Knowledge in process? Exploring barriers between epidemiological research and local health policy development

The Redes de Trueque (RT) thrived during the economic crisis of 2001 – 2002 in Argentina and still stand out as one of the largest Complementary Currency System in the world. These local exchange networks reach a large scale during times of severe economic distress, but as large non-state initiatives, they pose a governance problem. Four types of governance systems were structured within the Argentine RT, of varying degrees of sustainability: a) loosely regulated market systems, b) hierarchies, c) associational regional networks, and d) local communities. Based on a four dimensional analytical framework, this paper discusses the rules of governance and sustainability of the governance systems in the RT. It found that some became more sustainable than others in terms of achieving combinations of scale and organisational modes

Birth size and coronary heart disease risk score in young adulthood. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Young Adults (ARYA) study

Data of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Young Adults (ARYA) study were used to investigate the association between birth size and the absolute risk for coronary heart disease in healthy young adults. The cohort study comprises 750 (46.9% men) subjects born between 1970 and 1973. Birth characteristics were obtained from school health records. At young adulthood, blood pressure, anthropometry and fasting lipid levels were measured. Questionnaires were taken about smoking and diabetes. The young adult 10-year risk for coronary heart disease was calculated using the Framingham risk score. The overall 10-year risk for coronary heart disease was 1.6% (standard deviation (SD) 1.9), 3.0% (SD 1.9) in men and 0.3% (SD 0.2) in women. Using linear regression it was shown that a SD lower birth weight (=0.54 kg) was associated with 0.1% greater risk in the overall population (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.19, -0.004). Similarly, a lower ponderal index at birth was associated with an 0.11% higher risk (95% CI: -0.21, -0.002). These relations were stronger in men. Lower birth length was related with an increased risk in women (-0.02% risk/SD birth length; 95% CI: -0.04, 0.0001). These results suggest that small birth size is associated with an increased risk score for coronary artery disease in young adulthood