Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health articles from October 2002

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health archives from October 2002

On elephants and prevention 1. (Aphorism of the Month).(public health and child immunization)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... There is a story of two men travelling on a train through Africa. One of them is throwing powder out of the window. His puzzled travelling companion asks him what he is doing. He replies that he is throwing powder out of the window to keep the...

Is there a causal association between suicide rates and the political leanings of government? (Politics).
October 1, 2002... Possibly The study of ecological influences on suicide, over and above individual level risk factors, is the example par excellence of the social epidemiological approach.(1) In this issue of the journal, Page eta? present a fascinating...

Mortality and political climate: how suicide rates have risen during periods of Conservative government, 1901-2000. (Politics).
October 1, 2002... Do conservative governments make people want to die? The paper by Page and colleagues adds to a growing literature that considers the effect of the political environment (whether from the point of view of which political regime holds power...

How exactly do politics play a part in determining health? New perspectives on an age old issue. (Politics).
October 1, 2002... Voting patterns, suicide, and mortality This is the latest study to demonstrate an association between type of political pattern and health status, in this case suicide. (1) Previous studies have also identified a more general relation...

Political regime and suicide: some relevant variables to be considered. (Politics).
October 1, 2002... Future work needs to include unemployment, alcohol consumption, and strikes to the analysis The study by Page et al assesses the impact of type of political regime (conservative compared with social democratic) on suicide rates over time...

The science and art of molecular epidemiology. (Molecular Epidemiology).
October 1, 2002... This paper details some of the issues surrounding the growing field of molecular epidemiology Epidemiology is both a science and an art. The science of epidemiology entails applying classic epidemiological methods to understanding the...

Molecular biomarkers in studies on environmental cancer. (Molecular Epidemiology).
October 1, 2002... Molecular cancer epidemiology studies search for molecular effects associated with the aetiological factors involved in environmental cancer Biomarkers used for identification of risk factors of cancer in exposed populations have...

Health for all in the new millennium. (Speaker's Corner).
October 1, 2002... Health professionals working in organisations promoting health through social and environmental justice have a good track record. Poverty is the greatest violence Ghandi Do health professionals have a responsibility to identify,...

Traditional healers, still part of the community health systems in the Andes. (The Jech Gallery).(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Traditional medicine in the Andes moves us automatically to the figure of traditional healers, and, in some cases, automatically to censure their work. Albeit they have been present in the community health system for many years, they do not...

Incomplete overlapping of biological, clinical, and environmental information in molecular epidemiological studies: a variety of causes and a cascade of consequences. (Debate).
October 1, 2002... Recent scientific, political, industrial, and public relations efforts to publicise the first interpretations of the human genome sequence raised unprecedented social expectations towards the health sciences (1-6); yet, prudence seems warranted...

Ethics in epidemiology and public health II. applied terms. (Glossary).(Glossary)
October 1, 2002... This is the second part of a two part glossary on terms used in public health ethics. This glossary focuses on terms related to the professional practice of epidemiology and public health. In the first part of this two part glossary, we...

Implementation of a new health system in Colombia: is this favourable for health determinants? (Public Health Policy and Practice).
October 1, 2002... The new reforms of health systems in Latin American countries began in the 1990s as part of wider state reforms, promoted by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. In Colombia, the new system called National Social Security System for...

Developing a multi-disciplinary public health specialist workforce: training implications of current UK policy. (Public Health Policy and Practice).
October 1, 2002... Developing multi-disciplinary public health training is an international as well as national public health issue. In the UK, recent government health policy has emphasised the importance of developing multi-disciplinary public health activity...

Health and demographic characteristics of respondents in an Australian national sexuality survey: comparison with population norms. (Theory and Methods).
October 1, 2002... Study objective: To assess the representativeness of survey participants by systematically comparing volunteers in a notional health and sexuality survey with the Australian population in terms of self reported health status (including the...

Interrelations between three proxies of health care need at the small area level: an urban/rural comparison. (Theory and Methods).
October 1, 2002... Study objective: To examine the relations between geographical variations in mortality, morbidity, and deprivation at the small area level in the south west of England and to assess whether these relations vary between urban and rural areas....

Sampling variability of the Kunst-Mackenbach relative index of inequality. (Theory and Methods).
October 1, 2002... Study objective: To derive methods of calculating confidence limits for the relative index of inequality, defined by Kunst and Mackenbach as of measure of the influence of socioeconomic status on an adverse health index, such as mortality rate....

Suicide and political regime in New South Wales and Australia during the 20th century. (Research Report).
October 1, 2002... Study objective: Australia has had a two party parliamentary political system for most of the period since its Federation in 1901, dominated either by a social democratic (Labor) or a conservative ideological perspective. This paper...

Short-term effects of particulate air pollution on cardiovascular diseases in eight European cities. (Research Report).
October 1, 2002... Study objective: As part of the APHEA project this study examined the association between airborne particles and hospital admissions for cardiac causes (ICD9 390-429) in eight European cities (Barcelana, Birmingham, London, Milan, the...

Body mass index in young adulthood and cancer mortality: a retrospective cohort study. (Research Report).
October 1, 2002... Study objective: To examine the relation between body mass index (BMI) in young adulthood and subsequent mortality from cancer. Design: Cohort study. Setting: University of Glasgow student health service. Weight and height were...

Myocardial infarction in an urban population: worse long term prognosis for patients from less affluent residential areas. (Research Report).
October 1, 2002... Study objective: The objective in this follow up study from the Malmo myocardial infarction register has been to assess whether long term survival following discharge after first myocardial infarction has any relation with the socioeconomic...

Gender differences in the management and outcome of patients with acute coronary artery disease. (Research Resort).
October 1, 2002... Study objectives: To compare the clinical management and health outcomes of men and women after admission with acute coronary syndromes, after adjusting for disease severity, sociodemographic, and cardiac risk factors. Design: Prospective...

Relation of occupational class and education with mortality in Korea. (Short Report).
October 1, 2002... Although the association between socioeconomic status and mortality has been studied in developed countries, much less is known about this association elsewhere. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation of occupational class and...

Oxford textbook of public health, 4th edn. (Book Reviews).
October 1, 2002... Edited by R Detels, J McEwen, R Beaglehole, H Tanaka. Oxford University Press, 2002. (Pp 1956; 596 euros). ISBN 0-19-263041-5 The Oxford textbook of public health was published for the first time in 1984 as a comprehensive update of the...

Health and diseases among women. (Book Reviews).
October 1, 2002... Edited by R B Ness, L H Kuller. Oxford University Press, 1999. (Pp 465; price not stated). ISBN 0-19-511396-9. It has been described that health differences exist between women and men: women have higher life expectancy, but they experience...