Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · May 2014
ReviewThe obesity paradox: understanding the effect of obesity on mortality among individuals with cardiovascular disease.
To discuss possible explanations for the obesity paradox and explore whether the paradox can be attributed to a form of selection bias known as collider stratification bias. ⋯ Results demonstrate that collider stratification bias is one plausible explanation for the obesity paradox. After conditioning on CVD status in the design or analysis, obesity can appear protective among individuals with CVD.
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Preventive medicine · May 2014
Pneumococcal vaccination of the elderly during visits to acute care providers: who are vaccinated?
Many elderly remain unvaccinated against invasive pneumococcal disease yet frequently visit acute care providers where they have an opportunity to receive the pneumococcal vaccine. We describe factors associated with pneumococcal vaccination in adults aged 65 years and older during visits to acute care providers. ⋯ Acute care visits were associated with greater pneumococcal vaccine uptake for the elderly during the annual influenza season and long hospital stays.
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Preventive medicine · May 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyEfficacy of face masks and respirators in preventing upper respiratory tract bacterial colonization and co-infection in hospital healthcare workers.
We compared the efficacy of medical masks (MM) and N95 respirators (N95) in preventing bacterial colonization/infection in healthcare workers (HCWs). ⋯ N95 respirators were significantly protective against bacterial colonization, co-colonization and viral-bacterial co-infection. We showed that dual respiratory virus or bacterial-viral co-infections can be reduced by the use of N95 respirators. This study has occupational health and safety implications for health workers.
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Preventive medicine · May 2014
Review Meta AnalysisImproving diet and physical activity to reduce population prevalence of overweight and obesity: an overview of current evidence.
The aim of this study is to provide an overview of interventions to reduce or prevent overweight or obesity and improve diet or physical activity. ⋯ Various individually targeted interventions were shown to reduce body weight, although effect sizes were typically modest, and the durability of effects has been questioned. New approaches to evaluating population-based interventions, such as taxes and regulation, are recommended. Future research modelling the long-term effects of interventions across the lifespan would also be beneficial.
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Preventive medicine · May 2014
ReviewEarly childhood physical activity, sedentary behaviors and psychosocial well-being: a systematic review.
Little is known about how health behaviors such as physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors (SB) may be associated with psychosocial well-being during the crucial early childhood period. The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic review of associations between PA, SB and psychosocial well-being during early childhood. ⋯ Too few studies exist to draw conclusions regarding associations. Future high-quality cohort and intervention studies are warranted particularly investigating dose-response associations.