Men In Scotland Research Articles

‘Maybe we’re not past the traditional gender roles then!’ Exploring less than full-time training among men in Scotland: a qualitative study

ObjectivesA more sustainable work–life balance is desired by trainees, and increasing access to flexibility in training may improve staff morale and retention. Although a number of less than full-time (LTFT)...

A long view of social mobility in Scotland and therole of economic changes.

Changes in the social mobility of men in Scotland between the late-19th and the late-twentieth century are examined using new individual-level data from nineteenth-century censuses, linking records of men aged 0-19 in 1871 to their records in 1901, and then comparing their patterns with the social mobility of men aged 30-49 in 1974 and in 2001 as recorded in social surveys at these dates. The extent of social mobility in the nineteenth century was large. In particular, the social origins of people in the highest classes-the salariat-were very varied, indicating a society that was more open than is sometimes supposed. There was a slow growth in social mobility between then and 2001. In both periods, class inheritance-sons in the same social class as their father-was strongest in the economically declining sectors, which were agriculture and fisheries in 1901 and industry in 1974 and 2001. In the 1901 data, however, the transition to a non-agricultural economy induced strong outward mobility from agriculture.

Incidence, mortality and trends of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in Germany, the Netherlands, and Scotland

Aim of the studyCutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) incidences are increasing but scarcely available separated. We analysed incidence rates of cSCC over three decades with an extrapolation to 2040. MethodsCancer registries from the Netherlands, Scotland and two federal states of Germany (Saarland/Schleswig-Holstein) were sourced for separate cSCC incidence data. Incidence and mortality trends between 1989/90 and 2020 were assessed using Joinpoint regression models. Modified age-period-cohort models were applied to predict incidence rates up to 2044. Rates were age-standardised using the new European standard population (2013). ResultsAge-standardised incidence rates (ASIR, per 100,000 persons per year) increased in all populations. The annual percent increase ranged between 2.4% and 5.7%. The highest increase occurred in the age groups ≥60 years, especially in men aged ≥80 years, with a three to 5-fold increase. Extrapolations up to 2044 showed an unrestrained increase in incidence rates in all countries investigated. Age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) showed slight increases between 1.4 and 3.2% per year in Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein for both sexes and for men in Scotland. For the Netherlands, ASMRs remained stable for women but declined for men. ConclusionThere was a continuous increase of cSCC incidence over three decades with no tendency for levelling-off, especially in the older populations as males ≥80 years. Extrapolations point to a further increasing number of cSCC up to 2044, especially among ≥60 years. This will have a significant impact on the current and future burden on dermatologic health care which will be faced with major challenges.

Occupational differences in COVID-19 hospital admission and mortality between women and men in Scotland: A population-based study using linked administrative data.

ObjectivesWe aim to estimate occupational differences in COVID-19 hospital admission and mortality by sex. Occupations vary with respect to environmental factors that influence exposure to COVID-19 such as ventilation, social contact and protective equipment. Variations between women and men may arise because they occupy different roles within an occupation or from behavioural differences. ApproachWe established an innovative linked data collection combining individual-level data from 2011 Census with health administrative records and household identifiers from Ordnance Survey’s Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN). Using data for a cohort of approximately 1.7 million Scottish adults aged 40 to 64 years, we analysed occupational differences in COVID-19 hospital admission and mortality, during the period between 1 March 2020 and 31 January 2021. We estimated age-standardised incidence rates (ASIRs) for COVID-19 hospital admission and death per 100,000 adults, stratified by sex and occupation. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated COVID-19 hospital admission and death risks, adjusting for socio-economic and pre-pandemic health factors. ResultsGenerally, women had lower ASIRs for COVID-19 hospital admission and mortality compared to men. For COVID-19 mortality, ASIRs were highest among women employed in elementary trades and related occupations (e.g. packers/canners). For hospital admission, high rates were observed among women working in caring personal services (e.g. nursing assistants/ambulance staff). Among men, ASIRs were highest among those in elementary services occupations (kitchen assistants/waiters) and taxi drivers, who also had the highest admission rate. After adjusting for pre-pandemic health factors, we observed lower death risks for women employed as health professionals, and those in associate professional and technical occupations (medical technicians/paramedics), compared to the baseline model. Lower adjusted admission risks were also observed for both women and men in professional occupations (e.g. in science/engineering and teaching/education). Among men, adjusted death risks remained elevated for large vehicle and taxi drivers, who also displayed high admission risks. ConclusionOccupational differences in COVID-19 hospital admission and mortality between women and men may be explained by a mixture of social, workplace and behavioural factors. These need to be considered when designing intervention policies which aim to reduce infections in the workplace.

Primary liver cancer in the UK: Incidence, incidence-based mortality, and survival by subtype, sex, and nation

Background & AimsThe incidence of primary liver cancer (PLC) is increasing in Western Europe. To understand trends over time and the current burden in the UK, a detailed analysis of the epidemiology of PLC and its subtypes was conducted.MethodsData on PLCs diagnosed during 1997–2017 were obtained from population-based, nationwide registries in the UK. European age-standardised incidence (ASR) and incidence-based mortality rates (ASMR) per 100,000 person-years were calculated overall and by sex and UK-nation. Annual percentage change in rates was estimated using Joinpoint regression. One-, 2-, and 5-year age-standardised net survival was estimated.ResultsA total of 82,024 PLCs were diagnosed. Both hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) incidence and mortality rates trebled (ASR 1.8–5.5 per 100,000, ASMR 1.3–4.0). The rate of increase appeared to plateau around 2014/2015. Scottish men consistently had the highest HCC incidence rates. PLC survival increased, driven by a substantial increase in the proportion that are HCC (as prognosis is better than other PLCs) and in HCC survival (change in 1-year survival 24–47%). Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma was the most common PLC in women and 1-year survival improved from 22.6% to 30.5%.ConclusionsPLC incidence has been increasing rapidly but, as most risk factors are modifiable, it is largely a preventable cancer. This rate of increase has slowed in recent years, possibly attributable to effective treatment for hepatitis C. As other risk factors such as obesity and diabetes remain prevalent in the UK, it is unlikely the considerable burden of this disease will abate. While improvements in survival have been made, over half of patients are not alive after 1 year, therefore further progress in prevention, early detection, and treatment innovation are needed.Lay summaryMany more people are getting liver cancer, particularly the subtype hepatocellular carcinoma, than 20 years ago. Men in Scotland are most likely to get liver cancer and to die from it. Survival after liver cancer diagnosis is getting longer but still less than half are alive after 1 year.

Deaths of despair: cause-specific mortality and socioeconomic inequalities in cause-specific mortality among young men in Scotland

BackgroundIncreasing mortality among men from drugs, alcohol and suicides is a growing public health concern in many countries. Collectively known as “deaths of despair”, they are seen to stem from unprecedented economic pressures and a breakdown in social support structures.MethodsWe use high-quality population wide Scottish data to calculate directly age-standardized mortality rates for men aged 15–44 between 1980 and 2018 for 15 leading causes of mortality. Absolute and relative inequalities in mortality by cause are calculated using small-area deprivation and the slope and relative indices of inequality (SII and RIIL) for the years 2001–2018.ResultsSince 1980 there have been only small reductions in mortality among men aged 15–44 in Scotland. In that period drug-related deaths have increased from 1.2 (95% CI 0.7–1.4) to 44.9 (95% CI 42.5–47.4) deaths per 100,000 and are now the leading cause of mortality. Between 2001 and 2018 there have been small reductions in absolute but not in relative inequalities in all-cause mortality. However, absolute inequalities in mortality from drugs have doubled from SII = 66.6 (95% CI 61.5–70.9) in 2001–2003 to SII = 120.0 (95% CI 113.3–126.8) in 2016–2018. Drugs are the main contributor to inequalities in mortality, and together with alcohol harm and suicides make up 65% of absolute inequalities in mortality.ConclusionsContrary to the substantial reductions in mortality across all ages in the past decades, deaths among young men are increasing from preventable causes. Attempts to reduce external causes of mortality have focused on a single cause of death and not been effective in reducing mortality or inequalities in mortality from external causes in the long-run. To reduce deaths of despair, action should be taken to address social determinants of health and reduce socioeconomic inequalities.

Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald, ed. Steve Boardman and Julian Goodare

<i>Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald</i>, ed. Steve Boardman and Julian Goodare

HPV vaccine uptake in men who have sex with men in Scotland

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are currently utilised globally in national immunisation programmes. In July 2017, a national HPV vaccine programme for men who have sex with men (MSM) was initiated across Scotland with vaccine being offered in the sexual health clinic setting. During the first year of this targeted vaccination programme, there were 5905 individuals who received at least one dose of HPV vaccine, representing 63.7% of eligible MSM attendees in this period. Vaccine uptake was relatively stable across all age groups (range 49.8–55.5%). The vaccination programme appears to have dovetailed well with pre-existing sexual health services and appears to be popular with MSM attending the service. The MSM HPV vaccine programme is a robust adjunct to the national girls programme but gender-neutral immunisation will reduce stigma and inequality in HPV-driven disease.

Insights into mental health among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland

Insights into mental health among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland

Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald. Stephen Boardman and Julian Goodare, eds. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014. xiv + 362 pp. $125.

Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald. Stephen Boardman and Julian Goodare, eds. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014. xiv + 362 pp. $125. - Volume 70 Issue 1

Alcohol use, alcohol-related aggression and intimate partner abuse: A cross-sectional survey of convicted versus general population men in Scotland.

Scotland has a particular problem with alcohol, and the links between intimate partner abuse (IPA) and alcohol appear stronger here than elsewhere across Europe. This study explored differences in alcohol use, related aggression and relationship conflict across a number of groups: men convicted for intimate partner abuse, men convicted of general offences and men recruited from community sports teams. Participants (n=64) completed three questionnaires exploring their experiences of alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, AUDIT); alcohol and aggression (Alcohol Related Aggression Questionnaire, ARAQ-28), and relationship conflict (Revised Conflict Tactics Scale, CTS-2). There were significant differences across the groups in terms of AUDIT and ARAQ-28 scores, IPA and general offenders scored higher than the community sample. CTS-2 scores showed significant differences: both offender groups reported more use of negotiation and psychological abuse, than the community men, and IPA offenders reported causing more physical harm than either general offenders or the community sample. ARAQ-28 scores correlated with psychological abuse for general offenders. Alcohol use was very high across all groups, but the community group did not endorse an aggression-precipitating view of alcohol and did not report high IPA. Discussed is the need for cross-cultural research to explore putative mediators and moderators in the relationship between alcohol, aggressiveness and IPA. [Gilchrist EA, Ireland L, Forsyth A, Godwin J, Laxton T. Alcohol use, alcohol-related aggression and intimate partner abuse: A cross-sectional survey of convicted versus general population men in Scotland. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;36:20-23].

Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald, ed. Steve Boardman and Julian Goodare

The work of the late Jenny Wormald on the operation of noble power and the disastrous reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, has been of fundamental importance in the reassessment of later medieval and early modern Scottish society and politics undertaken over the past forty years. Meanwhile, her studies of that skilful but enigmatic monarch James VI and I in his three kingdoms have played a significant role in the wider project of the New British History. In this volume of essays her colleagues, students and friends pay fitting and affectionate tribute by explaining the importance of her work—especially in introductory chapters by Steve Boardman, Julian Goodare and Keith Brown—and developing many of its central themes. Bonds and bloodfeud loomed large in her reconstructions of noble politics and several contributors investigate them here. Michael Brown and Julian Goodare show how detailed reconstruction of the purpose, context and subscription of individual bonds can illuminate complex passages of politics: the first uses the Lanark bond of 1453 to show how James II might have settled with the Douglases but in the end did not, the second how the plan for Bothwell to marry Mary under the Ainslie bond of 1567 aimed to reconcile competing factions among the nobility, but was ruined by the queen’s refusal of his proposal and his decision to abduct her. Jane Dawson ranges more widely to chart the blending of the language of covenant and spiritual kinship with that in traditional bonds to produce the sequence of religious bonds reaching from the Lords of the Congregation to the Covenanters. Anna Groundwater teases out the interplay of public and private authority in the making of the private bonds and public acts of caution associated with James’s campaign to impose order on the Marches—often by the pacification of feuds. Mark Godfrey tackles similar issues but at a more general level, examining the use of anthropological models of the feud in the work of Wormald and Brown, stressing the continual interdependence of public and private justice and identifying key themes for further research. Alexander Grant uses a wide survey of recent work to set Scottish feuds on the spectrum of feuding practices and royal responses across later medieval Europe, finding Scotland close to France with its habits of private war and royal campaigns against them rather than England, with its precocious royal justice, or Germany, with its different concept of feud, or the Balkans, with their seemingly ineradicable vendettas.

P173 Multi-drug use, and associated factors, within a community based sample of Gay and Bisexual Men in Scotland

Background/introduction Research suggests that drug use may be higher among men who have sex with men (MSM), and links between drug use and risky sexual behaviours are well established. Evidence suggests that MSM who report ‘ever using’ drugs may report using a variety of drug types. Aim(s)/objectives To explore multi-drug use and associated sexual risk behaviours within a community sample of MSM in Scotland. Methods Analysis of data from 1292 MSM participating in bar-based surveys in Scotland in 2014. Factors related to ‘ever using’ and multi-drug use within the previous 12 months were examined. Multi-drug use was calculated using those who reported more than one type of drug use in the previous 12 months (injecting, snorting or psychoactive drugs). Results The mean age of men sampled was 34.72 years (range 18–82, SD = 11.23). Most men identified as gay (92.3%) and reported being educated post 16 (85.8%). 42.6% of men reported ‘ever using’ drugs and of those, 55.3% had used within the last 12 months. 47.8% of men using within the last 12 months reported multi-drug use. Men who had used drugs within the last 12 months and those reporting multi-drug use were more likely to report more risky sex, specifically group sex. However, they also reported higher rates of both HIV and STI testing. Discussion/conclusion The percentage of men reporting multi-drug use is consistent with previous research. Although men reported more risky sexual behaviours, testing rates would suggest they understand and respond to these risks. HIV/STI screening may present opportunities to identify and address potentially problematic drug use with attendees.

Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald. Edited by Steve Boardman and Julian Goodare

<i>Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald.</i> Edited by Steve Boardman and Julian Goodare

Regular STI testing amongst men who have sex with men and use social media is suboptimal - a cross-sectional study.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) disproportionately affect men who have sex with men, with marked increases in most STIs in recent years. These are likely underpinned by coterminous increases in behavioural risks which have coincided with the development of Internet and geospatial sociosexual networking. Current guidelines advocate regular, annual sexually transmitted infection testing amongst sexually active men who have sex with men (MSM), as opposed to symptom-driven testing. This paper explores sexually transmitted infection testing regularity amongst MSM who use social and sociosexual media. Data were collected from 2668 men in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, recruited via social and gay sociosexual media. Only one-third of participants report regular (yearly or more frequent) STI testing, despite relatively high levels of male sex partners, condomless anal intercourse and high-risk unprotected anal intercourse. The following variables were associated with regular STI testing; being more 'out' (adjusted odds ratio = 1.79; confidence interval = 1.20-2.68), HIV-positive (adjusted odds ratio = 14.11; confidence interval = 7.03-28.32); reporting ≥10 male sex partners (adjusted odds ratio = 2.15; confidence interval = 1.47-3.14) or regular HIV testing (adjusted odds ratio = 48.44; confidence interval = 28.27-83.01). Men reporting long-term sickness absence from work/carers (adjusted odds ratio = 0.03; confidence interval = 0.00-0.48) and men aged ≤25 years (adjusted odds ratio = 0.36; 95% confidence interval = 0.19-0.69) were less likely to test regularly for STIs. As such, we identify a complex interplay of social, health and behavioural factors that each contribute to men's STI testing behaviours. In concert, these data suggest that the syndemics placing men at elevated risk may also mitigate against access to testing and prevention services. Moreover, successful reduction of STI transmission amongst MSM will necessitate a comprehensive range of approaches which address these multiple interrelated factors that underpin MSM's STI testing.

:Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald

:<i>Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald</i>

Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald. Edited by SteveBoardman and JulianGoodare. Edinburgh University Press. 2014. xiv + 362pp. £75.00.

Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300–1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald. Edited by SteveBoardman and JulianGoodare. Edinburgh University Press. 2014. xiv + 362pp. £75.00.

How have trends in lifespan variation changed since 1950? A comparative study of 17 Western European countries

Lifespan variation adds to life expectancy by measuring the inequality surrounding age of death that a population faces. Countries that tackle premature mortality generally have decreasing lifespan variation but this is the first study to compare and statistically assess when and to what extent trends in lifespan variation have changed across Western Europe. Lifespan variation was measured using e† and joinpoint regression analysed the timing and rate of change. Trends have been mostly downward with the recent exception of men in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Finland where trends have flattened or show slight increases. Future research aimed at identifying the ages and causes of death, driving trends in these countries, is key to preventing increasing inequalities.

Men on the margins: trends and inequalities in mortality among young men in Scotland, 1980–2013

Men on the margins: trends and inequalities in mortality among young men in Scotland, 1980–2013

Understandings of Participation in Behavioural Research: A Qualitative Study of Gay and Bisexual Men in Scotland.

An array of empirical research has emerged related to public participation in health research. To date, few studies have explored the particular perspectives of gay and bisexual men taking part in behavioural surveillance research, which includes the donation of saliva swabs to investigate HIV prevalence and rates of undiagnosed HIV. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-nine gay and bisexual men in Scotland who had participated in a bar-based survey. Thematic analysis of men’s accounts of their motives for participation and their perceptions of not receiving individual feedback on HIV status suggested a shared understanding of participation in research as a means of contributing to ‘community’ efforts to prevent the spread of HIV. Most men expressed sophisticated understandings of the purpose of behavioural research and distinguished between this and individual diagnostic testing. Despite calls for feedback on HIV results broadly, for these men feedback on HIV status was not deemed crucial.