INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY

Cohort Profile: The Hunan Cohort of residents exposed to heavy metals
Huang Z, Shen M, Luo D, Huang X, Shu Z, Lu Y, Quan J, Duan Y, Xiao Y, Xiao S, He M, Zhang Y, Fan G, Wu T, Yuan H and Chen X
Cohort Profile Update: Birbhum Health and Demographic Surveillance System, India
Rai RK, Barik A, Bromage S, Dhali GK and Chowdhury A
Increased risk of subsequent antiphospholipid syndrome in patients with endometriosis
Chen Z, Cui R, Wang SI, Zhang H, Chen M, Wang Q, Tong Q, Wei JC and Dai SM
Although autoimmune abnormalities are common in patients with endometriosis, it is unknown whether patients with endometriosis have a higher risk of developing antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).
Cohort Profile: Healthy Finland Survey
Sääksjärvi K, Elonheimo HM, Ikonen J, Lehtoranta L, Parikka S, Härkänen T, Vihervaara T, Sainio P, Jääskeläinen T, Suominen AL, Harjunmaa U, Mäkelä P, Lahti J, Kaartinen NE, Koskinen S and Lundqvist A
Quantifying years of life lost in Australia: a multiple cause of death analysis
Joshy G, Bishop K, Li H, Moran L, Gourley M, Welsh J, Korda R, Banks E, Adair T and Rao C
Deaths in Australia and other high-income countries increasingly involve multiple conditions. However, key burden of disease measures typically only use the underlying cause of death (UC). We quantified sex and cause-specific years of life lost (YLL) based on UC compared with a method integrating multiple causes of death.
Cohort Profile: The Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) panel surveys
Siewe A, Byrne ME, Sarnak D, Ahmed S, Radloff S, Brown W, Zimmerman LA, Tsui A, Choi Y, Gummerson E, Moreau C, Cardona C, Wood S, Karp C, Bell SO, Guiella G, Mosso R, Raïmi F, Akilimali P, Khanna A, Gichangi P, Thiongo M, Alzouma S, Oumarou S, Omoluabi E, OlaOlorun FM, Zakirai MS, Makumbi F, Kibira SPS and Anglewicz P
Associations between breastfeeding and breast cancer risk through mammographic breast density in a cohort of Korean women
Kim S, Tran TXM, Kim MK, Chung MS, Lee EH, Lee W and Park B
Mammographic breast density has been suggested to play a role as a mediator between the risk factors for breast cancer (BC) and BC risk. We investigated the extent to which never breastfeeding is a risk factor for BC and how this risk is further mediated by increased mammographic breast density.
Changes in traffic-related air pollution exposures and associations with adverse birth outcomes over 20 years in Texas
Hystad P, Hill EL, Larkin A, Schrank D, Harleman M, Volkin E, Campbell EJ, Molitor J, Harris L, Ritz BR and Willis MD
Billions of dollars have been spent implementing regulations to reduce traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) from exhaust pipe emissions. However, few health studies have evaluated the change in TRAP emissions and associations with infant health outcomes. We hypothesize that the magnitude of association between vehicle exposure measures and adverse birth outcomes has decreased over time, parallelling regulatory improvements in exhaust pipe emissions.
Data Resource Profile: Harmonized health survey data for 240 cities across 11 countries in Latin America: the SALURBAL project
Moore K, Lazo M, Ortigoza A, Quistberg DA, Sanchez B, Acharya B, Alfaro T, Kroker-Lobos MF, Menezes MC, Sarmiento OL, de Souza Andrade AC, Perez Ferrer C, Hernandez Vasquez A, Caiaffa WT, Diez Roux AV and
Illustrating the structures of bias from immortal time using directed acyclic graphs
Yang G, Burgess S and Schooling CM
Immortal time is a period of follow-up during which death or the study outcome cannot occur by design. Bias from immortal time has been increasingly recognized in epidemiological studies. However, the fundamental causes and structures of bias from immortal time have not been explained systematically.
A proteogenomic analysis of the adiposity colorectal cancer relationship identifies GREM1 as a probable mediator
Lee MA, Hatcher CA, Hazelwood E, Goudswaard LJ, Tsilidis KK, Vincent EE, Martin RM, Smith-Byrne K, Brenner H, Cheng I, Kweon SS, Le Marchand L, Newcomb PA, Schoen RE, Peters U, Gunter MJ, Van Guelpen B and Murphy N
Adiposity is an established risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). The pathways underlying this relationship, and specifically the role of circulating proteins, are unclear.
Four targets: an enhanced framework for guiding causal inference from observational data
Lu H, Li F, Lesko CR, Fink DS, Rudolph KE, Harhay MO, Rentsch CT, Fiellin DA and Gonsalves GS
Observational studies play an increasingly important role in estimating causal effects of a treatment or an exposure, especially with the growing availability of routinely collected real-world data. To facilitate drawing causal inference from observational data, we introduce a conceptual framework centered around "four targets"-target estimand, target population, target trial, and target validity. We illustrate the utility of our proposed "four targets" framework with the example of buprenorphine dosing for treating opioid use disorder, explaining the rationale and process for employing the framework to guide causal thinking from observational data. The "four targets" framework is beneficial for those new to epidemiologic research, enabling them to grasp fundamental concepts and acquire the skills necessary for drawing reliable causal inferences from observational data.
Acute coronary syndrome rates by age and sex before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel: nationwide study
Kagan A, Zwas DR, Haklai Z and Levine H
There have been reports of sharp declines in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aims to assess nationwide ACS emergency department (ED) visit rates across age and sex subgroups and the general population, with a comparison before and throughout the pandemic's various phases.
Cohort Profile Update: The Danish Nurse Cohort
Simonsen MK, Heitmann BL, Danbjærg DB, Johansen C, Kristiansen M and Ekholm O
Confounding effects of socioeconomic status on the association between long-term PM2.5 exposure and mortality in Korea
Lim H, Choi J, Bae S, Choi KH, Han X, Ha M, Kim JH, Kim S and Kwon HJ
This study assesses the national distribution of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure across socioeconomic status (SES) and its confounding on long-term PM2.5 mortality in Korea, aiming to minimize SES influence.
Cohort Profile: Kimpese Health and Demographic Surveillance System, Democratic Republic of Congo
Fumwakwau JK, Derra K, Nzolo DB, Mampunza SMM and Phanzu DM
Association of conventional cigarette smoking, heated tobacco product use and dual use with hypertension
Belive N
Longitudinal association between disability and suicide mortality in Republic of Korea
Lee HY, Shin DW, Han KD and Kawachi I
The Republic of Korea has reported the highest suicide rate globally since 2018. Previous studies have highlighted disability as a significant risk factor for suicide. However, comprehensive examination on the association between suicide mortality and severities and types of disabilities, and on how these associations vary according to sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviours and comorbidity profiles has never been performed.
Spatial targeting and integration across vaccination, vitamin A and deworming programs throughout India 2019-21
Rerolle F, Dey AK, Benmarhnia T and Arnold BF
Currently, most large-scale public health programs, such as immunization or anti-parasitic deworming, work in relative isolation. Integrating efforts across programs could potentially improve their efficiency, but identifying populations that could benefit from multiple programs has been an operational challenge.
Data Resource Profile: The School Health Research Network (SHRN) Student Health and Well-being (SHW) survey of 11-16-year-olds (2017-2023)
Page N, Liu S, Morgan K, Angel L, Ogada E, Roberts C, Young H and Murphy S
Cohort Profile Update: Project Viva Offspring
Rifas-Shiman SL, Aris IM, Switkowski KM, Young J, Fleisch AF, Perng W, Chavarro JE, Cardenas A, Gold DR, Zhang M, James P, Whooten RC, Kleinman KP, Oken E and Hivert MF