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The dental health benefits of adding fluoride to drinking water may be smaller now than before fluoride toothpaste was widely available, an updated Cochrane review has found. The team of researchers from the Universities of Manchester, Dundee and Aberdeen reviewed the evidence from 157 studies which compared communities that had fluoride added to their water supplies with communities that had no additional fluoride in their water.

Speaking with a foreign accent mitigates the impact of making grammatical errors, depending on the personality type of the listener, a new study has found. New research from the University of Birmingham, with collaboration from Cardiff University and the University of Novi Sad (Serbia), has examined how 'acceptable' people find grammatical errors they hear, factoring in whether the speaker has a foreign accent or not, and the personality of the listener.

People with dementia are more likely to have suicidal thoughts but are not necessarily more likely to attempt or die by suicide than the general population, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in Ageing Research Reviews , analysed 54 studies that investigated various aspects of mental health - including the prevalence and risk of suicide - in people with dementia, between 1991 and 2023.

A new report from the WHO Regional Office for Europe reveals that condom use among sexually active adolescents has declined significantly since 2014, with rates of unprotected sex worryingly high. The new data were published as part of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, which surveyed over 242,000 15-year-olds across 42 countries and regions in the period 2014 to 2022.

On average, social segregation of students has increased in neighbourhoods where mainstream primary free schools opened, and neighbouring schools have lost students, finds a report by UCL researchers. The association between primary free schools and social segregation was relating to ethnicity, in that pupils in some areas were less likely to meet peers from other ethnic backgrounds at school than before the primary free school opened.

Glasgow researchers spearhead study on justice system's health impact Researchers from the University of Glasgow are set to play a crucial role in a groundbreaking £1 million study examining the impact of Scotland's justice system on public health. The project, led by the University of Strathclyde and funded by the Scottish Government's Chief Scientist Office, aims to identify ways to improve health outcomes in disadvantaged communities across Scotland.

There is a stark contrast in how young people access healthcare, depending on their income and where they live. According to a new study from Imperial College Business School , people aged 14 to 17 living in more affluent areas have easier and faster access to outpatient care, including mental health and dental services.

A new paper published in Science Advances finds that life expectancy in India was 2.6 years lower in 2020 than 2019, with women and marginalised social groups suffering the greatest declines. The international study, co-authored by the Department of Sociology and the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science 's Dr Aashish Gupta and Professor Ridhi Kashyap , reveals that life expectancy in India suffered large and unequal declines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New study proposes a framework for "Child Safe AI" following recent incidents which revealed that many children see chatbots as quasi-human and trustworthy. When not designed with children's needs in mind, Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have an "empathy gap" that puts young users at particular risk of distress or harm, according to a study.

In the largest study of its kind, scientists at the University of Warwick have investigated a range of contributing risk factors for suicide - helping to identify individuals who might benefit from interventions. The behavioural and biological predictors, include elevated white blood cells, neuroticism, childhood experiences and reduced grey matter in the brain.

New research, by our Department of Psychology, has found that negative social contact among people of differing societal or cultural groups can have a disproportionate negative effect on broad social cohesion within communities. The research, led by Professor Stefania Paolini, analyses 70 years of research into the psychological effects of intergroup social contact.

Adolescents who experience higher levels of social anxiety symptoms are more likely to report increased suicidal thoughts and other depressive symptoms two years later, finds a new study involving UCL researchers. The findings, published in JCPP Advances, highlights the need for early interventions to address society anxiety in young people.

Cambridge scientists have shown that problems regulating emotions - which can manifest as depression, anxiety and explosive outbursts - may be a core symptom of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A study shows that if communities think outsiders are stealing their forest resources, they are more likely to want to increase their own harvest. The research, led by Imperial College London and Max Plank Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology researchers, shows why effective boundaries around a community's common-pool resource are key to sustainable management of that resource.

Research finds concerning trends in adolescent substance use in the UK Alcohol is the most commonly used substance, while vaping is now more common than cigarette smoking among young people, according to a new WHO/Europe report coordinated by researchers at the University of Glasgow. The latest data from across Europe, Central Asia and Canada, from the new Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, paints a concerning picture of adolescent substance use in the UK and beyond.

In response to the escalating fire crises in the Amazon, a timely study has revealed alarming shortcomings in the emergency fire bans implemented by the Brazilian Government. Initially seen as a promising solution in 2019, these bans have consistently fallen short in subsequent years, revealing a pressing need for strategies that address the underlying causes of each type of fire.

New analysis of adolescent TV and film on Netflix suggests that too often it shows misleading depictions of pain. Published on Thursday 28 March 2024 Last updated on Thursday 4 April 2024 New analysis of adolescent TV and film on Netflix suggests that too often it shows misleading depictions of pain, portraying pain as something arising only through a violent act or injury.

Research undertaken in Fiji found that communities were more likely to adopt marine conservation initiatives if their neighbours have. A new paper published in Global Environmental Change featuring Imperial College London researchers explores how Indigenous-led initiatives can be scaled to protect marine ecosystems.

Only 17% of rural local planning authorities have made use of Rural Exception Sites, a planning policy mechanism designed to boost the supply of affordable housing in rural areas, finds a new study by UCL researchers in association with the Rural Housing Network. Rural Exception Sites were introduced in England in 1991 to enable the development of affordable homes on underdeveloped land that would otherwise be restricted for residential development.

Social class is a powerful hierarchy that determines many privileges and disadvantages in society. Research shows that people are quick to form impressions of other people's social class standing, which can have important consequences - but what specifically drives these impressions, and their relationship to judgements of harmful or advantageous stereotypes, has remained unknown.