Cardiorespiratory fitness, adiposity, and ambulatory blood pressure in adolescents.

Background: This study examined the association of cardiorespiratory fitness (fitness) and adiposity (Body Mass Index [BMI] and waist circumference [WC]) with ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and tested the moderating effect of adiposity on the association between fitness and ABP.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 370 adolescents aged 11-16 years. Fitness was assessed by a height-adjusted step test and estimated by heart rate recovery, defined as the difference between peak heart rate during exercise and heart rate two minutes postexercise.

Indirect Effects of Food Insecurity on Body Mass Index Through Feeding Style and Dietary Quality Among Low-Income Hispanic Preschoolers.

Objective: To investigate whether food insecurity affects child body mass index (BMI) through parental feeding demandingness and/or responsiveness and dietary quality 18 months later among low-income Hispanic preschoolers.

Design: Secondary analysis of data at baseline and 18 months afterward.

Setting: Houston, TX.

Individual and community characteristics associated with premature natural and drug-related deaths in 25-59 year old decedents.

The purpose of the study was to identify circumstances of death, disease states, and sociodemographic characteristics associated with premature natural and drug-related deaths among 25-59 year olds. The study also aimed to address the paucity of research on personal, community-based, and societal factors contributing to premature death. A population-based retrospective chart review of medical examiner deaths within a highly populated and ethnically diverse county [in Texas] was undertaken to identify individuals dying prematurely and circumstances surrounding cause of death [in 2013].

Methodology to reliably measure preventable trauma death rate.

This article describes a methodology to establish a trauma preventable death rate (PDR) in a densely populated county in the USA. Harris County has >4 million residents, encompasses a geographic area of 1777 square miles and includes the City of Houston, Texas. Although attempts have been made to address a national PDR, these studies had significant methodological flaws.

Ethnic/Racial Comparisons in Strategies Parents Use to Cope with Food Insecurity: A Systematic Review of Published Research.

Food insecurity in US affects African Americans, Hispanic, and American Indians disproportionately compared to Caucasians. Ethnicity/race may influence the strategies parents use to reduce the effects of food insecurity. The purpose of this review is to compare coping strategies for food insecurity used by parents of different ethnicities/race as reported in published literature.

Exenatide once weekly for smoking cessation: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Cigarette smoking is the greatest preventable cause of morbidity and premature mortality in the United States. Approved pharmacological treatments for smoking cessation are marginally effective, underscoring the need for improved pharmacotherapies. A novel approach might use glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists, which reduce alcohol and drug use in preclinical studies.

Clinical and demographic predictors of concussion resolution in adolescents: A retrospective study.

Concussions in adolescents are a growing public health concern. The aim of this study was to identify clinical (e.g.

The Reliability and Validity of the Arabic World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF Instrument Among Family Caregivers of Relatives With Psychiatric Illnesses in Jordan.

Background: The concept of quality of life (QOL) has increasingly attracted the interest of healthcare providers and is considered a valid end point for assessing the overall mental health of patients and their caregivers. Instruments with psychometric and cross-cultural validity are recommended for making accurate QOL assessments.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to provide further validation of the Arabic World Health Organization (WHO)QOL-BREF for use among family caregivers of relatives with psychiatric illnesses in Jordan.

Effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Heart Rate Variability in Young Females with Constipation-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Parallel-group Trial.

Background/aims: The relation between heart rate variability (HRV) as non-invasive biomarkers of autonomic function and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as non-pharmacological treatments has rarely been examined in patients with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of an 8-week CBT intervention on HRV and IBS symptoms, and the correlation of changes in HRV with changes in IBS symptoms among young female nursing students with IBS-C.

Methods: This study consisted of an exploratory subgroup analysis of 43 participants with IBS-C who had been randomly assigned to receive either 8 weeks of CBT (n = 23) or general medical information (control, n = 20).

Association of cardiorespiratory fitness and adiposity with inflammatory biomarkers in young adults.

Objectives: Cardiorespiratory fitness (fitness) has been inversely associated with inflammation, but whether the association is attributed to fitness itself or lower levels of adiposity remains uncertain in young adults. The purpose of this study was to determine the association of fitness and adiposity with inflammation in young adults.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 88 participants aged 20-34 years.

Quality of Life, Stigma and Burden Perception Among Family Caregivers and Patients with Psychiatric Illnesses in Jordan.

The literature reported several factors which could impact the quality of life of caregivers and patients with psychiatric illnesses. This study aimed to determine the level of quality of life among a sample of 532 of caregivers and patients with psychiatric illness at two out-patient mental health clinics in Northern Jordan, and to examine the relationships of sociodemographic characteristics, stigma and caregiver perceptions of burden with quality of life. A correlational descriptive design was utilized.

Anesthetic choices and breast cancer recurrence: a retrospective pilot study of patient, disease, and treatment factors.

The purpose of this work was to investigate differences in patient, disease, and treatment factors between women who received outpatient surgical treatment of breast cancer with paravertebral and general anesthesia compared with women who received general anesthesia alone. A total of 358 patients with stage 0-III disease received a partial or total mastectomy without axillary node dissection at a large academic cancer center. Study median follow-up time was 28.

Severe depressive symptoms are associated with elevated endothelin-1 in younger patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Objective: To explore the relationship of depressive symptom severity to circulating endothelin (ET)-1 in younger patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Younger patients report greater depressive symptom severity, which predicts poorer post-ACS prognosis. The pathways linking depression to post-ACS prognosis require further elucidation.

Features of the built environment related to physical activity friendliness and children's obesity and other risk factors.

Objectives: We investigated the relationships among environmental features of physical activity friendliness, socioeconomic indicators, and prevalence of obesity (BMI status), central adiposity (waist circumference, waist-height ratio), and hypertension.

Design And Sample: The design was cross-sectional; the study was correlational. The sample was 911 kindergarteners through sixth graders from three schools in an urban school district residing in 13 designated neighborhoods.

Sleep duration and its association with ambulatory blood pressure in a school-based, diverse sample of adolescents.

Background: Evidence is accumulating that sleep duration is related to blood pressure (BP) and hypertensive status, but the strength of the association varies by age, and findings are inconsistent for adolescents. This cross-sectional study tested the hypothesis that sleep duration, both during the night and during naps, would be negatively associated with ambulatory systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) measured over 24 hours in adolescents.

Methods: In this ethnically diverse (37% non-Hispanic black, 31% Hispanic, 29% non-Hispanic white, 3% other), school-based sample of 366 adolescents aged 11-16 years, ambulatory BP was measured every 30 minutes for 24 hours on a school day; actigraphy was used to measure sleep duration.

Endothelin-1 and psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease: a systematic review.

Objectives: Psychosocial factors (i.e., social environment and emotional factors) contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Sociocultural tailoring of a healthy lifestyle intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk among Latinos.

Background: Suboptimal lifestyle factors in combination with genetic susceptibility contribute to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk among Latinos. We describe a community-academic collaboration that developed and explored the feasibility of implementing a socioculturally tailored, healthy lifestyle intervention integrating genomics and family history education to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes among Latinos.

Community Context: The community-based participatory research was conducted with communities in Kentucky, which has a rapidly growing Latino population.

Novel predictors of sepsis outperform the American Burn Association sepsis criteria in the burn intensive care unit patient.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and American Burn Association (ABA) criteria predict sepsis in the burn patient and develop a model representing the best combination of novel clinical sepsis predictors. A retrospective, case-controlled, within-patient comparison of burn patients admitted to a single intensive care unit from January 2005 to September 2010 was made. Blood culture results were paired with documented sepsis: positive-sick, negative-sick (collectively defined as sick), and negative-not sick.

Comparison of mortality associated with sepsis in the burn, trauma, and general intensive care unit patient: a systematic review of the literature.

The purpose of this systematic review of the literature was to determine the association of sepsis with mortality in the severely injured adult patient by means of a comparative analysis of sepsis in burn and trauma injury with other critically ill populations. The MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library, and ProQuest databases were searched. The following keywords and MeSH headings were used: "sepsis," septicemia," "septic shock," "epidemiology," "burns," "thermal injury," "trauma," "wounds and injuries," "critical care," "intensive care," "outcomes," and "mortality.

Global cardiovascular disease prevention: a call to action for nursing: community-based and public health prevention initiatives.

Policy changes are necessary to promote cardiovascular disease prevention. These will involve community-based and public health initiatives for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. In this article, we discuss such interventions, community-based participatory research that has been conducted in this area, and implications for capacity building in genetics research.

Global cardiovascular disease prevention: a call to action for nursing: community-based and public health prevention initiatives.

Policy changes are necessary to promote cardiovascular disease prevention. These will involve community-based and public health initiatives for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. In this article, we discuss such interventions, community-based participatory research that has been conducted in this area, and implications for capacity building in genetics research.

Frequency, severity, and distress of dialysis-related symptoms reported by patients on hemodialysis.

The purpose of this study was to determine which symptoms are the most reported occur most frequently, have the greatest severity, and cause the most bother for patients on hemodialysis (HD), and to determine if the symptoms experienced differ between the first (HD1) and second (HD2) treatments of the week. An observational, comparative design was used to determine participants' HD symptoms experienced on HD1 and HD2, and the effect of the symptom experience on quality of life (QOL). One hundred subjects were recruited from five dialysis centers.

A structured, interactive method for youth participation in a school district-university partnership to prevent obesity.

Background: The involvement of school-age children in participatory research is described in the context of a school district-university partnership to prevent obesity in children. The purpose of this study was to elicit, from children in kindergarten (K) through sixth grade, perceptions of foods and activities that would inform the design of developmentally appropriate interventions to prevent and reduce childhood obesity.

Methods: Children (N = 218) were selected through a random sample of K through sixth grade classrooms in 3 schools.

Sleep in hospitalized elders: a pilot study.

Hospitalized elders frequently experience disturbed sleep related to environmental factors. To determine relationships between sleep and environmental noise and light, a descriptive exploratory study was conducted with 48 hospitalized older adults. Participants aged 70 years or older were monitored for sleep via wrist actigraphy, and noise and light levels were measured the first night of hospitalization.

Quality of life measures for patients on hemodialysis: a review of psychometric properties.

This review describes quality of life (QOL) instruments and evaluates evidence of reliability and validity as obtained from articles where QOL was assessed for patients with end stage renal disease. Articles selected for review were based on the construct of QOL measures for adult patients on hemodialysis (HD). Articles reviewed were in English and published between 1982 and 2007 as identified by searches in Medline, PubMed, Pubmed Central, SCOPUS, and CINAHL.