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Objective: To understand student perceptions, interest and intentions of pursuing public health as a result of COVID-19 during educational experiences. Participants: Two hundred seventy-seven students completed the survey representing 38 states and two countries. Methods: An online survey was administered to current undergraduate and graduate students at two institutions. Results: The difference between the ease of attaining a public health job for nonpublic health and public health students was significant prior to (p =.002) and during the pandemic (p =.015). There was an increase of 5.8% in student interest in continuing education in public health. 13% of respondents agreed the pandemic had been handled appropriately at the national level and 33% at the state level, and 57% expressed distrust of future responses. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a positive influence of COVID-19 on the desire to seek further education and careers in public health, highlights a lack of confidence in effective future pandemic responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Exposure to famine during early life is related to several adverse health outcomes in adulthood, but the effect of famine exposure during adolescence is unclear. This study aims to examine whether exposure to famine in adolescence is associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adulthood.Methods: This study included 4130 Chinese adults (2059 males and 2071 females) aged 59-71 from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). All the selected participants were exposed to the three-year time period (1959-1961) of China's Great Famine. Participants were categorized into an adolescent-exposed group (born 01/01/1944-12/31/1948) and a non-adolescent-exposed group (born 01/01/1940-12/31/1941 and 01/01/1951-12/31/1952). Sex-stratified multiple logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between exposure to famine in adolescence and MetS.Results: Participants exposed to famine during adolescence were more likely to report MetS (aOR = 1.35; 95%CI 1.01-1.78) compared to the non-adolescent-exposed group. Further, males were 45% less likely to report MetS than females (aOR = 0.55; 95%CI 0.36-0.83). After stratification by sex, the effects of famine exposure during adolescence on MetS were detected among males only (aOR = 1.97; 95%CI 1.20-3.24). Additionally, males with a history of drinking were more likely to report MetS compared to those with no history of drinking (aOR = 2.63; 95%CI 1.41-4.90).Conclusions: Our findings reveal that exposure to famine during adolescence is associated with higher odds of MetS in adulthood overall, and this association is only pronounced among males. This study emphasizes that undernutrition in early life, including adolescence, may have a long-term effect and be associated with adverse health events in middle-to-late life. Targeting those elderly people who suffered famine during adolescence may help prevent the development of MetS in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the association among nighttime sleep, daytime napping, total sleep duration (nighttime sleep plus daytime napping), and stroke in an elderly Chinese population. Methods: Data were derived from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) with 4785 Chinese respondents over 65 years old. Four binary logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of the association among total sleep duration, nighttime sleep, daytime napping, and stroke, adjusting for confounders. Results: After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, health status, and comorbidity, there was no association between abnormal nighttime sleep and stroke (P values > 0.05). Compared to individuals with normal total sleep duration (7–8 h per day), short sleep duration (< 7 h per day) was approximately two times more likely to increase the risk of stroke (AOR = 1.81, 95%CI 1.10–2.97). Individuals who reported vision impairment, disability, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and mental health issues were at higher risk of stroke. In addition, physical activities with different levels were associated with a lower risk of stroke. Taking naps was not associated with stroke incidence (AOR = 1.12, 95%CI 0.77–1.64). Conclusion: In this elderly Chinese population, short total sleep duration per 24 h, not merely daytime napping or nighttime sleep, was significantly associated with an increased risk of stroke. Preventive measures for stroke may require a focus on elderly, sedentary individuals who report other health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Public health interventions have been implemented to contain the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in New York City. However, the assessment of those interventions—for example, social distancing and cloth face coverings—based on real-world data from published studies is lacking. Methods The Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed (SEIR) compartmental model was used to evaluate the effect of social distancing and cloth face coverings on the daily culminative laboratory confirmed cases in New York City (NYC) and COVID-19 transmissibility. The latter was measured by Rt reproduction numbers in 3 phases that were based on 2 interventions implemented during this timeline. Results Transmissibility decreased from phase 1 to phase 3. The initial R0 was 4.60 in phase 1 without any intervention. After social distancing, the Rt value was reduced by 68%, while after the mask recommendation, it was further reduced by ~60%. Conclusions Interventions resulted in significant reduction of confirmed case numbers relative to predicted values based on the SEIR model without intervention. Our findings highlight the effectiveness of social distancing and cloth face coverings in slowing down the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in NYC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine possible modes of virus transmission, we investigated a cluster of coronavirus disease cases associated with a shopping mall in Wenzhou, China. Data indicated that indirect transmission of the causative virus occurred, perhaps resulting from virus contamination of common objects, virus aerosolization in a confined space, or spread from asymptomatic infected persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]