Social conditions, social relationships and neighbourhood environment, the components of social capital, are important determinants of health. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of neighbourhood and individual social capital with consistent self-rated health in women between the first trimester of pregnancy and six months postpartum.

Older adults are more likely to live alone, because they may have been predeceased by their spouse and friends. Social interaction could also be reduced in this age group due by limited mobility caused by chronic conditions. Therefore, aging is frequently accompanied by reduced social support, which might affect health status. Little is known about the role of gender in the relationship between social support and health in older adults. Hence, the present study tests the hypothesis that gender differences exist in the relationship between perceived social support, social network, and self-rated health (SRH) among older adults.

Orthodontics aims to improve oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). In this systematic review, we examined the evidence for changes in OHRQoL after orthodontic treatment for patients treated before they were 18 years old. The participants were patients aged less than 18 years. The interventions were nonorthognathic and cleft orthodontic treatment. The comparisons were before and after orthodontic treatment, or nonorthodontic control. The outcomes were validated measures of OHRQoL. The study designs were randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, prospective cohort studies, and cross-sectional or case-control studies. Multiple electronic databases were searched, with no language restrictions; authors were contacted, and reference lists screened. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used for quality assessments. Screening, data extraction, and quality assessments were performed by 2 investigators independently. We found 1590 articles and included 13 studies (9 cohort, 3 cross sectional, and 1 case control), with 6 in the meta-analyses. All were judged of low or moderate quality. A moderate improvement in OHRQoL was observed before and after orthodontic treatment (n = 243 participants; standardized mean difference, -0.75; 95% CI, -1.15 to -0.36) particularly in the dimensions of emotional well-being (n = 213 participants; standardized mean difference, -0.61; 95% CI, -0.80 to -0.41) and social well-being (n = 213 participants; standardized mean difference, -0.62; 95% CI, -0.82 to -0.43). Orthodontic treatment during childhood or adolescence leads to moderate improvements in the emotional and social well-being dimensions of OHRQoL, although the evidence is of low and moderate quality. More high quality, longitudinal, prospective studies are needed.