Michael Marmot
Encyclopedia
Sir Michael Gideon Marmot (born 26 January 1945) is professor of Epidemiology
and Public Health at University College London
.
, England
. He moved to Australia
as a young child and graduated in Medicine from the University of Sydney
, Australia, in 1968. He earned a MPH
in 1972 and PhD in 1975 from the University of California, Berkeley
. He became Fellow of the (English) Faculty of Public Health Medicine in 1989 and was appointed Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL in 1985. This became a joint Chair, held at UCL and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in 1990. He became Director of the International Centre for Health and Society (now the International Institute for Society and Health) that he established at UCL in 1994. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
and awarded an MRC Professorship in 1995. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
in 1996. In 2004 he was awarded the Balzan Prize
for Epidemiology. He was Chair of the WHO
Commission on Social Determinants of Health from 2005 to 2008.
rates, low heart attack rates) with those in Hawaii and California, where, especially in later generations, the disease patterns became reversed after adopting lifestyle, stress and diet changes. He has more recently led the Whitehall Studies of British civil servants, again focusing on heart disease and other disease patterns. His department includes the MRC National Survey of Health & Development
, a longitudinal study directed by Professor Michael Wadsworth
of people born in Britain in 1946 and followed up since. There are 120 other academic staff in the department.
He has worked closely with the Office for National Statistics
and its predecessor the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys
, and especially with Abraham Manie Adelstein
and John Fox
.
Sir Michael Marmot has a special interest in inequalities in health and their causes and has been a government advisor in seeking to identify ways to mitigate them. He served on the Scientific Advisory Group of the Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health chaired by Sir Donald Acheson
, the former UK chief medical officer. This reported in November 1998. In 2000 he was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen for services to Epidemiology and understanding health inequalities. Internationally acclaimed, Professor Marmot is a Vice President of the Academia Europaea, a Foreign Associate Member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and the Chair of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health set up by the World Health Organization in 2005. He won the Balzan Prize for Epidemiology in 2004, gave the Harveian Oration in 2006 and won the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research in 2008.
In 2008 he became Doctor Honoris Causa of the Université Libre de Bruxelles
.
In THE STATUS SYNDROME: How your social standing directly affects your health and life expectancy, he argues that socio-economic position is an important determinant for health outcomes. This result holds even if we control for the effects of income, education and risk factors (such as smoking) on health. The causal pathway Marmot identifies concerns the psychic benefits of "being in control" of one's life. Autonomy in this sense is related to our socio-economic position. Based on comparative studies, Marmot argues that we can make our society more participatory and inclusive in order to increase overall public health.
In 2008, Marmot appeared in UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
, an American documentary series examining the social determinants of health
that drew heavily from Marmot's work on the Whitehall Studies.
On 6 November 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown
announced that the Secretary of State for Health Alan Johnson
had asked Sir Michael Marmot to chair a Review of Health Inequalities in England to inform policy making to address health inequalities from 2010. The Review was announced at the launch of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health report Closing the Gap in a Generation, and is due to report in December 2009.
The European Office of the WHO is commissioning a European Review on the Social Determinants of Health and the Health Divide. The Review will be conducted by a Consortium of experts/institutions chaired by Professor Sir Michael Marmot.
The purpose of the review will be to identify the relevance of the findings of the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH), the Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post 2010 (Marmot Review), and other new evidence to the European context and specificity and translate these into policy proposals.
It will feed into the development of a renewed European Regional Health Policy and contribute to specific aspects of the policy especially where it relates to the social determinants of health.
For more information see: http://www.marmotreview.org/european-review-of-hi/description.aspx
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
and Public Health at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Career
Michael Marmot was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
as a young child and graduated in Medicine from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, Australia, in 1968. He earned a MPH
Master of Public Health
The Master of Public Health and the Doctor of Public Health are multi-disciplinary professional degrees awarded for studies in areas related to public health....
in 1972 and PhD in 1975 from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He became Fellow of the (English) Faculty of Public Health Medicine in 1989 and was appointed Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL in 1985. This became a joint Chair, held at UCL and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in 1990. He became Director of the International Centre for Health and Society (now the International Institute for Society and Health) that he established at UCL in 1994. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the United Kingdom was created under Royal Warrant in 1970 to advise the Queen, Government, Parliament and the public on environmental issues...
and awarded an MRC Professorship in 1995. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
in 1996. In 2004 he was awarded the Balzan Prize
Balzan Prize
The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organisations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the brotherhood of man.-Rewards and assets:Each year the...
for Epidemiology. He was Chair of the WHO
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
Commission on Social Determinants of Health from 2005 to 2008.
Research
He conducted ground-breaking studies of health disease and stroke, comparing Japanese people in Japan (high strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
rates, low heart attack rates) with those in Hawaii and California, where, especially in later generations, the disease patterns became reversed after adopting lifestyle, stress and diet changes. He has more recently led the Whitehall Studies of British civil servants, again focusing on heart disease and other disease patterns. His department includes the MRC National Survey of Health & Development
National Survey of Health & Development
The MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing established in 2008 is the new home of the National Survey of Health and Development .The National Survey of Health & Development is a Medical Research Council longitudinal survey of people born in Britain in March 1946...
, a longitudinal study directed by Professor Michael Wadsworth
Michael Wadsworth (sociologist)
Michael Wadsworth is a British sociologist and socio-medical researcher. Dr Wadsworth was director of the MRC National Survey of Health & Development from 1982-2006....
of people born in Britain in 1946 and followed up since. There are 120 other academic staff in the department.
He has worked closely with the Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
and its predecessor the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys
Office of Population Censuses and Surveys
The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys , was created in May 1970 through the merger of the General Register Office and the Government Social Survey Department....
, and especially with Abraham Manie Adelstein
Abraham Manie Adelstein
Abraham Manie "Abe" Adelstein was a South African born doctor who became the United Kingdom's Chief Medical Statistician.-Career:...
and John Fox
John Fox (statistician)
John Fox is a British statistician, who has worked in both the public service and academia.He was born on 25 April 1946, the son of Fred Frank Fox OBE. He was educated at Dauntsey's School, University College London and Imperial College London...
.
Sir Michael Marmot has a special interest in inequalities in health and their causes and has been a government advisor in seeking to identify ways to mitigate them. He served on the Scientific Advisory Group of the Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health chaired by Sir Donald Acheson
Donald Acheson
Sir Donald Acheson KBE was a British physician and epidemiologist who served as Chief Medical Officer of the United Kingdom from 1983–91...
, the former UK chief medical officer. This reported in November 1998. In 2000 he was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen for services to Epidemiology and understanding health inequalities. Internationally acclaimed, Professor Marmot is a Vice President of the Academia Europaea, a Foreign Associate Member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and the Chair of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health set up by the World Health Organization in 2005. He won the Balzan Prize for Epidemiology in 2004, gave the Harveian Oration in 2006 and won the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research in 2008.
In 2008 he became Doctor Honoris Causa of the Université Libre de Bruxelles
Université Libre de Bruxelles
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking university in Brussels, Belgium. It has 21,000 students, 29% of whom come from abroad, and an equally cosmopolitan staff.-Name:...
.
In THE STATUS SYNDROME: How your social standing directly affects your health and life expectancy, he argues that socio-economic position is an important determinant for health outcomes. This result holds even if we control for the effects of income, education and risk factors (such as smoking) on health. The causal pathway Marmot identifies concerns the psychic benefits of "being in control" of one's life. Autonomy in this sense is related to our socio-economic position. Based on comparative studies, Marmot argues that we can make our society more participatory and inclusive in order to increase overall public health.
In 2008, Marmot appeared in UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? is a four-hour documentary series, broadcast nationally on PBS in spring 2008, that examines the role of social determinants of health in creating health inequalities/health disparities in the United States...
, an American documentary series examining the social determinants of health
Social determinants of health
Social determinants of health are the economic and social conditions under which people live which determine their health. They are "societal risk conditions", rather than individual risk factors that either increase or decrease the risk for a disease, for example for cardiovascular disease and...
that drew heavily from Marmot's work on the Whitehall Studies.
On 6 November 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
announced that the Secretary of State for Health Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson
Alan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was...
had asked Sir Michael Marmot to chair a Review of Health Inequalities in England to inform policy making to address health inequalities from 2010. The Review was announced at the launch of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health report Closing the Gap in a Generation, and is due to report in December 2009.
The European Office of the WHO is commissioning a European Review on the Social Determinants of Health and the Health Divide. The Review will be conducted by a Consortium of experts/institutions chaired by Professor Sir Michael Marmot.
The purpose of the review will be to identify the relevance of the findings of the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH), the Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England post 2010 (Marmot Review), and other new evidence to the European context and specificity and translate these into policy proposals.
It will feed into the development of a renewed European Regional Health Policy and contribute to specific aspects of the policy especially where it relates to the social determinants of health.
For more information see: http://www.marmotreview.org/european-review-of-hi/description.aspx
External links
- Profile at University College London
- Whitehall Study II at UCL site
- Commission on the Social Determinants of Health
- Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England Post-2010
- Profile at The Marmot Review
- Fair Society, Healthy Lives: A Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England Post-2010
- Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Chair, Marmot Review