Coming to terms with climate change: a glossary for climate change impacts on mental health and well-being.

Climate change is a major threat to global health. Its effects on physical health are increasingly recognised, but mental health impacts have received less attention. The mental health effects of climate change can be direct (resulting from personal exposure to acute and chronic climatic changes), indirect (via the impact on various socioeconomic, political and environmental determinants of mental health) and overarching (via knowledge, education and awareness of climate change).

COVID-19 risk by work-related factors: pooled analysis of individual linked data from 14 cohorts.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection rates vary by occupation, but the association with work-related characteristics (such as home working, keyworker or furlough) are not fully understood and may depend on ascertainment approach. We assessed infection risks across work-related characteristics and compared findings using different ascertainment approaches.

Methods: Participants of 14 UK-based longitudinal cohort studies completed surveys before and during the COVID-19 pandemic about their health, work and behaviour.

Guidance for engagement in health guideline development: A scoping review.

Background: Health guideline developers engage with interested people and groups to ensure that guidelines and their recommendations are relevant and useful to those who will be affected by them. These 'interest-holders' include patients, payers/purchasers of health services, payers of health research, peer review editors, product makers, programme managers, policymakers, providers, principal investigators, and the public. The Guidelines International Network (GIN) and McMaster University Guideline Development Checklist describes 146 steps of the guideline process organized into 18 topics.

Deriving and validating a risk prediction model for long COVID: a population-based, retrospective cohort study in Scotland.

Objectives: Using electronic health records, we derived and internally validated a prediction model to estimate risk factors for long COVID and predict individual risk of developing long COVID.

Design: Population-based, retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Scotland.

Applying Bradford Hill to assessing causality in systematic reviews: A transparent approach using process tracing.

Background: Bradford Hill (BH) viewpoints are widely used to assess causality in systematic reviews, but their application has often lacked reproducibility. We describe an approach for assessing causality within systematic reviews ('causal' reviews), illustrating its application to the topic of income inequality and health. Our approach draws on principles of process tracing, a method used for case study research, to harness BH viewpoints to judge evidence for causal claims.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on deprivation-level differences in cardiovascular hospitalisations: a comparison of England and Denmark using the OpenSAFELY platform and National Registry Data.

Objectives: To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on deprivation-related inequalities in hospitalisations for cardiovascular disease (CVD) conditions in Denmark and England between March 2018 and December 2021.

Design: Time-series studies in England and Denmark.

Setting: With the approval of National Health Service England, we used English primary care electronic health records, linked to secondary care and death registry data through the OpenSAFELY platform and nationwide Danish health registry data.

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.

Implications of child poverty reduction targets for public health and health inequalities in England: a modelling study between 2024 and 2033.

Background: We investigated the potential impacts of child poverty (CP) reduction scenarios on population health and health inequalities in England between 2024 and 2033.

Methods: We combined aggregate local authority-level data with published and newly created estimates on the association between CP and the rate per 100 000 of infant mortality, children (aged <16) looked after, child (aged <16) hospitalisations for nutritional anaemia and child (aged <16) all-cause emergency hospital admissions. We modelled relative, absolute (per 100 000) and total (per total population) annual changes for these outcomes under three CP reduction scenarios between 2024 and 2033- (15% reduction), (25% reduction) and (35% reduction)-compared with a baseline CP scenario (15% increase).

Estimating the causal effects of income on health: how researchers' definitions of "income" matter.

Background: There is a well-established cross-sectional association between income and health, but estimates of the causal effects of income vary substantially. Different definitions of income may lead to substantially different empirical results, yet research is often framed as investigating "the effect of income" as if it were a single, easily definable construct.

Methods/results: The aim of this paper is to introduce a taxonomy for definitional and conceptual issues in studying individual- or household-level income for health research.

Estimation and probabilistic projection of age- and sex-specific mortality rates across Brazilian municipalities between 2010 and 2030.

Background: Mortality rate estimation in small areas can be difficult due the low number of events/exposure (i.e. stochastic error).

Is Austerity Responsible for the Stalled Mortality Trends Across Many High-Income Countries? A Systematic Review.

This article systematically reviews evidence evaluating whether macroeconomic austerity policies impact mortality, reviewing high-income country data compiled through systematic searches of nine databases and gray literature using pre-specified methods (PROSPERO registration: CRD42020226609). Eligible studies were quantitatively assessed to determine austerity's impact on mortality. Two reviewers independently assessed eligibility and risk of bias using ROBINS-I.

Evaluating the influence of taxation and social security policies on psychological distress: A microsimulation study of the UK during the COVID-19 economic crisis.

Economic determinants are important for population health, but actionable evidence of how policies can utilise these pathways remains scarce. This study employs a microsimulation framework to evaluate the effects of taxation and social security policies on population mental health. The UK economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic provides an informative context involving an economic shock accompanied by one of the strongest discretionary fiscal responses amongst OECD countries.

Participant characteristics and exclusion from phase 3/4 industry funded trials of chronic medical conditions: meta-analysis of individual participant level data.

Objectives: To assess whether age, sex, comorbidity count, and race and ethnic group are associated with the likelihood of trial participants not being enrolled in a trial for any reason (ie, screen failure).

Design: Bayesian meta-analysis of individual participant level data.

Setting: Industry funded phase 3/4 trials of chronic medical conditions.

Wildfire, deforestation and health in tropical rainforest areas: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Wildfires and deforestation potentially have direct effects on multiple health outcomes as well as indirect consequences for climate change. Tropical rainforest areas are characterised by high rainfall, humidity and temperature, and they are predominantly found in low-income and middle-income countries. This study aims to synthesise the methods, data and health outcomes reported in scientific papers on wildfires and deforestation in these locations.

The prevalence of common mental disorders across 18 ethnic groups in Britain during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted mental health in the general population in Britain. Ethnic minority people suffered disproportionately, in terms of health and economic outcomes, which may contribute to poorer mental health. We compare the prevalence of depression and anxiety across 18 ethnic groups in Britain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pharmacological treatments for alcohol dependence: Evidence on uptake, inequalities and comparative effectiveness from a UK population-based cohort.

Introduction: We assessed the prevalence of prescribing of certain medications for alcohol dependence and the extent of any inequalities in receiving prescriptions for individuals with such a diagnosis. Further, we compared the effectiveness of two of the most prescribed medications (acamprosate and disulfiram) for alcohol dependence and assessed whether there is inequality in prescribing either of them.

Methods: We used a nationwide dataset on prescriptions and hospitalisations in Scotland, UK (N = 19,748).

The Relationship Between Time Spent on Social Media and Adolescent Cigarette, E-cigarette, and Dual Use: A Longitudinal Analysis of the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

Introduction: To estimate the effect of social media use in 14 year olds on risk of and inequalities in cigarette, e-cigarette, and dual use at 17 years, using the UK-representative Millennium Cohort Study (born 2000-2002).

Aims And Methods: The relationship of time spent on social media (using questionnaires [n = 8987] and time-use-diaries [n = 2520]) with cigarette, e-cigarette, and dual use was estimated using adjusted odds ratios (AORs) or relative risk ratios (ARRRs). Effect modification was examined (using parental education as an indicator for socioeconomic circumstances) by comparing adjusted risk differences within low and high-parental education groups.

Disproportionate infection, hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 in ethnic minority groups and Indigenous Peoples: an application of the Priority Public Health Conditions analytical framework.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in disproportionate consequences for ethnic minority groups and Indigenous Peoples. We present an application of the Priority Public Health Conditions (PPHC) framework from the World Health Organisation (WHO), to explicitly address COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses of pandemic potential. This application is supported by evidence that ethnic minority groups were more likely to be infected, implying differential exposure (PPHC level two), be more vulnerable to severe disease once infected (PPHC level three) and have poorer health outcomes following infection (PPHC level four).

Long COVID and financial outcomes: evidence from four longitudinal population surveys.

Background: Long-term sequelae of COVID-19 (long COVID) include muscle weakness, fatigue, breathing difficulties and sleep disturbance over weeks or months. Using UK longitudinal data, we assessed the relationship between long COVID and financial disruption.

Methods: We estimated associations between long COVID (derived using self-reported length of COVID-19 symptoms) and measures of financial disruption (subjective financial well-being, new benefit claims, changes in household income) by analysing data from four longitudinal population studies, gathered during the first year of the pandemic.

Childhood attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: socioeconomic inequalities in symptoms, impact, diagnosis and medication.

Background: Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are at greater risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related symptoms, being diagnosed with ADHD, and being prescribed ADHD medications. We aimed to examine how inequalities manifest across the 'patient journey', from perceptions of impacts of ADHD symptoms on daily life, to the propensity to seek and receive a diagnosis and treatment.

Methods: We investigated four 'stages': (1) symptoms, (2) caregiver perception of impact, (3) diagnosis and (4) medication, in two data sets: UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS, analytic n ~ 9,000), with relevant (parent-reported) information on all four stages (until 14 years); and a population-wide 'administrative cohort', which includes symptoms (child health checks) and prescriptions (dispensing records), born in Scotland, 2010-2012 (analytic n ~ 100,000), until ~6 years.

Linking migration and hospital data in England: linkage process and evaluation of bias.

Introduction: Difficulties ascertaining migrant status in national data sources such as hospital records have limited large-scale evaluation of migrant healthcare needs in many countries, including England. Linkage of immigration data for migrants and refugees, with National Health Service (NHS) hospital care data enables research into the relationship between migration and health for a large cohort of international migrants.

Objectives: We aimed to describe the linkage process and compare linkage rates between migrant sub-groups to evaluate for potential bias for data on non-EU migrants and resettled refugees linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) in England.