American journal of preventive medicine
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Physical activity before COVID-19 infection is associated with less severe outcomes. The study determined whether a dose‒response association was observed and whether the associations were consistent across demographic subgroups and chronic conditions. ⋯ There were protective associations of physical activity for adverse COVID-19 outcomes across demographic and clinical characteristics. Public health leaders should add physical activity to pandemic control strategies.
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Black Americans encounter more barriers in the job market and earn less than White Americans. However, the extent to which racial disparities in employment and poverty histories impact health is not fully understood. This study characterized employment‒poverty histories for Black and White middle-aged adults and examined their association with health. ⋯ Employment fluctuations were associated with worse health, especially cognitive function, where the association was stronger among Black Americans who experienced both employment fluctuations and poverty. Findings highlight the importance of enhancing employment stability and of antipoverty programs, especially for Black Americans.
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Almost one third of U.S. adults have elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, increasing their risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The 2018 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Multisociety Cholesterol Management Guideline recommends maximally tolerated statin for those at increased atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk and add-on therapies (ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors) in those at very high risk and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥70 mg/dL. Prescription fill trends are unknown. ⋯ Patients filling moderate- and high-intensity statins and add-on ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors have increased, indicating uptake of guideline-concordant lipid-lowering therapies. Improvements in the initiation and continuity of these therapies are important for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease prevention.
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U. S. smoking-related disparities persist, but data evaluating how smoking patterns across diverse populations have changed by birth cohort are lacking. Worldwide, smoking continues to exact harm, especially to low- and middle-income nations with less historical data for smoking analyses. ⋯ Collectively, these data aim to offer insight into future U. S. and global smoking disparities and accelerate research on tobacco control policies that advance health equity. This effort will allow tobacco simulation models to account comprehensively for population diversity, thereby enabling researchers to develop more sophisticated analyses of tobacco use and control interventions.
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Smoke-free policies (SFP) in multi-unit housing are a promising tool for reducing exposure to tobacco smoke among residents. Concerns about increased housing instability due to voluntary or involuntary transitions induced by SFPs have been a primary barrier to greater widespread adoption. The impact of SFP implementation on transitions out of public housing in federally funded public housing authorities in Massachusetts was evaluated. ⋯ Adoption of SFPs in public housing had a minimal overall impact on turnover for households in Massachusetts, though disparities in the impact were observed between different demographic and PHA-level subgroups.