Income Group Differences Research Articles

Association between Pet Ownership and Threatened Abortion in Pregnant Women: The China Birth Cohort Study.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the association between pet ownership and threatened abortion (TA) in pregnant Chinese women. Materials and Methods: We enrolled pregnant women from 18 provinces and autonomous regions across China between November 2017 and December 2020. Participants were grouped based on the presence or absence of pet ownership. Pet owners were further sub-grouped based on the presence or absence of close contact with their pets. Pet species included cats, dogs, and both. Generalised linear mixed models, with province as a random effect, were used to estimate the associations between pet ownership and TA. Results: Pet ownership, whether or not one had close contact with pets, was associated with greater odds of TA (OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.21, 1.40). Keeping pet cats (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.40), dogs (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.41), or both cats and dogs (OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.68) during pregnancy were all risk factors for TA. We observed significant group differences (p for difference < 0.05) in pre-pregnancy body mass index, education levels, and annual household income. Conclusions: Cat or dog ownership during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of TA, especially among overweight, less educated, or lower-income participants.

Disease-Specific Health Disparities: A Targeted Review Focusing on Race and Ethnicity.

Background: Wide disparities in health status exist in the United States across race and ethnicity, broadly driven by social determinants of health—most notably race and ethnic group differences in income, education, and occupational status. However, disparities in disease frequency or severity remain underappreciated for many individual diseases whose distribution in the population varies. Such information is not readily accessible, nor emphasized in treatment guidelines or reviews used by practitioners. Specifically, a summary on disease-specific evidence of disparities from population-based studies is lacking. Our goal was to summarize the published evidence for specific disease disparities in the United States so that this knowledge becomes more widely available “at the bedside”. We hope this summary stimulates health equity research at the disease level so that these disparities can be addressed effectively. Methods: A targeted literature review of disorders in Pfizer’s current pipeline was conducted. The 38 diseases included metabolic disorders, cancers, inflammatory conditions, dermatologic disorders, rare diseases, and infectious targets of vaccines under development. Online searches in Ovid and Google were performed to identify sources focused on differences in disease rates and severity between non-Hispanic Whites and Black/African Americans, and between non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics. As a model for how this might be accomplished for all disorders, disparities in disease rates and disease severity were scored to make the results of our review most readily accessible. After primary review of each condition by one author, another undertook an independent review. Differences between reviewers were resolved through discussion. Results: For Black/African Americans, 29 of the 38 disorders revealed a robust excess in incidence, prevalence, or severity. After sickle cell anemia, the largest excesses in frequency were identified for multiple myeloma and hidradenitis suppurativa. For Hispanics, there was evidence of disparity in 19 diseases. Most notable were metabolic disorders, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Conclusions: This review summarized recent disease-specific evidence of disparities based on race and ethnicity across multiple diseases, to inform clinicians and health equity research. Our findings may be well known to researchers and specialists in their respective fields but may not be common knowledge to health care providers or public health and policy institutions. Our hope is that this effort spurs research into the causes of the many disease disparities that exist in the United States.

Group Equity and Implicit Discrimination in Tax Systems

I address some issues in measuring group equity and implicit discrimination and in assessing their role in the evaluation of tax systems, focusing on racial equity in the United States. I argue that group inequity should be judged relative to other accepted objectives of the tax system it may facilitate and stress the importance of having accurate measures of well-being. Finally, I present a decomposition of the difference in groups’ average tax rates into measures of the overall progressivity, group differences in average income, and a set of income-group-specific measures of horizontal group tax differences.

Functional Hyperconnectivity during a Stories Listening Task in Magnetoencephalography Is Associated with Language Gains for Children Born Extremely Preterm.

Extreme prematurity (EPT, <28 weeks gestation) is associated with language problems. We previously reported hyperconnectivity in EPT children versus term children (TC) using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Here, we aim to ascertain whether functional hyperconnectivity is a marker of language resiliency for EPT children, validating our earlier work with a distinct sample of contemporary well-performing EPT and preterm children with history of language delay (EPT-HLD). A total of 58 children (17 EPT, 9 EPT-HLD, and 32 TC) participated in stories listening during MEG and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 4–6 years. We compared connectivity in EPT and EPT-HLD, investigating relationships with language over time. We measured fMRI activation during stories listening and parcellated the activation map to obtain “nodes” for MEG connectivity analysis. There were no significant group differences in age, sex, race, ethnicity, parental education, income, language scores, or language representation on fMRI. MEG functional connectivity (weighted phase lag index) was significantly different between groups. Preterm children had increased connectivity, replicating our earlier work. EPT and EPT-HLD had hyperconnectivity versus TC at 24–26 Hz, with EPT-HLD exhibiting greatest connectivity. Network strength correlated with change in standardized scores from 2 years to 4–6 years of age, suggesting hyperconnectivity is a marker of advancing language development.

Contrasting the experiences for high- and low-income Asian Americans during COVID-19

There is a lack of quantitative research examining how the pandemic has affected individuals at different income levels. The Asian American population has the highest level of income inequality and serves as an excellent case study for examining differences in experience between income groups. A non-probability sample of 3084 Asian American adults living in the US was surveyed in June 2020, examining health-related behaviors and outcomes. Descriptive analyses and chi-squared statistics were conducted to identify differences in income groups (low, medium, high) among Asian Americans across regional subgroups (East, South, Southeast, Multiethnic) and disaggregated ethnicities (Chinese, Asian Indian, Japanese, and Filipino). In bivariable analyses, a significantly (p < 0.05) greater percentage of high-income individuals during the pandemic reported having enough money to buy the food they needed, a away to get to the store for food, and reported stores where they get food had everything they needed. High-income Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino individual also noted that, since the COVID-19 crisis, they are now working partially or fully from home. In the total sample, multivariable adjusted logistic regressions revealed medium- and low-income individuals to have low odds of working partially or fully from home (AOR:0.55, 95%CI:0.42–0.72), higher odds of not having enough money to buy the food they needed (AOR:3.54, 95%CI:1.43–11.81), and higher odds of eating less (AOR:1.58, 95%CI:1.14–2.22). These results highlight the importance of considering income distribution when characterizing disparities in health behaviors within racial/ethnic minority groups and underscore the need to bolster the infrastructure supporting low-income Asian Americans.

Extremely preterm children demonstrate hyperconnectivity during verb generation: A multimodal approach

Children born extremely preterm (EPT, <28 weeks gestation) are at risk for delays in development, including language. We use fMRI-constrained magnetoencephalography (MEG) during a verb generation task to assess the extent and functional connectivity (phase locking value, or PLV) of language networks in a large cohort of EPT children and their term comparisons (TC). 73 participants, aged 4 to 6 years, were enrolled (42 TC, 31 EPT). There were no significant group differences in age, sex, race, ethnicity, parental education, or family income. There were significant group differences in expressive language scores (p < 0.05). Language representation was not significantly different between groups on fMRI, with task-specific activation involving bilateral temporal and left inferior frontal cortex. There were group differences in functional connectivity seen in MEG. To identify a possible subnetwork contributing to focal spectral differences in connectivity, we ran Network Based Statistics analyses. For both beta (20–25 Hz) and gamma (61–70 Hz) bands, we observed a subnetwork showing hyperconnectivity in the EPT group (p < 0.05). Network strength was computed for the beta and gamma subnetworks and assessed for correlation with language performance. For the EPT group exclusively, strength of the subnetwork identified in the gamma frequency band was positively correlated with expressive language scores (r = 0.318, p < 0.05). Thus, hyperconnectivity is positively related to language for EPT children and might represent a marker for resiliency in this population.

A neoclassical growth model with endogenous birth and mortality rates

This study examines dynamic interdependence between different socio-cultural groups? birth rates, mortality rates, populations, wealth accumulation, and the allocation of time between work, leisure, and childcare. It emphasises the role of changes in human capital, technology, and preferences on birth and mortality rates and time allocations. The economic mechanism of wealth and income distribution is based on the Walrasian general equilibrium theory, and wealth accumulation is based on the Solow growth model. The paper uses a utility function proposed by Zhang (2015) to describe the behaviour of households. It also models group and gender differences in human capital, the propensity to have children, the propensity to use leisure time, and the efficiency of childcare. The paper uses differential equations to describe the dynamics of group differences in wealth, income, birth rates, mortality rates, and populations. I simulate a model to show the motion of the system and identify the existence of an equilibrium point. I also examine the effects on the dynamics of the economic system of changes in the propensity to have children and the propensity to save, and in gender differences in the propensity to use leisure, in human capital, and in emotional involvement in childcare.

Trends in Disability Among Adults 55-64 in the United States and England From 2002 to 2016

The paper’s goal is to assess whether and, if so, the extent to which prevalence in disability of adults near retirement ages in the US increased over time compared to their peers in England and examine income group differences in the relative trends. This study uses 2002-2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) focusing on adults aged 55-64. Annual percent changes over the period of 2002-2016 for limitations in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and activities of daily living (ADL) are estimated for each survey (HRS and ELSA) using multivariable logistic regressions to adjust for individual-level characteristics While disability prevalence of adults ages 55-64 in England improved over the years of 2002-2016 (annual % change= -2.01 for IADL; - 2.53 for ADL), disability prevalence of US adults has not improved and in fact even worsened in terms of IADL (annual % change= +1.35). There are substantial variations in the IADL/ADL trends by income groups. In the US, the adverse trends in disability were more pronounced among the lowest income groups (annual % change in IADL=1.76 for bottom 20% vs. -2.08 for top 20%; annual % change in ADL=1.08 for bottom 20% vs. -2.08 for top 20%). In England, the disability status improved over time for all but the lowest income group. We will examine further to identify specific factors contributing to divergent/convergent trends in disability between the US and England.

Evaluation of Russian Economic Sectors’ Sensitivity to Tax Burden

This study tests the hypothesis that Russia’s economic sectors have different sensitivity to tax burden. Econometric models are built to explore the relationship between production in different sectors and the tax burden on these sectors. We use employment growth, labour productivity growth and world oil prices growth as control variables; to neutralize crisis effects we introduced a binary dummy variable. A peculiar feature of our models is that we build a certain a priori non-linear fiscal aggregate, which appears as one variable in an econometric dependency and comprises one or two exogenous parameters. This enables us to test the hypothesis about the non-linear impact of tax burden on production and to avoid the multicollinearity problem. The parameter of the non-linear fiscal aggregate can take different values as we build the econometric dependency, which means that we can conduct a lot of computational experiments to choose the most adequate model. The econometric models use statistical data of Rosstat and the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the period of 1996–2019 for the whole economy and for the period of 2006–2019 for specific sectors. For this study we have chosen the manufacturing and extractive industries, manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, chemical industry and electrical engineering. To gain a bigger picture, we have also considered the public service sector– education and health care. Model calculations have shown that the main indicator reflecting the sectors’ sensitivity to tax regulation is the width of the corridor of permissible values of the tax burden in the parabolic dependency (permissible in the meaning that such tax burden provides a positive production growth in the sector): ∆q = q00 – q0. The lower is ∆q, the more sensitive is this sector to any tax increase. The use of additional indicators – q (effective tax burden), q* (optimal tax burden) and l* (potential production growth if the tax burden is optimal)– has shown that the more technologically advanced is the sector, the more sensitive it is to the tax burden. Moreover, the more technologically advanced is the sector and the more sensitive it is to fiscal regulation, the faster its development can be, provided that the tax rates are optimal. Thus, a possible solution is to apply a differentiated taxation system for economic sectors. All developed countries apply progressive personal income tax scales, which shows awareness of the differences in income groups’ sensitivity to taxes. Theoretically, nothing could be said against applying a similar principle to economic sectors with different levels of technological intensity and innovation and with a different sensitivity to tax burden. A differentiated tax system can be applied for economic sectors if certain conditions are met and specific procedures are established and followed. For citation Balatsky E.V., Ekimova N.A. Evaluation of Russian Economic Sectors’ Sensitivity to Tax Burden. Journal of Tax Reform. 2020;6(2):157–179. DOI: 10.15826/jtr.2020.6.2.080. Article info Received June 22, 2020; Revised July 14, 2020; Accepted July 21, 2020

Mutual Assistance of Urban Parents and Adult Children: Differences in Age, Educational and Income Groups

Since 2019, Russia has been implementing The Federal project “Older generation”, which is one of the five Federal projects (FP) of the national project”Demography”. The purpose of the project is to expand the boundaries of active and efficient old age, strengthen the health of older people, and provide them with decent care from the state [Federal.., 2019]. In addition to government efforts, the family ties of the elderly are also important. One of the indicators of well-being of older people is the nature of their relationships with adult children. To analyze the mutual assistance of adult children and parents in Russia, we used the databases of the 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2018 COHR. Sub-samples of urban citizens aged 55–64 and 65 years and older who have adult children living separately were formed. The dynamics of various types of mutual assistance is described, and the change in the balance of monetary mutual assistance between parents and adult children in these age groups is shown. The differences in monetary mutual assistance and care for grandchildren by gender of parents, among educated/ uneducated parents and living in households with different income levels in the selected age groups are analyzed. Changing the models of interaction between parents and adult children can become one of the adaptive strategies in the next crisis social conditions in Russia.

A comparison of demographic and socio-psychological characteristics of obese males according to degree of obesity

This study aims to explore the diverse characteristics of obese groups of Korean males in their 20’s to 40’s. A total of 201 males who each had a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 23 or over were recruited through a convenient sampling. Samples were categorized into groups of overweight, slightly obese, and severely obese, and submitted for data analysis. Results are summarized as follows. First, in terms of demographic characteristics, slightly and severely obese males were older than overweight males. There were also group differences in marital status and household income. Second, slightly and severely obese groups demonstrated a higher perception of obesity and a lower perception of health than did the overweight group. Third, there were no group differences in body satisfaction, socio-cultural attitudes toward appearance, and self-esteem. Based on these results, we concluded that overweight, slightly obese, and severely obese groups were distinguishable from each other in terms of their demographic characteristics, whereas the slightly obese group and the severely obese group were not different in terms of perception of obesity, perception of health, weight control behaviors, body satisfaction, body image, socio-cultural attitudes toward appearance, and self-esteem. These findings may reflect that people may not become increasingly sensitive to socio-psychological stimulations as they gain more weight if they have exceeded a certain level of obesity. This observation provides meaningful implications for the differences among obesity groups given the lack of prior research focusing on this issue.

Pattern of Demand For Money

In the activity of the modern economy, the availability of money as a means of transaction is very important, because with the money as a means to pay consumers can easily to get the basic material needs are required, the manufacturer can provide the raw materials of labor for production, and distributors can obtain a variety of merchandise to be delivered at the end consumer. The pattern of use of money is influenced by the attitude of the public in the transaction. Researchers assume, that there are differences among communities, either by group differences in income, educational differences, ethnic differences, differences in profession, and perhaps even religious differences embraced. So as to provide information to the monetary authorities, to enrich the theory of demand for money based economic agents in Indonesia, and for the application of the theory of demand for money, the researchers felt the need to study patterns of use of money. Qualitative research, in addition to knowing whether the variables that affect the demand for money as the above theory is still relevant for economic actors in Indonesia at this time, or even are new variables, as well as the motive of money demand.Keywords: Demand for money, Keynes Theory, qualitative method

Pattern of Demand For Money

In the activity of the modern economy, the availability of money as a means of transaction is very important, because with the money as a means to pay consumers can easily to get the basic material needs are required, the manufacturer can provide the raw materials of labor for production, and distributors can obtain a variety of merchandise to be delivered at the end consumer. The pattern of use of money is influenced by the attitude of the public in the transaction. Researchers assume, that there are differences among communities, either by group differences in income, educational differences, ethnic differences, differences in profession, and perhaps even religious differences embraced. So as to provide information to the monetary authorities, to enrich the theory of demand for money based economic agents in Indonesia, and for the application of the theory of demand for money, the researchers felt the need to study patterns of use of money. Qualitative research, in addition to knowing whether the variables that affect the demand for money as the above theory is still relevant for economic actors in Indonesia at this time, or even are new variables, as well as the motive of money demand.Keywords: Demand for money, Keynes Theory, qualitative method

Role of Combat Exposure and Insomnia in Student Veterans’ Adaptation to College

ABSTRACTObjective/Background: Since 2002, the number of college student veterans has nearly doubled, although 30–40% of veterans fail to complete their degree. Few research efforts to understand the challenges veterans face transitioning to college in recent years have looked beyond the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder. Insomnia is the most frequently reported symptom of combat veterans and can have serious implications for college students. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of insomnia in student veteran adaptation to college relative to civilian students. Participants: College students (N = 588), including 154 veterans, participated in a large online study examining the psychological, relational, and academic functioning of college students. Approximately 61% of the veteran subsample reported combat exposure. Methods: Students were administered a Background Information Questionnaire, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory, and the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire. Data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance and regression to test for direct and indirect effects. Results and Conclusions: Student veterans reported better academic and personal-emotional adaptation than civilian students, while civilians reported better social adjustment than veterans. However, follow-up analyses revealed that these effects might be explained by group differences in gender, income, and marital status. Although combat veterans without insomnia had better academic adjustment than noncombat veterans and civilian students, insomnia seemed to have a greater negative effect on combat veterans’ academic adjustment relative to civilian students. Furthermore, insomnia mediated the relationship between combat exposure and veterans’ personal-emotional adjustment to college.

Trends of relative and absolute socioeconomic equity in access to coronary revascularisations in 1995\u20132010 in Finland: a register study

BackgroundResources for coronary revascularisations have increased substantially since the early 1990s in Finland. At the same time, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) mortality has decreased markedly. This study aims to examine how these changes have influenced trends in absolute and relative differences between socioeconomic groups in revascularisations and age group differences in them using IHD mortality as a proxy for need.MethodsHospital Discharge Register data on revascularisations among Finns aged 45–84 in 1995–2010 were individually linked to population registers to obtain socio-demographic data. We measured absolute and relative income group differences in revascularisation and IHD mortality with slope index of inequality (SII) and concentration index (C), and relative equity taking need for care into account with horizontal inequity index (HII).ResultsThe supply of procedures doubled during the years. Socioeconomic distribution of revascularisations was in absolute and relative terms equal in 1995 (Men: SII = −12, C = −0.00; Women, SII = −30, C = −0.03), but differences favouring low-income groups emerged by 2010 (M: SII = −340, C = −0.08; W: SII = −195, C = −0.14). IHD mortality decreased markedly, but absolute and relative differences favouring the better-off existed throughout study years. Absolute differences decreased somewhat (M: SII = −760 in 1995, SII = −681 in 2010; W: SII = −318 in 1995, SII = −211 in 2010), but relative differences increased significantly (M: C = −0.14 in 1995, C = −0.26 in 2010; W: C = −0.15 in 1995, C = −0.25 in 2010). HII was greater than zero in each year indicating inequity favouring the better-off. HII increased from 0.15 to 0.18 among men and from 0.10 to 0.12 among women. We found significant and increasing age group differences in HII.ConclusionsDespite large increase in supply of revascularisations and decrease in IHD mortality, there is still marked socioeconomic inequity in revascularisations in Finland. However, since changes in absolute distributions of both supply and need for coronary care have favoured low-income groups, absolute inequity can be claimed to have decreased although it cannot be quantified numerically.

Physical activity and academic achievement across the curriculum: Results from a 3-year cluster-randomized trial.

We compared changes in academic achievement across 3years between children in elementary schools receiving the Academic Achievement and Physical Activity Across the Curriculum intervention (A+PAAC), in which classroom teachers were trained to deliver academic lessons using moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to a non-intervention control. Elementary schools in eastern Kansas (n=17) were cluster randomized to A+PAAC (N=9, target ≥100min/week) or control (N=8). Academic achievement (math, reading, spelling) was assessed using the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Third Edition (WIAT-III) in a sample of children (A+PAAC=316, Control=268) in grades 2 and 3 at baseline (Fall 2011) and repeated each spring across 3years. On average 55min/week of A+PACC lessons were delivered each week across the intervention. Baseline WIAT-III scores (math, reading, spelling) were significantly higher in students in A+PAAC compared with control schools and improved in both groups across 3years. However, linear mixed modeling, accounting for baseline between group differences in WIAT-III scores, ethnicity, family income, and cardiovascular fitness, found no significant impact of A+PAAC on any of the academic achievement outcomes as determined by non-significant group by time interactions. A+PAAC neither diminished or improved academic achievement across 3-years in elementary school children compared with controls. Our target of 100min/week of active lessons was not achieved; however, students attending A+PAAC schools received an additional 55min/week of MVPA which may be associated with both physical and mental health benefits, without a reduction in time devoted to academic instruction.

Worldwide prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection among multiple births: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on cohort studies.

To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of reported estimates of adverse pregnancy outcomes among multiple births conceived with in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries and Chinese databases were searched through May 2016 for cohort studies assessing adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with IVF/ICSI multiple births. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to calculate pooled estimates of adverse pregnancy outcomes and, where appropriate, heterogeneity was explored in group-specific analyses. Sixty-four studies, with 60,210 IVF/ICSI multiple births and 146,737 spontaneously conceived multiple births, were selected for analysis. Among IVF/ICSI multiple births, the pooled estimates were 51.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 48.7-54.3] for preterm birth, 12.1% (95% CI: 10.4-14.1) for very preterm birth, 49.8% (95% CI: 47.6-52.0) for low birth weight, 8.4% (95% CI: 7.1-9.9) for very low birth weight, 16.2% (95% CI: 12.9-20.1) for small for gestational age, 3.0% (95% CI: 2.5-3.7) for perinatal mortality and 4.7% (95% CI: 4.0-5.6) for congenital malformations. When the data were restricted to twins, the pooled estimates also showed a high prevalence of adverse outcomes. There was a similar prevalence of poor outcomes among multiple births conceived with IVF/ICSI and naturally (all P ≥ 0.0792). Significant differences in different continents, countries, and income groups were found. The IVF/ICSI multiple pregnancies have a high prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, population-wide prospective adverse outcomes registries covering the entire world population for IVF/ICSI pregnancies are needed to determine the exact perinatal prevalence.

Worldwide prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes among singleton pregnancies after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The worldwide prevalence of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) in singleton pregnancies after in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is suggested to vary; however, a complete overview is missing. The aim of this review is to estimate the worldwide prevalence of APOs associated with IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies. PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Libraries, and Chinese databases were searched for studies assessing APOs among IVF/ICSI singleton births through March 2016. The prevalence estimates were summarized and analyzed by meta-analysis. Fifty-two cohort studies, with 181,741 IVF/ICSI singleton births and 4,636,508 spontaneously conceived singleton births, were selected for analysis. Among IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies, pooled estimates were 10.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 10.0-11.8] for preterm birth, 2.4% (95% CI 1.9-3.0) for very preterm birth, 8.7% (95% CI 7.4-10.2) for low birth weight, 2.0% (95% CI 1.5-2.6) for very low birth weight, 7.1% (95% CI 5.5-9.2) for small for gestational age, 1.1% (95% CI 0.9-1.3) for perinatal mortality, and 5.7% (95% CI 4.7-6.9) for congenital malformations. The IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies have higher prevalence of APOs compared with those conceived naturally (all P=0.000). Significant differences in different continents, countries, income groups, and type of assisted conception were found. The IVF/ICSI singleton pregnancies are at a higher prevalence of adverse perinatal outcomes compared with those conceived naturally. Important geographical differences were found. Yet, population-wide prospective APO registries covering the entire world population for IVF/ICSI pregnancies are needed to determine the exact perinatal prevalence.

Arithmetic Accuracy in Children From High- and Low-Income Schools

This study investigated income group differences in kindergartners’ and first graders’ ( N = 161) arithmetic by examining the link between accuracy and strategy use on simple and complex addition problems. Low-income children were substantially less accurate than high-income children, in terms of both percentage of correctly solved problems and the magnitude of errors, with low-income first graders being less accurate than high-income kindergartners. Higher-income children were more likely to use sophisticated mental strategies than their lower-income peers, who used predominantly inefficient counting or inappropriate strategies. Importantly, this difference in strategies mediated the relation between income group and addition. Examining underlying strategies has implications for understanding income group differences in arithmetic and potential means of remedying it via instruction.

Are there socioeconomic differences in outcomes of coronary revascularizations—a register-based cohort study

Earlier studies have reported socioeconomic differences in coronary heart disease incidence and mortality and in coronary treatment, but less is known about outcomes of care. We examined trends in income group differences in outcomes of coronary revascularizations among Finnish residents in 1998-2010. First revascularizations for 45-84-year-old Finns were extracted from the Hospital Discharge Register in 1998-2009 and followed until 31 December 2010. Income was individually linked to them and adjusted for family size. We examined the risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), coronary mortality and re-revascularization. We calculated age-standardized rates with direct method and Cox regression models. Altogether 69 076 men and 27 498 women underwent revascularization during the study period. Among men [women] in the 1998 cohort, 41% [35%] suffered MACE during 29 days after the operation and 30% [28%] in the 2009 cohort. Myocardial infarction mortality within 1 year was 2% among both genders in both cohorts. Among men [women] 9% [14%] underwent revascularization within 1 year after the operation in 1998 and 12% [12%] in 2009. Controlling for age, co-morbidities, year, previous infarction and disease severity, an inverse income gradient was found in MACE incidence within 29 days and in coronary mortality. The excess MACE risk was 1.39 and excess mortality risk over 1.70 among both genders in the lowest income quintile. All income group differences remained stable from 1998 to 2010. In health care, more attention should be paid to prevention of adverse outcomes among persons with low socioeconomic position undergoing revascularization.