BACKGROUND Epidemiologic studies have yielded mixed findings on the association of psychosocial stressors with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. In this study, we examined associations of stressful life events (SLE) and social strain with incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke (overall, and for hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes) independent of sociodemographic characteristics, and we ...

OBJECTIVE Little is known about the sociocultural determinants of mental illness at hospital presentation. Our objective was to examine ethnic differences in illness severity at hospital admission among Chinese, South Asian, and the general population living in Ontario, Canada. METHODS We conducted a large, population-based, cross-sectional study of psychiatric inpatients aged from 19 to 105 ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the determinants of dyslipidemia in preschoolers. METHODS A total of 227 preschoolers residing in an urban area of the city of Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil were evaluated at age 5 years, using a cross-sectional design. Dietary intake from a food frequency questionnaire, anthropometric/biochemical parameters, and socioeconomic/behavioral information from a question...

OBJECTIVE To analyze the association between leisure-time physical inactivity and sociodemographic factors and risk or protection factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases among adults. METHODS Cross-sectional study comprising adults aged 18 years and older (n = 1,996). Data was obtained from the Surveillance System for Risk Factors for Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases (CNCDs), a random-di...

Background. Malaria is an entrenched global health challenge particularly in the sub-Saharan African countries. However, in Ghana, little is known about the determinants of malaria prevalence among under-five children. As such, this study sought to examine the sociodemographic factors that determine malaria among under-five children in Ghana. Methods. This paper used secondary data drawn from t...

BACKGROUND Dietary guidelines in France give quantitative recommendations for intake of meat, fish and dairy products whereas consumers are increasingly concerned by the environmental impacts associated with the production of these foods. This potentially leads to consumer dilemmas when purchasing food products. The present study aimed at investigating the sociodemographic profiles of individua...

PURPOSE In the Alabama Black Belt, poverty is high, and the educational level is low. Studies have found increased tobacco use among individuals exposed to high levels of stress. Few studies have been conducted in this region to measure smoking status, its sociodemographic determinants, and how smoking status relates to stressful environmental conditions. METHODS A cross-sectional questionnai...

BACKGROUND Data on the social determinants of health can help primary care practices target improvement efforts, yet relevant data are rarely available. Our family practice located in Toronto, Ontario routinely collects patient-level sociodemographic data via a pilot-tested survey developed by a multi-organizational steering committee. We sought to use these data to assess the relationship betw...

background the responsiveness of a health system is considered to be an intrinsic goal of  health systems and an essential aspect in performance assessment. numerous studies have analysed health system responsiveness and related concepts, especially across different countries and health systems. however, fewer studies have applied the concept for the evaluation of specific healthcare delivery s...