Protective Effect of Hand-Washing and Good Hygienic Habits Against Seasonal Influenza: A Case-Control Study.

Previous observational studies have reported protective effects of hand-washing in reducing upper respiratory infections, little is known about the associations between hand-washing and good hygienic habits and seasonal influenza infection. We conducted a case-control study to test whether the risk of influenza transmission associated with self-reported hand-washing and unhealthy hygienic habits among residents in Fujian Province, southeastern China.Laboratory confirmed seasonal influenza cases were consecutively included in the study as case-patients (n = 100).

Incidence of Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis in Rhode Island: Report from the Ocean State Crohn's and Colitis Area Registry.

Background: Studies describing the incidence of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are uncommon in the United States. We sought to determine the incidence of CD and UC in the state of Rhode Island.

Methods: The Ocean State Crohn's and Colitis Area Registry is a state-based inception cohort of patients newly diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Rhode Island.

Disability and Risk of Recent Sexual Violence in the United States.

Objectives: To examine the relative prevalence of recent (past 12 months) penetrative and nonpenetrative sexual violence comparing men and women with and without a disability.

Methods: Data are from the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, a national telephone survey of US adults, and includes an expansive measure of sexual violence victimization. A total of 9086 women and 7421 men completed the telephone survey in 2010.

Epidemiology of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Bangladeshi Children Before Introduction of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine.

Background: Because Bangladesh intended to introduce pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV)-10 in 2015, we examined the baseline burden of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) to measure impact of PCV.

Methods: During 2007-2013, we performed blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures in children <5 years old with suspected IPD identified through active surveillance at 4 hospitals. Isolates were serotyped by quellung and tested for antibiotic susceptibility by disc diffusion and E-test.

Differences in Chronic Disease Behavioral Indicators by Sexual Orientation and Sex.

Context: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations experience significant health inequities in preventive behaviors and chronic disease compared with non-LGB populations.

Objectives: To examine differences in physical activity and diet by sexual orientation and sex subgroups and to assess the influences of home and neighborhood environments on these relationships.

Design: A population-based survey conducted in 2013-2014.

Changing Antiretroviral Eligibility Criteria: Impact on the Number and Proportion of Adults Requiring Treatment in Swaziland.

Objective: Early initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) at CD4 cell count ≥ 500 cells per microliter reduces morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected adults. We determined the proportion of HIV-infected people with high viral load (VL) for whom transmission prevention would be an additional benefit of early treatment.

Design: A randomly selected subset of a nationally representative sample of HIV-infected adults in Swaziland in 2012.

Coronary Heart Disease Mortality Declines in the United States From 1979 Through 2011: Evidence for Stagnation in Young Adults, Especially Women.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates have fallen dramatically over the past 4 decades in the Western world. However, recent data from the United States and elsewhere suggest a plateauing of CHD incidence and mortality among young women. We therefore examined recent trends in CHD mortality rates in the United States according to age and sex.

Implementation and Operational Research: Strengthening HIV Test Access and Treatment Uptake Study (Project STATUS): A Randomized Trial of HIV Testing and Counseling Interventions.

Objective: To determine which of 3 HIV testing and counseling (HTC) models in outpatient departments (OPDs) increases HIV testing and entry of newly identified HIV-infected patients into care.

Design: Randomized trial of HTC interventions.

Methods: Thirty-six OPDs in South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda were randomly assigned to 3 different HTC models: (A) health care providers referred eligible patients (aged 18-49, not tested in the past year, not known HIV positive) to on-site voluntary counseling and testing for HTC offered and provided by voluntary counseling and testing counselors after clinical consultation; (B) health care providers offered and provided HTC to eligible patients during clinical consultation; and (C) nurse or lay counselors offered and provided HTC to eligible patients before clinical consultation.

Prevalence and Impact of Chagas Disease Among Latin American Immigrants With Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy in Los Angeles, California.

Background: Chagas disease is a well-known cause of cardiomyopathy in Latin America; however, 300 000 individuals are estimated to have Chagas disease in the United States. This study examined the prevalence and impact of Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCM) in a US population. We hypothesized that patients with CCM would have increased morbidity and mortality when compared with patients with non-CCM.

Elevated Soluble CD14 and Lower D-Dimer Are Associated With Cigarette Smoking and Heavy Episodic Alcohol Use in Persons Living With HIV.

Background: Persons living with HIV are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease in part because of persistent inflammation and coagulation activation.

Methods: We examined whether smoking and heavy episodic alcohol use (defined as 5 or more drinks on one occasion) were associated with greater monocyte activation (soluble CD14) and coagulation (D-dimer) in participants in the Study to Understand the Natural History of HIV and AIDS in the Era of Effective Therapy (the "SUN" Study), a prospective observational cohort.

Results: Using regression analysis (n = 689), current smoking compared with nonsmoking was associated with significantly elevated soluble CD14 (B = 135.

Measuring quality of life in muscular dystrophy.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to develop a conceptual model of quality of life (QOL) in muscular dystrophies (MDs) and review existing QOL measures for use in the MD population.

Methods: Our model for QOL among individuals with MD was developed based on a modified Delphi process, literature review, and input from patients and patient advocacy organizations. Scales that have been used to measure QOL among patients with MD were identified through a literature review and evaluated using the COSMIN (Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments) checklist.

Environmental public health tracking: driving environmental health information.

Context: Historically, public health professionals lacked the capacity to evaluate and conduct key investigations into the health of their environment. By bringing together environmental and health effects data from a variety of data sources, the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking) allows users to easily analyze and research the relationships between human health and the environment.

Objective: As the Tracking Network has matured, its information has been used to guide public health actions, generate hypothesis, and demonstrate relationships between environment and health outcomes.

Treatment Outcomes of Patients with Tuberculosis in New York City.

Context: Treatment completion for tuberculosis (TB) is one of the essential components of TB prevention and control. Delays in treatment completion and incomplete treatment can result in increased transmission, development of drug resistance, and increased morbidity and mortality. Understanding the reasons for poor treatment outcomes may help improve TB control efforts.

HIV and STI prevalence and risk factors among male sex workers and other men who have sex with men in Nairobi, Kenya.

: Previous surveys of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Africa have not adequately profiled HIV status and risk factors by sex work status. MSM in Nairobi, Kenya, were recruited using respondent-driven sampling, completed a behavioral interview, and were tested for HIV and sexually transmitted infections. Overlapping recruitment among 273 male sex workers and 290 other MSM was common.

Mass screening and treatment on the basis of results of a Plasmodium falciparum-specific rapid diagnostic test did not reduce malaria incidence in Zanzibar.

Background: Seasonal increases in malaria continue in hot spots in Zanzibar. Mass screening and treatment (MSAT) may help reduce the reservoir of infection; however, it is unclear whether rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) detect a sufficient proportion of low-density infections to influence subsequent transmission.

Methods: Two rounds of MSAT using Plasmodium falciparum-specific RDT were conducted in 5 hot spots (population, 12 000) in Zanzibar in 2012.

Risk for hepatitis B and C virus transmission in nail salons and barbershops and state regulatory requirements to prevent such transmission in the United States.

Context: The potential for hepatitis B and C virus (HBV/HCV) transmission in nail salons and barbershops has been reported, but a systematic review has not been conducted. These businesses are regulated by state cosmetology or barbering boards, but adequacy of sanitary requirements has not been evaluated.

Objectives: To conduct literature review to assess risk for HBV/HCV transmission in nail salons and barbershops and to evaluate sanitary requirements in HBV/HCV prevention in these businesses in 50 states and District of Columbia.

Characteristics of the built environment in relation to objectively measured physical activity among Mexican adults, 2011.

Introduction: The built environment correlates of physical activity are documented in high-income countries but have yet to be studied among Mexican adults. Our objectives were to assess the associations between characteristics of the built environment and physical activity among adults in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and to examine potential moderation by perceived park and neighborhood safety.

Methods: We conducted a population-based study of adults in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 2011 (N = 677).

Key informant interviews with coordinators of special events conducted to increase cancer screening in the United States.

Special events such as health fairs, cultural festivals and charity runs are commonly employed in the community to increase cancer screening; however, little is known about their effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to assess the activities, screening outcomes, barriers and recommendations of special events to increase breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening. In-depth interviews were conducted nationally with 51 coordinators of events in June to September 2012.

An overview of measurement activities in the partnership for patients.

The Partnership for Patients, launched in April 2011, is a national quality improvement initiative from the Department of Health and Human Services that has set ambitious goals for U.S. providers to improve patient safety and care transitions.

National and regional estimates of term and preterm babies born small for gestational age in 138 low-income and middle-income countries in 2010.

Background: National estimates for the numbers of babies born small for gestational age and the comorbidity with preterm birth are unavailable. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of term and preterm babies born small for gestational age (term-SGA and preterm-SGA), and the relation to low birthweight (<2500 g), in 138 countries of low and middle income in 2010.

Methods: Small for gestational age was defined as lower than the 10th centile for fetal growth from the 1991 US national reference population.

Individual, family, and community predictors of overweight and obesity among colombian children and adolescents.

Introduction: Information from high-income countries is often used to design childhood obesity prevention interventions in low- and middle-income countries, even though determinants may differ greatly between settings.

Methods: We examined the associations of individual, family (household), and community (municipality) characteristics with body mass index (BMI) z scores and likelihood of overweight among children aged 5 to 18 years measured for the Colombian National Nutrition surveys of 2005 (n = 9,119) and 2010 (n = 21,520). We used 3-level hierarchical linear models with child as level 1, household as level 2, and municipality as level 3.

Collaboratively reframing mental health for integration of HIV care in Ethiopia.

Background: Integrating mental health with general medical care can increase access to mental health services, but requires helping generalists acquire a range of unfamiliar knowledge and master potentially complex diagnostic and treatment processes.

Method: We describe a model for integrating complex specialty care with generalist/primary care, using as an illustration the integration of mental health into hospital-based HIV treatment services in Ethiopia. Generalists and specialists collaboratively developed mental health treatments to fit the knowledge, skills and resources of the generalists.