Public Health Commons^™

We Like Fried Things: Negotiating Health, Taste And Tradition Among Spanish Caribbean Communities In New York City, Melissa Fuster

Publications and Research

The study was conducted to understand fried-food (FF) consumption among Hispanic Caribbean (HC) communities in New York City. Data were collected through qualitative interviews with 23 adults self-identified as Cuban, Dominican, or Puerto Rican. Most informants considered FFs an important part of their traditional diet. Potential explanations included taste, cost, convenience, and the emotive values attached to FF. FF consumption was contextualized in local foodscapes. Results include strategies to diminish FF consumption and differences across HC groups and migratory generations. The relevance for future nutrition interventions addressing health disparities in this community is discussed

Frequently Endorsed Cognitive And Physical Activities Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Valdiva G. Da Silva, Tangeria R. Adams, Joshua Fogel, Mindy J. Katz, Krystal E. Mendez, Laura A. Rabin

Publications and Research

Background Despite the established benefits of cognitive and physical activity, a paucity of research examines the specific activities older adults favor, particularly those meeting the nationally recommended minimum duration of > 30 minutes per session.

Material/Methods 260 non-demented, community-dwelling participants aged 70 and above self-reported the duration of their participation in 26 cognitive and physical activities during a typical week. Overall activity engagement was investigated by sex and educational level.

Results The most endorsed physical activities were walking, stretching/yoga and gardening, while the most endorsed cognitive activities were reading magazines/newspapers, reading books, and doing crosswords. Walking (p = .048), swimming (p …

A Cost-Effectiveness Study Of The Quadrivalent Hpv6/11/16/18 Vaccination In A Two-Dose Scheme In Girls Of 9-11 Years Old Compared To Bivalent Hpv 16/18 Vaccination In Ecuador And Challenges For Public Health And Screening, Maria-Isabel Roldos, Isabel Espinosa, Amit Kulkarni, Matthew Pillsbury, Andrew Pavelyev, Homero A. Monsanto, Diego Guarin, Miguel Cashat-Cruz

Publications and Research

Abstract

Aims: Assess the incremental cost-effectiveness of the quadrivalent HPV6/11/16/18 vaccination as administered in a two-dose scheme to girls between 9 and 11 years old, as compared to the bivalent HPV 16/18 vaccination administered in Ecuador, and to estimate the cost-saving of preventing GW while preventing cervical cancer with both vaccines.

Study Design: We used a previously developed transmission dynamic mathematical model to evaluate the impact of routine vaccination of 9-11 year-old females. The model assumed coverage of 90% for two doses of HPV6/11/16/18 vaccine at international price rates versus HPV16/18 vaccine and costs for genital warts treatment. Other simulation …

The Role Of Birthplace And Educational Attainment On Induced Abortion Inequalities, Yolanda Gonzalez-Rabago, Elena Rodriguez-Alvarez, Luisa N. Borrell, Unai Martin

Publications and Research

Background: Induced abortion (IA) has shown social inequality related to birthplace and education with higher rates of IAs in immigrant and in less educated women relative to their native and highly educated counterparts. This study examined the independent and joint effects of birthplace and education on IA, repeated and IA performed during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy among women residing in the Basque Country, Spain.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional population-based study of IA among women aged 25–49 years residing in the Basque Country, Spain, between 2011 and 2013. Log-binomial regression was used to quantify the independent and joint effects …

Editorial: Depression, Burnout, And Other Mood Disorders: Interdisciplinary Approaches, Eric Laurent, Bianchi Renzo, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Pierre Vandel

Publications and Research

Various perspectives on mood disorders and psychopathology are brought into perspective. The paper underlines (i) an interdisciplinary perspective and a complexity-oriented approach and (ii) an interest in both basic problems in science and potential far-reaching consequences of research applications.

Burnout Or Depression: Both Individual And Social Issue, Bianchi Renzo, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

In view of the profound problems attached to the construct of burnout, we recommended that occupational health specialists focus on (job-related) depression rather than burnout to help workers more effectively. Epstein and Privitera (April 8, 1398) rejected our recommendation on the grounds that burnout is not a “purely individual syndrome”. Problematically, Epstein and Privitera attributed to us an idea that is not ours. In these authors’ view, equating burnout with depression is synonymous with mistakenly individualising a social problem. For two reasons, the argument that depression cannot replace burnout because burnout is a social problem whereas depression is an individual …

‘Burnout Syndrome’: From Nosological Indeterminacy To Epidemiological Nonsense, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

All in all, Imo’s review is undermined by the very research it relies on. We recommend that researchers interested in burnout begin at the beginning, that is to say, by establishing a reasoned, clinically-founded (differential) diagnosis for their entity of interest. As long as investigators do not complete the required groundwork for establishing a diagnosis and remain unable to distinguish a case of burnout from either a noncase or an existing disorder, conclusions regarding the prevalence of burnout will be nonsense. To close this comment, we note that an immediately available solution for effectively monitoring and protecting physicians’ occupational health …

On The Depressive Nature Of The “Burnout Syndrome”: A Clarification, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Pierre Vandel, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

Key theoretical arguments and empirical findings converge to suggest that the burnout construct captures a depressive phenomenon. The reluctance to consider burnout a depressive condition may be due to (a) a neglect of the stress–depression relationship and (b) a difficulty coordinating dimensional and categorical approaches to psychopathology in burnout research. The dimensions and categories constitute two ways of describing (psychopathological) phenomena. Thus, dimensions and categories should be heuristically combined rather than opposed: burnout and depression can be studied both as ‘‘processes’’ or ‘‘end-states’’. Clarifying what burnout actually is matters in terms of conceptual parsimony, theoretical integration, nosological consistency, interventional effectiveness, …

Physician Burnout Is Better Conceptualised As Depression, Bianchi Renzo, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

Ronald Epstein and Michael Privitera reported that burnout affects more than half of practising physicians. The authors additionally warned against confusing burnout with depression. For two reasons we are concerned with the validity of these conclusions. First, there is now robust evidence that burnout is a depressive condition. Second, the published estimates of burnout’s prevalence rely on clinically groundless criteria, cobbled together without any rationale.

Can We Trust Burnout Research?, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

Banerjee et al. recently attempted to estimate the ‘prevalence’ of burnout among European oncologists.Studies of burnout’s ‘prevalence’ are flourishing in the medical literature, with their cortege of arbitrary estimates. We think that it is high time to reconsider the way burnout is conceived and assessed, in order to avoid a trivialization of the job stress phenomenon and allow for a more rational allocation of our (limited) interventional resources. Recasting burnout as a work-related depressive condition may be a critical step in this process.

Do Burnout Researchers Go Around In Circles?, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

The incessant reports on the burnout syndrome contrasts sharply with the validity of burnout research. Major problems in the definition and discriminant validity of burnout prevent investigators from getting a clear view of how job stress affects physicians’ health. The inability to distinguish a case of burnout from a non-case is only one of many signs that burnout research is problematic. Burnout researchers should face this reality rather than ignore it.

Defining Physician Burnout, And Differentiating Between Burnout And Depression—I, Bianchi Renzo, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

A redefinition of burnout as a depressive condition is called for so that the harmful effects of unresolvable job stress can be more accurately and comprehensively assessed. As research compellingly suggests, reducing the harmful effects of unresolvable job stress to the experience of burnout's dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment is mistaken in that it denies the depressive core of the syndrome referred to as “burnout.” Replacing the notion of burnout by the concept of job-induced depression would help us be more effective in the management of occupational adversity.

Burnout Symptoms: Depressive Manifestations Under Psychosocial Labels?, Bianchi Renzo, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

It can be concluded that burnout symptoms represent depressive symptoms under nonmedical labels. Our analysis supports the view that burnout is synonymous with depression and constitutes a roadblock to transdisciplinary communication.

Consequences Of Job Stress For The Psychological Well-Being Of Teachers, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Renzo Bianchi, Peter Luehring-Jones

Publications and Research

This chapter examines research on the relationship between job stressors and mental health (depressive symptoms, burnout, and mental disorders such as depression) in teachers. Teachers are exposed daily to job stressors (e.g., student disruptiveness) that have been linked to adverse mental health effects. Epidemiologic research indicates that when compared to members of other groups, teachers experience higher rates of mental disorder, although some studies question that conclusion. Large-scale studies indicate when compared to members of other occupational groups, teachers are at higher risk for exposure to workplace violence, with its adverse mental health consequences. Longitudinal research has linked teaching-related stressors …

The Determinants Of Health: Neighborhood Characteristics, Obesity And The Mental Health Of African-American Adolescent Girls, Roseanne L. Flores

Publications and Research

The present study examined the relationship among neighborhood characteristics, obesity, and the mental health outcomes of a nationally representative sample of African-American adolescent girls between the ages of 12 - 17. Using data from the 2011/2012 National Survey of Children’s Health, four questions were extracted to measure neighborhood amenities, neighborhood detractors, body mass index, and experience of depression. Ordinal regressions were calculated to estimate the relationships between all variables. The results indicated that over 25% of African- American girls, ages 12 - 14 were overweight and obese with fewer 15 - 17-year-old girls falling within these categories. African-American girls had …

Minority College Women’S Views On Condom Negotiation, Tywanda Mclaurin-Jones, Maudry-Beverly Lashley, Vanessa Marshall

Publications and Research

This study utilized quantitative and qualitative methods to (1) investigate the relationship between frequency of condom use and negotiation strategies and (2) evaluate experiences with condom negotiations among sexually active, heterosexual, African American college women. One hundred female students from a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) completed a questionnaire that included the Condom Influence Strategies Scale (CIS) and participated in a focus group. An ANOVA was conducted to compare differences between never, inconsistent, and consistent condom users. Consistent condom users scored higher than never users on the “withholding sex” subscale of the CIS (4.88 vs. 3.55; p < 0.001) as well as endorsed items more strongly on the “direct request” subscale of the CIS (4.63 vs. 3.82, p < 0.05) than never users. A thematic analysis of open discussions identified overarching themes. Similarly, refusing sex and/or having direct communications with partner emerged as primary strategies. Threats to negotiation included deciding the “right timing” of discussion and having a previous history of sexual intercourse without a condom with their partner. Other key concepts that contribute to condom negotiation are the views that condoms are a male’s responsibility and stigma of women who carry condoms.

Sexual Behavior And Substance Use Among Women Across The Spectrum Of Sexual Orientation, Margaret M. Wolff

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Compared to non-sexual minority women, sexual minority women are at greater risk for substance use and abuse, sexual risk behaviors, and unplanned teen pregnancy; few studies measure differing associations by sexual orientation (e.g., identity, behavior, attraction) or discordance (e.g., heterosexually-identified women with female partners) components. Minority stress may explain sexual minority women’s health disparities; thus, as U.S. policies evolve to reflect growing acceptance of all sexual minorities, research should examine sexual minority women’s health risk behaviors using multidimensional constructs of sexual orientation.

Methods: Using the female sample of the 2002-2013 National Survey of Family Growth (Aims 1-2 n=25,523; …

Liver Enzymes And Risk Of Ischemic Heart Disease And Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Mendelian Randomization Study, Junxi Liu, Shiu Lun Au Yeung, Gabriel M. Leung, C. Mary Schooling

Publications and Research

We used Mendelian randomization to estimate the causal effects of the liver enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT), on diabetes and cardiovascular disease, using genetic variants predicting these liver enzymes at genome wide significance applied to extensively genotyped case-control studies of diabetes (DIAGRAM) and coronary artery disease (CAD)/myocardial infarction (MI) (CARDIoGRAMplusC4D 1000 Genomes). Genetically higher ALT was associated with higher risk of diabetes, odds ratio (OR) 2.99 per 100% change in concentration (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.62 to 5.52) but ALP OR 0.92 (95% CI 0.71 to 1.19) and GGT OR 0.88 (95% CI 0.75 …

Characteristics Of Medication Advertisements Found In Us Women’S Fashion Magazines, Jennifer Mongiovi, Grace Clarke Hillyer, Corey H. Basch, Danna Ethan, Rodney Hammond

Publications and Research

Background: Although prescriptions are dispensed at discretion of medical professionals, many pharmaceutical companies use direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising to increase sales. Over-the- counter (OTC) medications are similarly marketed.

Methods: We examined the content of advertisements in 38 issues of 9 popular US women’s fashion magazines. We evaluated target audience, health condition, product availability, message appeal, target to females, and mention of potential side effects and benefits.

Results: Sixty total medication advertisements were identified, 58.3% (95% CI: 45.8, 70.8) for prescription products. In magazines targeted to non-Hispanic Whites, >65% of advertisements were for OTC medications whereas 80% (95% CI: 66.7, 94.5) of …

Burden Of Disease Associated With Lower Levels Of Income Among Us Adults Aged 65 And Older, Erica I. Lubetkin, Haomia Jia

Publications and Research

Background: Persons aged 65 years and older represent a heterogeneous group whose prevalence in the USA is expected to markedly increase. Few investigations have examined the total burden of disease attributable to lower levels of income in a single number that accounts for morbidity and mortality.

Methods: We ascertained respondents’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores and mortality status from the 2003 to 2004, 2005 to 2006, 2007 to 2008 and 2009 to 2010 cohorts of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) with mortality follow-up through 31 December 2011. A mapping algorithm based on respondents’ age and answers …

A Green Oasis: What Makes Community Gardens Worth Saving? While Researchers Amass Evidence Of Benefits, Advocates Develop New Strategy To Prove Their Value., Joel Wolfram

Capstones

Green Valley Community Garden in Brownsville, Brooklyn, is one of about a dozen gardens on land owned by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development that are being uprooted by plans to build affordable housing. The gardeners are fighting back to prevent the garden’s destruction, saying that the food-producing green space is a source of healthy eating in a community with high rates of health problems, like diabetes and obesity. Researchers are attempting to tease out the public health benefits of community gardens as one metric of their value, but the science is still catching up with …

Preying On The Desperate, Karen M. Savage

Capstones

In this story, I investigate the marketing and sale of concentrated hydrogen peroxide to individuals who are desperate to cure serious health maladies. The story follows an online marketer who was warned by the FDA more than ten years ago to stop claiming hydrogen peroxide ingestion could cure cancer and other ailments. But in spite of the warning and subsequent FDA investigation, the individual continues to claim high strength hydrogen peroxide helps with brain tumors and leukemia and he can now be tied to several different websites marketing various “brands” of high strength hydrogen peroxide. Another marketer distributes hydrogen peroxide …

Drink Me And Abort Your Baby: The Herbal Abortion Tea, Maya Lewis

Capstones

For most of history every abortion was a herbal abortion. Herbal abortion is exactly what it sounds like––a series of herbs that, if taken at the right time, in the right form and dosage, can induce a miscarriage. It's risky, under researched and rarely supported. But with women's clinic dwindling all over the country and a president elect who wants to repeal Roe v. Wade, herbal abortion might soon make a major come back–– for better or worse.

Link to capstone project: https://medium.com/@maya.lewis/drink-me-and-abort-your-baby-the-herbal-abortion-tea-46aadd15f659

Birth Weight And Risk Of Ischemic Heart Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Study, Shiu Lun Au Yeung, Shi Lin Lin, Albert Martin Li, C. Mary Schooling

Publications and Research

Low birth weight is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, the association could be confounded by many factors. We used Mendelian randomization to clarify the role of birth weight in ischemic heart disease (IHD) and lipids. We used all 7 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) independently contributing to birth weight at genome wide significance (p < 5 × 10−8) in separate sample instrumental variable analysis to estimate the effect of birth weight on IHD using the CARDIoGRAMplusC4D 1000 Genomes based GWAS case (n = 60,801)-control (n = 123,504) study and on lipids using GLGC (n = 188,577). Higher genetically predicted birth weight was associated with lower risk of IHD (odds ratio (OR) 0.96 per 100 grams, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93 to 0.99), but the association was not robust to sensitivity analyses excluding SNPs related to height or use of weighted median methods. Genetically predicted birth weight was not associated with low density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides, but was associated with lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol (−0.014 standard deviation, 95% CI −0.027 to −0.0005) and the association was more robust to the sensitivity analyses. Our study does not show strong evidence for an effect of birth weight on IHD and lipids.

Cause For Question: Risk And Postmodern Panic In The Vaccine Safety Debate, Marygrace Trifilio

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the thoughts and feelings of non-vaccinating parents in America and argues that contemporary vaccine refusal results from overwhelming information saturation in the Internet age. Non-vaccinating parents express distrust of competing scientific research and call for a return to a more natural, toxin-free lifestyle.

Regional Variation In Ascaris Lumbricoides And Trichuris Trichiura Infections By Age Cohort And Sex: Effects Of Market Integration Among The Indigenous Shuar Of Amazonian Ecuador, Theresa E. Gildner, Tara J. Cepon-Robins, Melissa A. Liebert, Samuel S. Urlacher, Felicia C. Madimenos, J. Josh Snodgross, Lawrence S. Sugiyama

Publications and Research

Background: Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection peaks during childhood and varies by sex. The impact of market integration (MI) (increasing production for and consumption from a market-based economy) on these infection patterns, however, is unclear. In this study, STH infection is examined by sex and age among indigenous Shuar inhabiting two regions of Amazonian Ecuador: (1) the modestly market-integrated Upano Valley (UV) and (2) the more traditional Cross-Cutucú (CC) region.

Methods: Kato-Katz fecal smears were examined for parasite presence and infection intensity. Factorial ANOVAs and post hoc simple effects analyses were performed by sex to compare infection intensity between regions and …

Illegitimate Tasks As An Impediment To Job Satisfaction And Intrinsic Motivation: Moderated Mediation Effects Of Gender And Effort-Reward Imbalance, Rachel Omansky, Erin M. Eatough, Marcus J. Fila

Publications and Research

The current work examines a contemporary workplace stressor that has only recently been introduced into the literature: illegitimate tasks. Illegitimate tasks are work tasks that violate identity role norms about what can reasonably be expected from an employee in a given position. Although illegitimate tasks have been linked to employee well-being in past work, we know little about the potential explanatory mechanisms linking illegitimate tasks to work-relevant negative psychological states. Using a sample of 213 US-based employees of mixed occupations and a cross-sectional design, the present study examines job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation as outcomes of illegitimate tasks. Additionally, we …

Hiv Glycoprotein Gp120 Impairs Fast Axonal Transport By Activating Tak1 Signaling Pathways, Sarah H. Berth, Nichole Mesnard-Hoaglin, Bin Wang, Hajwa Kim, Yuyu Song, Maria Sapar, Gerardo Morfini, Scott T. Brady

Publications and Research

Sensory neuropathies are the most common neurological complication of HIV. Of these, distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP) is directly caused by HIV infection and characterized by length-dependent axonal degeneration of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Mechanisms for axonal degeneration in DSP remain unclear, but recent experiments revealed that the HIV glycoprotein gp120 is internalized and localized within axons of DRG neurons. Based on these findings, we investigated whether intra-axonal gp120 might impair fast axonal transport (FAT), a cellular process critical for appropriate maintenance of the axonal compartment. Significantly, we found that gp120 severely impaired both anterograde and retrograde FAT. Providing a …

Towards An Integrated Primary And Secondary Hiv Prevention Continuum For The United States: A Cyclical Process Model, Tim Horn, Jennifer Sherwood, Robert H. Remien, Denis Nash, Judith D. Auerbach

Publications and Research

Introduction: Every new HIV infection is preventable and every HIV-related death is avoidable. As many jurisdictions around the world endeavour to end HIV as an epidemic, missed HIV prevention and treatment opportunities must be regarded as public health emergencies, and efforts to quickly fill gaps in service provision for all people living with and vulnerable to HIV infection must be prioritized.

Discussion: We present a novel, comprehensive, primary and secondary HIV prevention continuum model for the United States as a conceptual framework to identify key steps in reducing HIV incidence and improving health outcomes among those vulnerable to, as well …

Habitual Coffee Consumption And Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes, Ischemic Heart Disease, Depression And Alzheimer’S Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Study, Man Ki Kwok, Gabriel M. Leung, C. Mary Schooling

Publications and Research

Observationally, coffee is inversely associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), depression and Alzheimer’s disease, but not ischemic heart disease (IHD). Coffee features as possibly protective in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Short-term trials suggest coffee has neutral effect on most glycemic traits, but raises lipids and adiponectin. To clarify we compared T2DM, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and IHD and its risk factors by genetically predicted coffee consumption using two-sample Mendelian randomization applied to large extensively genotyped case-control and cross-sectional studies. Childhood cognition was used as a negative control outcome. Genetically predicted coffee consumption was not associated with T2DM (odds …