Bookmarkers beware: Bookmarks to pages other than the home page may not work after we change our server in April Editor's Choice | This Week in BMJ | Press releases BMJ No 7130 Volume 316 Press Releases Saturday 14 February 1998 Embargoed: 00.01 hrs 13 February 1998 UK time Good nutrition in childhood can prevent some cancers in later life Assault and alcohol major causes of facial injury Clothing, physical activity and heating can prevent excess winter mortality Are deprived areas a greater drain on out of hours workload? Changes in out of hours care Good nutrition in childhood can prevent some cancers in later life (Childhood energy intake and adult mortality from cancer: the Boyd Orr cohort study) See Paper (abstract only), p 499 Interest in the relation between underfeeding and reduced mortality is long standing - it was shown 60 years ago that energy restriction in an otherwise adequate diet extended the life of rats considerably. In this week's BMJ, Frankel et al examine the relationship between dietary intake during childhood and adult mortality from cancer. The authors took the 1937-9 Boyd Orr study of 3,834 children aged 16 years and under, which examined their dietary intake and traced these individuals through to adulthood. Overall, five per cent of the population studied died of cancer. However, they found that children with a lower dietary intake were less likely to suffer from some cancers in later life and that those with a higher energy intake were at an increased risk. Frankel et al conclude that their results confirm the importance of optimal nutrition during childhood, particularly in light of current concerns about excess food intake in relation to exercise. Note: The authors highlight that the effect was limited to cancers not related to smoking. Contact: Professor Stephen Frankel, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol Clothing, physical activity and heating can prevent excess winter mortality (Winter mortality and cold stress in Yekaterinburg, Russia: interview survey) See Paper (abstract only), p 514 Excess winter mortality in western Europe could be prevented by people wearing sufficient clothing, engaging in physical activity outdoors and by adequately heating homes, say Keatinge et al in this week's BMJ. In a study of the local population over 50 years of age in Yekaterinburg, Siberia, the authors found that there was no increase in mortality when temperatures fell to 0 C. In associated papers the authors have reported large rapid increases in deaths from coronary thrombosis and more developed respiratory deaths after falls in temperature in this range in London and other parts of Europe. Keatinge et al conclude that in Yekaterinburg warm clothing and physical activity outdoors and warm housing indoors prevented both cold stress and increase of mortality in this age range. Contact: Professor W Keatinge, Emeritus Professor of Physiology, Department of Physiology, Basic Medical Sciences, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London Are deprived areas a greater drain on out of hours workload? (Relation of out of hours activity by general practice and accident and emergency services with deprivation in Nottingham: longitudinal survey) See Paper (abstract only), p 520 The extent to which deprivation influences the demand for out of hours medical care is not fully explained. In a six month study published in this week's BMJ, Carlisle et al investigate the level of out of hours activity in six general practices and the sole accident and emergency department in Nottingham. The authors found that highly deprived areas close to the A & E department generated high levels of work for both general practice and A & E services, with no evidence of one service substituting for the other. Carlisle et al conclude that those involved in changing out of hours services should take into account the wide variations in demand and note that a disproportionate amount of activity falls on deprived inner city practices, which should be supported in order that they are able to provide good quality out of hours care. Contact: Robin Carlisle, Lecturer, Division of General Practice, University of Nottingham, University Hospital, Nottingham Changes in out of hours care (The use of out of hours health services: a cross sectional survey) See Paper (abstract only), p 524 British general practitioners' contracts give them 24-hour responsibility for their patients. The component of total remuneration related to out of hours work has never been made explicit yet such work has increasingly been seen as an important source of stress and low morale among GPs. This has led to demands that pay for out of hours work should be explicitly stated and negotiated. In a study of out of hours health services in Buckinghamshire, published in this week's BMJ, Brogan et al found that the system of fees for night visits reimbursed only 39 per cent of the home visits performed by GPs out of hours and GPs were the largest provider of this service. In light of their findings the authors suggest that policy changes to cope with growing demand for out of hours care will require much more than changing GPs' contracts. Contact: Dr Catherine Brogan, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Anglia and Oxford Regional Office NHS Executive, Linford Wood, Milton Keynes Embargo: 00.01 hrs Friday 13 February 1998 Please contact Public Affairs Division for the text of the paper & the authors for further comment For further information, please contact: Jill Shepherd on 0171 383 6254 Public Affairs Division, BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP After 6pm & at weekends: 0181 651 5130, 0181 241 6386, 0181 674 6294, 0171 727 2897, 0181 997 3653 Or fax requests to Public Affairs Division, BMA on 0171 383 6403. If you currently receive your British Medical Journal press release by mail and you would like it faxed to you please telephone (0)171 383 6123, Fax: (0)171 554 6123 or E-mail: LRiviere@mail.bma.org.uk When dialling the UK from abroad, remember to delete the first zero from the local area code, eg, (00 44) 171... BMA on Internet page: http://www.bma.org.uk If you intend to publicise any article in this press release, ensure you quote the British Medical Journal as source Home | Current issue | Past issues | Classified ads | Career Focus | Feedback Collections | About this site | About the BMJ | BMA | Medline