Material deprivation contributes to inequalities in health; areas of high deprivation have higher rates of ill-health. How deprivation is measured has a great impact on its explanatory power with respect to health. We compare previous deprivation measures used in Scotland and proposes a new deprivation measure using the 2001 and 2011 Scottish census data. We calculate the relative index of ineq...

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between density of fast food restaurants and measures of social and material deprivation at the community level in Nova Scotia, Canada. METHODS Census information on population and key variables required for the calculation of deprivation indices were obtained for 266 communities in Nova Scotia. The density of fast food restaurants per 1000 individuals fo...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate a deprivation index, calculated from small area statistics for postcode sectors, as a measure of individual social status in an epidemiological study of coronary heart disease (CHD). DESIGN A baseline, cross sectional survey. SETTING Twenty two local authority districts of Scotland surveyed between 1984 and 1986. SUBJECTS A total of 10359 men and women aged 40-59 yea...

BACKGROUND We examined the incremental influence on survival of neighbourhood material and social deprivation while accounting for individual level socioeconomic status in a large population-based cohort of Canadians. METHODS More than 500,000 adults were followed for 22 years between 1982 and 2004. Tax records provided information on sex, income, marital status and postal code while a linkag...

BACKGROUND Health selection has been proposed to explain the patterning of alcohol-related mortality by area deprivation. This study investigated whether persons who die from alcohol-related conditions are more likely to experience social drift than those who die from other causes. METHODS Deaths recorded in Scotland (2013, >21 years) were coded as 'alcohol-related' or 'other' and by deprivat...

Energetic demands of social communication signals can constrain signal duration, repetition, and magnitude. The metabolic costs of communication signals are further magnified when they are coupled to active sensory systems that require constant signal generation. Under such circumstances, metabolic stress incurs additional risk because energy shortfalls could degrade sensory system performance ...

A recent body of work in neuroscience examines the brains of people suffering from social and economic disadvantage. This article assesses claims that this research can help generate more effective strategies for addressing these social conditions and their effects. It concludes that the so-called neuroscience of deprivation has no unique practical payoff, and that scientists, journalists, and ...

Growing evidence suggests that early social deprivation impacts the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Early adverse care in the form of institutional or orphanage care provides a human model for early social deprivation. The present study examined changes in diurnal cortisol during the transition to family care in the first 2 years post-adoption. Children adopted betwe...

Numerous studies have noted a strong social gradient in many types of ill health. In particular, people in more deprived areas tend to be less healthy than those in more affluent communities, even once the demographic and socio-economic differences of the people in those areas have been taken into account. The social gradient is evident for many types of health outcomes, including diseases such...

BACKGROUND Deprivation is associated with inequalities in health care and higher morbidity and mortality. To assess the reliability of a new individual deprivation score, the EPICES score and to analyse the association between the Townsend index, the Carstairs index and the EPICES score and causes of death in one French administrative region. METHODS Eligible patients were 16 years old or mor...