Neighborhood Diversity Is Good for Your Health: An Example of Racial/Ethnic Integration and Preterm Birth in Texas.

Racial concentration of neighborhoods is often associated with the risk of preterm birth (PTB) for women. This study examined differences between racially diverse and racially concentrated neighborhoods when examining preterm birth. Individual-level data were obtained from Texas natality files for 2009-2011, and neighborhood-level (i.

At the Forefront: Social Workers' Role in Psilocybin Treatment for Depression and Substance Misuse.

This article underscores the critical role of social workers in harnessing the potential therapeutic benefits of psilocybin for treating major depressive disorder (MDD) and substance use disorder (SUD). Contemporary treatments for MDD often have side effects, and the success rate for SUD treatments remains low. The pervasiveness of MDD, combined with the challenges in treating SUD, highlights a need for innovative treatments.

The Price of Growing Up in a Low-Income Neighborhood: A Scoping Review of Associated Depressive Symptoms and Other Mood Disorders among Children and Adolescents.

Neighborhoods, as built and social environments, have significant implications for mental health. Children raised in high-poverty neighborhoods, who are disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and people of color, have a greater risk of adverse life outcomes. Neighborhood gentrification is also salient when examining mental health outcomes as neighborhood economic contexts shift around a child.

Perceived racial discrimination and polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents in the United States.

Objective: Polysubstance use among adolescents is a significant public health concern, yet most studies on adolescent substance use focus on a singular substance. This study is one of the first to investigate the association between perceived racial discrimination (PRD) in school and polysubstance use among racial/ethnic minority adolescents using a nationally representative sample.

Methods: Data was from the 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey.

Neighborhood Poverty in Combination with Older Housing Is Associated with Adverse Birth Outcomes: A Study on Ubiquitous Lead Risk among 1 Million Births in Texas.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether housing age in combination with neighborhood poverty, as a proxy for fetal exposure to heavy metal lead, is associated with adverse birth outcomes. We linked population-level birth certificate data for Black, Hispanic, White and Other women, stratified by nativity, from 2009-2011 in Texas ( = 1,040,642) to census the tract-level median housing age/poverty level from the American Community Survey, 2007-2011. Tracts with median housing age values before 1975 with a poverty level of 20% or more were considered to be neighborhoods with a high risk of exposure to deteriorating lead-based paint.

Racial-ethnic inequality in cardiovascular health in the United States: Does it mirror socioeconomic inequality?

Purpose: To document gender-specific racial-ethnic disparities in cardiovascular (CV) conditions and risk factors net of socioeconomic status (SES) across the lifespan.

Methods: Using pooled data from the 1999 to 2016 U.S.

Changes in bone biomarker concentrations and musculoskeletal symptoms among breast cancer patients initiating aromatase inhibitor therapy and women without a history of cancer.

The objectives of this study were to examine: (1) changes in bone formation (osteocalcin) and bone resorption (cross-linked N-telopeptides of bone type I collagen [NTXs]) markers, as well as calcium, phosphorus, and intact parathyroid hormone, over the first 6 months of aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy among a cohort of breast cancer patients compared with a group of unexposed women without a history of cancer; and (2) whether bone marker changes were associated with musculoskeletal pain. Eligible breast cancer patients (n = 49) and postmenopausal women without a history of cancer (n = 117) were recruited and followed for 6 months. At baseline, 3 months, and 6 months, a questionnaire was administered to assess pain and medication use, and a blood sample was drawn.

A prospective study of aromatase inhibitor therapy, vitamin D, C-reactive protein and musculoskeletal symptoms.

This study compared type, severity and location of musculoskeletal symptoms and associations with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations between women initiating aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy and an unexposed comparison group. A 6-month prospective cohort study was conducted, enrolling 100 breast cancer patients prior to initiating AI treatment and an unexposed comparison group of 200 postmenopausal women. Multivariate associations were assessed with generalized linear models.

Androgens and musculoskeletal symptoms among breast cancer patients on aromatase inhibitor therapy.

Aromatase inhibitors (AIs), the adjuvant hormonal treatment of choice for postmenopausal estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, are associated with an increased risk of musculoskeletal symptoms. The underlying cause of the symptoms is often attributed to estrogen depletion, yet all women treated with AIs have low estrogen levels and only a subset develop symptoms. Concentrations of circulating androgens may be mediating factors contributing to these side effects.