Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Modifiable Risk Factors For Hypertensive Disorders Of Pregnancy Among Latina Women, Shannon Renee Turzanski Fortner

Open Access Dissertations

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy affect approximately 8% of pregnancies, and can lead to serious complications for both mother and child. While Latinas are at two-fold increased risk of preeclampsia relative to non-Latina white women, little research on hypertension in pregnancy has been conducted in this population. Furthermore, there are few modifiable risk factors for hypertensive pregnancy. Therefore, we examined associations between psychosocial stress, physical activity, and pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy using data from the Latina GDM Study, a prospective cohort study of 1,231 women. The first study evaluated the association between perceived stress …

Detrimental Effects Of Inactivity On Insulin Action, Brooke Rene Stephens

Open Access Dissertations

Inactivity reduces insulin action. Energy surplus causes similar reductions to insulin action. Unless energy intake is reduced to match low energy expenditure during inactivity, a concurrent energy surplus may account for the lower insulin action. This study evaluated the effect of inactivity (sitting) with and without energy surplus on insulin action. Fourteen young (26.1 ± 4.5 years (M ± SD)), lean (23.7 ± 7.1% fat), fit (VO 2peak = 49.1 ± 3.3 ml*kg -1 *min -1 ) men (n=7) and women (n=7) completed each of 3, 24-hour conditions: an active condition (i.e. high energy expenditure with energy intake matched to …

Quantification Of Hormesis In Anticancer-Agent Dose-Responses, Marc A. Nascarella, Edward J. Stanek, George R. Hoffmann, Edward J. Calabrese

Edward J. Stanek

Quantitative features of dose responses were analyzed for 2,189 candidate anticancer agents in 13 strains of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The agents represent a diverse class of chemical compounds including mustards, other alkylating agents, and antimetabolites, inter alia. Previous analyses have shown that the responses below the toxic threshold were stimulatory and poorly predicted by a threshold dose-response model, while better explained by a hormetic dose-response model. We determined the quantitative features of the hormetic concentration-responses (n = 4,548) using previously published entry and evaluative criteria. The quantitative features that are described are: (1) the width of the concentration range showing …

Physical Activity And Maternal/Fetal Outcomes In A Pregnant Latina Population, Audra L Gollenberg

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

Physical activity guidelines encouraging activity among healthy pregnant women have been issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, yet Latina women remain more sedentary than non-Latina white women. Latina women are also at higher risk for gestational diabetes mellitus and, among Latina women, Puerto Rican women have the highest rates of low birth weight and preterm-related infant death. This dissertation utilized data from the Latina GDM study, a prospective cohort study of 1,231 Latina women recruited early in pregnancy and followed through delivery. Participants were interviewed in early and mid pregnancy for assessment of sociodemographics, acculturation, medical, and …

Do Metabolic And Psychosocial Responses To Exercise Explain Ethnic/Racial Disparities In Insulin Resistance?, Rebecca E Hasson

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

Introduction . Non-Hispanic blacks (blacks) are more insulin resistant compared to non-Hispanic whites (whites), increasing their risk for Type 2 diabetes. The role played by ethnic/racial disparities in the response to physical activity in mediating those higher rates of insulin resistance in blacks is unknown. Because the beneficial effects of exercise are transient and require subsequent doses of exercise to maintain the effect; the metabolic and psychosocial responses to single exercise bouts have strong implications for both opposing insulin resistance and raising the probability that an individual will continue to exercise. Purpose . To compare the metabolic and psychosocial responses …

Approaches To Estimation Of Haplotype Frequencies And Haplotype-Trait Associations, Xiaohong Li

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

Characterizing the genetic contributors to complex disease traits will inevitably require consideration of haplotypic phase, the specific alignment of alleles on a single homologous chromosome. In population based studies, however, phase is generally unobservable as standard genotyping techniques provide investigators only with data on unphased genotypes. Several statistical methods have been described for estimating haplotype frequencies and their association with a trait in the context of phase ambiguity. These methods are limited, however, to diploid populations in which individuals have exactly two homologous chromosomes each and are thus not suitable for more general infectious disease settings. Specifically, in the context …

A Photovoice Participatory Evaluation Of A School Gardening Program Through The Eyes Of Fifth Graders, Catherine Sands, Krista Harper, Lee Ellen Reed, Maggie Shar

Anthropology Department Faculty Publication Series

In the springtime, fifth grade students at the Williamsburg Elementary School in rural Western Massachusetts ask to snack on sorrel and chives from the school garden, between planting potatoes and building a shade structure for their outdoor classroom. They are members of the first cohort of the curriculum-integrated program initiated by Fertile Ground, a grassroots organization in western Massachusetts. The children’s delight in the fresh greens they have grown marks a national phenomenon: the farm-to-school movement. With limited resources, parents, teachers, students, administrators, and community activists are developing inroads to better school food and food education, by constructing school teaching …

Across The Bridge: Using Photovoice To Study Environment And Health In A Romani Community., Krista Harper, The Sajó River Association For Environment And Community Development, Hungary

Selected Publications of EFS Faculty, Students, and Alumni

This photo essay is the product of a partnership between Prof. Krista Harper, the Sajó River Association for Environment and Community Development, and community organizer Judit Bari. The project took place in a small city in northeastern Hungary hit hard by factory closings since the collapse of state socialism in 1989. The Roma community, about 20% of the town’s population, has been especially vulnerable. A team of six young people participated as photographers and discussion participants, working closely with Harper and Bari. Other community members joined discussions of the images. The team held a photo exhibition in the neighborhood where …

Vitamin D Status Among Bangladeshi Women Of Reproductive Age, Ann Micka

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Vitamin D deficiency is of particular concern among women in many south Asian countries due to low availability of vitamin D-rich foods, dark skin pigmentation, and cultural and religious practices that promote the wearing of concealing clothing. However, information regarding the vitamin D status of many subpopulations in south Asian countries is limited. The current study was conducted to assess the vitamin D status of 147 Bangladeshi women of reproductive age and determine whether vitamin D status influences susceptibility to arsenic-associated skin lesions (75 cases, 72 controls). Serum 25(OH)D3 levels were measured using a radioimmunoassay. The mean serum vitamin D …

The Association Between Bully Victimization And Risky Behaviors Among Youth, Shane Nives Isaiah Fernando

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In 2005, the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported 21.9% of males and 26.1% of females were bullied in schools. Little research has been conducted into showing an association between childhood bully victimization and risky behaviors. In addition, knowledge is limited about the connection between victimization and risky behaviors among different ethnic groups. We propose to assess the association between victimization and risky behaviors, using the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey among 3,116 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2007. Data was obtained by self-administered questionnaire, and victimization was considered as a single dichotomous variable. Victimization was assessed as …

The Association Of Self-Reported Birth Weight With Bone Mineral Content And Bone Mineral Density Among College-Aged Women, Valerie M. Hastings

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Early life factors such as birth weight have been associated with the risk of disease in adulthood, including osteoporosis. In the United States, an estimated eight million women have osteoporosis, a disease characterized by low bone mass and associated with increased risk of fracture. Peak bone mass, achieved during early adulthood, is a key determinant of risk of subsequent osteoporosis. Prior studies have suggested that an individual's birth weight is positively associated with bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) but results have differed depending on site of bone measurement and other factors considered. We assessed the relationship …

Three State-Run Green Building Programs: A Comparative Case Study Analysis And Assessment, Haidee N. Janak

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis explores three state-run green building programs (California, Minnesota and New York) through comparative case-study analysis. Main topics discussed include cost benefits, health benefits, certification (i.e. LEED or other), and lessons learned from direct interviews with program staff.

Epidemiology And Risk Factors For Staphylococcus Aureus Colonization In Children In The Post-Pcv7 Era, Grace M. Lee, Susan S. Huang, Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman, Vriginia L. Hinrichsen, Stephen I. Pelton, Ken Kleinman, William P. Hanage, Marc Lipsitch, Alexander J. Mcadam, Jonathan A. Finkelstein

Public Health Department Faculty Publication Series

BACKGROUND:

The incidence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has risen dramatically in the U.S., particularly among children. Although Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization has been inversely associated with S. aureus colonization in unvaccinated children, this and other risk factors for S. aureus carriage have not been assessed following widespread use of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). Our objectives were to (1) determine the prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA colonization in young children in the context of widespread use of PCV7; and (2) examine risk factors for S. aureus colonization in the post-PCV7 era, including the absence of vaccine-type S. …

Weight Gain In Pregnancy And Risk Of Maternal Hyperglycemia, Sharon J. Herring, Emily Oken, Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman, Janet W. Rich-Edwards, Alison M. Stuebe, Ken P. Kleinman, Matthew W. Gillman

Public Health Department Faculty Publication Series

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this study was to examine associations of weight gain from prepregnancy to glycemic screening with glucose tolerance status.

STUDY DESIGN:

Main outcomes were failed glycemic screening (1-hour glucose result >or= 140 mg/dL) with either 1 high value on 3-hour oral glucose tolerance testing (impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy) or >or= 2 high values on 3-hour oral glucose tolerance testing (gestational diabetes mellitus). We performed multinomial logistic regression to determine the odds of these glucose intolerance outcomes by quartile of gestational weight gain among 1960 women in Project Viva.

RESULTS:

Mean gestational weight gain was 10.2 +/- …

Waterborne Diseases: Linking Public Health And Watershed Data, Debalina Das

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Microbial contaminants in water are a major public health concern. Pathogens have been identified as a primary threat to river water quality in the United States, potentially impacting drinking and irrigation water sources and recreational waters. Agricultural runoff, feedlot operations, wastewater effluents, swimming activities, domestic and wild animals are potential sources of microbial contamination. This thesis presents Massachusetts as a case study for linking public health data of waterborne gastrointestinal diseases with sources of drinking water, potential recreational exposures, as well as hydrologic, climatic, and land use data. Giardia sp. has been chosen as a model organism. Information of reported …

Feasibility And Acceptability Of Continuous Glucose Monitoring And Accelerometer Technology In Exercising Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes, Nancy Allen, Cynthia Jacelon, Stuart Chipkin

Stuart R. Chipkin

Aims and Objectives—The aim of this study was to develop role model data for an intervention to motivate non-exercising individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus to engage in regular physical activity. Toward that end, the study 1) described Continuous Glucose Monitoring System data and obtained role model CGMS graphs, 2) described a monitor to measure exercise amount and intensity and 3) explored participants’ experiences of the monitors and perceptions of the glucose monitoring data. Background—Physical activity is a cornerstone of diabetes treatment yet the majority of individuals with diabetes are inactive. Thus, increasing physical activity in these individuals demands innovative …

A Photovoice Participatory Evaluation Of A School Gardening Program Through The Eyes Of Fifth Graders, Catherine Sands, Krista Harper, Lee Ellen Reed, Maggie Shar

Krista M. Harper

In the springtime, fifth grade students at the Williamsburg Elementary School in rural Western Massachusetts ask to snack on sorrel and chives from the school garden, between planting potatoes and building a shade structure for their outdoor classroom. They are members of the first cohort of the curriculum-integrated program initiated by Fertile Ground, a grassroots organization in western Massachusetts. The children’s delight in the fresh greens they have grown marks a national phenomenon: the farm-to-school movement. With limited resources, parents, teachers, students, administrators, and community activists are developing inroads to better school food and food education, by constructing school teaching …

Tree-Based Methods For Discovery Of Association Between Flow Cytometry Data And Clinical Endpoints, M. Eliot, L. Azzoni, C. Firnhaber, W. Stevens, D. K. Glencross, I. Sanne, L. J. Montaner, Andrea S. Foulkes

Andrea S Foulkes

We demonstrate the application and comparative interpretations of three tree-based algorithms for the analysis of data arising from flow cytometry: classification and regression trees (CARTs), random forests (RFs), and logic regression (LR). Specifically, we consider the question of what best predicts CD4 T-cell recovery in HIV-1 infected persons starting antiretroviral therapy with CD4 count between 200 and 350 cell/μL. A comparison to a more standard contingency table analysis is provided. While contingency table analysis and RFs provide information on the importance of each potential predictor variable, CART and LR offer additional insight into the combinations of variables that together are …

Telephone Triage Service Data For Detection Of Influenza-Like Illness, W. Katherine Yih, Kathryn S. Teates, Allyson Abrams, Ken Kleinman, Martin Kulldorff, Robert Pinner, Robert Harmon, Stanley Wang, Richard Platt

Public Health Department Faculty Publication Series

BACKGROUND:

Surveillance for influenza and influenza-like illness (ILI) is important for guiding public health prevention programs to mitigate the morbidity and mortality caused by influenza, including pandemic influenza. Nontraditional sources of data for influenza and ILI surveillance are of interest to public health authorities if their validity can be established.

METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:

National telephone triage call data were collected through automated means for purposes of syndromic surveillance. For the 17 states with at least 500,000 inhabitants eligible to use the telephone triage services, call volume for respiratory syndrome was compared to CDC weekly number of influenza isolates and percentage of …