Risk of Cancer in a Community Exposed to Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) emissions from a plastic coating industrial source in southern New Hampshire (NH) have contaminated at least 65 square miles of drinking water. Prior research indicates that high levels of PFAS are associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes, including an increased risk of cancer. Reports indicate that mean blood serum levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), one type of PFAS, in residents of the exposed community are more than 2 times greater than the mean blood serum level in the US.

Stress and Anxiety are Associated with Lower Gestational Weight Gain in Hispanic Women.

Objective: Prior studies indicate that inadequate and excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) are associated with poor maternal and infant outcomes, and that stress and anxiety may contribute to GWG. However, these studies often failed to use validated measures of stress and anxiety, measured only total GWG, and were limited to largely non-Hispanic White populations. We explored the association between stress and anxiety and GWG.

The Association Between Acculturation and Prenatal Psychosocial Stress Among Latinas.

Latinas experience high levels of stress in pregnancy, however few studies have investigated how acculturation affects pregnancy mental health among Latinas. The goal of this study was to determine if acculturation was associated with pregnancy stress among pregnant, predominantly Puerto Rican women. Participants (n = 1426) were enrolled in Proyecto Buena Salud, a prospective cohort study of Latinas.

Perspectives of health educators and interviewers in a randomized controlled trial of a postpartum diabetes prevention program for Latinas: a qualitative assessment.

Background: Lifestyle interventions regularly rely on study staff to implement the intervention and collect outcomes data directly from study participants. This study describes the experiences of project staff in two randomized controlled trials of a postpartum lifestyle intervention to reduce risk factors for type 2 diabetes in Latinas. Latinas are the fastest growing minority group in the U.

Physical Activity and Risk of Cesarean Delivery in Hispanic Women.

Background: Rates of cesarean delivery continue to increase among Hispanics, the largest minority group in the United States. Prior studies of the relationship between physical activity and cesarean delivery have been conflicting, limited by questionnaires not validated for pregnancy, and conducted primarily among non-Hispanic whites.

Methods: We evaluated this association among participants (n = 1313) in Proyecto Buena Salud, a prospective cohort of Hispanic women conducted from 2006 to 2011.

Prepregnancy Body Mass Index, Gestational Weight Gain, and Odds of Cesarean Delivery in Hispanic Women.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain (GWG), and cesarean delivery in Hispanics.

Methods: We examined these associations among 1,215 participants in Proyecto Buena Salud, a prospective cohort of Hispanic women studied from 2006 to 2011. Prepregnancy BMI, GWG, and the mode of delivery were abstracted from medical records.