WHAT'S NEW or in the NEWS

November 09

• Eating a diet high in processed food increases the risk of depression, according to a study co-authored by Dr Eric Brunner, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health - Mail Online

• Forthcoming UCL Lunch Time Lectures
  Date: 17 Nov 2009 - Venue: Darwin Lecture Theatre Time: 1:15pm-2:00pm
  ‘Recession and public health - what is the evidence?’ by Professor Mel Bartley
  Can we use evidence form the social epidemiology carried out in previous time to help us predict the likely effect of the present recession on public health? Mortality in unemployed men in the 1970s and 80s was around 30% higher than average. However, the 1980s saw a rapid increase in life expectancy in the population as a whole. Professor Bartley argues that we can now use evidence from longitudinal studies to understand the complex impact of recession on public health.
  Date: 16 March 2010 - Venue: Darwin Lecture Theatre Time: 1:15pm-2:00pm
  Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll: Who is doing what in England? by Professor Jenny Mindell .The Health Survey for England is an annual survey of the general population, run by UCL and the National Centre for Social Research since 1994. Each year, up to 16,000 adults and around 4,000 children are randomly selected to be visited by an interviewer and a nurse. In this talk, I will be presenting some of the recent findings. Is obesity really increasing as much as people say? Is it worse in children or adults? Are we a nation of couch potatoes? Who are the binge-drinkers? Did the smokefree legislation make any difference? Are we getting better at preventing heart disease?
  

October 09

• Reporting suspected cancer: Many people would put off seeing a doctor about suspected cancer to avoid bothering them, finds a survey by Jane Wardle, Health Behaviour Research Centre
  The Guardian
• Depression & Obesity. Depression can double chances of becoming obese, finds a study by Mika Kivimaki, UCL Whitehall II Study. Telegraph
  

September 09

• Professor Michael Marmot, UCL warns of a 'global health catastrophe' ahead of the Copenhagen climate change conference .BBC News Online, The Independent, BBC Radio Five Live and other national and international media
• Professor Martin Bobak, UCL , presents findings about patterns of drinking and obesity at the European Society of Cardiology conference . The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, Associated Press and other national and international media.

August 09

• According to a paper co-authored by Andrew Steptoe (Epidemiology and Public Health), a bacterial throat infection might have been responsible for Mozart's premature death - ABC News .
• Professor Sir Michael Marmot spoke of inequalities in the American healthcare system
  as the debate over its future continues. August 13. BBC 2's "Newsnight" .
  

July 09

• Habits: It takes 66 days to form a habit (Telegraph )or for a resolution to stick, finds a study by Professor Jane Wardle and Dr Phillippa Lally, Health Behaviour Research Centre.
• Missed measures: High blood pressure is picked up less often in smokers, finds a study by Jenny Mindell, UCL Epidemiology and Public Health . More....BBC News
• Health after redundancy:: Being let go in a recession may not always be bad for your career or morale, says Professor Mel Bartley.More ...Times
• Reducing Health Inequalities: Professor Sir Michael Marmot, has been tasked with
  setting government targets to reduce health inequalities. More... Times
• Sleep and Heart Disease: Lack of sleep raises women's risk of heart disease, finds a joint study by UCL and Warwick University . More.....BBC News, Daily Telegraph
  

June 09

• Currently there is no attention to persons with disabilities in the Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs), despite the fact that an estimated 1 in 5 of the world's poorest people are disabled. Professor Groce and the staff of UCL’s Leonard Cheshire Disability and Inclusive Development Centre have been asked by the UN to work closely with staff to draft a formal Report and set of recommendations and guidelines for inclusion of persons with disabilities as part of the current review of the MDGs scheduled for 2010 and as part of the planning now underway in the UN for the scheduled revision of the MDGs in 2015. Click here for more information on Professor Groce’s work.
  
• Events: UCL’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health is hosting a seminar (Thursday 11 June, 2pm and 6pm to discuss the findings of the latest Health Survey for England (HSE) report). The HSE is an annual survey of a nationally-representative sample of the general population living in private homes in England. Each year, the HSE has a different focus and the latest survey, HSE 2007, examines healthy lifestyles: knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. For more information or to obtain a hard copy of the report please contact Barbara Carter-Szatynska
  
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) has agreed a landmark resolution in response to the final report of the UCL-led Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). More..
  

April 09

• Screen time and mental health: A study led by Mark Hamer (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) shows that young children who spend lots of time in front of televisions have high levels of psychological stress, and being physically inactive may make the situation worse. More...Reuters
  
• How will the financial crisis affect health? Global recession is likely to damage our health as well as our wealth, but it also offers an opportunity to build a more equitable economic model as Michael Marmot and Ruth Bell explain in light of the G20 summit. See BMJ 2009;338:b1314 for the full text and also click here for a related BMJ interview (YouTube) with Professor Sir Michael Marmot
• UCL to develop training for smoking cessation workforce: A consortium headed by UCL has been chosen by the Department of Health to lead a nationally accredited training system for NHS Stop Smoking practitioners.From Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre within UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, Dr Andy McEwen has been appointed director of the centre and Professor Robert West as co-director with special responsibility for research. More...
• UCL cuts fees for returning graduates: UCL’s undergraduate students will be offered an unprecedented £1,000 discount on tuition fees if they go on to study one of the university’s taught Masters programmes in 2009/10. This is the first in a series of measures currently being developed by UCL to assist this year’s graduating students during the economic downturn. The discount would apply to both the MSc Health and Society : Social Epidemiology and the MSc Dental Public Health hosted by this department. DeMore....

March 09

• Call For Papers: International seminar on Social and Health Policies for Equity: Approaches and Strategies London, 2-4 November 2009. Organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Health Equity and Policy in the Arab World, the Social Research Center of the American University in Cairo, and University College London. Deadline for submission of abstracts: 1 July 2009. A full announcement and description of this seminar is now available.
• Helen Crocker, UCL says the rise in obesity means her clinic is seeing overweight girls under ten who are starting their periods and going through puberty - Mores Express, Mail on Sunday.
• UCL Press Release. Influence of ‘obesity gene’ can be offset by healthy diet: Children who carry a gene strongly associated with obesity could offset its effect by eating a low energy density diet, according to new research from UCL and the University of Bristol published today in PLoS ONE. Lead author Dr Laura Johnson, UCL Epidemiology and Public Health, said: “This is an important finding because it provides evidence that it’s easier to eat too much energy and gain weight when your diet is packed tight with calories, so adopting a diet with more bulk and less energy per bite could help people avoid becoming obese regardless of their genetic risk. Obesity is not inevitable if your genes give you a higher risk because if you change the types of foods you eat this will help curb excessive weight gain.” More.....

February 09

• Increasing rates of obesity are triggering alarming rises in cancer, according to a
  report by Sir Michael Marmot, 22 Feb Daily Telegraph, Guardian, BBC News and others.
• Professor Mel Bartley, Director, ESRC Interntional Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health, discusses the impact of recessions on human health - 25 Feb BBC Radio 4 'Thinking Allowed'
• Professor Robert West, Health Behaviour Research Centre, argues that
  slimming pills only offer a temporary fix - 7 February, The Times
• Scrapping of overseas research scholarships has led UCL to establish its
  own fund - 12 February, Independent - postgraduate.

January 09

• Mass privatisation in Soviet Union fuelled an increase in death rates . BBC News Online
• Genes raise likelihood of overeating and obesity in children, according to a study conducted by Professor Jane Wardle. More..Telegraph.co.uk
  

December 08

• Why we are, as we are . The Economist comments on research overseen by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL, which revealed that those people at the bottom of social hierarchies have worse health than those at the top. "Executives were expected to suffer worse stress than groundlings, and this was expected to show up as heart attacks, strokes and so forth," says The Economist. "In fact, the opposite is true. It is the Darwinian failure of being at the bottom of the heap that is truly stressful and bad for the health."
  
• One in three UK adults – or 13 million people – will be obese by 2012, according to research conducted by UCL and the National Centre for Social Research, published in the ‘Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health’. Almost half of these will be from low income and disadvantaged communities, widening the health gap between the haves and have-nots even further. More..
• Overweight children may inherit faster eating behaviour, according to a Cancer Research UK study published in the ‘American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’ today. Researchers from Cancer Research UK’s Health Behaviour Research Centre at UCL . More ..
  
• Happiness is contagious. A study of 5,000 adults suggests a person's happiness is dependent on the happiness of those around them. Professor Andrew Steptoe, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, said: "It makes intuitive sense that if people around you are happy that might have an impact on your own happiness. What's a bit more surprising is that it's not just the people who you closely come into contact with but people a step removed as well." BBC News Online.

November 08

• Sir Michael Marmot is to lead a major government review of health inequalities in England (Marmot Review). Secretary of State Alan Johnson announced the review at a two-day UCL conference, ‘Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. More..

• A brisk walk. A recent study claimed that brisk walking each day for six months could help you lose weight. The Daily Mail tested this on three people, with comments from Dr Mark Hamer, on why exercise is good for the mind and body. Daily Mail
  
• Health inequalities. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Alan Johnson, Health Secretary, reiterated their commitment to tackle health inequalities and paid tribute to the work of Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL at a DH conference on the report of the World Health Organisation's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, chaired by Sir Michael Guardian, BBC News Online. Click her to read the PM's full speach. To listen again to the conference broad cast visit - http://www.csdhconference.org/
  

October 08

• Light drinking 'no risk to baby'. Dr Yvonne Kelly, UCL has contributed to the public health debate about pregnancy and drinking, with the study showing that children born to mothers who drink lightly during pregnancy - as defined as 1-2 units per week or per occasion - are not at increased risk of behavioural difficulties or cognitive deficits compared with children of abstinent mothers. BBC News 24, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News, ITV News, BBC Radio Four 'Today' programme, The Independent, The Guardian, BBC News Online, The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Daily Telegraph and other national and international media
  
• All puffed out. The UK still has more than 9 million smokers - and a report out today shows it is those living in deprived circumstances who are most resistant to giving up. Professor Martin Jarvis,UCL commented: "There's already a considerable social gradient simply in who starts smoking {...} But the main, really steep gradient is in who manages to stop. People in depressed circumstances are basically far less likely to give up." The Guardian
  
• Long sick leave signals poor health later. Employees off sick for long periods -- even for common conditions like flu -- are far more likely to die before their co-workers who do not take such leave, according to research published in the BMJ. It is not just down to serious medical conditions but it seems this relationship is seen across a wide range of common health problems," said Jenny Head, a statistician at University College London who led the study. "This appears to be a good early marker for people going on to develop more long-term serious illnesses." More....... BMJ , Reuters. Whitehall III Study

September 08

• The World Health Organization and the Social Determinants of Health: Assessing theory, policy and practice.
  An international conference organised by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL, in association with the UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and the Global Health Histories initiative of the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. The aim of this conference is to discuss the Final Report of the World Health Organization's Commission for the Social Determinants of Health. It brings together well-known people involved in policy work and academia, who will present their assessment of this important document. More.........
  Dates: 26, 27 and 28 November 2008
  Venue: The Wellcome Building, 183 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE

August 08

• NEW - Health and Social Justice public seminar series starting October 08. The serier is jointly co-ordinated by UCL Centre for Philosophy and Social Justice and the UCL Department of Epidemiology & Public Health.
• The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (set up at the request of the WHO Director General in 2005 and chaired by Professor Sir Michael Marmot) will publish its final report on 28 August 08 10h00 Geneva time. The finale report will be available from the WHO website.

July 08

• Middle-aged 'fitter' than young . Middle-aged men and women in England are more likely to play sport than younger people, research suggests. A study of more than 60,000 adults led by Dr Emmanuel Stamatakis, also found those who are comfortably off and white were most likely to do exercise. BBC News Online, Press Association.
• Heart disease link to dementia. Those who suffer from angina or heart attacks are more likely to develop dementia in old age, a study shows. Dr Archana Singh-Manoux, said that 'switching to a healthier lifestyle can reduce the risk of both problems'. A separate study led by Dr Hermann Nabi of the same department shows that while psychological factors increase the risk of heart disease, they do not affect inflammation. Daily Mail, Reuters
• One in three will work after age 65. A growing number of over-50s say they will work beyond the state pension age, according to new figures released by the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Study leader Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL Epidemiology and Public Health, said life expectancy had risen at an" astonishing" rate. Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mirror, Evening Standard, Irish Independent, New York Sun
• In denial over weight. One in four people refuse to accept they are obese, according to a study led by Professor Jane Wardle, Health Behaviour Research Centre at UCL. Daily Mail, Independent, Telegraph, BBC Online, Scotsman, Irish Times
• Eating to a good age. We are what we eat, so should we change our national diet? Dr Eric Brunner, UCL, agrees that Mediterranean and Japanese diets appear to be good, but points to exceptions such as the Inuit who eat mostly fish and blubber in the winter, yet live to a good age. Observer
  

June 08

• 'Good' cholesterol dementia risk. Too little of one type of cholesterol has been linked to memory loss and Alzheimer's disease, according to a British-French science team led by Dr Archana Singh-Manoux, UCL Epidemiology and Public Health. BBC Online News, Telegraph, New York Times
• Smoking ban success. More than two billion fewer cigarettes were smoked and 400,000 people quit the habit since the smoking ban was introduced a year ago, which will prevent 40,000 deaths over the next 10 years, according to Professor Robert West, Health Behaviour Research Centre at UCL. Independent, Times, Telegraph, Metro, ITV, BBC News, BBC Radio 4
  

May 08

• The William B Graham Prize – the most prestigious American award health services researchers can receive - has been awarded to Professor Sir Micael Marmot. More ...
  
• The 2006 Health Survey for England (HSE) will be launched Wed 14 May 2008 at UCL. A summary and full copy of the report can be obtained from www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/HSE06CVDandriskfactors. This is the 16th annual HSE report conducted by health researchers from this department and the National Centre for Social Research (Nat Cen). The survey is funded and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. More than 14,000 adults and 7,000 children agreed to be interviewed and tested for the survey. It focused on cardiovascular disease, obesity and health risk factors among children. For more information contact Dr Jenny Mindell, UCL.
  
• Is stress a health and safety hazard? The Whitehall II study, led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL Epidemiology and Public Health, has tracked the lives of thousands of civil servants for more than 20 years in an attempt to assess the effect of job status on health. According to Professor Marmot, it is not stress per se that has an adverse effect on health and life expectancy. Rather it is working in a job where there are high demands accompanied by a lack of control. BBC Radio 4, BBC News Online

April 08

• Housework puts a spring in your step. Research by Drs Mark Hamer and Yoichi Chida has added to the evidence showing the benefits of taking exercise, revealing how just 20 minutes of moderate exercise per week can reduce feelings of psychological distress. The range of activities shown to improve mood included housework, gardening, walking and sports. The study found that taking part in sports lowered the risk of distress the most, by 33 per cent, but even walking and domestic tasks such as housework and gardening reduced distress by up to 20 per cent. The findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The Times, BBC News Online, BBC News 24, Daily Telegraph, Press Association, Daily Express, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Wales, Daily Record
  

March 08

• Angina - chest pain caused by an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart, is 20 percent more common in women, while men have a higher risk of suffering heart attacks, according to the study in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association. Being male isn't a risk factor for developing angina, the authors of the 31-country study said. `What surprised us much more was its consistency,'' said Professor Harry Hemingway, UCL. ``We found the same female excess across 31 countries, across four decades of studies, and across four decades of ages. It's hard to dismiss this as some artifact of study design.''More........
• There have been improvements in health across the country with real improvements in the health of disadvantaged groups and areas, according to the latest status report on health inequalities. The report is the third and final against the national health inequalities strategy, ‘Tackling Inequalities: A Programme for Action’, which was published in 2003. Professor Sir Michael Marmot (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) chaired the scientific reference group. More..........
• Supporting maternal health: In the UK 99 per cent of births have skilled birth attendants. In Ethiopia only 8 per cent do. Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL made a guest appearance on Monday night at a concert in aid of Maternity Worldwide, a charity that aims to provide professional medical support to mothers in the developing world. More ..........

February 08

• PhD students need helping hand. Supervision is a major factor in the experience and outcome of a PhD. UCL's policy is to assign each PhD student two supervisors, whilst capping the total number of students per supervisor to six full-time students. Professor Michael Worton, UCL Vice-Provost, said the system benefited both the student and supervisor. Independent More....
  
• Smoking in early pregnancy. Middle-class women who smoke in early pregnancy do almost no harm to their unborn baby, according to an LSE study. But Professor Robert West, said the majority of research shows smoking is harmful throughout pregnancy. Daily Mai.l More.....
  
• Fat gene exists. According to new research by Professor Jane Wardle, published last week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there really is such a thing as a fat gene. Researchers who studied 5,000 sets of twins found that genetics has more of an influence on weight than upbringing, exercise and diet. Sunday Times, various local. More .....
  
• Obesity: the fuller figures. Findings from two departmental research groups contribute
  this week to the debate on Obesity and appropriate government action to reverse
  trends in the UK. More....

January 08

• The UCL Health Behaviour Unit celebrated renewed and increased funding – and re- launched itself as the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre (HBRC) at UCL – this month. Professor Jane Wardle Director of the HBRC, said ".. the goal is to produce science of the highest quality with the ultimate aim of creating effective public-health and clinical interventions to promote health and reduce the burden of cancer". More....
• Study shows how stress at work is linked to heart disease. Research Published in the ‘European Heart Journal’ this month is the first large-scale study to look at the cardiovascular mechanisms of work stress in the population and provides the strongest evidence yet of the way it can lead to coronary heart disease (CHD). Dr Tarani Chandola, UCL, the lead author of the study, said: “Stress at work is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease but the mechanisms underlying this association have remained unclear until now.” More....
• Calorie overload in restaurant children's meals. Professor Jane Wardle, director of the health behaviour research centre at University College London, said: "The children's meal is a real shocker in contemporary societies.The idea that on a menu you should have the least healthy option being served to a new generation is something rather scandalous. It reflects the desire we all have to give children the food they most like, but restaurants have got to find ways of serving for children food that is good for them as well as being enjoyable and that shouldn't be beyond the wit of modern chefs." Artilce by Ben Farmer, Telegraph
• Women laugh their way to health . Researchers at UCL have shown that women benefit the most from having a good laugh. The study found that happy women may be at lower risk of developing heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and obesity. Professor Andrew Steptoe, Psychobiology Unit, said: "We need to help people recognise the things that make them feel good and truly satisfied with their lives, so that they spend more time doing these things." Daily Mail, China Post More....
  

December 07

• Obesity cannot be tackled by just encouraging healthier eating and more exercise and governments should adopt more sophisticated approaches, urged a study published in
  the BMJ. Dr Sharon Friel, UCL Epidemiology and Public Health, the lead author of the
  study, said: "Missing in most obesity prevention strategies is the recognition that obesity - and its unequal distribution - is the consequence of a complex system that is shaped by how society organises its affairs." The authors said that work conditions, food subsidies, town planning and advert restrictions are all key considerations. More.... BBC News Online
  
• A Good Night's Sleep. Sleeping too little or too much can significantly increase the risk of mortality, according to a new study led by Jane Ferrie, which used data about the sleep habits of thousands of British civil servants over an eight-year period. Speaking about the research, she said: "In terms of prevention, our findings indicate that consistently sleeping seven or eight hours per night is optimal for health". More...... Time, China Post, Yahoo News USA, Science Blog, Daily Times Pakistan, Tehran Times, Earthtimes.org
  

October 07

• Red meat and alcohol raise the risk of cancer. Professor Sir Michael Marmot, chair of the WCRF International expert panel on Food Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer, told The Observer that diet was a factor in one third of all cancer cases: 'People are suffering and dying because they get cancer from being obese.' More ....
• Why working for Tesco will shorten your life. Peter Wilby, New Statesman reports a 65-year-old man can expect to live to less than 82 if he is retiring from Whitbread, but to nearly 90 if he is retiring from the property investment company British Land, which tops the table. The gap for women is similar..... It took policymakers 50 years to absorb fully the importance of tobacco in premature death and, though smoking has fallen dramatically among the affluent, the poor remain stubbornly addicted. It may take as long to absorb the research (work by Marmot & Wilkinson cited) on the role of economic and social status, most of which is barely a decade old. More..
• A happy home for a healthy heart. A new study by Dr Roberto De Vogli has found that people whose close relationships have negative aspects seem to have a higher risk of heart disease than those with happier relationships.The findings, published in the 8 October issue of ‘Archives of Internal Medicine’, are part of the long-term Whitehall II study of civil servants, which started in 1985 to determine the relationship between social standing and health. More...

September 07

• Professor Sir Michael Marmot, director the UCL International Institute for Society and Health, received the 2007 Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation Hero Award this month in Washington DC. The foundation honoured Sir Michael for his groundbreaking work examining how socioeconomic status affects health over a lifetime. More...
• How fat is your child? Researchers at UCL are working with the Department of Health to see what happens when the results of the school weighings are fed back to parents. A pilot scheme with six London schools has just finished. “When we told some parents that their child was overweight they were shocked,” says Helen Croker, who led the research. “Deep down some suspected that their children were, but because so many children are now overweight, it’s harder to tell. It’s no longer the case that the overweight ones stand out from the others.” More …
• Individuals with high fear of crime twice as likely to suffer from depression
  A new study by Dr Mai Stafford,UCL published in the‘ American Journal of Public Health’, has shown that people with a strong fear of crime are almost twice as likely to show symptoms of depression. The research also shows that fear of crime is associated with decreased physical functioning and lower quality of life. More...
• Too Much And Too Little Sleep Doubles Heart Death Risk. A new study, using data from the Whitehall II study, suggests that both too much and too little sleep can more than double the risk of death from heart disease. Researchers, led by Dr Jane Ferrie UCL, looked at participants' sleep patterns during 1985 to 1988 and then again during 1992 to 1993, and monitored their mortality rate until 2004. . The full paper is available from the Sleep Journal.

• The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) established by the WHO in 2005 published an interim statement setting out the Commission’s vision and goals, the problems it seeks to ameliorate, and the intellectual foundation for a social determinants approach. A summary of the statement was published in the Lancet (online) 6/9/07. Details we report in El Pais (Spain), the Independent (UK) and NPR radio(US). Sign-up to receive email updates or contact the Commission on Social Determinants of Health.
• Why gym may fix it : An important new study of UK schools indicates that pupils who do more physical education at school have significantly smaller waistlines. This is a significant contribution to the debate about whether it’s fitness or food we need to concentrate on if we’re seriously going to address the nation’s “obesity epidemic”. to be published in the International Journal of Obesity next month. The extent of this difference surprised the lead researcher, Professor Jane Wardle, the director of the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit at UCL, who says: “We were quite struck by the results.” Simon Crompton, ‘The Times’ More....
  

August 07

• A fussy child's fear of new foods 'is in their genes'. A child's tendency to avoid unfamiliar foods is largely inherited. In a large study of twins, which included both identical and fraternal twin pairs, Dr Lucy Cooke, UCL and her team found that nearly 80 per cent of children's tendency to avoid new foods was genetic. She said: "Parents can be reassured that their child's reluctance to try new foods is not simply the result of poor parental feeding practices, but it is partly in the genes." More .....
• Public in dark on HPV cancer link. The vast majority of women do not know that most cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted infection. Researchers said the results,
  published in the British Journal of Cancer, were "striking" considering recent publicity over the development of a HPV vaccine. Study author Laura Marlow, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, said they expected a bigger increase in awareness given the wealth of media coverage in the past few years. More......
• Happiness makes you healthier. Researchers found people with a positive mental attitude show different responses to stress. The findings follow studies showing the same people are less likely to suffer heart disease, diabetes and depression. Andrew Steptoe, UCL who led the study, said happy people rely on a different part of the nervous system, which slows the heart rate, and they recover more quickly from stress. The research was based on reports by men and women on their daily positive feelings since 1985. Researchers also measured blood pressure responses when people were given stressful tasks. More.....
  

July 07

• Possible IMF/World Bank link to spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa: Economic reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to countries in sub-Saharan Africa may inadvertently be contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS in women and children, according to a review article published in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition by Dr Roberto De Vogli ,UCL public health scientist. More.....
• Low income diet survey published. The gap between the diets of people on low incomes and those of the rest of the population is not as wide as some feared, according to research just published by the Food Standards Agency. The findings suggest that the dietary pattern of people on low incomes is the same as that of the general population, although in some aspects it is slightly less healthy. Reprot contributors from this department were Jenny Mindell, Paola Primatesta, Eric Brunner,Annhild Mosdol, Aubrey Sheiham, George Tsakos, Richard Watt. More....
• Low income diet survey published. The gap between the diets of people on low incomes and those of the rest of the population is not as wide as some feared, according to research just published by the Food Standards Agency. The findings suggest that the dietary pattern of people on low incomes is the same as that of the general population, although in some aspects it is slightly less healthy. A number of chapters in the report were written by or co-authored by current or former members of this department including Jenny Mindell, Paola Primatesta, Eric Brunner, Annhild Mosdol, Aubrey Sheiham, George Tsakos and Richard Watt. More ......
• Smokefree environments: Could your home be next? From 1 July, smokers have had to huddle outside in the rain like miserable outcasts because cigarettes have been banned from almost every enclosed public space. Action to regulate smoking in the home may be next: "We can apply powerful social pressure on parents not to smoke in the house. It must be completely taboo for parents to smoke indoors when there are children present," said Professor Robert West, UCL. "We're talking about thousands of children whose health is adversely affected by passive smoking." Independent on Sunday. More.............

June 07

• Breathing technique 'aids asthma'. An old-fashioned breathing and relaxation technique could help those with asthma, research suggests. In a trial of 85 people with mild asthma, the symptoms of those using the Papworth method alongside drugs were significantly eased, as reported in a study published in the journal Thorax. The study was led by researcher Elizabeth Holloway, UCL Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, who said: "It is not just psychological, it is physical - patients need to learn to drop their shoulders, relax their tummies and breathe calmly and appropriately. They gain greater control and confidence." BBC News Online, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Daily Mail, BBC Radio News Cambridge
  
• International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Aubrey Sheiham Award for Distinguished Research in Dental Public Health Sciences has been announced. This award recognises a single recent research paper in the field of dental public health; both applied and basic research papers are eligible. The award committee will accept self nominations or nominations by others until November 30, 2007.
• Poor people 'ignore' health campaigns By Nick Britten Telegraph 23/6/07.
  While supporting the smoking ban, due to come in on July 1, Professor Marmot, UCL said "We really need to have a look at what is going on in these people's lives if we are going to get them to stop smoking. Smoking has to be put in context when looking at the multiple disadvantages some people face. People know that smoking is bad for you and a lot of middle-class people have found the willpower to give up.We have to ask why the same cannot be said for people at the lower end of the social spectrum. Simply conveying the message that smoking is bad for you isn't the issue." More
• None so deaf as those that will not hear. The Economist 21 Jun
  The government's health messages are becoming increasingly strident. That doesn't make them any more effective. In the 1950s two-thirds of British men smoked, and they lit up all over the place. Now only a quarter do, and most enclosed public places went smoke-free voluntarily years ago. But behind this public-health success story lies a darker tale. Poorer people are much more likely to smoke than richer ones. The message that smoking kills has been heard, it seems, but not all can or are able to respond according to Professor Marmot, UCL. More..
• Dental teams are ideally placed to get actively involved in tobacco cessation activity according to the 'Smokefree and Smiling' work group chaired by Professor Richard Watt, UCL. Nearly 60% of the adult UK population visits a dentist for regular checkups. Dental teams are therefore in a unique position to provide opportunistic advice to a large number of ‘healthy’ people who may be using tobacco and who need professional support to stop. Each year, smoking is responsible for approximately 89,000 premature deaths in England – that is more than 1,700 deaths per week, 244 a day or 10 every hour. Click here for the NHS guide (.pdf document) 'Smokefee and Smiling - helping dental patients to quit tobacco'.
  
• Did microwaves 'spark' obesity? Microwaves may be to blame for kick-starting the obesity epidemic, a UK scientist suggests. Professor Jane Wardle, UCL says obesity rates started to rise soon after 1984 - around the time of the rapid spread of microwave ownership. Or was the advent of the supermarket or the end of WWII rationing? Read more.....
• World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) announced at the Cheltham Science Festival that it will be publishing (1 & 2 November ) the most comprehensive report ever written about the links between cancer and food, nutrition and physical activity. The groundbreaking global report has been put together by 21 leading international experts in fields such as nutrition, cancer biology, and public health. It has been chaired by Sir Michael Marmot, UCL. Click here for more inforamtion on the report and to register for the launch conference.
  

May 07

• Why do people from the richest social class live longer than the poorest? This weeks BBC Radio 4 'More or Less' programme (Monday 28 May) hosted by Andrew Dilnot, investigates why lifestyle may not be the only factor worth looking at when investigating longevity and Dr Eric Brunner UCL, comments on the likelihood of diet being a contributing factor to common chronic illness such as heart disease and diabetes. Listen again from the programmme archives. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/more_or_less/6692577.stm
• Excellence in Medical Education Awards (EMEA): Shirley Cupit, Senior Co-ordinator of the department's Community Orientated Medicine programme will receive an EMEA award at the UCL Graduation Ceremony on 27 th June. Shirley, who has had extensive experience 'on the front line' delivering health and social care for both the NHS and voluntary sector, provides teaching and experiential learning opportunities for Year 2 and Final Year medical students with organisations such as the Alcohol Recovery Project (Kings Cross), Mildmay Mission Hospital (an HIV/AIDS support service), Diabetes Specialist Nurses (Whittington Hospital)and the Great Croft Day Centre (Age Concern Camden).
• Unfairness 'increases heart risk'. People who feel they are treated unfairly, including in the home and community, may have a higher risk of developing heart disease, according to a paper by Dr Roberto de Vogli,UCl in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2007;61:513-518. BBC News Online story

April 07

• Social inequalities in self reported health in early old age. The average physical health of a 70 year old man or woman who was in a high grade position was similar to the physical health of a person from a low grade around eight years younger. In mid-life, this gap was only 4.5 years. These findings were published in the BMJ and report by the BBC Health News Online. The lead researcher, Dr Tarani Chandola states that 'retirement does not level the playing field.... health inequalities actually increase'.

March 07

• Being stressed out at work can make you fat, a new study suggests.The more job strain men and women reported, the more likely they were to become obese, Dr Eric J Brunner and colleagues found. Higher stress levels were also tied to excess fat around the middle, which is particularly harmful for health. The findings provide "firm evidence that high psychological workload, together with lack of social support at work, acts as a causal factor for obesity", Brunner and his colleagues conclude. Brunner,E.J., Chandola,T., Marmot,M.G. (2007). Prospective effect of job strain on general and central obesity in the Whitehall II study. American Journal of Epidemiology (165), 828-837. ISSN: 0002-9262 More (News24 South Africa)......
• Sudden Stress, Exertion Can Trigger Heart Attack Pak Tribune 25/3/07 (0419 PST). Islamabad. Emotional stress and physical exertion including, in rare cases, sexual activity, can trigger heart attacks in people with pre-existing heart disease, researchers report .But they also note that regular physical exercise also helps keep heart disease at bay. "Patients need to realize that they would still benefit greatly from regular physical activity," co-researcher Andrew Steptoe of University College London said in a prepared statement. More...
  
• Press Release: New survey evidence on the health and wellbeing of England’s older generation. Many people aged 65 and over lead healthy and active lives, but others of their generation face severe health challenges as they get older. According to the latest Health Survey for England, nearly two in three adults in this age group suffer from high blood pressure, roughly one in four is obese, and over a quarter of women and more than a fifth of men have symptoms of depression. More..............
• Material World - BBC Radio 4 - Logitudinal Studies: Quentin Cooper talks to the current head of the Whitehall II study Professor Sir Michael Marmot, and to Professor George Davey-Smith of the similar ‘Children of the '90s’ Avon study to find out the trials and tribulations of long-term longitudinal health studies. Listen again (30 mins)
• Alcohol-related illness in teens is up 15 per cent in wake of 24-hour drinking. The number of teenagers receiving medical treatment after drinking binges has risen by nearly 15 per cent in the year the new 24-hour licensing laws were introduced. Sir Michael Marmot, a professor studying the effects of alcohol on society, said: 'This is a very worrying trend. UK teenagers are among the heaviest drinkers in Europe. The whole idea of encouraging a sensible drinking culture in this country simply isn't working.' Thisislondon.co.uk. More........
• Happiness and Cortisol. Researchers have made positive links between everyday happiness and levels of important body chemicals, such as the stress hormone cortisol. The team studied 216 middle-aged men and women who were asked to rate how they had been feeling in the last five minutes at a number of points during the day. Heart rate and blood pressure was measured, and saliva samples taken to test levels of cortisol. “This study showed that whether people are happy or less happy in their everyday lives appears to have important effects on the markers of biological function known to be associated with disease. The happier you were, the lower your cortisol levels during the day,” says clinical psychologist Profess Jane Wardle. More...................
  

February 2007

• On the eve of the Oscar's ceromony, click hear to listen to a PBS Jim Lehrer's NewsHour interview by economics correspondent Paul Solman as he investigates, with Professor Sir Michael Marmot, the consequences of income inequality.
• In a survey of more than 10,000 students in 23 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, less than five percent of female students questionened were aware of the non genetic factors contributing to breast cancer. " It is very worrying that information about being overweight, having a high alcohol intake and taking little exercise has simply not been effectively communicated to young women in any of the countries we surveyed," stated Professor Jane Wardle, of the charity Cancer Research UK, who headed the research team. TopCancerNews.com,TX
• Contributing to a Gruardian article 'Sugar rush' by Fleicity Lawrence, Professor Aubrey Sheiham states: "The blood sugar curves are quite different with whole foods. They give you a feeling of satiety and fullness and are metabolised slowly so that energy is released steadily over a longer period..... ...But as you expose yourself to sugar, your liking for it increases, and your taste threshold changes. You start needing more. Manufacturers have exploited that."
  
• For more than a generation, health has been top of mind for Canadians. In virtually every survey, health care has been pegged as the No. 1 political and social priority. But now the environment has supplanted health at the top of the worry list, and is probably there to stay for a long time. Objectively speaking, the focus on the environment could be the best thing that ever happened to the health of Canadians, and to our beloved (but largely rudderless) medicare system. The mistake that has been made in health care has been to focus on illness care, to focus on treatment of symptoms rather than on prevention. What we need to treat is what the renowned social scientist Sir Michael Marmot has dubbed "the causes of the causes of poor health." Globe and Mail, Canada - Feb 15, 2007.

January 2007

• Brain's 'addiction centre' found - 26 January 2007. Professor Robert West, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, comments on the discovery of individuals with brain damage who give up smoking with ease could point the way to a surgical 'cure' for smoking. BBC World Service
• Too much, too young. Lucy Atkins, Guardian, Monday January 29, 2007
  Our children have never been fatter. Nor have they ever been so prone to eating disorders like anorexia. What can parents do? How do you steer your kids away from one danger without pushing them towards the other? " If your child is overweight or obese over the age of 11," says Professor Wardle, "the evidence is that they will not spontaneously slim down." You are going to have to tackle the problem. Adolescents tend to be very resistant to parental interference, or any suggestion that they are not being "accepted" and, says Wardle, "they are extraordinarily self-conscious." Getting professional help is therefore crucial.www.weightconcern.co.uk
• Vaccination. Three-quarters of mothers in Britain want their young daughters (aged 12) to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer, a poll released on Wednesday showed. The results are encouraging Professor Jane Wardle, lead author of the survey, said in a statement http://www.cancerpage.com/news/article.asp?id=10528
  http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2007-01-24T155141Z_01_L24323874_RTRIDST_0_CANCER-VACCINE.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna
• Beyond guidelines: Patient-specific scoring system shows promise for individualizing care decisions. Evidence-based guidelines tend to be broad and unable to account for the unique characteristics of individual patients. A possible solution: Equip electronic health-record systems with programming that generates management "recommendations" tailored for each case at hand. Coauthor Dr Harry Hemingway told Heartwire that for now, the computerized ratings system is largely a research tool, but one that could potentially bring the kind of consistent care guidelines strive for to patients who don't easily fit their typically broad recommendations. One of its advantages, he said, is the ability to provide individualized clear-cut recommendations supporting or against a procedure or test. "That clarity of message is not always quite there in the guidelines." http://www.theheart.org/article/767237.do
  Junghans C, Feder G, Timmis AD, et al. Arch Intern Med 2007; 167:195-202
• No Nobel prize has yet been awarded for the invention of an elixir of life, but the prize itself seems to be one. That, at least, is the conclusion of Matthew Rablen and Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick, in England. Dr Rablen and Dr Oswald have just published a study on the university's working-paper site which concludes that Nobel science laureates live significantly longer than those of their confrères who were nominated for a prize, but failed to receive one.The theory they were testing was that status per se, rather than the trappings of status, such as wealth, act to prolong life. This idea was first promulgated by Sir Michael Marmot. The Economist Nobel's greatest prize Jan 18th 2007 http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8548623
• Downsizing harms employees' mental health - 18 January Workers who survive downsizing measures and hold on to their jobs may consider themselves lucky but they have a higher risk of suffering from mental health problems, according to a study by Professor Mika Kivimaki, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health. Reuters http://tinyurl.com/2kxjkj
• Five cigarettes a day can age your arteries by a decade - 16 January Mr Lion Shahab, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, explains that smokers are good at perceiving a general risk to health but don't apply it to their own - with light smokers the most deluded of all. A view echoed by Professor Robert West, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, who says smoking is one area of consumption where moderation is not the answer. Daily Mail
• Why childhood abuse harms health as adult - 15 January. People who were physically or sexually abused as children are twice as likely to have inflammatory proteins in their blood, according to a new study. "This is much stronger than simply saying that people who have a harder time in childhood are more miserable or depressed as adults," says Dr Andrew Steptoe, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health. New Scientist
  http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn10957&feedId=online-news_rss 20
  

December 2006

• British teenagers get lazier as they get older, research has found. By the age of 16, girls were physically active on fewer than two days a week and boys on fewer than three days, or a little more. The five-year study, funded by Cancer Research UK and carried out by Professor Jane Wardle's Health Behaviour Unit, UCL measured the amount of time the children spent watching television, using computers or playing video games. More Daily Telegraph 22/12/06
  
• Preteen daters more likely to take up smoking:. Children who start dating before their teens are at least twice as likely as other youngsters to become smokers. The link was particularly strong in preteen girls who are increasingly taking up the habit. "Kids who start dating early, about 11 or 12, are two to three time more likely to take up smoking by the time they reach 16," said Professor Robert West, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health.
  Reuters http://tinyurl.com/ybojxy

November 2006

• Sleep good for your health. A study conducted by Professor Andrew Steptoe, Victoria Peacey, and Professor Jane Wardle showed 21 percent of students from all around the world get less than seven hours of sleep a night. This study was based on anonymous questionnaires given to 17,465 university students ages 17-30. Not enough sleep affects a number of things, including your mood, your immune system and your memory. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:1689-1692.

October 2006

• Women in England and Ireland are officially the world's biggest binge drinkers, according to a unique study of global alcohol consumption. The findings are based on a survey of more than 17,000 women and men from 21 countries, including Belgium, France and the United States, in the largest study ever carried out into worldwide drinking habits. Professor Andrew Steptoe, co-author of the report, said heavy drinking was a worldwide problem, but that England and Ireland had high figures compared with mainland Europe.
• Professor Sir Michael Marmot, two other UCL academics and a distinguished UCL alumnus are among the figures nominated for the 2006 Morgan Stanley Great Britons awards. Stanley Morgan along with The Daily Telegraph and Classic FM invite the public to nominate individuals in seven categories – the Arts, Business, Campaigning, Creative Industries, Public Life, Science & Innovation and Sport. There are currently ten nominees in the Public Life category along with Sir Michael. Three nominees will be shortlisted by the award panel. This year’s winners, for each category and overall, will be announced at an award ceremony in London on 18 January 2007. For more details and to vote please see the Morgan Stanley Great Britons awards website.
• Special Prize in Public Health of the Japanese Society of Public Health. Dr Ichizo Morita , an Affiliate Academic with the department's Dental Public Health Group, was awarded a Special Prize in Public Health for 2006, for his contributions to public health by the Japanese Society of Public Health.
• Health in an unequal world – social circumstances, biology and disease . Hear Professor Sir Michael Marnot's Harveian Oration delivered at the Royal College of Physicians Wednesday 18 October on line ( http://rcplondon.emea.breezecentral.com/p40258774).
• Black tea 'soothes away stress' .Researches from the department have found people who drank tea were able to de-stress more quickly than those who drank a tea substitute. The study appears this month in the journal Psychopharmacology. According to Professor Andrew Steptoe, although it does not appear to reduce the actual levels of stress we experience, tea does seem to have a greater effect in bringing stress hormone levels back to normal. This has important health implications because slow recovery following acute stress has been associated with a greater risk of chronic illnesses such as coronary heart disease."
  More.....

September 2006

• Babies motor better with breast milk. Mother's milk boosts early neurological development, says a new study by Dr Yvonne Kelly, UCL . Science News http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060923/food.asp
• Health, Happiness and Social Status. A British Academy conversation evening between Richard Layard, LSE and Michael Marmot,UCL - both of whom have recently written fascinating books at the interface of medicine/ well-being and the social sciences. Chair: Baroness O'Neill, President of the British Academy Venue: The British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1. Wednesday 4 October 2006, 6.00-7.30pm. £10 (£5 concessions) to include a drinks reception. More.....
• Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Professor Richard Wilkinson (UCL International Institute for Society & Health) received the first prize in the 2006 British Medical Association public health book awards for the second edition of ‘Social Determinants of Health’, published by OUP. More ...
• Capability and Resilience : Beating the Odds. A plain English guide summarizing 3 years ESRC funded research on Capability and Resilience is now available free in hardcopy or electronic format. The booklet sets out the current evidence on the best ways to promote the ability of individuals and communities to react and adapt positively when thing go wrong. Publication order details......

August 2006

• The department will be represented at the BA Festival of Science,'People, Science and Society', 2 - 9 September, Norwich in two sessions.
  1. Beating the Odds - 3 sessions reporting on findings from the ESRC Capability & Resilience Network, Friday 8 September 9.00 - 11.00am, chaired by Professor Mel Bartley, UCL.
  2. Professor Jane Wardle, looks at ‘Obesity and cancer: are we fit for the future?’ in the session ‘Is there an anti-cancer diet?’ organised by Cancer Research UK on Thursday 7 September Time: 11.00 - 13.00.

July 2006

• Book launch. Social Inequalities in Health : New Evidence and Policy Implications edited Professor Johannnes Siegrist of the University of Düsseldorf and Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL was launched at an UCL International Institute for Society & Health (IISH) seminar this month. An audio recording of the seminar (speakers Proffessor Diana Kuh, UCL and Professor Andrew Steptoe, UCL) will be made available form the IISH website. More....
• BMA Book Awards 2006 - rewarding excellence in medical publishing. The Social Determinants of Health 2 e/d edited by Professor Sir Micahel Marmot, UCL and Professor Richard Wilkinson, Nottigham University has been nominated by OUP for the Public Health section of the 2006 BMA Book Awards. The winners or each section and the over all winner will be announced at an awards ceremony, BMA House on Monday 11 September 2006.
• Poor in England more likely to die in their 50s - 8 July . The poorest in England are over 10 times more likely to die in their 50s than richer people despite receiving similar healthcare, according to the latest results from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing led by
  Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL. The Times, Independent, Daily Mail, Independent (South Africa), Express, Birmingham Post, BBC News 24, BBC News Online, Evening Standard http://tinyurl.com/hajdu.
• Press invite: Launch of new findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. UCL and the Institute for Fiscal Studies will hold a joint press briefing on Friday 7 July to launch new findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). The findings are based on the second wave of ELSA, a longitudinal panel survey. Research from the first wave contributed to the Turner Report, the recent pensions White Paper, ‘Security in retirement’, a report by the Social Exclusion Unit, 'A sure start to later life', and groundbreaking research on the health differences between older people in the UK and US. More.......
• The department is pleased to welcome Professor John Fox (BSc, UCL Statistical Science 1967) as a visiting Professor for 3 years. Professor Fox has had a number of senior appointments in the Government Statistical Service, including posts as Chief Medical Statistician and Director for Census, Population and Surveys in the Office for National Statistics. In the 1980s Professor Fox established the Social Statistics Research Unit, City University as a resource centre for research using large-scale longitudinal studies. He has published extensively on occupational health and health inequalities and he has played an active role in the Faculty of Public Health, Royal Statistical Society, British Society.
  
  June 2006
• The UCL International Institute for Society & Health (UCL IISH) is recruiting for the new post of Executive Director. The post will enable UCL's pioneering work on the understanding of the social determinants of health to be spread out with a greater global reach and inter-disciplinary vision. UCL President and Provost Professor Malcolm Grant said the new institute exemplified UCL’s qualities and goals: “Nothing in the private sector or government can come anywhere near a modern university like UCL, for the variety, depth, talent, versatility and intellectual capability of its members. We have the ability, and the moral responsibility, to address the difficult issues regarding health delivery across the globe.” More.......
  Job description and application details
  
• Racism may have a detrimental effect on the health of Maori in New
  Zealand, according to a paper in this week's issue of The Lancet.
  Martin Tobias (Ministry of Health, New Zealand), James Nazroo (UCL) and colleagues assessed the effect of racism on health in two ethnic groups - Maori and European - in New Zealand. Using data from the 2002/3 New Zealand Health Survey, the researchers analysed the responses of 4108 Maori and 6269 Europeans to five questions about verbal attacks, physical attacks, and unfair treatment by a health professional, at work or when buying or renting housing. The researchers found that Maori were almost ten times more likely to experience discrimination in three or more settings than their European counterparts. The Lancet - Vol. 367, Issue 9527, 17 June 2006, Pages 2005-2009
  

May 2006

• Professor Haryy Hemingway was elected Chair of the Epidemiology and Public Health section of the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (EACPR). The EACPR aims to be a coordinating stronghold within the European Society for Cardiology for all activities in the field of preventive cardiology and rehabilitation.
• Just one cigarette as a child is enough to spark teen addiction - 25 May. The urge to start smoking can lie dormant for several years, even if a child has just one cigarette at a young age, a new study led by Dr Jennifer Fidler, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, has found. The Scotsman, Daily Mail, Times of India, ITV.com, Guardian Unlimited, Telegraph online, The Sun, Australian, BBC News http://www.guardian.co.uk/smoking/Story/0,,1782402,00.html
• A daily drink 'only good for men' - 26 May. Drinking alcohol every day protects against heart disease in men but not in women, Danish research shows. In an accompanying editorial, Dr Annie Britton UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, warned that the study participants had a high risk of heart disease because of their age. BBC News Online, Times of India, ITV.com, Guardian, Independent, ABC News, Sydney Morning Herald, Channel 4 News, Scotsman, Malaysia Star, Evening Standard http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-5846521,00.html
• Worker-mothers 'healthiest women' - 15 May. Working mothers with steady relationships are the healthiest women, while housewives are more likely to have poor health, according to a study by Dr Anne McMunn, UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. Some 23% of women surveyed with multiple roles were obese, compared with 38% among the long-term homemakers. Telegraph, Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Mirror, Sun, Today Programme, BBC News Online, BBC World Service, ABC News, Bloomberg News, Scientific American, New York Post, various international http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4765411.stm
• Puppy fat: a myth that won't disappear - 5 May . The idea that "puppy fat'' in children simply melting away is a myth that could put their health at risk in later life. The five-year study of 5,863 children, led by Professor Jane Wardle, UCL Epidemiology& Public Health, confirmed that problems are established before teenage years - with those carrying excess weight at aged 11 continuing to be overweight during adolescence. BBC News Online, The Times, The Independent, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, ITV, Channel 4 News, The Scotsman, CNN, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4969630.stm
• Americans 'more ill than English' - 3 May White middle-aged Americans aren't as healthy as their English counterparts, a study co-authored by UCL has found. Professor James Banks, UCL Economics, and Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL Epidemiology
  & Public Health, found Americans aged 55 to 64 are up to twice as likely to suffer from diabetes, lung cancer and high blood pressure as English people of the same age. BBC News Online, Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, The Guardian Nature News, New Scientist, The Times, The Scotsman, The Economist, ABC News, Arizona Daily Star, Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, CBS News, Chicago Tribune, CNN, Forbes, FOX News, Gwinnett County, Houston Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, International Herald Tribune, Indianapolis Star, Los Angeles Times, Mercury News, Miami Herald, New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Diego Tribune San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Post, The Seattle Times, St Petersburg Times, Washington Post. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4965034.stm

March 2006

• How poor is poor? - 27 March
  Relative deprivation is bad for your health. In a famous study conducted between 1967 and 1977, a team of epidemiologists led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot monitored the health of more than 17,000 of Britain's Civil Service, a highly stratified bureaucracy. The New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060403fa_fact
  
• Now they're targeting your own living room - 26 March. A new scheme in Glasgow will reward parents who pledge not to smoke at home. The move follows a study by Dr Jerome Adda, UCL that found banning smoking in pubs, restaurants and other public places will lead to children being exposed to significantly higher levels of cigarette smoke in the home environment. The Sunday Times, MedIndia
  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2090-2104541,00.html
  
• Doubts cast on oily fish benefits - 24 March There is no evidence of the clear benefit to health from omega-3 fatty acids, according to results from a meta-analysis released this week. "It seems that for healthly people the health advice remains well-founded but for people with chronic heart disease there is now doubt," said Dr Eric Brunner. 'The Independent', 'The Scotsman', BBC News Online, 'The Daily Mail', 'The Hindustan Times' (India), 'The Mirror' ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4838086.stm
  
• Sick building link to job stress - 23 March So-called sick building syndrome may have been misnamed as its symptoms are linked more closely to job stress than unhealthy environments, according to a new study led by Dr Mai Stafford. 'The Daily Telegraph', 'The Times', 'The Daily Mail', BBC News Online, ABC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4832744.stm
• Journal of American Medical Association Commentary by Professor Sir Michael Marmot published. Status Syndrome A Challenge to Medicine JAMA. 2006;295:1304-1307.
• Heart disease in women worse than previously thought: Angina, a common form of heart disease, is more dangerous for women than was previously thought, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The collaborative study, led by Professor Harry Hemingway UCL and funded by the British Heart Foundation, found that angina in women is as common as it is in men, in contrast to heart attacks (myocardial infarction) which have a higher rate in men. The findings suggest that the medical profession should pay more attention to thoroughly investigating and diagnosing women suspected of having angina. More...
• We're having too much fun to act our age - 5 March. A new study shows that oldies are more 'boon' than burden. Professor Sir Michael Marmot, says: "We get it wrong when we think all old people suffer bad health and lead poverty-stricken, isolated lives. It is very much the opposite." The Observer. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1723769,00.html

February 2006

• How stress triggers heart attack - 28 February . Professor Andrew Steptoe [UCL Epidemiology& Public Health] has found evidence that stress can elevate blood pressure over an extended period, and trigger the release of high levels of clot-forming platelets. This discovery adds some vital clues to how stress can trigger a heart attack in vulnerable patients. BBC News Online ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4754658.st
  

January 2006

• Professor Sir Michael Marmot advised the makers of "The Happiness Formula" on this area of research. The programme is due to be broadcast by BBC2 in May.
• Work stress 'heart disease link' - 20 Jan. Heart disease and diabetes are linked to stress in the office, according to a study of 10,000 civil servants published in the British Medical Journal. Dr Tarani Chandola [UCL Dept of Epidemiology] and colleagues say that "employees with chronic work stress have more than double the odds of the syndrome than those without work stress." Guardian, Times, Daily Mail, BBC Online, Bloomberg, Scotsman, ABC News, BBC London, Metro http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8159-2001025,00.html
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4629202.stm
• New Book . Theory of Addiction by Professor Robert West. 'This book is a tour de force, constructing step by step a wide- ranging theory of addiction . . . After summarising and assessing more than 30 previous theories, West draws on elements from economics, sociology, pharmacology and biology, along with a core of material from psychology, to put together a broad and testable theory of how people move into and out of addiction, and how social forces can affect this. The book will serve as a point of reference for years to come.' Robin Room, Professor and Director, Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs (SoRAD), Stockholm University. Blackwells ISBN number 1405113596 . More details... The book will be launched at a UCL International Institute for Society and Health public seminar on Tue 31 January 2006, 5 -6pm. Contact iish@ucl.ac.uk for more details.

December 2005

• How brainpower can help you cheat old age When chess player Richard Wetherill noticed he could no longer think five moves ahead, Dr Nick Fox [UCL Institute of Neurology] prescribed cognitive tests, but found no signs of early dementia. Two years later, following Wetherill's death, his brain revealed advanced stages of Alzheimer's - suggesting that intellectual stimulation may have protected against mental decline. Cognitive reserve is built over a life time, comments Dr Marcus Richards [UCL Dept of Epidemiology and Public Health], while Wetherill's case shows that the cushioning is often followed by dramatic decline, says Professor Michael Marmot [UCL Dept of Epidemiology and Public Health]. More .....New Scientist
  

November 2005

• Stress may up cholesterol levels - 23 November Stress may raise cholesterol blood levels, potentially increasing the risk of heart disease, a study by Professor Andrew Steptoe [UCL Dept of Epidemiology and Public Health] has found. BBC News Online, The Herald, Daily Mail. More....
  
• Looking for the perfect smile.Studies show that dentists replace fillings far more than necessary," says Aubrey Sheiham, professor of dental public health at University College London, "and if they suffer a drop in income, they replace their patients' fillings more often. What these studies show is that replacing fillings is not closely related to the need to replace them but to the 'business' of the dentist. Because the criteria for replacing fillings are vague, it is not difficult to convince a patient that a filling needs replacing." In other words, the existing system encourages fraud. More....
  
• Former Epidemiology & Public Health student Dr Antonyia Parvanova is one of 18 Bulgarian MPs to have been selected by the Bulgarian parliament to act as an official observer to the European Parliament. More......

October 2005

• The second edition of ‘Social Determinants of Health’, edited by Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Professor Richard Wilkinson (UCL International Institute for Society and Health) has been published. The first edition is an Oxford University Press classic, having become the main textbook in its field. The book provides the detail behind the World Health Organisation (WHO) booklet ‘The Social Determinants of Health: The Solid Facts’, one of WHO’s most successful ever publications and translated into more than 20 languages. The new edition of ‘Social Determinants of Health’ takes account of the latest research and contains new chapters on ethnicity and health, sexual behaviour, the elderly, housing and neighbourhoods. All the evidence in the publication has been completely updated. More.............

• International Health and Medical Education Centre/Lancet Lecture 2005. Nobel laureate Professor Daniel Kahneman, Princeton University and Dr Richard Horton, Lancet editor ‘Progress in the Study of Well-being’.Friday 14 October 2005, 6 pm. Logan Hall Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H OAL. RSVP: Eleanor Mathars (devtemp1@adm.ucl.ac.uk)

September 2005

• Former UCL student Robert Yee (MSc Dental Public Health 1999) lectured on public oral health strategy in Nepal at a two-day conference held at UCL, in honour of the retirement of Aubrey Sheiham, Professor of Dental Public Health within UCL Epidemiology & Public Health. More...
  
• Decay bites ever deeper into poor children's teeth - 4 Sept
  New statistics have revealed a widening gap in the levels of decay in children's teeth in the poorest and richest parts of Britain. Sugar policy is top of the agenda at the 'Health through oral health' conference at UCL, which brought together experts to discuss the inequalities. The Observer
  http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1562421,00.html

August 2005

• A UK government report published August 11 shows some progress has been made in reducing the gap between the health of people living in the most disadvantaged areas, compared to the rest of the country but recognises that a significant challenge remains.The analysis will provide valuable information for developing the Government's long-term health inequalities strategy set out in the Programme for Action. The strategy is designed to tackle the deep-rooted causes of poor health and meet the 2010 target to reduce health inequalities in life expectancy and infant mortality.
  
  Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Chair of the scientific reference group on health inequalities who oversaw the development of the report said:
  " The Government has set as a major goal the reduction of health inequalities. It is therefore vital to monitor what has been happening. This report is an important step in that process" Department of Health press release
  
  
• Advanced Notice - The afternoon of Friday 14 October will see the launch of the UCL International Institute for Society and Health ( 12.00 - 5.00pm) and the UCL International Health and Medical Education Centre / Lancet Lecture by Dr Lee, WHO Director General. Alongside both events there will be a research symposium on the mornings of Friday 14th and Saturday 15th October. The complete programme and the registration deadline and details for both events will be circulated in late August or early September.

June 2005

• Dull jobs linked to heart disease - 7 June. Dr Harry Hemingway, Dept of Epidemiology and Public Health, and his team have found evidence that men with repetitive jobs and in low social positions had faster and less-variable heart rates compared to the healthier, more variable heart rate of other men. BBC Online, Daily Mail, Washington Post, overseas media http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4616689.stm
  
• Aircraft noise and children’s health and cognitive development. Chronic exposure to aircraft noise impairs children’s reading comprehension and memory. The RANCH study of almost 3000 children in the UK, Spain and the Netherlands, the largest ever study on the effects of noise on children’s health, was designed by investigators including Jenny Head. The study investigated the relationship between chronic exposure to noise and impaired cognitive function, health and noise annoyance for aircraft noise, road traffic noise and a combination of these. The researchers conclude that schools exposed to high levels of noise are not healthy educational environments. Lancet 2005; 365:1942-1949.
  

May 2005

• Building A Healthier Britain. BBC Radio 4 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/buildingahealthierbritain.shtml)
  Since the 1950s doctors have continuously researched people's health and lifestyle. Richard Hannaford examines the results of these epidemiological studies: some have given simple answers and saved hundreds of thousands of lives, while the results of others are confusing and highly controversial. programme four looks at Social Status and findings from the Whitehall Studies. Listen again to BBC Building a Healthier Britain programme 4.
  
• Growing up and out - 4 May. More than one in four children is now overweight, according to a survey carried out a team of researchers, including Dr Emmanuel Stamatakis of the UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. The survey revealed that among children aged between two and ten the proportion who were overweight rose from 22.7 per cent in 1995 to 27.7 per cent in 2003. Of these some 16.5 per cent were obese. The full report is published on the Department of Health website. To download the report go to: http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/Publications
  
  
• A lonely heart is also an unhealthy one - 2 May
  Following the revelation that happy people are at less risk of suffering from a heart attack, Professor Andrew Steptoe from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL explains why being lonely can pose a health risk to the heart, but emphasises that being alone doesn't equate to being lonely. "Social isolation is an objective measure, whereas loneliness is a mental state. If someone is content in his or her own company, they're not susceptible to the same health risks. In fact, for some people spending time on their own can be very positive." Times
  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8123-1591666,00.html
  
  
• 'Oral healh through public health', 5 - 6th September 2005. A two day conference celebrating the work of Professor Aubrey Sheiham. Contact Catherine Conroy for a programme and registration form.

April 2005

• Public health scientists at UCL have found that a happy state of mind can lead to a healthier heart and lower levels of stress-inducing chemicals. More ....

March 2005

• The new World Health Organisation (WHO) Commission on Social Determinants of Health, which was launched on 18 March in Santiago, Chile by Dr Jong-Wook Lee, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), with Ricardo Lagos Escobar, President of the Republic of Chile will be based in the Deparment and WHO's head office in Geneva. Professor Sir Michael Marmot will chair the Commission which is due to report back in three years. See full UCL Press Release and Vacancies.
• The Royal Society has announced the long-list for this year’s Aventis Prizes for Science Books’ General Prize, which celebrates the very best in popular science writing for adults. The list of 13 titles in cludes 'Status Syndrome' by Professor Sir Michael Marmot. The formal announcement was made by Bill Bryson, chair of the General Prize judging panel and winner of the 2004 General Prize for his book ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’. For more information on the Aventis Prizes for Science Books please visit the website at www.aventisprizes.com. The General prize short list will be announced on 2 April 2005.
• Coronary Heart Disease Epidemiology. From aetiology to public health 2nd Edition OUP, March 2005 Edited by Michael Marmot, UCL and Paul Elliot, Imperial College. ‘For the eager student as well as for the epidemiologist just trying to keep up, this is probably the most complete and authoritative text now available (BMJ review from the 1st edition)
• MSc/PhD Funding Opportunities:Social Epidemiology Training Fellowships – Job Ref 230. The Department of Epidemiology and Public Health invites applications for PhD students, beginning in October 2005. In addition to the two training fellowships, the department will be awarding scholarships ( 4 x £1,000 awards) to successful MSc Health and Society : Social Epidemiology applicants.

December 2004

• A project carried out by Richard Watt, Kerina Tull, Sophie Hawkesworth, Dee Hamill, Janet Russell and Louise Hodge was given a boost by the TV presenter Davina McCall. Davina was at UCL to thank 312 volunteer Camden and Islington mothers who took part in an innovated UCL infant feeding study. The study aimed to intervene at an early stage after the birth of the child in order to support the breastfeeding mother and encourage them to breastfeed for longer. More.....
• The annual Longevity Prize of the Foundation IPSEN has been unanimously awarded to Professor Sir Michael Marmot in recognition of his outstanding work in the domain of Social Science and Longevity. The 20,000 euro prize will be awarded at the World Congress of Gerontology, Rio de Janeiro, 27 June 2005 . Another UCL scientists, Professor Linda Partridge, UCL Centre for Research on Ageing, previously received this annual prize.
• Most important paper on public health in Brazil 2004. A paper by the Dental Public Health group won the Science and Technology Incentive for the National Health System Award-2004 of the Brazilian Ministry of Health for most important paper on public health in Brazil. It is entitled" Associations between health promoting schools' policies and indicators of oral health in Brazil by Moyses ST, Moyses SJ, Watt RG, Sheiham A. Health Promotion International. 2003;18 (3):209-18. The objective of this study was to assess whether the oral health of 12-year-old children in supportive schools, where health promoting policies had been developed, was better than that of children in non-supportive schools. The research found tht schools with a comprehensive curriculum were more likely to have a higher percentage of caries-free children and fewer children with dental trauma. Benefit can be obtained for the improvement of the oral health of children living in deprived areas if they attend supportive schools.

September 2004

• Balzan Prize for Epidemiology. Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health UCL, has won the Balzan Prize for Epidemiology, for "his seminal contributions to epidemiology, having established hitherto unsuspected links between social status and differences in health and life expectancy. He has initiated the era of social epidemiology and paved the way for the development of a wholly new concept of preventive medicine". 7 September 2004.
• Helping smokers stop. A guide for the dental team. Dr Rob H Beaglehole and Dr Richard G Watt, UCL NHS Health Development Agency June 2004.
• Work, stress and health: the Whitehall II study. Editor: Dr Jane E. Ferrie. Published by Public and Commercial Services Union on behalf of Council of Civil Services Unions/Cabinet Office, 2004.
• Status Syndrome. How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity, by Professor Sir Michael Marmot.
  Bloomsbury, 2004 ISBN 0-7475-7049-3.
  Henry Holt, 2004 ISBN 0-8050-7370-1.
• MSc in Health and Society: Social Epidemiology
  The Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is launching an exciting new master's programme in Health and Society :Social Epidemiology (1 year full time or 2 years part-time) for the academic year 2004/2005. For further details please contact Catherine Conroy.
• Health, wealth and lifestyles of the older population in England: The 2002 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Editors: Michael Marmot, James Banks, Richard Blundell, Carli Lessof and James Nazroo The findings from the first wave of the survey were published in December 2003. To buy a printed copy (£35), please contact the Institute for Fiscal Studies or by telephone on 020 7291 4800.
• Social Determinants of Health The Solid Facts (Second Edition). Edited by Richard Wilkinson and Michael Marmot. WHO Regional Office for Europe,2003.
• A Life Course Approach to Chronic Disease Epidemiology (2nd edition) Edited by Diana Kuh, MRC National Survey of Health and Development, UCL and Yoav Ben-Shlomo, University of Bristol,UK Oxford University Press. The 2nd edition was launched at the ICHS public seminar 10 May 2004.
• Health Inequality. An Introduction to Concepts, Theories and Methods by Professor Mel Bartley. Polity Press in association with Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2004 ISBN:0-7456 2779-X ISBN:0-7456 2780-3(pb)
  

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