American journal of preventive medicine
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At present, pregnant women in the U.S. are recommended to receive tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) and influenza vaccines. This study assessed maternal coverage of these 2 vaccinations. ⋯ Although maternal Tdap and influenza vaccination coverage increased substantially from 2010 to 2017 among large, geographically diverse U.S. cohorts, coverage remained suboptimal, potentially putting newborns at risk of pertussis and influenza. Strategies to increase maternal vaccination coverage could target women identified to have a reduced likelihood of vaccination: those who are younger, black, residing in rural areas, with multiple gestation, and a prepregnancy inpatient admission.
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High school physical activity and nutrition policies can substantially affect student behavior and outcomes. Although public health officials and legislators have advocated for policy improvements, the extent to which policies have changed at local levels is not well understood. This study identifies latent classes of physical activity and nutrition policy environments and explores changes in prevalence of these classes from 2000 to 2016. ⋯ The estimated proportion of school districts with satisfactory physical activity and nutrition policy environments increased from 2000 to 2016, possibly because of legislative and policy advocacy efforts. However, many areas for improvement remain. Unsatisfactory latent classes that remained prevalent though 2016 may highlight policy domains that should be targeted by future interventions or subject to further research.
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Complex systems approaches can help to elucidate mechanisms that shape population-level patterns in diet and inform policy approaches. This study reports results of a structured review of key design elements and methods used by existing complex systems models of diet. ⋯ Opportunities remain to advance the state of the science of complex systems approaches to diet and nutrition. These include using models to better understand mechanisms driving population-level diet, increasing use of models for policy decision support, and leveraging the wide availability of epidemiologic and policy evaluation data to improve model validation.
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Published research indicates that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with increased mortality. However, causes of death among treatment-seeking patients with PTSD remain poorly characterized. The study objective was to describe causes of death among Veterans with PTSD to inform preventive interventions for this treatment population. ⋯ Veterans with PTSD have an elevated risk of death from suicide, accidental injury, and viral hepatitis. Preventive interventions should target these important causes of death.
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This study reviews collective evidence on the longitudinal impact of housing disadvantage (based on tenure, precarity, and physical characteristics) on mental health. It is focused on temporally ordered studies where exposures preceded outcomes, a key criterion to establishing causal evidence. ⋯ This systematic review confirms that prior exposure to housing disadvantage may impact mental health later in life.