American journal of preventive medicine
-
Observational Study
Diet Quality and the Gut Microbiota in Women Living in Alabama.
The gut microbiota is associated with obesity and modulated by individual dietary components. However, the relationships between diet quality and the gut microbiota and their potential interactions with weight status in diverse populations are not well understood. This study examined the associations between overall diet quality, weight status, and the gut microbiota in a racially balanced sample of adult females. ⋯ Diet quality measured by the HEI was associated with alpha diversity of the gut microbiota among adult females. Abundances of phyla that have been linked with weight status (Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes) were positively associated with diet quality.
-
Less than half of U.S. adolescents with major depressive disorder receive treatment. Despite the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force 2016 statement supporting primary care major depressive disorder screening, there is limited data examining whether positive screens prompt treatment engagement. This study evaluated treatment engagement following a positive Patient Health Questionnaire-Adolescent Version screen and assessed the impact of demographics, clinical variables, and provider recommendations on treatment engagement. ⋯ Less than half of adolescents with a positive Patient Health Questionnaire-Adolescent Version at an academic primary care clinic engaged with treatment. Provider recommendation was an impactful intervention to improve mental healthcare treatment engagement.
-
This study explored the associations between midlife obesity and an array of common financial stressors related to wealth loss, debt, and bankruptcy. ⋯ The financial correlates of obesity included multiple financial stressors, but the magnitude of associations varied substantially across types of financial stressors. Results suggest that future interventions aimed at reducing obesity disparities should target populations with high levels of debt and bankruptcy.
-
This study compares rural and urban differences in the rates of nonfatal self-harm in the U.S. in 2018. ⋯ Comprehensive suicide prevention strategies tailored to rural communities may mitigate the rural-urban disparity in morbidity from suicidal behavior.
-
Including race as a biological construct in risk prediction models may guide clinical decisions in ways that cause harm and widen racial disparities. This study reports on using race versus social determinants of health (SDoH) in predicting the associations between cardiometabolic disease severity (assessed using cardiometabolic disease staging) and COVID-19 hospitalization. ⋯ Cardiometabolic disease staging was predictive of hospitalization after a positive COVID-19 test. Adding race did not markedly increase the predictive ability; however, adding SDoH to the model improved the area under the curve to ≥0.80. Future research should include SDoH with biological variables in prediction modeling to capture social experience of race.