Harm reduction for cannabis: Factor analysis of a protective behavioral strategies survey.

Objective: To examine the psychometric properties of a measure of cannabis-specific Protective Behavioral Strategies (PBS), which assesses ways in which students may reduce cannabis-related risk.

Participants: Respondents to the American College Health Association - National College Health Assessment II (N = 580) during Spring 2015.

Methods: Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) were used to identify and replicate the factor structure of the measure.

Effects of long-term developmental patterns of adiposity on levels of C-reactive protein and fibrinogen among North-American men and women: the Spokane Heart Study.

This study examined the heterogeneity in BMI development by identifying distinct developmental trajectories. These trajectories were further investigated by relating them to markers of low-grade inflammation later in life. Data from approximately 400 healthy volunteers participating in the Spokane Heart Study were collected in 2-year intervals, and four waves of data were available for the current analyses.

The metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease: a structural equation modeling approach suggestive of a common underlying pathophysiology.

Objective: The purpose of this research was to utilize a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to simultaneously examine the relationship among the Metabolic Syndrome (MetSyn) and coronary artery calcification (CAC), a surrogate marker for sub-clinical atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD).

Materials/methods: Data were derived from the Spokane Heart Study (SHS), a prospective study designed to examine the role of traditional and non-traditional biological, psychological, and behavioral risk factors predictive of CAC. Study participants included 434 non-clinical healthy volunteers (54% female, 46% male; mean age of 56 years) who were asymptomatic for CAD at enrollment and had complete data for the primary variables of interest (MetSyn components and CAC) during the data collection period (i.

Law enforcement officer versus non-law enforcement officer status as a longitudinal predictor of traditional and emerging cardiovascular risk factors.

Objective: To determine whether law enforcement officer (LEO) status and perceived stress are longitudinal predictors of traditional and inflammatory cardiovascular (CV) risk factors.

Method: Linear hierarchical regression was employed to investigate the longitudinal (more than 7 years) relationship between occupational category (LEO vs non-LEO) and perceived stress scale scores, and traditional and inflammatory CV risk factors in an all-male sample of 105 LEOs and 65 non-LEOs.

Results: The occupational status of LEOs, compared with that of non-LEOs, predicted higher levels of C-reactive protein, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, and waist circumference.

Longitudinal measurement invariance of the metabolic syndrome: is the assessment of the metabolic syndrome stable over time?

Purpose: Without verification of longitudinal measurement invariance, researchers cannot be certain whether observed change in the metabolic syndrome reflects true change or changes in assessment or structure of the construct over time. This research tested longitudinal measurement invariance of a 1-factor model of the metabolic syndrome during the course of 6 years.

Methods: Tests of longitudinal measurement invariance (configural, metric, and scalar) were conducted on 604 men and women who participated in the Spokane Heart Study from 1996 to 2006.