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Background Maternal nutrition is crucial for health in pregnancy and across the generations. Experiencing food insecurity during pregnancy is a driver of inequalities in maternal diet with potential maternal and infant health consequences. This systematic review explored associations between food insecurity in pregnancy and maternal and infant health outcomes. Methods and findings Searches included 8 databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, PsychInfo, ASSIA, SSPC in ProQuest, and CINAHL), grey literature, forwards and backwards citation chaining, and contacting authors. Studies in high-income countries (HICs) reporting data on food insecurity in pregnancy and maternal or infant health, from January 1, 2008 to November 21, 2023 were included. Screening, data extraction, and quality assessment were carried out independently in duplicate. Random effects meta-analysis was performed when data were suitable for pooling, otherwise narrative synthesis was conducted. The protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022311669), reported with PRISMA checklist (S1 File). Searches identified 24,223 results and 25 studies (n = 93,871 women) were included: 23 from North America and 2 from Europe. Meta-analysis showed that food insecurity was associated with high stress level (OR 4.07, 95% CI [1.22, 13.55], I.sup.2 96.40%), mood disorder (OR 2.53, 95% CI [1.46, 4.39], I.sup.2 55.62%), gestational diabetes (OR 1.64, 95% CI [1.37, 1.95], I.sup.2 0.00%), but not cesarean delivery (OR 1.42, 95% CI [0.78, 2.60], I.sup.2 56.35%), birth weight (MD -58.26 g, 95% CI [-128.02, 11.50], I.sup.2 38.41%), small-for-gestational-age (OR 1.20, 95%, CI [0.88, 1.63], I.sup.2 44.66%), large-for-gestational-age (OR 0.88, 95% CI [0.70, 1.12] I.sup.2 11.93%), preterm delivery (OR 1.18, 95% CI [0.98, 1.42], I.sup.2 0.00%), or neonatal intensive care (OR 2.01, 95% CI [0.85, 4.78], I.sup.2 70.48%). Narrative synthesis showed food insecurity was significantly associated with dental problems, depression, anxiety, and maternal serum concentration of perfluoro-octane sulfonate. There were no significant associations with other organohalogen chemicals, assisted delivery, postpartum haemorrhage, hospital admissions, length of stay, congenital anomalies, or neonatal morbidity. Mixed associations were reported for preeclampsia, hypertension, and community/resilience measures. Conclusions Maternal food insecurity is associated with some adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly mental health and gestational diabetes. Most included studies were conducted in North America, primarily the United States of America, highlighting a research gap across other contexts. Further research in other HICs is needed to understand these associations within varied contexts, such as those without embedded interventions in place, to help inform policy and care requirements., Author(s): Zoë Bell 1,2,*, Giang Nguyen 1,3,*, Gemma Andreae 1, Stephanie Scott 1,3, Letitia Sermin-Reed 1, Amelia A. Lake 3,4, Nicola Heslehurst 1,3 Introduction Food insecurity is 'the limited or [...]

CONTEXT: The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of strong public health (PH) and primary health care (PHC) systems to respond nimbly and effectively during times of crisis. Both play a crucial role in triage and prevention, management, vaccination, and communication. PH and PHC systems, however, often act in parallel streams, but rarely together. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to describe PH and PHC collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic in eight high-income countries. METHODS: In-depth case study reports were generated for each country or jurisdiction. Reports searched both peer-review publications and grey literature on five dimensions identified by the World Health Organization regarding COVID-19 management. Reports included country-specific health system descriptions, PH and PHC actions during the pandemic, and an evaluation of strengths and weaknesses. Expert validation was conducted by internal country stakeholders prior to cross-jurisdiction analyses. ANALYSIS: Thematic content analysis was conducted on all reports to develop a coding framework. Codes were identified that were relevant to the research questions. The study team discussed and reconciled discrepancies in themes until consensus was reached. RESULTS: Data was collected from eight high-income countries (Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain) from March 2020 to July 2021. Four key themes were identified along with respective strengths/weaknesses. 1) Health information systems: this played a critical role for disease containment and management when designed for efficient data management and cross-sectoral data-sharing. 2) Communication: In countries where PHC was engaged early on, PH messages were amplified; in other countries, a lack of cohesion in communication resulted in poor or delayed community-level responses. 3) Human resource capacity: Health human resources were overwhelmed, with many staff redeployed and undertrained. 4) Professional training: Health professionals who received dual training in PH and PHC acted as strong community champions and may be a bridge for future pandemics. CONCLUSION: Health system needs shifted dramatically throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings highlight four key lessons regarding PH and PHC collaboration from eight high-income countries. Future pandemic preparedness should focus on health information systems and data management, PH communication, health human resources, and education and training., Presenters Jane Zhao, MSc, Carnelle Lawes, MPH, BSW, Dorien Vanden Bossche, Sara Willems, PhD, Ayu Pinky Hapsari, MSc, Sara Ares Blanco, Maria Pilar Astier Pena, MD, PhD, Peter Decat, Naoki [...]

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed many social, economic, environmental and healthcare determinants of health. We applied an ensemble of 16 Bayesian models to vital statistics data to estimate the all-cause mortality effect of the pandemic for 21 industrialized countries. From mid-February through May 2020, 206,000 (95% credible interval, 178,100-231,000) more people died in these countries than would have had the pandemic not occurred. The number of excess deaths, excess deaths per 100,000 people and relative increase in deaths were similar between men and women in most countries. England and Wales and Spain experienced the largest effect: ~100 excess deaths per 100,000 people, equivalent to a 37% (30-44%) relative increase in England and Wales and 38% (31-45%) in Spain. Bulgaria, New Zealand, Slovakia, Australia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Norway, Denmark and Finland experienced mortality changes that ranged from possible small declines to increases of 5% or less in either sex. The heterogeneous mortality effects of the COVID-19 pandemic reflect differences in how well countries have managed the pandemic and the resilience and preparedness of the health and social care system. Application of Bayesian models to vital statistics data from 21 industrialized countries shows that approximately 206,000 additional people died than if the COVID-19 pandemic had not occured. The heterogeneous distribution of excess deaths across the countries reflects differences in how the pandemic has been managed as well as the resilience of healthcare systems in these nations., Author(s): Vasilis Kontis [sup.1] , James E. Bennett [sup.1] , Theo Rashid [sup.1] , Robbie M. Parks [sup.2] [sup.3] , Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard [sup.1] , Michel Guillot [sup.4] [sup.5] , Perviz [...]

Author(s): Beryne Odeny *, Raffaella Bosurgi Colonial science, also known as parachute or parasitic science, is an extractive practice whereby researchers-typically from highly resourced countries-do research and extract data and [...]

Recent research has shown that after long-term declining trends are excluded, mortality rates in industrial countries tend to rise in economic expansions and fall in economic recessions. In the present work, co-movements between economic fluctuations and mortality changes in postwar Japan are investigated by analyzing time series of mortality rates and eight economic indicators. To eliminate spurious associations attributable to trends, series are detrended either via Hodrick-Prescott filtering or through differencing. As previously found in other industrial economies, general mortality and age-specific death rates in Japan tend to increase in expansions and drop in recessions, for both males and females. The effect, which is slightly stronger for males, is particularly noticeable in those aged 45-64. Deaths attributed to heart disease, pneumonia, accidents, liver disease, and senility--making up about 41% of total mortality--tend to fluctuate procyclically, increasing in expansions. Suicides, as well as deaths attributable to diabetes and hypertensive disease, make up about 4% of total mortality and fluctuate countercyclically, increasing in recessions. Deaths attributed to other causes, making up about half of total deaths, don't show a clearly defined relationship with the fluctuations of the economy.

ABSTRACT Wealthy, industrialized countries of the developed world successfully underwent the 'epidemiologic transition' from infectious diseases to degenerative diseases, but developing countries have not yet achieved that transition. This article [...]

Background Adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) medication is the greatest patient-enabled predictor of treatment success and mortality for those who have access to drugs. We systematically reviewed the [...]

Objective: To measure the distribution of self-reported health by income in order to compare the level of health inequality in Australia with other industrialized countries. Method: Using data from the two National Health Surveys undertaken in 1989-90 and 1995, concentration indexes were calculated to quantify the distribution of self-reported health by equivalent income. The concentration index for Australia was compared with those reported for nine industrialized countries in Europe and North America. Results: The estimated income-related concentration indexes were -0.1172 in 1989-90 and -0.1094 in 1995. Conclusion: The level of health inequality is not significantly different from the US or the UK, but significantly greater than seven other European nations. Implications: Australia has significant income related health inequalities and the distribution of health appears to be more unequal than in many other industrialized nations. There is a need to further investigate and quantify those features of the anglophone societies that set them apart from some other industrialized nations.

A major element in the accepted philosophy of the cancer medical establishment, is an assumption that cancer ran rampant among traditional people to as great an extent, if not greater, than that of modern industrial society, and as such is largely an unavoidable disease. But can such an assumption, so vital for the legitimization of a medical philosophy based on accommodation, rather than the prevention, of ill-health, be justified?, The 'health' of industrialized economies no longer represents the health of societies on which that ubiquitous Western economic model has been imposed. On the contrary, economic growth as a process [...]

Iron deficiency prevention should be targeted at those sections of the population in developed countries that are at risk, including migrants, vegetarians, the elderly, pregnant women, adolescents and young children. Iron deficiency is not a great health risk for the general population in developed countries and measures should not be taken to increase iron intake for all, as iron overload poses a health risk for approximately 10% of the white population who are vulnerable to hereditary haemochromatosis. Over 500 million people worldwide have iron deficiency anaemia.

The accumulation of free-living energy expenditure data is vital to the identification of the energy requirements of populations and specific subgroups. Energy expenditure measurements should involve socioeconomic and other nutritional factors of various groups of humans to avoid false estimates. Research in developed countries indicate that food availability is not measured through economic constraints and that energy expenditures are often underreported.

Road traffic-related mortality has traditionally been regarded as a problem primarily of industrialized countries. There is, however, growing evidence of a strong negative relationship between economic development and exposure-adjusted traffic-related [...]

Byline: M. Arab, M. Khayamzadeh, A. Tehranian, M. Tabatabaeefar, M. Hosseini, R. Anbiaee, F. Golfam, M. Akbari Background: Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecologic malignancies. The present [...]

The effects of an unwanted pregnancy on the health of infants, children and parents in the developing and developed countries are discussed. Unintended pregnancy is found to lead to more cases of unsafe abortion and child abuse and violence in the developing countries.

Most low-income countries lack the resources for meeting the needs of health costs and other HIV/AIDS preventive measures. Voluntary efforts have helped reduce this mortality in developed countries, and drop in AIDS drug prices and the UNAIDS Global Fund for AIDS will help further.

We studied a cohort of patients requiring renal dialysis who had migrated to the United Kingdom from tuberculosis (TB)-endemic countries and found extremely high rates of TB (1,187 cases per [...]

The better a country's system of primary care, the better its health. That's the conclusion researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health drew from a study of [...]