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Background: We introduce and study a recently proposed method for privacy-preserving distance computations which has received little attention in the scientific literature so far. The method, which is based on intersecting sets of randomly labeled grid points, is henceforth denoted as ISGP allows calculating the approximate distances between masked spatial data. Coordinates are replaced by sets of hash values. The method allows the computation of distances between locations L when the locations at different points in time t are not known simultaneously. The distance between L 1 and L 2 could be computed even when L 2 does not exist at t 1 and L 1 has been deleted at t 2 . An example would be patients from a medical data set and locations of later hospitalizations. ISGP is a new tool for privacy-preserving data handling of geo-referenced data sets in general. Furthermore, this technique can be used to include geographical identifiers as additional information for privacy-preserving record-linkage. To show that the technique can be implemented in most high-level programming languages with a few lines of code, a complete implementation within the statistical programming language R is given. The properties of the method are explored using simulations based on large-scale real-world data of hospitals ( n = 850 ) and residential locations ( n = 13 , 000 ). The method has already been used in a real-world application. Results: ISGP yields very accurate results. Our simulation study showed that—with appropriately chosen parameters – 99 % accuracy in the approximated distances is achieved. Conclusion: We discussed a new method for privacy-preserving distance computations in microdata. The method is highly accurate, fast, has low computational burden, and does not require excessive storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies investigating the mental health of migrants have shown mixed results. The increased availability of register data has led to a growing number of register-based studies in this research area. This is the first scoping review on the use of registry and record-linkage data to examine the mental health of migrant populations. The aim of this scoping review is to investigate the topics covered and to assess the results yielded from these studies. Methods: We used a scoping review methodology to search MedLine, PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, and SCOPUS for all register-based studies on the mental health of migrants. Two reviewers screened all papers, independently, using iteratively applied inclusion and exclusion criteria. Using gradually broadening inclusion and exclusion criteria for maximum "scope," newly published criteria developed to appraise the methodological quality of record-linkage studies were applied to eligible papers and data were extracted in a charting exercise. Results: A total of 1309 papers were screened and appraised, 51 of which met the eligibility and quality criteria and were included in the review. This review identified four major domains of register-based research within the topic of migrant mental health: rates and risks of psychiatric disorders, rates and risks of suicide mortality, the use of psychotropic drugs, and health service utilisation and mental health-related hospitalisation rates. We found that whilst migrants can be at an increased risk of developing psychotic disorders and suicide mortality, they are less likely to use psychotropic medication and mental health-related services. Conclusions: This review systematically charts the register-based studies on migrants' mental health for the first time. It shows the main topics and gaps in knowledge in this research domain, discusses the disadvantages of register-based studies, and suggests new directions for forthcoming studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) and epilepsy are both fairly common and it follows that they may sometimes occur together in the same people by chance. We sought to determine whether hospitalisation for MS and hospitalisation for epilepsy occur together more often than expected by chance alone. Methods We analysed two datasets of linked statistical hospital admission records covering the Oxford Record Linkage Study area (ORLS, 1963-1998) and all England (1999-2011). In each, we calculated the rate of occurrence of hospital admission for epilepsy in people after admission for MS, compared with equivalent rates in a control cohort, and expressed the results as a relative risk (RR). Results The RR for hospital admission for epilepsy following an admission for MS was significantly high at 4.1 (95% confidence interval 3.1-5.3) in the ORLS and 3.3 (95% CI 3.1-3.4) in the all-England cohort. The RR for a first recorded admission for epilepsy 10 years and more after first recorded admission for MS was 4.7 (2.8-7.3) in ORLS and 3.9 (3.1-4.9) in the national cohort. The RR for the converse-MS following hospitalisation for epilepsy-was 2.5 (95% CI 1.7-3.5) in the ORLS and 1.9 (95% CI 1.8-2.1) in the English dataset. Conclusions MS and epilepsy occur together more commonly than by chance. One possible explanation is that an MS lesion acts as a focus of an epileptic seizure; but other possibilities are discussed. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of epilepsy in people with MS. The findings may also suggest clues for researchers in developing hypotheses about underlying mechanisms for the two conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]