Dietary contributors to fermentable carbohydrate intake in healthy American college students.

Objective: The study explored food items that contribute most toward increased fermentable carbohydrate (FC) intake and its association with diet quality in college students.

Method: This cross-sectional study included 571 consented college students (≥18 years) with reported energy intakes (500-3500 kcal/day for women; 800-4000 kcal/day for men). FC intake and healthy eating index-2015 (HEI-2015) scores were assessed by diet history questionnaire-II.

The Mediating Role of Impulsivity Between Psychological Distress and Alcohol Misuse Among College Students at a Historically Black University.

Alcohol misuse is prevalent and clinically significant among college students. Psychological distress is one factor that has been found to predict alcohol misuse in this population. However, relatively few investigations examined the association of psychological distress to alcohol misuse or its underlying mechanisms among students attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Impact of medication adherence on risk of ischemic stroke, major bleeding and deep vein thrombosis in atrial fibrillation patients using novel oral anticoagulants.

Objectives: Our study examined the impact of adherence to novel oral anticoagulants [NOACs - dabigatran and rivaroxaban] on ischemic-stroke (IS), major-bleeding (MB), deep-vein-thrombosis and pulmonary-embolism (DVTPE) risk in a large, nationwide, propensity-matched sample.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study utilized data from a US commercial managed-care database (2010-2012). Adult patients with ≥1 diagnosis of atrial fibrillation/flutter (ICD-9 427.

Testosterone and progesterone concentrations in blow samples are biologically relevant in belugas (Delphinapterus leucas).

Steroid hormone analysis in blow (respiratory vapor) may provide a minimally invasive way to assess the reproductive status of wild cetaceans. Biological validation of the method is needed to allow for the interpretation of hormone measurements in blow samples. Utilizing samples collected from trained belugas (Delphinapterus leucas, n=20), enzyme immunoassays for testosterone and progesterone were validated for use with beluga blow samples.

Validation of 5 stage-of-change measures for parental support of healthy eating and activity.

Objective: To assess the validity of 5 parental stage-of-change (SOC) measures: (1) providing 5 servings/d of fruits and vegetables (FV), (2) limiting television (TV) to 2 h/d, (3) helping children achieve 1 h/d physical activity (PA), (4) limiting sugary drinks (SD) to 1 serving/wk, and (5) limiting fruit juice (FJ) to 4-6 oz/d.

Design: Cross-sectional instrument development study. Construct validity was evaluated by examining whether parental self-efficacy, parental readiness ladder (ladder), and child's behavioral levels (eg, FV consumption) exhibited a theoretically consistent pattern across the SOC.

Assessing parental self-efficacy for obesity prevention related behaviors.

Background: Reliable, valid and theoretically consistent measures that assess a parent's self-efficacy for helping a child with obesity prevention behaviors are lacking.

Objectives: To develop measures of parental self-efficacy for four behaviors: 1) helping their child get at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity every day, 2) helping one's child consume five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, 3) limiting sugary drinks to once a week, and 4) limiting consumption of fruit juice to 6 ounces every day.

Methods: Sequential methods of scale development were used.

Brief motivational and parent interventions for college students: a randomized factorial study.

Objective: Using a randomized factorial design, we examined the efficacy of a brief motivational intervention (BMI) and a parent-based intervention (PBI) as universal preventive interventions to reduce alcohol use among incoming college students.

Method: Participants (N = 1,014) were assessed prior to matriculation and at 10 months and 22 months postbaseline. Two-part latent growth modeling was used to simultaneously examine initiation and growth in heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related consequences.

Predictors of college student support for alcohol control policies and stricter enforcement strategies.

Objectives: With alcohol-related problems remaining a concern on college campuses, prevention efforts are increasingly directed to addressing the environmental factors that encourage consumption. This study examined students' support for alcohol control policies, correlates of that support, and actual vs. perceived peer support.

Brief motivational intervention and alcohol expectancy challenge with heavy drinking college students: a randomized factorial study.

This study is the first reported test of the unique and combined effects of Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI) and Alcohol Expectancy Challenge (AEC) with heavy drinking college students. Three hundred and thirty-five participants were randomly assigned in a 2x2 factorial design to either: BMI, AEC, BMI and AEC, and assessment only conditions. Follow-ups occurred at 1, 3, and 6 months.

Transtheoretical principles and processes for quitting smoking: a 24-month comparison of a representative sample of quitters, relapsers, and non-quitters.

This longitudinal study compared 14 principles and processes of change applied by successful quitters, relapsers and non-quitters over 24 months in a representative sample of 4144 smokers in intervention and control groups. The successful quitters showed a decrease in the use of experiential processes (cognitive, affective and effective) and an increase in behavioral processes (e.g.

Binge drinking and health behavior in medical students.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of binge drinking and its relation to other health behaviors, drinking-related attitudes and perceived social norms among German medical students.

Methods: 271 first-year German medical students completed a cross-sectional, self-administered survey. A total of 252 (62% female and 38% male) students provided useable surveys.

Demographic differences in support for smoking policy interventions.

The Smoking Policy Inventory (SPI) is a 35-item scale, which measures attitudes towards tobacco control policies. The five dimensions of the SPI are advertising and promotion, public education, laws and penalties, taxes and fees, and restrictions on smoking. The SPI has been applied to different samples, both in the USA and internationally.

The utility of collateral informant assessment in college alcohol research: results from a longitudinal prevention trial.

Objective: Collateral informants have been used to assess independently the validity of college student self-report data. However, it is unclear under what conditions collateral reports might be valid and useful in college research. We present two studies that examine aspects of these issues using data from 1,264 college student participants in a brief intervention prevention trial conducted at a public university.

Stage-based expert systems to guide a population of primary care patients to quit smoking, eat healthier, prevent skin cancer, and receive regular mammograms.

Background: Treating multiple health behavior risks on a population basis is one of the most promising approaches to enhancing health and reducing health care costs. Previous research demonstrated the efficacy of expert system interventions for three behaviors in a population of parents. The interventions provide individualized feedback that guides participants through the stages of change for each of their risk behaviors.

Multiple risk expert systems interventions: impact of simultaneous stage-matched expert system interventions for smoking, high-fat diet, and sun exposure in a population of parents.

Three stage-based expert system interventions for smoking, high-fat diet, and unsafe sun exposure were evaluated in a sample of 2,460 parents of teenagers. Eighty-four percent of the eligible parents were enrolled in a 2-arm randomized control trial, with the treatment group receiving individualized feedback reports for each of their relevant behaviors at 0, 6, and 12 months as well as a multiple behavior manual. At 24 months, the expert system outperformed the comparison condition across all 3 risk behaviors, resulting in 22% of the participants in action or maintenance for smoking (vs.

Approaches to brief intervention for hazardous drinking in young people.

This article represents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2002 joint conference of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism in San Francisco. The chair was John B. Saunders.

Rethinking positive and negative aspects of alcohol use: suggestions from a comparison of alcohol expectancies and decisional balance.

Objective: Few studies have compared similar alcohol-related constructs such as alcohol expectancies and decisional balance: two conceptualizations of the positive and negative aspects of alcohol. The purpose of this study was to compare these constructs and to examine their ability to predict alcohol use and problems.

Method: A sample of 406 college students recruited from Psychology courses at a mid-sized Northeastern University completed a questionnaire that included measures of alcohol expectancies, decisional balance, drinking indices and drinking problems.

Challenges to improving the impact of worksite cancer prevention programs: comparing reach, enrollment, and attrition using active versus passive recruitment strategies.

Objective: The impact of worksite intervention studies is maximized when reach and enrollment are high and attrition is low. Differences in reach, enrollment, and retention were investigated by comparing 2 different employee recruitment methods for a home-based cancer-prevention intervention study.

Methods: Twenty-two worksites (N = 10,014 employees) chose either active or passive methods to recruit employees into a home-based intervention study.