Background: Alabama has the second highest rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality of any US state and a high prevalence of CVD risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and smoking. Within the state, there are disparities in CVD outcomes and risk factors by race or ethnicity and geography. Many primary care practices do not have the capacity for full-scale quality improvement (QI) initiatives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Parents play a critical role in their children's health. We explored the association of children's perception of their parents' health behaviors and education level with the health behaviors of middle-school students participating in a school-based wellness program.
Methods: Students completed a baseline survey on their dietary, physical activity, and sedentary behaviors, and their parents' health behaviors and education.
In the last decade, extensive research has emerged into understanding the impact of risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) on brain in pre-symptomatic stages. We investigated the neuroimaging correlates of the APOEe4 genetic risk factor for AD in young adulthood, its relationship with cognition, and potential effects of other variables on the findings. While conventional volumetric analyses revealed no consistent differences, more sophisticated analyses identified subtle structural differences between APOEe4 carriers and non-carriers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirc Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes
October 2024
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is an important zoonotic disease. The study aims to identify farmer behaviour types to inform the design of behaviour change programmes for mitigating the transmission of HPAI. Therefore, the study utilised multivariate statistical analysis for gaining a better understanding of the relationships among farmers' 30 biosecurity behaviours, the risk of HPAI infection, and distinct features of commercial broiler farmers, which is different from using simple and few binary biosecurity measures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Veterans represent a distinct cultural group whose perceptions of illness and treatment are influenced by military culture. The study explores how prior military service shapes Veterans' assumptions and behaviors in the setting of aneurysm repair surgery.
Study Design: We conducted content and thematic analysis of a case series of 10 transcripts from telephone interviews with older (76.
The African Union and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Call to Action in 2022 for Africa's New Public Health Order that underscored the need for increased capacity in the public health workforce. Additional domestic and global investments in public health workforce development are central to achieving the aspirations of Agenda 2063 of the African Union, which aims to build and accelerate the implementation of continental frameworks for equitable, people-centred growth and development. Recognising the crucial role of higher education and research, we assessed the capabilities of public health doctoral training in schools and programmes of public health in Africa across three conceptual components: instructional, institutional, and external.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Neighborhood physical environments may influence cardiometabolic health, but prior studies have been inconsistent, and few included long follow-up periods.
Methods: Changes in cardiometabolic risk factors were measured for up to 14 years in 2830 midlife women in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, a multi-ethnic/racial cohort of women from seven U.S.
Objective: Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs) address health concerns impacting children and their families related to environmental hazards by providing consultation and education to families, communities, and health care professionals. This analysis evaluated the productivity of the national PEHSU program.
Methods: PEHSUs reported data on services provided to US communities between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2019.
Objective: To calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALY) and labor productivity loss due to drug overdose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (DO-OHCA) and compare its contribution to the burden of disease and economic impact of all-cause nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the US.
Methods: We performed a retrospective observational cohort analysis of all adult (age 18 years) nontraumatic emergency medical services-treated OHCA events, including those due to DO-OHCA, from the national Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) database from January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2020. The main outcome measures of interest were disability-adjusted life years, annual, and lifetime labor productivity loss over the 4-year study period.
Background: Up to 50% of women report sleep problems in midlife, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women. How chronic poor sleep exposure over decades of midlife is related to CVD risk in women is poorly understood. We tested whether trajectories of insomnia symptoms or sleep duration over midlife were related to subsequent CVD events among SWAN (Study of Women's Health Across the Nation) participants, whose sleep was assessed up to 16 times over 22 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGuidelines from the American Urological Association (AUA) and the European Association of Urology (EAU) present conflicting recommendations regarding combination therapy of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5is) with α-blockers to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Use of PDE5is is widespread in the population of patients with LUTS/BPH. In this scoping review, we examine the evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of combined PDE5is and α-blockers compared to PDE5i medications alone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirc Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes
January 2024
The neighborhoods where individuals reside shape environmental exposures, access to resources, and opportunities. The inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities across neighborhoods perpetuates and exacerbates cardiovascular health inequities. Thus, interventions that address the neighborhood environment could reduce the inequitable burden of cardiovascular disease in disenfranchised populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Carotid artery intima media thickness (cIMT) and adventitial diameter (AD) are subclinical atherosclerosis indicators. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and obesity are risk factors for atherosclerosis, but their combined impact on atherosclerosis risk is unknown. This study sought to examine the effect of the co-occurrence of MetS with obesity on cIMT and AD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe sought to predict survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome for advanced age adults (≥65 years) after successful resuscitation of non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). A retrospective observational cohort analysis was performed using the national Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival database from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2021. All nontraumatic OHCA occurring in advanced age adults who survived to hospital admission were included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevention of cardiovascular and related diseases is foundational to attaining ideal cardiovascular health to improve the overall health and well-being of individuals and communities. Social determinants of health and health care inequities adversely affect ideal cardiovascular health and prevention of disease. Achieving optimal cardiovascular health in an effective and equitable manner requires a coordinated multidisciplinary and multilayered approach.
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