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A study involving nearly half a million people in China reveals a clear link between cooking with wood or coal, and an increased risk of major eye diseases that can lead to blindness, according to a report published today in PLOS Medicine . About half the world's population - 3.8 billion individuals - are exposed to household air pollution from cooking using 'dirty' solid fuels, such as coal and wood.

Children who live in the most deprived UK areas see far higher increases in body fat between the ages of seven and 17 compared to those from most advantaged areas, finds a new study by UCL researchers. In the study, published in The Lancet Public Health , researchers found boys from the most deprived areas have a 3% higher fat mass index (FMI)* at age seven compared to those from the most advantaged areas, and by 17 it is 23% higher.

More than one in three British adults are suffering from two or more chronic health conditions in middle age, such as recurrent back problems, mental ill-health, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high-risk drinking, according to UCL researchers. The new study, published in  BMC Public Health,  shows that among Generation X - adults born in 1970 - those who grew up in poorer families are at much greater risk of having multiple long-term health problems in their late 40s.

Older people in the poorest sector of the population were more than twice as likely to feel isolated and lonely during the first lockdown than the richest, finds a new study led by researchers from UCL and the University of Manchester. The researchers analysed data from 4,709 older men and women aged over 50 living in England who are part of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) to explore changes in the experiences of social isolation and loneliness during the pandemic.

For the first time, researchers have used machine learning to successfully measure attachment in children - the vital human bond that humans first develop as infants to their caregivers. In new multi-disciplinary research, led by the University of Glasgow and published in PLOS ONE, the study team present a quick and easy way to measure attachment through a computer game, that has the potential to be used in largescale public health monitoring.

UCL is launching a major £1m research project into the links between racism, racial inequality, diversity and policy in the UK film industry, working closely with the British Film Institute (BFI), the UK's lead organisation for film and the moving image. The Colour of Diversity: A Longitudinal Analysis of BFI Diversity Standards Data and Racial Inequality in the UK Film Industry i s'a three-year research study that will explore the true nature of the presence, representation and experiences of Black and minority ethnic identities within the UK film industry.

People living in the private rented sector are forced to make hard choices in order to meet their basic needs, a new study from the University of Glasgow led UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence [CACHE] reveals. Poor-quality, overcrowded, and unaffordable accommodation are substantial drivers of poor health and wellbeing.

Highlights from the first session of the Knowledge Exchange training series , facilitated by Yvonne McLean, as part of the ESRC Collaboration Labs Programme, The University of Manchester. Our focus in this short series is to share the latest tools and best practice for academic research consultancy and effective knowledge exchange, delivered in our ongoing Collaboration Labs training series.

Children and young people's proximity to woodlands has been linked with better cognitive development and a lower risk of emotional and behavioural problems, in a study led by UCL and Imperial College London scientists that could influence planning decisions in urban areas. In what is believed to be one of the largest studies of its kind, researchers used longitudinal data relating to 3,568 children and teenagers, aged nine to 15 years, from 31 schools across London.

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, in collaboration with Glasgow University, has found that teenagers who have self-harmed five or more times in their life have a significantly higher threshold for pain compared to adolescents that have not.

The risk of severe illness and death from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is extremely low in children and teenagers, according to the most comprehensive analyses of public health data, co-led by researchers at UCL. However, Covid-19 increases the likelihood of serious illness in the most vulnerable young people, those with pre-existing medical conditions and severe disabilities, although these risks remain low overall.

Physical punishment of children is not effective in improving children's behaviour and instead increases behavioural difficulties, according to a landmark review led by UCL and an international team of experts who have analysed 20 years' research on the topic. The narrative review, published today in The Lancet , looked at 69 studies worldwide that followed children over time and analysed data on physical punishment and a range of different outcomes.

A new research project is to investigate factors linked to the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced young people. The four-year programme is led by an interdisciplinary team from the universities of Bath and Oxford, in collaboration with colleagues at Cardiff University and the University of Bristol.

Pandemic-hit hotels that offered their rooms to homeless people see more business benefit than choosing to support healthcare workers Last updated on Monday 28 June 2021 Hotels that opened their doors to homeless people in their community during lockdown generated greater positive word-of-mouth marketing than those that offered free accommodation to frontline healthcare workers, finds new University research.

One in six (17%) middle-aged people who report being infected by SARS-CoV-2 also report long Covid symptoms, while this falls to one in 13 (7.8%) among younger adults who reported having Covid-19, according to a new study led by UCL and King's College London researchers.

Education leaders need to refocus efforts to address issues around loneliness and social isolation felt by many young people during the pandemic. Last updated on Monday 21 June 2021 Summer holiday catch-up programmes to address gaps in knowledge after school closures need to support children who are still struggling due to social isolation.

Researchers have identified two subgroups of adolescents who self-harm and have shown that it is possible to predict those individuals at greatest risk almost a decade before they begin self-harming. The current approach to supporting mental health in young people is to wait until problems escalate.

This latest report from Bristol's NCMD programme, which gathers information on all children who die in England below the age of 18 years, analysed the characteristics of the 3,347 child deaths between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020 in England, and found that the majority of children who died (63 per cent) in this period were under one year old.

A collaborative study conducted by psychologists at Bath with SSAFA - the Armed Forces charity - focused on wellbeing among the veteran community. Last updated on Monday 14 June 2021 New research published this week by the Armed Forces charity SSAFA conducted by the University of Bath highlights the positive impact of wellbeing interventions for veterans.

A study led by researchers at the Universities of Manchester and York published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe today (07/06/21) has revealed strong disparities in rates of excess deaths in England and Wales during the first 30 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the research team, deaths compared with those expected from historical trends were unequally distributed, both geographically and socioeconomically.