Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2024
Multicenter StudyFirearm violence and associated factors among young adults presenting to emergency departments in three cities: Baseline results from Project SPARK.
Recent shifts in U.S. violence dynamics call for updated violence epidemiology among general emergency department (ED) samples of young adults. Using baseline data from a multi-site longitudinal study of firearm violence prediction, we describe violence rates and associated factors. ⋯ Violence, including firearm assault, is common among young adults entering urban EDs, and is associated with several psychosocial factors. High rates of substance use and mental health symptoms underscore this as a high-need population. Leveraging this information could help tailor interventions and optimize resource allocation.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2024
Association of watching sports games with subsequent health and well-being among adults in Japan: An outcome-wide longitudinal approach.
Although the health benefits of playing sports are well-known, the association between watching sports and health is not well understood. We examined the longitudinal association of watching sports with 20 different health and well-being outcomes. ⋯ Despite the observed detrimental association between watching sports and cardiometabolic health, which should be interpreted cautiously and studied further, the study findings suggest that watching sports could be a new modifiable protective factor for developing healthy lifestyles and improving mental well-being.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2024
Secular trends of physical fitness in Austrian children attending sports schools: An analysis of repeated cross-sections from 2006 to 2023.
Physical fitness (PF) offers numerous physical and mental health benefits, especially during childhood. Previous studies investigating trends in children's PF over the years reported contradictory findings. ⋯ There has been a steady decline in PF among Austrian children attending sports schools. This finding underscores the need for enhanced PF monitoring and training in schools to improve public health outcomes.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2024
Food insecurity and substance use among young adults in the United States.
The purpose of this study was to examine the association between food insecurity and substance use among young adults aged 18-25 in the U.S. ⋯ Food insecurity may serve as an important indicator of substance use among young adults. Practitioners should consider screening for food insecurity, providing information about food access, and developing interventions to address food insecurity among the young adults with whom they work. Future research should examine these associations prospectively to better understand how food insecurity may contribute to the initiation and/or escalation of substance use.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2024
Perceptions of neighborhood disorder and gun carrying during adolescence: The indirect effect of exposure to violence.
As society strives to curb gun violence among adolescents, understanding the risk factors associated with gun carrying is of critical importance. The current study seeks to examine the relationship between perceived neighborhood disorder and adolescents' susceptibility to carrying a gun to school. More specifically, the aim of the current study was threefold: (1) to examine the direct relationship between perceived neighborhood disorder and exposure to violence, (2) to investigate the association between perceived neighborhood disorder and gun carrying, and (3) to test the mediating effect of exposure to violence on the relationship between perceived neighborhood disorder and gun carrying. ⋯ While neighborhood disorder is a risk factor for gun carrying among youth, exposure to violence explains the relationship between perceived neighborhood disorder and carrying a gun to school. To reduce the prevalence of gun carrying and gun violence among the adolescent population, mental health resources should be provided to those who reside in communities with high levels of disorder and violence.