Risk of death in England following a positive SARS-CoV-2 test: A retrospective national cohort study (March 2020 to September 2022).

Background: We aimed to estimate the relative risk of mortality following a first positive SARS-CoV-2 test during the first, second, and third waves of the COVID-19pandemic in England by age, sex, and vaccination status, taking into account pre-existing health conditions and lifestyle factors.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all individuals registered with the National Health Service (NHS) in England from 1 March 2020 to September 2022. Data for all individuals were obtained and linked including primary care records, hospital admission episodes, SARS-CoV-2 test results, vaccinations, and death registrations.

Adjusting expected deaths for mortality displacement during the COVID-19 pandemic: a model based counterfactual approach at the level of individuals.

Background: Near-real time surveillance of excess mortality has been an essential tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains critical for monitoring mortality as the pandemic wanes, to detect fluctuations in the death rate associated both with the longer-term impact of the pandemic (e.g.

Mental health in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused immediate and far-reaching disruption to society, the economy, and health-care services. We synthesised evidence on the effect of the pandemic on mental health and mental health care in high-income European countries. We included 177 longitudinal and repeated cross-sectional studies comparing prevalence or incidence of mental health problems, mental health symptom severity in people with pre-existing mental health conditions, or mental health service use before versus during the pandemic, or between different timepoints of the pandemic.

Action on the social determinants for advancing health equity in the time of COVID-19: perspectives of actors engaged in a WHO Special Initiative.

Since the 2008 publication of the reports of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health and its nine knowledge networks, substantial research has been undertaken to document and describe health inequities. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for a deeper understanding of, and broader action on, the social determinants of health. Building on this unique and critical opportunity, the World Health Organization is steering a multi-country Initiative to reduce health inequities through an action-learning process in 'Pathfinder' countries.

Ethnic differences in COVID-19 mortality in the second and third waves of the pandemic in England during the vaccine rollout: a retrospective, population-based cohort study.

Background: Ethnic minority groups in England have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and have lower vaccination rates than the White British population. We examined whether ethnic differences in COVID-19 mortality in England have continued since the vaccine rollout and to what extent differences in vaccination rates contributed to excess COVID-19 mortality after accounting for other risk factors.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, population-based cohort study of 28.

Social determinants of mental health in Italy: the role of education in the comparison of migrant and Italian residents.

Mental health is impacted by social, economic, and environmental factors, the Social Determinants of Health (SDH). Migrants experiencing precarious living and working conditions may be more at risk of poor mental health than the majority population.This paper aims to evaluate the relationship of educational attainment and other SDH with depressive symptoms among the resident population, including Italians and migrants.

Advances for future working following an online dramatherapy group for adults with intellectual disabilities and mental ill health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A service evaluation for Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures were enforced and the national lockdown underlined our reliance on virtual means as a way to communicate. This new way of interacting highlighted that people with an intellectual disability were a large proportion of a digitally excluded population.

Methods: A service evaluation, using a mixed method design in the form of four self-reported outcome measures and qualitative feedback.

Interventions to improve social circumstances of people with mental health conditions: a rapid evidence synthesis.

Background: Poor social circumstances can induce, exacerbate and prolong symptoms of mental health conditions, while having a mental health condition can also lead to worse social outcomes. Many people with mental health conditions prioritise improvement in social and functional outcomes over reduction in clinical symptoms. Interventions that improve social circumstances in this population should thus be considered a priority for research and policy.

Inequalities in excess premature mortality in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional analysis of cumulative excess mortality by area deprivation and ethnicity.

Objectives: To examine magnitude of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inequalities in premature mortality in England by deprivation and ethnicity.

Design: A statistical model to estimate increased mortality in population subgroups during the COVID-19 pandemic by comparing observed with expected mortality in each group based on trends over the previous 5 years.

Setting: Information on deaths registered in England since 2015 was used, including age, sex, area of residence and cause of death.

Methods for modelling excess mortality across England during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Excess mortality is an important measure of the scale of the coronavirus-2019 pandemic. It includes both deaths caused directly by the pandemic, and deaths caused by the unintended consequences of containment such as delays to accessing care or postponements of healthcare provision in the population. In 2020 and 2021, in England, multiple groups have produced measures of excess mortality during the pandemic.

Ethnicity, household composition and COVID-19 mortality: a national linked data study.

Objective: To estimate the proportion of ethnic inequalities explained by living in a multi-generational household.

Design: Causal mediation analysis.

Setting: Retrospective data from the 2011 Census linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (2017-2019) and death registration data (up to 30 November 2020).

Religious affiliation and COVID-19-related mortality: a retrospective cohort study of prelockdown and postlockdown risks in England and Wales.

Background: COVID-19 mortality risk is associated with demographic and behavioural factors; furthermore, religious gatherings have been linked with the spread of COVID-19. We sought to understand the variation in risk of COVID-19-related death across religious groups in England and Wales both before and after the first national lockdown.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of usual residents in England and Wales enumerated at the 2011 Census (n=47 873 294, estimated response rate 94%) for risk of death involving COVID-19 using linked death certificates.

COVID-19 related health inequality exists even in a city where disease incidence is relatively low: a telephone survey in Hong Kong.

Background: We examined whether COVID-19 could exert inequalities in socioeconomic conditions and health in Hong Kong, where there has been a relatively low COVID-19 incidence.

Methods: 752 adult respondents from a previous random sample participated in a telephone survey from 20 April to 11 May 2020. We examined demographic and socioeconomic factors, worry of COVID-19, general health, economic activity, and personal protective equipment (PPE) and related hygiene practice by deprivation status.

Ethnic-minority groups in England and Wales-factors associated with the size and timing of elevated COVID-19 mortality: a retrospective cohort study linking census and death records.

Background: We estimated population-level associations between ethnicity and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality using a newly linked census-based data set and investigated how ethnicity-specific mortality risk evolved during the pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of respondents to the 2011 Census of England and Wales in private households, linked to death registrations and adjusted for emigration (n = 47 872 412). The outcome of interest was death involving COVID-19 between 2 March 2020 and 15 May 2020.

Global action on the social determinants of health.

Action on the social determinants of health (SDH) is required to reduce inequities in health. This article summarises global progress, largely in terms of commitments and strategies. It is clear that there is widespread support for a SDH approach across the world, from global political commitment to within country action.

Health equity monitoring for healthcare quality assurance.

Population-wide health equity monitoring remains isolated from mainstream healthcare quality assurance. As a result, healthcare organizations remain ill-informed about the health equity impacts of their decisions - despite becoming increasingly well-informed about quality of care for the average patient. We present a new and improved analytical approach to integrating health equity into mainstream healthcare quality assurance, illustrate how this approach has been applied in the English National Health Service, and discuss how it could be applied in other countries.

Mother's education and offspring asthma risk in 10 European cohort studies.

Highly prevalent and typically beginning in childhood, asthma is a burdensome disease, yet the risk factors for this condition are not clarified. To enhance understanding, this study assessed the cohort-specific and pooled risk of maternal education on asthma in children aged 3-8 across 10 European countries. Data on 47,099 children were obtained from prospective birth cohort studies across 10 European countries.

Interventions to reduce inequalities in health and early child development in Europe from a qualitative perspective.

Background: Early childhood is a critical stage of development. Inequalities in experiences affect children's wellbeing and determine their development. Early years interventions focusing on children and their parents may help address inequalities during this critical period.

Species-rich and polyploid-poor: Insights into the evolutionary role of whole-genome duplication from the Cape flora biodiversity hotspot.

Premise Of The Study: Whole-genome duplication (WGD) in angiosperms has been hypothesized to be advantageous in unstable environments and/or to increase diversification rates, leading to radiations. Under the first hypothesis, floras in stable environments are predicted to have lower proportions of polyploids than highly, recently disturbed floras, whereas species-rich floras would be expected to have higher than expected proportions of polyploids under the second. The South African Cape flora is used to discriminate between these two hypotheses because it features a hyperdiverse flora predominantly generated by a limited number of radiations (Cape clades), against a backdrop of climatic and geological stability.

Impact of Low Maternal Education on Early Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Europe.

Background: Comparable evidence on adiposity inequalities in early life is lacking across a range of European countries. This study investigates whether low maternal education is associated with overweight and obesity risk in children from distinct European settings during early childhood.

Methods: Prospective data of 45 413 children from 11 European cohorts were used.

Moving forward monitoring of the social determinants of health in a country: lessons from England 5 years after the Marmot Review.

Background: England has a long history of government-commissioned reviews of national inequalities. The latest review, the Marmot Review, was commissioned by a government headed by the same party (the Labour Party) that had introduced the National Health Service in 1948, but the review was implemented by a coalition of different parties (Conservatives and Liberal Democrats). At the same time, a government reform of health services took place, and the monitoring of the existing inequality strategy was changed.