Summary This paper examines whether previously identified community-level factors (high proportion of crowded households and/or persons below the poverty level) remain associated with childhood pneumococcal carriage in the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) era. Using logistic regression, individual factors were used to develop base models to which community-level factors were added to evaluate impact on pneumococcal carriage within two pediatric study cohorts from Massachusetts (urban Boston, outside Boston). Six years after introduction of universal childhood PCV7 vaccination, we found no consistent evidence that census tract characteristics (e.g. population size and density, age and race distribution, percent participating in group child care, parental education, percent lacking in-unit plumbing, poverty, and community stability) affected odds of pneumococcal carriage when added to individual predictors (e.g. younger age, current respiratory tract infections, and attendance in group child care). How community-level factors influence carriage continues to change in the era of increasing immunization coverage.

The occupational histories of fathers were collected prospectively as part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC), and were used to investigate the association of paternal job title with a baby's birth weight and gestational age. The analysis cohort consisted of 4,795 singleton live‐born babies whose fathers responded fully to questionnaire items regarding occupational history. Jobs were coded using the British Standard Occupational Codes and classified into nine major occupational groups. A 73‐gram difference (95% CI: 0.16, 145.17) was found between the mean birth weight of full‐term babies born of professional fathers (3,543 gm) and of fathers working in craft and related occupations (3,470 gm). This difference decreased and lost significance after controlling for sociodemographic variables. No difference was found in the mean birth weight of preterm babies, or in the rate of preterm delivery, when analyzed by paternal occupation at conception. Our results suggest that when important sociodemographic variables are known, the father's job title alone may not be a useful predictor of birth weight or preterm delivery. Am. J. Ind. Med. 31:738–743, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Rationale and Background: Screening for and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among foreignborn persons living in the United States (U.S.) has been identified as an important public health priority. In order to reach the goal of tuberculosis (TB) elimination in the U.S., screening and treatment of LTBI will need to be expanded.Objectives: To estimate the relationship between age at arrival in the U.S., among foreign-born persons, duration of U.S. residence and risk for LTBI, simultaneously. Methods:We examined participants in the 1999-2000 and 2011-2012 NHANES surveys to assess the association between foreign birth, age, and length of time in the U.S. and prevalence of LTBI.Results: Overall, 1.7% of U.S-born and 19.2% of foreign-born persons had LTBI. In unadjusted regression models, increasing age and shorter length of time in the U.S. were associated with increased prevalence of LTBI: OR=1.3 (1.2, 1.4) for every 10 year increase in age and OR=0.97 (0.84, 1.1) for every 10 year increase in of duration of years in U.S. Conclusions:Both of these factors should be considered when prioritizing foreign-born populations for LTBI screening and treatment in the U.S.

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