Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2018
Neighborhood characteristics and lifestyle intervention outcomes: Results from the Special Diabetes Program for Indians.
Growing evidence reveals various neighborhood conditions are associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It is unknown, however, whether the effectiveness of diabetes prevention interventions is also influenced by neighborhood characteristics. The purpose of the current study is to examine the impact of neighborhood characteristics on the outcomes of a lifestyle intervention to prevent diabetes in American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). ⋯ Meanwhile, participants from sites with higher neighborhood level of vehicle occupancy made more improvement in BMI and diet. Lifestyle intervention effectiveness was not optimal when the intervention was implemented at sites with disadvantaged neighborhood characteristics. Meaningful improvements in socioeconomic and other neighborhood disadvantages of vulnerable populations could be important in stemming the global epidemic of diabetes.
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2018
Social capital and obesity among adults: Longitudinal findings from the Montreal neighborhood networks and healthy aging panel.
Curbing the worldwide increase in obesity requires upstream social interventions that modify the environment in which obesity emerges. Recent studies have suggested that social capital and networks may influence a person's risk of obesity. Yet, few longitudinal studies have assessed whether social capital and networks reduce obesity risk in adult populations. ⋯ Adults with higher network diversity (OR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.72-0.96) and high generalized trust (OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.35-0.77) were at a lower the risk of obesity. The current study confirmed that higher network capital and trust were protective against obesity, while having kin ties was not. Disentangling the multidimensional role that social capital plays can lead to more effective interventions to reduce obesity.
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2018
Lack of interest in physical activity - individual and environmental attributes in adults across Europe: The SPOTLIGHT project.
A considerable proportion of European adults report little or no interest in physical activity. Identifying individual-level and environmental-level characteristics of these individuals can help designing effective interventions and policies to promote physical activity. This cross-sectional study additionally explored associations between level of interest and physical activity, after controlling for other individual and environmental variables. ⋯ Only minor differences were observed in environmental attributes: the non-interested were slightly more likely to live in neighborhoods objectively characterized as less aesthetic and containing more destinations, and perceived as less functional, safe, and aesthetic. Even after controlling for other individual and environmental factors, interest in physical activity remained a significant correlate of physical activity, supporting the importance of this association. This study is among the first to describe characteristics of individuals with reduced interest in physical activity, suggesting that (lack of) interest is a robust correlate of physical activity in several personal and environmental conditions.
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2018
Medical-encounter mental health diagnoses, non-fatal injury and polypharmacy indicators of risk for accident death in the US Army enlisted soldiers, 2004-2009.
Accidents are a leading cause of deaths in U. S. active duty personnel. Understanding accident deaths during wartime could facilitate future operational planning and inform risk prevention efforts. ⋯ Further research could test for replicability and expand models to include unobserved factors or modifiable mechanisms related to high risk. PTSD predicted high risk among those never deployed, suggesting importance of identification, treatment, and prevention of non-combat traumatic events. Finally, risk predictors overlapped with those identified for suicides, suggesting effective intervention might reduce both types of deaths.
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2018
The effects of assurances of voluntary compliance on retail sales to minors in the United States: 2015-2016.
Multiple state attorneys generals have entered assurances of voluntary compliance (AVCs) with numerous national retail chains as an application of consumer protection laws to help prevent tobacco sales to minors. Little is known about the effectiveness of AVCs in reducing the violations of tobacco retailers for underage sales. We collected inspection data involving minors (n=53,832) on tobacco retailers in 2015 and 2016 from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance check database. ⋯ For gas stations from oil companies and pharmacy stores, there were no significant differences in RVRm between stores with an AVC and stores without an AVC. We found that entering into AVCs is associated with fewer retail violations of underage sales for convenience stores and pharmacy stores. Continued efforts to strengthen the enforcement of AVCs and to expand AVCs to more states and other retail chains may improve youth tobacco control.