Environmental Public Health Commons^™

Predicting Adolescents’ Intake Of Fruits And Vegetables, Leslie A. Lytle, Sherri Varnell, David M. Murray, Mary Story, Cherly Perry, Amanda Birnbaum, Martha Y. Kubik

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective

To explore potential predictors of adolescent fruit and vegetable intake by expanding on current theory and drawing from other adolescent research.

Design

This research reports on the baseline and interim data from a school-based intervention study. Data were collected through surveys administered to students at the beginning and end of their 7th-grade year.

Setting

The students attended 16 public schools in Minnesota.

Participants

Data were collected on 3878 students; approximately half were female and 67% were white. All students in the 7th-grade cohort were invited to participate in the surveys and over 94% completed both surveys.

Variables Measured

Our …

Obstructive And Restrictive Lung Disease And Markers Of Inflammation: Data From The Third National Health And Nutrition Examination, David M. Mannino, Earl S. Ford, Stephen C. Redd

David M. Mannino

Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and restrictive lung diseases are important causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States 1, 2 and 3, a large proportion of the morbidity and mortality is not pulmonary (4). This raises the possibility that lung disease may be an indicator of susceptibility to the development of other diseases or may be associated with systemic inflammation that leads to other diseases 5 and 6. Previous analyses of the relation between lung function and markers of inflammation 7 and 8 have not looked at restrictive lung disease separately.

We applied spirometric criteria to define …

School Functioning And Violent Behavior Among Young Adolescents: A Contextual Analysis, Amanda Birnbaum, Leslie A. Lytle, Peter J. Hannan, David M. Murray, Cheryl L. Perry, Jean L. Foster

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper examines associations between overall school functioning and the frequency of violent behaviors among young adolescents (ages 10–14). The sample included 16 middle schools participating in an unrelated intervention study (on nutrition) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A School Functioning Index developed to characterize schools’ overall stability, performance, and demographics was constructed using data from public archives and school administrator surveys. Data on violent behaviors and other variables were collected in student surveys in fall 1998 and spring 1999. We used multilevel modeling to assess the effect of school functioning on violent behavior after adjusting for known individual-level covariates of violent …

Tobacco Smoke Exposure And Decreased Serum And Red Blood Cell Folate Levels: Data From The Third National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, David M. Mannino, Joseph Mulinare, Earl S. Ford, Joel Schwartz

David M. Mannino

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the effects of smoke exposure on serum and red blood cell folate levels. Data collected as part of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. Serum and red blood cell folate levels were measured in active smokers and nonsmokers with high, moderate, and low exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. After adjusting for dietary intake of folate and other covariates, we found that both smokers and nonsmokers with high smoke exposure had lower red blood cell folate levels than did nonsmokers with low smoke exposure (−86 nmol/l [95% confidence …

The Epidemiology Of Sepsis In The United States From 1979 Through 2000, Greg S. Martin, David M. Mannino, Stephanie Eaton, Marc Moss

David M. Mannino

BACKGROUND

Sepsis represents a substantial health care burden, and there is limited epidemiologic information about the demography of sepsis or about the temporal changes in its incidence and outcome. We investigated the epidemiology of sepsis in the United States, with specific examination of race and sex, causative organisms, the disposition of patients, and the incidence and outcome.

METHODS

We analyzed the occurrence of sepsis from 1979 through 2000 using a nationally representative sample of all nonfederal acute care hospitals in the United States. Data on new cases were obtained from hospital discharge records coded according to the International Classification of …

Associations Between Perceived Family Meal Environment And Parent Intake Of Fruit,Vegetables, And Fat, Kerri N. Boutelle, Amanda Birnbaum, Leslie Lytle, David M. Murray, Mary T. Story

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective

To describe the family mealtime environment and assess associations with adult fruit, vegetable, and fat intake.

Design

Telephone survey.

Participants

A convenience sample of 277 adults in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area were recruited through 4 schools. The sample was 85% female and 70% married. The mean number of children in the household was 2.6 (range 1 to 9).

Variables Measured

Adult fruit and vegetable intake, fat intake, and perceptions of the mealtime environment.

Analysis

Descriptive and mixed-model linear regression.

Results

Participants reported that the television was frequently on during dinner meals and almost one third felt that their family …