Development and Validation of the Veteran Military Occupational and Environmental Exposure Assessment Tool.

Introduction: Military exposures may present a cumulative load and increased individual susceptibility to negative health outcomes. Currently, there are no comprehensive and validated environmental exposure assessment tools covering the full spectrum of occupational and environmental exposures for Veterans. The Veterans Affairs (VA) War Related Illness and Injury Study Center in Washington, DC, developed the Veteran Military Occupational and Environmental Exposure Assessment Tool (VMOAT) to establish a structured, comprehensive self-report tool that captures military and non-military occupational and environmental exposures.

Mental Health and Cognition in Women Veterans Enrolled in the Health of Vietnam Era Veteran Women's Study (HealthViEWS).

This analysis explored relationships between mental health symptoms and conditions and cognitive function in a cohort of Vietnam-era women veterans from the Health of Vietnam Era Veteran Women's Study (HealthViEWS). Vietnam-era women veterans completed a mail survey assessing self-reported symptom severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. A telephone-based structured interview assessed mental health conditions and cognitive function (telephone interview for cognitive status [TICS]).

Associations between Sleep and Body Composition in Older Women and the Potential Role of Physical Function.

Purpose: The relationship between sleep and adiposity in older women remains unclear partly due to the reliance of body mass index as a measure of adiposity. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between objectively measured sleep characteristics and body composition measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in older women. A secondary purpose was to examine if physical function mediates this relationship.

Gulf War Illness: A Randomized Controlled Trial Combining Mindfulness Meditation and Auricular Acupuncture.

Background: Many Gulf War (GW) Veterans report chronic symptoms including pain, fatigue, and cognitive impairment, commonly defined as Gulf War Illness (GWI). Complementary and integrative health (CIH) therapies may potentially improve multiple symptoms of GWI.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of combining 2 commonly available CIH therapies, mindfulness meditation and auricular acupuncture, in improving health-related functioning and multiple symptom domains of GWI (e.

A Cross-sectional Cohort Study to Assess Long-term Neurocognitive and Psychiatric Symptoms of Mefloquine Use in Veterans.

Introduction: To evaluate the associations between neurocognitive and psychiatric health outcomes with mefloquine or any antimalarial exposure.

Materials And Methods: Medical records were systematically reviewed to identify veterans that indicated antimalarial medication use. Linear regression was performed to examine associations between mefloquine/antimalarial exposure and health outcomes.

Lower cortical volume is associated with poor sleep quality after traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is known to be associated with poor sleep. In this report, we aimed to identify associations between differences in cortical volume and sleep quality post-TBI. MRI anatomical scans from 88 cases with TBI were analyzed in this report.

Compounding Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury, Military Status, and Other Factors on Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A Meta-analysis.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion is a known risk factor for multiple adverse health outcomes, including disturbed sleep. Although prior studies show adverse effects of TBI on sleep quality, its compounding effect with other factors on sleep is unknown. This meta-analysis aimed to quantify the effects of TBI on subjective sleep quality in the context of military status and other demographic factors.

Estimates of Childhood Overweight and Obesity at the Region, State, and County Levels: A Multilevel Small-Area Estimation Approach.

Local-level childhood overweight and obesity data are often used to implement and evaluate community programs, as well as allocate resources to combat overweight and obesity. The most current substate estimates of US childhood obesity use data collected in 2007. Using a spatial multilevel model and the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health, we estimated childhood overweight and obesity prevalence rates at the Census regional division, state, and county levels using small-area estimation with poststratification.

Incongruency of youth food and physical activity environments in the United States: Variations by region, rurality, and income.

Local environments are increasingly the focus of health behavior research and practice to reduce gaps between fruit/vegetable intake, physical activity (PA), and related guidelines. This study examined the congruency between youth food and PA environments and differences by region, rurality, and income across the United States. Food and PA environment data were obtained for all U.

Development of a national childhood obesogenic environment index in the United States: differences by region and rurality.

Background: Diverse environmental factors are associated with physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) among youth. However, no study has created a comprehensive obesogenic environment index for children that can be applied at a large geographic scale. The purpose of this study was to describe the development of a childhood obesogenic environment index (COEI) at the county level across the United States.

Sedentary Time and Physical Activity in Older Women Undergoing Exercise Training.

Unlabelled: Older adults have low rates meeting the physical activity (PA) guidelines and high sedentary time. Low PA and excessive sedentary time have been linked to adverse health outcomes. Less is known about whether exercise training influences sedentary time and PA in various intensities.

Spatial clustering patterns and regional variations for food and physical activity environments across the United States.

This study examined spatial patterns of obesogenic environments for US counties. We mapped the geographic dispersion of food and physical activity (PA) environments, assessed spatial clustering, and identified food and PA environment differences across U.S.

Declines In Pediatric Mortality Fall Short For Rural US Children.

Pediatric mortality rates in the US have declined since 1999, although rates among non-Hispanic black and American Indian/Alaska Native children remain higher than those among non-Hispanic white children. We used mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ascertain whether children living in rural areas experienced declines in mortality over the period 1999-2017 that paralleled those for the nation as a whole. Throughout the study period and across all age groups, rural children experienced higher mortality rates than their urban peers.

Assessing Change in Physician Practice Organization Profile in South Carolina: A Longitudinal Study.

Background: Physician practice organization is shifting away from solo, independent practices toward direct employment, but trends for rural-urban differences are often analyzed by dichotomizing rurality. The purpose of this analysis was to examine trends in practice organization across 3 levels of rurality over a 21-year period in South Carolina.

Methods: Physician license renewal forms were used to ascertain type of practice organization where physicians worked in South Carolina between 1995 and 2015.

Are We Serving the Most At-Risk Communities? Examining the Reach of a South Carolina Home Visiting Program.

In addition to individual-level characteristics, characteristics of the social and physical environments in which individuals reside may adversely impact health outcomes. Careful attention to the role of "place" can result in programs that successfully deliver services to those most at risk. This retrospective, cross-sectional study used geocoded residential addresses from 3090 households enrolled in a South Carolina (SC) home visiting program, 2013-2016, and corresponding years of data for maternal and child health outcomes obtained from vital records data.

The Effect of Structured Exercise on Sleep During the Corresponding Night Among Older Women in an Exercise Program.

This study investigated the acute effect of exercise on sleep outcomes among healthy older women by comparing days with structured exercise versus days without structured exercise during 4 months of exercise training. Participants (n = 51) in this study had wrist-worn actigraphic sleep data available following at least 3 days with structured exercise and 3 days without structured exercise at mid-intervention and at the end of intervention. The exercise intervention was treadmill walking.

Factors that Influence Parental Misperception of Their Child's Actual Weight Status in South Carolina.

Objectives Studies suggest that parents tend to misperceive their child's actual weight status and typically underestimate their child's weight. Since few studies examine the factors that influence parental misperception, this study aims to assess the influence of parent and child factors with parental misperception of their child's actual weight status who were either at their recommended weight or overweight/obese in South Carolina in 2013 and 2014. Methods Secondary data were obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the Children's Health Assessment Survey (CHAS) in 2013 and 2014 in SC.

The effect of moderate-intensity exercise on nightly variability in objectively measured sleep parameters among older women.

: Exercise training has been demonstrated to beneficially influence mean-level measures of sleep; however, few studies have examined the impact of an exercise intervention on night-to-night variability in sleep. This study investigated whether four months of moderate-intensity exercise impacted night-to-night variability in sleep among older women. : Participants (= 49) were randomized to one of two moderate-intensity walking programs with different doses of energy expenditure: low-dose ( = 23: 8 kcal/kg of body weight per week) or high-dose ( = 26: 14 kcal/kg of body weight per week).

Energy expenditure responses to exercise training in older women.

Previous studies have shown inconsistent findings regarding how structured exercise affects energy expenditure (EE). This study was designed to determine the changes in EE and physical activity following exercise training in older women. Nonobese (body mass index = 25.

The Impact of Cardiorespiratory Fitness Levels on the Risk of Developing Atherogenic Dyslipidemia.

Background: Low cardiorespiratory fitness has been established as a risk factor for cardiovascular-related morbidity. However, research about the impact of fitness on lipid abnormalities, including atherogenic dyslipidemia, has produced mixed results. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the influence of baseline fitness and changes in fitness on the development of atherogenic dyslipidemia.

South Carolina 20 Years of Diabetes--A Public Health Concern.

Objective: To assess and enumerate the trends in diabetes prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates in South Carolina (SC) within the past 2 decades.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed state-level data from vital records, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Children's Health Assessment Survey and Administrative Claim Files.

Results: Over the past 20 years, there has been an average 2.

Associations of Objectively Measured Vigorous Physical Activity With Body Composition, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Cardiometabolic Health in Youth: A Review.

. Increasing evidence suggests that vigorous physical activity (VPA) in youth may yield greater health benefits than moderate (MPA) or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The purpose of this review was to assess the relationship between PA intensity and body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and cardiometabolic (CM) biomarkers in youth.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the H.A.N.D.S.SM Program: A School Nurse Diabetes Management Education Program.

The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of the Helping Administer to the Needs of the Student with Diabetes in Schools (H.A.N.

Dietary fibre consumption and insulin resistance - the role of body fat and physical activity.

The present study was conducted to determine the association between fibre intake and insulin resistance in 264 women using a cross-sectional design. Insulin resistance was indexed using homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (US formula: fasting insulin (μU/ml) × fasting glucose (mg/dl)/405 international formula: fasting glucose (mmol/l) × fasting insulin (μU/l)/22.5).