Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Feb 2021
ReviewPotential health-related behaviors for pre-school and school-aged children during COVID-19 lockdown: A narrative review.
As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, different measures have been implemented by governments from each affected country. Such measures usually involve restrictions on the movement of citizens, and have had a profound effect on usual activities and timetables. As a result of school closures and strict restrictions regarding going outside home, children have been one of the most disadvantaged population groups during the lockdown period. ⋯ This review depicts the potential health-related behaviors according to related literature, and put the focus on future short and long-term sequels of social isolation. Socio-affective complications and insufficient physical activity are underscored as two of the main concerns, particularly among socio-economic deprived children. Both issues could be effectively addressed with either adequate parental or community guidance.
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Preventive medicine · Feb 2021
ReviewInterventions using mHealth strategies to improve screening rates of cervical cancer: A scoping review.
MHealth interventions are extensively used to inform and remind women about cervical cancer and their upcoming screening appointments. Our scoping review aims to examine the effectiveness these interventions targeted to increase the uptake of cervical cancer screening along with its barriers and facilitators. We searched 4 databases (PsycINFO. ⋯ Qualitative studies suggested participants prefer particular communication mediums, and they were concerned about privacy and confidentiality issues when text messages were sent with their health information. Findings suggest mHealth interventions may be an effective strategy to reach women for improving their cervical cancer uptake. Barriers including transportation cost, inaccessibility, and inability to come for walk-in appointments in the health clinics need to be addressed, beyond reminders, in mobile phone-based interventions to facilitate their presence in their next appointment.
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Preventive medicine · Feb 2021
The prospective association between illicit drug use and nonprescription opioid use among vulnerable adolescents.
In recent years, more than half of all drug overdose deaths in United States involved an opioid. To address this epidemic, antecedents to opioid misuse must be identified and empirically validated. The objective of the current investigation was to examine whether illicit drug use was prospectively associated with nonprescription opioid use among adolescents from a vulnerable population with a greater prevalence of substance abuse. ⋯ Multilevel, covariate-adjusted logistic regression models indicated that the odds of experimentation with nonprescription opioids was greater among adolescents who had used illicit drugs or illicit drugs excluding marijuana. Nonmedical marijuana use alone was a statistically significant predictor in unadjusted but not covariate-adjusted models. While prior studies have examined the progression from nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana use to nonprescription opioid use, the present findings emphasize the importance of illicit drug use as a detectable and empirically supported risk factor for future opioid misuse.
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Preventive medicine · Feb 2021
The bidirectional association between sleep and physical activity: A 6.9 years longitudinal analysis of 38,601 UK Biobank participants.
Although physical activity and sleep may influence each other, little is known about the bidirectional association of these two behaviors. The present analyses included 38,601 UK Biobank participants (51% female, 55.7 ± 7.6 years old, 6.9 ± 2.2 years of follow-up). Physical activity was categorized by the weekly metabolic equivalent of task minutes (highly active: ≥ 1200; active: 600 to <1200; inactive: < 600), and sleep patterns were determined using a composite score of healthy sleep characteristics: morning chronotype, adequate sleep duration (7-8 h/d), never or rare insomnia, never or rare snoring, and infrequent daytime sleepiness. ⋯ Compared to individuals highly active at both time points, being physically inactive at baseline and reducing physical activity over time were both associated with higher odds for poor sleep at follow-up. In conclusion, sleep improvements over time benefitted physical activity at follow-up, while reduced physical activity had a detrimental effect on sleep patterns at follow-up. Our results provide scope for interventions to concurrently target physical activity and sleep.
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From the individual viewpoint, active aging refers to the ability of older persons, depending on their goals, functional capacity and opportunities, to engage in desired activities. This study investigated the role of health literacy in active aging among persons differing in their number of chronic conditions. Data were collected from 948 individuals, 57% women, aged 75, 80 and 85 in 2017-2018 in the city of Jyväskylä in Central Finland. ⋯ Higher health literacy can enable older persons, including those with multiple chronic conditions, to maintain higher levels of active aging. As more people are projected to live with chronic conditions to older ages, health literacy may help them to cope with illnesses and functional limitations and lead a fulfilling life. These cross-sectional findings lay a foundation for future prospective and experimental studies on health literacy and active aging.