Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal association between rising violent crime and elevated blood pressure (BP).
Methods: We analyzed 217,816 BP measurements from 17,783 adults during a temporal surge in violent crime in Chicago (2014-2016). Serial observations were abstracted from the electronic health record at an academic medical center and paired to the City of Chicago Police Data Portal. The violent crime rate (VCR) was calculated as the number of violent crimes per 1,000 population per year for each census tract. Longitudinal multilevel regression models were implemented to assess elevated BP (systolic BP ≥ 140 mm Hg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mm Hg) as a function of the VCR, adjusting for patient characteristics, neighborhood characteristics, and time effects. Secondary dependent measures included elevated heart rate, obesity, missed outpatient appointments, all-cause hospital admissions, and cardiovascular hospital admissions.
Results: At baseline, the median VCR was 41.3 (interquartile range: 15.2-66.8), with a maximum rise in VCR of 59.1 over the 3-year surge period. A 20-unit rise in the VCR was associated with 3% higher adjusted odds of having elevated BP (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.06), 8% higher adjusted odds of missing an outpatient appointment (95% CI: 1.03-1.13), and 6% higher adjusted odds of having a cardiovascular-related hospital admission (95% CI: 1.01-1.12); associations were not significant for elevated heart rate and obesity.
Conclusion: Rising violent crime was associated with increased BP during a temporal crime surge.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajh/hpz134 | DOI Listing |
BMC Psychiatry
January 2025
Division of Epidemiology and Social Sciences, Institute for Health and Equity, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA.
Background: During adolescence, a critical developmental phase, cognitive, psychological, and social states interact with the environment to influence behaviors like decision-making and social interactions. Depressive symptoms are more prevalent in adolescents than in other age groups which may affect socio-emotional and behavioral development including academic achievement. Here, we determined the association between depression symptom severity and behavioral impairment among adolescents enrolled in secondary schools of Eastern and Central Uganda.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, 622 West 168th Street, Ste. 876, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated mental health conditions by introducing and/or modifying stressors, particularly in university populations. We examined longitudinal patterns, time-varying predictors, and contemporaneous correlates of moderate-severe psychological distress (MS-PD) among college students. During 2020-2021, participants completed self-administered questionnaires quarterly (T1 = 562, T2 = 334, T3 = 221, and T4 = 169).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChild Abuse Negl
January 2025
Département de psychologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Canada. Electronic address:
Background: Childhood Interpersonal Trauma (CIT) is a major public health issue that increases the risk of perpetrating and sustaining intimate partner violence (IPV) in adulthood, perpetuating intergenerational cycles of violence. Yet, the explanatory mechanisms behind the intergenerational transmission of trauma warrant further exploration.
Objective: This study explored identity diffusion as an explanatory mechanism linking cumulative and individual CIT (sexual, physical and psychological abuse, physical and psychological neglect, witnessing parental physical or psychological IPV, bullying) to IPV (sexual, physical, psychological, coercive control) and to the next generation's exposure to family violence.
Child Abuse Negl
January 2025
Swinburne University of Technology, Department of Psychological Sciences, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia.
Background: Exposure to IPV can negatively impact children's social functioning. However, children exposed to IPV can also display significant strengths. The early educational environment can be a key factor promoting resilience outside of the family, with early educators in an ideal position to identify a broad range of social challenges, strengths and needs of children exposed to IPV.
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