Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2015
Observational StudyAssociation between exposure to household cigarette smoking behavior and cigarette smoking in Hispanic adults: Findings from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.
Cigarette smoking behavior is highly determined by social influences during childhood and adolescence. This phenomenon has not been fully evaluated in the Hispanic/Latino population. ⋯ Our data suggest that exposure to HCSB in Hispanics/Latinos living in the US is an independent predictor of adult cigarette smoking, and this association appears to be strongest in Cubans and Puerto Ricans.
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2015
The Danish fat tax-Effects on consumption patterns and risk of ischaemic heart disease.
To examine the effects on consumption and risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) of the Danish fat tax, effective from October 2011 to January 2013. ⋯ The Danish fat tax had a marginal effect on population consumption of fat and risk of IHD. Fat taxes have to be carefully designed to prevent possible adverse effects from outweighing its beneficial effects on health outcomes. Policymakers must therefore be more ambitious in relation to food taxes, e.g. by implementing more comprehensive tax-subsidy schemes.
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2015
The mediation of coronary calcification in the association between risk scores and cardiac troponin T elevation in healthy adults: Is atherosclerosis a good prognostic precursor of coronary disease?
Conventional cardiac risk scores may not be completely accurate in predicting acute events because they only include factors associated with atherosclerosis, considered as the fundamental precursor of cardiovascular disease. In UK in 2006-2008 (Whitehall II study) we tested the ability of several risk scores to identify individuals with cardiac cell damage and assessed to what extent their estimates were mediated by the presence of atherosclerosis. ⋯ The dynamics through which cardiac cell damage is caused cannot be explained by 'classic' heart disease risk factors alone. Further research is needed to identify precursors of heart disease other than atherosclerosis.
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2015
The association of C-reactive protein and physical activity among a church-based population of African Americans.
Regular physical activity can reduce systemic inflammation and, thereby, the burden of chronic inflammatory-related conditions. This study examined whether regular physical activity, measured subjectively (Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity [RAPA]) and objectively (Bodymedia's SenseWear® activity monitor [SWA]), is associated with inflammatory or glycemic control markers. ⋯ Physical activity may improve chronic inflammation, which is a primary pathophysiological mechanism for numerous chronic disorders, especially among minority populations.
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Preventive medicine · Aug 2015
Trends in prolonged sitting time among European adults: 27 country analysis.
To examine trends in adult sitting time across 27 European countries. ⋯ Time spent in sedentary behaviour may not be increasing in the European region, and prolonged sitting may, in fact, be decreasing. This finding has important implications for the sedentary behaviour debate and the policy response.