Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health articles from April 2004

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health archives from April 2004

Tackling health inequalities since the Acheson Inquiry: policies are in place that could make a difference.(Editorials)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... It has been said that there are two types of people in the world: those that think there are two types of people and those who do not. If I were not disbarred by the contradiction, I would belong to the second group. This applies to my view of...

When I'm 64 ... will you still need me? Epidemiology in country practice: W H Pickles, 1939*.(Editorials)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... Aseminal book that has been read and assessed during past decades by many public health students and practitioners is now 64 years old. Can it still offer insight, inspiration, and renewal for public health as it approaches 65, or should it be...

"Sometimes it is necessary to forget your principles and do the right thing" (Lowell Levin).(Aphorism of the Month)
April 1, 2004... Whether it be on questions of induced abortion, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or conjugal visits in prison, the satisfaction of maintaining a pure, ethical, and moral position has to be considered against the reality of dead and maimed women and...

A definition of causal effect for epidemiological research.(Continuing Professional Education)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:265-271. doi: 10.1136/jech.2002.006361 Estimating the causal effect of some exposure on some outcome is the goal of many epidemiological studies. This article reviews a formal definition of causal...

Peer review.(Glossary)
April 1, 2004... This short glossary covers some terms used in the peer review process. AUTHORS' EDITOR A professional writer/editor usually employed by the authors' institution to help prepare publications and grant applications. More common in the...

An outbreak of gastroenteritis from a non-chlorinated community water supply.(Evidence Based Public Health Policy and Practice)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:273-277. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.009928 Study objective: To determine the source and the extent of a community wide outbreak of gastroenteritis. Design: A matched case-control study with postal...

Ethnic inequalities in campylobacter infection in Birmingham, UK: descriptive study of notified cases.(Short Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:278-279. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.012294 Food poisoning is the most commonly notified infection in the UK and campylobacter is the most commonly identified microbial cause of those notifications. (1) In...

Is smallpox "in" again?(The JECH Gallery)
April 1, 2004... The World Health Assembly in 1980 endorsed the eradication of smallpox, as previously certified by a group of respected scientists in December 1979. (1) The last case recorded of naturally occurring smallpox was in Somalia in 1977, although a...

Putting public health evidence into practice: increasing the prevalence of working smoke alarms in disadvantaged inner city housing.(Evidence Based Public Health Policy and Practice)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:280-285. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.007948 Study objectives: The UK government recommends that local authorities install battery operated smoke alarms to prevent fire related injury. However, a randomised...

Influential women in occupational health Yiqun Wu--the chemistry of preventive medicine.(The JECH Gallery)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... May 1946-, Country of birth: People's Republic of China Professor Yiqun Wu is a key figure in the prevention of lead poisoning, a problem of epidemic proportion in China. She proposed a national prevention strategy for childhood lead...

Impact of injecting drug use on the interruption of antiretroviral therapies.(Short Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:286-287. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.010066 It has been pointed out that HIV positive patients with a history of drug misuse are less likely to undergo antiretroviral therapy (ART) than those who belong to...

Effect of dietary advice to increase fruit and vegetable consumption on plasma flavonol concentrations: results from a randomised controlled intervention trial.(Short Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:288-289. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.014274 A recent meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies suggests that high dietary intakes of flavonols are associated with a significantly lower risk of coronary...

Avoidable mortality in Europe (1980-1997): a comparison of trends.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:290-295. doi: 10.1136/jech.2002.006452 Study objective: To analyse international variations of trends in "avoidable" mortality (1980-1997). Design: A multilevel model was used to study trends in...

Increasing inequalities in premature mortality in Great Britain.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:296-302. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.007278 Study objective: To describe inequalities in all cause premature mortality between and within regions of Great Britain and how these inequalities have changed...

The demographic and social class basis of inequality in self reported morbidity: an exploration using the Health Survey for England.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:303-307. doi: 10.1136/jech.2002.003475 Study objectives: To assess the relative contribution of age and social class to variations in the prevalence of a selection of self reported health problems. To...

Trends in socioeconomic health inequalities in Korea: use of mortality and morbidity measures.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:308-314. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.012989 Study objective: To examine trends in educational mortality and morbidity inequalities in Korea. Design: Census data (1990, 1995, 2000) and death certificate...

Disaster management and the AIDS epidemic.(Echo)
April 1, 2004... Despite efforts to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic the global prevalence of the disease is still increasing. Some 42 million people are infected with HIV and fewer than 5% have access to adequate treatment. The World Health Organisation has...

Effects of education and other socioeconomic factors on middle age mortality in rural Bangladesh.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:315-320. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.007351 Study objective: To examine socioeconomic gradients in mortality in adult women and their husbands in Bangladesh, paying particular attention to the independent...

Sickness absence as a predictor of mortality among male and female employees.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:321-326. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.011817 Objective: To determine the extent to which sickness absence is predictive of mortality. Design: Prospective cohort study. Data on medically certified long...

Measuring the health of nations: analysis of mortality amenable to health care.(Echo)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Objective: To assess whether and how the rankings of the world's health systems based on disability adjusted life expectancy as done in the 2000 World Health Report change when using the narrower concept of mortality amenable to health care, an...

Pathways between socioeconomic determinants of health.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:327-332. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.011148 Study objective: Many previous studies on socioeconomic inequalities in health have neglected the causal interdependencies between different socioeconomic...

Places, people, and their physical and mental functional health.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2003;58:333-339. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.012518 Study objective: To investigate the impact of area of residence on functional health as represented by medical outcomes study SF-36 physical and mental component...

Incidence of cancer among UK Gulf war veterans: cohort study.(Echo)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Objectives: To determine whether incidence rates of cancer are higher in UK service personnel who were deployed in the Gulf war than in those not deployed and whether any increased risk of cancer is related to self reported exposures to...

Social capital and collective efficacy in Hungary: cross sectional associations with middle aged female and male mortality rates.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:340-345. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.010017 Objectives: Social capital, collective efficacy, and religious involvement have each been linked to population health. This study examined the relations between...

Racial segregation and county level intentional injury in Pennsylvania: analysis of hospital discharge data for 1997-1999.(Research Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:346-351. doi: 10.1136/jech.2002.006619 Study Objective: This study examined whether high levels of racial segregation are associated with high county level intentional injury rates. Design:...

Images of body weight among young men and women: evidence from Beirut, Lebanon.(Short Report)
April 1, 2004... J Epidemiol Community Health 2004;58:352-353. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.010785 In Arab society, plumpness was traditionally considered a trait of feminine perfection. Not now, and an increasing proportion of Lebanese adolescents considers...

No place for modesty.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... If you have a burning desire to respond to a paper published in the JECH, why not make use of our "rapid response" option? Log on to our website (www.jech.com), find the paper that interests you, and send your response via email by clicking...

Standardised QALYs and DALYs are more understandable, avoid misleading units of measurement, and permit comparisons.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... QALYs and DALYs combine years of life and quality of life in a single measure. (1-3) In Arnesen and Nord's words: "DALYs and QALYs are complementary concepts. QALYs are years of healthy life lived; DALYs are years of healthy life lost. Both...

Previous trials of dissemination were identified.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... Morrison et al examine the effect on questionnaire response of feeding back research findings to participants. (1) As authors of the systematic review (2) cited in their paper we would like to point out that we had in fact identified eight such...

Terrorism and public health: a balanced approach to strengthening systems and protecting the public.(Book Reviews)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Terrorism and public health: a balanced approach to strengthening systems and protecting the public Barry S Levy, Victor W Sidel, editors. (Pp 377; [pounds sterling]35.00). Oxford University Press, New York, 2003. ISBN 0-19-515834-2 ...

Dawning answers: how the HIV/AIDS epidemic has helped to strengthen public health.(Book Reviews)
April 1, 2004... Dawning answers: how the HIV/AIDS epidemic has helped to strengthen public health Ronald O Valdiserri, editor. (Pp 209; [pounds sterling]29.92). Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-514740-5 The HIV epidemic is still a great threat...

Corrections.(PostScript)(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2004... doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.010553corrl An editorial error occurred in this paper by Dr Malinauskiene and others (2004;58:131-5). The affiliation of Dr R Malinauskas is Department of Psychology, Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education (this...

More course, less crash.(Hygieia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Formal education for teenage learner drivers needs an overhaul if it is to reduce their high crash risk, as a welter of published studies shows that it is ineffective (Injury Prevention 2002;8(suppl II): ii3-8). The widely applied standard...

Graduated licensing works ...(Hygieia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Extending the learning period for teenage drivers before their test--by graduated driver licensing (GDL)--reduces their crash rates, according to a review of published research, but why and how it does so is less clear (Injury Prevention...

... but could be even better.(Hygieia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... One expert's view is that the rationale for graduated driver learning should address a much wider range of risks to have a bigger impact on unsafe driving among teenage learner drivers (Injury Prevention 2002;8(suppl II):ii9-16). He advocates a...

Adolescense is a risk ...(Hygieia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A US researcher has already started to identify age related factors that might contribute to the high national crash risk among teenage learner drivers (Injury Prevention 2002;8(suppl II):ii17-23). He has argued that stark behavioural...

... but parents can counteract.(Hygieia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A programme to boost parents' say in their teenagers' early driving habits looks promising in reducing risk. Whether it translates to lower crash rates, though, is too soon to say. The first randomised controlled evaluation of the Checkpoint...

Non-compliance in older people.(Hygieia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Older people living in residential care homes show poor compliance with wearing hip protectors. The rate of falling among those living in institutions is high, with 5%-7% suffering a resultant fractured hip. Researchers have shown hip...

Installing caution early.(Hygieia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Teaching children about preventing brain and spinal cord injuries may have an impact on public health. THINK FIRST for KIDS is a six week injury prevention programme for primary students, which is integrated into their normal school curriculum...

Gun injury rates drop.(Hygieia)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A study in the United States has found that firearms, BB and pellet gun related injury rates have decreased similarly since the early 1990s, coinciding with an increase in efforts to reduce unsupervised access to guns and youth violence (Injury...