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Aims To investigate trends in volatile substance abuse (VSA) deaths over 25 years. Design A national mortality surveillance programme with standardised data collection procedures. Setting The UK and islands. Participants/Measurements All VSA deaths, 1983–2007. Findings In the five quinquennia from 1983 to 2007 the numbers of VSA deaths were 499, 609, 378, 349 and 258 respectively. There were gradual increases in the mean age at death in males and females and in the number of VSA deaths in women. Coincident with the 1992 Department of Health Advertising Campaign, VSA deaths in boys and girls (

It is widely accepted that air pollution can exacerbate asthma in those who already have the condition. What is less clear is whether air pollution can contribute to the initiation of new cases of asthma. Mechanistic evidence from toxicological studies, together with recent information on genes that predispose towards the development of asthma, suggests that this is biologically plausible, particularly in the light of the current understanding of asthma as a complex disease with a variety of phenotypes. The epidemiological evidence for associations between ambient levels of air pollutants and asthma prevalence at a whole community level is unconvincing; meta-analysis confirms a lack of association. In contrast, a meta-analysis of cohort studies found an association between asthma incidence and within-community variations in air pollution (largely traffic dominated). Similarly, a systematic review suggests an association of asthma prevalence with exposure to traffic, although only in those living very close to heavily trafficked roads carrying a lot of trucks. Based on this evidence, the UK's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants recently concluded that, overall, the evidence is consistent with the possibility that outdoor air pollution might play a role in causing asthma in susceptible individuals living very close to busy roads carrying a lot of truck traffic. Nonetheless, the effect on public health is unlikely to be large: air pollutants are likely to make only a small contribution, compared with other factors, in the development of asthma, and in only a small proportion of the population.

This paper describes the prevalence and correlates of symptoms and health problems in pregnancy using data from a prospective population study in London. Data on the prevalence of 11 symptoms and 12 health problems were obtained at three points in pregnancy from a consecutive sample of 1513 white women. Relationships were examined between these symptoms and a range of psychosocial factors including social class, education, marital status, income, smoking, alcohol, caffeine, attitude to pregnancy and whether the pregnancy was planned. Most women reported nausea and breast tenderness in early pregnancy. Heartburn, backache, constipation and headaches were also common. The prevalence of symptoms tended to increase with gestation except for nausea and vomiting. Women with manual occupations, minimum education, low income, single marital status and unplanned pregnancy reported more of most symptoms except nausea which was associated with higher social status. A negative attitude to pregnancy was associated with more headaches but was unrelated to nausea. Women who smoked reported more 'nerves and depression' but less nausea. In general, nausea and vomiting showed a different pattern of associations from all other symptoms.