The use of categorical regression in the assessment of the risks of nutrient deficiency and excess.

Exposure-response assessment methods have shifted towards more quantitative approaches, with health risk assessors exploring more statistically driven techniques. These assessments, however, usually rely on one critical health effect from a single key study. Categorical regression addresses this limitation by incorporating data from all relevant studies – including human, animal, and mechanistic studies – thereby including a broad spectrum of health endpoints and exposure levels for exposure-response analysis in an objective manner.

Concordance between sites of tumor development in humans and in experimental animals for 111 agents that are carcinogenic to humans.

Since the inception of the in the early 1970s, this has developed 119 Volumes on more than 1000 agents for which there exists some evidence of cancer risk to humans. Of these, 120 agents were found to meet the criteria for classification as (Group 1). Volume 100 of the , compiled in 2008-2009 and published in 2012, provided a review and update of the 107 Group 1 agents identified as of 2009.

Key characteristics of 86 agents known to cause cancer in humans.

Since the inception of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in the early 1970s, the has evaluated more than 1000 agents with respect to carcinogenic hazard; of these, up to and including Volume 119 of the , 120 agents met the criteria for classification as (Group 1). Volume 100 of the provided a review and update of Group 1 carcinogens. These agents were divided into six broad categories: (I) pharmaceuticals; (II) biological agents; (III) arsenic, metals, fibers, and dusts; (IV) radiation; (V) personal habits and indoor combustions; and (VI) chemical agents and related occupations.

Devolution and the regional health divide: a longitudinal ecological study of 14 countries in Europe.

Background: Greater regional devolution can reduce economic inequalities between regions; however, the impact on health inequalities is not clear. We investigated the association between changes over time in the level of devolution in European countries and regional economic and health inequalities.

Methods: We used the proportion of government expenditure controlled by subnational levels of government as our measure of devolution in 14 European countries between 1995 and 2011.

The application of PBPK models in estimating human brain tissue manganese concentrations.

Mn is an essential element that causes neurotoxicity in humans when inhaled at high concentrations. This metal has well-recognized route-dependent differences in absorption, with greater proportionate uptake for inhalation versus dietary exposure. Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for Mn have included these route specific differences in uptake and their effect on delivery of Mn to target tissues via systemic circulation.

Modeling U-shaped dose-response curves for manganese using categorical regression.

Introduction: Manganese is an essential nutrient which can cause adverse effects if ingested to excess or in insufficient amounts, leading to a U-shaped exposure-response relationship. Methods have recently been developed to describe such relationships by simultaneously modeling the exposure-response curves for excess and deficiency. These methods incorporate information from studies with diverse adverse health outcomes within the same analysis by assigning severity scores to achieve a common response metric for exposure-response modeling.

Severity scoring of manganese health effects for categorical regression.

Characterizing the U-shaped exposure response relationship for manganese (Mn) is necessary for estimating the risk of adverse health from Mn toxicity due to excess or deficiency. Categorical regression has emerged as a powerful tool for exposure-response analysis because of its ability to synthesize relevant information across multiple studies and species into a single integrated analysis of all relevant data. This paper documents the development of a database on Mn toxicity designed to support the application of categorical regression techniques.

Modeling U-Shaped Exposure-Response Relationships for Agents that Demonstrate Toxicity Due to Both Excess and Deficiency.

Essential elements such as copper and manganese may demonstrate U-shaped exposure-response relationships due to toxic responses occurring as a result of both excess and deficiency. Previous work on a copper toxicity database employed CatReg, a software program for categorical regression developed by the U.S.

Sialochemical Analysis: Windfall to the Oral Physician (A Hospital-based Clinical Cross-Sectional Study in Depressive Disorders).

Background: Depressive disorders, worldwide, may rank second by the year 2020. In India; about 10 million people suffer from depressive disorders, the prevalence rate being recorded as 31.2 for every 1000 individuals.

The lived experiences of young people (13-16 years) with Type 1 diabetes mellitus and their parents--a qualitative phenomenological study.

Aims: Within a programme of research aiming to develop a technology-based educational intervention for young people with Type 1 diabetes, this study aimed to explore adolescents' and parents' experiences of living with Type 1 diabetes from an interpretive phenomenological perspective.

Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 adolescents with Type 1 diabetes from a diabetes clinic in North West England, and 27 of their parents.

Results: Living with Type 1 diabetes in adolescence was characterized by three distinct stages: (1) adapting to the diagnosis; (2) learning to live with Type 1 diabetes; (3) becoming independent.

'McDonalds and KFC, it's never going to happen': the challenges of working with food outlets to tackle the obesogenic environment.

Background: Food outlets may make an important contribution to an obesogenic environment. This study investigated barriers and facilitators to public health work with food outlets in disadvantaged areas.

Methods: In-depth qualitative interviews with 36 directors, managers and public health service delivery staff in a coterminous primary care trust and local authority in northwest England.

The experience of community engagement for individuals: a rapid review of evidence.

Community engagement is central to strategies to promote health and well-being and reduce health inequalities in many countries, particularly interventions which focus on improving health in disadvantaged populations. Despite the widespread use of community engagement approaches, however, there have been relatively few attempts to review the evidence on the impact that participation has on the lives of individuals involved. Drawing on a wider review of evidence carried out on behalf of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), this article reports on a rapid review of evidence of the effectiveness of initiatives which seek to engage communities in action to address the wider social determinants of health, to explore individuals' subjective experiences of engagement.

Students' attitudes to the communications employed during an outbreak of meningococcal disease in a UK school: a qualitative study.

Background: Following an outbreak of meningococcal disease in a school in the North West of England, the communication methods employed by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) were evaluated in order to explore ways of improving communication with the public.

Methods: Qualitative questionnaires were distributed to Year 12 (sixth form) students. The Framework approach was used to analyse the data, which were coded, and emergent themes identified.

Planning ahead in public health? A qualitative study of the time horizons used in public health decision-making.

Background: In order to better understand factors that influence decisions for public health, we undertook a qualitative study to explore issues relating to the time horizons used in decision-making.

Methods: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. 33 individuals involved in the decision making process around coronary heart disease were purposively sampled from the UK National Health Service (national, regional and local levels), academia and voluntary organizations.

Policy-makers' attitudes to decision support models for coronary heart disease: a qualitative study.

Objectives: To explore attitudes to the use of models for coronary heart disease to support decision-making for policy and service planning.

Methods: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 33 policy- and decision-makers purposively sampled from the UK National Health Service (NHS) (national, regional and local levels), academia and voluntary organizations. Interviews were transcribed, coded and emergent themes identified using framework analysis aided by NVivo software.

Lay food and health worker involvement in community nutrition and dietetics in England: roles, responsibilities and relationship with professionals.

Background: Community-based food initiatives have developed in recent years with the aim of engaging previously 'hard to reach' groups. Lay workers engaged in community nutrition activities are promoted as a cost-effective mechanism for reaching underserved groups. The main objective of the study was to explore perceptions and definitions of lay food and health worker (LFHW) helping roles within the context of National Health Service (NHS) community nutrition and dietetic services in order to define the conceptual and practical elements of this new role and examine the interface with professional roles.

Lay food and health worker involvement in community nutrition and dietetics in England: definitions from the field.

Background: Community-based food initiatives have developed in recent years with the aim of engaging previously 'hard to reach' groups. Lay workers engaged in community nutrition activities are promoted as a cost-effective mechanism for reaching underserved groups. The primary objective of the study was to explore perceptions and definitions of lay helping within the context of National Health Service (NHS) community nutrition and dietetic services to identify existing terms and definitions and propose an overarching term.

Starting young? Children's experiences of trying smoking during pre-adolescence.

Although the risks smoking poses to health are now well known, many young people continue to take up the habit. While numerous cross-sectional studies of adolescents have identified correlates of smoking initiation, much less prospective, longitudinal research has been conducted with young children to gather their accounts of early experiences of smoking, and this study fills that significant gap. Quantitative and qualitative data, collected using questionnaires, interviews and focus groups, are presented from the pre-adolescent phase of the Liverpool Longitudinal Study of Smoking.

The social and economic consequences of childhood-onset Type 1 diabetes mellitus across the lifecourse: a systematic review.

Background: The incidence of childhood-onset (Type 1) diabetes is high, and increasing, particularly among the very young. The aim of this review was to determine the longer-term social consequences of having diabetes as a child and to determine whether adverse consequences are more severe for disadvantaged children.

Methods: Results from published and unpublished studies were synthesized narratively to examine the impact of diabetes on education, employment and income in adulthood.

Lies, damned lies and statistics? Reliability and personal accounts of smoking among young people.

Smoking remains a major problem among young people in Europe. However, within the research community examining the issue, debate continues about the best way of assessing the extent of that problem. Questions have been raised about the extent to which existing techniques for generating statistical representations of patterns of youth smoking can address a range of problems connected with identifying, accounting for and correcting unreliable self-report smoking data.