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Background: Play equipment at home could be targeted in interventions to increase children's physical activity (PA), but evidence is mixed, potentially because current methods do not reflect children's lived experience. This study investigated associations between combinations of equipment and PA. Methods: Data were from the Mothers and their Children's Health study and the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Mothers (n= 2409) indicated the types of fixed active (eg, trampolines), portable active (eg, bicycles), and electronic (eg, computers) equipment at home, and the number of days children (n = 4092, aged 5-12 y, 51% boys) met PA guidelines. Latent class analysis was used to identify combinations of equipment, and linear regressions were used to investigate associations with PA. Results: Compared with children with high active (fixed and portable) and medium electronic equipment, children with portable active and medium (B = -0.53; 95% confidence interval, -0.72 to -0.34) or high (B = -0.58; 95% confidence interval, -0.83 to -0.33) electronic equipment met the guidelines on fewer days. Children with similar active equipment (but more electronic equipment) met the PA guidelines on fewer days (mean difference = -0.51, SE = 0.14, P = .002). Conclusion: Having the right combination of play equipment at home may be important for children's PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives The aims of this study were to model jointly the incidence rates of six smoking related cancers in the Yorkshire region of England, to explore the patterns of spatial correlation amongst them, and to estimate the relative weight of smoking and other shared risk factors for the relevant disease sites, both before and after adjustment for socioeconomic background (SEB). Methods Data on the incidence of oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, lung, kidney, and bladder cancers between 1983 and 2003 were extracted from the Northern & Yorkshire Cancer Registry database for the 532 electoral wards in the Yorkshire region. Using postcode of residence, each case was assigned an area-based measure of SEB using the Townsend index. Standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for each cancer site and their correlations investigated. The joint analysis of the spatial variation in incidence used a Bayesian shared-component model. Three components were included to represent differences in smoking (for all six sites), bodyweight/obesity (for oesophagus, pancreas and kidney cancers) and diet/alcohol consumption (for oesophagus and stomach cancers). Results The incidence of cancers of the oesophagus, pancreas, kidney, and bladder was relatively evenly distributed across the region. The incidence of stomach and lung cancers was more clustered around the urban areas in the south of the region, and these two cancers were significantly associated with higher levels of area deprivation. The incidence of lung cancer was most impacted by adjustment for SEB, with the rural/urban split becoming less apparent. The component representing smoking had a larger effect on cancer incidence in the eastern part of the region. The effects of the other two components were small and disappeared after adjustment for SEB. Conclusion This study demonstrates the feasibility of joint disease modelling using data from six cancer sites. Incidence estimates are more precise than those obtained without smoothing. This methodology may be an important tool to help authorities evaluate healthcare system performance and the impact of policies.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic condition characterized by pain, impaired function, and reduced quality of life. A number of risk factors for knee OA have been identified, such as obesity, occupation, and injury. The association between knee OA and physical activity or particular sports such as running is less clear. Previous reviews, and the evidence that informs them, present contradictory or inconclusive findings. Purpose: This systematic review aimed to determine the association between running and the development of knee OA. Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Four electronic databases were searched, along with citations in eligible articles and reviews and the contents of recent journal issues. Two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts using prespecified eligibility criteria. Full-text articles were also independently assessed for eligibility. Eligible studies were those in which running or running-related sports (eg, triathlon or orienteering) were assessed as a risk factor for the onset or progression of knee OA in adults. Relevant outcomes included (1) diagnosis of knee OA, (2) radiographic markers of knee OA, (3) knee joint surgery for OA, (4) knee pain, and (5) knee-associated disability. Risk of bias was judged by use of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed with case-control studies investigating arthroplasty. Results: After de-duplication, the search returned 1322 records. Of these, 153 full-text articles were assessed; 25 were eligible, describing 15 studies: 11 cohort (6 retrospective) and 4 case-control studies. Findings of studies with a diagnostic OA outcome were mixed. Some radiographic differences were observed in runners, but only at baseline within some subgroups. Meta-analysis suggested a protective effect of running against surgery due to OA: pooled odds ratio 0.46 (95% CI, 0.30-0.71). The I2 was 0% (95% CI, 0%-73%). Evidence relating to symptomatic outcomes was sparse and inconclusive. Conclusion: With this evidence, it is not possible to determine the role of running in knee OA. Moderate- to low-quality evidence suggests no association with OA diagnosis, a positive association with OA diagnosis, and a negative association with knee OA surgery. Conflicting results may reflect methodological heterogeneity. More evidence from well-designed, prospective studies is needed to clarify the contradictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveTo monitor growth trends in young children in order to ascertain success (or otherwise) in halting the rapid rise in childhood obesity prevalence, and to assess the suitability of using routinely measured data for this purpose.DesignRetrospective serial cross-sectional analyses of the proportion of obese children (logistic regression) and BMI standard deviation score (linear regression/maps) were undertaken. BMI coverage was calculated as percentage of sample with data (‘usual’), percentage of total births and percentage of census values. BMI was standardised for age and sex (British reference data set).SettingMetropolitan Leeds, UK.SubjectsChildren aged 3 to 6 years. Weight, height, sex, age and postcode data were collected from Primary Care Trust records.ResultsData were collected on 42 396 children, of whom 13 020 (31 %) were excluded due to missing data/data problems. Seventy-two per cent of 3-year-olds and 92 % of 5-year-olds had data recorded (‘usual’ coverage). From 1998 to 2003 there was a significant increase in the proportion of obese children (4·5 % to 6·6 %; P < 0·001); children were 1·5 times more likely to be obese in 2003 than in 1998.ConclusionsChildhood obesity rose significantly between 1998 and 2003. Routinely measured data are an important means of monitoring population-level obesity trends, although more effort is required to reduce the quantity of data-entry errors, for relatively low marginal cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]