American journal of preventive medicine
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A variety of industry composite indices are employed within health research in risk-adjusted outcome measures and to assess health-related social needs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationships among risk adjustment, clinical outcomes, and composite indices of social risk have become relevant topics for research and healthcare operations. Despite the widespread use of these indices, composite indices are often comprised of correlated variables and therefore may be affected by information duplicity of their underlying risk factors. ⋯ A robust method is provided, designed to overcome challenges with current social risk indices, by accounting for redundancy and assigning more meaningful disease and outcome-specific variable weights.
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Driving under the influence of cannabis is a significant public health concern that is particularly common in young adults (aged 18-25 years) and has increased in recent years. Vaping has also dramatically increased, particularly among young populations, and is frequently used for cannabis administration among young adults. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the positive association between vaping and cannabis driving under the influence among young adults (aged 18-25 years). ⋯ This study found positive associations between past-year vaping, cannabis use, and cannabis driving under the influence among U.S. young adults, indicating that vaping was positively associated with cannabis use. Vaping was also positively associated with cannabis driving under the influence among those who used cannabis. This preliminary evidence could inform prevention/intervention strategies related to vaping and cannabis driving under the influence.
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Adverse childhood experiences portend vulnerability to numerous physical and mental health concerns across the lifespan. Separate bodies of work suggest that both lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer individuals and military veterans are more likely to report adverse childhood experiences than their non-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer and non-veteran counterparts, respectively. Although lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans experience health disparities compared with non-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans, the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among individuals with both lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer and veteran identities is yet unknown. ⋯ With past work indicating that childhood abuse experiences are especially predictive of adverse health in adulthood, these findings suggest that a higher prevalence of adverse childhood experiences among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer veterans may contribute to health disparities among this population.
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Excessive alcohol use is a significant problem in the military. Although there is a growing emphasis on family-centered alcohol prevention approaches, little is known about the interplay between partners' drinking behaviors. This study examines how service members and their spouses influence each other's drinking behavior over time and explores the complex individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors that may contribute to alcohol use. ⋯ Findings suggest that changing the drinking habits of one spouse could lead to a change in the drinking habits of the other, which supports family-centered alcohol prevention approaches in the military. Dual-military couples especially may benefit from targeted interventions because they face a higher risk of unhealthy alcohol consumption.