American journal of preventive medicine
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Obesity affects four in ten US adults. One of the most prevalent health-related social risk factors in the US is housing instability, which is also associated with cardiovascular health outcomes, including obesity. The objective of this research brief is to examine the association between housing instability with obesity status among a representative sample of insured adults across seven integrated health systems. ⋯ Among a representative cohort of insured adults, this study suggested increasing levels of housing instability are associated with increasing levels of obesity. Future research should further explore the temporal, longitudinal, and independent association of housing instability with obesity.
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Racial/ethnic differences exist in the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). However, few studies have examined racial/ethnic differences in the association between ACEs and poor mental health outcomes in young adulthood. ⋯ Evaluation of individual and grouped ACEs reveals important racial/ethnic heterogeneity in associations with mental health outcomes. Findings have implications for targeted prevention efforts for racial/ethnic groups at higher risk for poor mental health.
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Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a significant public health concern. This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of fecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening on CRC incidence and mortality, leveraging the scale of over 1.5 million randomly selected Taiwanese and more than 11.7 million person-years of follow-up. ⋯ This large-scale study validates the efficacy of FIT screening in reducing CRC incidence and mortality. It offers a nuanced understanding of how various screening statuses impact CRC risks, thus providing valuable insights for public health strategies aimed at CRC prevention.
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Tracking changes in socioeconomic disparities in diabetes in the U.S. is important to evaluate progress in health equity and guide prevention efforts. Disparities in diabetes prevalence by educational attainment from 2001 to 2020 were investigated. ⋯ From 2001 to 2020, national education-related disparities in diabetes prevalence have shown no signs of narrowing.
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Leisure-time physical activity decreases allostatic load, a measure of burden of chronic stress. However, the role of occupational physical activity is unknown. This study examined associations of occupational physical activity and leisure-time physical activity with allostatic load among workers in the U.S. ⋯ Increasing vigorous leisure-time physical activity associates with a lower allostatic load for all workers, whereas increasing vigorous occupational physical activity associates with a higher allostatic load only in young females. Promoting vigorous leisure-time physical activity reduces allostatic load among young females with either low or high vigorous occupational physical activity.