American journal of preventive medicine
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Levels of gun ownership and lethal violence in the U.S. far surpass those in any other developed country, and yet, there is little known about the origins of these trends owing to a lack of historical data on the prevalence of gun ownership. To fill this gap, this study extends an existing proxy for household gun ownership rates-firearm suicides divided by suicides-from 1949 to 2020, including new coverage for the 1949 to 1972 period. ⋯ Unlike most gun prevalence measures that are representative at the national or regional level, this proxy represents household gun ownership trends at the state level and is not reliant on self-reported data that are prone to social desirability bias. This extended proxy represents the longest-ranging data set of state-level gun ownership rates to date.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The STAR-MAMA randomized controlled trial: bilingual mobile health coaching for postpartum weight loss.
Gestational diabetes and overweight during pregnancy are associated with future type 2 diabetes. Postpartum weight loss can reduce diabetes risk. However, effective interventions for postpartum weight loss are lacking, in particular for Latina populations, despite their disproportionate burdens of gestational diabetes, overweight, and diabetes. ⋯ A postpartum health coaching intervention, designed for low-income Latina women at increased risk for diabetes, did not reduce postpartum weight gain. Intervention effects were nonsignificantly more favorable among English speakers versus Spanish speakers, and among those who perceived their diabetes risk to be high versus low.
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The 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association blood pressure guideline redefined hypertension and lowered the blood pressure treatment target. Empirical data on the guideline's impact are needed. ⋯ There were small decreases in systolic blood pressure and increases in antihypertensive therapy among older adults reclassified to Stage 2 hypertension but not among those reclassified to Stage 1 hypertension by the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline.
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To mitigate the harms of arrest and incarceration on health and racial equity, jurisdictions are increasingly enacting reforms to decriminalize drug possession through prosecutorial discretion (de facto). Impacts on health outcomes rely on whether this policy can reduce exposure to the carceral system among people who use drugs; however, data evaluating effects on arrest are lacking. This study explores the possible impacts of Baltimore City's enactment of de facto decriminalization on arrests by race. ⋯ De facto decriminalization may be a promising strategy to reduce exposure to the carceral system, an established risk factor for overdose and other drug-related sequelae and a driver of racial disparities in the U.S. Further research is needed to elucidate the drivers of persisting racial disparities and disentangle policy effects from pandemic-related closures.