excess morality lecture 1- introduction

Question 1

what is excess mortality?

Answer 1

The number of deaths actually recorded being greater than the number expected on the basis of past data

Question 2

what are we interested in as biologists?

Answer 2

-Health of individuals & population
-What determines health?
-What is ‘modifiable’?
-What can we do & what’s best to change / improve health?
-What are our challenges?

Question 3

why is excess mortality higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK?

Answer 3

-Most evident in WCS (Glasgow), compared with socioeconomically similar UK cities (SED)
-The phenomenon is improving more slowly in Glasgow than rest of UK

Question 4

what are Glasgows biggest killers?

Answer 4

CVD/Stroke, Cancer, T2D/Obesity, Alcohol / Drug / Suicide due to socioeconomic deprivation and poverty

Question 5

is there a link between income and deprivation

Answer 5

yes, the more deprived, the lower the life expectancy

Question 6

How do we know if one factor causes the health outcome or is associated with the outcome?

Answer 6

When investigating if two factors (e.g. lack of PA and CVD) are associated, we need to keep in mind if;

X causes Y
or
Y causes X
or
X and Y are caused by a 3rd factor (Z)….. Z is called a confounder
or
X and Y are associated only by artefact*
Or
X and Y are associated by chance

Question 7

what are the determinants of health?

Answer 7

Highlights the important link between socioeconomic, cultural and environment on health outcomes