G David Batty's research while affiliated with University College London and other places
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Publications (799)
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the utility of risk estimation derived from questionnaires and administrative records in predicting long-term sickness absence among shift workers.
METHODS: This prospective cohort study comprised 3197 shift-working hospital employees (mean age 44.5 years, 88.0% women) who responded to a brief 8-item questionn...
Importance
The local environment remains an understudied contributor to elevated blood pressure among older adults. Untargeted approaches can identify neighborhood conditions interrelated with racial segregation that drive hypertension disparities.
Objective
To evaluate independent associations of sociodemographic, economic, and housing neighborho...
Background:
While systemic inflammation has been implicated in the etiology of selected neurodegenerative disorders, its role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is untested. Accordingly, we quantified the relationship of C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute-phase reactant and marker of systemic inflammation, with subsequent AL...
Background:
Workplace offensive behaviours, such as violence and bullying, have been linked to psychological symptoms, but their potential impact on suicide risk remains unclear. We aimed to assess the association of workplace violence and bullying with the risk of death by suicide and suicide attempt in multiple cohort studies.
Methods:
In this...
Background:
Although there is growing evidence that former professional athletes from sports characterised by repetitive head impact subsequently experience an elevated risk of dementia, the occurrence of this disorder in retired amateurs, who represent a larger population, is uncertain. The present meta-analysis integrates new results from indivi...
Background:
Former participants in sports characterised by low intensity repetitive head impact appear to have elevated rates of later dementia, but links with other psychological health outcomes such as depression and suicide are uncertain. We quantified the occurrence of these endpoints in former contact sports athletes against general populatio...
Background:
The excess risk of cardiovascular disease associated with a wide array of infectious diseases is unknown. We quantified the short- and long-term risk of major cardiovascular events in people with severe infection and estimated the population-attributable fraction.
Methods:
We analyzed data from 331 683 UK Biobank participants without...
Importance:
Depression is associated with an increased risk of physical illness, but the most common causes of hospitalization among people with depression are unclear.
Objective:
To examine the association of depression with an array of physical conditions requiring hospital treatment.
Design, setting, and participants:
In this outcomewide pr...
Few risk prediction scores are available to identify people at increased risk of work disability, particularly for those with an existing morbidity. We examined the predictive performance of disability risk scores for employees with chronic disease. We used prospective data from 88,521 employed participants (mean age 43.1) in the Finnish Public Sec...
Importance: While systemic inflammation has been implicated in the aetiology of selected neurodegenerative disorders, its role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is untested.
Objective: To quantify the relationship of C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute-phase reactant and marker of systemic inflammation, with ALS occurrence.
D...
Self-harm and suicide remain prevalent in later life. For younger adults, work has highlighted an association between higher early-life cognitive ability and lower self-harm and suicide risk. Comparatively little is known about its association with self-harm and suicide among older adults. Furthermore, most work has measured cognitive ability in ea...
Background:
Lithium, a mood stabilizer, is known to exhibit neuroprotective effects in animal models and may have anti-dementia effects.
Aims:
We used data from Scottish Mental Survey 1932, a population-based cohort study, to investigate the association between lithium in drinking water and dementia rate in humans.
Method:
Lithium levels in dr...
Background: Individuals with a history of out-of-home care in childhood experience elevated rates of mortality from all-causes and suicide in adulthood but the relationship with chronic disease is unknown. We examined the association between out-of-home care and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a large cohort study and, in the women, explored how ca...
Background
Although loneliness and social isolation have been linked to an increased risk of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and dementia, their association with the risk of severe infection is uncertain. We aimed to examine the associations between loneliness and social isolation and the risk of hospital-treated infections...
Background
Although several predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy have been identified, the role of physical health and, particularly, mental health, is poorly understood.
Methods
We used individual-level data from a pandemic-focused investigation (COVID Survey), a prospective cohort study nested within the UK Understanding Society (Main Survey...
Background: Traumatic brain injury is associated with the future risk of depression and suicide, and this raises the possibility that former participants in sports characterised by low intensity repetitive head impact may also subsequently experience an increased burden of these mental health outcomes. Using new data from a cohort study integrated...
Background
There is uncertainty and contention around whether former participants in sports characterised by repetitive head impact subsequently experience an elevated risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and if the occurrence of these neurodegenerative disorders differs between amateur and professional athletes who have different levels of ex...
Few risk prediction scores are available to identify people at increased risk of work disability, particularly for those with an existing morbidity. We examined the predictive performance of disability risk scores for employees with chronic disease. We used prospective data from 88,521 employed participants (mean age 43.1) in the Finnish Public Sec...
Background
Heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of several chronic diseases. In this multicohort study, we estimated the number of life-years without major chronic diseases according to different characteristics of alcohol use.
Methods
In primary analysis, we pooled individual-level data from up to 129,942 adults across 12 cohort studies w...
Objectives
Obesity is associated with increased risk of depression, but the extent to which this association is symptom-specific is unknown. We examined the associations of overweight and obesity with individual depressive symptoms.
Methods
We pooled data from 15 population-based cohorts comprising 57,532 individuals aged 18 to 100 years at study...
Untested psychosocial or economic factors mediate associations between perceived discrimination and suboptimal antihypertensive therapy. This study included two waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study participants with self-reported hypertension (N=8557, 73% Non-Hispanic White, 17% Non-Hispanic Black, and 10% Hispanic/Latino) over four y...
Background: Removal from family of origin to state care can be a highly challenging childhood experience and is itself linked to an array of unfavourable outcomes in adult life. We aim to synthetise evidence on the risk of adult mortality in people with a history of state care in early life, and assess the association according to different context...
Background: Systematic evaluation of neighborhood factors which capture an array of characteristics -analogous to genome-wide-association studies- may identify important patterns in spatial determinants of blood pressure control.
Methods: Our sample included Health and Retirement Study participants (N=13180; 58% women, 13% non-Hispanic Black, 4% Hi...
Background
Homelessness encompasses a wide spectrum of experience. Rough sleepers and people attending homeless shelters have been found to be at an increased risk of mortality. It is unclear whether risks are also elevated in those squatting, living temporarily in low-cost hotels or ‘sofa-surfing’ with friends or family members. This study examine...
Objective:
Evidence from anti-inflammatory drug trials for the treatment of depression has been inconsistent. This may be ascribed to the differing symptom-specific effects of inflammation. Accordingly, the authors explored the associations between systemic inflammation and an array of individual symptoms of depression across multiple studies.
Me...
Aim:
In the absence of effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disorder with high case fatality, there is a clear need to identify its primary risk factors.
Methods:
UK Biobank is a prospective cohort study in which baseline data were captured between 2006 and 2010 in 502,649 participants aged 37 to 73 y...
Ethnic inequalities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations and mortality have been widely reported but there is scant understanding of how they are embodied. The UK Biobank prospective cohort study comprises around half a million people who were aged 40-69 years at study induction between 2006 and 2010 when information on ethnic ba...
Background
Homelessness has been linked to premature mortality but the relationship with biomedical risk factors is uncertain.
Methods
We analysed data from 8581 participants in the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study. Homelessness and type of experience were self-reported at 30 years of age. Nine biomarkers outcomes were collected at 46 years of age:...
Background: Removal from family of origin to placement in state care is a highly challenging and increasingly prevalent childhood experience. The purpose of this report was to synthesise published and unpublished prospective evidence on adult mortality in people with a history of state care in early life.
Methods: For this systematic review and met...
Background
Studies on the association between long working hours and health have captured only a narrow range of outcomes (mainly cardiometabolic diseases and depression) and no outcome-wide studies on this topic are available. To achieve wider scope of potential harm, we examined long working hours as a risk factor for a wide range of disease and...
Background As a neurodegenerative disorder with high case-fatality, there is a need to identify primary, modifiable risk factors for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Their detection has, however, proved elusive and this may be ascribed to the scarcity of well-characterised, sufficiently-powered cohort studies necessary to explore the aetiology...
Background
Associations between multiple forms of discrimination and blood pressure control in older populations remain unestablished.
Methods
Participants were 14582 non-institutionalized individuals (59% women) in the Health and Retirement Study aged at least 51 years (76% Non-Hispanic White, 15% Non-Hispanic Black, 9% Hispanic/Latino). Primary...
Background: As a neurodegenerative disorder with high case-fatality, there is a need to identify primary, modifiable risk factors for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Their detection has, however, proved elusive and this may be ascribed to the scarcity of well-characterised, sufficiently-powered cohort studies necessary to explore the aetiology...
Background
Evaluation of cardiovascular disease risk in primary care, which is recommended every 5 years in middle-aged and older adults (typical age range 40–75 years), is based on risk scores, such as the European Society of Cardiology Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) and American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Athero...
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01056-7
Background:
The onset of psychological distress most commonly occurs in adolescence and, in keeping with other exposures, is time-varying across the life course. Most studies of its association with mortality risk are, however, conducted in middle- and older-aged populations with a single baseline assessment of this characteristic. This may lead t...
Background
Observational studies have identified a link between unfavourable neighbourhood characteristics and increased risk of morbidity, but it is unclear whether changes in neighbourhoods affect future disease risk. We used a data-driven approach to assess the impact of neighbourhood modification on 79 health outcomes.
Methods
In this prospect...
There is growing evidence of, and biological plausibility for, elevated levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) being related to lower rates of respiratory disease. We tested whether pre-pandemic HDL-C within the normal range is associated with subsequent COVID-19 hospitalisations and death. We analysed data on participants from UK B...
Objective
The suggestion from cross-review comparison that lower levels of social integration (social isolation, loneliness) and cigarette smoking are equally powerful predictors of premature mortality has been promulgated by policy organisations and widely reported in the media. For the first time, we examined this assertion by simultaneously comp...
Background
Whereas several predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy have been examined, the role of cognitive function following the widely publicised development of an inoculation is unknown. Accordingly, our objective was to test the association between scores from an array of cognitive function tests and self-reported vaccine hesitancy after the...
Importance
Although several predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy have been identified, the role of physical health has not been well-examined, and the association with mental health is unknown.
Objective
To examine the association of pre-pandemic mental health, physical health, and shielding with vaccine hesitancy after the announcement of the...
Poorer performance on standard tests of pre-morbid cognitive function is related to an elevated risk of death from lower respiratory tract infections but the link with coronavirus (COVID‑19) mortality is untested. Participants in UK Biobank, aged 40 to 69 years at study induction (2006-10), were administered a reaction time test, an indicator of in...
Importance: Whereas several predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy have been examined, the role of cognitive function following the widely publicised development of an inoculation is unknown.
Objective: To test the association between scores from an array of cognitive function tests and self-reported vaccine hesitancy after the announcement of th...
Ethnic disparities in COVID-19 hospitalizations and mortality have been reported but there is scant understanding of how these inequalities are embodied. The UK Biobank prospective cohort study comprises around half a million people who were aged 40-69 years at study induction between 2006 and 2010 when information on ethnic background and potentia...
Background: Poorer performance on standard tests of cognitive function is related to an elevated risk of death from lower respiratory tract infections. Whether pre-pandemic measures of cognition are related to COVID-19 mortality is untested.
Methods: UK Biobank, a prospective cohort study, comprises around half a million people who were aged 40 to...
Aims
While investigators have typically quantified the health risk of passive (secondhand) smoking by using self-reported data, these are liable to measurement error. By pooling data across studies, we examined the prospective relation of a biochemical assessment of passive smoking, salivary cotinine, with mortality from a range of causes.
Methods...
Introduction
While unfavourable changes in High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol appear to be a consequence of COVID-19, the reverse has been little-studied. Our objective was to test whether HDL-cholesterol within the normal range is associated with subsequent COVID-19 hospitalisation.
Design
We examined 317,306 participants in the prospectiv...
Case presentation:
A 38-year-old African American woman with a history of menometrorrhagia on previous estrogen therapy and a previously biopsied benign thyroid nodule with recent interval enlargement presented with symptoms of shortness of breath on exertion, an intermittent nonproductive cough, and right upper quadrant abdominal pain for 1 year....
Despite strong evidence for a socioeconomic gradient in many health outcomes, including cognition, substantial gaps remain in understanding these disparities. We investigated the biopsychosocial mechanisms underlying the associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and later-life cognitive health using the Harmonised Cognitive Assessment Protoco...
Functional disability might be related to an increased risk of dementia or could represent a prodromal stage. We examined the occurrence of functional impairments over eight years follow-up and their association with dementia incidence in 1,666 participants aged 65+ from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Growth models with distal outcome we...
Working hours is a ubiquitous exposure given that most adults are employed, and one that is modifiable via legislative change if not always through individual-level choice. According to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO), there is currently sufficient evidence to conclude that long w...
Background
Children who have been exposed to public (out-of-home) care experience a range of negative outcomes by late adolescence and early adulthood. The longer-term impact of childhood care is, however, uncertain.
Aim
To examine if there is a prospective association between childhood public care and adverse life outcomes in middle-age.
Methods...
Background: Falls in later life that require admission to hospital have well-established consequences for future disability and health. The likelihood and severity of a fall will result from the presence of one or more risk factors. The aim of this study is to examine risk factors identified for their ability to prevent falls and to assess whether...
Background: while certain infectious diseases have been linked to socioeconomic disadvantage, mental health problems, and lower cognitive function, relationships with COVID-19 are either uncertain or untested. Our objective was to examine the association of a range of psychosocial factors with hospitalisation for COVID-19.
Methods: UK Biobank, a p...
Importance:
Early-life mental health is known to be associated with socioeconomic adversity and psychological distress in adulthood, but less is known about potential associations with biomarkers and mortality.
Objective:
To investigate the association between early-life mental health trajectories with biomarkers in midlife and premature mortali...
Background:
Limited workplace control, an important dimension of job strain, can reduce occupational opportunities for problem solving and learning. Women may have fewer professional resources to mitigate effects of low control, while conversely, gender-role norms may moderate the influence of occupational psychosocial risk factors. We therefore e...
Importance:
Evidence on alcohol consumption as a risk factor for dementia usually relates to overall consumption. The role of alcohol-induced loss of consciousness is uncertain.
Objective:
To examine the risk of future dementia associated with overall alcohol consumption and alcohol-induced loss of consciousness in a population of current drinke...
Background: The UK hosts some of the world’s longest-running longitudinal cohort studies, which make repeated observations of their participants and use these data to explore health outcomes. An alternative method for data collection is record linkage; the linking together of electronic health and administrative records. Applied nationally, this co...
Background: The UK hosts some of the world’s longest-running longitudinal cohort studies, which make repeated observations of their participants and use these data to explore health outcomes. An alternative method for data collection is record linkage; the linking together of electronic health and administrative records. Applied nationally, this co...
The role of obesity and overweight in occurrence of COVID-19 is unknown. We conducted a large-scale general population study using data from a community-dwelling sample in England ( n = 334,329; 56.4 ±8.1 y; 54.5% women) with prospective linkage to national registry on hospitalization for COVID-19. Body mass index (BMI, from measured height and wei...
Objective
We aimed to examine the prospective association of diabetes and glycaemic control with COVID-19 hospitalisation in a large community-based cohort study.
Methods and Study Design.
Participants (N = 337,802, aged 56.4 ± 8.1 yr; 55.1% women) underwent biomedical assessments at baseline as part of the UK Biobank prospective cohort study. The...
Dementia is a major global public health concern and in addition to recognised risk factors there is emerging evidence that poorer pulmonary function is linked with subsequent dementia risk. However, it is unclear if this observed association is causal or whether it might result from confounding. Therefore, we present the first two-sample Mendelian...
Aims: While investigators have typically quantified the health risk of passive smoking by utilising self-reported exposure, prospective studies with objective ascertainment, which are less liable to measurement error, are rare. Using data pooling, we examined the relation of a biochemical assessment of passive smoking, salivary cotinine, with morta...
To examine the relation between long working hours and change in body mass index (BMI).
We performed random effects meta-analyses using individual-participant data from 19 cohort studies from Europe, US and Australia (n = 122,078), with a mean of 4.4-year follow-up. Working hours were measured at baseline and categorised as part time (<35 h/week),...
Objective: To examine the association of a range of psychosocial factors with hospitalisation for COVID-19.
Design: Prospective cohort study.
Setting: England.
Participants: UK Biobank comprises around half a million people who were aged 40 to 69 years at study induction between 2006 and 2010 when information on psychosocial factors and covariates...
Background
While certain infectious diseases have been linked to socioeconomic disadvantage, mental health problems, and lower cognitive function, relationships with COVID-19 are either uncertain or untested. Our objective was to examine the association of a range of psychosocial factors with hospitalisation for COVID-19.
Methods
UK Biobank, a pro...
Background
Differentials in COVID-19 hospitalisations and mortality according to ethnicity have been reported but their origin is uncertain. We examined the role of socioeconomic, mental health, and pro-inflammatory factors in a community-based sample.
Methods
We used data on 340,966 men and women (mean age 56.2 years) from the UK Biobank study, a...
Importance: Differentials in COVID-19 incidence, hospitalization and mortality according to ethnicity are being reported but their origin is uncertain. Objective: We aimed to explain any ethnic differentials in COVID-19 hospitalization based on socioeconomic, lifestyle, mental and physical health factors. Design: Prospective cohort study with natio...
Importance: Differentials in COVID-19 incidence, hospitalization and mortality according to ethnicity are being reported but their origin is uncertain.
Objective: We aimed to explain any ethnic differentials in COVID-19 hospitalization based on socioeconomic, lifestyle, mental and physical health factors.
Design: Prospective cohort study with natio...
Aims: It is important to identify characteristics of people who may be most at risk of COVID19 to inform policy and intervention. Little is known about the impact of unhealthy lifestyles including smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, and excessive alcohol intake. We conducted the first large scale general population study on lifestyle risk factor...
Background
Illicit drug use in adolescence has been linked to drug use and poor mental health in adult life, but few studies have examined the relation between adult economic and criminal justice outcomes.
Methods
We analysed data from 14 082 participants (6999 women) in the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study. Illicit drug use over study members’ lif...