Short- and long-term associations between widowhood and mortality in the United States: longitudinal analyses.

Background: Past research shows that spousal death results in elevated mortality risk for the surviving spouse. However, most prior studies have inadequately controlled for socioeconomic status (SES), and it is unclear whether this 'widowhood effect' persists over time.

Methods: Health and Retirement Study participants aged 50+ years and married in 1998 (n = 12 316) were followed through 2008 for widowhood status and mortality (2912 deaths).

Trends in smoking in Canada from 1950 to 2011: progression of the tobacco epidemic according to socioeconomic status and geography.

Purpose: Smoking has declined in Canada in recent years. However, it is not clear whether differences in current smoking by socioeconomic status have increased, decreased, or remained unchanged in Canada.

Methods: We examined rates of current smoking by sex, education, and province from 1950 to 2011.

Examination of how neighborhood definition influences measurements of youths' access to tobacco retailers: a methodological note on spatial misclassification.

Measurements of neighborhood exposures likely vary depending on the definition of "neighborhood" selected. This study examined the extent to which neighborhood definition influences findings regarding spatial accessibility to tobacco retailers among youth. We defined spatial accessibility to tobacco retailers (i.

Rural residence and cancer outcomes in the United States: issues and challenges.

"Neighborhoods and health" research has shown that area social factors are associated with the health outcomes that patients with cancer experience across the cancer control continuum. To date, most of this research has been focused on the attributes of urban areas that are associated with residents' poor cancer outcomes with less focused on attributes of rural areas that may be associated with the same. Perhaps because there is not yet a consensus in the United States regarding how to define "rural," there is not yet an accepted analytic convention for studying issues of how patients' cancer outcomes may vary according to "rural" as a contextual attribute.

Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study: Baseline characteristics of the household sample and comparative analyses with national data in 17 countries.

Background: The PURE study was established to investigate associations between social, behavioural, genetic, and environmental factors and cardiovascular diseases in 17 countries. In this analysis we compare the age, sex, urban/rural, mortality, and educational profiles of the PURE participants to national statistics.

Methods: PURE employed a community-based sampling and recruitment strategy where urban and rural communities were selected within countries.

Influence of municipal- and individual-level socioeconomic conditions on mortality in Japan.

Background: The health effect of area socioeconomic conditions has been evident especially in Western countries; however, limited research has focused on the effect of municipal-level socioeconomic conditions, especially in Asia.

Purpose: Multilevel research using data from the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study, a large cohort study followed from 1990 to 2006, was conducted to examine individual as well as municipal socioeconomic conditions on risk of death, adjusting for each other.

Method: We included 24,460 men and 32,649 women aged 40 to 65 years at baseline in 35 municipalities as our study population.

Adequacy of lymph node examination in colorectal surgery: contribution of the hospital versus the surgeon.

Background: Examination of at least 12 lymph nodes (LNs) in the staging of colon cancer (CC) was recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network in 2000; however, rates of an adequate examination remain low. This study compares the impact of the hospital contextual variance against that of the operating surgeon on delivery of an adequate LN examination.

Study Design: Retrospective analysis of California Cancer Registry data for all CC operations (2001-2006).

Socioeconomic disparities in sexually transmitted infections among young adults in the United States: examining the interaction between income and race/ethnicity.

Background: There is considerable evidence of racial/ethnic patterning of sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk in the United States. There is also evidence that poorer persons are at increased STI risk. Evidence regarding the interaction of race/ethnicity and income is limited, particularly nationally at the individual level.

Socioeconomic inequalities in non-communicable diseases prevalence in India: disparities between self-reported diagnoses and standardized measures.

Background: Whether non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are diseases of poverty or affluence in low-and-middle income countries has been vigorously debated. Most analyses of NCDs have used self-reported data, which is biased by differential access to healthcare services between groups of different socioeconomic status (SES). We sought to compare self-reported diagnoses versus standardised measures of NCD prevalence across SES groups in India.

School-day and overall physical activity among youth.

Background: Increasing school-day physical activity through policy and programs is commonly suggested to prevent obesity and improve overall child health. However, strategies that focus on school-day physical activity may not increase total physical activity if youth compensate by reducing physical activity outside of school.

Purpose: Objectively measured, nationally representative physical activity data were used to test the hypothesis that higher school-day physical activity is associated with higher overall daily physical activity in youth.

Effects of proximate foreclosed properties on individuals' weight gain in Massachusetts, 1987-2008.

Objectives: We assessed the extent to which living near foreclosed properties is associated with individuals' subsequent weight gain.

Methods: We linked health and address information on 2068 Framingham Offspring Cohort members (7830 assessments) across 5 waves (1987-2008) to records of all Massachusetts foreclosures during that period. We used counts of lender-owned foreclosed properties within 100 meters of participants' homes to predict body mass index (BMI; defined as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) and the odds of being overweight (BMI ≥ 25), adjusted for individual and area-level covariates.

Socio-economic patterning of tobacco use in Indian states.

Background: Studies in India have identified marked variations in overall tobacco use between socio-economic groups. We examined whether associations between socio-economic status (SES) and tobacco use varied across individual Indian states by tobacco type.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 100,855 households in 24 Indian states and Union Territories conducted in 2009-2010.

No association between low birth weight and cardiovascular risk factors in early adulthood: evidence from São Paulo, Brazil.

Background: A growing literature suggests that low birth weight increases the risk of poor health outcomes in adulthood. We tested this hypothesis among young adults living in São Paulo State, Brazil.

Methods And Findings: To identify the effects of low birth weight on young adulthood outcomes, a medical assessment of 297 individuals born between 1977 and 1989 was conducted at a primary care unit in São Paulo State, Brazil.

Event-level association between alcohol use and unprotected sex during last sex: evidence from population-based surveys in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: HIV and risky alcohol use are intertwined public health issues in sub-Saharan Africa. Research supports the association between alcohol and unprotected sex, but there is limited data using event-level analysis to examine this relationship.

Methods: Using data from Demographic Health Surveys and AIDS Information Surveys collected in 8 sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) drunkenness (reporting male partner or both male and female partner being drunk during last sexual intercourse) at last sex was tested as a predictor of unprotected last sex among the male (n = 24,512) and female (n = 28,229) participants.

Maternal iron and folic acid supplementation is associated with lower risk of low birth weight in India.

Improving maternal nutrition is an important step toward reducing low birth weight (LBW) and its sequelae. In India, an estimated 7.5 million babies are born each year with LBW, which accounts for more than one-third of the global burden.

Tobacco use, smoking quit rates, and socioeconomic patterning among men and women: a cross-sectional survey in rural Andhra Pradesh, India.

Background: Tobacco use is common in India and a majority of users are in rural areas. We examine tobacco use and smoking quit rates along gender and socioeconomic dimensions in rural Andhra Pradesh.

Design And Methods: Data come from a cross-sectional survey.

Population trends and variation in body mass index from 1971 to 2008 in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort.

Objective: We examined body mass index (BMI) across place and time to determine the pattern of BMI mean and standard deviation trajectories.

Methods: We included participants in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) Offspring Cohort over eight waves of follow-up, from 1971 to 2008. After exclusions, the final sample size was 4569 subjects with 28,625 observations.

Co-variation in dimensions of smoking behaviour: a multivariate analysis of individuals and communities in Canada.

We evaluated the effects of socioeconomic status on the prevalence of current smoking, number of cigarettes smoked per day and pack-years, and the extent to which prevalence and consumption co-vary across communities, health regions, and provinces in Canada between 2001 and 2010. Current smoking, cigarettes per day, and pack-years were considered as outcomes within individuals using a multilevel analytical framework. Markers of SES were education, income, and occupation.

Jumping the gun: the problematic discourse on socioeconomic status and cardiovascular health in India.

There has been an increased focus on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in India, especially on cardiovascular diseases and associated risk factors. In this essay, we scrutinize the prevailing narrative that cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are no longer confined to the economically advantaged groups but are an increasing burden among the poor in India. We conducted a comprehensive review of studies reporting the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and CVRF, CVD, and CVD-related mortality in India.

Hospital differences in cesarean deliveries in Massachusetts (US) 2004-2006: the case against case-mix artifact.

Objective: We examined the extent to which differences in hospital-level cesarean delivery rates in Massachusetts were attributable to hospital-level, rather than maternal, characteristics.

Methods: Birth certificate and maternal in-patient hospital discharge records for 2004-06 in Massachusetts were linked. The study population was nulliparous, term, singleton, and vertex births (NTSV) (n = 80,371) in 49 hospitals.

Changing patterns of social inequalities in anaemia among women in India: cross-sectional study using nationally representative data.

Objectives: To examine the patterns of social inequalities in anaemia over time among women of reproductive age in India.

Design: Repeated cross-sectional study using nationally representative data from the 1998/1999 and 2005/2006 National Family Health Surveys of India. Multivariate modified Poisson regression models were used to assess trends and social inequalities in anaemia.