BACKGROUND Socioeconomic inequalities in death rates from all causes combined widened from 1960 until 1990 in the U.S., largely because cardiovascular death rates decreased more slowly in lower than in higher socioeconomic groups. However, no studies have examined trends in inequalities using recent US national data. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We calculated annual age-standardized death r...

BACKGROUND Infertility is accompanied by numerous psychological and social problems. Infertile couples are more anxious and emotionally distressed than other fertile people. Previous studies suggested that infertility is more stressful for women than men. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the status of general health of infertile couples. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-...

BACKGROUND Genetic influences on alcoholism risk are well-documented in men, but uncertain in women. We tested for gender differences in genetic influences on, and risk-factors for, DSM-III-R alcohol dependence (AD). METHOD Diagnostic follow-up interviews were conducted in 1992-3 by telephone with twins from an Australian twin panel first surveyed in 1980-82 (N = 5889 respondents). Data were ...

BACKGROUND Research supports that in vitro fertilization causes anxiety and that anxiety can continue into the resulting pregnancy. Most women who have IVF will have a less invasive treatment for infertility prior to IVF; however, it is unclear if specific less invasive treatment cycles impact anxiety that is experienced in the pregnancy resulting from IVF. METHODS A prospective study was con...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of overweight and obese middle or high school students and identify relevant factors influencing their QOL scores. METHODS 716 students were recruited from 6 middle or high schools in Hangzhou, China. The Chinese version of the Youth Quality of Life Instrument-Weight Module (YQOL-W) was self administered. The YQOL-W scores were compared among di...

BACKGROUND The shortage of surgeon is one of the serious problems in Japan. To solve the problem, various efforts have been undertaken to improve surgical education and training. However, appropriate teaching methods in the operating room have not been well established. The aim of this study is to assess the utility of a novel interactive educational (IE) system for surgical education on urolog...

This paper is concerned with the relation between marriage and higher education. We build up a model with educational assortative matching where individuals decide whether to acquire higher education both for obtaining educational surplus and for increasing the probability to be matched with an educated partner. Education can be either asymmetric or symmetric between genders. The educational ch...

Breast cancer incidence rates are low but rising in urban Mongolia. We collected reproductive and lifestyle factor information and measured anthropometrics and serum sex steroid concentrations among 314 premenopausal women living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Mean differences in hormone concentrations by these factors were calculated using age-adjusted quadratic regression splines. Estrone and estr...