Tom C Ru
Biographic Data
| ID | 156999 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tom C Ru |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tom C |
| FAMILY NAME | Ru |
| SIGNATURE | RU T C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Alzheimer Scotland |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9797-2188 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 16 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021
BACKGROUND: Disorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by…
Pre and post diagnostic dementia care in four Scottish prisons
Influences of genetically predicted and attained education on geographic mobility and their association with mortality
Home garden use during Covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of people's lives. Lockdown measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have been more stringent for those aged over 70, at highest risk for the disease. Here, we examine whether home garden usage is associated with self-reported mental and physical wellbeing in older adults, during COVID-19 lockdown in Scotland. This study analysed data from 171 individuals (mean age 84 ± 0.5 years) from the Lothian …
The impact of neighbourhood crime on mental health
Change in Physical Activity, Sleep Quality, and Psychosocial Variables during Covid-19 Lockdown
(1) Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the lives of older people. In this study, we examine changes in physical activity, sleep quality, and psychosocial variables among older people during COVID-19 lockdown. We build on cross-sectional studies on this topic by assessing change longitudinally. We also examined whether participant characteristics including demographic, cognitive, personality, and health variables wer…
Global, regional, and national burden of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, 1990–2016
BACKGROUND: The number of individuals living with dementia is increasing, negatively affecting families, communities, and health-care systems around the world. A successful response to these challenges requires an accurate understanding of the dementia disease burden. We aimed to present the first detailed analysis of the global prevalence, mortality, and overall burden of dementia as captured by the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk …
Is Dog Ownership Associated with Mental Health? A Population Study of 68,362 Adults Living in England
The association between dog ownership and mental health remains unclear. The primary aim of this study was to investigate this association, while the secondary aim was to examine possible interactions between dog ownership and marital status in relation to mental health. A population sample of 68,362 adults living in England were included in this study. Self-reported information on short-term psychological distress and long-standing mental illnes…
Biomarker assessment of tobacco smoking exposure and risk of dementia death
BACKGROUND: While there is a suggestion that self-reported tobacco smoking may be a risk factor for dementia, to date, it has not been possible to explore the thresholds at which this exposure elevates risk. Accordingly, our aim was to relate cotinine, a biomarker of tobacco smoking, to risk of dementia death. METHODS: We pooled 14 prospective cohort studies that held data on cotinine (plasma or saliva), covariates and death records. RESULTS: In …
How data science can advance mental health research
Psychological distress, neuroticism, and cause-specific mortality
BACKGROUND: It is well established that psychological distress (depression and anxiety) is related to an increased risk of mortality. The personality trait of neuroticism, reflecting a relatively stable tendency towards negative emotions, has also been associated with elevated rates of death in some studies. Accordingly, we tested the possibility that it is the neuroticism trait itself, rather than the distress state, that is generating an increa…
Explaining the excess mortality in Scotland compared with England
BACKGROUND: Mortality in Scotland is higher than in the rest of west and central Europe and is improving more slowly. Relative to England and Wales, the excess is only partially explained by area deprivation. We tested the extent to which sociodemographic, behavioural, anthropometric and biological factors explain the higher mortality in Scotland compared with England. METHODS: Pooled data from 18 nationally representative cohort studies comprisi…
Pulmonary function as a risk factor for dementia death
OP18 Does Dementia Risk Begin in Early Life? Examining the Relationship Between Height and Dementia Mortality in an Individual Participant Meta-analysis of 181,800 People from Eighteen Prospective Coh…
Background Risk factors measured in middle age do not fully explain the occurrence of future dementia risk. This raises the possibility that pre-adult risk factors may be implicated in its aetiology. Height is a proxy for early life circumstances (early life illness, adversity, nutritional privation, or psychosocial stress). Lower physical stature is associated with elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates. Since CVD and dementia have a shared…
Association between psychological distress and mortality
OBJECTIVE: To quantify the link between lower, subclinically symptomatic, levels of psychological distress and cause-specific mortality in a large scale, population based study. DESIGN: Individual participant meta-analysis of 10 large prospective cohort studies from the Health Survey for England. Baseline psychological distress measured by the 12 item General Health Questionnaire score, and mortality from death certification. PARTICIPANTS: 68,222…
OP17 Do Low Levels of Psychological Distress Predict Mortality? Evidence from an Individual Participant Meta-Analysis of ten Prospective Cohort Studies
Background A series of studies have linked psychological distress (depression and anxiety) with cause-specific mortality, but the risk of lower, sub-clinically symptomatic, levels of distress – hitherto of little interest to specialist mental health practitioners – has not been quantified. Methods We conducted an individual participant meta-analysis of ten large prospective cohort studies from the Health Survey for England. Baseline psychological…
Is Dog Ownership Associated with Mental Health? A Population Study of 68,362 Adults Living in England
The association between dog ownership and mental health remains unclear. The primary aim of this study was to investigate this association, while the secondary aim was to examine possible interactions between dog ownership and marital status in relation to mental health. A population sample of 68,362 adults living in England were included in this study. Self-reported information on short-term psychological distress and long-standing mental illnes…
Influences of genetically predicted and attained education on geographic mobility and their association with mortality
How data science can advance mental health research
Psychological distress, neuroticism, and cause-specific mortality
BACKGROUND: It is well established that psychological distress (depression and anxiety) is related to an increased risk of mortality. The personality trait of neuroticism, reflecting a relatively stable tendency towards negative emotions, has also been associated with elevated rates of death in some studies. Accordingly, we tested the possibility that it is the neuroticism trait itself, rather than the distress state, that is generating an increa…
Explaining the excess mortality in Scotland compared with England
BACKGROUND: Mortality in Scotland is higher than in the rest of west and central Europe and is improving more slowly. Relative to England and Wales, the excess is only partially explained by area deprivation. We tested the extent to which sociodemographic, behavioural, anthropometric and biological factors explain the higher mortality in Scotland compared with England. METHODS: Pooled data from 18 nationally representative cohort studies comprisi…
Association between psychological distress and mortality
OBJECTIVE: To quantify the link between lower, subclinically symptomatic, levels of psychological distress and cause-specific mortality in a large scale, population based study. DESIGN: Individual participant meta-analysis of 10 large prospective cohort studies from the Health Survey for England. Baseline psychological distress measured by the 12 item General Health Questionnaire score, and mortality from death certification. PARTICIPANTS: 68,222…
OP17 Do Low Levels of Psychological Distress Predict Mortality? Evidence from an Individual Participant Meta-Analysis of ten Prospective Cohort Studies
Background A series of studies have linked psychological distress (depression and anxiety) with cause-specific mortality, but the risk of lower, sub-clinically symptomatic, levels of distress – hitherto of little interest to specialist mental health practitioners – has not been quantified. Methods We conducted an individual participant meta-analysis of ten large prospective cohort studies from the Health Survey for England. Baseline psychological…
OP18 Does Dementia Risk Begin in Early Life? Examining the Relationship Between Height and Dementia Mortality in an Individual Participant Meta-analysis of 181,800 People from Eighteen Prospective Coh…
Background Risk factors measured in middle age do not fully explain the occurrence of future dementia risk. This raises the possibility that pre-adult risk factors may be implicated in its aetiology. Height is a proxy for early life circumstances (early life illness, adversity, nutritional privation, or psychosocial stress). Lower physical stature is associated with elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates. Since CVD and dementia have a shared…
Explaining the excess mortality in Scotland compared with England
BACKGROUND: Mortality in Scotland is higher than in the rest of west and central Europe and is improving more slowly. Relative to England and Wales, the excess is only partially explained by area deprivation. We tested the extent to which sociodemographic, behavioural, anthropometric and biological factors explain the higher mortality in Scotland compared with England. METHODS: Pooled data from 18 nationally representative cohort studies comprisi…
Pulmonary function as a risk factor for dementia death
Psychological distress, neuroticism, and cause-specific mortality
BACKGROUND: It is well established that psychological distress (depression and anxiety) is related to an increased risk of mortality. The personality trait of neuroticism, reflecting a relatively stable tendency towards negative emotions, has also been associated with elevated rates of death in some studies. Accordingly, we tested the possibility that it is the neuroticism trait itself, rather than the distress state, that is generating an increa…
Biomarker assessment of tobacco smoking exposure and risk of dementia death
BACKGROUND: While there is a suggestion that self-reported tobacco smoking may be a risk factor for dementia, to date, it has not been possible to explore the thresholds at which this exposure elevates risk. Accordingly, our aim was to relate cotinine, a biomarker of tobacco smoking, to risk of dementia death. METHODS: We pooled 14 prospective cohort studies that held data on cotinine (plasma or saliva), covariates and death records. RESULTS: In …
How data science can advance mental health research
Global, regional, and national burden of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, 1990–2016
BACKGROUND: The number of individuals living with dementia is increasing, negatively affecting families, communities, and health-care systems around the world. A successful response to these challenges requires an accurate understanding of the dementia disease burden. We aimed to present the first detailed analysis of the global prevalence, mortality, and overall burden of dementia as captured by the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk …
Is Dog Ownership Associated with Mental Health? A Population Study of 68,362 Adults Living in England
The association between dog ownership and mental health remains unclear. The primary aim of this study was to investigate this association, while the secondary aim was to examine possible interactions between dog ownership and marital status in relation to mental health. A population sample of 68,362 adults living in England were included in this study. Self-reported information on short-term psychological distress and long-standing mental illnes…
Change in Physical Activity, Sleep Quality, and Psychosocial Variables during Covid-19 Lockdown
(1) Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the lives of older people. In this study, we examine changes in physical activity, sleep quality, and psychosocial variables among older people during COVID-19 lockdown. We build on cross-sectional studies on this topic by assessing change longitudinally. We also examined whether participant characteristics including demographic, cognitive, personality, and health variables wer…
Home garden use during Covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of people's lives. Lockdown measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have been more stringent for those aged over 70, at highest risk for the disease. Here, we examine whether home garden usage is associated with self-reported mental and physical wellbeing in older adults, during COVID-19 lockdown in Scotland. This study analysed data from 171 individuals (mean age 84 ± 0.5 years) from the Lothian …
The impact of neighbourhood crime on mental health
Influences of genetically predicted and attained education on geographic mobility and their association with mortality
Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021
BACKGROUND: Disorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by…
Pre and post diagnostic dementia care in four Scottish prisons
Medicine (14 works) · Disease (9 works) · Environmental health (8 works) · Psychiatry (8 works) · Demography (7 works) · Population (7 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Clinical Psychology (6 works) · Gerontology (6 works) · Cohort (5 works)