Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Physical Activity Levels And Depressive Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Sample Of Vermont Adults, Paige Stefanak, Obichukwu Ezennia, Marley Jurgensmeyer, Jessica Dubetsky, Elise Carlson

Master of Public Health Culminating Projects

Objective: To investigate the association between meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations and having ever been told of having a depressive disorder in a cross-sectional sample of Vermont adults.

Methods: Study participants (n = 11,429) were Vermont residents that had answered all required questions from 2015 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) telephone surveys. Descriptive and binary logistic analyses were run with PA as the exposure variable and depression as the outcome variable.

Results: Study participants were 44.5% males; 93.2% white/non-Hispanic; 67.6% with some college or more; 46% age 60 or over; 45.8% employed for wages and retired. A …

High School Students Who Experienced A Concussion Are More Likely To Report Indicators Of Depression: A Cross-Sectional Examination Using The 2017 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Zoe Adams, Elizabeth Morris, Amelia Trello, Rachel Cummings, Lexi Naylor, Thomas Delaney, Kelsey Gleason

Master of Public Health Culminating Projects

Objective: To examine the relationship between a history of concussions and depressive indicators in high school students.

Methods: 2017 Vermont Youth Behavior Risk Survey data (n = 26,962) was used to evaluate a potential association between concussions and depressive indicators in 20,653 eligible high schoolers using a multivariate logistic regression analysis, controlling for covariates.

Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis using a dichotomous concussion variable revealed that the odds of reporting one or more depression indicators were greater for individuals reporting at least one concussion in the past year compared to individuals who did not report any concussions, controlling for all …

Addressing Adolescent And Young Adult Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Megan Boyer

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This quality improvement project at South Burlington Family Medicine aimed to investigate the mental health of individuals ages 13-25 in our practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible patients received a PHQ-9 questionnaire with two additional questions related to COVID-19. Recommendations for future interventions to serve this population were made based on these preliminary findings, with the goal of doing a full PDSA cycle in the near future.

Risk And Protective Factors Associated With Bullying Among Vermont Students, Julia Crane, Jiliian Leikauskas, Deb Cannon, Craig Morrill, Michelle Sheehan, Shayla Livingston

Master of Public Health Culminating Projects

Background: Recent research has linked depressive episodes and behavior to bullying victimization, adding to a decade of research associating bullying victimization with multiple risk and protective factors. Objective: We aimed to determine how risk and protective factors differ among Vermont high school students who are bullied electronically as compared to in-person. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional analysis and applied descriptive and logistic regression on the 2015 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n=20,013). Results: We found that students who reported depression, suicide attempts, or physical fighting were more likely to report both in-person and electronic bullying victimization, …

The Effects Of Substance Use And Depressive Symptoms On High-Risk Sexual Behaviors In Sexually Active Vermont Adolescents, Ashley Greenfield, Kelly Clements, Lexy Doria, Jenna Cebelius, Rajan Chawla, Michelle Shepard

Master of Public Health Culminating Projects

Background: There is a high prevalence of substance use, depressive symptoms, and high-risk sexual behaviors (HRSB) among adolescents, but the relationships between these variables is less clear. Objective: To identify associations between these behaviors and outcomes, this study aims to address how depressive symptoms paired with substance use impacts HRSB in adolescents. Methods: Adolescent self-reported depressive and suicidal symptoms, substance use, and HRSB were obtained from the 2015 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) (n= 17,041). The associations between exposures (substance use and depressive symptoms) with HRSB were studied. Variables were calculated using prevalence ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) …