This paper reports the development of a short scale (ten items) entitled ‘Social Relationships to Prevent Obesity’ (SRPO), which examines how social relationships support the continuous and conscious endeavour to lose weight. The construct and criterion validity of this scale were ascertained in this study. Factor structure and reliability were examined using data from a randomized controlled trial. A confirmatory factor analysis of the SRPO revealed three relevant factors. The results suggest that the SRPO has both validity and clinical utility and can thus be used as a screening tool in weight-loss interventions and to assess the degree of, and trends in, self-control for weight loss in individuals. The scale can also be used to examine the environmental and self-control problems faced by obese people – factors that should be considered when conducting weight-loss interventions.

The increasing availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and drug regimens to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) has probably changed the context of childbearing for people living with HIV. Using data from 2009–2010 community-based surveys in Nigeria and Zambia, this study explores whether women's knowledge about ART and PMTCT influences the relationship between HIV status and fertility preferences and contraceptive behaviour. The findings show that women living with HIV are more likely to want more children in Nigeria and to want to limit childbearing in Zambia compared with HIV-negative women. While there is no significant difference in contraceptive use by women's HIV status in the two countries, women who did not know their HIV status are less likely to use contraceptives relative to women who are HIV-negative. Knowledge about ART reduces the childbearing desires of HIV-positive women in Nigeria and knowledge about PMTCT increases desire for more children among HIV-positive women in Zambia, as well as contraceptive use among women who do not know their HIV status. The findings indicate that knowledge about HIV prevention and treatment services changes how living with HIV affects childbearing desires and, at least in Zambia, pregnancy prevention, and highlight the importance of access to accurate knowledge about ART and PMTCT services to assist women and men to make informed childbearing decisions. Knowledge about ART and PMTCT should be promoted not only through HIV treatment and maternal and newborn care facilities but also through family planning centres and the mass media.

This study investigated the trends in tuberculosis mortality through time in Switzerland. Information on the decline in mortality before chemotherapies were introduced may be useful in developing countries where drug-resistant tuberculosis is now becoming a major problem. Swiss data were collected from historical records and comparative data were obtained from the literature for England and Wales, New York, Japan, Brazil and Sierra Leone. Logistic curves were fitted to examine the rate of decline before introduction of pharmacotherapies and these show that the decline would have continued without the introduction of chemical therapies, including antibiotics. In Switzerland, England and Wales and New York, the decline had occurred long before the introduction of specific anti-tuberculosis agents. In Brazil and Japan, chemical therapy was co-incident with the decline in tuberculosis mortality rates. Overall, it is suggested that the effective control of tuberculosis can be achieved through a combination of chemical interventions, conservative therapy (rest, good nutrition, ventilation, etc.) as well as public health interventions addressing hygiene, nutrition, reducing exposure to infections and educating the population about tuberculosis.

In order to understand current and changing patterns of population health, there is a clear need for high-quality health indicators. The World Health Organization Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) survey platform and the International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and Their Health in developing countries (INDEPTH) generated data for this study. A total of 4300 people aged 50 years or older were selected randomly from the Matlab Health and Demographic Surveillance System of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. The health indicators derived from these survey data are self-rated general health, overall health state, quality of life and disability levels. The outcome of the study is mortality over a 2-year follow-up since the survey. Among the four health indicators, only self-rated health was significantly associated with subsequent mortality irrespective of sex: those who reported bad health had higher mortality than those who reported good health, even after controlling for socio-demographic factors. For all other three health indicators, such associations exist but are significant only for males, while for females it is significant only for ‘quality of life’.

The epidemiological paradox and ‘healthy migrant effect’ refer to the favourable health outcomes in unprivileged groups under unfavourable socioeconomic conditions. Weight at birth is associated with the epidemiological paradox. However, differences in fertility structure (mainly mother's age and first maternity) might be the cause of the difference in weight at birth between children of immigrant and non-immigrant mothers. This paper aims to analyse the impact of the epidemiologic paradox by distinguishing between the factors related to fertility structure, in addition to other socio-cultural factors. The importance of fertility structure as the cause of weight-at-birth differences of the newborns of immigrant and non-immigrant women, and between those of subgroups of immigrant mothers, is tested. Based on data from birth registries for the period 1998–2009, a variance analysis was performed for Spanish mothers and for those of five major immigrant subgroups living in the region of Valencia, Spain, which experienced significant migrant inflows within a short period of time. A Scheffé test between pairs of nationalities was carried out. Finally, linear regression models were built. The results suggest that the most relevant factors are those related to fertility structure, and that consequently the epidemiological paradox does not apply for immigrant mothers as a whole, although Bolivian immigrant offspring may be an exception. This unexpected result requires further research to test to what extent this is due to the special adaptation of multigenerational high-altitude populations in pregnancy. The factors associated with fertility structure must be controlled when trying to relate birth weight differences between ethnic groups to socioeconomic factors.

Young adults in sub-Saharan Africa most often state ‘I trust my partner’ as the reason for not using condoms consistently. This study assesses the extent to which young adults in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, trust their partners, how trust influences condom use and whether certain relationship characteristics influence the relationship between trust and condom use. Data were taken from the 2003 Tanzania Trust Survey, and the level of trust reported by 509 male and female young adults aged 15–24 who were in relationships was examined. The analysis showed that reported trust in a partner has the expected negative relationship with consistent condom use. However, this negative association differs by relationship characteristics. To facilitate the interpretation of interactions between marriage and trust, the predicted probabilities of consistent condom use by level of trust were calculated for males and for females by marital status, showing that the negative association is strong among those who are not married, but that there is no association between trust and condom use among young married adults.

This study aimed to explore pregnant women's attitudes towards the inclusion of a lay companion as a source of social support during labour and delivery in rural central Ghana. Quantitative demographic and pregnancy-related data were collected from 50 pregnant women presenting for antenatal care at a rural district hospital and analysed using STATA/IC 11.1. Qualitative attitudinal questions were collected from the same women through semi-structured interviews; data were analysed using NVivo 9.0. Twenty-nine out of 50 women (58%) preferred to have a lay companion during facility-based labour and delivery, whereas 21 (42%) preferred to deliver alone with the nurses in a facility. Women desiring a companion were younger, had more antenatal care visits, had greater educational attainment and were likely to be experiencing their first delivery. Women varied in the type of companion they prefer (male partner vs female relative). What was expected in terms of social support differed based upon the type of companion. Male companions were expected to provide emotional support and to ‘witness her pain’. Female companions were expected to provide emotional support as well as instrumental, informational and appraisal support. Three qualitative themes were identified that run counter to the inclusion of a lay helper: fear of an evil-spirited companion, a companion not being necessary or helpful, and being ‘too shy’ of a companion. This research challenges the assumption of a unilateral desire for social support during labour and delivery, and suggests that women differ in the type of companion and type of support they prefer during facility deliveries. Future research is needed to determine the direction of the relationship – whether women desire certain types of support and thus choose companions they believe can meet those needs, or whether women desire a certain companion and adjust their expectations accordingly.

Height is regarded as one of the indicators of environmental stress at population level, being an excellent barometer of standard of living. The aim of this study was to describe diversity in height among populations living in different regions of the Kingdom of Poland in terms of the economic factors in the second half of the 19th and early 20th century. This study examines the height of adult inhabitants from five guberniyas (provinces) of the Kingdom of Poland (Łomża, Warsaw, Radom, Kalisz and Płock) collected in the years 1897–1914 (N=732 men, N=569 women). Differences in average height of male and female inhabitants across the five guberniyas were examined using ANOVA and the Fisher's LSD (Least Significant Difference) test of multiple comparisons. Statistically significant differences in the height between the guberniyas were observed. Diversity in the economic development in the studied guberniyas of the Kingdom of Poland translated into differences in the height of their inhabitants. Moreover, an increase in mean height over time was noted.

Information on the current prevalence and types of consanguineous marriages in Malakand District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), Pakistan, was collected from 1192 rural couples. Some 66.4% of marriages were between couples related as second cousins or closer (F≥0.0156), equivalent to a mean coefficient of inbreeding (α) of 0.0338. The data suggest that the prevalence of consanguineous unions in Malakand has been increasing during the last decade, in response to the high levels of violence across KPK.