Peer effects on health-related behaviours of adolescents in Scotland using social network analysis: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Previous research suggests that adolescent norms and behaviours may be influenced by peers. The aim of this study was to investigate social clustering of health outcomes among school friendship groups. METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys were collected from Oct 26, 2022, to March 30, 2023, in four secondary schools in Scotland's central belt, and all Secondary 2 (12-13 years) and Secondary 4 (14-15 years) students were invited to take part. Schools self-selected into the study, between 6% and 27% had a free school meal registration (Scotland average 25%). The survey asked about health and about friendships in school. The outcomes of interest were binary indicators of: mental health and self-esteem using validated scales, smoking, drinking without parents knowing (DWPK), and trying drugs. Ethics approval for the study was given by the University of Glasgow (200190035) and all participants gave consent via an online form. We used Auto-Logistic Actor Attribute Models (ALAAMs) to model the association between features of individuals' social networks and their health outcomes. We specified a model for each health outcome separately including parameters: indegree, outdegree, and simple contagion, and combined using meta-analysis. FINDINGS: Response rate was 74% (n=1097; 50% boys, 46% girls, 4% other). Based on self-report measures, 40% participants had poor mental health, 15% had low self-esteem, 6% smoked regularly, 4% tried drugs, and 18% were drinking without parents knowing. Preliminary unadjusted analysis found evidence of social contagion for mental health. Odds of poor mental health for each additional friend with poor mental health was 1·15 (95% CI 1·05-1·26). There was no evidence of contagion for self-esteem (1·13, 0·95-1·34), smoking (1·14, 0·46-2·82), DWPK (0·88, 0·71-1·10), and having tried drugs (0·91, 0·38-2·19). Some networks had low or zero prevalence of the outcomes, increasing the uncertainty in the pooled estimate for the contagion parameter. INTERPRETATION: A cross-sectional study cannot differentiate between social contagion and selecting similar friends, and low prevalence and social desirability bias might have masked associations. However, the unique combination of social network data with advanced statistical modelling gives initial findings on the potential communicable nature of mental health and health behaviours in adolescence. Preliminary results indicate preventive approaches in schools could benefit from social network methods. FUNDING: Medical Research Council (MRC) and Chief Scientist Office (CSO).

Defining research priorities for youth public mental health: reflections on a coproduction approach to transdisciplinary working.

BACKGROUND: With most mental health problems established during childhood/adolescence, young people must be a key focus of public mental health approaches. Despite the range of factors known to influence mental health, evidence for effective interventions is lacking for this age group. This study aimed to define priorities for future public health intervention-focused research to support youth mental health by engaging with transdisciplinary stakeholder groups. METHODS: Our coproduction approach involved priority-setting workshops with young people, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers. Each workshop focused on three thematic areas: social connections and relationships; schools and other education settings; and key groups at greater risk of mental ill-health, specifically LGBTQ+ and care-experienced young people. Workshop outputs were synthesized to define research priorities. RESULTS: This paper presents the research priorities that were defined through the priority-setting workshops, and our reflections on the coproduction approach to guide future similar activities undertaken by others. Ten priorities for youth public mental health research were defined, covering the following areas: building supportive relationships; whole system approaches; social media; support at times of transition; improving links between different services; development and training for those who support young people; staff mental health; engaging with families; awareness of and access to services; and out-of-school and community settings. CONCLUSIONS: These research priorities can inform future intervention development to support youth public mental health. Our transdisciplinary approach means the identified research priorities are likely to be relevant to young people's experiences and needs, and to fit with the needs of those working in practice and policy to support young people.

Situating agent-based modelling in population health research.

Today's most troublesome population health challenges are often driven by social and environmental determinants, which are difficult to model using traditional epidemiological methods. We agree with those who have argued for the wider adoption of agent-based modelling (ABM) in taking on these challenges. However, while ABM has been used occasionally in population health, we argue that for ABM to be most effective in the field it should be used as a means for answering questions normally inaccessible to the traditional epidemiological toolkit. In an effort to clearly illustrate the utility of ABM for population health research, and to clear up persistent misunderstandings regarding the method's conceptual underpinnings, we offer a detailed presentation of the core concepts of complex systems theory, and summarise why simulations are essential to the study of complex systems. We then examine the current state of the art in ABM for population health, and propose they are well-suited for the study of the 'wicked' problems in population health, and could make significant contributions to theory and intervention development in these areas.

Management of spontaneous intracranial hypotension: a series of 31 cases over 15-years with a challenging outlier.

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) has been classified as a triad of postural headache, low CSF opening pressure (below 60mmH20) and diffuse pachymeningeal gadolinium enhancement on MRI. SIH is due to a non-iatrogenic defect in the dura somewhere along the neuraxis (usually in the spine). The resultant leak depressurizes the system and undermines the buoyancy-providing quality of CSF. In many cases the site of leak is not identified. Epidural blood patch (EBP) is a well-established treatment of SIH but is not always effective. We retrospectively analysed thirty-one cases of SIH who required at least one EBP. They were managed over a fifteen-year period at a single institution. EBP resulted in a significant improvement in headache for 77% of patients. We report in more detail on a particularly challenging outlier where severe SIH resulted in coma. Serial epidural blood patches, burr hole evacuation of chronic subdural haematomata, and infusion of 0.9% NaCl via an intradural spinal catheter were all required to enable long-term recovery.

'It's not 9 to 5 recovery': the role of a recovery community in producing social bonds that support recovery.

AIM: To understand how the social networks of a new recovery community can help sustain recovery, focusing on processes of social identity change, in the context of the wider UK recovery movement. METHODS: A cross-sectional, mixed-methods social network analysis (SNA) of ego-network sociograms to map network transitions, using retrospective measures. Ten men were recruited from a peer-worker programme, in the South Ayrshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP), West of Scotland. Network measures were compared between two timepoints, just prior to current recovery and the present time. Measures included size and density, closeness of members, and their positive or negative influence, proportion of alcohol and other drug (AOD) using and recovery peers, and extent of separate subgroups. These were complemented with qualitative interview data. FINDINGS: There was a significant transition in network composition, with the replacing of AOD-using peers with recovery peers and a broader transformation from relationships being framed as negative to positive. However, there was no significant transition in network structure, with AOD-using and recovery networks both consisting of strong ties and a similar density of connections between people in the networks. CONCLUSIONS: The transition in network composition between pre-recovery and the present indicates a different set of social influences, while the similarities in network structure indicate that the recovery network replaced the role of the using network in providing close bonds. This helped reduce social isolation experienced in early-recovery and provided a pathway into more structured opportunities for volunteering and employment.

ACE inhibitory peptides in standard and fermented deer velvet: an in silico and in vitro investigation.

BACKGROUND: The use of deer velvet antler (DVA) as a potent traditional medicine ingredient goes back for over 2000 years in Asia. Increasingly, though, DVA is being included as a high protein functional food ingredient in convenient, ready to consume products in Korea and China. As such, it is a potential source of endogenous bioactive peptides and of 'cryptides', i.e. bioactive peptides enzymatically released by endogenous proteases, by processing and/or by gastrointestinal digestion. Fermentation is an example of a processing step known to release bioactive peptides from food proteins. In this study, we aimed to identify in silico bioactive peptides and cryptides in DVA, before and after fermentation, and subsequently to validate the major predicted bioactivity by in vitro analysis. METHODS: Peptides that were either free or located within proteins were identified in the DVA samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) followed by database searching. Bioactive peptides and cryptides were identified in silico by sequence matching against a database of known bioactive peptides. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity was measured by a colorimetric method. RESULTS: Three free bioactive peptides (LVVYPW, LVVYPWTQ and VVYPWTQ) were solely found in fermented DVA, the latter two of which are known ACE inhibitors. However matches to multiple ACE inhibitor cryptides were obtained within protein and peptide sequences of both unfermented and fermented DVA. In vitro analysis showed that the ACE inhibitory activity of DVA was more pronounced in the fermented sample, but both unfermented and fermented DVA had similar activity following release of cryptides by simulated gastrointestinal digestion. CONCLUSIONS: DVA contains multiple ACE inhibitory peptide sequences that may be released by fermentation or following oral consumption, and which may provide a health benefit through positive effects on the cardiovascular system. The study illustrates the power of in silico combined with in vitro methods for analysis of the effects of processing on bioactive peptides in complex functional ingredients like DVA.

Expression profiling indicating low selenium-sensitive microRNA levels linked to cell cycle and cell stress response pathways in the CaCo-2 cell line.

Se is an essential micronutrient for human health, and fluctuations in Se levels and the potential cellular dysfunction associated with it may increase the risk for disease. Although Se has been shown to influence several biological pathways important in health, little is known about the effect of Se on the expression of microRNA (miRNA) molecules regulating these pathways. To explore the potential role of Se-sensitive miRNA in regulating pathways linked with colon cancer, we profiled the expression of 800 miRNA in the CaCo-2 human adenocarcinoma cell line in response to a low-Se (72 h at <40 nm) environment using nCounter direct quantification. These data were then examined using a range of in silico databases to identify experimentally validated miRNA-mRNA interactions and the biological pathways involved. We identified ten Se-sensitive miRNA (hsa-miR-93-5p, hsa-miR-106a-5p, hsa-miR-205-5p, hsa-miR-200c-3p, hsa-miR-99b-5p, hsa-miR-302d-3p, hsa-miR-373-3p, hsa-miR-483-3p, hsa-miR-512-5p and hsa-miR-4454), which regulate 3588 mRNA in key pathways such as the cell cycle, the cellular response to stress, and the canonical Wnt/ß-catenin, p53 and ERK/MAPK signalling pathways. Our data show that the effects of low Se on biological pathways may, in part, be due to these ten Se-sensitive miRNA. Dysregulation of the cell cycle and of the stress response pathways due to low Se may influence key genes involved in carcinogenesis.

Education as a predictor of antidepressant and anxiolytic medication use after bereavement: a population-based record linkage study.

PURPOSE: Educational attainment has been shown to be positively associated with mental health and a potential buffer to stressful events. One stressful life event likely to affect everyone in their lifetime is bereavement. This paper assesses the effect of educational attainment on mental health post-bereavement. METHODS: By utilising large administrative datasets, linking Census returns to death records and prescribed medication data, we analysed the bereavement exposure of 208,332 individuals aged 25-74 years. Two-level multi-level logistic regression models were constructed to determine the likelihood of antidepressant medication use (a proxy of mental ill health) post-bereavement given level of educational attainment. RESULTS: Individuals who are bereaved have greater antidepressant use than those who are not bereaved, with over a quarter (26.5 %) of those bereaved by suicide in receipt of antidepressant medication compared to just 12.4 % of those not bereaved. Within individuals bereaved by a sudden death, those with a university degree or higher qualifications are 73 % less likely to be in receipt of antidepressant medication compared to those with no qualifications, after full adjustment for demographic, socio-economic and area factors (OR 0.27, 95 % CI 0.09,0.75). Higher educational attainment and no qualifications have an equivalent effect for those bereaved by suicide. CONCLUSIONS: Education may protect against poor mental health, as measured by the use of antidepressant medication, post-bereavement, except in those bereaved by suicide. This is likely due to the improved cognitive, personal and psychological skills gained from time spent in education.

Analysis of archived newborn dried blood spots (DBS) identifies congenital cytomegalovirus as a major cause of unexplained pediatric sensorineural hearing loss.

PURPOSE: Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is the most common non-genetic cause of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). However, accurate diagnosis of cCMV as the etiology of SNHL is problematic beyond the neonatal period. This study therefore examined whether cCMV infection could be identified retrospectively in children presenting with unexplained SNHL to a multidisciplinary diagnostic outpatient otolaryngology clinic at an academic medical center in Minnesota. METHODS: Over a 4-year period, 57 patients with an age range of 3months to 10years with unexplained SNHL were recruited to participate in this study. Informed consent was obtained to test the archived dried blood spots (DBS) of these patients for cCMV infection by real-time PCR, targeting a highly conserved region of the CMV UL83 gene. Results were normalized to recovery of an NRAS gene control. Chart review was conducted to identify subjects who underwent genetic testing and/or neurodiagnostic imaging to investigate possible genetic, syndromic, or anatomical causes of SNHL. RESULTS: In total, 15 of the 57 children with unexplained SNHL tested positive for CMV DNA in their DBS (26%). A mean viral load of 8.3×104 (±4.1×104) [range, 1×103-6×105] copies/µg DNA was observed in subjects retrospectively diagnosed with cCMV. No statistically significant correlation was found between viral load and SNHL severity. CONCLUSIONS: A retrospective DBS analysis demonstrated that 26% of patients presenting with unexplained SNHL in childhood had cCMV. DBS testing is useful in the retrospective diagnosis of cCMV, and may provide definitive diagnostic information about the etiology of SNHL.

Bereavement After Informal Caregiving: Assessing Mental Health Burden Using Linked Population Data.

OBJECTIVES: We compared the mental health risk to unpaid caregivers bereaved of a care recipient with the risk to persons otherwise bereaved and to nonbereaved caregivers. METHODS: We linked prescription records for antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs to characteristics and life-event data of members of the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (n = 317 264). Using a case-control design, we fitted logistic regression models, stratified by age, to model relative likelihood of mental health problems, using the proxy measures of mental health-related prescription. RESULTS: Both caregivers and bereaved individuals were estimated to be at between 20% and 50% greater risk for mental health problems than noncaregivers in similar circumstances (for bereaved working-age caregivers, odds ratio = 1.41; 95% confidence interval = 1.27, 1.56). For older people, there was no evidence of additional risk to bereaved caregivers, though there was for working-age people. Older people appeared to recover more quickly from caregiver bereavement. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers were at risk for mental ill health while providing care and after the death of the care recipient. Targeted caregiver support needs to extend beyond the life of the care recipient.

Comparison of newborn screening protocols for congenital adrenal hyperplasia in preterm infants.

OBJECTIVE: To compare 2 screening protocols performed concurrently in Minnesota: (1) liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry steroid profiling as a second-tier test on positive fluoroimmunoassay (FIA) results; and (2) low-birthweight 3-screen protocol (FIA tests at <48 hours, 2 weeks, 4 weeks) on all infants <1800 g, regardless of result. STUDY DESIGN: Population-based study of all <1800 g infants (n = 8739) born in Minnesota from 2004-2010 comparing newborn screening performance metrics of 2-tier (FIA + liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry) protocol (2004-2010) vs 1-tier (FIA) low-birthweight 3-screen protocol (2006-2010). False positive (FP) rates were calculated per infant's final confirmatory result. Protocol results used in different time periods (2004-2005 vs 2006-2010) were compared by 2-sample tests of proportions; results of both protocols for 2006-2010 were compared by McNemar test. RESULTS: First-tier testing of final dried blood spot result (n = 6625) of the low-birthweight 3-screen protocol during 2006-2010 reduced the FP rate more than 5-fold (P < .0001) compared with 2-tier testing of a single dried blood spot (n = 2114) from 2004-2005. In comparing results (n = 6625) of both protocols from 2006-2010, first-tier testing of final dried blood spot accounted for 23% of FPs; second-tier testing of the first dried blood spot accounted for 77%, yielding significantly more FP results (McNemar test, P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Timing of dried blood spot collection rather than assay used played a more important role in reducing FP results of congenital adrenal hyperplasia newborn screening in low birthweight infants.

Adolescent ecstasy use and depression: cause and effect, or two outcomes of home environment?

BACKGROUND: This study assessed the association between adolescent ecstasy use and depressive symptoms in adolescence. METHODS: The Belfast Youth Development Study surveyed a cohort annually from age 11 to 16 years. Gender, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire emotional subscale, living arrangements, parental affluence, parent and peer attachment, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy use were investigated as predictors of Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) outcome. RESULTS: Of 5371 respondents, 301 (5.6%) had an SMFQ > 15, and 1620 (30.2) had missing data for SMFQ. Around 8% of the cohort had used ecstasy by the end of follow-up. Of the non-drug users, ∼2% showed symptoms of depression, compared with 6% of those who had used alcohol, 6% of cannabis users, 6% of ecstasy users and 7% of frequent ecstasy users. Without adjustment, ecstasy users showed around a 4-fold increased odds of depressive symptoms compared with non-drug users [odds ratio (OR) = 0.26; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.10, 0.68]. Further adjustment for living arrangements, peer and parental attachment attenuated the association to under a 3-fold increase (OR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.15, 0.94). There were no differences by frequency of use. CONCLUSIONS: Ecstasy use during adolescence may be associated with poorer mental health; however, this association can be explained by the confounding social influence of family dynamics. These findings could be used to aid effective evidence-based drug policies, which concentrate criminal justice and public health resources on reducing harm.

A social network analysis approach to assess COVID19-related disruption to substance use treatment and informal social interactions among people who use drugs in Scotland.

AIMS: To assess the extent of Coronavirus-related disruption to health and social care treatment and social interactions among people with lived or living experience of substance use in Scotland, and explore potential reasons for variations in disruption. DESIGN: Cross sectional mixed methods interview, incorporating a social network 'egonet interview' approach asking about whether participants had interactions with a range of substance use, health, social care or third sector organisations, or informal social interactions. SETTING: Five Alcohol and Drug Partnership Areas in Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: 57 (42% women) participants were involved in the study, on average 42 years old. MEASUREMENTS: Five-point Likert scale reporting whether interactions with a range of services and people had gotten much better, better, no different (or no change), worse, or much worse since COVID19 and lockdown. Ratings were nested within participants (Individuals provided multiple ratings) and some ratings were also nested within treatment service (services received multiple ratings). The nested structure was accounted for using cross classified ordinal logistic multilevel models. FINDINGS: While the overall average suggested only a slight negative change in interactions (mean rating 2.93), there were substantial variations according to type of interaction, and between individuals. Reported change was more often negative for mental health services (Adjusted OR = 0.93 95% CI 0.17,0.90), and positive for pharmacies (3.03 95% CI 1.36, 5.93). The models found between-participant variation of around 10%, and negligible between-service variation of around 1% in ratings. Ratings didn't vary by individual age or gender but there was variation between areas. CONCLUSIONS: Substance use treatment service adaptations due to COVID19 lockdown led to both positive and negative service user experiences. Social network methods provide an effective way to describe complex system-wide interaction patterns, and to measure variations at the individual, service, and area level.

Individual, social and area level factors associated with older people's walking: Analysis of an UK household panel study (Understanding Society).

BACKGROUND: Among older people, walking is a popular and prevalent activity. Walking is key to increasing physical activity levels and resulting physical and mental health. In the context of rapidly ageing populations, it is important to better understand what factors are associated with walking among older people, based on the socioecological model of health. METHODS: We used data from Understanding Society (n:6450), a national panel survey of UK adults aged 65 years and over living in Great Britain. Slope Indices of Inequality (SII) were calculated for weekly walking hours for older people according to individual, social and area characteristics. These include health, loneliness and social isolation, previous walking and sporting activity, residential self-selection, contact with neighbours, number of close friends and social activity. Spatial area-level data described local area crime, walkability, and proximity to retail, greenspace, and public transport amenities. RESULTS: Multivariable models indicated that poor health, particularly requiring help with walking, was the strongest predictor of weekly walking hours (SII (95% CI) comparing those needing help vs. no help: -3.58 (-4.30, -2.87)). However, both prior sporting activity (most vs. least active: 2.30 (1.75, 2.88)) and walking for pleasure (yes vs. no: 1.92 (1.32, 2.53)) were strongly associated with increased walking several years later. Similarly having close friends (most vs. fewest, 1.18 (0.72, 1.77)) and local retail destinations (any vs. none: 0.93 (0.00, 1.86)) were associated with more weekly walking. CONCLUSIONS: Past engagement in physical activity and walking for pleasure are strong predictors of walking behaviour in older people, underscoring the importance of implementing and sustaining walking interventions across the lifespan to ensure continued engagement in later years and the associated health benefits. However, poor health significantly impedes walking in this demographic, emphasising the need for interventions that offer both physical assistance and social support to promote this activity.

Changes in bowel microbiota induced by feeding weanlings resistant starch stimulate transcriptomic and physiological responses.

The ability to predictably engineer the composition of bowel microbial communities (microbiota) using dietary components is important because of the reported associations of altered microbiota composition with medical conditions. In a synecological study, weanling conventional Sprague-Dawley rats (21 days old) were fed a basal diet (BD) or a diet supplemented with resistant starch (RS) at 5%, 2.5%, or 1.25% for 28 days. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes and temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis (TTGE) profiles in the colonic digesta showed that rats fed RS had altered microbiota compositions due to blooms of Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. The altered microbiota was associated with changes in colonic short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations, colonic-tissue gene expression (Gsta2 and Ela1), and host physiology (serum metabolite profiles and colonic goblet cell numbers). Comparisons between germ-free and conventional rats showed that transcriptional and serum metabolite differences were mediated by the microbiota and were not the direct result of diet composition. Altered transcriptomic and physiological responses may reflect the young host's attempts to maintain homeostasis as a consequence of exposure to a new collection of bacteria and their associated biochemistry.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and other plant-derived protease inhibitor concentrates inhibit breast and prostate cancer cell proliferation in vitro.

The soybean-derived protease inhibitor, Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI), is currently showing great promise as a novel cancer chemopreventive agent. In contrast to the wealth of research conducted on this compound, the anticancer effects of protease inhibitors isolated from other leguminous sources have received limited attention. In the current study, 7 protease inhibitor concentrates (PICs) were isolated from various leguminous sources (including soybean) and characterized. The effects of PICs on the proliferation of breast and prostate cancer cells were investigated in vitro. Chickpea PIC significantly inhibited the viability of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer and PC-3 and LNCaP prostate cancer cells at all concentrations tested (25-400 µg/ml). In addition, kidney bean (200, 400 µg/ml), soybean (50, 100 µg/ml), and mungbean (100, 200 µg/ml) PICs inhibited LNCaP cell viability. These findings suggest that leguminous PICs may possess similar anticancer properties to that of soybean BBI and deserve further study as possible chemopreventive agents.

Gender differences in care home admission risk: partner's age explains the higher risk for women.

BACKGROUND: older women have a higher risk of care home admission than men, this difference remains even after accounting for variations in health. A likely reason for this is the difference in social support provided by spouses. Older men may provide less care for their wives than women do for their husbands. OBJECTIVES: this study assessed two competing explanations for this. First, older men are less willing to undertake traditionally feminine caring roles; secondly, older men are less physically able to provide care. DESIGN: the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS), a representative (c28%) sample of the Northern Ireland population. FINDINGS: a total of 20,830 couples were followed over 6 years, with 415 care home admissions among NILS cohort members. Women had a higher admission risk after controlling for cohort members' age and health; however, there was no gender difference after adjusting for partner's age. CONCLUSION: these results suggest that advanced age and physical frailty explain why men provide less care for their partners than women do; rather than being unwilling to undertake a caring role. The narrowing gap in life expectancy between men and women may have an effect on the future demand for formal care.

COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on social relationships and health.

This essay examines key aspects of social relationships that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses explicitly on relational mechanisms of health and brings together theory and emerging evidence on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to make recommendations for future public health policy and recovery. We first provide an overview of the pandemic in the UK context, outlining the nature of the public health response. We then introduce four distinct domains of social relationships: social networks, social support, social interaction and intimacy, highlighting the mechanisms through which the pandemic and associated public health response drastically altered social interactions in each domain. Throughout the essay, the lens of health inequalities, and perspective of relationships as interconnecting elements in a broader system, is used to explore the varying impact of these disruptions. The essay concludes by providing recommendations for longer term recovery ensuring that the social relational cost of COVID-19 is adequately considered in efforts to rebuild.

Evaluation of newborn screening bloodspot-based genetic testing as second tier screen for bedside newborn hearing screening.

PURPOSE: : Bedside newborn hearing screening is highly successful in identifying deaf or hard-of-hearing infants. However, newborn hearing screening protocols have high loss to follow-up rates. We propose that bloodspot-based genetic testing for GJB2 alleles can provide a means for rapid confirmation in a subset of infants who fail bedside newborn hearing screening. METHODS: : We performed a case-control study comparing the prevalence of common GJB2 mutations from deidentified bloodspots designated as "refer" by newborn hearing screening and contemporaneously selected randomly chosen controls designated as "pass." Between March 2006 and December 2007, 2354 spots were analyzed for common alleles, c.35delG, c.167delT, c.235delC, and p.V37I in GJB2 with a subset reanalyzed by conventional Sanger sequencing to search for additional alleles. RESULTS: : The prevalence of biallelic GJB2 mutations in bloodspots from infants who referred by newborn hearing screening is approximately 1 in 50 (23/1177). In contrast, one bloodspot from an infant who passed newborn hearing screening was identified to harbor biallelic GJB2 mutations. CONCLUSIONS: : These findings show that when a newborn refers by newborn hearing screening, there is a significant chance that GJB2-related hearing loss is present. Bloodspot-based genetic testing for common GJB2 alleles should be considered as second tier testing for bedside newborn hearing screening.

Living arrangements, relationship to people in the household and admission to care homes for older people.

OBJECTIVE: to assess the separate contributions of marital status, living arrangements and the presence of children to subsequent admission to a care home. DESIGN AND METHODS: a longitudinal study derived from the health card registration system and linked to the 2001 Census, comprising 28% of the Northern Ireland population was analysed using Cox regression to assess the likelihood of admission for 51,619 older people in the 6 years following the census. Cohort members' age, sex, marital and health status and relationship to other household members were analysed. RESULTS: there were 2,138 care home admissions; a rate of 7.4 admissions per thousand person years. Those living alone had the highest likelihood of admission [hazard ratio (HR) compared with living with partner 1.66 (95% CI 1.48, 1.87)] but there was little difference between the never-married and the previously married. Living with children offered similar protection as living with a partner (HR 0.97; 95% CI 0.81, 1.16). The presence of children reduced admissions especially for married couples (HR 0.67 95% CI 0.54, 0.83; models adjusting for age, gender and health). Women were more likely to be admitted, though there were no gender differences for people living alone or those co-habiting with siblings. IMPLICATIONS: presence of potential caregivers within the home, rather than those living elsewhere, is a major factor determining admission to care home. Further research should concentrate on the health and needs of these co-residents.