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Introduction: Understanding the elasticities of cigarette smoking demand among the youth could help improve the effectiveness of tobacco control interventions. The objective of this study is to measure the price and income elasticities of cigarette smoking demand among urban Bangladeshi male adolescents and young adults aged 10-24 years.Method: Using data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in seven urban districts of Bangladesh, we applied probit and ordinary least square (OLS) models to examine the effect of price and income on smoking participation (decision to smoke) and intensity (number of cigarettes smoked).Results: Our results showed that price was not significantly associated with the decision to smoke, while income was a significant determinant of smoking participation. Both price and income determined the smoking intensity. The positive income elasticity (0.39) indicated that participants with greater access to money were more likely to participate in cigarette smoking and smoked more cigarettes. Negative price elasticity (-0.62) implied that increasing prices could lead to a reduction in smoking intensity among adolescents and young adults in urban Bangladesh.Conclusion: The inelastic price demand for cigarette smoking suggests that there is scope for increasing tax on cigarettes without compromising the tax revenue.Implications: This is the first study to investigate price and income elasticities among urban adolescents and young adults in Bangladesh. The study found no evidence that increasing the price of cigarettes discourages smoking participation but did show that increasing the price reduces the intensity of smoking among existing smokers. The results also suggest that economic measures such as taxation that increase the price of cigarettes could be a useful policy tool to limit smoking intensity without compromising government tax revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There is evidence of socioeconomic inequalities in cancer incidence in Canada and other countries globally, yet there is no study investigating socioeconomic inequalities in national cervical cancer incidence in Canada. Thus, the current study investigated income and education inequalities in the incidence of cervical cancer in Canada from 1992 to 2010. Methods Data were derived from a linked dataset that combined cervical cancer incidence from the Canadian Cancer Registry and demographic and socioeconomic information from the Canadian Census of Population and the National Household Survey. The Concentration index approach was used to measure income and education inequalities in the incidence of cervical cancer over time. Results National incidence of cervical cancer decreased significantly from 1992 to 2010. The age-standardized C was negative for the majority of years for both income and education inequalities, but the preponderance were not significant. Trend analyses of socioeconomic inequalities suggested an increasing concentration of cervical cancer incidence among less-educated females over the study period. Conclusions Over almost two decades, there were no pervasive socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of cervical cancer in Canada. As such, policies aimed at reducing the incidence of cervical cancer should focus on the general population, irrespective of socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Maternity leave reduces neonatal and infant mortality rates in high-income countries. However, the impact of maternity leave on infant health has not been rigorously evaluated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this study, we utilized a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate whether paid maternity leave policies affect infant mortality in LMICs. Methods and Findings We used birth history data collected via the Demographic and Health Surveys to assemble a panel of approximately 300,000 live births in 20 countries from 2000 to 2008; these observational data were merged with longitudinal information on the duration of paid maternity leave provided by each country. We estimated the effect of an increase in maternity leave in the prior year on the probability of infant ( Conclusions More generous paid maternity leave policies represent a potential instrument for facilitating early-life interventions and reducing infant mortality in LMICs and warrant further discussion in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. From a policy planning perspective, further work is needed to elucidate the mechanisms that explain the benefits of paid maternity leave for infant mortality., Author(s): Arijit Nandi 1,2,*, Mohammad Hajizadeh 3, Sam Harper 2, Alissa Koski 2, Erin C. Strumpf 2,4, Jody Heymann 5 Introduction Paid leave for new parents, often specifically designated for [...]

Background: Strawberry crinkle virus (SCV) is a member of the genus Cytorhabdovirus, family Rhabdovirida, and order Mononegavirales. SCV affects the production of various strawberry cultivars. In this study we investigated the genetic diversity of SCV in strawberry fields based on P3 (movement protein) gene. Methods and results: The samples were collected from strawberry fields in the Kurdistan Province, Iran. P3 gene from 20 SCV isolates, representing 18 nucleic acid haplotypes, is composed of 729 nucleotides, encoding a protein with 243 amino acids. SCV-P3 sequences shared 98.77%–99.86% nucleotide and 97.5%–100% amino acid sequence identity. Phylogenetic analyses of the new P3 sequences with two previously published SCV-P3 sequences from the Czech Republic showed that there are two major phylogroups (I and II) and three minor phylogroups in the body of the phylogeny, I-1, I-2, II-1. Comparisons of P3 gene sequences revealed a mutational bias, with more differences being transitions than transversions. The ratio of non-synonymous/synonymous nucleotide changes was < 1, indicating that SCV-P3 gene is under predominantly negative selection. Conclusions: Phylogenetic and sequence identity analyses showed that SCV isolates from Iran are closely related and have not diverged more than 2% based on P3 gene despite geographical separation and strawberry cultivar. This is the first report of the genetic diversity of SCV worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence rates of cutaneous melanoma have been increasing in Canada over the past decades. This study aimed to quantify and assess trends in education- and income-related inequalities in the incidence of cutaneous melanoma in Canada (excluding territories) from 1992 to 2010. Methods: Data for the analyses were obtained from the Canadian Cancer Registry (CCR), the Canadian Census of Population (CCP), and the National Household Survey (NHS). The concentration index (C) approach was used to quantify income- and education-related inequalities in the incidence rates of cutaneous melanoma. Trend analyses were performed to evaluate changes in inequalities over the study period. Results: Incidence rates of cutaneous melanoma increased across Canada from 1992 to 2010. The age-adjusted value of C showed a greater concentration of cutaneous melanoma amongst Canadians with higher incomes. Although the age-adjusted value of C did not suggest a significant education-related inequality in the incidence rates, the trend analyses indicate that, with time, incidence rates are becoming more concentrated amongst both males and females with lower levels of education. Conclusions: Incidence rates of melanoma are rising across Canada and are higher amongst individuals with higher income. Our analyses suggest that incidence rates of melanoma are becoming more concentrated amongst Canadians with lower levels of education. Consequently, campaigns and public policies related to the prevention of melanoma in Canada should focus on Canadians with higher income and lower levels of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although malaria in pregnancy is preventable with the use of intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP), it still causes maternal morbidity and mortality, in sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria in particular. Socioeconomic inequality leads to limited uptake of IPTp-SP by pregnant women and is, therefore, a public health challenge in Nigeria. This study aimed to measure and identify factors explaining socioeconomic inequality in the uptake of IPTp-SP in Nigeria. Methods: The study re-analysed dataset of 12,294 women aged 15–49 years from 2018 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (DHS). The normalized concentration index (Cn) and concentration curve were used to quantify and graphically present socioeconomic inequalities in the uptake of IPTp-SP among pregnant women in Nigeria. The Cn was decomposed to identify key factors contributing to the observed socioeconomic inequality in the uptake of adequate (≥ 3) IPTp-SP. Results: The study showed a higher concentration of the adequate uptake of IPTp-SP among socioeconomically advantaged women (Cn = 0.062; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.048 to 0.076) in Nigeria. There is a pro-rich inequality in the uptake of IPTp-SP in urban areas (Cn = 0.283; 95%CI 0.279 to 0.288). In contrast, a pro-poor inequality in the uptake of IPTp-SP was observed in rural areas (Cn = − 0.238; 95%CI − 0.242 to − 0.235). The result of the decomposition analysis indicated that geographic zone of residence and antenatal visits were the two main drivers for the concentration of the uptake of IPTp-SP among wealthier pregnant women in Nigeria. Conclusion: The pro-rich inequalities in the uptake of IPTp-SP among pregnant women in Nigeria, particularly in urban areas, warrant further attention. Strategies to improve the uptake of IPTp-SP among women residing in socioeconomically disadvantaged geographic zones (North-East and North-West) and improving antenatal visits among the poor women may reduce pro-rich inequality in the uptake of IPTp-SP among pregnant women in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study measures public health policies' and healthcare system's influence, by assessing the contributions of avoidable deaths, on the gender gaps in life expectancy and disparity (GGLD and GGLD, respectively) in the United States (US) and Canada from 2001 to 2019. To estimate the GGLE and GGLD, we retrieved age- and sex-specific causes of death from the World Health Organization's mortality database. By employing the continuous-change model, we decomposed the GGLE and GGLD by age and cause of death for each year and over time using females as the reference group. In Canada and the US, the GGLE (GGLD) narrowed (increased) by 0.9 (0.2) and 0.2 (0.3) years, respectively. Largest contributor to the GGLE was non-avoidable deaths in Canada and preventable deaths in the US. Preventable deaths had the largest contributions to the GGLD in both countries. Ischemic heart disease contributed to the narrowing GGLE/GGLD in both countries. Conversely, treatable causes of death increased the GGLE/GGLD in both countries. In Canada, "treatable & preventable" as well as preventable causes of death narrowed the GGLE while opposite was seen in the US. While lung cancer contributed to the narrowing GGLE/GGLD, drug-related death contributed to the widening GGLE/GGLD in both countries. Injury-related deaths contributed to the narrowing GGLE/GGLD in Canada but not in the US. The contributions of avoidable causes of death to the GGLE declined in the age groups 55–74 in Canada and 70–74 in the US, whereas the GGLE widened for ages 25–34 in the US. Canada experienced larger reduction in the GGLE compared to the US attributed mainly to preventable causes of death. To narrow the GGLE and GGLD, the US needs to address injury deaths. Urgent interventions are required for drug-related death in both countries, particularly among males aged 15–44 years. • Avoidable causes of death contributed to the narrowing GGLE/GGLD in Canada. • Avoidable causes of death contributed to the narrowing GGLE and the widening GGLD in the US. • Drug-related deaths contributed to the widening GGLE/GGLD in both countries. • Injury deaths contributed to the narrowing GGLE in Canada but not in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]