Maternal and pregnancy factors contributing to the association between area deprivation and infant mortality in England: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Socioeconomic inequality in infant mortality in the UK is rising. This study aims to identify contributory maternal and pregnancy factors that can explain the known association between area deprivation and infant mortality.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted using Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) primary care data between 2004 and 2019 linked to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), and infant mortality from the Office for National Statistics death data.

Health and Lifestyle Factors and Dementia Risk Among Former Professional Soccer Players.

Importance: Elite-level contact sport participation is associated with increased dementia risk, which may be attributable to sport-related traumatic brain injury and repetitive head impact exposure. However, the contribution of wider, potentially modifiable dementia risk factors remains uncertain.

Objective: To explore the association of potentially modifiable dementia risk factors with dementia risk among former professional soccer players.

Routine measurement of cardiometabolic disease risk factors in primary care in England before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic: A population-based cohort study.

Background: This study estimated to what extent the number of measurements of cardiometabolic risk factors (e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol, glycated haemoglobin) were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and whether these have recovered to expected levels.

Childhood maltreatment, adulthood obesity and incident type 2 diabetes: a retrospective cohort study using UK Biobank.

Background: This study aims to explore the association of childhood maltreatment with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in adulthood, and whether obesity is a mediator of the latter.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study using UK Biobank data, participants recalled childhood maltreatment. Linear regression, logistic regression, and Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the associations with body mass index (BMI), obesity, and T2D, adjusted for sociodemographic factors.

Investigating sustainability in work after participating in a welfare-to-work initiative using a 2-year cohort study of Work Programme participants in Scotland.

Objectives: This study investigated sustainability and multimorbidity alongside barriers to employment including health and policy to demonstrate intersectional impact on return-to-work success within a UK welfare-to-work programme.

Design: Cohort study design: The study calculated the proportion of time spent employed after experiencing a job start and the proportion retaining work over 6 months. Employment/unemployment periods were calculated, sequence-index plots were produced and visualisations were explored by benefit type and age.

Educational outcomes among children with congenital heart disease compared to peers: a Scotland-wide record-linkage study of 715,850 schoolchildren.

Background: Nine in every thousand children born in the United Kingdom have congenital heart disease, and 250,000 adults are living with the condition. This study aims to investigate the associations between congenital heart disease and educational outcomes among school-aged children in Scotland.

Methods: Routine health and education databases were linked to produce a cohort of all singleton children born in Scotland and attending a local authority run primary, secondary, or special school in Scotland at some point between 2009 and 2013.

Evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing (MUP) on alcohol sales after 3 years of implementation in Scotland: A controlled interrupted time-series study.

Background And Aims: On 1 May 2018, Scotland introduced minimum unit pricing (MUP), a strength-based floor price below which alcohol cannot be sold, throughout all alcoholic beverages. The legislation necessitates an evaluation of its impact across a range of outcomes that will inform whether MUP will continue beyond its sixth year. We measured the impact of MUP on per-adult alcohol sales (as a proxy for consumption) after 3 years of implementation.

The effect of a minimum price per unit of alcohol in Scotland on alcohol-related ambulance call-outs: A controlled interrupted time-series analysis.

Background And Aims: On 1 May 2018, Scotland introduced a minimum unit price (MUP) of £0.50 for alcohol, with one UK unit of alcohol being 10 ml of pure ethanol. This study measured the association between MUP and changes in the volume of alcohol-related ambulance call-outs in the overall population and in call-outs subsets (night-time call-outs and subpopulations with higher incidence of alcohol-related harm).

The impact of COVID-19 and associated lockdowns on traumatic spinal cord injury incidence: a population based study.

Study Design: Natural experiment OBJECTIVES: To determine whether COVID-19 restrictions were associated with changes in the incidence of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in Scotland.

Setting: The Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit (QENSIU), the sole provider of treatment for TSCI in Scotland.

Methods: Time series analysis of all admissions for TSCI between 1st January 2015 and 31st August 2022.

Understanding covid-19 outcomes among people with intellectual disabilities in England.

Background: Evidence from the UK from the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic showed that people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) had higher rates of covid-19 mortality than people without ID. However, estimates of the magnitude of risk vary widely; different studies used different time periods; and only early stages of the pandemic have been analysed. Existing analyses of risk factors have also been limited.

Evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing for alcohol on road traffic accidents in Scotland after 20 months: An interrupted time series study.

Background And Aims: On 1 May 2018, Scotland implemented Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of £0.50 per unit of alcohol with the aim to lower alcohol consumption and related harms, and reduce health inequalities. We measured the impact of MUP on the most likely categories of road traffic accidents (RTAs) to be affected by drink-driving episodes (fatal and nighttime) up to 20 months after the policy implementation.

Pre-hospital and retrieval medicine in Scotland: a retrospective cohort study of the workload and outcomes of the emergency medical retrieval service in the first decade of national coverage.

Background: The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) has provided national pre-hospital critical care and aeromedical retrieval in Scotland since 2010. This study investigates trends in the service and patients attended over the last decade; and factors associated with clinical deterioration and pre-hospital death.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of all service taskings over ten years (2011-2020 inclusive).

Educational outcomes in childhood cancer survivors: A Scotland-wide record-linkage study of 766,217 schoolchildren.

Background: A cancer diagnosis during childhood greatly disrupts the lives of those affected, causing physical and psychological challenges. We aim to investigate educational outcomes among schoolchildren with a previous cancer diagnosis compared to their peers.

Methods: Individual records from four national education databases and three national health databases were linked to construct a cohort of all singleton schoolchildren born in Scotland attending Scottish local-authority schools between 2009-2013.

The Effect of Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol on Prescriptions for Treatment of Alcohol Dependence: A Controlled Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

Unlabelled: In 2018, Scotland introduced a minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol to reduce alcohol-related harms. We aimed to study the association between MUP introduction and the volume of prescriptions to treat alcohol dependence, and volume of new patients receiving such prescriptions. We also examined whether effects varied across different socio-economic groups.

Infant feeding method and special educational need in 191,745 Scottish schoolchildren: A national, population cohort study.

Background: While special educational needs (SEN) are increasingly recorded among schoolchildren, infant breastfeeding has been associated with reduced incidence of childhood physical and mental health problems. This study investigated relationships between infant feeding method and risk of all-cause and cause-specific SEN.

Methods And Findings: A population cohort of schoolchildren in Scotland was constructed by linking together health (maternity, birth, and health visitor records) and education (annual school pupil census) databases.

Educational and employment outcomes associated with childhood traumatic brain injury in Scotland: A population-based record-linkage cohort study.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability among young children and adolescents and the effects can be lifelong and wide-reaching. Although there have been numerous studies to evaluate the impact of childhood head injury on educational outcomes, few large-scale studies have been conducted, and previous research has been limited by issues of attrition, methodological inconsistencies, and selection bias. We aim to compare the educational and employment outcomes of Scottish schoolchildren previously hospitalised for TBI with their peers.

Evaluating the impact of alcohol minimum unit pricing on deaths and hospitalisations in Scotland: a controlled interrupted time series study.

Background: Since May 1, 2018, every alcoholic drink sold in Scotland has had minimum unit pricing (MUP) of £0·50 per unit. Previous studies have indicated that the introduction of this policy reduced alcohol sales by 3%. We aimed to assess whether this has led to reductions in alcohol-attributable deaths and hospitalisations.

Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Outcomes in Critical Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: Socioeconomic status is well established as a key determinant of inequalities in health outcomes. Existing literature examining the impact of socioeconomic status on outcomes in critical care has produced inconsistent findings. Our objective was to synthesize the available evidence on the association between socioeconomic status and outcomes in critical care.

Associations of rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid factor with mental health, sleep and cognition characteristics in the UK Biobank.

While previous rheumatoid arthritis (RA) studies have focussed on cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors, less research has focussed on psychological variables including mood and cognitive health, and sleep. Cross-sectional analyses tested for associations between RA and RF+ (positive rheumatoid factor) vs. mental health (depression, anxiety, neuroticism), sleep variables and cognition scores in UK Biobank (total n = 484,064).

Neurodegenerative disease risk among former international rugby union players.

Background: Autopsy studies of former contact sports athletes, including soccer and rugby players, frequently report chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative pathology associated with traumatic brain injury. Nevertheless, little is known about the risk of neurodegenerative disease in these populations. We hypothesised that neurodegenerative disease risk would be higher among former elite rugby union players than the general population.

Rates, causes and predictors of all-cause and avoidable mortality in 163 686 children and young people with and without intellectual disabilities: a record linkage national cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate mortality rates and associated factors, and avoidable mortality in children/young people with intellectual disabilities.

Design: Retrospective cohort; individual record-linked data between Scotland's 2011 Census and 9.5 years of National Records for Scotland death certification data.

Age within schoolyear and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in Scotland and Wales.

Background: Previous studies suggest an association between age within schoolyear and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Scotland and Wales have different school entry cut-off dates (six months apart) and policies on holding back children. We aim to investigate the association between relative age and treated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in two countries, accounting for held-back children.

Cohort profile: Scotland's record-linkage e-cohorts of people with intellectual disabilities, and autistic people (SCIDA).

Purpose: To investigate health, mortality and healthcare inequalities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities, and autistic people, and their determinants; an important step towards identifying and implementing solutions to reduce inequalities. This paper describes the cohorts, record-linkages and variables that will be used.

Participants: Scotland's Census, 2011 was used to identify Scotland's citizens with intellectual disabilities, and autistic citizens, and representative general population samples with neither.