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Twenty-three scientists met at Krobielowice, Poland to discuss the role of growth, nutrition and economy on body size. Contrasting prevailing concepts, re-analyses of studies in Indonesian and Guatemalan school children with high prevalence of stunting failed to provide evidence for an association between nutritional status and body height. Direct effects of parental education on growth that were not transmitted via nutrition were shown in Indian datasets using network analysis and novel statistical methods (St. Nicolas House Analysis) that translate correlation matrices into network graphs. Data on Polish children suggest significant impact of socioeconomic sensitivity on child growth, with no effect of maternal money satisfaction. Height and maturation tempo affect the position of a child among its peers. Correlations also exist between mood disorders and height. Secular changes in height and weight varied across decades independent of population size. Historic and recent Russian data showed that height of persons whose fathers performed manual work were on average four cm shorter than persons whose fathers were high-degree specialists. Body height, menarcheal age, and body proportions are sensitive to socioeconomic variables. Additional topics included delayed motherhood and its associations with newborn size; geographic and socioeconomic indicators related to low birth weight, prematurity and stillbirth rate; data on anthropometric history of Brazil, 1850-1950; the impact of central nervous system stimulants on the growth of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; and pituitary development and growth hormone secretion. Final discussions debated on reverse causality interfering between social position, and adolescent growth and developmental tempo., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

Introduction Lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, socioeconomic factors and gender may have an impact on the adherence to and non-persistence with LLT. Methods This was a nationwide register-based cohort study that included 6192 individuals with T1D aged ≥ 18 years who were registered in the Swedish National Diabetes Register and had initiated novel use of LLT. Information on socioeconomic parameters (source: Statistics Sweden) and comorbidity (source: National Patient Register) was collected. The individuals were followed for 36 months, and adherence to LLT was analyzed according to age, socioeconomics and gender. The medication possession ratio (MPR; categorized into ≤ 80% and > 80%) and non-persistence (discontinuation) with medication was calculated after 18 and 36 months. Results Individuals older than 53 years were more adherent to LLT (MPR > 80%) than those younger than 36 years (odds ratio [(OR] 1.30, p

Background An important aspect of end-of-life care is the place of death. A majority of cancer patients prefer home death to hospital death. At the same time, the actual location of death is often against patient’s last-known wish. The aim of this study was to analyze whether socioeconomic factors influence if Swedish palliative cancer patients die at home or at a hospital. There is no previous study on location of death encompassing several years in Swedish cancer patients. Methods Data was collected from the Swedish Register of Palliative Care for patients diagnosed with brain tumor, lung, colorectal, prostate or breast cancer recorded between 2011 and 2014. The data was linked to the Swedish Cancer Register, the Cause of Death Register and the Longitudinal Integration Database for health-insurance and labor-market studies. A total of 8990 patients were included. Results We found that marital status was the factor that seemed to affect the place of death. Lack of a partner, compared to being married, was associated with a higher likelihood of dying at a hospital. Conclusion Our findings are in line with similar earlier studies encompassing only 1 year and based on patients in other countries. Whether inequalities at least partly explain the differences remains to be investigated. Patients dying of cancer in Sweden, who do not have a life partner, may not have the option of dying at home due to lack of informal support. Perhaps the need of extensive community support services to enable home death have to improve, and further studies are warranted to answer this question.

Objective: To explore secular trends in physical activity in relation to socioeconomic position in middle-aged women, with focus on whether the social gaps have become wider, narrower, or remain unchanged. Design: Cohort comparisons between two representative samples of women, recruited in 1980–81 and 2004–05 as a part of the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg. Setting: Gothenburg, the second largest city of Sweden, with ≈ 450 000 inhabitants. Subjects: Population-based cohorts of 38- and 50-year-old women, invited in 1980–81 and 2004–05 to free health examinations. The study population in 1980 was n = 477, 38- and 50-year-old women born in 1930 (n = 355) and 1942 (n = 122), and in 2004 n = 500, 38- and 50-year- old women born in 1966 (n = 207) and 1954 (n = 293). Main outcome measure: Physical activity at work and leisure time. Socioeconomic position was defined based on socio-occupational group and level of education. Physical activity during work and leisure time was based on questionnaires. Results: On average 38- and 50-year-old women were more physically active at work and leisure time in 2004–05 compared to 1980–81; odds ratio (OR) for increase over time for physical activity at work for 38-year-olds: 2.59, (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.65–4.07), and for 50-year-olds: OR 2.09 (1.52–2.88); OR for increase physical activity leisure time in 38-year-olds: 1.93 (1.25–2.98), and in 50-year-olds 2.04 (1.49–2.79). There were no significant differences between socioeconomic groups in physical activity levels changes over time. Conclusion: Women in different socioeconomic groups improved their physical activity at work and leisure time to the same extent from 1980 to 2004, indicating that the socioeconomic gap in physical activity is neither increasing nor decreasing.Key Points The gap in physical activity levels between socioeconomic groups seems to have remained stable for middle-aged women the last 25 years. • However, women were more physically active in 2004 at work and during leisure time, independent of socioeconomic position, compared to 1980. • It remains a great challenge to create structures that enable these behaviours for all social groups.

Background: This systematic review was designed to uncover the most reliable evidence about the effects of caries preventive strategies in children and adolescents of immigrant or low socioeconomic backgrounds. Methods: According to pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria, relevant articles focusing on underprivileged groups were electronically selected between January1995 and October 2015. The literature search was conducted in five databases; PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, SweMed+ and Cochrane Library. Accepted languages for included articles were English, German and Scandinavian languages. Abstracts and selected articles in full text were read and assessed independently by two review authors. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were not included. Also articles with topics of water fluoridation and fluoride toothpaste were excluded, this due to all existing evidence of anti-caries effect for disadvantaged groups. The key data about the main characteristics of the study were compiled in tables and a quality grading was performed. Results: Thirty-seven articles were selected for further evaluation. Supervised toothbrushing for 5-year-old school children was found to be an effective prevention technique for use in underprivileged groups. Also a child/mother approach, targeting nutrition and broad oral health education of mothers showed effectiveness. For older children, a slow-release fluoride device and application of acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF) gel showed to be effective. Conclusion: On the basis of this review, we maintain that in addition to studies of water fluoridation and fluoride toothpaste, there are other preventive intervention studies providing scientific evidence for caries reduction among children and adolescents with immigrant or low socioeconomic backgrounds. publishedVersion

Chile has the world's highest rate of incidence as well as death from cancer of the gallbladder and biliary ducts. The problem is most acute in the southern provinces. These areas constitute the low average income associated with low educational attainment and a high rate of obesity compared with the rest of Chile. We could also include genetic factors related to processes of lithogenesis to these elements which are more common among the Mapuche. This population sub-group could benefit from special government programmes for early diagnosis and treatment of lithiasic disease and for the management of risk factors such as obesity. In this way, we could reduce the mortality rate of gallbladder cancer.

Background Undernutrition is a major public health problem on the globe particularly in the developing regions. The objective of the current study was to assess the prevalence of undernutrition in different age groups and examine the relationship of the disease to parasitic and socioeconomic factors among communities in Harbu Town, northeastern Ethiopia. Methods Stool samples of the study participants were examined for intestinal helminth infections using the Kato-Katz method. Blood specimens were diagnosed for Plasmodium infection using CareStartTM Malaria Pf/Pv Combo test. The blood type was determined from blood samples using antisera A and antisera B. In addition, the height and weight of the study participants was measured and information about their socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics was collected. Results Out of 484 individuals examined, 31.8% were undernourished and 32.0% were infected with intestinal helminths. The odds of undernutrition significantly decreased with an increase in the age of individuals. The prevalence of undernutrition in adults was significantly higher in males than in females and in those who had latrines than in those who did not have the facility. The odds of undernutrition in the 5 to 19 years age group was significantly higher in those who did not wash their hands before eating than in those who did. The prevalence of undernutrition in children younger than five years was significantly lower in those whose families were educated and had less than 5 family size compared to those with illiterate families and family size of greater than 5, respectively. However, the prevalence of undernutrition was similar in individuals who were infected and not infected with intestinal helminths. The intensity of Schistosoma mansoni infection was significantly higher among individuals of blood type A compared to those of type O. Conclusions Prevalence of undernutrition was higher in children than in adults and the association of sex and socioeconomic factors with undernutrition showed variation with age. However, helminth infection was not related with undernutrition in all age groups.