Parenting and family self-sufficiency services contribute to impacts of Early Head Start for children and families.

Introduction: There is evidence that two-generation early childhood programs, those that strive to support not only child development, but also optimal parenting and family wellbeing, help to foster resilience for young children and their families in the face of adversity.

Methods: Using data from a large experimental evaluation, the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, this paper explores how parenting and family self-sufficiency services embedded in Early Head Start (EHS), a federally funded, nationally implemented two-generation early childhood program for low-income families lasting from pregnancy and until children are three, contribute to the impacts of the program for both the children and their families.

Results: Parenting support in any modality (home visiting, case management or parent education) contributed to program impacts on important child and family outcomes, but not parent employment.

Reduced Left Atrial Rotational Flow Is Independently Associated With Embolic Brain Infarcts.

Background: Up to 25% of embolic strokes occur in individuals without atrial fibrillation (AF) or other identifiable mechanisms.

Objectives: This study aims to assess whether left atrial (LA) blood flow characteristics are associated with embolic brain infarcts, independently of AF.

Methods: The authors recruited 134 patients: 44 with a history of ischemic stroke and 90 with no history of stroke but CHADSVASc score ≥1.

Apolipoprotein Proteomics for Residual Lipid-Related Risk in Coronary Heart Disease.

Background: Recognition of the importance of conventional lipid measures and the advent of novel lipid-lowering medications have prompted the need for more comprehensive lipid panels to guide use of emerging treatments for the prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD). This report assessed the relevance of 13 apolipoproteins measured using a single mass-spectrometry assay for risk of CHD in the PROCARDIS case-control study of CHD (941 cases/975 controls).

Methods: The associations of apolipoproteins with CHD were assessed after adjustment for established risk factors and correction for statin use.

The impact of atrial fibrillation and stroke risk factors on left atrial blood flow characteristics.

Aims: Altered left atrial (LA) blood flow characteristics account for an increase in cardioembolic stroke risk in atrial fibrillation (AF). Here, we aimed to assess whether exposure to stroke risk factors is sufficient to alter LA blood flow even in the presence of sinus rhythm (SR).

Methods And Results: We investigated 95 individuals: 37 patients with persistent AF, who were studied before and after cardioversion [Group 1; median CHA2DS2-VASc = 2.

Smoking and COVID-19 outcomes: an observational and Mendelian randomisation study using the UK Biobank cohort.

Background: Conflicting evidence has emerged regarding the relevance of smoking on risk of COVID-19 and its severity.

Methods: We undertook large-scale observational and Mendelian randomisation (MR) analyses using UK Biobank. Most recent smoking status was determined from primary care records (70.

Independent effects of adiposity measures on risk of atrial fibrillation in men and women: a study of 0.5 million individuals.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has a higher prevalence in men than in women and is associated with measures of adiposity and lean mass (LM). However, it remains uncertain whether the risks of AF associated with these measures vary by sex.

Methods: Among 477 904 UK Biobank participants aged 40-69 without prior AF, 23 134 incident AF cases were identified (14 400 men, 8734 women; median follow-up 11.

Assessment of the causal relevance of ECG parameters for risk of atrial fibrillation: A mendelian randomisation study.

Background: Atrial electrical and structural remodelling in older individuals with cardiovascular risk factors has been associated with changes in surface electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters (e.g., prolongation of the PR interval) and higher risks of atrial fibrillation (AF).

Left atrial 4D flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance: a reproducibility study in sinus rhythm and atrial fibrillation.

Background: Four-dimensional (4D) flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) allows sophisticated quantification of left atrial (LA) blood flow, and could yield novel biomarkers of propensity for intra-cardiac thrombus formation and embolic stroke. As reproducibility is critically important to diagnostic performance, we systematically investigated technical and temporal variation of LA 4D flow in atrial fibrillation (AF) and sinus rhythm (SR).

Methods: Eighty-six subjects (SR, n = 64; AF, n = 22) with wide-ranging stroke risk (CHADSVASc 0-6) underwent LA 4D flow assessment of peak and mean velocity, vorticity, vortex volume, and stasis.

It's not as simple as it sounds: Problems and solutions in accessing and using administrative child welfare data for evaluating the impact of early childhood interventions.

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in using administrative data collected by state child welfare agencies as a source of information for research and evaluation. The challenges of obtaining access to and using these data, however, have not been well documented. This study describes the processes used to access child welfare records in six different states and the approach to combining and using the information gathered to evaluate the impact of the Early Head Start program on children's involvement with the child welfare system from birth through age eleven.

The effect of Early Head Start on child welfare system involvement: A first look at longitudinal child maltreatment outcomes.

The high societal and personal costs of child maltreatment make identification of effective early prevention programs a high research priority. Early Head Start (EHS), a dual generational program serving low-income families with children prenatally through age three years, is one of the largest federally funded programs for infants and toddlers in the United States. A national randomized trial found EHS to be effective in improving parent and child outcomes, but its effectiveness in reducing child maltreatment was not assessed.