Public Health Commons^™

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Child, Family, And Community Factors And Early Childhood Oral Health And The Utilization Of Dental Health Services, Nicole Holt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background / Objective: Children under the age of 5 years bear a disproportionate burden of oral disease. The aim of this study is to investigate how child, family, and community determinants impact dental care utilization, and parental report of child’s oral health. Methods: Data for this study came from the 2011/2012 National Survey of Children’s Health for children aged 1 to 5 years old. Dependent variables evaluated were if the child had an oral health problem, been to a dentist in the past year, and parents description of the child’s teeth. Independent variables were selected from child, family, and community …

Determining The Effects Of Social Media Monitoring To Identify Potential Foodborne Illness In Southern Nevada, Lauren Diprete

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Foodborne illness, commonly referred to as food poisoning, affects an estimated 1 in 6 Americans every year, despite the fact that it is entirely preventable. Many cases of foodborne illness go unreported; however, better reporting leads to faster health department response and containment. Social media monitoring, using software to identify trends in social media posts, is a novel new tool that has been tested in a variety of public health fields with promising preliminary results. The Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) has employed social media monitoring software to identify potential foodborne illness within Southern Nevada. The purpose of this study …

Distracted Driving In Clark County, Nevada: Analysis Of An Intervention On College Students, Heidi Ann Manlove

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Distracted driving is a growing public health concern. Highlighted in the media, local and government agencies and in peer-review literature are increased associations of motor vehicle crash related injuries and fatalities with distracted driving, especially involving youth drivers. The goal of this thesis was to analyze the effects of a distracted driving intervention on college students at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Quantitative statistical analysis was performed to compare self-reported pre and post-intervention questionnaire responses of the experimental and control groups. Between-group analysis was performed using independent t-tests and ANOVA. Within-group differences were analyzed with Repeated Measures ANOVA (RM-ANOVA) and …

Association Of Genetic Factors With Chronic Kidney Disease In Us Young Adults, Sabra Stanford

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Albumin, a protein that when found in urine, is an early indicator of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Genetic contributions have been shown to illustrate the gene-environment interactions that may lead to CKD in an individual; however, few studies have highlighted the interaction between responses of gene variations associated with the risk of increased albumin in young adults. This study’s purpose is to evaluate the hypothesis that candidate genes are related to microalbuminuria in young adults of the third wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health Wave III). This longitudinal study includes an assessment of various candidate …

Does Educational Level Influence Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Mortality Among Asians In U.S.?, Sfurti Maheshwari

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Studies on mortality from postmenopausal breast cancer (PMBC) by education level have not shown consistent results among US women. For US Asians, often seen as a “model” minority in terms of affluence and education this relationship has never been studied despite PMBC being the most common cancer in the country.

We analyzed 2008-2012 California Vital Statistics data and population data from the American Community Survey 2012 to compute age and education adjusted mortality ratios using negative binomial regression model for White (as a reference category) and Asian women. In total 3,277,106 (80%) White women and 852,376 (20%) Asian women died …

Substance Use, Treatment, And Demographic Characteristics Of Pregnant Women Entering Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder Differ By United States Census Region., Dennis J Hand, Vanessa L Short, Diane J Abatemarco

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

Opioid use disorder (OUD) among pregnant women increased substantially between 1992 and 2012 across the United States, with the greatest increases occurring in the southern states. We analyzed the 2013 Treatment Episodes Database-Admissions to determine how substances used, characteristics of treatment, and demographics of pregnant women entering treatment for opioid use disorder vary between geographical regions. Analyses were restricted to cases where women reported being pregnant at the time of admission and reported opioids as the primary substance problem leading to the treatment admission. Characteristics were compared between U.S. census regions using Chi-square tests and logistic regression with the South …

Epidemiology News, Georgia Southern University

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Student wins Third Place at GPHA Conference

Discovery And Fine-Mapping Of Adiposity Loci Using High Density Imputation Of Genome-Wide Association Studies In Individuals Of African Ancestry: African Ancestry Anthropometry Genetics Consortium, Maggie C. Y. Ng, Mariaelisa Graff, Yingchang Lu, Anne E. Justice, Poorva Mudgal, Ching-Ti Liu, Kristin Young, Lisa R. Yanek, Mary F. Feitosa, Mary K. Wojczynski, Kristin Rand, Jennifer A. Brody, Brian E. Cade, Latchezar Dimitrov, Qing Duan, Xiuqing Guo, Leslie A. Lange, Michael A. Nalls, Hayrettin Okut, Salman M. Tajuddin, Bamidele O. Tayo, Sailaja Vedantam, Jonathan P. Bradfield, Guanjie Chen, Wei-Min Chen, Alessandra Chesi, Marguerite R. Irvin, Badri Padhukasahasram, Jennifer A. Smith, Wei Zheng, Donna K. Arnett

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified > 300 loci associated with measures of adiposity including body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHR_adjBMI), but few have been identified through screening of the African ancestry genomes. We performed large scale meta-analyses and replications in up to 52,895 individuals for BMI and up to 23,095 individuals for WHR_adjBMI from the African Ancestry Anthropometry Genetics Consortium (AAAGC) using 1000 Genomes phase 1 imputed GWAS to improve coverage of both common and low frequency variants in the low linkage disequilibrium African ancestry genomes. In the sex-combined analyses, we identified …

Epidemiology News, Georgia Southern University

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Collaborates on Examination of Vigilance in Decision-Making among Dementia Family Caregivers

Exploring The Life Course Perspective In Maternal And Child Health Through Community-Based Participatory Focus Groups: Social Risks Assessment, Abraham Salinas-Miranda, Lindsey M. King, Hamisu M. Salihu, Estrellita "Lo" Berry, Deborah Austin, Susan Nash, Kenneth Scarborough, Evangeline Best, Lillian Cox, Georgette King, Carrie Hepburn, Conchita Burpee, Eugene Richardson, Marlo Ducket, Richard Briscoe, Julie Baldwin

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Little is known about the patterns of risk factors experienced by communities of color and how diverse community contexts shape the health trajectory of women from the early childhood period to the time of their pregnancies. Thus, we conducted a focus group study to identify social risks over the life course that contribute to maternal and child health from the perspective of community members residing in low income urban areas.

Ten community-based participatory focus groups were conducted with residents from selected communities in Tampa, Florida, from September to November 2013. We used the life course perspective to illuminate and explain …

Gender And Racial/Ethnic Disparities: Cumulative Screening Of Health Risk Indicators In 20-50 Year Olds In The United States, Alissa Cordner, Adrien A. Wilkie, Timothy J. Wade, Edward E. Hudgens, Rebecca J. Birch, Jane E. Gallagher

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study explored potential gender and racial/ethnic disparities in overall health risk related to 24 health risk indicators selected across six domains: socioeconomic, health status and health care, lifestyle, nutritional, clinical, and environmental. Using the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), it evaluated cross-sectional data for 5,024 adults in the United States. Logistic regression models were developed to estimate prevalence odds ratios (PORs) adjusted for smoking, health insurance status, and age. Analyses evaluated disparities associated with 24 indicator variables of health risk, comparing females to males and four racial/ethnic groups to non-Hispanic Whites. Non-Hispanic Blacks and Mexican Americans …

Positive Affect Predicts Cerebral Glucose Metabolism In Late Middle-Aged Adults., Christopher Nicholas, Siobhan M Hoscheidt, Lindsay R Clark, Annie M Racine, Sara E Berman, Rebecca L Koscik, N Maritza Dowling, Sanjay Asthana, Bradley T Christian, Mark A Sager, Sterling C Johnson

GW Biostatistics Center

Positive affect is associated with a number of health benefits; however, few studies have examined the relationship between positive affect and cerebral glucose metabolism, a key energy source for neuronal function and a possible index of brain health. We sought to determine if positive affect was associated with cerebral glucose metabolism in late middle-aged adults (n = 133). Participants completed the positive affect subscale of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale at two time points over a two-year period and underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography scanning. After controlling for age, sex, perceived health status, depressive symptoms, anti-depressant use, family …

Epidemiology News, Georgia Southern University

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Masters of Public Health Students win First at Rural Health Conference

A Historical Look At New Mexico’S Public Health, Laura J. Hall

Posters and Presentations

The poster A Historical Look at New Mexico’s Public Health, presented by Laura J. Hall, MFA, at the New Mexico Public Health Association Annual Meeting, April 5-6, 2017, examined the evolution of public health in New Mexico from statehood in 1912 to the mid-20th century. The poster highlighted key public health milestones, such as the establishment of the New Mexico Public Health Association in 1917, efforts to improve sanitation and healthcare access, and significant reductions in communicable diseases and mortality rates. It emphasized how public health initiatives contributed to longer, healthier lives for New Mexicans.

Severe Maternal Morbidity In Florida: Risk Factors And Determinants Of The Increasing Rate, Lindsay Shively Womack

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Severe maternal morbidity generally refers to the most severe complications of pregnancy and includes: hemorrhage, embolism, acute renal failure, stroke, acute myocardial infarction, and other complications. These complications affect more than 50,000 women in the United States every year, with rates significantly increasing from 1998 to 2011. In an effort to reduce these increasing complication rates, clinicians and researchers have emphasized the need to identify potential modifiable risk factors for severe maternal morbidity, and the need to study the relationships between these risk factors and severe maternal morbidity. The overall goal of this study is to improve the understanding of …

Concentration Levels Of Pm2.S And Pm 10 Paper Dust In A Book Production Facility, Blake J. Cvengros

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Concentration levels of PM2.5 and PM10 paper dust were measured in a book production facility using a quantitative single subject study. Dust concentration data was collected in three processes of a book manufacturing facility; paper recycling, the digital pressroom and the digital bindery. Data was collected using the DustTrak DRX 8533 Aerosol Monitor, focusing on particulate sizes of PM2.5 and PM10. The data was used to determine if paper dust in the book production industry reached concentration levels that could have negative respiratory health effects on surrounding employees and to determine which process within the studied facility had the highest …

Outcomes After Diagnosis Of Mild Cognitive Impairment In A Large Autopsy Series, Erin L. Abner, Richard J. Kryscio, Frederick A. Schmitt, David W. Fardo, Daniela C. Moga, Eseosa T. Ighodaro, Gregory A. Jicha, Lei Yu, Hiroko H. Dodge, Chengjie Xiong, Randall L. Woltjer, Julie A. Schneider, Nigel J. Cairns, David A. Bennett, Peter T. Nelson

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: To determine clinical and neuropathological outcomes following a clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

METHODS: Data were drawn from a large autopsy series (N = 1,337) of individuals followed longitudinally from normal or MCI status to death, derived from 4 Alzheimer Disease (AD) Centers in the United States.

RESULTS: Mean follow‐up was 7.9 years. Of the 874 individuals ever diagnosed with MCI, final clinical diagnoses were varied: 39.2% died with an MCI diagnosis, 46.8% with a dementia diagnosis, and 13.9% with a diagnosis of intact cognition. The latter group had pathological features resembling those with a final clinical …

Ebola Virus - Epidemiology, Diagnosis, And Control: Threat To Humans, Lessons Learnt, And Preparedness Plans - An Update On Its 40 Year's Journey, Raj Kumar Singh, Kuldeep Dhama, Yashpal Singh Malik, Muthannan Andavar Ramakrishnan, Kumaragurubaran Karthik, Rekha Khandia, Ruchi Tiwari, Ashok Munjal, Mani Saminathan, Perumal Arumugam, Sunil Kumar Joshi

Bioelectrics Publications

Ebola virus (EBOV) is an extremely contagious pathogen and causes lethal hemorrhagic fever disease in man and animals. The recently occurred Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks in the West African countries have categorized it as an international health concern. For the virus maintenance and transmission, the non-human primates and reservoir hosts like fruit bats have played a vital role. For curbing the disease timely, we need effective therapeutics/prophylactics, however, in the absence of any approved vaccine, timely diagnosis and monitoring of EBOV remains of utmost importance. The technologically advanced vaccines like a viral-vectored vaccine, DNA vaccine and virus-like particles are …

Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index Is Associated With Dietary Inflammatory Index And C-Reactive Protein Concentrations During Pregnancy, Dayeon Shin, Junguk Hur, Eun-Hee Cho, Hae-Kyung Chung, Nitin Shivappa, Michael D. Wirth, James R. Hébert, Kyung Won Lee

Faculty Publications

There have been a limited number of studies examining the association between pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and dietary inflammation during pregnancy. Our aim is to examine the association between pre-pregnancy BMI and the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII)™ and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations during pregnancy. The study included 631 pregnant American women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cross-sectional examinations from 2003 to 2012. Pre-pregnancy BMI was calculated based on self-reported pre-pregnancy weight and measured height. The cut-offs of <18.5 (underweight), 18.5–24.9 (normal), 25.0–29.9 (overweight), and ≥30 kg/m2 (obese) were used to categorize the weight status of pregnant women prior to pregnancy. The DII, a literature-based dietary index to assess the inflammatory properties of diet, was estimated based on a one-day 24-h recall. Multivariable linear and logistic regressions were performed to estimate beta coefficients and the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) on the association of pre-pregnancy BMI categories with the DII and CRP concentrations during pregnancy. After controlling for variables including: race/ethnicity, family poverty income ratio, education, marital status, month in pregnancy, and smoking status during pregnancy; women who were obese before pregnancy (n = 136) had increased odds for being in the highest tertile of the DII and CRP concentrations compared to women with normal weight (AORs 2.40, 95% CIs 1.01–5.71; AORs 24.84, 95% CIs 6.19–99.67, respectively). These findings suggest that women with pre-pregnancy obesity had greater odds of reporting higher DII and having elevated CRP. In conclusion, high pre-pregnancy BMI was associated with increased odds of pro-inflammatory diet and elevated CRP levels during pregnancy in the USA.

Tobacco Product Use Among Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Adolescents., Hongying Dai

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVES: Sexual minority youth face health disparities and a high risk of substance abuse. This study sought to fully characterize the disparity of tobacco use and risk factors in this high-risk subpopulation.

METHODS: Using data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the current use of various tobacco products (cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, and e-cigarettes) was compared according to sex and distinct sexual identities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and unsure). Heterosexual/straight adolescents served as the control group.

RESULTS: Of 14 703 respondents, 88.8% were heterosexual/straight, 2.0% were lesbian or gay, 6.0% were bisexual, and 3.2% were unsure about their sexual identity. …

Multimorbidity And Mortality Risk: The Effect Of Depressive Symptom Trajectories Among Middle-Aged And Older Adults, Katherine Reynolds O’Shields

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction

Multimorbidity, commonly defined as having two or more chronic conditions, is a major burden in middle-aged and older adults, causing increased risks for hospitalizations, medical care costs, and even death. One condition with severe adverse effects in the older population is depression. Depression has been shown to increase ones social isolation while compounding self-management, eventually increasing ones chance for mortality. Multimorbidity coupled with depression has been shown to increase the risk for mortality; however, these results are typically based on a one-time depression evaluation. The main objective of this study is to examine if depressive symptom trajectories modifies the …

Cis-Eqtl-Based Trans-Ethnic Meta-Analysis Reveals Novel Genes Associated With Breast Cancer Risk, Joshua Hoffman, Rebecca Graff, Nima Emami, Caroline Tai, Michael Passarelli

Dartmouth Scholarship

Breast cancer is the most common solid organ malignancy and the most frequent cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Previous research has yielded insights into its genetic etiology, but there remains a gap in the understanding of genetic factors that contribute to risk, and particularly in the biological mechanisms by which genetic variation modulates risk. The National Cancer Institute's "Up for a Challenge" (U4C) competition provided an opportunity to further elucidate the genetic basis of the disease. Our group leveraged the seven datasets made available by the U4C organizers and data from the publicly available UK Biobank cohort to …

Sleep Quality And Its Health Correlates Among Egyptian Secondary School Students, Dalia M. Ismail, Dalia G. Mahran, Ali H. Zarzour, Ghaydaa A. Sheahata

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The objective of the recent study was to determine the prevalence of poor sleep quality and to assess its psychological and general health correlates among secondary school students in the city of Assiut, Egypt. A cross sectional study was conducted among 829 secondary school students (selected by multistage stratified random sampling) aged 15–19 years in Assiut. Students filled in a self-administered questionnaire that included demographic data, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale, general perception of health, and the short form of Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. The prevalence of poor sleep quality (PSQI >5) was 72.5%. The mean …

Clinical & Translational Research In Pneumonia: Defining A Research Agenda For Today And Tomorrow, Julio A. Ramirez

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

From the Editor in Chief

The reason for this special supplement of the Journal is to inform readers of a scientific research conference supported by the National Institutes of Health (NHI). The NIH Research Conference Grant (R13) supports high quality scientific conferences in areas that are important to the NIH's mission and to the public health. We just received notification that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has approved the application for an international research conference entitled: DzClinical & Translational Research in Pneumonia: Defining a Research Agenda for Today and Tomorrowdz. The conference will be held on Wednesday, …

A Statistical Method For The Conservative Adjustment Of False Discovery Rate (Q-Value)., Yinglei Lai

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: q-value is a widely used statistical method for estimating false discovery rate (FDR), which is a conventional significance measure in the analysis of genome-wide expression data. q-value is a random variable and it may underestimate FDR in practice. An underestimated FDR can lead to unexpected false discoveries in the follow-up validation experiments. This issue has not been well addressed in literature, especially in the situation when the permutation procedure is necessary for p-value calculation.

RESULTS: We proposed a statistical method for the conservative adjustment of q-value. In practice, it is usually necessary to calculate p-value by a permutation procedure. …

Epidemiology News, Georgia Southern University

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern study shows number of obese adults trying to lose weight is decreasing

Sex-Dependent Effects Of Ho-1 Deletion From Adipocytes In Mice, Peter A. Hosick, Mary Frances Weeks, Michael W. Hankins, Kyle H. Moore, David E. Stec

Department of Exercise Science and Physical Education Scholarship and Creative Works

Induction of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been demonstrated to decrease body weight and improve insulin sensitivity in several models of obesity in rodents. To further study the role of HO-1 in adipose tissue, we created an adipose-specific HO-1 knockout mouse model. Male and female mice were fed either a control or a high-fat diet for 30 weeks. Body weights were measured weekly and body composition, fasting blood glucose and insulin levels were determined every six weeks. Adipocyte-specific knockout of HO-1 had no significant effect on body weight in mice fed a high-fat diet but increased body weight in female mice …

Utilizing Three Years Of Epidemiological Data From Medical Missions In Cambodia To Shape The Mobile Medical Clinic Formulary, Jeany Kim Jun, Junia S. Koo, Amy Y. Kang, Deborah B. Chien, Albert Shim, Dale Knutson, Eda M. Kim

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: The purpose of this project was to gather epidemiological data on common diseases and medications dispensed during medical mission teams to Cambodia to shape the mobile medical clinic formulary.

Methods: Data for patients seen during week-long, mobile, medical clinics was collected in Cambodia during Septembers 2012 to 2014. Patient’s gender, age, weight, blood pressure, glucose, pertinent laboratory values, diagnoses, and medications dispensed were collected. Blood pressure and glucose were measured in patients 18 years and above. Data collected onto paper intake forms were transferred onto spreadsheets without patient identifying information and analyzed for aggregate means, common diseases, and most …

Neighborhood Deprivation, Food Insecurity And Gestational Weight Gain, Sabrina Luke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gestational weight gain outside the recommended ranges puts women at risk for pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes. Food insecurity and environmental factors including neighborhood deprivation may influence gestational weight gain. This research 1) examines the impact of neighborhood deprivation on gestational weight gain, 2) identifies if the association varies by selected maternal characteristics, 3) examines the relationship between food insecurity and gestational weight gain, 4) determines if stress mediates the relationship between food insecurity and gestational weight gain, and 5) examines whether selected maternal characteristics mediate this relationship. The research was conducted through the analysis of the Pregnancy Risk …

Epidemiology News, Georgia Southern University

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: News & Publications (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Sleep in Families with Children