The underwhelming German life expectancy
This article contributes to the discussion on the determinants of diverging life expectancy in high-income countries, with a focus on Germany. To date, much of this discourse has centered around the social determinants of health, issues of healthcare equity, poverty and income inequality, and new epidemics of opioids and violence. Yet despite doing well on all of these metrics and having numerous advantages such as comparatively strong economic performance, generous social security, and an equitable and well-resourced health care system, Germany has been a long-time life expectancy laggard among the high-income countries. ...
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 25, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Vitamin D status during pregnancy: a role in intergenerational reproductive health?
(Source: European Journal of Epidemiology)
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 25, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Estimated preventable COVID-19-associated deaths due to non-vaccination in the United States
AbstractWhile some studies have previously estimated lives saved by COVID-19 vaccination, we estimate how many deaths could have been averted by vaccination in the US but were not because of a failure to vaccinate. We used a simple method based on a nationally representative dataset to estimate the preventable deaths among unvaccinated individuals in the US from May 30, 2021 to September 3, 2022 adjusted for the effects of age and time. We estimated that at least 232,000 deaths could have been prevented among unvaccinated adults during the 15 months had they been vaccinated with at least a primary series. While uncertain...
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 24, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
What is the role of puberty in the development of islet autoimmunity and progression to type 1 diabetes?
In conclusion, puberty may affect the risk of progression but is not a risk fac tor for IA. (Source: European Journal of Epidemiology)
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 20, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Adherence to a healthy lifestyle and brain structural imaging markers
We examined the association of adherence to a healthy lifestyle with a panel of brain structural markers among 2,413 participants in PolyvasculaR Evaluation for Cognitive Impairment and vaScular Events (PRECISE) study in China and 19,822 participants in UK Biobank (UKB). A healthy lifestyle score (0 –5) was constructed based on five modifiable lifestyle factors: diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and body mass index. Validated multimodal neuroimaging markers were derived from brain magnetic resonance imaging. In the cross-sectional analysis of PRECISE, participants who ado pted four or five low-risk l...
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 15, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Repurposing antidiabetic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis: results from a two-sample Mendelian randomization study
In conclusion, genetic variation in the thiazolidinedione target is associated with a lower RA risk. The underlying mechanisms warrant further exploration. (Source: European Journal of Epidemiology)
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 13, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Inferring fetal growth restriction as rare, severe, and stable over time
AbstractReduced birthweight is a marker of pathologies that impair growth and also decrease survival. However, “fetal growth restriction” remains poorly defined. Assuming that birthweight itself has no causal effect on neonatal mortality, we can estimate the features of pathological fetal growth that would be required to produce the observed pattern of weight-specific mortality. Under the simplest possib le scenario, we find that at 39–41 weeks, pathological fetal growth restriction affects only about 0.5% of U.S. births, with a neonatal mortality risk up to 220-fold. This surprising concentration of pathology among ...
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 13, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Repurposing antidiabetic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis: results from a two-sample Mendelian randomization study
In conclusion, genetic variation in the thiazolidinedione target is associated with a lower RA risk. The underlying mechanisms warrant further exploration. (Source: European Journal of Epidemiology)
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 13, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Inferring fetal growth restriction as rare, severe, and stable over time
AbstractReduced birthweight is a marker of pathologies that impair growth and also decrease survival. However, “fetal growth restriction” remains poorly defined. Assuming that birthweight itself has no causal effect on neonatal mortality, we can estimate the features of pathological fetal growth that would be required to produce the observed pattern of weight-specific mortality. Under the simplest possib le scenario, we find that at 39–41 weeks, pathological fetal growth restriction affects only about 0.5% of U.S. births, with a neonatal mortality risk up to 220-fold. This surprising concentration of pathology among ...
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 13, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Target parameters and bias in non-causal change-score analyses with measurement errors
AbstractIn studies where the outcome is a change-score, it is often debated whether or not the analysis should adjust for the baseline score. When the aim is to make causal inference, it has been argued that the two analyses (adjusted vs. unadjusted) target different causal parameters, which may both be relevant. However, these arguments are not applicable when the aim is to make predictions rather than to estimate causal effects. When the scores are measured with error, there have been attempts to quantify the bias resulting from adjustment for the (mis-)measured baseline score or lack thereof. However, these bias results...
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 12, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Excess death estimates from multiverse analysis in 2009 –2021
AbstractExcess death estimates have great value in public health, but they can be sensitive to analytical choices. Here we propose a multiverse analysis approach that considers all possible different time periods for defining the reference baseline and a range of 1 to 4 years for the projected time period for which excess deaths are calculated. We used data from the Human Mortality Database on 33 countries with detailed age-stratified death information on an annual basis during the period 2009–2021. The use of different time periods for reference baseline led t o large variability in the absolute magnitude of the exact...
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 12, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Target parameters and bias in non-causal change-score analyses with measurement errors
AbstractIn studies where the outcome is a change-score, it is often debated whether or not the analysis should adjust for the baseline score. When the aim is to make causal inference, it has been argued that the two analyses (adjusted vs. unadjusted) target different causal parameters, which may both be relevant. However, these arguments are not applicable when the aim is to make predictions rather than to estimate causal effects. When the scores are measured with error, there have been attempts to quantify the bias resulting from adjustment for the (mis-)measured baseline score or lack thereof. However, these bias results...
Source: European Journal of Epidemiology - April 12, 2023 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
