VAT: a precise mechanism to identify drug-food companies.

The impact of drug-foods (tobacco and cane sugar, cocoa and caffeine) and the consequences of their production on the health of both public and planet are wide ranging and increasing from obesity to pressure on water supply. The world's food system is dominated by a small number of global corporations making and promoting drug-foods in myriad forms. The use of sugar-substitute non-sugar sweeteners, and their design of products, are specifically formulated to be 'moreish', to stimulate pleasure responses above and beyond the natural pleasure of eating.

Subclinical thyroid dysfunction symptoms in older adults: cross-sectional study in UK primary care.

Background: Subclinical thyroid dysfunction - abnormal serum thyrotrophin (thyroid-stimulating hormone; TSH) concentrations with normal free thyroxine (FT4) is common in older people. It remains unclear whether individuals with subclinical serum status experience an increased symptom profile.

Aim: To compare the prevalence of those symptoms typically associated with overt thyroid dysfunction in older individuals with a subclinical and euthyroid serum profile.

What is the contribution of physician associates in hospital care in England? A mixed methods, multiple case study.

Objectives: To investigate the deployment of physician associates (PAs); the factors supporting and inhibiting their employment and their contribution and impact on patients' experience and outcomes and the organisation of services.

Design: Mixed methods within a case study design, using interviews, observations, work diaries and documentary analysis.

Setting: Six acute care hospitals in three regions of England in 2016-2017.

Stability of thyroid function in older adults: the Birmingham Elderly Thyroid Study.

Background: Thyroid function tests (TFTs) are among the most requested tests internationally. However, testing practice is inconsistent, and potentially suboptimal and overly costly. The natural history of thyroid function remains poorly understood.

Clinical teaching associates in medical education: the benefits of certification.

Background: Clinical teaching associates (CTAs) are human simulators who use themselves (i.e. their bodies and psyches) as an integral part of the teaching and assessing process.

Is subclinical thyroid dysfunction in the elderly associated with depression or cognitive dysfunction?

Background: Widespread use of automated sensitive assays for thyroid hormones and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) has increased identification of mild thyroid dysfunction, especially in elderly patients. The clinical significance of this dysfunction, however, remains uncertain, and associations with cognitive impairment, depression, and anxiety are unconfirmed.

Objective: To determine the association between mild thyroid dysfunction and cognition, depression, and anxiety in elderly persons.

Prevalence of subclinical thyroid dysfunction and its relation to socioeconomic deprivation in the elderly: a community-based cross-sectional survey.

Context: Population-based screening has been advocated for subclinical thyroid dysfunction in the elderly because the disorder is perceived to be common, and health benefits may be accrued by detection and treatment.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of subclinical thyroid dysfunction and unidentified overt thyroid dysfunction in an elderly population.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A cross-sectional survey of a community sample of participants aged 65 yr and older registered with 20 family practices in the United Kingdom.

Perceptions of the learning environment in higher specialist training of doctors: implications for recruitment and retention.

Introduction: Career choice, sense of professional identity and career behaviour are influenced, subject to change and capable of development through interaction with the learning environment. In this paper workplace learning discourses are used to frame ongoing concerns associated with higher specialist training. Data from the first stage of a multimethods investigation into recruitment into and retention in specialties in the West Midlands is used to consider some possible effects of the specialist learning environment on recruitment and retention.