ESDS Government

Welcome from the chair
John Fox, Department of Health

Introduction
Rick Bond, Department of Health

Trends in heart disease risk factors 1984-1993: did social inequality widen?
Mel Bartley, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London

The Health Surveys for England and Scotland make it possible to track progress towards government health targets. It was possible to combine an early Health Survey with the older Health and Lifestyle Survey to investigate changes in social inequality in a wide range of heart disease risk factors. This paper will show some data on these trends and then look at subsequent change in CHD mortality by social class.

Epidemiological paradox of cardiovascular disease in Black Caribbeans and South Asians: evidence from national surveys implies a shift across generations
Seeromanie Harding, MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow

Black Caribbeans have been more likely to have hypertensive related diseases but less likely to have CHD. In contrast, South Asians have been more likely to have CHD but as likely to have hypertension. This presentation will focus on the evidence from national surveys that suggest stability in some, but also changes in other social and biological risk factors across generations.

Ethnic group differences in overweight and obese children and young people in England: cross-sectional survey
Sonia Saxena, Department of Primary Care and Social Medicine, Imperial College London (co-authors Gareth Ambler, Tim J Cole, Azeem Majeed)

This paper published in January 2004 (Archives of Diseases in childhood) used data from the 1999 Health Survey for England to examine obesity levels in children from different socio-economic and ethnic groups. The authors found that British Afro-Caribbean and Pakistani girls have an increased risk of being obese and Indian and Pakistani boys have an increased risk of being overweight than the general population. These individuals may be at greater combined cumulative risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease and so may be a priority for initiatives to target groups of children at particular risk of obesity.

Linking the Scottish Health Survey to routine data: CHD incidence and sample representativeness

Alastair H Leyland, MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow

Through the linkage of individual survey responses to hospital discharge records and death records we can relate the survey's risk factors to the incidence of disease rather than the prevalence; this paper details a six-year follow-up from the 1995 Scottish Health Survey. Moreover, the creation of a national comparison dataset has enabled us to judge the representativeness of the outcomes (incidence, mortality etc.) of the Scottish Health Survey sample relative to the Scottish population.

Using the ONS omnibus survey to investigate health behaviours
Jane Wardle, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London

The presentation will describe results from three aspects of health behaviour research: weight control, understanding of health risks, and genetic testing for complex diseases.

Nicotine and smoking; insights from the Health Survey for England
Martin Jarvis, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London

The paper will describe Martin’s use of the Health Survey for England in his research to examine smoking behaviours. Research results will be presented and the value of the Health Survey will also be covered.