Preventive medicine
-
Preventive medicine · Mar 2020
Informal caregiving and physical activity among 204,315 adults in 38 low- and middle-income countries: A cross-sectional study.
Data on the association between informal caregiving and physical activity (PA) levels are scarce, especially from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Furthermore, previous research has yielded conflicting results. Thus, we investigated this association in adults from 38 LMICs. ⋯ Engagement in greater number of caregiving activities was associated with lower odds for low PA dose-dependently. Informal caregiving was associated with higher levels of PA in adults in LMICs. Future studies of longitudinal design are warranted to understand causality and the underlying mechanisms of this association.
-
Preventive medicine · Mar 2020
The association between health care coverage and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes over a 10-year period.
Persons without health care coverage have poorer health outcomes. We investigated the association between health care coverage and trends in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes pre- and post-Affordable Care Act (ACA) periods. Using data from 3,824,678 surveyed adults in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey from 2007 - 2016, we calculated the yearly prevalence of CVD and diabetes. ⋯ The prevalence of CVD and diabetes increased from pre- to post-ACA periods. After adjustment, in pre-ACA period, the odds ratio (OR) for the association between health care coverage and CVD and diabetes was 1.32 (95% CI:1.30-1.34) and 1.44 (95% CI:1.41-1.46), respectively; in the post-ACA period, the OR was 1.26 (95% CI:1.22-1.30) and 1.48 (95% CI:1.44-1.52), respectively. We found a significant association between health care coverage and trends in the prevalence of CVD and diabetes in the pre- and post-ACA periods.
-
Preventive medicine · Mar 2020
Rural-urban differences in cannabis detected in fatally injured drivers in the United States.
While there is a vast literature on rural and urban differences in substance use, little is known in terms of cannabis positive drug tests among fatally injured drivers. In the present study, we examined rural-urban differences in cannabis detected in fatally-injured drivers. Data were drawn from the 2015-2017 Fatality Analysis Reporting System. ⋯ Those aged at least 25 years had lower odds of a positive test for cannabinoids. Drivers involved in a weekend nighttime crash (aOR: 1.14, 95% CI 1.03-1.26) and weekday nighttime (aOR: 1.15, 95% CI 1.05-1.26) had higher odds of testing positive for cannabinoids compared to drivers involved in a weekend daytime crash. Results showed significant rural-urban differences in the prevalence of cannabis detected in fatally-injured drivers.
-
Preventive medicine · Mar 2020
Cancer symptom awareness in the US: Sociodemographic differences in a population-based survey of adults.
Symptom awareness may improve cancer outcomes by prompting timely help-seeking and diagnosis. Research in the UK has shown lower symptom awareness among sociodemographic groups at higher risk of poor cancer outcomes; however, no population-based surveys in the US have assessed whether cancer symptom awareness varies across sociodemographic groups. We therefore examined associations between sociodemographic factors and recognition of 11 cancer symptoms using a novel population-based survey of US adults. ⋯ As socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality widen, it is increasingly important to understand factors that may contribute to these disparities. Our results suggest that US adults of lower SES have lower cancer symptom awareness across symptoms, findings that echo results from other developed countries. With low rates of cancer screening, another approach to reducing cancer burden and disparities may be through greater symptom awareness for symptoms with lower awareness, though additional work is needed to identify mechanisms through which awareness may have its effects on cancer outcomes.