Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
Sitting at work & waist circumference-A cross-sectional study of Australian workers.
Studies examining associations of sitting time at work with obesity measures have produced inconsistent findings. Different sample characteristics across studies, e.g., the composition of different occupational groups, may be one explanation for the mixed findings. We examined cross-sectional associations of workplace sitting time with waist circumference in workers engaged in desk-based work and those engaged in other work settings using a population-based sample of Australian workers. ⋯ Our findings support interventions to decrease occupational sitting time for desk-based workers to reduce their cardio-metabolic risk. Differential associations observed between desk-based and non-desk-based workers and between genders may be attributable to the ways in which sitting time is accumulated. Future research is needed to examine the impact of behavior patterns at work (sitting breaks, occupational physical activity) on adiposity in working adults.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
Patterns of tobacco use and nicotine dependence among youth, United States, 2017-2018.
This study examined patterns of tobacco product use and their association with nicotine dependence among U. S. youth. Combined data from the 2017-2018 National Youth Tobacco Surveys were analyzed for students that reported current (past-30-day) use of e-cigarettes, cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, or hookah (n = 6106). ⋯ Combustible product use, smokeless tobacco use, multiple product use and frequent use were associated with greater odds of nicotine dependence. Nicotine dependence among youth is especially influenced by cigarette use, smokeless tobacco use, frequent use of any tobacco product, and multiple product use. Proven tobacco control interventions in coordination with regulatory efforts can reduce youth tobacco product use.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
ReviewContributing factors to personal protective equipment shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study investigates the forces that contributed to severe shortages in personal protective equipment in the US during the COVID-19 crisis. Problems from a dysfunctional costing model in hospital operating systems were magnified by a very large demand shock triggered by acute need in healthcare and panicked marketplace behavior that depleted domestic PPE inventories. ⋯ We conclude that market prices are not appropriate mechanisms for rationing inputs to health because health is a public good. Removing the profit motive for purchasing PPE in hospital costing models, strengthening government capacity to maintain and distribute stockpiles, developing and enforcing regulations, and pursuing strategic industrial policy to reduce US dependence on imported PPE will help to better protect healthcare workers with adequate supplies of PPE.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
ReviewExamining aspects of successful community-based programs promoting cancer screening uptake to reduce cancer health disparity: A systematic review.
Certain minorities in the US are disproportionately burdened with higher cancer incidence and mortality rates. Programs encouraging timely uptake of cancer screening measures serve to reduce cancer health disparities. A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the effectiveness and the qualities of these programs, and to elucidate characteristics of success programs to aid in designing of future ones. ⋯ Only 7 programs had control groups, only 4 programs independently verified screening uptake, and 2 programs had long-term follow-up (defined as more than one screening cycle). Only one program demonstrated elimination of cancer health disparity at a population level. While most community-based cancer prevention programs have demonstrated efficacy in terms of increased knowledge and/or screening uptake, scalability and demonstration in reduction at a population level remain a challenge.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2020
Correlates of school gun carrying among black, Hispanic, and white male adolescents: Evidence from a nationally representative sample of youth.
Previous studies have found that individual, environmental, geographic, and demographic factors correlate with adolescent gun carrying. Comparatively less research has focused on identifying correlates of adolescent gun carrying to schools. The current study examined whether previously identified factors associated with adolescent gun carrying similarly predict adolescent school gun carrying. ⋯ Future research should attempt to replicate these and other studies findings across diverse samples of adolescents and identify other potential correlates of adolescent school gun carrying not previously addressed. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Mental health, school-level, and geographic factors are associated with school guncarrying differentially across race and ethnicity. Programming efforts may benefit fromconsidering the influence of race/ethnicity on dynamic risk factors for school guncarrying when designing and implementing school safety measures.