The Urbanization and Metabolic Outcomes Study in Tanzania (UMOST) is a study of rural to urban migrants in Tanzania, conducted with the Tanzanian Ministry of Health. It has the aim of examining changes in risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular and determinants, including genetic markers, of those changes. Initially funded as a pilot study by the Wellcome Trust we are currently seeking funds for a larger study
Illustrative references:
- Unwin N, McLarty D, Machibya H, Aspray T, Tamin B, Carlin L, Patel S, Walker M, Alberti KG: Changes in blood pressure
and lipids associated with rural to urban migration in Tanzania. Journal of Human Hypertension 2006,
20(9):704-706.
Contact for further information: n.c.unwin@ncl.ac.uk
Fertility decline I have carried out work on fertility in historical populations examining the timing of fertility decline, the stopping-spacing debate and issues of knowledge and usage of contraceptive methods among Greek couples. The work was funded by a Human Capital and Mobility fellowship supported by the European Union. An innovative aspect of this work was combining oral history with family reconstitution results. With the financial support of the Wellcome Trust I explored the social, economic and demographic dimensions of the 1941-44 food crises and famine in Occupied Greece. Currently I am working on the morbidity and mortality of hospital patients during the 1941-1944 food crises in two provincial Greek towns.
Illustrative references:
- Famine and Death in Occupied Greece, 1941-1944, Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy, and Society in
Past Times Series, Violetta Hionidou. Cambridge, UK. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
-Hionidou V. The adoption of fertility control on Mykonos 1879-1959: Stopping, spacing or both?
Population Studies 1998, 52, 67-83.
Contact for further information: violetta.hionidou@ncl.ac.uk
Smoking, ill health and poverty in China
Using data from a large, nationally representative cross-sectional household survey in China we are
examining recent trends in active and passive smoking from 1993-2003, factors influencing smoking
uptake, quitting and attitudes towards quitting smoking by age, sex, and geography. We are estimating
the financial burden of cigarette consumption on poor households, and the burden of ill-health
associated with smoking at household level (including general health status, specific acute and chronic disease
episodes, and health service use). We will describe exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in the home, and
estimate the number of non-smokers exposed to ETS, and the influence of age and sex on exposure.
Illustrative references: In progress
Contact for further information: julia.critchley@ncl.ac.uk