54,303 research outputs found
Confidentiality of personal health information used for research
No full textMedical research has a long history in the United Kingdom and has generally enjoyed good public support. Researchers take confidentiality seriously and few breaches have been recorded. Concerns over research practices at Alder Hey hospital related to consent rather than confidentiality,1 but they tarnished the overall reputation of research. At much the same time, the Data Protection Act 1998 defined stricter criteria for handling personal data,2 supplementing the provisions in the UK common law of confidentiality. There is thus a legal and a moral impetus to ensure that research is conducted with the maximum respect for participants and their privacy, even if the research is not linked to clinical care. Many questions can be answered without the active participation of individuals, but researchers must strike a careful balance between their pursuit of health improvements for all and their obligation to maintain the privacy of individuals participating in research
Socioeconomic lifecourse influences on women's smoking status in early adulthood.
No full textStudy objective: To incorporate women’s domestic trajectories and circumstances into analyses of the socioeconomic influences on women’s smoking status (current and former smoking) in early adulthood. Design: Cross sectional survey Setting: Southampton, UK. Participants: 8437 women aged 25–34 recruited from 1998–2002 via patient lists of general practices Main results: Domestic lifecourse factors contributed to the odds of being a current smoker and former smoker in models that included conventional measures of the socioeconomic lifecourse. Early motherhood, non-cohabitation, and lone motherhood increased the odds of smoking; early motherhood and non-cohabitation reduced the odds of former smoking. For example, relative to childless women, odds ratios (OR) for women who had become mothers <20 years were 1.71 for smoking and 0.76 for former smoking. The effects of education and current SEP remained strong with the inclusion of childbearing and cohabitation variables for both outcomes. For instance, compared with women in education to age 22, the odds ratio for smoking for those leaving school 16 was 3.37 and for former smoking was 0.42. Conclusions: Both the conventionally measured socioeconomic lifecourse and the domestic lifecourse contributed separately to the odds of smoking and former smoking, suggesting that lifecourse analyses should incorporate women’s domestic circumstances as an important pathway of influence on their smoking status in early adulthood
Islam in Iberia or Iberian Islam: sociobioarchaeology and the analysis of Emerging Islamic Identity in Early Medieval Iberia
No full textThis research aims to demonstrate how archaeology can contribute to the analysis of religion and religious change. By viewing religion as a social construct, that takes meaning within its own context, the analysis of material culture provides an opportunity to look at long term religious change. This is because while religion strongly influences material culture, it is also reproduced by it. In particular, the body is critical in recreating and negotiating ideology due to physical conformity to religious ideals, which actively constructs identity. As bone adapts to reflect the physical strain placed on it during life, the analysis of changes in activity-related skeletal modifications provides a mechanism for assessing whether religious identity, and therefore ideology, changed and adapted over time. When combined with other evidence from material culture and historic sources, this social-cultural approach explores the development of religion and its role as a structuring principle, but also how it is influenced by other social, political and historic factors.This was demonstrated through the analysis of physical activity patterns from skeletal material from early Medieval Islamic Iberia (al-Andalus) AD 711- 1200, a region that underwent rapid social change with the emergence of Islam into a previously Christian state. Islam, as a historicx religion, has well established religious traditions. A comparison of ideal behaviour and actual behaviour, as evidenced through activity patterns, was carried out in order to analyse the impact of other social factors on identity in the region. In particular, this thesis focused on whether ideals surrounding gender division and prayer were adhered to in al-Andalus. Entheseal changes, osteoarthritis, non-pathological particular modifications and bone morphology data from Islamic and pre-Islamic individuals from the Islamic cemetery at Écija, Sevilla, and the pre-Islamic basilica at Cortijo de Coracho, Córdoba were compared. A distinct hange in activity patterns occurred with the emergence of Islam. A greater gendered division of labour was identified in the Islamic group, as well as possible evidence for the adoption of ritual prayer and reduced female mobility. The emergence of an Islamic identity was supported by clear trends in burial data and historic sources. Diachronic analysis of Islamic data implied that adherence to Islamic tradition appeared to strengthen over time. Overall, this research appeared to support historical documentation which suggests an orthodox Islamic identity in Iberia. To understand the emergence of an orthodox Islamic Iberian entity, important social and political factors were considered. Firstly, proximity to Christianity meant the observance of Islamic tradition was important for creating a distinction between ‘us’ (Muslims) and ‘them’ Christians. This became more important later when religious tensions increased in Iberia, where the Christian north organised into a credible threat to the Islamic South, but also in the east, with the initiation of the crusades. Secondly, the arrival and staunch Caliphal support of Maliki law, which has strong emphasis on Qur’anic rituals. Thirdly, Écija, is close to Córdoba, the capital of al-Andalus, and traditions could have spread easily from Córdoba along well stablished trade routes. This research therefore demonstrated that Islamic identity, and therefore Islam in Iberia was a product of the interpretation of tradition in a particular context, thus demonstrating the unique nature of Iberian Islam
Modifiable early-life risk factors for childhood adiposity and overweight: an analysis of their combined impact and potential for prevention
No full textBackground: early life may be a “critical period” when appetite and regulation of energy balance are programmed, with lifelong consequences for obesity risk. Insight into the potential impact of modifying early-life risk factors on later obesity can be gained by evaluating their combined effects.Objective: the objective was to examine the relation between the number of early-life risk factors and obesity outcomes among children in a prospective birth cohort (Southampton Women's Survey).Design: five risk factors were defined: maternal obesity [prepregnant body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) >30], excess gestational weight gain (Institute of Medicine, 2009), smoking during pregnancy, low maternal vitamin D status (<64 nmol/L), and short duration of breastfeeding (none or <1 mo). Obesity outcomes examined when the children were aged 4 and 6 y were BMI, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry–assessed fat mass, overweight, or obesity (International Obesity Task Force). Data were available for 991 mother-child pairs, with children born between 1998 and 2003.Results: of the children, 148 (15%) had no early-life risk factors, 330 (33%) had 1, 296 (30%) had 2, 160 (16%) had 3, and 57 (6%) had 4 or 5. At both 4 and 6 y, there were positive graded associations between number of early-life risk factors and each obesity outcome (all P < 0.001). After taking account of confounders, the relative risk of being overweight or obese for children who had 4 or 5 risk factors was 3.99 (95% CI: 1.83, 8.67) at 4 y and 4.65 (95% CI: 2.29, 9.43) at 6 y compared with children who had none (both P < 0.001).Conclusions: having a greater number of early-life risk factors was associated with large differences in adiposity and risk of overweight and obesity in later childhood. These findings suggest that early intervention to change these modifiable risk factors could make a significant contribution to the prevention of childhood obesity
What do babies eat: evaluation of a food frequency questionnaire to assess the diets of infants aged twelve months.
No full textObjective: to evaluate the relative validity of an FFQ for assessing nutrient intakes
in 12-month-old infants.
Design and setting: the FFQ was developed to assess the diets of infants born to
women in the Southampton Women’s Survey (SWS), a population-based survey
of young women and their offspring. The energy and nutrient intakes obtained
from an interviewer-administered FFQ were compared with those obtained from
4 d weighed diaries (WD).
Subjects and methods: a sub-sample of fifty infants (aged 1 year) from the SWS
had their diets assessed by both methods. The FFQ recorded the frequencies and
amounts of foods and drinks consumed by the infants over the previous 28 d; milk
consumption was recorded separately. The WD recorded the weights of all foods
and drinks consumed by the infants on 4 d following the FFQ completion.
Results: the Spearman rank correlation coefficients for intakes of energy, macronutrients
and eighteen micronutrients, determined by the two methods, ranged
from r50?25 to 0?66. Bland–Altman statistics showed that mean differences
between methods were in the range 15% to 160% except for vitamin D
(1106 %). Differences in micronutrient intake were partly explained by changes
in patterns of milk consumption between the two assessments.
Conclusion: although there were differences in absolute energy and nutrient
intakes between methods, there was reasonable agreement in the ranking of
intakes. The FFQ is a useful tool for assessing energy and nutrient intakes of
healthy infants aged around 12 month
Breastfeeding, the use of docosahexaenoic acid-fortified formulas in infancy and neuropsychological function in childhood
No full textObjective: To investigate the relation between breastfeeding, use of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-fortified formula and neuropsychological function in children. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Southampton, UK. Subjects: 241 children aged 4 years followed up from birth. Main outcome measures IQ measured by the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence (3rd edn), visual attention, visuomotor precision, sentence repetition and verbal fluency measured by the NEPSY, and visual form-constancy measured by the Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills (Non-Motor). Results: In unadjusted analyses, children for whom breast milk or DHA-fortified formula was the main method of feeding throughout the first 6 months of life had higher mean full-scale and verbal IQ scores at age 4 years than those fed mainly unfortified formula. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, particularly maternal IQ and educational attainment, the differences in IQ between children in the breast milk and unfortified formula groups were severely attenuated, but children who were fed DHA-fortified formula had full-scale and verbal IQ scores that were respectively 5.62 (0.98 to 10.2) and 7.02 (1.56 to 12.4) points higher than children fed unfortified formula. However, estimated total intake of DHA in milk up to age 6 months was not associated with subsequent IQ or with score on any other test. Conclusions: Differences in children’s intelligence according to type of milk fed in infancy may be due more to confounding by maternal or family characteristics than to the amount of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids they receive in milk. <br/
1ST MEASUREMENT OF GAMMA(D(S)(+)-]MU+NU)/GAMMA(D(S)(+)-]PHI-PI+)
No full textComplete Author List:
ACOSTA D, ATHANAS M, MASEK G, PAAR H, BEAN A, GRONBERG J, KUTSCHKE R, MENARY S, MORRISON RJ, NAKANISHI S, NELSON HN, NELSON TK, RICHMAN JD, RYD A, TAJIMA H, SCHMIDT D, SPERKA D, WITHERELL MS, PROCARIO M, YANG S, BALEST R, CHO K, DAOUDI M, FORD WT, JOHNSON DR, LINGEL K, LOHNER M, RANKIN P, SMITH JG, ALEXANDER JP, BEBEK C, BERKELMAN K, BESSON D, BROWDER TE, CASSEL DG, CHO HA, COFFMAN DM, DRELL PS, EHRLICH R, GALIK RS, GARCIASCIVERES M, GEISER B, GITTELMAN B, GRAY SW, HARTILL DL, HELTSLEY BK, JONES CD, JONES SL, KANDASWAMY J, KATAYAMA N, KIM PC, KREINICK DL, LUDWIG GS, MASUI J, MEVISSEN J, MISTRY NB, NG CR, NORDBERG E, OGG M, PATTERSON JR, PETERSON D, RILEY D, SALMAN S, SAPPER M, WORDEN H, WURTHWEIN F, AVERY P, FREYBERGER A, RODRIGUEZ J, STEPHENS R, YELTON J, CINABRO D, HENDERSON S, KINOSHITA K, LIU T, SAULNIER M, SHEN F, WILSON R, YAMAMOTO H, ONG B, SELEN M, SADOFF AJ, AMMAR R, BALL S, BARINGER P, COPPAGE D, COPTY N, DAVIS R, HANCOCK N, KELLY M, KWAK N, LAM H, KUBOTA Y, LATTERY M, NELSON JK, PATTON S, PERTICONE D, POLING R, SAVINOV V, SCHRENK S, WANG R, ALAM MS, KIM IJ, NEMATI B, ONEILL JJ, SEVERINI H, SUN CR, ZOELLER MM, CRAWFORD G, DAUBENMIER CM, FULTON R, FUJINO D, GAN KK, HONSCHEID K, KAGAN H, KASS R, LEE J, MALCHOW R, MORROW F, SKOVPEN Y, SUNG M, WHITE C, WHITMORE J, WILSON P, BUTLER F, FU X, KALBFLEISCH G, LAMBRECHT M, ROSS WR, SKUBIC P, SNOW J, WANG PL, WOOD M, BORTOLETTO D, BROWN DN, FAST J, MCILWAIN RL, MIAO T, MILLER DH, MODESITT M, SCHAFFNER SF, SHIBATA EI, SHIPSEY IPJ, WANG PN, BATTLE M, ERNST J, KROHA H, ROBERTS S, SPARKS K, THORNDIKE EH, WANG CH, DOMINICK J, SANGHERA S, SHELKOV V, SKWARNICKI T, STROYNOWSKI R, VOLOBOUEV I, ZADOROZHNY P, ARTUSO M, HE D, GOLDBERG M, HORWITZ N, KENNETT R, MONETI GC, MUHEIM F, MUKHIN Y, PLAYFER S, ROZEN Y, STONE S, THULASIDAS M, VASSEUR G, ZHU G, BARTELT J, CSORNA SE, EGYED Z, JAIN V, SHELDON P, AKERIB DS, BARISH B, CHADHA M, CHAN S, COWEN DF, EIGEN G, MILLER JS, OGRADY C, URHEIM J, WEINSTEIN A
Occupational physical activities, working hours and outcome of pregnancy: findings from the Southampton Women's Survey
No full textObjectives: To investigate risks of physical activity at work by pregnancy trimester, including the effects on head and abdominal circumference.Method: At 34 weeks of gestation we interviewed 1327 mothers from the prospective Southampton Women’s Survey (SWS); we asked about their activities (working hours, standing/walking, kneeling/squatting, trunk bending, lifting and night shifts) in jobs held at each of 11, 19 and 34 weeks of gestation, and subsequently ascertained four birth outcomes (preterm delivery, small for gestational age (SGA) and reduced head or abdominal
circumference) blinded to employment history.Results: Risk of preterm delivery was elevated nearly threefold in women whose work at 34 weeks entailed trunk bending for >1 h/day. Small head circumference was more common in babies born to women who worked for >40 h/week. However, no statistically significant associations were found with SGA or small abdominal circumference, and preterm delivery showed little association with long working hours, lifting, standing or
shift work.Conclusions: There is a need for more research on trunk bending late in pregnancy, and on the relationship of work to reduced head circumference. Our findings on several other occupational exposures common among pregnant workers are reassuring
Fetal liver blood flow distribution: role in human developmental strategy to prioritize fat deposition versus brain development
No full textAmong primates, human neonates have the largest brains but also the highest proportion of body fat. If placental nutrient supply is limited, the fetus faces a dilemma: should resources be allocated to brain growth, or to fat deposition for use as a potential postnatal energy reserve? We hypothesised that resolving this dilemma operates at the level of umbilical blood distribution entering the fetal liver. In 381 uncomplicated pregnancies in third trimester, we measured blood flow perfusing the fetal liver, or bypassing it via the ductus venosus to supply the brain and heart using ultrasound techniques. Across the range of fetal growth and independent of the mother's adiposity and parity, greater liver blood flow was associated with greater offspring fat mass measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, both in the infant at birth (r = 0.43, P<0.001) and at age 4 years (r = 0.16, P = 0.02). In contrast, smaller placentas less able to meet fetal demand for essential nutrients were associated with a brain-sparing flow pattern (r = 0.17, p = 0.02). This flow pattern was also associated with a higher degree of shunting through ductus venosus (P = 0.04). We propose that humans evolved a developmental strategy to prioritize nutrient allocation for prenatal fat deposition when the supply of conditionally essential nutrients requiring hepatic inter-conversion is limited, switching resource allocation to favour the brain if the supply of essential nutrients is limited. Facilitated placental transfer mechanisms for glucose and other nutrients evolved in environments less affluent than those now prevalent in developed populations, and we propose that in circumstances of maternal adiposity and nutrient excess these mechanisms now also lead to prenatal fat deposition. Prenatal developmental influences play important roles in the human propensity to deposit fa
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