A new conference will showcase work from researchers using Understanding Society biomarker data to investigate links between health and social and economic factors in contemporary Britain.

The conference will takes place on 15th March 2017 at RIBA, London will see presentations on topics such as non-standard work-hours, unemployment and financial insecurity, caregiving, volunteering, and neighbourhood differences in morbidity.

As well as hearing the findings from these different research projects, there will be ample time for discussion of analytical issues raised by the presentations and more generally.

The Biomarker Team from Understanding Society will also be on hand to answer any additional questions that users may have about the data.

Who is this conference for?

The meeting will be of interest to researchers from a wide range of disciplines including health economists, social epidemiologists, medical sociologists, health geographers and survey methodologists as well as for researchers who want to learn more about the use of biomarkers in social research.

Provisional programme

09.00 – 09.30 Registration and refreshments

09.30 – 09.40 Welcome and introduction by Professor Michaela Benzeval, Director, Understanding Society

09.40 – 10.35 Biomeasures

09.40 – 09.50 Introduction

09.50 – 10.05 Estimating population prevalence of potential airflow obstruction using different spirometric criteria: a pooled cross-sectional analysis of persons aged 40-95 years in England and Wales by Shaun Scholes – University College London

10.05 – 10.20 Exploring the role of household and area in social patterning in lung function Caroline Carney – University of Essex

10.20 – 10.35 Discussion

10.35 – 12.20 Part I – Biomarkers

10.35 – 10.50 Introduction

Inflammation

10.50 – 11.05 Unravelling the relationships between unemployment, stress and inflammation in the UK after the financial crisis: A propensity score matching analysis Rachel Sumner – University of Gloucestershire

11.05 – 11.20 Associations between Atypical Work and Symptoms of Depression: A role for inflammation? Gill Weston – University College London

11.20 – 11.35 Discussion

Metabolic Risks

11.35 – 11.50 Informal caregiving and inflammatory and metabolic markers in the UK Household Longitudinal Study – Rebecca Lacey – University College London

11.50 – 12.05 Income trajectories and biomarkers of inflammation and metabolic risk Jennifer Dowd – King’s College London

12.05 – 12.20 Discussion

12.20 – 13.00 Lunch

13.00 – 14.05 Part II – Biomarkers

Other Biomarkers

13.00 – 13.05 Short introduction

13.05 – 13.20 The impact of economic insecurity on stress-related biomarkers among the working-age population during the Great Recession by Claire Niedzwiedz – University of Oxford

13.20 – 13.35 The Biological Correlates of Volunteering and Giving: A Cross-sectional Analysis of Inflammatory Markers and Hormones by Matthew Bennett – University of Birmingham

13.35 – 13.50 Diabetes and Person-Environment misfit by Gopalakrishnan Netuveli – University College London

13.50 – 14.05 Discussion

14.05 – 15.00 Allostatic Load

14.05 – 14.15 Introduction

14.15 – 14.30 Neighbourhood socioeconomic inequality and allostatic load Natasha Crawford – University of Essex

14.30 – 14.45 Does allostatic load mediate the relationship of area deprivation and health? An investigation of the stress pathway by Lucy Prior – University of Bristol

14.45 – 15.00 Discussion

15.00 – 15.30 Genetics

15.00 – 15.05 Introduction

15.05 – 15.20 Genome-wide association analysis of 20 health-related blood biomarkers in the UK Household Longitudinal Study reveals novel associations by Karoline Kuchenbaecker – Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

15.20 – 15.30 Discussion

15.30 – 15.55 Methodological Issues

15.30 – 15.35 Introduction

15.35 – 15.50 Nurse effects on participation in two longitudinal studies by Alexandru Cernat – University of Manchester

15.50 – 15.55 Discussion

15.55 – 16.45 Discussion of the day’s presentations & questions raised; and closing remarks

16.45 – 17.15 Refreshments

Understanding Society Biomarker Conference