Educational inequalities and premature mortality: the Cuba Prospective Study.

Background: Although socioeconomic status is a major determinant of premature mortality in many populations, the impact of social inequalities on premature mortality in Cuba, a country with universal education and health care, remains unclear. We aimed to assess the association between educational level and premature adult mortality in Cuba.

Methods: The Cuba Prospective Study (a cohort study) enrolled 146 556 adults aged 30 years and older from the general population in five provinces from Jan 1, 1996, to Nov 24, 2002.

Body-mass index, blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular mortality in Cuba: prospective study of 146,556 participants.

Background: Cardiovascular disease accounts for about one-third of all premature deaths (ie, age < 70) in Cuba. Yet, the relevance of major risk factors, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diabetes, and body-mass index (BMI), to cardiovascular mortality in this population remains unclear.

Methods: In 1996-2002, 146,556 adults were recruited from the general population in five areas of Cuba.

Alcohol consumption and cause-specific mortality in Cuba: prospective study of 120 623 adults.

Background: The associations of cause-specific mortality with alcohol consumption have been studied mainly in higher-income countries. We relate alcohol consumption to mortality in Cuba.

Methods: In 1996-2002, 146 556 adults were recruited into a prospective study from the general population in five areas of Cuba.

Association of childhood smoking and adult mortality: prospective study of 120 000 Cuban adults.

Background: The average age at which people start smoking has been decreasing in many countries, but insufficient evidence exists on the adult hazards of having started smoking in childhood and, especially, in early childhood. We aimed to investigate the association between smoking habits (focusing on the age when smokers started) and cause-specific premature mortality in a cohort of adults in Cuba.

Methods: For this prospective study, adults were recruited from five provinces in Cuba.

Burden of hypertension and associated risks for cardiovascular mortality in Cuba: a prospective cohort study.

Background: In Cuba, hypertension control in primary care has been prioritised as a cost-effective means of addressing premature death from cardiovascular disease. However, there is little evidence from large-scale studies on the prevalence and management of hypertension in Cuba, and no direct evidence of the expected benefit of such efforts on cardiovascular mortality.

Methods: In a prospective cohort study, adults in the general population identified via local family medical practices were interviewed between Jan 1, 1996, and Nov 24, 2002, in five areas of Cuba, and a subset of participants were resurveyed between July 14, 2006, and Oct 19, 2008, in one area.

Alcohol consumption and mortality: the Khon Kaen Cohort Study, Thailand.

Background: The prevalence of alcohol consumption among Thais is high, around 30%. We quantified the relationship between alcohol drinking and mortality in a rural population in the most populous region of Thailand.

Methods: The data were from the Khon Kaen Cohort Study.

Association between smoking and mortality: Khon Kaen cohort study, Thailand.

Background: Despite anti-smoking campaigns, smoking prevalence among Thai males aged 30 or older is high, at around 50%. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between smoking and mortality in a rural Thai community.

Materials And Methods: Subjects enrolled into the Khon Kaen cohort study between 1990 and 2001 were followed up for their vital status until 16th March 2012.

A proposal for reducing the effect of one of many causes of publication bias.

In order to avoid publication bias, all trials should be registered at initiation and their results made easily accessible. However, some trial results are more difficult to publish than others. This report describes one such trial and highlights the need for a way of making results of trials widely available even if not presented in the traditional format.

Analysis of characteristics of randomized clinical trials in leukemia that are associated with how results are reported.

Background: Since many trials are small, systematic reviews are essential for obtaining statistically reliable results. However, some trials are better-reported than others. Non-publication or delayed publication could lead to bias in a review.

A descriptive study of randomized trials of treatments for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

This report presents a historical and descriptive account of randomized trials in childhood leukaemia since the earliest such studies in the 1960s. It focuses on trials that began before 1988, making use of the register of trials developed for a systematic review of treatments for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children. The number of randomized trials starting each year increased from one or two in the 1960s to an annual average of five or six in the 1980s.