George David Batty
Biographic Data
| ID | 171310 |
|---|---|
| NAME | George David Batty |
| GIVEN NAMES | George David |
| FAMILY NAME | Batty |
| SIGNATURE | BATTY G D |
| AFFILIATIONS | University College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1822-5753 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 89 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 243 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 89 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 10 |
Navigating the shifting Mendelian randomisation landscape: Some observations and suggestions for editors, reviewers and investigators
Health characteristics and health behaviours in male former contact sports participants: Comparison with general population controls in a Finnish cohort study
BACKGROUND: Athletes who have a history of participation in contact sports appear to subsequently experience elevated rates of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia but have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and selected cancers. We quantified the occurrence of little-examined cardiometabolic and mental health outcomes, plus associated lifestyle factors, in a group of former contact sports athletes and a general population sample.…
Cognitive function in adolescence and the risk of early-onset stroke
Background Stroke is increasingly prevalent at younger ages but the risk factors are uncertain. We examined the association between adolescent cognitive function and early-onset stroke. Methods This was a nationwide population-based cohort study of 1 741 345 Israeli adolescents (42% women) who underwent comprehensive cognitive function tests at age 16–20 years, before mandatory military service, during 1987–2012. Cognitive function (range: 1–9) w…
Childhood cognitive ability and self-harm and suicide in later life
This extends work on cognitive ability and mental health, demonstrating that these associations can span the life course and into middle and older age
Homelessness in early adulthood and biomedical risk factors by middle-age: The 1970 British Cohort Study
BACKGROUND: Homelessness has been linked to premature mortality but the relationship with biomedical risk factors is uncertain. METHODS: We analysed data from 8581 participants in the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study. Homelessness and type of experience were self-reported at 30 years of age. Nine biomarkers outcomes were collected at 46 years of age: body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, total and high-density cholesterol, triglycerides, glycated…
Traumatic brain injury, collision sports participation, and neurodegenerative disorders: Narrative power, scientific evidence, and litigation
The present and future burden of neurodegenerative disorder, particularly dementia, for individuals, society, and health care systems has been extremely well documented.Dementia currently directly affects around 50 million people globally and, owing to demographic expansion, its prevalence is expected to triple over the following three decades. 1The disappointing results of trials of drug treatments for dementia, motor neuron disease (amyotrophic…
Association of public care in childhood with social, criminal, cognitive, and health outcomes in middle-age: Five decades of follow-up of members of the 1958 birth cohort study
Background Children who have been exposed to public (out-of-home) care experience a range of negative outcomes by late adolescence and early adulthood. The longer-term impact of childhood care is, however, uncertain. Aim To examine if there is a prospective association between childhood public care and adverse life outcomes in middle-age. Methods We used data from the UK 1958 birth cohort study of 18 558 individuals. Parents reported offspring ca…
Adverse childhood experiences and adult health: The need for stronger study designs to evaluate impact
Early life is regarded as a crucial period of neurobiological, emotional, social and physical development in all animal species and may have long-term implications for health across the life course. The first studies examining the preadult origins of chronic disease were probably published more than 50 years ago and based on rodent models.1 By briefly administering a suboptimal diet to newborn mice, Dubos and others1 demonstrated a marked impact …
Biomarker-assessed passive smoking in relation to cause-specific mortality: Pooled data from 12 prospective cohort studies comprising 36 584 individuals
AIMS: While investigators have typically quantified the health risk of passive (secondhand) smoking by using self-reported data, these are liable to measurement error. By pooling data across studies, we examined the prospective relation of a biochemical assessment of passive smoking, salivary cotinine, with mortality from a range of causes. METHODS: We combined data from 12 cohort studies from England and Scotland initiated between 1998 and 2008.…
Association between socioeconomic status and the development of mental and physical health conditions in adulthood: A multi-cohort study
BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic disadvantage is a risk factor for many diseases. We characterised cascades of these conditions by using a data-driven approach to examine the association between socioeconomic status and temporal sequences in the development of 56 common diseases and health conditions. METHODS: In this multi-cohort study, we used data from two Finnish prospective cohort studies: the Health and Social Support study and the Finnish Public …
Out‐of‐home care in childhood and biomedical risk factors in middle‐age: National birth cohort study
OBJECTIVE: With there being an apparent impact of experience of out-of-home care in childhood on chronic disease and mortality, we examined how such adversity might be embodied such that it has a measurable impact on human biology, so mediating this relationship. METHODS: We used data from the UK National Child Development Study in which exposure to public care was prospectively gathered on three occasions up to age 16. Study members also partici…
Personality, disability‐free life years, and life expectancy: Individual participant meta‐analysis of 131,195 individuals from 10 cohort studies
OBJECTIVE: We examined how personality traits of the Five Factor Model were related to years of healthy life years lost (mortality and disability) for individuals and the population. METHOD: Participants were 131,195 individuals from 10 cohort studies from Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States (n = 43,935 from seven cohort studies for the longitudinal analysis of disability, assessed using scales of Activities of Daily Liv…
Association of illicit drug use in adolescence with socioeconomic and criminal justice outcomes in adulthood: Prospective findings from a UK national birth cohort
Background Illicit drug use in adolescence has been linked to drug use and poor mental health in adult life, but few studies have examined the relation between adult economic and criminal justice outcomes. Methods We analysed data from 14 082 participants (6999 women) in the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study. Illicit drug use over study members’ lifetime and in the past year were self-reported at 16 years of age. Thirteen outcomes were self-reporte…
Change in device-measured physical activity assessed in childhood and adolescence in relation to depressive symptoms: A general population-based cohort study
AIM: Evidence for a link between physical activity and mental health in young people is hampered by methodological shortcomings. Using repeat assessments of device-measured physical activity, we examined the association of within-individual variation in free-living activity over 7 years with depressive symptoms. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of a nationally representative sample of children born in the UK (n=4898). Physical activit…
Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
With depression being the psychiatric disorder incurring the largest societal costs in developed countries, there is a need to gather evidence on the role of nutrition in depression, to help develop recommendations and guide future psychiatric health care. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the link between diet quality, measured using a range of predefined indices, and depressive outcomes. Medline, Embase and PsychInfo were sear…
Association of change in cognitive function from early adulthood to middle age with risk of cause-specific mortality: The Vietnam Experience Study
BACKGROUND: Studies with single baseline measurements of cognitive function consistently reveal inverse relationships with mortality risk. The relation of change in functioning, particularly from early in the life course, which may offer additional insights into causality, has not, to the best of our knowledge, been tested. AIMS: To examine the association of change in cognition between late adolescence and middle age with cause-specific mortalit…
Association between changes in lifestyle and all-cause mortality: The Health and Lifestyle Survey
BACKGROUND: To examine the combined influence of changes in physical activity, diet, smoking and alcohol consumption on all-cause mortality. METHODS: Health behaviours were assessed in 1984/1985 and 1991/1992 in 8123 adults from the UK (4666 women, median age 41.0 years). An unhealthy lifestyle score was calculated, allocating one point for smoking, fruits and vegetables 14 units (women) or >21 units of alcohol (men) per week. RESULTS: There were…
Cognitive function trajectories and their determinants in older people: 8 Years of follow-up in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
BACKGROUND: Maintaining cognitive function is an important aspect of healthy ageing. In this study, we examined age trajectories of cognitive decline in a large nationally representative sample of older people in England. We explored the factors that influence such decline and whether these differed by gender. METHODS: Latent growth curve modelling was used to explore age-specific changes, and influences on them, in an 8-year period in memory, ex…
Association of nursery and early school attendance with later health behaviours, biomedical risk factors, and mortality: Evidence from four decades of follow-up of participants in the 1958 birth cohor…
BACKGROUND: Although early life education for improved long-term health and the amelioration of socioeconomically generated inequalities in chronic disease is advocated in influential policy statements, the evidence base is very modest. AIMS: To address this dearth of evidence using data from a representative UK national birth cohort study. METHODS: The analytical sample comprised men and women in the 1958 birth cohort study with prospectively ga…
Systemic inflammation and suicide risk: Cohort study of 419 527 Korean men and women
BACKGROUND: Data from only one study have been used to examine the relationship between systemic inflammation and later suicide risk, and a strong positive association was apparent. More research is needed, particularly looking at gender, not least because women are seemingly more vulnerable to inflammation-induced mood changes than men. METHODS: The Korean Cancer Prevention Study had a cohort of over 1 million individuals aged 30-95 years at bas…
Biomarker assessment of tobacco smoking exposure and risk of dementia death: Pooling of individual participant data from 14 cohort studies
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 …
Psychological distress, neuroticism, and cause-specific mortality: Early prospective evidence from UK Biobank
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…
Childhood Club Participation and All-Cause Mortality in Adulthood: A 65-Year Follow-Up Study of a Population-Representative Sample in Scotland
OBJECTIVES: Social participation in middle and older age is associated with lower mortality risk across many prospective cohort studies. However, there is a paucity of evidence on social participation in youth in relation to mortality, which could help inform an understanding of the origin of the association and give credence to causality. The present study investigates the relation of early-life club membership-a proxy measure of social particip…
Reaction Time in Adolescence, Cumulative Allostatic Load, and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Adulthood: The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study
OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between reaction time in adolescence and subsequent symptoms of anxiety and depression and investigate the mediating role of sociodemographic measures, health behaviors, and allostatic load. METHODS: Participants were 705 members of the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study. Choice reaction time was measured at age 16. At age 36 years, anxiety and depression were assessed with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire…
Explaining the excess mortality in Scotland compared with England: Pooling of 18 cohort studies
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…
Life course epidemiology: Recognising the importance of adolescence
Life course epidemiology may be conceptualised as “the study of long term effects on later health or disease risk of physical or social exposures during gestation, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and later adult life.”1 Adolescence, the period between childhood and adulthood defined by the WHO as 10–19 years, has an uneasy status in epidemiology. On the one hand, adolescents, who now number over 1.2 billion worldwide—around 20% of the glo…
Accuracy of adults’ recall of childhood social class: Findings from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study
Background: Although adult reported childhood socioeconomic position has been related to health outcomes in many studies, little is known about the validity of such distantly recalled information. This study evaluated the validity of adults’ reports of childhood paternal social class. Methods: Data are drawn from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study, a cohort of 12 150 people born in Aberdeen (Scotland) who took part in a school based survey …
Mental ability across childhood in relation to risk factors for premature mortality in adult life: The 1970 British Cohort Study
OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation of scores on tests of mental ability across childhood with established risk factors for premature mortality at the age of 30 years. METHODS: A prospective cohort study based on members of the British Cohort Study born in Great Britain in 1970 who had complete data on IQ scores at five (N = 8203) or 10 (N = 8171) years of age and risk factors at age 30 years. RESULTS: In sex-adjusted analyses, higher IQ score at …
Childhood Socioeconomic Position, Educational Attainment, and Adult Cardiovascular Risk Factors: The Aberdeen Children of the 1950s Cohort Study
Objectives. We assessed the associations of childhood socioeconomic position with cardiovascular disease risk factors (smoking, binge alcohol drinking, and being overweight) and examined the roles of educational attainment and cognitive functioning in these associations. Methods. Data were derived from a cohort study involving 7184 individuals who were born in Aberdeen, Scotland, between 1950 and 1956; had detailed records on perinatal characteri…
Childhood IQ and life course socioeconomic position in relation to alcohol induced hangovers in adulthood: The Aberdeen children of the 1950s study: Table 1
Objective: To examine the association between scores on IQ tests in childhood and alcohol induced hangovers in middle aged men and women. Design, Setting, and Participants: A cohort of 12 150 people born in Aberdeen (Scotland) who took part in a school based survey in 1962 when IQ test scores were extracted from educational records. Between 2000 and 2003, 7184 (64%) responded to questionnaire inquiries regarding drinking behaviour. Main outcome m…
IQ in late adolescence/early adulthood, risk factors in middle age and later all-cause mortality in men: The Vietnam Experience Study
OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of potential mediating factors in explaining the IQ-mortality relation. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 4316 male former Vietnam-era US army personnel with IQ test results at entry into the service in late adolescence/early adulthood in the 1960/1970s (mean age at entry 20.4 years) participated in a telephone survey and medical examination in middle age (mean age 38.3 years) in 1985-6. They were then fo…
Cognitive function trajectories and their determinants in older people: 8 Years of follow-up in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
BACKGROUND: Maintaining cognitive function is an important aspect of healthy ageing. In this study, we examined age trajectories of cognitive decline in a large nationally representative sample of older people in England. We explored the factors that influence such decline and whether these differed by gender. METHODS: Latent growth curve modelling was used to explore age-specific changes, and influences on them, in an 8-year period in memory, ex…
Association of neighbourhood residence and preferences with the built environment, work-related travel behaviours, and health implications for employed adults: Findings from the Urban study
Childhood IQ in relation to risk factors for premature mortality in middle-aged persons: The Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study
Objective: A series of studies have shown an association between high childhood IQ scores and reduced rates of total mortality in adulthood. Several mechanisms have been advanced to explain these relationships, including mediation via established risk factors. This study examines the association between childhood IQ and a range of established physiological and behavioural risk factors for premature mortality in adulthood. Design, setting and part…
Early life predictors of childhood intelligence: Evidence from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study
Objective: To identify the early life predictors of childhood intelligence. Design: Cohort study of 10 424 children who were born in Aberdeen (Scotland) between 1950 and 1956. Results: Social class of father around the time of birth, gravidity, maternal age, maternal physical condition, whether the child was born outside of marriage, prematurity, intrauterine growth, and childhood height were all independently associated with childhood intelligen…
Impact of resurvey non-response on the associations between baseline risk factors and cardiovascular disease mortality: Prospective cohort study
BACKGROUND: Selection bias in observational epidemiology--the notion that people who participate in a study are fundamentally different from those who do not--is a perennial concern. In cohort studies, a potentially important but little investigated manifestation of selection bias is the distortion of the exposure-disease relationship according to participation status. METHODS: Seven years after the original UK Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS1;…
Childhood Mental Ability and Adult Alcohol Intake and Alcohol Problems: The 1970 British Cohort Study
Objectives. We examined the potential relation of mental ability test scores at age 10 years with alcohol problems and alcohol intake at age 30 years. Methods. We used data from a prospective observational study involving 8170 members of a birth cohort from Great Britain born in 1970. Data included mental ability scores at age 10 years and responses to inquiries about alcohol intake and problems at age 30 years. Results. After adjustment for pote…
Adult Socioeconomic Position and the Association Between Height and Coronary Heart Disease Mortality: Findings From 33 Years of Follow-Up in the Whitehall Study
In the Whitehall Study, which followed 17139 male civil servants over 33 years, the association between tall stature and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality differed between employment grades. In men without CHD at study entry, the hazard ratio per 15-cm increase in height was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.69, 0.85; P
Socioeconomic status and telomere length: The West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study: Table 1
BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesised that socioeconomically deprived people age more rapidly than their more advantaged counterparts and this is biologically manifest in shorter telomeres. However, in the very few studies conducted, substantial uncertainty exists regarding this relationship. METHODS: In the present investigation, 1542 men in the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study responded to a series of enquiries about their socioeconomi…
Cognitive epidemiology
This glossary provides a guide to some concepts, findings and issues of discussion in the new field of research in which intelligence test scores are associated with mortality and morbidity. Intelligence tests are devised and studied by differential psychologists. Some of the major concepts in differential psychology are explained, especially those regarding cognitive ability testing. Some aspects of IQ (intelligence) tests are described and some…
Relation between early life socioeconomic position and all cause mortality in two generations. A longitudinal study of Danish men born in 1953 and their parents
Objective: To examine (1) the relation between parental socioeconomic position and all cause mortality in two generations, (2) the relative importance of mother’s educational status and father’s occupational status on offspring mortality, and (3) the effect of factors in the family environment on these relations. Design: A longitudinal study with record linkage to the Civil Registration System. The data were analysed using Cox regression models. …
Intelligence in early adulthood and subsequent risk of unintentional injury over two decades: Cohort study of 1 109 475 Swedish men
BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence of an inverse association between intelligence (IQ) and unintentional injuries. METHODS: Analyses are based on a cohort of 1 109 475 Swedish men with IQ measured in early adulthood. Men were followed up for an average 24 years, and hospital admissions for unintentional injury were recorded. RESULTS: 198 133 (17.9%) men had at least one hospital admission for any unintentional injury during follow-up. The most…
Association of public care in childhood with social, criminal, cognitive, and health outcomes in middle-age: Five decades of follow-up of members of the 1958 birth cohort study
Background Children who have been exposed to public (out-of-home) care experience a range of negative outcomes by late adolescence and early adulthood. The longer-term impact of childhood care is, however, uncertain. Aim To examine if there is a prospective association between childhood public care and adverse life outcomes in middle-age. Methods We used data from the UK 1958 birth cohort study of 18 558 individuals. Parents reported offspring ca…
Association of nursery and early school attendance with later health behaviours, biomedical risk factors, and mortality: Evidence from four decades of follow-up of participants in the 1958 birth cohor…
BACKGROUND: Although early life education for improved long-term health and the amelioration of socioeconomically generated inequalities in chronic disease is advocated in influential policy statements, the evidence base is very modest. AIMS: To address this dearth of evidence using data from a representative UK national birth cohort study. METHODS: The analytical sample comprised men and women in the 1958 birth cohort study with prospectively ga…
Oral health as a risk factor for mortality in middle-aged men: The role of socioeconomic position and health behaviours
BACKGROUND: There is evidence of an association between poor oral health and mortality. This association is usually attributed to inflammatory and nutrition pathways. However, the role of health behaviours and socioeconomic position has not been adequately examined. The aims of this study were to examine the association between oral health and premature death among middle-aged men and to test whether it was explained by socioeconomic position and…
We must move on: Taking stock (yet again) of the evidence for socio-economic differentials in health
While working in Scandinavia for a year during my first spell of economic migrancy, I was told by locals that the Danish calendar had 14 months owing to the recurrent “November, November, November”—an indication of the inevitably damp, cold and prolonged Copenhagen winter characterised by the desertion of all but the most hardened of drinkers from the hostelries and coffee shops of this picturesque city. No such bleak offerings in this, the penul…
Association between offspring intelligence and parental mortality: A population-based cohort study of one million Swedish men and their parents
BACKGROUND: An inverse association of IQ with mortality has been observed in previous studies. Analyses of associations between offspring's IQ and parental mortality in biological and non-biological family relations may shed light on genetic and environmental influences. METHODS: In a target cohort of 1,235,375 Swedish men, 931,825 (75%) men had complete data on all variables used. IQ of offspring was measured at age 18 and mothers and father wer…
Association between changes in lifestyle and all-cause mortality: The Health and Lifestyle Survey
BACKGROUND: To examine the combined influence of changes in physical activity, diet, smoking and alcohol consumption on all-cause mortality. METHODS: Health behaviours were assessed in 1984/1985 and 1991/1992 in 8123 adults from the UK (4666 women, median age 41.0 years). An unhealthy lifestyle score was calculated, allocating one point for smoking, fruits and vegetables 14 units (women) or >21 units of alcohol (men) per week. RESULTS: There were…
Cognitive ability and personality as predictors of participation in a national colorectal cancer screening programme: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
BACKGROUND: The English NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme has offered biennial faecal occult blood testing to people aged 60-69 years since 2006, and to those aged 60-74 years since 2010. Analysis of the first 2.6 million screening invitations found that 54% of eligible people took up the invitation. The reasons for this low uptake are unclear. We investigated whether participation in screening varies according to cognitive ability and persona…
Intelligence in early adulthood and subclinical atherosclerosis in middle-aged men: The Vietnam Experience Study
BACKGROUND: People with higher intelligence in early life have a lower subsequent risk of coronary heart disease events, but the explanation for these observations is unclear. AIMS: To examine whether intelligence in early adulthood is associated with risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in mid-life, as indicated by the ankle brachial index (ABI), and investigate its potential mediating role in the association between intelligence and mortality. M…
Leisure Time Physical Activity and Disease-Specific Mortality Among Men With Chronic Bronchitis: Evidence From the Whitehall Study
Objectives. This study examined the association between leisure time physical activity and cause-specific mortality among male Whitehall Study participants with chronic bronchitis. Methods. Rate ratios were calculated for 4 mortality outcomes, according to level of activity and baseline bronchitis status, in a 25-year follow-up of 6479 men. Results. After multiple adjustment for potential confounding or mediating variables, activity was inversely…
Early life predictors of childhood intelligence: Evidence from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study
Objective: To identify the early life predictors of childhood intelligence. Design: Cohort study of 10 424 children who were born in Aberdeen (Scotland) between 1950 and 1956. Results: Social class of father around the time of birth, gravidity, maternal age, maternal physical condition, whether the child was born outside of marriage, prematurity, intrauterine growth, and childhood height were all independently associated with childhood intelligen…
Accuracy of adults’ recall of childhood social class: Findings from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study
Background: Although adult reported childhood socioeconomic position has been related to health outcomes in many studies, little is known about the validity of such distantly recalled information. This study evaluated the validity of adults’ reports of childhood paternal social class. Methods: Data are drawn from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s study, a cohort of 12 150 people born in Aberdeen (Scotland) who took part in a school based survey …
Relation between early life socioeconomic position and all cause mortality in two generations. A longitudinal study of Danish men born in 1953 and their parents
Objective: To examine (1) the relation between parental socioeconomic position and all cause mortality in two generations, (2) the relative importance of mother’s educational status and father’s occupational status on offspring mortality, and (3) the effect of factors in the family environment on these relations. Design: A longitudinal study with record linkage to the Civil Registration System. The data were analysed using Cox regression models. …
Adult Socioeconomic Position and the Association Between Height and Coronary Heart Disease Mortality: Findings From 33 Years of Follow-Up in the Whitehall Study
In the Whitehall Study, which followed 17139 male civil servants over 33 years, the association between tall stature and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality differed between employment grades. In men without CHD at study entry, the hazard ratio per 15-cm increase in height was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.69, 0.85; P
Health Communication, Intelligence, and Health Differentials
In a recent editorial, Freimuth and Quinn1 discussed the contribution that health communication might make to eliminating health disparities. The mechanisms underlying the recently suggested role of intelligence (denoted here by IQ) in the etiology of several important health outcomes are pertinent to this debate. In long-term follow-up studies, persons with low scores on written IQ tests administered in childhood and early adulthood have been fo…
Childhood Socioeconomic Position, Educational Attainment, and Adult Cardiovascular Risk Factors: The Aberdeen Children of the 1950s Cohort Study
Objectives. We assessed the associations of childhood socioeconomic position with cardiovascular disease risk factors (smoking, binge alcohol drinking, and being overweight) and examined the roles of educational attainment and cognitive functioning in these associations. Methods. Data were derived from a cohort study involving 7184 individuals who were born in Aberdeen, Scotland, between 1950 and 1956; had detailed records on perinatal characteri…
Childhood IQ and life course socioeconomic position in relation to alcohol induced hangovers in adulthood: The Aberdeen children of the 1950s study: Table 1
Objective: To examine the association between scores on IQ tests in childhood and alcohol induced hangovers in middle aged men and women. Design, Setting, and Participants: A cohort of 12 150 people born in Aberdeen (Scotland) who took part in a school based survey in 1962 when IQ test scores were extracted from educational records. Between 2000 and 2003, 7184 (64%) responded to questionnaire inquiries regarding drinking behaviour. Main outcome m…
Premorbid (early life) IQ and Later Mortality Risk: Systematic Review
Childhood IQ in relation to risk factors for premature mortality in middle-aged persons: The Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study
Objective: A series of studies have shown an association between high childhood IQ scores and reduced rates of total mortality in adulthood. Several mechanisms have been advanced to explain these relationships, including mediation via established risk factors. This study examines the association between childhood IQ and a range of established physiological and behavioural risk factors for premature mortality in adulthood. Design, setting and part…
Mental ability across childhood in relation to risk factors for premature mortality in adult life: The 1970 British Cohort Study
OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation of scores on tests of mental ability across childhood with established risk factors for premature mortality at the age of 30 years. METHODS: A prospective cohort study based on members of the British Cohort Study born in Great Britain in 1970 who had complete data on IQ scores at five (N = 8203) or 10 (N = 8171) years of age and risk factors at age 30 years. RESULTS: In sex-adjusted analyses, higher IQ score at …
Cognitive epidemiology
This glossary provides a guide to some concepts, findings and issues of discussion in the new field of research in which intelligence test scores are associated with mortality and morbidity. Intelligence tests are devised and studied by differential psychologists. Some of the major concepts in differential psychology are explained, especially those regarding cognitive ability testing. Some aspects of IQ (intelligence) tests are described and some…
Locus of Control at Age 10 Years and Health Outcomes and Behaviors at Age 30 Years: The 1970 British Cohort Study
OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between locus of control at age 10 years and self-reported health outcomes (overweight, obesity, psychological distress, health, and hypertension) and health behaviors (smoking and physical activity) at age 30, controlling for sex, childhood IQ, educational attainment, earnings, and socioeconomic position. METHODS: Participants were members of the 1970 British Cohort Study, a national birth cohort. At age 10…
Psychological, social and biological determinants of ill health (pSoBid): Study Protocol of a population-based study
This cross-sectional study recruited the planned sample of subjects from least deprived and most deprived areas within Glasgow. As evident in other studies response differed between the most and least deprived areas. This study brought together researchers/academics from diverse disciplines to build a more sophisticated understanding of the determinants of health inequalities than can be achieved through unidisciplinary approaches. Future analyse…
Problem drinking and exceeding guidelines for 'sensible' alcohol consumption in Scottish men: Associations with life course socioeconomic disadvantage in a population-based cohort study
In men in this cohort, exposure to disadvantaged social circumstances across the lifecourse, but particularly in adulthood, is associated with detrimental patterns of alcohol consumption and problem drinking in late middle age
Association between offspring intelligence and parental mortality: A population-based cohort study of one million Swedish men and their parents
BACKGROUND: An inverse association of IQ with mortality has been observed in previous studies. Analyses of associations between offspring's IQ and parental mortality in biological and non-biological family relations may shed light on genetic and environmental influences. METHODS: In a target cohort of 1,235,375 Swedish men, 931,825 (75%) men had complete data on all variables used. IQ of offspring was measured at age 18 and mothers and father wer…
IQ in late adolescence/early adulthood, risk factors in middle age and later all-cause mortality in men: The Vietnam Experience Study
OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of potential mediating factors in explaining the IQ-mortality relation. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 4316 male former Vietnam-era US army personnel with IQ test results at entry into the service in late adolescence/early adulthood in the 1960/1970s (mean age at entry 20.4 years) participated in a telephone survey and medical examination in middle age (mean age 38.3 years) in 1985-6. They were then fo…
Childhood Mental Ability and Adult Alcohol Intake and Alcohol Problems: The 1970 British Cohort Study
Objectives. We examined the potential relation of mental ability test scores at age 10 years with alcohol problems and alcohol intake at age 30 years. Methods. We used data from a prospective observational study involving 8170 members of a birth cohort from Great Britain born in 1970. Data included mental ability scores at age 10 years and responses to inquiries about alcohol intake and problems at age 30 years. Results. After adjustment for pote…
Efeito do exercício físico sobre peso corporal em crianças com excesso de peso: Ensaio clínico comunitário randomizado em uma favela no Brasil
Associação da obesidade com doenças crônicas tem se mostrado mais intensa nas áreas carentes. Examinamos o efeito de um programa de exercício físico para crianças com excesso de peso, em uma favela do Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil, por meio de um ensaio comunitário, randomizado, com 78 crianças. Um grupo (n = 39) recebeu três aulas semanais de exercícios físicos durante seis meses. Não foi realizada nenhuma intervenção em relação à alimentação. A an…
Psychomotor Coordination and Intelligence in Childhood and Health in Adulthood—Testing the System Integrity Hypothesis
OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between intelligence and psychomotor coordination in childhood and risk of psychological distress, poorer self-rated health, and obesity in adulthood. To investigate whether psychomotor coordination as a potential marker of the construct "system integrity" explains associations between intelligence and these outcomes. METHODS: Participants were members of two British national birth cohorts: the 1958 National Ch…
Emotionally Stable, Intelligent Men Live Longer: The Vietnam Experience Study Cohort
Objectives: To determine whether neuroticism, cognitive ability, and their interaction predicted mortality and to test whether neuroticism or cognitive ability effects were mediated by socioeconomic status (SES), physical health, mental health, or health behaviors. Methods: Participants were 4200 men followed up for > 15 years. Participants took part in telephone interviews and medical and psychological evaluations. The neuroticism measure was ba…
Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Their Comorbidity as Predictors of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality: The Vietnam Experience Study
OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the 1-year prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and their comorbidity were associated with subsequent all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality during 15 years in Vietnam veterans. METHODS: Participants (N = 4256) were from the Vietnam Experience Study. Service, sociodemographic, and health data were collected from service files, telephone interviews, and a med…
Elevated body mass index in early adulthood as a predictor of later coronary heart disease mortality: Up to 82 years follow-up in the Harvard Alumni Health Study
Objective: To compare magnitudes of association of BMI and measures of regional adiposity with coronary heart disease, diabetes and all-cause mortality. Design: 2 prospective cohort and 2 cross sectional studies. Participants: Members of 4 UK cohorts aged >45 years: 3937 women from the British Women's Heart and Health Study (BWHHS), 2367 and 1950 men from phases 1 and 3 of the Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS), 403 men and women from Boyd Orr, …
Impact of resurvey non-response on the associations between baseline risk factors and cardiovascular disease mortality: Prospective cohort study
BACKGROUND: Selection bias in observational epidemiology--the notion that people who participate in a study are fundamentally different from those who do not--is a perennial concern. In cohort studies, a potentially important but little investigated manifestation of selection bias is the distortion of the exposure-disease relationship according to participation status. METHODS: Seven years after the original UK Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS1;…
Socioeconomic status and telomere length: The West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study: Table 1
BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesised that socioeconomically deprived people age more rapidly than their more advantaged counterparts and this is biologically manifest in shorter telomeres. However, in the very few studies conducted, substantial uncertainty exists regarding this relationship. METHODS: In the present investigation, 1542 men in the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study responded to a series of enquiries about their socioeconomi…
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