Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Exclusive Breastfeeding And Professionals From The Family Health Strategy, Marialda Moreira Christoffel, Ana Leticia Monteiro Gomes, Cássia Leoneuza Augusto Julio, Julia Florentino De Barros, Elisa Da Conceição Rodrigues, Fernanda Garcia Bezerra Góes, Ana Maria Linares

Nursing Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: to analyze the perception of health professionals about exclusive breastfeeding in Family Health Strategy units in the city of Macaé.

METHODS: qualitative study carried out in four units of the Family Health Strategy in the city of Macaé, Rio de Janeiro. Thirty health professionals were interviewed from March to May 2019. Textual contents were processed in the IRaMuTeQ^® software by the Descending Hierarchical Classification.

RESULTS: professionals use different strategies for actions to promote, protect and support breastfeeding in prenatal consultations, but social and cultural determinants are important issues that interfere in this process, the involvement of the family …

A Roadmap For Building Data Science Capacity For Health Discovery And Innovation In Africa, Joseph Beyene, Solomon W. Harrar, Mekibib Altaye, Tessema Astatkie, Tadesse Awoke, Ziv Shkedy, Tesfaye B. Mersha

Statistics Faculty Publications

Technological advances now make it possible to generate diverse, complex and varying sizes of data in a wide range of applications from business to engineering to medicine. In the health sciences, in particular, data are being produced at an unprecedented rate across the full spectrum of scientific inquiry spanning basic biology, clinical medicine, public health and health care systems. Leveraging these data can accelerate scientific advances, health discovery and innovations. However, data are just the raw material required to generate new knowledge, not knowledge on its own, as a pile of bricks would not be mistaken for a building. In …

Bacterial Biofilm Growth On Various Dental Stabilization Systems For Avulsed And Luxated Teeth, Mahmoud Mona, Clay Walker, Luciana M. Shaddox, Roberta Pileggi

Oral Health Practice Faculty Publications

With the increased incidence of traumatic injuries and the advanced understanding of the periodontal and alveolar healing process, teeth splinting has become a common practice for stabilizing traumatized teeth. Consequently, several splinting materials and techniques have been introduced in the past few years. Despite the detrimental role of bacterial biofilm on healing, the level of biofilm development on these material surfaces has not been well investigated. Bacterial biofilms are severely detrimental for periodontal healing of avulsed and luxated teeth. Thus, biofilm growth becomes a critical factor in selecting the material of choice for dental splints. In this study, we aim …

Oral Microbiome And Gingival Gene Expression Of Inflammatory Biomolecules With Aging And Periodontitis, Jeffrey L. Ebersole, Radhakrishnan Nagarajan, Sreenatha S. Kirakodu, Octavio A. Gonzalez

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Although data describe the presence and increase of inflammatory mediators in the local environment in periodontitis vs. health in humans, details regarding how these responses evolve in the transition from health to disease, changes during disease progression, and features of a resolved lesion remain unknown. This study used a nonhuman primate model of ligature-induced periodontitis in young, adolescent, adult, and aged animals to document features of inflammatory response affected by age. Rhesus monkeys had ligatures tied and provided gingival tissue biopsy specimens at baseline, 0.5, 1, and 3 months of disease and at 5 months of the study, which was …

Effects Of Remote Digital Monitoring On Oral Hygiene Of Orthodontic Patients: A Prospective Study, Linda Sangalli, Fabio Savoldi, Domenico Dalessandri, Stefano Bonetti, Min Gu, Alberto Signoroni, Corrado Paganelli

Oral Health Science Graduate Research

BACKGROUND: Remote digital monitoring during orthodontic treatment can help patients in improving their oral hygiene performance and reducing the number of appointments due to emergency reasons, especially in time of COVID-19 pandemic where non-urgent appointments might be discouraged.

METHODS: Thirty patients scheduled to start an orthodontic treatment were divided into two groups of fifteen. Compared to controls, study group patients were provided with scan box and cheek retractor (Dental Monitoring®) and were instructed to take monthly intra-oral scans. Plaque Index (PI), Gingival Index (GI), and White Spot Lesions (WSL) were recorded for both groups at baseline (t₀), every …

Cognitive And Behavioral Domains That Reliably Differentiate Normal Aging And Dementia In Down Syndrome, Jordan P. Harp, Lisa M. Koehl, Kathryn L. Van Pelt, Christy L. Hom, Eric Doran, Elizabeth Head, Ira T. Lott, Frederick A. Schmitt

Neurology Faculty Publications

Primary care integration of Down syndrome (DS)-specific dementia screening is strongly advised. The current study employed principal components analysis (PCA) and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses to identify an abbreviated battery for dementia classification. Scale- and subscale-level scores from 141 participants (no dementia n = 68; probable Alzheimer’s disease n = 73), for the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB), Dementia Scale for People with Learning Disabilities (DLD), and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—Second Edition (Vineland-II) were analyzed. Two principle components (PC1, PC2) were identified with the odds of a probable dementia diagnosis increasing 2.54 times per PC1 unit increase and by …

Laser Irradiation As A Novel Alternative To Detach Intact Particulate Matter Collected On Air Filters, Seyed-Mohammadreza Samaee, Rahim Molaei, Robert A. Yokel, Hedieh Pazokian

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Airborne particulate matter (PM) is collected on specific filters. For subsequent testing, the PM should be detached intact from the filter. Liquid extraction (LE), the standard method to detach PM from air filter surfaces, is challenging and can be tedious. Laser irradiation has been used to characterize PM on filters, but not to detach PM from filters for subsequent testing. A feasibility study was conducted to assess the potential of laser irradiation to detach PM from air filters. Laser-detached PM was deposited on a pre-weighed glass plate. PM detachment and collection were conducted in a single step. PM-coated air filters …

Analysis Of Pretreatment Factors Associated With Stability In Early Class Iii Treatment, Yasuko Inoue, Toru Deguchi, James K. Hartsfield Jr., Wakako Tome, Noriyuki Kitai

Oral Health Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to identify pretreatment factors associated with the stability of early class III treatment, since most orthodontists start the treatment with their uncertain hypotheses and/or predictions. Subjects consisted of 75 patients with a class III skeletal relationship (ANB < 2° and overjet < 0 mm) who had been consecutively treated with rapid maxillary expansion and facemask and followed until their second phase treatment. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether they showed relapse in follow-up. The stable group maintained their positive overjet (n = 55), and the unstable group experienced relapse with a zero or negative overjet (n = 20). Two general, three dental, and 13 cephalometric pretreatment factors were investigated to determine which factors were associated with stability.

RESULTS: Sex, pretreatment age, and anteroposterior functional shift, which were hypothesized as associated factors, were not related to …

Covid-19 And The Impact On Rural And Black Church Congregants: Results Of The C-M-C Project, Lovoria B. Williams, Anita F. Fernander, Tofial Azam, Maria L. Gomez, Junghee Kang, Cassidy L. Moody, Hannah Bowman, Nancy E. Schoenberg

Nursing Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on Black and rural populations with a mortality rate among Blacks three times that of Whites and both rural and Black populations experiencing limited access to COVID-19 resources. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the health, financial, and psychological impact of COVID-19 among rural White Appalachian and Black nonrural central Kentucky church congregants. Secondarily we sought to examine the association between sociodemographics and behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs regarding COVID-19 and intent to vaccinate. We used a cross sectional survey design developed with the constructs of the Health Belief and Theory …

Reduced Mitochondrial Dna And Oxphos Protein Content In Skeletal Muscle Of Children With Cerebral Palsy, Ferdinand Von Walden, Ivan J. Vechetti Jr., Davis A. Englund, Vandré C. Figueiredo, Rodrigo Fernandez-Gonzalo, Kevin A. Murach, Jessica Pingel, John J. Mccarthy, Per Stål, Eva Pontén

Physiology Faculty Publications

AIM: To provide a detailed gene and protein expression analysis related to mitochondrial biogenesis and assess mitochondrial content in skeletal muscle of children with cerebral palsy (CP).

METHOD: Biceps brachii muscle samples were collected from 19 children with CP (mean [SD] age 15y 4mo [2y 6mo], range 9-18y, 16 males, three females) and 10 typically developing comparison children (mean [SD] age 15y [4y], range 7-21y, eight males, two females). Gene expression (quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction [PCR]), mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to genomic DNA ratio (quantitative PCR), and protein abundance (western blotting) were analyzed. Microarray data sets (CP/aging/bed rest) were …

Covid-19 And The Impact On Rural And Black Church Congregants: Results Of The C-M-C Project, Lovoria B. Williams, Anita F. Fernander, Tofial Azam, Maria L. Gomez, Junghee Kang, Cassidy L. Moody, Hannah Bowman, Nancy E. Schoenberg

Clinical and Translational Science Faculty Publications

The COVID‐19 pandemic has had devastating effects on Black and rural populations with a mortality rate among Blacks three times that of Whites and both rural and Black populations experiencing limited access to COVID‐19 resources. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the health, financial, and psychological impact of COVID‐19 among rural White Appalachian and Black nonrural central Kentucky church congregants. Secondarily we sought to examine the association between sociodemographics and behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs regarding COVID‐19 and intent to vaccinate. We used a cross sectional survey design developed with the constructs of the Health Belief and Theory …

Opportunities To Improve Symptom Control With Somatostatin Congeners In Gep-Nets: A Review Of Key Issues, Lowell B. Anthony, Thomas M. O'Dorisio

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Octreotide acetate (octreotide) is the most prescribed and most studied somatostatin congener, or analog, for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) and carcinoid syndrome, the latter of which may be characterized by debilitating diarrhea and flushing. Approved in the U.S. more than 30 years ago, octreotide is widely used to control the symptoms of carcinoid syndrome and has been shown to demonstrate antiproliferative activity. The two formulations available in the U.S. include a subcutaneous immediate-release (IR) injection introduced in 1989 and a long-acting repeatable (LAR) intramuscular injection approved in 1999. Lanreotide depot (lanreotide), a more recent somatostatin congener, has been available in …

Reprogramming Oral Epithelial Keratinocytes Into A Pluripotent Phenotype For Tissue Regeneration, Fayrouz Bazina, Sabine M. Brouxhon, Stephanos Kyrkanides

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: We set out to reprogram adult somatic oral epithelial keratinocytes into pluripotent cells for regenerative dentistry.

SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION: Immortalized murine oral keratinocyte cell (IMOK) line raised from adult mouse mucosa were cultured in vitro in our studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult murine oral epithelial keratinocytes were chronically treated with TGF-β1 in vitro, and the expression of Oct4, Nanog, Sox2 and Nestin, as well as specific homeobox Gata and Pax gene family members were investigated.

RESULTS: We documented the induction of stem factors linked with pluripotency and/or the maintenance and regulation of stem-cell self-renewal in oral epithelial keratinocytes …

The Moth-Eaten Mandible: Osteomyelitis, Galal Omami

Oral Health Practice Faculty Publications

Inflammatory lesions such as osteomyelitis of the jaw may share some of the radiographic features of malignancy; however, a demonstrable dental cause for it usually exists. In addition, inflammatory lesions generally stimulate a sclerotic bone reaction, which is uncommon in malignancy. The imaging modality of choice for aiding in the differential diagnosis is computed tomography imaging because of its ability to clearly delineate sequestra and periosteal new bone formation.

Opioid And/Or Psychotropic Use Increases Intraprocedural Sedation Drug Requirements, Sreeja Sanampudi, Ravi Jayavarapu, Trae C. Brooks, Driss Raissi

Radiology Faculty Publications

Objectives Acute pain management in opioid users can be challenging in the perioperative period. This study focuses on whether use of opioids increases sedation medication requirements in patients undergoing port placement under moderate sedation.

Materials and Methods A retrospective review was performed on all patients undergoing port placement between June 1, 2017, and June 30, 2019. Exclusion criteria included receiving general anesthesia, no sedation, and errors in data entry. Data collection included demographics, use of opioids, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, tobacco, alcohol, and sedation data.

Results Opioid, benzodiazepine, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)/serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) use was significantly associated with …

Effects Of Sleep Duration On Falls In A West Virginia Population-Based Study, Brfss, 2018, R. Constance Wiener, Christopher Waters

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: West Virginia is a state in which most counties are rural, as well as a state with multiple health disparities among its population. The purpose of this study was to determine the association of sleep duration and falls for non-institutionalized West Virginia adults, aged 40 years and above, using the National Sleep Foundation’s definition of “may be appropriate” and “not recommended” sleep durations for specific ages.

Methods: Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2018 data concerning West Virginia residents were extracted for sleep duration and number of falls within the previous year. Data were analyzed with Chi square and …

Chromosome Xq23 Is Associated With Lower Atherogenic Lipid Concentrations And Favorable Cardiometabolic Indices, Pradeep Natarajan, Akhil Pampana, Sarah E. Graham, Sanni E. Ruotsalainen, James A. Perry, Paul S. De Vries, Jai G. Broome, James P. Pirruccello, Michael C. Honigberg, Krishna Aragam, Brooke Wolford, Jennifer A. Brody, Lucinda Antonacci-Fulton, Moscati Arden, Stella Aslibekyan, Themistocles L. Assimes, Christie M. Ballantyne, Lawrence F. Bielak, Joshua C. Bis, Brian E. Cade, Donna K. Arnett

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Autosomal genetic analyses of blood lipids have yielded key insights for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, X chromosome genetic variation is understudied for blood lipids in large sample sizes. We now analyze genetic and blood lipid data in a high-coverage whole X chromosome sequencing study of 65,322 multi-ancestry participants and perform replication among 456,893 European participants. Common alleles on chromosome Xq23 are strongly associated with reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides (min P = 8.5 × 10⁻⁷²), with similar effects for males and females. Chromosome Xq23 lipid-lowering alleles are associated with reduced odds for CHD among 42,545 …

Post-Operative Rehabilitation For Scapular Muscle Reattachment: A Case Report, Wendy Burke, W. Ben Kibler, Timothy L. Uhl

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Background and Purpose: Scapular muscle detachment is a rare orthopedic problem that has been described in the literature in patients following traumatic events involving traction, direct trauma, or a motor vehicle accident. The purpose of this case report is to describe the post-operative rehabilitation following scapular muscle reattachment surgery. Unique to this case report is the patient's perspective, an orthopedic physical therapist with 25 years of experience.

Case Description: A 47-year-old female physical therapist experienced a traction injury to bilateral upper extremities during a medical procedure resulting in bilateral rhomboid, and bilateral lower trapezius muscles were detached from the medial …

Variations In Schedule Iii Prescription Patterns In A Medicaid Population Pre- And Post-Policy, Radhakrishnan Nagarajan, Jeffery C. Talbert, Craig S. Miller, Jeffrey Ebersole

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

The present study investigated variations in patient movement patterns between prescribers before and after House Bill 1 (HB1) implementation in Kentucky using network abstractions (PPN: prescriber-prescriber networks) from a one-month cross-sectional Schedule III prescription data in a Medicaid population. Network characteristics such as degree centrality distribution of PPN was positively skewed and revealed Dental Practitioners to be the highly connected specialty with opioid analgesic hydrocodone-acetaminophen to be the most commonly prescribed drug. Taxonomy enrichment of the prescriber specialties in PPN using chi-square test revealed a reduction in the enriched taxonomies Post-HB1 compared to Pre-HB1 with Dental practitioners being constitutively enriched …

How Well Can We Assess The Validity Of Non-Randomised Studies Of Medications? A Systematic Review Of Assessment Tools, Elvira D'Andrea, Lydia Vinals, Elisabetta Patorno, Jessica M. Franklin, Dimitri Bennett, Joan A. Largent, Daniela C. Moga, Hongbo Yuan, Xuerong Wen, Andrew R. Zullo, Thomas P. A. Debray, Grammati Sarri

Pharmacy Practice and Science Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether assessment tools for non-randomised studies (NRS) address critical elements that influence the validity of NRS findings for comparative safety and effectiveness of medications.

DESIGN: Systematic review and Delphi survey.

DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed, Embase, Google, bibliographies of reviews and websites of influential organisations from inception to November 2019. In parallel, we conducted a Delphi survey among the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology Comparative Effectiveness Research Special Interest Group to identify key methodological challenges for NRS of medications. We created a framework consisting of the reported methodological challenges to evaluate the selected NRS tools.

STUDY SELECTION: Checklists …

Challenges In Medicine: The Odyssey Of A Patient With Isolated Igg4-Related Eosinophilic Angiocentric Fibrosis Presenting As A Locally Destructive Sinonasal Mass, Snigdha Nutalapati, Richard O'Neal, William O'Connor, Brett T. Comer, Gerhard C. Hildebrandt

Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery Faculty Publications

Eosinophilic angiocentric fibrosis (EAF) is an exceeding rare clinical entity and is considered a part of the spectrum of IgG4-related disease (IgG4RD). We hereby present such an unusual case of a 60-year-old female who presented to us with recurrent sinonasal mass, after a decade long haul of multiple clinical evaluations, biopsies, and debulking surgery without a definitive diagnosis. Over this period, the mass eroded through the ethmoid cells along with nasal septal destruction leading to saddle nose deformity, extended superiorly through the cribriform plates to right frontal lobe, and compressed the optic nerve leading to visual loss. Although initial biopsy …

Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis Identifies Pleiotropic Risk Loci For Aerodigestive Squamous Cell Cancers, Corina Lesseur, Aida Ferreiro-Iglesias, James D. Mckay, Yohan Bossé, Mattias Johansson, Valerie Gaborieau, Maria Teresa Landi, David C. Christiani, Neil C. Caporaso, Stig E. Bojesen, Christopher I. Amos, Sanjay Shete, Geoffrey Liu, Gadi Rennert, Demetrius Albanes, Melinda C. Aldrich, Adonina Tardon, Chu Chen, Liloglou Triantafillos, John K. Field, Susanne Arnold

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Squamous cell carcinomas (SqCC) of the aerodigestive tract have similar etiological risk factors. Although genetic risk variants for individual cancers have been identified, an agnostic, genome-wide search for shared genetic susceptibility has not been performed. To identify novel and pleotropic SqCC risk variants, we performed a meta-analysis of GWAS data on lung SqCC (LuSqCC), oro/pharyngeal SqCC (OSqCC), laryngeal SqCC (LaSqCC) and esophageal SqCC (ESqCC) cancers, totaling 13,887 cases and 61,961 controls of European ancestry. We identified one novel genome-wide significant (P_meta< 5x10^-8) aerodigestive SqCC susceptibility loci in the 2q33.1 region (rs56321285, TMEM273). Additionally, three previously unknown …

The Emerging Global Tobacco Treatment Workforce: Characteristics Of Tobacco Treatment Specialists Trained In Council-Accredited Training Programs From 2017 To 2019, Christine E. Sheffer, Abdulmohsen Al-Zalabani, Andrée Aubrey, Rasha Bader, Claribel Beltrez, Susan Bennett, Ellen Carl, Caroline Cranos, Audrey Darville, Jennifer Greyber, Maher Karam-Hage, Feras Hawari, Tresza Hutcheson, Victoria Hynes, Chris Kotsen, Frank Leone, Jamie Mcconaha, Heather Mccary, Crystal Meade, Cara Messick

Nursing Faculty Publications

Tobacco use is projected to kill 1 billion people in the 21st century. Tobacco Use Disorder (TUD) is one of the most common substance use disorders in the world. Evidence-based treatment of TUD is effective, but treatment accessibility remains very low. A dearth of specially trained clinicians is a significant barrier to treatment accessibility, even within systems of care that implement brief intervention models. The treatment of TUD is becoming more complex and tailoring treatment to address new and traditional tobacco products is needed. The Council for Tobacco Treatment Training Programs (Council) is the accrediting body for Tobacco Treatment Specialist …

Poll Finds Rural Residents More Hesitant To Get Vaccinated, Tim Marema

Journal of Appalachian Health

Rural residents are more hesitant than their metropolitan counterparts to get a Covid-19 vaccination, even though rural areas have higher rates of infections and deaths from the coronavirus.

Biofilm And Cell Adhesion Strength On Dental Implant Surfaces Via The Laser Spallation Technique, James D. Boyd, Arnold J. Stromberg, Craig S. Miller, Martha E. Grady

Statistics Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study are to quantify the adhesion strength differential between an oral bacterial biofilm and an osteoblast-like cell monolayer to a dental implant-simulant surface and develop a metric that quantifies the biocompatible effect of implant surfaces on bacterial and cell adhesion.

METHODS: High-amplitude short-duration stress waves generated by laser pulse absorption are used to spall bacteria and cells from titanium substrates. By carefully controlling laser fluence and calibration of laser fluence with applied stress, the adhesion difference between Streptococcus mutans biofilms and MG 63 osteoblast-like cell monolayers on smooth and rough titanium substrates is obtained. The …

Muscle Mass And Immune Function In The Senior Horse, Alisa Christina Herbst

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Senior horses (≥ 15 years) represent up to one-third of the global equine population, and the proportion of old horses (≥ 20 years) in the U.S. has been steadily increasing. Aging is associated with a loss of skeletal muscle mass in horses, and while age-related muscle loss is comparingly well characterized in humans, little is currently known concerning underlying mechanisms, adverse outcomes, or the prevalence of low muscle mass in senior horses. One factor proposed to play a role in the development of age-related muscle atrophy in humans is inflamm-aging, a low-grade inflammation that affects elderly people and that has …

Accumbens Cholinergic Interneurons Mediate Cue-Induced Nicotine Seeking And Associated Glutamatergic Plasticity, Jonna M. Leyrer-Jackson, Michael Holter, Paula F. Overby, Jason M. Newbern, Michael D. Scofield, M. Foster Olive, Cassandra D. Gipson

Family and Community Medicine Faculty Publications

Nicotine, the primary addictive substance in tobacco, is widely abused. Relapse to cues associated with nicotine results in increased glutamate release within nucleus accumbens core (NAcore), modifying synaptic plasticity of medium spiny neurons (MSNs), which contributes to reinstatement of nicotine seeking. However, the role of cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) within the NAcore in mediating these neurobehavioral processes is unknown. ChIs represent less than 1% of the accumbens neuronal population and are activated during drug seeking and reward-predicting events. Thus, we hypothesized that ChIs may play a significant role in mediating glutamatergic plasticity that underlies nicotine-seeking behavior. Using chemogenetics in transgenic rats …

Comparison Of Implant-Retained Overdenture And Conventional Complete Denture In The Edentulous Mandible: A Survey Study To Measure Patients' Satisfaction And Quality Of Life In Dental School Clinical Environment, Ahmad Kutkut

Theses and Dissertations--Clinical and Translational Science

Patient satisfaction and quality of life are integral parts of assessing the quality of oral health care. Current aging population trends suggest a growing need to understand the effects of edentulism on oral health and quality of life. As the proportion of aged Americans expands, there will be an increased need to understand treatment options and patient communication strategies. In addition, as new treatment options and innovative technologies emerge, it will be essential to understand patients' concerns and identify best practices associated with denture treatments' individual fit and function. Advanced denture treatments can now be fabricated using CAD/CAM digital denture …

The Influence Of Physical Health, Emotional Health, And Socioeconomic Factors On The Musculoskeletal Pain Experience In Patients Attending A Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic, Garrett Naze

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Non-communicable, chronic diseases are highly prevalent in the United States, reducing the quality of life for those affected and contributing to the majority of the nation’s healthcare expenditure. These conditions include, among others, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and musculoskeletal disease. Musculoskeletal disease is particularly of interest for the field of physical therapy as the vast majority of patients seeking care in the outpatient setting present with musculoskeletal pain complaints, resulting in limitations in function, participation, and quality of life for the patient.

The factors influencing health outcomes are diverse and include a person’s physical environment, social and economic factors, access to …

Epidemiology Of Upper Extremity Injuries In High School Sports, Autumn Ruthe Whitson

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Participation in high school sports has seen a steady increase over the past four decades. With nearly eight million student-athletes participating, careful monitoring of injuries related to their participation is imperative. Injury surveillance efforts through national databases have produced a multitude of studies detailing injuries that occur in specific sports, specific body parts, or particular diagnoses. The lower extremity tends to be injured more frequently than the upper extremity resulting in various comprehensive analyses on that particular body area. Currently, there are no comprehensive reports on the epidemiology of injury to the upper extremity in student-athletes participating in high school …