Exposure to Environmental Chemicals and Infertility Among US Reproductive-Aged Women.

Environmental chemical exposure has been rising over the past few decades but its impact on fertility remains uncertain. We assessed exposures to 23 common chemicals across a range of sociodemographic characteristics and their relationship with self-reported infertility. The analytic sample was non-pregnant women aged 18-49 years without a history of hysterectomy or oophorectomy (n = 2579) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2016).

The Impact of Marriage on Breastfeeding Duration: Examining the Disproportionate Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Low-Income Communities.

Background: Marriage promotes breastfeeding duration through economic and social supports. The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected marginalized communities and impacted women's employment and interpersonal dynamics. This study examined how marital status affects breastfeeding duration across socioeconomic and racially minoritized groups during COVID-19, aiming to inform social support strategies for vulnerable families in public health crises.

The impact of marriage on breastfeeding duration: examining the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized communities.

Background: Marriage promotes breastfeeding duration through economic and social supports. The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected marginalized communities and impacted women's employment and interpersonal dynamics. This study examined how marriage affects breastfeeding duration across socioeconomic and racially minoritized groups during COVID-19, aiming to inform social support strategies for vulnerable families in public health crises.

Gestational Diabetes and Subsequent Metabolic Dysfunction: An National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Analysis (2011-2018).

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) complicates ∼10% of pregnancies, with the highest rates among Asian women. Evidence suggests that GDM is associated with an increased risk for future chronic health conditions, yet data for Asian women are sparse. We explored the association between prior GDM and metabolic dysfunction with nationally representative data to obtain Asian-specific estimates.

Impact of Breastfeeding Barriers on Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Breastfeeding Outcomes in North Dakota.

Objective: Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months of life, but there are racial/ethnic disparities in meeting this recommendation.

Methods: 2017-2020 North Dakota Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (weighted N = 11,754) data were used to examine racial/ethnic differences in the association between self-reported breastfeeding barriers and breastfeeding duration. Breastfeeding duration was self-reported breastfeeding at 2 and 4 months, and number of weeks until breastfeeding cessation.

Joint exposure to urban-rural status and medically underserved area residence and risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes in 2020.

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to estimate the risk of severe COVID-19 among individuals residing in rural, medically underserved counties compared to those living in other counties.

Methods: Individual-level COVID-19 hospitalization and death data and demographic variables were downloaded from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2013 National Center for Health Statistics Urban-Rural Classification Scheme was used to classify urban and rural counties.

Adding Behaviour-Change Counselling to an Exercise Program for Adults Preparing for Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Improves Psychological and Physical Wellness: Focus Group Reflections.

Purpose: To explore participant experiences for people on an arthroplasty waitlist, randomised to an exercise and behaviour-change counselling program (ENHANCE). The ENHANCE program for arthroplasty patients was led by an accredited exercise physiologist who delivered an individually tailored and structured exercise program. Included in the exercise program were up to five in-person counselling sessions, based on the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) applied specifically to people with osteoarthritis.

The Health and Functional Benefits of Eccentric versus Concentric Exercise Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This review compared the effects of eccentric versus concentric exercise training in healthy people and people with metabolic disease. A systematic search on Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, SCOPUS and PubMed was conducted in February 2022. Randomised controlled trials conducted on sedentary healthy adults or those with an existing metabolic disease that compared eccentric versus concentric exercise training interventions of four weeks or longer that involved multiple joints and large muscle groups (e.

Roles of Income and Acculturation in the Hispanic Paradox: Breastfeeding Among Hispanic Women.

Objectives: Despite Hispanics' high prevalence of breastfeeding compared to other racial/ethnic groups, contributing factors remain unclear. This study examines the complex relationship among Hispanic nativity, acculturation, income, and breastfeeding.

Methods: The Fragile Families Child Wellbeing Study baseline (1998-2000) and Year 1 data (1999-2001) were used, including 4,077 women (933 non-Hispanic white, 2,046 non-Hispanic Black, 352 US-born Mexicans [USM], 299 US-born other Hispanics [USH], 302 foreign-born Mexicans [FBM], and 145 foreign-born other Hispanics [FBH]).

Effect of combined exercise training and behaviour change counselling versus usual care on physical activity in patients awaiting hip and knee arthroplasty: A randomised controlled trial.

Objective: This study aimed to determine if a novel intervention that combined individualised exercise training with behaviour change counselling based on Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) constructs could elicit long-term increase in physical activity (PA) and reduce comorbidity development among people requiring hip or knee arthroplasty.

Method: A pre-registered two arm, parallel group, randomised controlled trial comparing the effect of a 12-week individualised exercise program combined with behavioural counselling delivered by accredited exercise physiologists, versus usual care to Osteoarthritis (OA) patients on public surgery waitlists. Participants were followed up at 6 months after baseline (pre-surgery) and again at 6 months post-surgery.

High occurrence of food insecurity in young people attending a youth mental health service in regional Australia.

Aim: Despite the relationship between food insecurity and poor mental health, food insecurity in young people attending mental health services in Australia remains understudied. This study aimed to determine the occurrence and predictors of food insecurity, and the relationship with dietary factors in young people attending a mental health service.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in a sample of young people (15-25 years) who attended a mental health service in Launceston, Australia.

The knowledge, barriers and opportunities to improve nutrition and physical activity amongst young people attending an Australian youth mental health service: a mixed-methods study.

Background: Mental illnesses are the leading cause of disability in young people, and lifestyle interventions in young people at risk of mental illness remain a priority. Opportunities to improve nutrition and physical activity among young people through youth mental health services remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the knowledge and behaviors towards nutrition and physical activity, the barriers and enablers to improving behaviors, and the preferred providers and sources of information for nutrition and physical activity among a sample of young people attending a youth mental health service.

Maternal body composition and gestational weight gain in relation to asthma control during pregnancy.

Background: Poor asthma control is common during pregnancy and contributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Identification of risk factors for poor gestational asthma control is crucial.

Objective: Examine associations of body composition and gestational weight gain with asthma control in a prospective pregnancy cohort (n = 299).

Disparities in early prenatal care and barriers to access among American Indian and white women in North Dakota.

Purpose: American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have received minimal attention in research on determinants of prenatal care access. We sought to gain an understanding of structural and sociocultural determinants of prenatal care access among AI/AN and White women in North Dakota (ND).

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2017 to 2018 North Dakota Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (n = 1,166).

Joint effects of ethnic enclave residence and ambient volatile organic compounds exposure on risk of gestational diabetes mellitus among Asian/Pacific Islander women in the United States.

Background: Asian/Pacific Islander (API) communities in the United States often reside in metropolitan areas with distinct social and environmental attributes. Residence in an ethnic enclave, a socially distinct area, is associated with lower gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk, yet exposure to high levels of air pollution, including volatile organic compounds (VOCS), is associated with increased GDM risk. We examined the joint effects of ethnic enclaves and VOCs to better understand GDM risk among API women, the group with the highest prevalence of GDM.

Effects of Activity Tracker Use With Health Professional Support or Telephone Counseling on Maintenance of Physical Activity and Health Outcomes in Older Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Despite a range of efforts to increase physical activity participation in Australia, inactivity levels in older adults have remained high over recent decades, contributing to increased rates of chronic health conditions. Lifestyle interventions, including telephone counseling (TC), improve physical activity participation and associated health outcomes over the short term; however, ongoing feedback and support is required to maintain these changes. Newer technologies such as wearable activity trackers (ATs) may offer an alternative method for providing ongoing support.

Ambient temperature and stillbirth: Risks associated with chronic extreme temperature and acute temperature change.

Background: Ambient temperature events are increasing in frequency and intensity. Our prior work in a U.S.

Clinical Application of Forced Oscillation Technique (FOT) in Early Detection of Airway Changes in Smokers.

The forced oscillation technique (FOT) is a non-invasive method to assess airway function by emitting oscillatory signals into the respiratory tract during tidal ventilation. This opinion piece discusses the current use, trialled modification and future directions in utilizing FOT as a novel diagnostic tool for early detection of small airway changes in smokers. The published evidence to date has shown that FOT parameters could be a sensitive diagnostic tool to detect early respiratory changes in smokers.

Concomitant exposure to area-level poverty, ambient air volatile organic compounds, and cardiometabolic dysfunction: a cross-sectional study of U.S. adolescents.

Purpose: A key to better understanding the influence of the place of residence on cardiometabolic function is the effect of concomitant exposure to both air pollution and residence in economically marginalized areas. We hypothesized that, among adolescents, the association between air pollution and cardiometabolic function is exacerbated among residents of economically marginalized areas.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, individual-level data on cardiometabolic function collected from a representative sample of U.

Older adults' experiences of using a wearable activity tracker with health professional feedback over a 12-month randomised controlled trial.

Objective: Wearable activity trackers can help older adults remain physically active. However, knowledge of the user experience during long-term use is scarce. Therefore, this study examined older adults' experiences with, and perceptions of, wearable activity trackers combined with health professional feedback after a year's use as part of a randomised controlled trial.

Ethnic Enclaves and Pregnancy and Behavior Outcomes Among Asian/Pacific Islanders in the USA.

Objectives: Ethnic enclaves are ethnically, spatially, and socially distinct communities that may promote health through access to culturally appropriate resources and reduced exposure to discrimination. This study examined ethnic enclave residence and pregnancy outcomes among Asian/Pacific Islander (API) women in the USA.

Design: We examined 9206 API births in the Consortium on Safe Labor (2002-2008).

Sex-Specific Associations Between Area-Level Poverty and Cardiometabolic Dysfunction Among US Adolescents.

Objective: Cardiometabolic disease is the leading cause of mortality in the United States. Cardiometabolic function during adolescence predicts future cardiometabolic disease, yet few studies have examined early determinants of cardiometabolic function. Informed by evidence of sex differences in the prevalence and severity of cardiometabolic disorders and evidence of sexual dimorphism in the stress response, we examined sex differences in the association between living in poverty and cardiometabolic function during adolescence, a precursor of later cardiometabolic disorders.

Study protocol for a multicentre, controlled non-randomised trial: benefits of exercise physiology services for type 2 diabetes (BEST).

Introduction: Controlled trials support the efficacy of exercise as a treatment modality for chronic conditions, yet effectiveness of real-world Exercise Physiology services is yet to be determined. This study will investigate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of services provided by Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs) for clients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in clinical practice.

Methods And Analysis: A non-randomised, opportunistic control, longitudinal design trial will be conducted at ten Exercise Physiology Clinics.