news 2020

More than one third of UK teenagers are starting adult life with excess weight (either overweight or obese), and rates are even higher among the poorest, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research, published today in a briefing paper  by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at the UCL Social Research Institute, shows that one in five (21%) young people were obese at age 17, and a further one in seven (14%) were overweight, based on data collected in 2018-19 .

BAME babies at highest risk of Vitamin D deficiency, highlighting need for improvements to UK antenatal supplementation programme, new study suggests A third of all babies and half of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) babies are vitamin D deficient, a large study of 3000 newborn's in the West Midlands has shown, highlighting potential shortfalls in the current UK antenatal supplementation programme.

The proportion of adults with diagnosed diabetes trebled between 1994 and 2019, report researchers from UCL and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), who have analysed the latest results from the Health Survey for England (HSE). The report, which is commisisoned by NHS Digital, analyses data from over 8,200 adults and 2,000 children living in private households in England and shows the percentage of people who have been diagnosed with diabetes has risen since 1994, from 3% to 9% among men and from 2% to 6% among women.

The majority of University of Bristol students are complying with government COVID-19 guidelines and are self-isolating when receiving a positive test, indicates a study that has investigated student social contact patterns and behaviours. The research led by scientists at the University of Bristol is published on the pre-print server medRxiv.

Visiting Professor Joanna Bryson has co-authored a study showing why rebuilding trust in societies can be so challenging. Last updated on Friday 8 January 2021 Polarisation, such as the emergence of extreme right or left movements, can create conflict and keep individuals and even governments from working toward a common good.

Data from the National COVID-19 Infection Survey, done in partnership between the University of Oxford, the Office of National Statistics, Public Health England, University of Manchester and the Wellcome Trust, has revealed detailed characteristics of England's coronavirus pandemic, including which factors have contributed most to case numbers over different phases and the prevalence of asymptomatic infections.

A new framework has been developed by Women's Aid in partnership with academic colleagues - including the University of Bristol - to promote best practice in research into domestic violence and abuse (DVA). The Research Integrity Framework aims to give policy makers and commissioners more clarity on the merits of different types of evidence and research, and the principles of integrity relating to DVA research.

Men have almost three times the odds of needing admission to intensive care and 40% higher odds of dying from COVID-19 than women, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the University of Cape Town. The study, published and the largest review of its kind, looked at publicly available data from 92 reports across 47 countries to investigate why COVID-19 may affect genders differently.

By testing approximately 1,000 blood donation samples each month in in the Brazilian cities of São Paulo and Manaus, an international team of researchers have shown that, while both cities have experienced large epidemics with high mortality, as much as three-quarters of the population in Manaus was infected between March and October, and a third of the population in São Paulo.

The first lockdown led to a significant increase in symptoms of depression among children, highlighting the unintended consequences of school closures, according to a new study from the University of Cambridge. Our study is one of the first to follow the same children over time during lockdown and suggests that symptoms of depression among children got much worse during this period Giacomo Bignardi In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK Government implemented a national "lockdown" involving school closures and social distancing.

Women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are nearly seven times more likely than other women to die by suicide, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study of over 3 million people in Sweden, published in The Journal of Affective Disorders , found a similar but weaker relationship among men, who were four times more likely to die by suicide if they had a prior PTSD diagnosis.

The Duchess of Cambridge has unveiled the findings of the biggest ever UK study on the early years, involving researchers at UCL and the Anna Freud Centre. The study marks a milestone moment for her work on the importance of early childhood in shaping the rest of our lives and broader societal outcomes.

Preventing serious complications from COVID-19 in potentially vulnerable populations in high risk environments, such as prisons, and preventing spread to surrounding communities needs a coordinated evidence-based approach to managing outbreaks of COVID-19 in prison settings.

16% of teenagers report high levels of psychological distress at age 17, finds a new study led by UCL researchers based on data collected in 2018-19. The findings also show 24% of young people report self-harming and 7% report self-harming with suicidal intent by age 17. The research, which is being published in a  briefing paper  by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at the UCL Social Research Institute provides evidence of widespread mental health difficulties among the UK's Generation Z before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

International development projects that target the education of the world's very poorest children and marginalised girls also significantly improve other young people's attainment, according to new research that suggests such initiatives should become a priority for international aid.

Significantly higher numbers of Generation Z boys and girls in the UK are dieting to lose weight, and are likely to overestimate their own weight, finds a new UCL-led study. The research, published in JAMA Pediatrics , found that girls who are trying to lose weight are also more likely to experience depressive symptoms than in previous years.

India's transition to clean cooking fuels may be hampered by users' belief that using firewood is better for their families' wellbeing than switching to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), a new study reveals. Women are considered primary family cooks in rural India and those featured in the study feel that both fuels support wellbeing.

President Donald Trump's controversial use of social media is widely known and theories abound about its ulterior motives. New research published today claims to provide the first evidence-based analysis demonstrating the US President's Twitter account has been routinely deployed to divert attention away from a topic potentially harmful to his reputation, in turn suppressing negative related media coverage.

Female banded mongooses lead their groups into fights then try to mate with enemy males in the chaos of battle, new research has found. Meanwhile, males bear the costs of these fights - injuries and deaths are common. The mortality costs involved are similar to those seen in a handful of the most warlike mammals, including lions, chimpanzees, and humans Rufus Johnstone Mongooses rarely leave the group they are born into, so members are usually genetically related.

Some antibodies created by the immune system during infection with common cold coronaviruses can also target and provide a degree of protection against COVID-19, finds new research by scientists at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute. In response to infection with a virus, the immune system creates antibodies to help fight it.