 10 individual articles), education (15 study populations from 14 articles), and childhood SES (2 study populations from 2 articles). For education, there was a significant difference in telomere length between persons of high and low SES in a random-effects model (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.060, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.002, 0.118; P = 0.042), although a range of sensitivity analyses weakened this association. There was no evidence for an association between telomere length and contemporaneous SES (SMD = 0.104, 95% CI: −0.027, 0.236; P = 0.119) or childhood SES (SMD = −0.037, 95% CI: −0.143, 0.069; P = 0.491). These results suggest weak evidence for an association between SES (as measured by education) and biological aging (as measured by telomere length), although there was a lack of consistent findings across the SES measures investigated here.

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2020

Fi een-year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial of ultrasonographic screening for abdominal ... more Fi een-year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial of ultrasonographic screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms.

BMC Public Health, 2016

Background: Lone parents and their children experience higher than average levels of adverse heal... more Background: Lone parents and their children experience higher than average levels of adverse health and social outcomes, much of which are explained by high rates of poverty. Many high income countries have attempted to address high poverty rates by introducing employment requirements for lone parents in receipt of welfare benefits. However, there is evidence that employment may not reduce poverty or improve the health of lone parents and their children. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies reporting lone parents' accounts of participation in welfare to work (WtW), to identify explanations and possible mechanisms for the impacts of WtW on health and wellbeing. Twenty one bibliographic databases were searched. Two reviewers independently screened references and assessed study quality. Studies from any high income country that met the criteria of focussing on lone parents, mandatory WtW interventions, and health or wellbeing were included. Thematic synthesis was used to investigate analytic themes between studies. Results: Screening of the 4703 identified papers and quality assessment resulted in the inclusion of 16 qualitative studies of WtW in five high income countries, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, covering a variety of welfare regimes. Our synthesis found that WtW requirements often conflicted with child care responsibilities. Available employment was often poorly paid and precarious. Adverse health impacts, such as increased stress, fatigue, and depression were commonly reported, though employment and appropriate training was linked to increased self-worth for some. WtW appeared to influence health through the pathways of conflict and control, analytical themes which emerged during synthesis. WtW reduced control over the nature of employment and care of children. Access to social support allowed some lone parents to manage the conflict associated with employment, and to increase control over their circumstances, with potentially beneficial health impacts. Conclusion: WtW can result in increased conflict and reduced control, which may lead to negative impacts on mental health. Availability of social support may mediate the negative health impacts of WtW.

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2014

The environment has long been associated with physical activity engagement, and recent developmen... more The environment has long been associated with physical activity engagement, and recent developments in technology have resulted in the ability to objectively quantify activity behaviours and activity context. This paper reviews studies that have combined Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and accelerometry to investigate the PA-environment relationship in children and young people (5-18 years old). Literature searches of the following bibliographic databases were undertaken: Sportdiscus, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Psychinfo and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA). Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, and covered topics including greenspace use, general land use, active travel, and the built environment. Studies were largely cross-sectional and took place across developed countries (UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia). Findings suggest that roads and streets, school grounds, and the home location are important locations for total PA, and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). The relationship between greenspace was positive, however, multiple definitions and outcome measures add complexity to the results. MVPA was more likely in those exposed to higher levels of greenspace compared to sedentary individuals. Total MVPA time in greenspace is low, but when framed as a proportion of the total can be quite high. Domestic gardens may be an important area for higher intensity activity. Researchers are encouraged to show transparency in their methods. As a relatively new area of research, with ever-evolving technology, future work is best placed in developing novel, but robust, methods to investigate the PA and environment relationship. Further descriptive work is encouraged to build on a small but increasing knowledge base; however, longitudinal studies incorporating seasonal/weather variation would also be extremely beneficial to elicit some of the nuances associated with land use. A greater understanding of geographic variation (i.e. within and between countries), as well as urban/suburban and rural dwelling is welcomed, and future work should also include the investigation of psycho-social health as an outcome, as well as differences in socioeconomic status, sex and adiposity.

Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation, 2014

Guidelines recommend screening stroke-survivors for cognitive impairments. We sought to collate p... more Guidelines recommend screening stroke-survivors for cognitive impairments. We sought to collate published data on test accuracy of cognitive screening tools. Index test was any direct, cognitive screening assessment compared against reference standard diagnosis of (undifferentiated) multidomain cognitive impairment/dementia. We used a sensitive search statement to search multiple, cross-disciplinary databases from inception to January 2014. Titles, abstracts, and articles were screened by independent researchers. We described risk of bias using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool and reporting quality using Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy guidance. Where data allowed, we pooled test accuracy using bivariate methods. From 19 182 titles, we reviewed 241 articles, 35 suitable for inclusion. There was substantial heterogeneity: 25 differing screening tests; differing stroke settings (acute stroke, n=11 articles), and reference standards used (neuropsych...

Systematic Reviews, 2014

Background: Review of theory is an area of growing methodological advancement. Theoretical review... more Background: Review of theory is an area of growing methodological advancement. Theoretical reviews are particularly useful where the literature is complex, multi-discipline, or contested. It has been suggested that adopting methods from systematic reviews may help address these challenges. However, the methodological approaches to reviews of theory, including the degree to which systematic review methods can be incorporated, have received little discussion in the literature. We recently employed systematic review methods in a review of theories about the causal relationship between income and health. Methods: This article discusses some of the methodological issues we considered in developing the review and offers lessons learnt from our experiences. It examines the stages of a systematic review in relation to how they could be adapted for a review of theory. The issues arising and the approaches taken in the review of theories in income and health are considered, drawing on the approaches of other reviews of theory. Results: Different approaches to searching were required, including electronic and manual searches, and electronic citation tracking to follow the development of theories. Determining inclusion criteria was an iterative process to ensure that inclusion criteria were specific enough to make the review practical and focused, but not so narrow that key literature was excluded. Involving subject specialists was valuable in the literature searches to ensure principal papers were identified and during the inductive approaches used in synthesis of theories to provide detailed understanding of how theories related to another. Reviews of theory are likely to involve iterations and inductive processes throughout, and some of the concepts and techniques that have been developed for qualitative evidence synthesis can be usefully translated to theoretical reviews of this kind. Conclusions: It may be useful at the outset of a review of theory to consider whether the key aim of the review is to scope out theories relating to a particular issue; to conduct in-depth analysis of key theoretical works with the aim of developing new, overarching theories and interpretations; or to combine both these processes in the review. This can help decide the most appropriate methodological approach to take at particular stages of the review.

Journal of the Society of Archivists, 2010

Little attention has previously been paid to the use of controlled vocabularies and subject keywo... more Little attention has previously been paid to the use of controlled vocabularies and subject keywords for indexing archival finding aids in the UK. Qualitative and quantitative responses to a questionnaire of UK repositories concerning the use of subject keywords and controlled vocabularies ...

International Journal of Epidemiology, 2012

Background Geographical variation in dementia prevalence and incidence may indicate important soc... more Background Geographical variation in dementia prevalence and incidence may indicate important socio-environmental contributions to dementia aetiology. However, previous comparisons have been hampered by combining studies with different methodologies. This review systematically collates and synthesizes studies examining geographical variation in the prevalence and incidence of dementia based on comparisons of studies using identical methodologies. Methods Papers were identified by a comprehensive electronic search of relevant databases, scrutinising the reference sections of identified publications, contacting experts in the field and reexamining papers already known to us. Identified articles were independently reviewed against inclusion/exclusion criteria and considered according to geographical scale. Rural/urban comparisons were meta-analysed. Results Twelve thousand five hundred and eighty records were reviewed and 51 articles were included. Dementia prevalence and incidence varies at a number of scales from the national down to small areas, including some evidence of an effect of rural living [prevalence odds ratio (OR) ¼ 1.11, 90% confidence interval (CI) 0.79-1.57; incidence OR ¼ 1.20, 90% CI 0.84-1.71]. However, this association of rurality was stronger for Alzheimer disease, particularly when early life rural living was captured (prevalence OR ¼ 2.22, 90% CI 1.19-4.16; incidence OR ¼ 1.64, 90% CI 1.08-2.50). Conclusions There is evidence of geographical variation in rates of dementia in affluent countries at a variety of geographical scales. Rural living is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer disease, and there is a suggestion that early life rural living further increases this risk. However, the fact that few studies have been conducted in resource-poor countries limits conclusions.

ARCLIB: Architecture school librarians' group. …, 1999

Welfare to work interventions and their effects on health and wellbeing of lone parents and their... more Welfare to work interventions and their effects on health and wellbeing of lone parents and their children.

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

BMJ Global Health

IntroductionThere is increasing interest in the transferability of parenting interventions from h... more IntroductionThere is increasing interest in the transferability of parenting interventions from high-income countries (HICs) to low-income countries (LICs) in order to improve child development and health outcomes. This is based on the premise that associations between parenting practices and child outcomes are similar in both settings. Many parenting interventions in HICs are evidence-based, but less evidence exists on associations of parenting practices with child outcomes in LICs, in particular, sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. This review synthesises evidence on the association of parenting practices with child outcomes in SSA in order to compare findings with those from HICs.MethodsWe searched electronic databases—Web of Science, ASSIA, Embase, IBSS and PsycINFO—to identify studies from SSA that reported quantitative associations between parenting practices and child health or psychosocial outcomes (eg, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), mental health, conduct disorders)...

BMC public health, Jan 3, 2018

Participatory budgeting (PB), citizens deliberating among themselves and with officials to decide... more Participatory budgeting (PB), citizens deliberating among themselves and with officials to decide how to allocate funds for public goods, has been increasingly implemented across Europe and worldwide. While PB is recommended as good practice by the World Bank and the United Nations, with potential to improve health and wellbeing, it is unclear what evaluations have been conducted on the impact of PB on health and wellbeing. For this scoping review, we searched 21 databases with no restrictions on publication date or language. The search term 'participatory budget' was used as the relevant global label for the intervention of interest. Studies were included if they reported original analysis of health, social, political, or economic and budgetary outcomes of PB. We examined the study design, analysis, outcomes and location of included articles. Findings are reported narratively. From 1458 identified references, 37 studies were included. The majority of evaluations (n = 24) we...

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess... more This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of taxation of fat content in food on consumption of total fat and saturated fat, energy intake, overweight, obesity, and other adverse health outcomes in the general population.

Protocols, 2016

Preventive action and interventions are urgently needed to curb the obesity epidemic and its detr... more Preventive action and interventions are urgently needed to curb the obesity epidemic and its detrimental health impacts (WHO 2000). Overweight and obesity are serious global public health issues, with increasing prevalences in low-, middle-, and high-income countries (De Onis 2010; James 2004; WHO 2000). Ac-1 Taxation of unprocessed sugar or sugar-added foods for reducing their consumption and preventing obesity or other adverse health outcomes (Protocol)

Protocols, 2016

To assess the effects of taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) on SSB consumption, energy ... more To assess the effects of taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) on SSB consumption, energy intake, overweight, obesity, and other adverse health outcomes in the general population.

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 2014

Program: electronic library and information systems, 2007

International Journal of Epidemiology, 2011

Background. A number of prospective cohort studies have examined the association between intellig... more Background. A number of prospective cohort studies have examined the association between intelligence in childhood or youth and life expectancy in adulthood; however, the effect size of this association have yet to be quantified and previous reviews require updating. Methods. The systematic review included an electronic search of EMBASE, MEDLINE and PSYCHINFO databases. This yielded 16 unrelated studies that met inclusion criteria, comprising 22,453 deaths among 1,107,022 participants. Heterogeneity was assessed, and fixed effects models were applied to the aggregate data. Publication bias was evaluated, and sensitivity analyses were conducted. 35 Results. A one SD advantage in cognitive test scores was associated with a 24% (95% CI 23-25%) lower risk of death, during a 17 to 69 year follow-up. There was little evidence of publication bias (Egger's intercept = 0.10, p = 0.81), and the intelligencemortality association was similar for men and women. Adjustment for childhood socioeconomic status (SES) in the nine studies containing these data had almost no 40 impact on this relationship, suggesting that this is not a confounder of the intelligencemortality association. Controlling for adult SES in five studies and for education in six studies attenuated the intelligence-mortality hazard ratios by 34% and 54%, respectively.

It has been hypothesized that one way in which lower socioeconomic status (SES) affects health is... more It has been hypothesized that one way in which lower socioeconomic status (SES) affects health is by increasing the rate of biological aging. A widely used marker of biological aging is telomere length. Telomeres are structures at the ends of chromosomes that erode with increasing cell proliferation and genetic damage. We aimed to identify, through systematic review and meta-analysis, whether lower SES (greater deprivation) is associated with shorter telomeres. Thirty-one articles, including 29 study populations, were identified. We conducted 3 meta-analyses to compare the telomere lengths of persons of high and low SES with regard to contemporaneous SES (12 study populations from 10 individual articles), education (15 study populations from 14 articles), and childhood SES (2 study populations from 2 articles). For education, there was a significant difference in telomere length between persons of high and low SES in a random-effects model (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.060, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.002, 0.118; P = 0.042), although a range of sensitivity analyses weakened this association. There was no evidence for an association between telomere length and contemporaneous SES (SMD = 0.104, 95% CI: −0.027, 0.236; P = 0.119) or childhood SES (SMD = −0.037, 95% CI: −0.143, 0.069; P = 0.491). These results suggest weak evidence for an association between SES (as measured by education) and biological aging (as measured by telomere length), although there was a lack of consistent findings across the SES measures investigated here.