Comprehensive nutrition and lifestyle education improves weight loss and physical activity in Hispanic Americans following gastric bypass surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: As morbid obesity increasingly affects Hispanic Americans, the incidence of bariatric procedures among this population is rising. Despite this, prospective research on the effects of comprehensive postoperative education-centered interventions on weight loss and physical activity focused on Hispanic Americans is lacking.

Objective: To examine whether a comprehensive nutrition education and behavior modification intervention improves weight loss and physical activity in Hispanic Americans with obesity following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB).

Healthy Eating Index scores associated with symptoms of depression in Cuban-Americans with and without type 2 diabetes: a cross sectional study.

Background: Low diet quality and depression symptoms are independently associated with poor glycemic control in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, the relationship between them is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the association between diet quality and symptoms of depression among Cuban-Americans with and without T2D living in South Florida.

Methods: Subjects (n = 356) were recruited from randomly selected mailing list.

Work-related respiratory symptoms and lung function among solderers in the electronics industry: a meta-analysis.

Objective: Research on the respiratory effect of exposure to solder fumes in electronics workers has been conducted since the 1970s, but has yielded inconsistent results. The aim of this meta-analysis was to clarify the potential association.

Methods: Effect sizes with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for odds of respiratory symptoms related to soldering and spirometric parameters of solderers were extracted from seven studies and pooled to generate summary estimates and standardized mean differences in lung function measures between exposed persons and controls.

Urinary heavy metals and associated medical conditions in the US adult population.

Health effects of heavy metals have been widely investigated, but further evaluation is required to comprehensively delineate their toxicity. Using data from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed on 1,857 adults to examine the relationship between urinary heavy metals and various medical conditions. Cardiovascular diseases were correlated to cadmium (OR: 4.

Endotoxin exposure and childhood wheeze and asthma: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background: Exposure to endotoxin has been widely investigated as a potential factor for asthma and associated symptoms in children with different results. To clarify a potential relationship, we performed the present meta-analysis to integrate the results of studies examining the association of endotoxin exposure with wheeze and asthma in children.

Methods: A search for relevant studies and reviews was conducted in MEDLINE, Highwire, CINAHL, and The Cochrane Library databases.

BMI and attitudes and beliefs about physical activity and nutrition of parents of adolescents with intellectual disabilities.

Background: The purpose of this study was: (1) to evaluate the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours associated with nutrition and physical activity of parents with adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID); (2) to determine if these variables related to the body mass index (BMI) of the adolescents and the parents' BMI; and (3) to investigate if the parents' perception of their child's weight status was accurate.

Methods: A survey was used to collect information on BMI and attitudes and beliefs about nutrition and physical activity from parents (n = 207) of adolescents with ID attending schools participating in the Best Buddies Program.

Results: Approximately 45% of the adolescents were overweight or obese and over two-thirds of the parents were either overweight or obese.

Hypertension, poor glycemic control, and microalbuminuria in Cuban Americans with type 2 diabetes.

Purpose: To investigate to what degree the presence of hypertension (HTN) and poor glycemic control (GC) influences the likelihood of having microalbuminuria (MAU) among Cuban Americans with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in Cuban Americans (n = 179) with T2D. Participants were recruited from a randomly generated mailing list purchased from Knowledge-Base Marketing, Inc.

Correlates of trichomonas prevalence among street-recruited, drug-using women enrolled in a randomized trial.

Objectives: Substance-using women need prevention technologies and programs to reduce risk of HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI). We examined STI prevalence and identified risk correlates for female drug users.

Methods: We used interviewer-administered and computer-assisted surveys, and tested specimens for four, treatable STIs (trichomonas, early syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia) on 198 HIV-seronegative, street-recruited, substance-using women enrolled in a randomized trial to reduce HIV/STI risk.

Ethnic differences in HIV risk perceptions and behaviors among Black 18-39 year-old residents of Broward County, Florida.

The study assessed ethnic differences in the perceived risks of HIV infection, sexual experiences, and HIV-antibody testing histories among Black populations in Broward County, Florida. Data were analyzed for 2,731 well-characterized survey respondents 18-39 years old who indicated they were African Americans, Caribbean Islanders, English-speaking, or Creole-speaking Haitians. Creole-speaking Haitians were least likely to consider themselves at risk of HIV infection, report using condoms in the last 12 months, and indicate that they had ever been tested for HIV.

Colorectal cancer screening preferences among African Americans: which screening test is preferred?

African Americans are diagnosed at late stages and suffer disproportionately higher mortality rates from colorectal cancer (CRC). Increasing their participation in CRC screening can help reduce these disparities. In-depth personal interviews were conducted with 60 African Americans to understand if CRC test preferences exist and to identify what attributes of screening tests influence test preferences.

Food safety education using an interactive multimedia kiosk in a WIC setting: correlates of client satisfaction and practical issues.

Objective: To assess acceptability of food safety education delivered by interactive multimedia (IMM) in a Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) clinic.

Methods: Female clients or caregivers (n=176) completed the food-handling survey; then an IMM food safety education program on a computer kiosk. Satisfaction with program, participant demographics, and change in food-handling behavior were assessed by univariate analyses.

Diarrheal illness among women, infants, and children (WIC) program participants in Miami, Florida: implications for nutrition education.

Objective: To assess risk factors for diarrheal illness among clients of a Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic in Miami, FL.

Design: A cross-sectional survey with questions about demographics, food safety practices, and diarrheal illness.

Setting: WIC clinic operated by the Miami-Dade County Health Department in Florida.

Breast cancer knowledge and barriers to mammography in a low-income managed care population.

Background: Low-income women experience multiple barriers to screening mammography. This study explored cancer knowledge as a point of intervention to reduce overall barriers.

Methods: A survey of breast cancer knowledge and barriers was obtained from 173 low-income female residents of Middle Tennessee, > or =40 years, enrolled in the state managed care organization and nonadherent to mammography.

Obesity and incremental hospital charges among patients with and without diabetes in the United States.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to estimate the association between obesity and diabetes among inpatients in the United States as well as to investigate the incremental hospital charges attributable to obesity or morbid obesity.

Methods: We analyzed the Nationwide Inpatient Sample 2005, a nationally representative probability sample that includes nearly 8 million inpatient records from US community hospitals.

Results: During the past decade, the obesity among inpatients has steeply increased.

Improving treatment through research: directing attention to the role of development in adolescent treatment success.

Treatment of adolescents with alcohol use problems can be as successful as in adults, but the success often is short-lived, with most treated adolescents relapsing within a few months. Developmental differences among adolescents may contribute to this high rate of relapse, and treatment approaches that pay direct attention to the patients' developmental status may improve outcomes. To date, studies assessing adolescent alcohol treatment rarely have investigated the association between developmental stage and outcome.

Which college students are at higher health risk?

An electronic health risk appraisal was used to determine which demographic factors were associated with higher health risk among college students at an urban state university. Students' real age was assessed as the primary indicator of health risk and it was associated to demographic characteristics. Real age represents the physiological age of the body based on lifestyle choices, and this is often different to chronological age.

Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among a sample of HIV-positive and HIV-negative females visiting an urban VCT center in Haiti.

The knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of over 43,000 women attending the Groupe Hatien d'Etude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes (GHESKIO) Centers in Haiti between 1999-2004 were examined. Comparative analyses were conducted for several sub-samples. Analyses revealed that across the entire sample, HIV-positive women appeared to engage in more risky behaviors than HIV-negative women (p< .

Crack-cocaine use accelerates HIV disease progression in a cohort of HIV-positive drug users.

Background: HIV infection is prevalent among substance abusers. The effects of specific illicit drugs on HIV disease progression have not been established. We evaluated the relationship between substances of abuse and HIV disease progression in a cohort of HIV-1-positive active drug users.

Effects of a culturally adapted HIV prevention intervention in Haitian youth.

This study assessed the impact of an 8-week community-based translation of Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART), an HIV intervention that has been shown to be effective in other at-risk adolescent populations. A sample of Haitian adolescents living in the Miami area was randomized to a general health education control group (n = 101) or the BART intervention (n = 145), which was based on the information-motivation-behavior (IMB) model. Improvement in various IMB components (i.

Knowledge of Florida nurses and dietitians regarding dietary supplements.

Background: Health care professionals should exhibit competency about dietary supplements to support the high number of Americans taking these products.

Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge of Florida nurses and dietitians regarding dietary supplements.

Methods: Florida nurses (n=600) and dietitians (n=600) were randomly selected to participate in a self-reported online survey.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha inducing spatial interactions between calcium-sensing receptor and L-type voltage-dependent calcium channel.

The temporal and spatial regulation of intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) is very crucial for maintaining calcium ion homeostasis within cells, and consequently in the regulation of cellular functions such as beta cell replication and differentiation, insulin secretion, and apoptosis. Calcium ion regulatory proteins playing major roles in these processes include L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (L-type VDCCs) and calcium-sensing receptors (CaRs). Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), a cytokine, is widely known to activate nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) transcription in beta cells.

Practices, attitudes, and beliefs regarding dietary supplements among Florida's dietitians and nurses.

This study investigated the practices, attitudes, and beliefs of Florida's nurses and dietitians regarding dietary supplements (DS). Eighty-nine dietitians and 64 nurses responded to a self-reported online survey about nutrient-based supplements, defined as nutrients taken to supplement the diet for enhancing health, and herbal supplements, defined as plants used for enhancing health rather than food seasoning. Personal use of nutrient-based supplements for treatment of a health condition was higher among nurses (67%) than dietitians (42%) (p <.

A psychotherapy model for treating refugee children caught in the midst of catastrophic situations.

A psychotherapy model for treating child and adolescent refugees caught in the midst of catastrophic situations is proposed. Empirical studies of the peri-traumatic period, comprised between the moment of departure and up to the moment of arrival of the refugees to the sheltering country, are scarce and difficult to complete. A review of the literature reveals that negative, long term mental health outcomes in these populations are related to autonomic dysregulation and impaired narratives of the events, which result from exposure to overwhelming stress.

Are women with functional limitations at high risk of underutilization of mammography screening?

Objectives: Women with functional limitations face obstacles in adhering to established mammography guidelines owing to personal factors and barriers within the health care system. Whereas some studies have focused on either physical or cognitive limitations that correlate with lower rates of cancer screening, this study examined multiple functional limitations (physical, psychological, and sociability) and mammography screening.

Methods: Data from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed for 9,505 women aged > or =40 years.

The relationship between the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) and hospital profitability.

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) reduced the payment for fees for service providers and reduced the subsidy paid by the government for teaching hospitals. Since the passage of such cost containment measures, debates regarding their impact on hospitals, graduate medical education, and access to health care were raised. The need to examine the effect of such payment reduction on hospital profitability was widely ignored.