{"title":"Burden of postmenopausal breast cancer attributable to excess body weight: comparative study of body mass index and CUN-BAE in MCC-Spain study.","authors":"Naiara Cubelos-Fernández, Verónica Dávila-Batista, Tania Fernández-Villa, Gemma Castaño-Vinyals, Beatriz Perez-Gomez, Pilar Amiano, Eva Ardanaz, Irene Delgado Sillero, Javier Llorca, Guillermo Fernández Tardón, Juan Alguacil, Mercedes Vanaclocha Espí, Rafael Marcos-Gragera, Víctor Moreno, Nuria Aragones, Ane Dorronsoro, Marcela Guevara, Sofía Reguero Celada, Marina Pollan, Manolis Kogevinas, Vicente Martín","doi":"10.1136/jech-2023-220706","DOIUrl":"10.1136/jech-2023-220706","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>10% of postmenopausal breast cancer cases are attributed to a high body mass index (BMI). BMI underestimates body fat, particularly in older women, and therefore the cancer burden attributable to obesity may be even higher. However, this is not clear. CUN-BAE (Clínica Universidad de Navarra-Body Adiposity Estimator) is an accurate validated estimator of body fat, taking into account sex and age. The objective of this study was to compare the burden of postmenopausal breast cancer attributable to excess body fat calculated using BMI and CUN-BAE.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This case-control study included 1033 cases of breast cancer and 1143 postmenopausal population controls from the multicase-control MCC-Spain study. Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs). The population attributable fraction (PAF) of excess weight related to breast cancer was estimated with both anthropometric measures. Stratified analyses were carried out for hormone receptor type.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Excess body weight attributable to the risk of breast cancer was 23.0% when assessed using a BMI value ≥30 kg/m<sup>2</sup> and 38.0% when assessed using a CUN-BAE value of ≥40% body fat. Hormone receptor stratification showed that these differences in PAFs were only observed in hormone receptor positive cases, with an estimated burden of 19.9% for BMI and 41.9% for CUN-BAE.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings suggest that the significance of excess body fat in postmenopausal hormone receptor positive breast cancer could be underestimated when assessed using only BMI. Accurate estimation of the cancer burden attributable to obesity is crucial for planning effective prevention initiatives.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":"64-71"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11671986/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142481292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Syndemic approach to chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and educational level: a longitudinal cohort study in northwest Italy.","authors":"Lucia Dansero, Lorenzo Milani, Roberto Gnavi, Alessandra Macciotta, Cinzia Destefanis, Winston Gilcrease, Savino Sciascia, Fulvio Ricceri","doi":"10.1136/jech-2024-222370","DOIUrl":"10.1136/jech-2024-222370","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) represent significant public health challenges, linked to an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and influenced by socioeconomic disparities. This longitudinal study investigates the interplay between socioeconomic position (SEP), measured as educational level, CKD/ESRD and CVD using the syndemic framework.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used data from the Piedmont Longitudinal Study to establish CKD and ESRD cohorts and to identify incident CVD between January 2013 and December 2017. The educational level was retrieved from census data. We applied an accelerated failure time model to explore the relationships between CKD/ESRD, CVD and educational level with all-cause mortality and emergency room (ER) acuity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The CKD cohort included 44 220 individuals, with 12 341 deaths and 15 440 ER admissions. The ESRD cohort included 4021 subjects, experiencing 1303 deaths and 1640 ER admissions. After adjusting for confounders, the combination of CKD, low educational level and incident CVD was associated with increased all-cause mortality (time ratios (TR) 0.07, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.08) and ER acuity (TR 0.16, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.17) compared with those with higher education. Instead, patients with ESRD with incident CVD and high educational level had the highest increase in mortality (TR 0.08, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.14) and ER acuity (TR 0.20, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.30).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patients with CKD with low educational levels and incident CVD may represent a 'syndemic', associated with higher mortality and ER acuity. Our study highlights a potential link between these conditions and socioeconomic disparities, suggesting the need for multifaceted approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142781860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jinho Kim, Gum-Ryeong Park, Hayun Jang, Hyewon Son
{"title":"Poor housing conditions in adolescence and adult health outcomes: an outcome-wide longitudinal approach.","authors":"Jinho Kim, Gum-Ryeong Park, Hayun Jang, Hyewon Son","doi":"10.1136/jech-2024-222378","DOIUrl":"10.1136/jech-2024-222378","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>While prior literature has documented the impact of housing quality on health, the long-lasting effects of poor housing conditions in adolescence on adult health remain understudied. This study employs an outcome-wide longitudinal approach to estimate the association between poor housing conditions in adolescence and a set of health outcomes in adulthood.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a large-scale, nationally representative sample of US adolescents, were used. This study analysed 15 health outcomes encompassing physical and mental/cognitive health, and health behaviours. The Bonferroni correction was applied to adjust the significance level of multiple testing of the associations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After applying the Bonferroni correction, poor housing conditions in adolescence were associated with seven adult health outcomes. These conditions were particularly strongly and robustly linked to mental health issues, including depression, suicidal ideation and perceived stress. Additionally, poor housing conditions were related to physical health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease risk and self-rated health, as well as health behaviours such as smoking and unhealthy eating behaviour.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Poor housing conditions during adolescence can act as an early risk factor for adult health, particularly mental health. These findings support the adoption of a life course approach and strengthen the case for housing interventions aimed at improving health outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142774908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
G David Batty, Steven Bell, Urho M Kujala, Seppo J Sarna, Jaakko Kaprio
{"title":"Health characteristics and health behaviours in male former contact sports participants: comparison with general population controls in a Finnish cohort study.","authors":"G David Batty, Steven Bell, Urho M Kujala, Seppo J Sarna, Jaakko Kaprio","doi":"10.1136/jech-2024-222931","DOIUrl":"10.1136/jech-2024-222931","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>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.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cohort study, male former elite athletes active between 1920 and 1965 in soccer (N=303), boxing (N=281), and wrestling (N=318) were recruited using sports yearbooks and the administrative records of sports associations. A population control group was identified using data from a compulsory medical examination (N=1712). All study members were linked to hospital registers (1970-2015) and a self-completion questionnaire was circulated in 1985.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Across 12 health outcomes, the general pattern of association was null. On the few occasions when statistically significant differences did occur, there were in fact more favourable health characteristics and behaviours in former athletes. For instance, in comparison to population controls, we found a lower prevalence of ever having smoked cigarettes in all contact sports groups (range in odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 0.32 (0.21, 0.48) to 0.52 (0.36, 0.75)).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In this study, male retired contact sports athletes had similar cardiometabolic and mental health profiles to those of population controls.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142741219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jean-Philippe Chaput, Raaj Kishore Biswas, Matthew Ahmadi, Peter A Cistulli, Shantha M W Rajaratnam, Wenxin Bian, Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Emmanuel Stamatakis
{"title":"Sleep regularity and major adverse cardiovascular events: a device-based prospective study in 72 269 UK adults.","authors":"Jean-Philippe Chaput, Raaj Kishore Biswas, Matthew Ahmadi, Peter A Cistulli, Shantha M W Rajaratnam, Wenxin Bian, Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Emmanuel Stamatakis","doi":"10.1136/jech-2024-222795","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2024-222795","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This study examines the associations between device-measured sleep regularity and the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and aims to determine whether sufficient sleep duration attenuates or eliminates the effects of irregular sleep on MACE risk.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A prospective cohort study of adults aged 40-79 years from the UK Biobank who wore wrist-attached accelerometers for 7 days was conducted. Sleep Regularity Index (SRI) scores were calculated for each participant using a validated algorithm, and categorised as irregular (SRI <71.6), moderately irregular (SRI between 71.6 and 87.3), and regular (SRI >87.3 (reference group)). Information on MACE and its subtypes (myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke) was obtained from inpatient hospitalisation and death records.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We analysed data from 72 269 individuals followed for 8 years, without a previous history of MACE and without an event in the first year of follow-up. Irregular (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.37) and moderately irregular sleepers (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.70) were at higher risk of MACE compared with regular sleepers. Dose-response analyses treating SRI as a continuous measure showed that SRI was associated with MACE risk in a near-linear fashion, with a steeper MACE risk reduction at higher (better) SRI scores. Joint SRI and sleep duration analyses showed that meeting the age-specific sleep duration recommendation offsets MACE risk for moderately irregular sleepers (HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.18), but not for irregular sleepers (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.35).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Irregular sleep was strongly associated with higher MACE risk. Adequate sleep duration was not sufficient to offset these adverse effects among irregular sleepers. This study supports the inclusion of sleep regularity in public health guidelines and clinical practice as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142741223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Association of food insecurity with mental health status, mental health services utilisation and general healthcare utilisation among US adults.","authors":"Sungchul Park, Seth A Berkowitz","doi":"10.1136/jech-2024-221900","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2024-221900","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Food insecurity poses a substantial threat to mental health. However, there is limited understanding of how food-insecure adults experience mental health challenges and access necessary health services. We examined the association of food insecurity with mental health status, mental health service utilisation and general healthcare utilisation among US adults.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective longitudinal cohort study was conducted to analyse data from 9906 US adults participating in the 2016-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Outcomes included mental health status, mental health service utilisation and general healthcare utilisation. The primary independent variable was food insecurity measured using the 10-item Food Security Survey Module. Two separate models were used: A lagged-dependent model and a fixed-effect model.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The lagged dependent model showed that food insecurity in 1 year was associated with a higher likelihood of reporting mental health symptoms based on the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Kessler 6 Psychological Distress Scale (3.5 percentage points (95% CI: 1.3 to 5.8)) and self-reported poor mental health (5.8 percentage points (2.9 to 8.7)) in the subsequent year. However, compared with food-secure adults, food-insecure adults were no more likely to have outpatient mental health visits, specialty mental health visits or psychotropic medication fills. Moreover, food-insecure adults were 4.1 (1.2 to 7.0) percentage points more likely to have an emergency room visit than food-secure adults. These findings were consistent with the fixed-effect model.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Food insecurity is associated with worse mental health. However, food-insecure adults may not access adequate mental health services and instead rely on emergency room visits.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142741183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diabetes and suicide: a nationwide longitudinal cohort study among the Japanese working-age population.","authors":"Yoshikazu Komura, Kosuke Inoue, Nana Ishimura, Daisuke Taura, Norio Harada, Nobuya Inagaki, Naoki Kondo","doi":"10.1136/jech-2024-222701","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2024-222701","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although the mental health burden of diabetes has received substantial attention, there is limited evidence on whether the risk of suicide-a severe consequence of mental health problems-increases among individuals with diabetes. Therefore, this study investigated the association between diabetes and suicide in Japan.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This nationwide longitudinal cohort study included adults aged 18-74 years, who were enrolled in the Japan Health Insurance Association's health insurance programme between 2015 and 2022. Individuals newly diagnosed with diabetes were matched in a 1:1 ratio with those without diabetes, based on age and sex. We employed multivariable Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the hazard ratios for suicide in relation to the diagnosis of diabetes, adjusting for potential confounders, such as sociodemographic characteristics, history of psychiatric disorders, physical measurements, health behaviours and laboratory data.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 4 210 272 individuals in the matched-pair cohort, we observed 337 deaths by suicide among those with diabetes and 250 deaths by suicide among those without diabetes. After conditioning on potential confounders, diabetes diagnosis was linked to an increased risk of suicide (HR (95% CI) = 1.25 (1.06 to 1.47)). The association tended to be larger among those aged younger than 40 years and among women (among those aged 18-39 years, HR=1.69 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.73); among women, HR=1.56 (95% CI 0.92 to 2.64)).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Diabetes diagnosis may increase suicide risk among the working-age population, even after conditioning on potential confounders. Our findings underscore the importance of psychosocial support following a diagnosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142741184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arunas Emeljanovas, Brigita Mieziene, Tomas Venckunas, Justin J Lang, Grant R Tomkinson
{"title":"Trends in physical fitness among Lithuanian adolescents aged 11-17 years between 1992 and 2022.","authors":"Arunas Emeljanovas, Brigita Mieziene, Tomas Venckunas, Justin J Lang, Grant R Tomkinson","doi":"10.1136/jech-2024-223072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2024-223072","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Physical fitness is an excellent marker of general health and performance. We aimed to calculate trends in physical fitness among Lithuanian adolescents between 1992 and 2022.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a repeated cross-sectional design, body size and physical fitness data for 17 918 Lithuanian adolescents (50.3% female) aged 11-17 years were collected in 1992, 2002, 2012 and 2022. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from measured height and body mass, with BMI z-scores (zBMI) calculated using WHO growth curves. Physical fitness was measured using the Eurofit test battery, with results converted to z-scores using European norms. With adjustment for zBMI, trends in mean fitness levels were calculated using general linear models. Trends in distributional characteristics were visually described and calculated as the ratio of SDs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found significant large declines (standardised effect size (ES) ≥ 0.80) in 20-m shuttle run and bent arm hang performance, and significant small declines (ES=0.20-0.49) in standing broad jump, plate tapping, sit-and-reach and sit-ups performance. In contrast, we found a significant moderate improvement (ES=0.50-0.79) in flamingo balance performance and a significant negligible improvement (ES<0.20) in 10×5-m shuttle run performance. Poorer trends were observed in low performers (below the 20th percentile) compared with high performers (above the 80th percentile).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Health-related fitness (ie, cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal fitness) levels have declined among Lithuanian adolescents since 1992, particularly among those with low fitness. National health promotion policies are required to improve current trends.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142741353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katrin Wolfova, Rebecca A Hubbard, Pavla Brennan Kearns, Virginia W Chang, Paul Crane, Andrea Z LaCroix, Eric B Larson, Sarah Tom
{"title":"Number of children and risk of dementia: a cohort study.","authors":"Katrin Wolfova, Rebecca A Hubbard, Pavla Brennan Kearns, Virginia W Chang, Paul Crane, Andrea Z LaCroix, Eric B Larson, Sarah Tom","doi":"10.1136/jech-2024-222717","DOIUrl":"10.1136/jech-2024-222717","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Findings on the link between the number of children and dementia risk are inconsistent, mostly studied in females, suggesting pregnancy-related changes may be a key factor in this association.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The Adult Changes in Thought Study is a cohort of adults aged ≥65 years from Kaiser Permanente Washington. The primary exposure was the number of children (0, 1, 2, 3 or ≥4), and the outcome was an incident dementia diagnosis. Cox proportional-hazards models were adjusted for demographic and early-life socioeconomic confounders. Models were then stratified by sex and by birth year <1928 versus ≥1928.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 4668 participants (average age at enrolment 74.1±SD 6.3 years; 59% female), 967 (21%) had 0 children, 484 (10%) had one child, 1240 (27%) had two children, 968 (21%) had three children and 1009 (22%) had four or more children. We found no association between the number of children and dementia overall or after stratification by birth cohort. When stratified by sex and adjusting for confounders, having ≥4 children compared with two children was associated with a higher rate of dementia in males (HR=1.31, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.71).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The number of children was not consistently associated with the risk of dementia. We observed a greater risk of dementia only among males who had ≥4 children, with the lower bound of the 95% CI marginally exceeding 1. These findings suggest that the number of children may influence the risk of dementia through other than pregnancy-related pathways.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142693451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel G Abiétar, Mariacarla Martí-González, Elena Aguiló, Nacho Sánchez-Valdivia
{"title":"Insights on health policies from a political philosophy perspective.","authors":"Daniel G Abiétar, Mariacarla Martí-González, Elena Aguiló, Nacho Sánchez-Valdivia","doi":"10.1136/jech-2023-220568","DOIUrl":"10.1136/jech-2023-220568","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Health policies play a crucial role in shaping people's well-being. While public health often relies on evidence-based policy to improve health outcomes, many non-scientific factors determine the health policy-making process. This article explores how public health advocacy can be strengthened by examining the relationship between political philosophy and the scientistic aspirations of public health.We begin by critically assessing the deliberative decision-making model, offering insights on policy processes that could inspire new directions in health policy research. To enhance these efforts, we delve into the philosophical critique of scientism, aiming to liberate public health from its technocratic inclinations. Our analysis draws on political philosophy from two angles: first, we revisit Renaissance utopias to highlight the risks of a science-driven society devoid of ethics; second, we introduce modern perspectives on democratic justice, advocating for health policies that resist domination.Ultimately, we argue for a new model of health policy science that positions public health as a key political actor. By focusing on the everyday realities of policy-making, public health can tackle two fundamental questions: How are citizens' interests considered in health policy? And how do we deliberate the goals and means of health policy? By addressing these questions, our proposals aim to enhance public health advocacy, promoting research and actions that lead to more just and inclusive health policies, ensuring the protection of everyone's health.</p>","PeriodicalId":54839,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142632944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}