Key PointsQuestionWhat is the association between various socioeconomic markers and dementia incidence?FindingsThis longitudinal cohort study found that lower wealth in late life, but not education, was associated with increased risk for dementia, suggesting that people with fewer financial resources were at higher risk. No substantive differences were identified in relation to the area of neighborhood deprivation; an age-cohort effect was observed, highlighting that socioeconomic inequalities were more robust among people born in later years.MeaningThe association between socioeconomic status and dementia incidence in a contemporary cohort of older adults may be driven by wealth rather than education.

ObjectivesTo determine whether hearing loss is associated with incident physician‐diagnosed dementia in a representative sample.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingEnglish Longitudinal Study of Ageing.ParticipantsAdults aged 50 and older.MeasurementsCross‐sectional associations between self‐reported (n = 7,865) and objective hearing measures (n = 6,902) and dementia were examined using multinomial‐logistic regression. The longitudinal association between self‐reported hearing at Wave 2 (2004/05) and cumulative physician‐diagnosed dementia up to Wave 7 (2014/15) was modelled using Cox proportional hazards regression.ResultsAfter adjustment for potential confounders, in cross‐sectional analysis, participants who had self‐reported or objective moderate and poor hearing were more likely to have a dementia diagnosis than those with normal hearing (self‐reported: odds ratio OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1–2.4 moderate hearing; OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.7–3.9 poor hearing, objective: OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.0–2.8 moderate hearing; OR = 4.4, 95% CI = 1.9–9.9 poor hearing). Longitudinally, the hazard of developing dementia was 1.4 (95% CI = 1.0–1.9) times as high in individuals who reported moderate hearing and 1.6 (95% CI = 1.1–2.0) times as high in those who reported poor hearing.ConclusionOlder adults with hearing loss are at greater risk of dementia than those with normal hearing. These findings are consistent with the rationale that correction of hearing loss could help delay the onset of dementia, or that hearing loss itself could serve as a risk indicator for cognitive decline.

Pediatric cancers are generally characterized by low mutational burden and few recurrently mutated genes. Recent studies suggest that genomic alterations may help guide treatment decisions and clinical trial selection. Here, we describe genomic profiles from 1,215 pediatric tumors representing sarcomas, extracranial embryonal tumors, brain tumors, hematologic malignancies, carcinomas, and gonadal tumors. Comparable published datasets identified similar frequencies of clinically relevant alterations, validating this dataset as biologically relevant. We identified novel ALK fusions in a neuroblastoma (BEND5-ALK) and an astrocytoma (PPP1CB-ALK), novel BRAF fusions in an astrocytoma (BCAS1-BRAF) and a ganglioglioma (TMEM106B-BRAF), and a novel PAX3-GLI2 fusion in a rhabdomyosarcoma. Previously characterized ALK, NTRK1, and PAX3 fusions were observed in unexpected malignancies, challenging the "disease-specific" alterations paradigm. Finally, we identified recurrent variants of unknown significance in MLL3 and PRSS1 predicted to have functional impact. Data from these 1,215 tumors are publicly available for discovery and validation.

Although recorded NWS is stable in England and W. Australia, rising rates in the USA and Ontario may reflect better recognition and/or increased use of prescribed opiate analgesics and highlight the need for surveillance. The extent to which different prevalence rates by hospital trust reflect variation in occurrence, recognition or recording requires further investigation.

Maternal and child mortality rates are still unacceptably high in South Africa. The health status of women in peri-urban areas has been influenced by political and socio-economic factors. Examining socio-economic variables (SEV) in a population aids in the explanation of the impact of social structures on an individual. Risk factors can then be established and pregnant women in these higher risk groups can be identified and given additional support during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between SEV and gestational Body Mass Index (GBMI) in a peri-urban settlement, South Africa. This was a sub-study of the Philani Mentor Mothers’ Study (2009–2010). Maternal anthropometry and SEV were obtained from 1,145 participants. Multinomial regression was used to analyse the data. Household income was the only SEV that was significantly associated with GBMI. The odds of being underweight rather than normal weight during pregnancy increase by a factor of 2.145 (P < 0.05) for those who had a household income lower than R2000 per month. All other SEV were not significant. Logistic regression was therefore not carried out. Women who had a lower income were at risk of having a lower GBMI during pregnancy. This can lead to adverse birth outcomes such as premature birth, low birth weight, height and head circumference. Public health policy needs to be developed to include optimal nutrition health promotion strategies targeting women with a low income ante and post-natally. Once implemented, they need to be evaluated to assess the impact on maternal and child mortality.