Steve Senior

“highest levels of physical activity in midlife[45-64] &late life[65-88] was assoc’ed w/ a 41% &45% lower risk of dementia, respectively…JAMA Network Open.…

‘This study shifts the convo from “exercise is good 4 the brain” to “there may be key windows when exercise matters most for brain health”’”🧪🛟

Local government procurement costs and Community Wealth Building Initiatives in England We examine whether procuring locally leads to higher costs. Our study is motivated by the Community Wealth Building Initiatives adopted by Preston City Council in England in which social value to the...

Local procurement doesn't increase costs . Community Wealth Building @clesthinkdo.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

it is MIRACULOUS that we got rid of lead paint and asbestos when we did. if we had tried that today, there would be people whining about how we're restricting their rights.

Absolutely delighted our research has won the ONS' Research Excellence prize for impact!

I always say to people that the ideal @theifs.bsky.social work is rigorous enough to publish in top journals, and relevant enough to be on the front page. I think we've ticked that box here!

I'm fine with this as long as we make it clear to BEIS or whatever that department is called these days that any increase in the medicines bill for industrial policy purposes is coming out of their budget, not the DHSC one.

Roughly, I think that much of the reporting this morning is:

(1) not mentioning that musculoskeletal conditions are as common a reason to have a work-limiting disability as mental health conditions;

(2) talking about youth mental ill health while quoting figures for the entire 16-64 age group; and

1877 engraving showing deaf actors using sign language to perform a play about Don Guzman to an audience in St Saviour's church hall, London.

The Wellcome Collection has some fascinating archives including this 1877 engraving showing deaf actors using sign language to perform a play about Don Guzman to an audience in St Saviour's church hall, London. St Saviour’s Deaf Church in Acton, opened in 1925 and was a purpose-built place of

I didn't go there because that's even worse and it's too early for that kind of thought. But thanks anyway!

(side note: I hope these applications are being regulated as medical devices - haven't read the whole paper so assume that's covered)

OTOH if we accept responsibility always stays with the clinician, then does that risk creating problematic incentives for AI product developers to push stuff out? Or is the assumption that some combination of regulation and market pressures will ensure the tech is good enough?

I think that remains to be tested in court. Article in the FT I shared a couple of days ago had insurers backing away from covering AI stuff as 'no-one knows who's responsible when it goes wrong'. Agree on paper it's clearer in medicine but I still think there's scope for a case to set precedent.

Even with expert end-users the temptation to blindly trust the tech will be strong, especially when time pressures and if the tech can take the blame in the even of errors. Needs some decent behavioural studies over time I think. Plus the medicolegal bit.

Something tells me the medicolegal bit is going to be really important.

Fucking goals.

"but mummy, EVERYONE else in my class has an elf".

"The elves know they're not welcome here. We don't want them making a mess"

"I think it's just 'cos you two [points at parents] don't want to think up places for it."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

Best way to protect local pubs from being undercut by enormous supermarket chains 👇🏼

I already wrote about my interest in a certain type of awakening: the white, neutral awakening: for a few seconds, whatever Care (Souci) one felt when one went to sleep, pure moment of Careless-ness, forgetfulness of evil, vice in its purest state, kind of clear joy in C major; then the earlier Care falls upon you like a great black bird: the day begins.

Roland Barthes wishes you good morning:

WEAR YOUR FAVORITE SHINY THING.

Here is a godawful joke in chart form to ruin your Christmas season 🤪🎄

Liraglutide in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease: a phase 2b clinical trial - Nature Medicine Results from the phase ELAD 2 trial reveal that liraglutide is safe and well tolerated in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease but does not significantly slow brain metabolism decline.

GLP-1 agonists are great for obesity & other chronic health conditions e.g CVD but they do not seem to have any effect on the progression of Alzheimer's disease in humans despite promising observations in mouse studies. this is why clinical trials matter.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Not everyone has a calling. Not everyone is ambitious. The concept of following the perfect trajectory towards a fulfilling career is so deeply ingrained in us from childhood; but at a certain point, growing up is realising that... work is just work, and you just want to get paid.

I always make sure to somehow squeeze this graph into my teaching because I think it’s just very important to know this.

Look what just arrived. A new book by Deb Cohen out January. Has the internet hijacked your health? Read her book.

Public health in interwar England and Wales: did it fail? British historians initially saw the interwar period as a «golden age» for public health in local government, with unprecedented preventive and curative powers wielded by Medical Officers of Health (MOsH). In the 1980s Lewis and Webster challenged ...

Related: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Also, kicking the can down the road can be good! Kick that can as far as you can and hope something comes up!

But then, perhaps not costing the NHS so much in liver disease, violence, car accidents, and, ahem, misadventure. So swings and roundabouts I guess?

"what, like the NHS?"

*Cue long rant about public health having less to do with healthcare than you think, and actually local government does more than bins and potholes and yes I am the fun police, so put that pasty down*

... and a personal favourite:
- "Definitions may be changed, but those who desire change must engage in a fruitful dialogue with the past. What may result otherwise is damaging caprice" which feels pretty timeless.