Effects of Racial Prejudice on the Health of Communities: A Multilevel Survival Analysis

Objectives. We examined whether and how racial prejudice at both the individual and community levels contributes to mortality risk among majority as well as minority group members. Methods. We used data on racial attitudes from the General Social Survey (1993–2002) prospectively linked to mortality data from the National Death Index through 2008. Results. Whites and Blacks living in communities with higher levels of racial prejudice were at an elevated risk of mortality, independent of individual and community sociodemographic characteristics and individually held racist beliefs (odds ratio = 1.24; 95% confidence interval = 1.04, 1.49). Living in a highly prejudiced community had similar harmful effects among both Blacks and Whites. Furthermore, the interaction observed between individual- and community-level racial prejudice indicated that respondents with higher levels of racial prejudice had lower survival rates if they lived in communities with low degrees of racial prejudice. Community-level social capital explained the relationship between community racial prejudice and mortality. Conclusions. Community-level racial prejudice may disrupt social capital, and reduced social capital is associated with increased mortality risk among both Whites and Blacks. Our results contribute to an emerging body of literature documenting the negative consequences of prejudice for population health

Long working hours, socioeconomic status, and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis of published and unpublished data from 222 120 individuals

Background Working long hours might have adverse health effects, but whether this is true for all socioeconomic status groups is unclear. In this meta-analysis stratified by socioeconomic status, we investigated the role of long working hours as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Methods We identified four published studies through a systematic literature search of PubMed and Embase up to April 30, 2014. Study inclusion criteria were English-language publication; prospective design (cohort study); investigation of the effect of working hours or overtime work; incident diabetes as an outcome; and relative risks, odds ratios, or hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs, or sufficient information to calculate these estimates. Additionally, we used unpublished individual-level data from 19 cohort studies from the Individual-Participant-Data Meta-analysis in Working-Populations Consortium and international open-access data archives. Effect estimates from published and unpublished data from 222 120 men and women from the USA, Europe, Japan, and Australia were pooled with random-effects meta-analysis. Findings During 1·7 million person-years at risk, 4963 individuals developed diabetes (incidence 29 per 10 000 personyears). The minimally adjusted summary risk ratio for long (≥55 h per week) compared with standard working hours (35–40 h) was 1·07 (95% CI 0·89–1·27, difference in incidence three cases per 10 000 person-years) with signifi cant heterogeneity in study-specific estimates (I²=53%, p=0·0016). In an analysis stratified by socioeconomic status, the association between long working hours and diabetes was evident in the low socioeconomic status group (risk ratio 1·29, 95% CI 1·06–1·57, diff erence in incidence 13 per 10 000 person-years, I²=0%, p=0·4662), but was null in the high socioeconomic status group (1·00, 95% CI 0·80–1·25, incidence diff erence zero per 10 000 person-years, I²=15%, p=0·2464). The association in the low socioeconomic status group was robust to adjustment for age, sex, obesity, and physical activity, and remained after exclusion of shift workers. Interpretation In this meta-analysis, the link between longer working hours and type 2 diabetes was apparent only in individuals in the low socioeconomic status groups

Characterisation and Mechanical Testing of Hydrothermally Treated HA/ZrO2 Composites

Hydrothermal treatment is traditionally employed to improve the sinterability of powder compacts by reducing porosity and increasing apparent density. The effect of hydrothermal treatment on green powder compacts has been assessed in order to better understand how treatment may affect the sinter ability of the bodies. Laboratory synthesized nano sized hydroxyapatite (HA) and a commercial zirconia (ZrO2) powder have been ball milled together to create composite mixtures containing 0-5 wt% ZrO2 loadings. Disc shaped bodies have been formed using uniaxial and subsequent isostatic pressure. The resultant coherent samples were subjected to hydrothermal treatment at either 120 or 250°C for 10 h in order to assess the effect of this processing technique on the physical, mechanical and microstructural properties of the green composites. ZrO2 loadings up to 3 wt% increased apparent density from 90 to 92%, whereas increased loading to 5 wt% increased flexural strength, from 6 to 9 MPa. Increasing the hydrothermal treatment temperature increased open porosity, from ~44 to ~48% and reduced biaxial flexural strengths of the treated bodies compared to those of their room temperature isostatically pressed counterparts (~10 to ~6 MPa). © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Life-course social participation and physical activity in midlife: longitudinal associations in the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)

A hypothesized benefit of social participation is that it encourages people to be more physically active. However, limited evidence exists on the association between social participation over the life-course and physical activity in midlife. We sought to apply a life-course framework to examine the association of social participation and device measured physical activity in midlife in the UK. We used the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study (BCS70), which includes all people born in Britain during a single week in 1970. Social participation was assessed at ages 16, 30, 34 and 42. Physical activity was measured by accelerometery at age 46, as mean daily step count and time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The associations of social participation and physical activity were tested using two different life-course models: the sensitive period model and the accumulation model. Individuals with medium and high participation compared to no social participation over their life-course had higher mean daily step count and MVPA in midlife, supporting the accumulation model. In the sensitive period model, only those that actively participated at age 42 had higher mean daily steps and MVPA compared to those who did not participate. Our study provides empirical evidence on the importance of sustaining social participation at all ages over the life-course rather than at a particular timepoint of someone’s life. If our findings reflect causal effects, interventions to promote social participation throughout the life-course could be an avenue to promote physical activity in middle life

School Programs and Characteristics and Their Influence on Student BMI: Findings from Healthy Passages

Background: Little is known about the contribution of school contextual factors to individual student body mass index (BMI). We set out to determine if school characteristics/resources: (1) are associated with student BMI; (2) explain racial/ethnic disparities in student BMI; and (3) explain school-level differences in student BMI. Methods: Using gender-stratified multi-level modeling strategies we examined the association of school characteristics/resources and individual BMI in 4,387 5th graders in the Healthy Passages Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Additionally, we examined the association of race/ethnicity and individual BMI as well as the between-school variance in BMI before and after adding individual and school characteristics to test for attenuation. Results: The school-level median household income, but not physical activity or nutrition resources, was inversely associated with female BMI (β = −0.12, CI: −0.21,−0.02). Neither school demographics nor physical activity/nutrition resources were predictive of individual BMI in males. In Black females, school characteristics attenuated the association of race/ethnicity and BMI. Individual student characteristics—not school characteristics/resources-reduced the between-school variation in BMI in males by nearly one-third and eliminated it in females. Conclusions: In this cohort of 5th graders, school SES was inversely associated with female BMI while school characteristics and resources largely explained Black/White disparities in female weight status. Between-school differences in average student weight status were largely explained by the composition of the student body not by school characteristics or programming

On continuous variable quantum algorithms for oracle identification problems

We establish a framework for oracle identification problems in the continuous variable setting, where the stated problem necessarily is the same as in the discrete variable case, and continuous variables are manifested through a continuous representation in an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space. We apply this formalism to the Deutsch-Jozsa problem and show that, due to an uncertainty relation between the continuous representation and its Fourier-transform dual representation, the corresponding Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm is probabilistic hence forbids an exponential speed-up, contrary to a previous claim in the literature.Comment: RevTeX4, 15 pages with 10 figure

Associations between Area-Level Unemployment, Body Mass Index, and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in an Urban Area

Introduction: Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) has been linked to "neighbourhood" socioeconomic status (nSES), often operationalized as a composite index of aggregate income, occupation and education within predefined administrative boundaries. The role of specific, non-composite socioeconomic markers has not been clearly explained. It is also unclear whether the relationship between nSES and CVD varies according to sex. We sought to determine whether area-level unemployment (ALU) was associated with CVD risk, and whether this association differed by sex. Methods: 342 individuals from the Montreal Neighbourhood Survey of Lifestyle and Health provided self-reported behavioural and socioeconomic information. A nurse collected biochemical and anthropometric data. ALU, a weighted average of the proportion of persons 15-years and older available for but without work, was measured using a Geographic Information System for a 250 m buffer centred on individual residence. Generalized Estimating Equations were used to estimate the associations between ALU, body mass index (BMI) and a cumulative score for total cardiometabolic risk (TCR). Results: After confounder adjustments, the mean 4th minus 1st quartile difference in BMI was 3.19 kg/m2 (95% CI: 2.39, 3.99), while the prevalence ratio for the 4th relative to 1st quartile for TCR was 2.20 (95 % CI: 1.53, 3.17). Sex interacted with ALU; women relative to men had greater mean 3.97 kg/m2 (95% CI: 2.08, 5.85) BMI and greater mean TCR 1.51 (95% CI: 0.78, 2.90), contrasted at mean ALU. Conclusions: Area-level unemployment is associated with greater CVD risk, and this association is stronger for women

Long working hours, socioeconomic status, and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes : a meta-analysis of published and unpublished data from 222 120 individuals

Background Working long hours might have adverse health effects, but whether this is true for all socioeconomic status groups is unclear. In this meta-analysis stratified by socioeconomic status, we investigated the role of long working hours as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Methods We identified four published studies through a systematic literature search of PubMed and Embase up to April 30, 2014. Study inclusion criteria were English-language publication; prospective design (cohort study); investigation of the effect of working hours or overtime work; incident diabetes as an outcome; and relative risks, odds ratios, or hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs, or sufficient information to calculate these estimates. Additionally, we used unpublished individual-level data from 19 cohort studies from the Individual-Participant-Data Meta-analysis in Working-Populations Consortium and international open-access data archives. Effect estimates from published and unpublished data from 222 120 men and women from the USA, Europe, Japan, and Australia were pooled with random-effects meta-analysis. Findings During 1.7 million person-years at risk, 4963 individuals developed diabetes (incidence 29 per 10 000 person-years). The minimally adjusted summary risk ratio for long (>= 55 h per week) compared with standard working hours (35-40 h) was 1.07 (95% CI 0.89-1.27, difference in incidence three cases per 10 000 person-years) with significant heterogeneity in study-specific estimates (I-2 = 53%, p = 0.0016). In an analysis stratified by socioeconomic status, the association between long working hours and diabetes was evident in the low socioeconomic status group (risk ratio 1.29, 95% CI 1.06-1.57, difference in incidence 13 per 10 000 person-years, I-2 = 0%, p = 0.4662), but was null in the high socioeconomic status group (1. 00, 95% CI 0.80-1.25, incidence diff erence zero per 10 000 person-years, I-2 = 15%, p = 0.2464). The association in the low socioeconomic status group was robust to adjustment for age, sex, obesity, and physical activity, and remained after exclusion of shift workers. Interpretation In this meta-analysis, the link between longer working hours and type 2 diabetes was apparent only in individuals in the low socioeconomic status groups. Copyright (C) Kivimaki et al. Open Access article distributed under the terms of CC BY.Peer reviewe

Older people and social quality - what difference does income make?

This article explores the relationship between Social Quality and income in later life and represents the first application of the concept to a UK data set with an explicit focus on older people. In order to undertake this analysis Confirmatory Factor Analysis models are employed in conjunction with the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). This enables various dimensions or domains of Social Quality to be measured and then subjected to further scrutiny via regression analysis. Initially the paper explores links between low income, poverty and older people, prior to outlining the concept of Social Quality and its four conditional factors. Following the methodology, the impact of income on Social Quality domains is explored. We identify that differences in income in older age provide a partial explanation of differences in individual Social Quality. While there is a statistically significant relationship between income and certain aspects of Social Quality such as economic security, altruism, social networks, and culture/participation, other factors such as health, identity and time did not have a statistically significant relationship with income. This indicates that improvements in the income of older people are likely to positively impact on aspects of their Social Quality. Finally, some policy implications of the finding are outlined with particular reference to the potential role for pensions in enhancing aspects of Social Quality in retirement

Long working hours as a risk factor for atrial fibrillation: A multi-cohort study

Aims Studies suggest that people who work long hours are at increased risk of stroke, but the association of long working hours with atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia and a risk factor for stroke, is unknown. We examined the risk of atrial fibrillation in individuals working long hours (>55 per week) and those working standard 35-40 hours per week. Methods In this prospective multi-cohort study from the Individual-Participant-Data Meta-analysis in and results Working Populations (IPD-Work) Consortium, the study population was 85,494 working men and women (mean age 43.4 years) with no recorded atrial fibrillation. Working hours were assessed at study baseline (1991-2004). Mean follow-up for incident atrial fibrillation was 10 years and cases were defined using data on electrocardiograms, hospital records, drug reimbursement registers, and death certificates. We identified 1061 new cases of atrial fibrillation (10-year cumulative incidence 12.4 per 1000). After adjustment for age, sex and socioeconomic status, individuals working long hours had a 1.4-fold increased risk of atrial fibrillation compared to those working standard hours (hazard ratio=1.42, 95%CI=1.13-1.80, P=0.003). There was no significant heterogeneity between the cohortspecific effect estimates (I2=0%, P=0.66) and the finding remained after excluding participants with coronary heart disease or stroke at baseline or during the follow-up (N=2006, hazard ratio=1.36, 95%CI=1.05-1.76, P=0. 0180). Adjustment for potential confounding factors, such as obesity, risky alcohol use and high blood pressure, had little impact on this association. Conclusion Individuals who worked long hours were more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than those working standard hours