Effects of Outdoor and Household Air Pollution on Hand Grip Strength in a Longitudinal Study of Rural Beijing Adults.

Outdoor and household PM are established risk factors for chronic disease and early mortality. In China, high levels of outdoor PM and solid fuel use for cooking and heating, especially in winter, pose large health risks to the country's aging population. Hand grip strength is a validated biomarker of functional aging and strong predictor of disability and mortality in older adults.

Evaluating the Role and Policy Implications of Using External Evidence in Survival Extrapolations: A Case Study of Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Therapy for Second-Line DLBCL.

Background And Objective: Health technology assessment (HTA) of haemato-oncology therapies typically requires extrapolation of long-term survival beyond a trial's follow-up. Health technology assessment agencies must balance caution around uncertainty in early follow-up trial data whilst aiming to provide timely access. This study qualitatively and quantitatively assessed how eight HTA agencies considered maturing data and external evidence.

Perinatal health inequalities between Canadian-born and foreign-born women in Canada: a decomposition analysis.

Background: Foreign-born mothers are generally believed to experience better perinatal outcomes than Canadian-born mothers, despite relatively lower socioeconomic status. However, the magnitude and direction of inequalities by nativity status vary across outcomes. Little is known about factors contributing to the health inequalities by nativity status across different perinatal outcomes.

Antenatal Corticosteroid Administration and Childhood Respiratory Morbidity: A Regression Discontinuity Study.

Objective: To determine if routine administration of antenatal corticosteroids affects the risk of infant lower respiratory tract infection and/or childhood asthma.

Design: Linked population-based cohort analysed using a regression discontinuity design, which better controls for confounding than standard observational studies.

Setting: British Columbia, Canada.

Cigarette taxation and socioeconomic inequalities in under-5 mortality across 94 low-income and middle-income countries: a longitudinal ecological study.

Background: Although increasing cigarette taxes is known to improve child survival, there are few data on their effect on socioeconomic inequalities in child mortality. We investigated the association between cigarette taxation and socioeconomic inequalities in mortality in children younger than 5 years (hereafter referred to as under-5 mortality) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: This was a longitudinal ecological study.

Contributors to age inequalities in loneliness among older adults: a decomposition analysis of 29 countries.

Objectives: Loneliness is highly prevalent and can have severe health consequences. While generally assumed to increase with age, some evidence suggests the relationship between age and loneliness may vary across country. In this study, we investigate the contribution of demographic and health factors to age-related inequalities in loneliness both within and across countries.

Study protocol: Comparison of different risk prediction modelling approaches for COVID-19 related death using the OpenSAFELY platform.

On March 11th 2020, the World Health Organization characterised COVID-19 as a pandemic. Responses to containing the spread of the virus have relied heavily on policies involving restricting contact between people. Evolving policies regarding shielding and individual choices about restricting social contact will rely heavily on perceived risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19.

Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality associated with mental disorders: a population-based cohort study.

Mental disorders are associated with elevated mortality rates and reduced life expectancy. However, it is unclear whether these associations differ by socioeconomic position (SEP). The aim of this study was to explore comprehensively the role of individual-level SEP in the associations between specific types of mental disorders and mortality (due to all causes, and to natural or external causes), presenting both relative and absolute measures.

Effects of a coal to clean heating policy on acute myocardial infarction in Beijing: a difference-in-differences analysis.

Background: In 2015, the Chinese Government launched the coal to clean heating policy (CHP), designed to improve air quality and health in China. The CHP banned household coal burning and provided subsidies for clean electric or gas-powered heating for millions of peri-urban and rural households. We aimed to investigate whether the CHP affected the incidence of acute myocardial infarction in Beijing townships.

Access to affordable daycare and women's mental health in Rajasthan, India: Evidence from a cluster-randomised social intervention.

Background: Women in India are often responsible for unpaid household work, family caregiving, and paid work, which can contribute to poorer mental health. The provision of childcare has the potential to improve women's mental health, but evidence on the effects of providing access to daycare is limited.

Methods: We designed a cluster-randomised trial and used data from a sample of 2858 mothers with age-eligible children from 160 village hamlets in rural Rajasthan, India, to evaluate the impact of providing access to a community-based daycare programme on social and emotional aspects of women's mental health.

Cost-effectiveness of the RefluxStop device for management of refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease in Switzerland.

Background: One of the most prevalent conditions in Western societies is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In Switzerland, the standard treatment for GERD is proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-based medical management, but surgical options such as Nissen fundoplication and magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) are available. RefluxStop is a novel device that offers an alternative solution.

OpenSAFELY: The impact of COVID-19 on azathioprine, leflunomide and methotrexate monitoring, and factors associated with change in monitoring rate.

Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented pressure on healthcare services. This study investigates whether disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) safety monitoring was affected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A population-based cohort study was conducted using the OpenSAFELY platform to access electronic health record data from 24.

The impact of COVID-19 on medication reviews in English primary care. An OpenSAFELY-TPP analysis of 20 million adult electronic health records.

Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to routine activity in primary care. Medication reviews are an important primary care activity ensuring safety and appropriateness of prescribing. A disruption could have significant negative implications for patient care.

Inequalities in access to prenatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of a population-based cohort.

Background: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, access to prenatal care was lower among some socio-demographic groups. This pandemic caused disruptions to routine preventative care, which could have increased inequalities.

Objectives: To investigate if the COVID-19 pandemic increased inequalities in access to prenatal care among those who are younger, live in rural areas, have a lower socio-economic situation (SES) and are recent immigrants.

Budget Impact of RefluxStop™ as a Treatment for Patients with Refractory Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease in the United Kingdom.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a common condition associated with heartburn and regurgitation. Standard of care for GORD patients in the UK involves initial treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and laparoscopic antireflux surgery in patients unwilling to continue or intolerant of long-term PPI treatment. Recently, RefluxStop™, a novel, implantable medical device, has proven to be an efficacious and cost-effective treatment for patients with GORD.

Antenatal corticosteroids and newborn respiratory outcomes in twins: A regression discontinuity study.

Objective: To estimate the effect of antenatal corticosteroids on newborn respiratory morbidity in twins.

Design: Regression discontinuity applied to population-based birth registry data.

Setting: British Columbia, Canada, 2008-2018.

Comparative effectiveness of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir versus sotrovimab and molnupiravir for preventing severe COVID-19 outcomes in non-hospitalised high-risk patients during Omicron waves: observational cohort study using the OpenSAFELY platform.

Background: Timely evidence of the comparative effectiveness between COVID-19 therapies in real-world settings is needed to inform clinical care. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir versus sotrovimab and molnupiravir in preventing severe COVID-19 outcomes in non-hospitalised high-risk COVID-19 adult patients during Omicron waves.

Methods: With the approval of NHS England, we conducted a real-world cohort study using the OpenSAFELY-TPP platform.

Impact of a vaccine passport on first-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine coverage by age and area-level social determinants of health in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario: an interrupted time series analysis.

Background: In Canada, all provinces implemented vaccine passports in 2021 to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission in non-essential indoor spaces and increase vaccine uptake (policies active September 2021-March 2022 in Quebec and Ontario). We sought to evaluate the impact of vaccine passport policies on first-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccination coverage by age, and area-level income and proportion of racialized residents.

Methods: We performed interrupted time series analyses using data from Quebec's and Ontario's vaccine registries linked to census information (population of 20.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antipsychotic prescribing in individuals with autism, dementia, learning disability, serious mental illness or living in a care home: a federated analysis of 59 million patients' primary care records in situ using OpenSAFELY.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected how care was delivered to vulnerable patients, such as those with dementia or learning disability.

Objective: To explore whether this affected antipsychotic prescribing in at-risk populations.

Methods: With the approval of NHS England, we completed a retrospective cohort study, using the OpenSAFELY platform to explore primary care data of 59 million patients.