The global burden of disease study and Population Health Metrics.

This year marked the launch of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study, the first presentation of the study to incorporate the devastating direct, and indirect, worldwide impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic on population health. Understanding how the study differs from its predecessors is important to inform the innumerable secondary research opportunities from its use. Population Health Metrics prioritise the appraisal of innovative GBD research that moves the dial beyond reporting population health trends already available from the variety of publicly available GBD data visualisations and tools.

A history of traumatic brain injury is associated with poorer cognition and imaging evidence of altered white matter tract integrity in UK Biobank ( = 50 376).

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease. We currently have no means to identify patients most at risk of neurodegenerative disease following injury and, resultantly, no means to target risk mitigation interventions. To address this, we explored the association between history of traumatic brain injury with cognitive performance and imaging measures of white matter integrity.

Explanations for higher-than-expected all-cause mortality from April 2021: A scoping review.

Objectives: Many countries have continued to experience a higher-than-expected number of deaths following the peaks in mortality observed in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. This review aims to identify the different explanations proposed for sustained higher-than-expected mortality beyond the first pandemic year.

Study Design: Scoping review.

Emotional literacy programme in special schools for children with a learning disability in England: the ZF-SEND feasibility RCT.

Background: Children with a learning disability experience a range of inequalities and adverse life events that put them at greater risk of mental health problems. The construct of emotional literacy has been shown to be a moderating factor of how life stress affects mental health. Teaching emotional literacy in schools may therefore be an effective way to promote positive mental health.

Exploring young people's views of their local area related to the 20-minute neighbourhood policy: a national cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to examine how young people subjectively perceive their local neighbourhoods and compare these perceptions with objective data regarding access to amenities aligned with features of the 20-minute neighbourhood (20MN) policy. Objective data (n:287 aged 12-18 years) were gathered through an online adaptation of the Place Standard Tool for Young People in Scotland. Subjective data concerning access to ten amenities in line with the 20MN concept, along with crime statistics, area-level deprivation and urbanicity were spatially linked.

Clinical and non-clinical aspects of reimbursement policy for orphan drugs in selected European countries.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the reimbursement policy for orphan drugs (ODs) in selected European countries in relation to the availability and impact of clinical evidence, health technology assessment (HTA) procedures and reimbursement decision-making.

Materials And Methods: A list of authorized ODs was extracted from a web-based registry of the European Medicines Agency, including information on active substance, Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification code, and therapeutic area. A country-based questionnaire survey was conducted between September 2022 and September 2023 among selected experts from 12 European countries.

Clinical and Functional Outcomes of Community-Recruited Individuals at Clinical High-Risk for Psychosis: Results From the Youth Mental Health Risk and Resilience Study (YouR-Study).

Clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR-P) individuals are typically recruited from clinical services but the clinical and functional outcomes of community-recruited CHR-P individuals remain largely unclear. The Youth Mental Health Risk and Resilience Study (YouR-Study) obtained a community sample of CHR-P individuals through an online-screening approach and followed-up these individuals for a period of up to 3 years to determine transition rates, persistence of attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS) and functional outcomes. Baseline data were obtained from  = 144 CHR-P participants,  = 51 participants who met online cutoff criteria but not CHR-P criteria (CHR-Ns), and  = 58 healthy controls.

Rate of non-metastatic solid tumor progression following critical illness: a prospective cohort study of UK Biobank participants.

Objective: To determine whether admission to critical care is associated with subsequent disease progression in patients with non-metastatic solid tumors.

Methods: This observational cohort study of UK Biobank participants identified those diagnosed with solid tumors and survived hospitalization. Two cohorts were identified based on critical care admission and new metastatic disease as reported at UK Biobank follow-up visits, or primary or secondary care records were compared.

Cross-sectional, interventional, and causal investigation of insulin sensitivity using plasma proteomics in diverse populations.

Background: We previously reported significant correlations between a direct measure of insulin sensitivity (IS) and blood levels of proteins measured using the Proximity Extension Assay (PEA) in two European cohorts. However, protein correlations with IS within non-European populations, in response to short-term interventions that improve IS, and any causal associations with IS have not yet been established.

Methods: We measured 1,470 proteins using the PEA in the plasma of 1,015 research participants at Stanford University who underwent one or more direct measures of IS.

Routine measurement of cardiometabolic disease risk factors in primary care in England before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic: A population-based cohort study.

Background: This study estimated to what extent the number of measurements of cardiometabolic risk factors (e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol, glycated haemoglobin) were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and whether these have recovered to expected levels.

Urine-Xpert Ultra for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in people living with HIV: a prospective, multicentre, diagnostic accuracy study.

Background: Diagnostic delays for tuberculosis are common, with high resultant mortality. Urine-Xpert Ultra (Cepheid) could improve time to diagnosis of tuberculosis disease and rifampicin resistance. We previously reported on lot-to-lot variation of the Fujifilm SILVAMP TB LAM.

A scoping review of the measurement and analysis of frailty in randomised controlled trials.

Background: Frailty is of increasing interest in trials, either as a target of intervention, as an outcome or as a potential treatment modifier. However, frailty measurement is often highly variable. This scoping review assessed how frailty is quantified in randomised controlled trials (RCTs), in what context and for what purposes.

Ethical issues in vaccine trial participation by adolescents: qualitative insights on family decision making from a human papillomavirus vaccine trial in Tanzania.

Background: Research in children is essential for them to benefit from the outcomes of research but involvement must be weighed against potential harms. In many countries and circumstances, medical research legally requires parental consent until the age of 18 years, with poorly defined recommendations for assent prior to this. However, there is little research exploring how these decisions are made by families and the ethical implications of this.

A genuine need or nice to have? Understanding HTA representatives' perspectives on the use of patient preference data.

Objectives: The roles and potential value of patient preference (PP) data in health technology assessment (HTA) remain to be fully realized despite an expanding literature and various efforts to establish their utility. This article reports lessons learned through a series of collaborative workshops with HTA representatives, organized by the Health Technology Assessment International's Patient Preferences Project Subcommittee.

Methods: Five online workshops were conducted between June 2022 and June 2023, seeking to facilitate collaborative learning and reflection on ways that PP data can be integrated into HTA.

Delphi definition of general practice/family medicine specialty for a post-COVID world: in-person and remote care delivery.

Introduction: The evolving landscape of general practice (GP)/family medicine (FM) in the post-COVID-19 era, focussing on integrating telemedicine and remote consultations requires a new definition for this specialty. Hence, a broader consensus-based definition of post-COVID-19 GP/FM is warranted.

Methods: This study involved a modified electronic Delphi technique involving 27 specialists working in primary care recruited via convenient and snowball sampling.

Stakeholders' perspectives on disinvestment of low-value healthcare interventions and practices in Malaysia: an online survey.

Objectives: Healthcare disinvestment requires multi-level decision-making, and early stakeholder engagement is essential to facilitate implementation and acceptance. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of Malaysian healthcare stakeholders to disinvestment initiatives as well as identify disinvestment activities in the country.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from February to March 2023 among Malaysian healthcare stakeholders involved in resource allocation and decision-making at various levels of governance.

An online survey of perspectives towards the impact of the covid-19 pandemic amongst caregivers of adolescents with ASD.

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a negative impact on the health and mental health of adolescents and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their caregivers, have been disproportionally affected. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on Thai caregivers and adolescents with ASD.

Methods: This study used an online survey with closed and free text questions to investigate how the pandemic had impacted on social skills development and psychological variables, and perceived needs for support.

Treatment discontinuation in adults with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS): a qualitative study of international experts' perspectives with associated cost-consequence analysis.

Background: Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a rare, life-threatening thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) related to congenital mutations impeding control of the alternative pathway of complement. Following approval of the complement C5 inhibitor eculizumab by the European Medicines Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration, initial guidelines suggested lifelong therapy. Yet, growing evidence indicates that discontinuation of eculizumab, or its long-acting form ravulizumab, is possible for many patients.

A Proteomics-Based Approach for Prediction of Different Cardiovascular Diseases and Dementia.

Background: Many studies have explored whether individual plasma protein biomarkers improve cardiovascular disease risk prediction. We sought to investigate the use of a plasma proteomics-based approach in predicting different cardiovascular outcomes.

Methods: Among 51 859 UK Biobank participants (mean age, 56.

Drinking practices: The variation of drinking events across intersections of sex, age and household income.

Introduction: Investigations of drinking practices often rely on cross-country comparisons of population averages in beverage preferences, drinking volumes and frequencies. Here, we investigate within-culture patterns and variations in where, why and how people drink, answering the research question: how does engagement in drinking practices vary by sex, age and household income?

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis examining the societal distribution (by age, sex, household income) of 12 drinking practices: four off-trade practices (in-home consumption; e.g.

Inequality in green space distribution and its association with preventable deaths across urban neighbourhoods in the UK, stratified by Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Background: This study investigated inequalities in the distribution of green space (GS) and the association between inequalities in amounts of GS and preventable deaths across urban neighbourhoods with different Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) scores in the UK.

Methods: Data on preventable deaths, IMD, percentage of grassland and woodland, urban/rural, population size, and density were sourced for each of 6791 middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs) in England, 410 MSOAs in Wales, 1279 intermediate zones (IZs) in Scotland, and 890 super output areas (SOAs) in Northern Ireland (NI). While appreciating the potential for ecological fallacy we related area-based measures of deprivation to deaths.