Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2021
Bullying and suicide risk among sexual minority youth in the United States.
Bullying is associated with increased suicide risk and maladaptive development for sexual minority youth (SMY). The purpose of this study is to determine whether multiple forms of bullying mediate the relationship between biological sex and suicide risk among SMY and to determine whether sexual identity moderates these relationships (i.e., moderated mediation). Data from the 2015-2019 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey was analyzed using multiple group structural equation modeling with the 5967 youth that self-identified as Lesbian/Gay, Bisexual, or Not sure of their sexual identity. ⋯ These finding align with the minority stress theory which posits the victimization experiences are linked to negative mental health outcomes among minority youth. Although sexual identity did not moderate these relationships, this study reveals new mechanistic pathways influencing sex-based suicide risk disparities among SMY. Findings can inform future research and the development of suicide prevention interventions that address the unique needs of SMY occurring at the intersection of sex and sexual identity.
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Over the past 10 years cholesterol levels have been falling while the number of Americans dying of heart disease has been steadily climbing. This apparent paradox compels us to question whether lowering cholesterol is the best way to prevent coronary heart disease. ⋯ Despite the widespread utilization of cholesterol-lowering statins in Europe, observational studies indicate that there has been no accompanying decline in coronary heart disease deaths. This new evidence should give us pause as we try to understand why the campaign to prevent heart disease by lowering cholesterol has not achieved its goals.
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Societies are looking for ways to mitigate risk while stimulating economic recovery from COVID-19. Facial coverings (masks) reduce the risk of disease spread but there is limited understanding of public beliefs regarding mask usage in the U. S. where mask wearing is divisive and politicized. ⋯ Agreement with the statements healthcare is a human right and I always wear my seat belt when driving were positively correlated with the belief masks had a role. Only 47% of respondents agreed that "Wearing a mask will help prevent future lock-downs in my community related to COVID-19." Public perception of the importance of mask usage revealed public transportation, grocery/food stores, and schools, as the relatively most important public places for mask usage among those seven places studied. Results suggest that public health advisories about riskiness of various situations or locations and public perception of importance of risk mitigation by location may not be well aligned.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2021
A descriptive exploration of the geographic and sociodemographic concentration of firearm homicide in the United States, 2004-2018.
This study examined the population-based incidence of firearm homicide in the United States to identify geographic concentrations and to determine whether such concentrations have changed over time. It further examined the simultaneous associations of urbanization, poverty, and ethnicity/race with firearm homicide incidence. Using county-level data from the National Vital Statistics System and the U. ⋯ Census Bureau for the years 2004-2018, the findings show geographic patterns not commonly recognized, including several lengthy and continuous corridors with a high incidence of firearm homicide, traversing both metro and non-metro areas. While the data clearly show a strongly disproportionate concentration of firearm homicide incidence in a subset of the population defined by geography, they do not suggest increasing concentration over time. The study findings also generally indicate increasing firearm homicide incidence with increasing levels of surrounding poverty, a phenomenon observed for both metro and non-metro areas.
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We overcome a lack of frontline worker status information in most COVID-19 data repositories to document the extent to which occupation has contributed to COVID-19 disparities in the United States. Using national data from over a million U. S. respondents to a Facebook-Carnegie Mellon University survey administered from September 2020 to March 2021, we estimated the likelihoods of frontline workers, compared to non-frontline workers, 1) to ever test positive for SARs-Cov-2 and 2) to test positive for SARs-Cov-2 within the past two weeks. ⋯ In particular, non-healthcare frontline workers have experienced sustained higher risk of testing positive for SARs-Cov-2 compared to non-frontline workers. Alongside more worker protections, future COVID-19 and other highly infectious disease response strategies must be augmented by a more robust recognition of the role that structural factors, such as the highly stratified U. S. occupational landscape, have played in the uneven toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.