Objective: Driver distraction contributes to fatal and injury crashes in young drivers. Mind wandering (MW) is a covert form of distraction involving task-unrelated thoughts. Brief online mindfulness training (MT) may reduce unsafe driving by enhancing recognition (meta-awareness) of MW and reducing its occurrence. This pilot trial tested these proposed mechanisms of MT and explored its specificity of action, effects on driving behaviour in simulation, as well as intervention adherence and acceptability in young drivers.
Methods: A pre-post (T1, T2), randomized, active placebo-controlled, double-blinded design was used. Twenty-six drivers, aged 21-25, received either brief online MT (experimental) or progressive muscle relaxation (PMR, control) over 4-6 days. A custom website blindly conducted randomization, delivered interventions, administered questionnaires, and tracked adherence. At T1 and T2, a simulator measured driving behaviour while participants indicated MW whenever they recognized it, to assess meta-awareness, and when prompted by a thought-probe, to assess overall MW.
Results: MT reduced MW while driving in simulation. The MT group reported higher state mindfulness following sessions. Motivation did not account for MW or mindfulness results. MT and meta-awareness were associated with more focus-related steering behaviour. Intervention groups did not significantly differ in adherence or attrition. No severe adverse effects were reported, but MT participants reported more difficulty following intervention instructions.
Conclusion: Results support a plausible mechanism of MT for reducing MW-related crash risk (i.e., reduction of MW) in young drivers. This preliminary evidence, alongside promising online adherence and acceptability results, warrants definitive efficacy and effectiveness trials of online MT.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2023.107322 | DOI Listing |
Nutrients
January 2025
Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2617, Australia.
Introduction: Undernutrition in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains a leading public health challenge. It accounts for one-third of the under-five mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study applied the composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF) to assess the prevalence of various standalone and coexisting forms of undernutrition and identify associated risk factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrients
January 2025
Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities Research, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, 1010 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003, USA.
Background/objectives: Nutrient-poor diet quality is a major driver of the global burden of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The US ranks among the lowest in diet quality and has the highest rate of immigration, which may present unique challenges for non-US-native populations who experience changes in access to health-promoting resources. This study examined associations among MetS, nativity status, diet quality, and interaction effects of race-ethnicity among Hispanic, Asian, Black, and White US-native and non-US-native adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancers (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Cancer Biology, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Stritch School of Medicine Health Sciences Division, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 South First Avenue Building 112, Room 205, Maywood, IL 60153, USA.
Background/objectives: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men. The increase in incidence rates of more advanced and aggressive forms of the disease year-to-year fuels urgency to find new therapeutic interventions and bolster already established ones. PCa is a uniquely targetable disease in that it is fueled by male hormones (androgens) that drive tumorigenesis via the androgen receptor or AR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParasit Vectors
January 2025
National Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Background: Despite implementation of effective interventions in the past two decades, malaria is still a major public health problem in Tanzania. This study assessed the prevalence and drivers of malaria infections among symptomatic and asymptomatic members of selected communities from five regions with varying endemicity in mainland Tanzania.
Methods: A cross-sectional community survey was conducted in five districts, including one district/region in Kagera, Kigoma, Njombe, Ruvuma and Tanga from July to August 2023.
Elife
December 2024
Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.
Phantom perceptions like tinnitus occur without any identifiable environmental or bodily source. The mechanisms and key drivers behind tinnitus are poorly understood. The dominant framework, suggesting that tinnitus results from neural hyperactivity in the auditory pathway following hearing damage, has been difficult to investigate in humans and has reached explanatory limits.
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