Ian Hamilton reviews a recent longitudinal study from Finland, which explores the psychological stressors predicting increased drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic.
[read the full story...]Violence and mental illness: does ignoring this blog stigmatise some people who need our help?
In his debut blog, Joseph Schwartz explores a systematic review finding that a range of psychiatric disorders are associated with an elevated risk of violence.
[read the full story...]Masculinity, depression and suicide risk in men with a history of childhood maltreatment
In her debut blog, Cara Richardson explores whether masculine values are differentially linked to men’s mental health functioning, depending on exposure to childhood maltreatment.
[read the full story...]Coffee and oral cavity cancer risk
This review of the association between coffee intake and the risk of oral cancer includes 19 studies and suggestes that higher intak may be linked with a reduced risk of oral cancer.
[read the full story...]High frequency or prolonged use of mouthwash increased risk of head and neck cancer
This study from the INHANCE collaboration pooled data from 12 case-controlled studies. Long-term use (35 yrs) of mouthwash was associated with an increase risk OR=1.15 (95%CI; 1.01 to 1.30) of head and neck cancer but with regular (>2 x daily), long-term (>35 years) use OR = 1.75 (95%CI; 1.25 to 2.48).
[read the full story...]Coffee consumption and oral cancer
This review includes 11 case-controlled and 4 cohort studies and suggests a 37% reduction of oral cancer risk in high coffee drinkers compared with low or no coffee drinkers OR= 0.63 (95%CI; 0.52 – 0.75)
[read the full story...]Risk Factors for the Onset of Nonspecific Low Back Pain in Office Workers: A Systematic Review
Although most Musculoskeletal Elves lead very physically active lives there are a small minority of Elves who are office based. Occasionally I hear them complain of episodes of low back pain and they have enquired of me as to what contributed to its onset. Although I felt I had a reasonable idea as to the main [read the full story…]
Is Work Load a Risk Factor for Osteoarthritis of the Hip? A Systematic Review
A previous blog by one of our industrious Musculoskeletal Elves looked at how osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip or knee affected work participation. This got me thinking about the converse situation – can work be a predisposing factor for the development of OA? We Elves are involved in quite a lot of heavy lifting, particularly around Christmas [read the full story…]