American journal of preventive medicine
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Biological clocks govern numerous aspects of human health, including weekly clocks-called circaseptan rhythms-that typically include early-week spikes for many illnesses. ⋯ Just as many illnesses have a weekly clock, so do healthy considerations. Discovery of these rhythms opens the door for a new agenda in preventive medicine, including implications for hypothesis development, research strategies to further explore these rhythms, and interventions to exploit daily cycles in healthy considerations.
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In the U.S., the incidence of lung cancer varies by race, with rates being highest among black men. There are marked differences in smoking behavior between blacks and whites, but little is known regarding how these differences contribute to the racial disparities in lung cancer. ⋯ Smoking confers similar lung cancer risk in blacks and whites.
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Beginning in 2009, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) revised its food packages and provided more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables and fewer foods with high saturated fat content. However, knowledge of the impact of this policy shift on the diets of WIC participants remains limited. ⋯ Positive dietary changes were observed at 18 months post policy implementation, with the effects most pronounced among Hispanic children.
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The increasing prevalence of primary care-sensitive conditions, notably diabetes and hypertension, among older adults presents a challenge to the public health community. Systems science conceptualizations of health, along with considerations of the social and environmental context in which older adults live, are needed before effective interventions can be designed and implemented. ⋯ The presence of spatial patterns allows for the identification of subpopulations in need of additional resources, and can assist in informing advanced spatial and statistical analyses. Screening data collected from an ongoing community-based program can be used to understand broader patterns of urban health.
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Comparative Study
Cervical cancer screening with AMIGAS: a cost-effectiveness analysis.
Hispanic women have a higher incidence of cervical cancer than all other races and ethnicities. In Hispanic subgroups, Mexican American women were among the least likely to have received cervical cancer screening. In a recent RCT, Ayudando a las Mujeres con Información, Guia, y Amor para su Salud (AMIGAS) was shown to increase cervical cancer screening rates among women of Mexican descent at 6 months in all intervention arms compared to the control arm. Limited information exists about the economics of interventions to increase cervical cancer screening rates among women of Mexican descent. ⋯ Results on the average and incremental cost-effectiveness of the AMIGAS program elements may assist health policymakers and program managers to select and appropriately budget for interventions shown to increase cervical cancer screening among low-income women of Mexican descent.