Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2021
Re-evaluating Perinatal Group B Streptococcal screening in Israel - Is it time for a change in policy?
Group B streptococcal early-onset disease (EOGBSD) is a significant cause of morbidity and fatality in newborns. Current policy in Israel is risk-based management. Our aim was to re-evaluate the current screening policy for Group B Streptococcus (GBS), considering colonization and prevalence rates and costs estimates. ⋯ Universal culture-based screening was found to be 50% less costly than the current risk-based policy, and would have prevented 20.29 per 100,000 cases. Universal GBS culture-based screening was found to be more cost-effective, compared to the current policy and screening behaviors. Due to the clinical and economic benefits, we recommend that a change in policy should be considered.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2021
Prevalence and predictors of cost-related medication nonadherence in individuals with cardiovascular disease: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey.
Medication nonadherence is highly prevalent among patients with chronic cardiovascular disease. Poor adherence has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Medication cost is a major driver for medication nonadherence. ⋯ We conclude that the prevalence of CRMNA is 10% among U. S. adults overall and is higher among those with common chronic diseases. Risk factors associated with CRMNA should be addressed in order to improve adherence rates and health outcomes among high-risk individuals.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2021
Self-rated mental health among sexual health service clients during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, British Columbia, Canada.
We investigated self-reported mental health during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-May 2020), using a survey of HIV-testing and sexual health service clients from British Columbia, Canada (N = 1198). Over half (55%) reported their mental health as poor at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than double that of the general Canadian population in the same time frame (22%). Acknowledging that this burden of poor mental health that is likely to persist in the coming years, we propose that sexual health clinics should facilitate access to mental health supports as a low-barrier point of primary care contact.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2021
The Great East Japan Earthquake and suicide: The long-term consequences and underlying mechanisms.
How and why do major natural disasters affect suicide? This study revisits this question by focusing on the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) in March 2011 as a historically important natural disaster. Using an event-study analysis, we assessed how the GEJE changed the suicide rates in the regions affected by it and whether its effect persisted, attenuated, or escalated over time. ⋯ Furthermore, following the GEJE, government spending increased while divorce rates decreased in the affected prefectures, both of which were correlated with male suicide rates. These findings indicate that suicide after major natural disasters is preventable when political and social reactions to disasters provide a safety net, especially for men.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2021
Risk of hypertension in school-aged children undergoing a long-term community-based lifestyle intervention: Tehran lipid and glucose study.
Childhood hypertension which increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in adulthood is becoming more prevalent. For the first time in the Middle-East region, this study aimed to assess the long-term effectiveness of a community-based lifestyle intervention on the incidence of hypertension in school-aged children during 16 years of follow-up. This study was conducted within the framework of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS). ⋯ Although the risk of hypertension in boys was more than twice that observed in girls, the effectiveness of the recent community-based healthy lifestyle intervention was observed only in girls and not in boys. Further studies are needed to understand gender differences in promoting the effectiveness of similar future programs. The TLGS is registered at Iran Registry for Clinical Trials, a WHO primary registry (http://irct.ir; IRCTID: IRCT138705301058N1).