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Aim: To investigate the associations between oral health and depression, anxiety and their comorbidity in the UK Biobank cohort. Materials and Methods: Oral health problems were self‐reported at baseline. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed using the Mental Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐4) in a cross‐sectional study. In the cohort study, diagnoses of depression and anxiety disorders were based on hospital records. Logistic regression and Cox regression models were used to analyse the association between oral health and depression/anxiety. Results: A total of 305,188 participants were included in the cross‐sectional study, and multivariate analysis showed that periodontal disease was associated with depression and/or anxiety (odds ratio [OR]: 1.79, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.73–1.86). In the prospective cohort study involving 264,706 participants, periodontal disease was significantly associated with an increased risk of depression and/or anxiety (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.10–1.19), depression (HR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.13–1.25) and anxiety (HR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.07–1.19). Periodontal disease was also significantly associated with comorbid depression and anxiety (HR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.16–1.38). Multiple mediation analysis using baseline inflammatory factors showed that white blood cell count and C‐reactive protein explained 3.07% and 3.15% of the association between periodontal disease and depression and anxiety, respectively. However, the results of longitudinal multiple mediation analysis of inflammatory factors at first follow‐up (N = 10,673) were not significant. Conclusions: Periodontal disease was found to be consistently associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety and their comorbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irregular words cannot be read correctly by decoding letters into sounds using the most common letter–sound mapping relations. They are difficult to read and learn. Cognitive models of word reading and development as well as empirical data suggest that inhibitory control might be important for irregular word reading and its development. The current study tested this in a U.K. population-based cohort (N = 529, 52.74% male, 90.17% White) in which children were assessed longitudinally at ages 5–6, 7–8, and 10–11 years. Results showed that inhibitory control did not predict concurrent irregular word reading after controlling for the covariates of decoding and vocabulary. However, inhibitory control made a small but significant contribution to growth in irregular word reading across time points, over and above vocabulary (decoding did not predict growth). Therefore, children might need to inhibit the predisposition to overgeneralize the most common relations between letters and sounds when learning to read irregular words. Public Significance Statement: Our study suggests that children might need to inhibit the tendency to use the most common letter–sound mapping relations in order to develop their ability to read irregular words. Teachers may want to encourage students to think whether the pronunciation they generate for a written word matches a spoken word they know, and whether the spelling they generate for an oral vocabulary item matches the written form in print. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delay discounting is often considered a universal feature of human choice behavior, but there is controversy over whether it is an individual difference that reflects an underlying psychological trait or a domain-specific behavior. Trait influence on discounting would manifest in (a) highly correlated discount rates for all decisions, regardless of context, and (b) the reflection of discounting behavior in psychometric measures of individual difference. We examined these propositions for consumers making hypothetical decisions with respect to financial returns, health outcomes, and vacation alternatives. Questionnaires were employed to assess discounting rates, and respondents' (N = 74) cognitive styles were measured by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI). Results suggested that discounting is a domain-specific behavior rather than a single trait. Individual discounting rates differed markedly among product contexts; moreover, individual differences in cognitive style were not related to discounting behavior. (Contains 2 tables.)

We present our agent-based CoronAvirus Lifelong Modelling and Simulation (CALMS) model that aspires to predict the lifelong impacts of Covid-19 on the health and economy of a population. CALMS considers individual characteristics as well as comorbidities in calculating the risk of infection and severe disease. We conduct two sets of experiments aiming at demonstrating the validity and capabilities of CALMS. We run simulations retrospectively and validate the model outputs against hospitalisations, ICU admissions and fatalities in a UK population for the period between March and September 2020. We then run simulations for the lifetime of the cohort applying a variety of targeted intervention strategies and compare their effectiveness against the baseline scenario where no intervention is applied. Four scenarios are simulated with targeted vaccination programmes and periodic lockdowns. Vaccinations are targeted first at individuals based on their age and second at vulnerable individuals based on their health status. Periodic lockdowns, triggered by hospitalisations, are tested with and without vaccination programme in place. Our results demonstrate that periodic lockdowns achieve reductions in hospitalisations, ICU admissions and fatalities of 6-8% compared to the baseline scenario, with an associated intervention cost of £173 million per 1,000 people and targeted vaccination programmes achieve reductions in hospitalisations, ICU admissions and fatalities of 89-90%, compared to the baseline scenario, with an associated intervention cost of £51,924 per 1,000 people. We conclude that periodic lockdowns alone are ineffective at reducing health-related outputs over the long-term and that vaccination programmes which target only the clinically vulnerable are sufficient in providing healthcare protection for the population as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to deepen our understanding of customers' actual internet banking behaviour by combining the construct of technology readiness with the technology acceptance model and demographics, such as age and gender, into one integrated framework. Design/methodology/approach – The customer-specific internet banking acceptance model (CSIBAM) is validated through 435 UK internet banking users. Findings – The results indicate the importance of customer-specific factors in predicting actual behaviour. Technology readiness, age and gender moderate the beliefs-intention relationship. Customers with varying levels of technology-related views and demographics hold different beliefs about technology. The relationship between usefulness and behaviour was stronger for younger males with high levels of optimism and innovativeness (explorers and pioneers), whilst the relationship between ease of use and behaviour was stronger for older females with a high level of discomfort (paranoids and laggards). Practical implications – In today's highly competitive financial services market, knowledge of key customer-specific factors can help banks to enhance customer experience by focusing more on each segment's particular needs. This knowledge would also help managers to decide about the extent to which technology-based systems can be used, the appropriate type of these systems, the pace of implementation, and the type of customer support required. Originality/value – A distinctive contribution of this study is that it does not rely on self-reported intention or usage, but instead it employs actual behavioural data. Greater understanding of seemingly established relationships could improve the design of the service and the development of differential marketing strategies aimed at driving adoption and allaying rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]