OBJECTIVES To explain weight gain patterns in the first two years of life, we compared the predictive values of potential risk factors individually and within four different domains: prenatal, nutrition, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors. METHODS In a Dutch population-based birth cohort, length and weight were measured in 2475 infants at 1, 6, 12 and 24 months. Factors that might influence ...

Schistosomiasis prevalence and egg counts remained low one year after chemotherapy in most households in a hyperendemic rural area in northern Minas Gerais but several distinct spatial patterns could be observed in relation to IgE levels and to a lesser extent to exposure risk (TBM) and type of water supply. An inverse relationship between pre-treatment household prevalence and egg counts on th...

As the school choice options have evolved over recent years, it is important to have an understanding of what family and school factors are associated with enrollment decisions of households. In this paper, we use restricted-access data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), which allows us to identify household location from a nationally representative sample of individuals and to...

Awareness of the health risks of smoking is an important factor in predicting smoking-related behaviour; however, little is known about the knowledge of health risks in low-income countries such as India. The present study examined beliefs about the harms of smoking and the impact of health knowledge on intentions to quit among a sample of 249 current smokers in both urban and rural areas in tw...

Mergers and acquisitions of nonprofit hospitals are on the rise. Proceeds from many of these transactions will endow new health legacy foundations (HLFs). These philanthropic entities have substantial potential for charitable investment in US communities. Research indicates that the greatest improvements in population health can be achieved by addressing underlying social factors. Determining w...

Hand eczema is common and has an adverse impact on the lives of patients. There is a need for population-based surveys on the pharmacoepidemiological aspects, quality of life and impact of socioeconomic factors in hand eczema. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate these factors. A questionnaire-based nationwide survey of health was performed, including questions on hand eczem...

This paper presents examples of modeling studies carried out at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) where an integration of biophysical and socioeconomic factors in modeling impacts of global environmental was successfully achieved. The first example is taken from an integrated analysis of the impacts of alternative future energy paths on the regional supply and tra...

OBJECTIVE To assess the association between Aedes aegypti larvae infestation rates and socioeconomic factors. METHODS Infestation rates in the urban area of the city of São José do Rio Preto, Southeastern Brazil, were calculated in January of 2005 and subsequently geocoded by address. The urban census tracts were grouped by means of main component analysis, thus producing four socioeconomic c...

BACKGROUND Non-medical factors may be important determinants for granting disability pension (DP) even though disability is medically defined, as in Norway. The aim of this analysis was to identify determinants of DP in a total county population in a 10-year follow-up study. METHODS Participants were people without DP, 20- to 66-years-old in 1984-1986. The baseline data were obtained in the N...

The relation between ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and health is complex, has changed over time, and differs between countries. In the United States there is a long tradition of treating ethnic group membership simply as a socioeconomic measure, and differentials in health status between African Americans and groups of European origin have been considered purely socioeconomic. A contrary p...