Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Sep 2014
Cancer incidence due to excess body weight and leisure-time physical inactivity in Canada: implications for prevention.
This analysis aimed to estimate the number of incident cases of various cancers attributable to excess body weight (overweight, obesity) and leisure-time physical inactivity annually in Canada. ⋯ Thousands of incident cases of cancer could be prevented annually in Canada as good evidence exists for effective interventions to reduce these risk factors in the population.
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Preventive medicine · Sep 2014
ReviewAligning health information technologies with effective service delivery models to improve chronic disease care.
Healthcare reforms in the United States, including the Affordable Care and HITECH Acts, and the NCQA criteria for the Patient Centered Medical Home have promoted health information technology (HIT) and the integration of general medical and mental health services. These developments, which aim to improve chronic disease care, have largely occurred in parallel, with little attention to the need for coordination. In this article, the fundamental connections between HIT and improvements in chronic disease management are explored. We use the evidence-based collaborative care model as an example, with attention to health literacy improvement for supporting patient engagement in care. ⋯ HIT, and particularly mobile health, can enhance collaborative care interventions, and thus improve the health of individuals and populations when deployed in integrated delivery systems.
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Preventive medicine · Sep 2014
Employment and risk of injection drug use initiation among street involved youth in Canadian setting.
Youth unemployment has been associated with labour market and health disparities. However, employment as a determinant of high-risk health behaviour among marginalized young people has not been well described. We sought to assess a potential relationship between employment status and initiation of intravenous drug use among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth. ⋯ A lack of employment among street-involved youth was associated with the initiation of injection drug use, a practice that predisposes individuals to serious long-term health consequences. Future research should examine if reducing barriers to labour market involvement among street-involved youth prevents transitions into high-risk drug use.
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Preventive medicine · Sep 2014
Posttraumatic stress disorder and new-onset diabetes among adult survivors of the World Trade Center disaster.
To explore the temporal relationship between 9/11-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and new-onset diabetes in World Trade Center (WTC) survivors up to 11 years after the attack in 2001. ⋯ This exploratory study found that PTSD, a common 9/11-related health outcome, was a risk factor for self-reported diabetes. Clinicians treating survivors of both the WTC attacks and other disasters should be aware that diabetes may be a long-term consequence.
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Preventive medicine · Sep 2014
Bidirectional association between mental health and physical activity in older adults: Whitehall II prospective cohort study.
To investigate longitudinal and bidirectional associations between mental health and physical activity from midlife into old age. ⋯ From midlife to old age, greater physical activity is associated with better mental health and vice versa. These findings suggest persistent longitudinal and bidirectional associations between physical activity and mental health.