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Background Data on the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and young people (CYP) is conflicting. We assessed evidence on long-term post-COVID symptoms in CYP examining prevalence, risk factors, type and duration. Methods: Systematic search of published and unpublished literature using 13 online databases between 01/12/2019 – 31/07/2021. Eligible studies reported CYP ≤19 years with confirmed or probable SARS-CoV-2 with any symptoms persisting beyond acute illness. Random effects meta-analyses examined pooled risk difference in symptom prevalence (controlled studies only) and pooled prevalence (uncontrolled studies also included). Meta-regression examined study characteristics hypothesised to be associated with symptom prevalence. Prospectively registered: CRD42021233153. Findings Twenty two of 3357 unique studies were eligible, including 23,141 CYP. Median duration of follow-up was 125 days (IQR 99-231). Pooled risk difference in post-COVID cases compared to controls (5 studies) were significantly higher for cognitive difficulties (3% (95% CI 1, 4)), headache (5% (1, 8)), loss of smell (8%, (2, 15)), sore throat (2% (1, 2)) and sore eyes (2% (1, 3)) but not abdominal pain, cough, fatigue, myalgia, insomnia, diarrhoea, fever, dizziness or dyspnoea. Pooled prevalence of symptoms in post-COVID participants in 17 studies ranged from 15% (diarrhoea) to 47% (fatigue). Age was associated with higher prevalence of all symptoms except cough. Higher study quality was associated with lower prevalence of all symptoms, except loss of smell and cognitive symptoms. Interpretation The frequency of the majority of reported persistent symptoms was similar in SARS-CoV-2 positive cases and controls. This systematic review and meta-analysis highlights the critical importance of a control group in studi7777es on CYP post SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background: Data on the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and young people (CYP) is conflicting. We assessed evidence on long-term post-COVID symptoms in CYP examining prevalence, risk factors, type and duration. Methods: Systematic search of published and unpublished literature using 13 online databases between 01/12/2019 – 31/07/2021. Eligible studies reported CYP ≤19 years with confirmed or probable SARS-CoV-2 with any symptoms persisting beyond acute illness. Random effects meta-analyses examined pooled risk difference in symptom prevalence (controlled studies only) and pooled prevalence (uncontrolled studies also included). Meta-regression examined study characteristics hypothesised to be associated with symptom prevalence. Prospectively registered: CRD42021233153. Findings: Twenty two of 3357 unique studies were eligible, including 23,141 CYP. Median duration of follow-up was 125 days (IQR 99-231).Pooled risk difference in post-COVID cases compared to controls (5 studies) were significantly higher for cognitive difficulties (3% (95% CI 1, 4)), headache (5% (1, 8)), loss of smell (8%, (2, 15)), sore throat (2% (1, 2)) and sore eyes (2% (1, 3)) but not abdominal pain, cough, fatigue, myalgia, insomnia, diarrhoea, fever, dizziness or dyspnoea.Pooled prevalence of symptoms in post-COVID participants in 17 studies ranged from 15% (diarrhoea) to 47% (fatigue). Age was associated with higher prevalence of all symptoms except cough. Higher study quality was associated with lower prevalence of all symptoms, except loss of smell and cognitive symptoms. Interpretation: The frequency of the majority of reported persistent symptoms was similar in SARS-CoV-2 positive cases and controls. This systematic review and meta-analysis highlights the critical importance of a control group in studies on CYP post SARS-CoV-2 infection. Funding: None to declare. Declaration of Interest: SAB, RS, SDB, AXDZ, LLO, SNL, BLDS, RMV and OVS have no conflicts of interest. TJS is the Chair of the Health Research Authority for England who reimburse his university for his time. He is not paid personally. He has recused himself from research studies in which he is personally involved and which require ethical approval from the HRA.

BackgroundMental health professionals increasingly carry out risk assessments to prevent future violence by their patients. However, there are problems with accuracy and these assessments do not always translate into successful risk management.ObjectivesOur aim was to improve the accuracy of assessment and identify risk factors that are causal to be targeted by clinicians to ensure good risk management. Our objectives were to investigate key risks at the population level, construct new static and dynamic instruments, test validity and construct new models of risk management using Bayesian networks.Methods and resultsWe utilised existing data sets from two national and commissioned a survey to identify risk factors at the population level. We confirmed that certain mental health factors previously thought to convey risk were important in future assessments and excluded others from subsequent parts of the study. Using a first-episode psychosis cohort, we constructed a risk assessment instrument for men and women and showed important sex differences in pathways to violence. We included a 1-year follow-up of patients discharged from medium secure services and validated a previously developed risk assessment guide, the Medium Security Recidivism Assessment Guide (MSRAG). We found that it is essential to combine ratings from static instruments such as the MSRAG with dynamic risk factors. Static levels of risk have important modifying effects on dynamic risk factors for their effects on violence and we further demonstrated this using a sample of released prisoners to construct risk assessment instruments for violence, robbery, drugs and acquisitive convictions. We constructed a preliminary instrument including dynamic risk measures and validated this in a second large data set of released prisoners. Finally, we incorporated findings from the follow-up of psychiatric patients discharged from medium secure services and two samples of released prisoners to construct Bayesian models to guide clinicians in risk management.ConclusionsRisk factors for violence identified at the population level, including paranoid delusions and anxiety disorder, should be integrated in risk assessments together with established high-risk psychiatric morbidity such as substance misuse and antisocial personality disorder. The incorporation of dynamic factors resulted in improved accuracy, especially when combined in assessments using actuarial measures to obtain levels of risk using static factors. It is important to continue developing dynamic risk and protective measures with the aim of identifying factors that are causally related to violence. Only causal factors should be targeted in violence prevention interventions. Bayesian networks show considerable promise in developing software for clinicians to identify targets for intervention in the field. The Bayesian models developed in this programme are at the prototypical stage and require further programmer development into applications for use on tablets. These should be further tested in the field and then compared with structured professional judgement in a randomised controlled trial in terms of their effectiveness in preventing future violence.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Programme Grants for Applied Research programme.

Objectives. We examined the association between trajectories of partnership status over the life course and objectively measured health indicators in midlife. Methods. We used data from 4 waves (1981, 1991, 2000, and 2002–2004) of the British National Child Development Study (NCDS), a prospective cohort study that includes all people born in Britain during 1 week in March 1958 (n = 18 558). Results. After controlling for selection attributable to early-life and early-adulthood characteristics, we found that life-course trajectories of partnership status were associated with hemostatic and inflammatory markers, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and respiratory function in midlife. Never marrying or cohabiting was negatively associated with health in midlife for both genders, but the effect was more pronounced in men. Women who had married in their late 20s or early 30s and remained married had the best health in midlife. Men and women in cohabiting unions had midlife health outcomes similar to those in formal marriages. Conclusions. Partnership status over the life course has a cumulative effect on a wide range of objectively measured health indicators in midlife.

Background Children and young people are being encouraged to increase the amount of time they spend being physically active, especially in activities of moderate and vigorous intensity. However, there is limited evidence on the prospective association of activity levels with injuries requiring health service utilisation. We examined the relationship between objectively-measured physical activity (PA) in childhood and subsequent hospital attendances or admissions for injuries, using linked electronic health records (EHR) from a nationally representative prospective cohort of children in Wales and Scotland. We hypothesised that children engaging in higher intensity PA at age seven experience higher rates of injury-related health service utilisation in later childhood and early adolescence. Methods We analysed accelerometer-based estimates of moderate and vigorous (MVPA) and vigorous PA (VPA) from 1585 (777 [weighted %: 46%] boys) seven-year-old Millennium Cohort Study members, living in Wales or Scotland, whose parents consented to linkage of cohort to EHRs up until their 14th birthday. Negative binomial regression models adjusted by potential individual (sex, longstanding illness and weight status of child), household (poverty indicator, maternal age at birth of cohort child) and area-level (urban/rural) confounders, allowed us to estimate associations between average daily minutes of MVPA, and VPA, and number of hospital in-patient admissions and emergency department attendances for injuries from age nine to 14 years. Results Children spent a median of 59.5 (IQR 46.4, 75.2) and 18.1 (12.5, 25.3) minutes in MVPA and VPA/day respectively, with boys significantly more active than girls; 47.3% of children experienced at least one injury-related admission/attendance. Associations of each 10 min increment in MVPA and VPA with number of admissions/attendances were strong and significant in boys: adjusted rate ratio [RR] (95% CI): 1.09 (1.01, 1.17) and 1.16 (1.00, 1.34), respectively, but not in girls: 0.94 (0.86, 1.03) and 0.85 (0.69, 1.04), respectively. Discussion This is to our knowledge the first nationally representative prospective analysis examining associations between objectively measured PA in childhood and health service utilisation for injuries in childhood. We found that seven-year-old boys who engaged in more intense PA had higher injury-related admission or attendance rates from nine to 14 years than less active boys. The effects of MVPA and VPA in girls tended to be protective but were not significant. These findings may reflect gender differences in choice of active pursuits and will be the subject of future analyses.

Objective To investigate which parental mental illnesses are associated with eating disorders in their offspring. Method We used data from a record-linkage cohort study of 158,679 children aged 12–24 years at the end of follow-up, resident in Stockholm County from 2001 to 2007, to investigate whether different parental mental illnesses are risk factors for eating disorders in their offspring. The outcome measure was diagnosis of any eating disorder, either from an ICD or DSM-IV code, or inferred from an appointment at a specialist eating disorder clinic. Results Mental illness in parents is a risk factor for eating disorders in female offspring (Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) 1.57 (95% CI 1.42, 1.92), p

Background: People with COPD are at increased risk of vascular disease, including VTE.1 While some researchers have tested the hypothesis that certain subgroups of COPD patients, e.g. frequent exacerbators, are at even greater risk of cardiovascular events, large-scale investigations of the relationship between exacerbation frequency or disease severity and VTE risk are lacking. Methods: 3,594 COPD patients recording a first VTE event between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013 were identified in Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD GOLD) (cases) and matched (1:3) on age, sex and GP practice to 10,782 VTE-free COPD patients (controls). COPD severity was staged by degree of airflow limitation (GOLD stage) and by COPD medication history (very severe, severe, moderate/mild). Patients experiencing ≥2 exacerbations per year were classed as frequent exacerbators and as infrequent exacerbators otherwise. Analyses were conducted in STATA using conditional logistic regression. Results: After controlling for smoking and BMI, as well as the matching variables, there was an association between increased disease severity and VTE when severity was measured in terms of lung function impairment (ORmoderate/mild=1.16; 95% CIs 1.03, 1.32; p=0.018) and in terms of medication history (ORsevere/moderate+mild=1.17; 95% CIs 1.06, 1.26; p=0.001). There was no evidence that frequent exacerbators were at greater risk of VTE than infrequent exacerbators (OR=1.06; 95% CIs 0.97, 1.15; p=0.18). Conclusion: Severity of disease but not frequent exacerbation appears to be associated with VTE events in COPD patients. 1 Bertoletti L et al. (2012) EuropeanRespiratory Journal, 30(4):862–868.

Psychosis is considered an important risk factor for violence, but studies show inconsistent results. The mechanism through which psychotic disorders influence violence also remains uncertain. The authors investigated whether psychosis increased the risk of violent behavior among released prisoners and whether treatment reduced this risk. They also explored whether active symptoms of psychosis at the time of violent behavior explained associations between untreated psychosis and violence.The U.K. Prisoner Cohort Study is a prospective longitudinal study of prisoners followed up in the community after release. Adult male and female offenders serving sentences of 2 or more years for a sexual or violent offense were classified into four groups: no psychosis (N=742), schizophrenia (N=94), delusional disorder (N=29), and drug-induced psychosis (N=102). Symptoms of psychosis, including hallucinations, thought insertion, strange experiences, and delusions of persecution, were measured before and after release. Information on violence between release and follow-up was collected through self-report and police records.Schizophrenia was associated with violence but only in the absence of treatment (odds ratio=3.76, 95% CI=1.39-10.19). Untreated schizophrenia was associated with the emergence of persecutory delusions at follow-up (odds ratio=3.52, 95% CI=1.18-10.52), which were associated with violence (odds ratio=3.68, 95% CI=2.44-5.55). The mediating effects of persecutory delusions were confirmed in mediation analyses (β=0.02, 95% CI=0.01-0.04).The results indicate that the emergence of persecutory delusions in untreated schizophrenia explains violent behavior. Maintaining psychiatric treatment after release can substantially reduce violent recidivism among prisoners with schizophrenia. Better screening and treatment of prisoners is therefore essential to prevent violence.

Gang members engage in many high-risk activities associated with psychiatric morbidity, particularly violence-related ones. The authors investigated associations between gang membership, violent behavior, psychiatric morbidity, and use of mental health services.The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of 4,664 men 18-34 years of age in Great Britain using random location sampling. The survey oversampled men from areas with high levels of violence and gang activities. Participants completed questionnaires covering gang membership, violence, use of mental health services, and psychiatric diagnoses measured using standardized screening instruments.Violent men and gang members had higher prevalences of mental disorders and use of psychiatric services than nonviolent men, but a lower prevalence of depression. Violent ruminative thinking, violent victimization, and fear of further victimization accounted for the high levels of psychosis and anxiety disorders in gang members, and with service use in gang members and other violent men. Associations with antisocial personality disorder, substance misuse, and suicide attempts were explained by factors other than violence.Gang members show inordinately high levels of psychiatric morbidity, placing a heavy burden on mental health services. Traumatization and fear of further violence, exceptionally prevalent in gang members, are associated with service use. Gang membership should be routinely assessed in individuals presenting to health care services in areas with high levels of violence and gang activity. Health care professionals may have an important role in promoting desistence from gang activity.

Aims To investigate longitudinally the effect of alcohol consumption and related acute alcohol-related dysfunction on employment status. Design, setting and participants A total of 1143 men aged 25–55 years in regular paid employment and resident in the city of Izhevsk, Russia were interviewed between 2003–06 and then re-interviewed (2008–09) and their employment status ascertained. Measurements Exposures of interest were baseline alcohol intake (yearly total volume of ethanol consumed and non-beverage alcohols) and alcohol-related dysfunction, measured by a latent variable defined in terms of frequency of alcohol-related dysfunctional behaviours and by one or more episodes of zapoi (a period of continuous drunkenness lasting 2 or more days). The outcome of interest was whether or not men were still in regular paid employment at follow-up. The inter-relationship between these variables was investigated using structural equation modelling. Findings Total volume of ethanol consumed had no substantive effect on future employment status; however, taking into account education and other socio-demographic factors, there was strong evidence that loss of regular paid employment at follow-up was influenced by non-beverage alcohol consumption [odds ratio = 2.30 for non-beverage drinkers compared with beverage-only drinkers, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.21, 4.40)], latent acute alcohol-related dysfunction (odds ratio = 1.50 per standard deviation increase in dysfunction score, 95% CI = 1.20, 1.88) and zapoi (odds ratio = 3.08, 95% CI = 1.71, 5.55). Acute alcohol-related dysfunction was an important mediator of the relationship between non-beverage alcohol use and employment status. Conclusions Acute alcohol-related dysfunction is an important factor in determining whether men remain in employment and an important mediator of the effects of alcohol intake.

Objective To assess the long term risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (combined hormone therapy versus placebo, and oestrogen alone versus combined hormone therapy).Design Multicentre, randomised, placebo controlled, double blind trial.Setting General practices in UK (384), Australia (91), and New Zealand (24).Participants Postmenopausal women aged 50-69 years at randomisation. At early closure of the trial, 56 583 had been screened, 8980 entered run-in, and 5692 (26% of target of 22 300) started treatment.Interventions Oestrogen only therapy (conjugated equine oestrogens 0.625 ring orally daily) or combined hormone therapy (conjugated equine oestrogens plus medroxyprogesterone acetate 2.5/5-0 ring orally daily). Ten years of treatment planned.Main outcome measures Primary outcomes: major cardiovascular disease, osteoporotic fractures, and breast cancer. Secondary outcomes: other cancers, death from all causes, venous thromboembolism, cerebrovascular disease, dementia, and quality of life.Results The trial was prematurely closed during recruitment, after a median follow-up of 11.9 months (interquartile range 7.1-19.6, total 6498 women years) in those enrolled, after the publication of early results from the women's health initiative study. The mean age of randomised women was 62.8 (SID 4.8) years. When combined hormone therapy (n=2196) was compared with placebo (n=2189), there was a significant increase in the number of major cardiovascular events (7 v 0, P=0.016) and venous thromboembolisms (22 v 3, hazard ratio 7.36 (95% CI 2.20 to 24.60)). There were no statistically significant differences in numbers of breast or other cancers (22 v 25, hazard ratio 0.88 (0.49 to 1.56)), cerebrovascular events (14 v 19, 0.73 (0.37 to 1.46)), fractures (40 v 58, 0.69 (0.46 to 1.03)), and overall deaths (8 v 5, 1.60 (0.52 to 4.89)). Comparison of combined hormone therapy (n=815) versus oestrogen therapy (n=826) outcomes revealed no significant differences.Conclusions Hormone replacement therapy increases cardiovascular and thromboembolic risk when started many years after the menopause. The results are consistent with the findings of the women's health initiative study and secondary prevention studies. Research is needed to assess the long term risks and benefits of starting hormone replacement therapy near the menopause, when the effect may be different.

Background Probabilistic record linkage is widely used in epidemiology, but studies of its validity are rare. Our aim was to validate its use to identify births to a cohort of women, being drawn from a large cohort of people born in Scotland in the early 1950s. Methods The Children of the 1950s cohort includes 5868 females born in Aberdeen 1950–56 who were in primary schools in the city in 1962. In 2001 a postal questionnaire was sent to the cohort members resident in the UK requesting information on offspring. Probabilistic record linkage (based on surname, maiden name, initials, date of birth and postcode) was used to link the females in the cohort to birth records held by the Scottish Maternity Record System (SMR 2). Results We attempted to mail a total of 5540 women; 3752 (68%) returned a completed questionnaire. Of these 86% reported having had at least one birth. Linkage to SMR 2 was attempted for 5634 women, one or more maternity records were found for 3743. There were 2604 women who reported at least one birth in the questionnaire and who were linked to one or more SMR 2 records. When judged against the questionnaire information, the linkage correctly identified 4930 births and missed 601 others. These mostly occurred outside of Scotland (147) or prior to full coverage by SMR 2 (454). There were 134 births incorrectly linked to SMR 2. Conclusion Probabilistic record linkage to routine maternity records applied to population-based cohort, using name, date of birth and place of residence, can have high specificity, and as such may be reliably used in epidemiological research.

"Mendelian randomization" refers to the random assortment of genes transferred from parent to offspring at the time of gamete formation. This process has been compared to a randomized controlled trial of genetic variants. This could greatly aid observational epidemiology by potentially allowing an unbiased estimate of the effects of gene products on disease outcomes. However, studies utilizing Mendelian randomization to estimate effects of gene products on outcomes should be interpreted with caution. In this paper, the authors discuss some of the challenges facing epidemiologists in the analysis and interpretation of Mendelian randomization studies, particularly those that become apparent when the analogy with randomized controlled trials is closely examined. The authors conclude that Mendelian randomization is a powerful addition to etiologic research tools. However, care must be taken, because drawing valid causal inferences from its application depends upon more extensive assumptions than are required in randomized controlled trials.

Background Clinical impression is that rates of eating disorders vary between schools; we are not aware of any previous research on this topic. We aimed to investigate whether rates of eating disorders in 16–20-year-old girls vary between upper secondary schools, and to test the hypothesis that school characteristics are associated with rates of eating disorders, even after accounting for characteristics of individual students. Methods This multilevel longitudinal study made use of record-linkage data from Stockholm County, Sweden. Participants were 55 824 Swedish-born girls completing secondary education in 2001–10 at 409 schools. Outcome was any diagnosed eating disorder at 16–20 years, as defined by an ICD (9 or 10) or DSM-IV code, or inferred from an appointment at a specialist eating disorder clinic. Multilevel modelling was used to separate individual and school level effects. The Stockholm Regional Ethical Review Board approved the study. Findings A 4·4% variation in incidence of eating disorders between schools was seen; after taking individual risk factors into account variation between schools was 2·9% (95% CI 1·5–5·0). Schools with a higher proportions of girls than boys had an increased incidence of eating disorders: for each 10% increase in the proportion of girls at a school, the odds ratio for eating disorders was 1·07 (95% CI 1·01–1·13, p=0·017). For each 10% increase in the proportion of parents with post-secondary education, the odds ratio for eating disorders was 1·14 (1·09–1·19, p Interpretation Our findings show that the contextual aspects of a school environment are associated with increased incidence of eating disorders. Incidence rates of eating disorders are higher in schools characterised by a high proportion of female students and of students with highly educated parents. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate whether rates of eating disorders vary between schools; however, use of registry data means that individuals who did not seek treatment would not have been studied. Funding HB was supported by a Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (via the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute).

Background Melioidosis is a serious infectious disease caused by the Category B select agent and environmental saprophyte, Burkholderia pseudomallei. Most cases of naturally acquired infection are assumed to result from skin inoculation after exposure to soil or water. The aim of this study was to provide evidence for inoculation, inhalation and ingestion as routes of infection, and develop preventive guidelines based on this evidence. Methods/Principal Findings A prospective hospital-based 1∶2 matched case-control study was conducted in Northeast Thailand. Cases were patients with culture-confirmed melioidosis, and controls were patients admitted with non-infectious conditions during the same period, matched for gender, age, and diabetes mellitus. Activities of daily living were recorded for the 30-day period before onset of symptoms, and home visits were performed to obtain drinking water and culture this for B. pseudomallei. Multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis based on 286 cases and 512 controls showed that activities associated with a risk of melioidosis included working in a rice field (conditional odds ratio [cOR] = 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4–3.3), other activities associated with exposure to soil or water (cOR = 1.4; 95%CI 0.8–2.6), an open wound (cOR = 2.0; 95%CI 1.2–3.3), eating food contaminated with soil or dust (cOR = 1.5; 95%CI 1.0–2.2), drinking untreated water (cOR = 1.7; 95%CI 1.1–2.6), outdoor exposure to rain (cOR = 2.1; 95%CI 1.4–3.2), water inhalation (cOR = 2.4; 95%CI 1.5–3.9), current smoking (cOR = 1.5; 95%CI 1.0–2.3) and steroid intake (cOR = 3.1; 95%CI 1.4–6.9). B. pseudomallei was detected in water source(s) consumed by 7% of cases and 3% of controls (cOR = 2.2; 95%CI 0.8–5.8). Conclusions/Significance We used these findings to develop the first evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of melioidosis. These are suitable for people in melioidosis-endemic areas, travelers and military personnel. Public health campaigns based on our recommendations are under development in Thailand., Author Summary Melioidosis is a serious infectious disease caused by the environmental saprophyte, Burkholderia pseudomallei. The infection is potentially preventable, but developing prevention guidelines is hampered by a lack of evidence on which to base them. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence for inoculation, inhalation and ingestion as routes of infection. To achieve this, we undertook a matched case-control study and performed home visits to obtain drinking water and culture this for B. pseudomallei. We found that activities associated with increased risk of developing melioidosis included working in a rice field, other activities associated with exposure to soil or water, an open wound, eating food contaminated with soil or dust, drinking untreated water, outdoor exposure to rain, water inhalation, current smoking and steroid intake. Presence of B. pseudomallei in drinking water source(s) doubled the odds of acquiring melioidosis. This is the first study to show that ingestion is an important route of human B. pseudomallei infection, and that exposure to rain is an independent risk factor for melioidosis. We used this finding to develop the first evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of melioidosis. These are suitable for people in melioidosis-endemic areas, travelers and military personnel.

Introduction Life expectancy in Russia among men is extremely low for an industrialised country (62 years in 2008), which is partly explained by hazardous alcohol consumption. We investigated the relationship between socio-demographic variables and dimensions of alcohol use. Methods In 2008–2009 a population sample of 996 men aged 25–59 years living in Izhevsk, Russia took part in a survey that collected information on socio-demographic circumstances and a self-completed questionnaire that included the WHO Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Latent dimensions of the total AUDIT score were determined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling was used to estimate the strength of association of these dimensions with socio-demographic variables. Results Confirmatory factor analysis supported a two factor structure for the AUDIT: alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Consumption was highest among men who were unemployed seeking work (p=0.001) but was not related to education (p=0.91) or marital status (p=0.76). The dimension capturing alcohol-related problems was greatest among men who were unemployed seeking work (p Conclusions The main socio-demographic variables available in this study were not associated with the two dimensions of the AUDIT in the same way. This together with the failure to show an association of either AUDIT dimension with marital status is surprising and warrants further investigation. It may indicate limitations in the sensitivity of AUDIT to important aspects of Russian drinking patterns.

Background In developed countries with old age structures most deaths occur at older ages and older people account for the majority of those in poor health, which suggests a particular need to investigate health inequalities in the older population. Methods We empirically compared the materialist, psychosocial and lifestyle/behavioural theoretical mechanisms of explanation for socio-economic variation in health using data from two waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a nationally representative multi-purpose sample of the population aged 50 and over living in England. Three dimensions of health were examined: somatic health, depression and well-being. Results The materialist and lifestyle/behavioural paths had the most prominent mediating role in the association between socio-economic position and health in the older population, whereas the psychosocial pathway was less influential and exerted most of its influence on depression and well-being, with part of its effect being due to the availability of material resources. Conclusions From a policy perspective there is therefore an indication that population interventions to reduce health differentials and thus improve the overall health of the older population should focus on material circumstances and population based interventions to promote healthy lifestyles.