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Interpersonal trauma (IPT) against women can have dire psychological consequences including persistent maladaptive changes in the subjective experience of affect. Contemporary literature has firmly established heightened negative affect (NA) as a risk and maintenance factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the relationship between NA and PTSD symptoms is not well understood within IPT survivors, the majority of whom are female, as much of this research has focused on combat veterans. In addition, the connection between positive affect (PA) and PTSD symptoms has yet to be examined. With increased emphasis on “negative alterations in cognitions and mood . . .” as an independent symptom cluster of PTSD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5), understanding the relationship between self-reported affectivity and the classic PTSD symptom clusters may be increasingly useful in differentiating symptom presentations of trauma-related psychopathology. The current study directly compared self-reported trait NA and PA with total severity and frequency cluster scores from the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) in 54 female survivors of IPT who met criteria for PTSD. Results identify NA (but not PA) as a consistent predictor of total PTSD symptoms and, specifically, re-experiencing symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between regional fat mass distribution and cardiometabolic risk factors has been inconsistent in the literature, and data for ethnic minority groups, such as non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics, are lacking. We aimed to examine this association among 8802 US residents who participated in the 1999-2004 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Leg fat indices included leg fat mass (FM), leg fat mass percent (FM%), leg to whole body FM ratio (leg/whole) and leg to trunk FM ratio (leg/trunk). We evaluated the correlation between leg fat indices and adiposity-related risk factors, as well as the association of these indices with metabolic syndrome (MetS). After adjusting for covariates including age, gender, and trunk FM or trunk FM%, higher leg FM and leg FM% were, in general, correlated favorably with adiposity-related risk factors and associated with lower odds of MetS in all ethnicities, including non-Hispanic whites and blacks and Hispanic groups. In addition, in all multivariate-adjusted models, leg/whole and leg/trunk ratios were strongly associated with lower levels of most risk factors and decreased odds of MetS in these ethnicities (all odds ratios comparing extreme quintiles < 0.1). Our results show that leg fat accumulation is inversely associated with adiposity-related biological factors and risk of MetS in both whites and ethnic groups, suggesting that regional fat distribution plays an important role in the etiology of adiposity-related diseases in these populations.

Objectives: To assess the association between potato consumption, blood pressure changes and the risk of hypertension in two Mediterranean populations. Design: Separate analyses were performed in the PREDIMED (PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea), a multicenter nutrition intervention trial, and the SUN ("Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra") project, an open, prospective cohort, both in Spain. Participants: The PREDIMED trial included 6,940 participants aged 55-80 years at high risk for cardiovascular disease. The SUN project included 13,837 middle-aged participants who were university graduates. Main outcome measures: In PREDIMED, generalized estimating equations adjusted for lifestyle and dietary characteristics were used to assess changes in blood pressure across quintiles of total potato consumption during a 4-year follow-up. Controlled blood pressure levels during follow-up were also assessed. For SUN, multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for incident hypertension during an average 6.7-year follow-up were calculated. Results: In PREDIMED, the mean (SD) total potato intake was 81.9 (40.6) g/day. No overall significant differences in blood pressure changes were detected based on consumption of potatoes. For total potatoes, the mean change in systolic BP after multivariate adjustment was quintile 5 (Q5) vs. quintile 1 (Q1): -0.90, 95% CI: (-2.56 to 0.76) mmHg, p for trend=0.14 and for diastolic BP it was Q5 vs. Q1: -0.02, 95% CI: (-0.93 to 0.89) mmHg, p for trend=0.81. In SUN, the mean (SD) total potato consumption was 52.7 (33.6) g/day and no significant association between potato consumption and hypertension incidence was observed: HR: for total potato consumption, Q5 vs. Q1: 0.98, 95% CI: (0.80 to 1.19), p for trend=0.84. Conclusions: Potato consumption is not associated with changes in blood pressure or risk of hypertension in Mediterranean populations and this might be explained by relatively low consumption of potatoes and characteristics of the traditional Mediterranean diet, particularly the custom of accompanying potatoes with vegetables or legumes and dressing them with olive oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinetics of the dissociation of gold oxide, Au2O3, formed by O2-plasma treatment of Au film were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and by taking electrical resistance measurements. The surface resistance of the gold film was markedly increased by O2-plasma treatment and then gradually returned to the initial value in air at room temperature (22 °C). XPS indicated that Au2O3 can be formed by O2-plasma treatment and spontaneously dissociated to gold elements. The time dependence of the dissociation of Au2O3 was also analyzed by monitoring the surface resistance and applying a first-order rate equation at temperatures between 22 and 100 °C; the activation energy was calculated to be 57 kJ/mol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: Prior research has found that plant-based diets (PBDs) are rated as acceptable and have similar levels of adherence as compared to other therapeutic dietary approaches; however, previous studies were mostly among white populations. Plant-based diets can produce clinically meaningful weight loss, but outcomes may vary by level of adherence. The goal of this study was to examine the differences in weight and lipids among participants in the Nutritious Eating with Soul study based on adherence to their diet assignment., Methods: African American adults ( n  = 159; 79% female) with overweight or obesity (mean BMI 36.9 ± 6.9 kg/m 2 ) were recruited to participate in a 24-month intervention. Participants were randomized to a plant-based vegan ( n  = 77) or a low-fat omnivorous ( n  = 82) diet, both emphasizing soul food cuisine. Participants attended nutrition classes and had dietary intake/adherence (three 24-h recalls; adherence score 1-5), body weight, lipids, and other secondary outcomes assessed at baseline, 6-, 12-, and 24 months. Participants who met at least half of the adherence criteria (≥2.5 out of 5) were categorized as adherents., Results: At 24 months, adherent vegans lost 5% of their body weight, non-adherent vegans lost -0.005%, adherent omnivores lost -0.03%, and non-adherent omnivores lost -0.02%. Adherent vegans lost more weight (kg) than all other participants at both 6- (-3.32 ± 0.92 (-5.14, -1.49), p  < 0.001) and 24 months (-3.27 ± 1.49 (-6.23, -0.31), p  = 0.03). Adherent vegans also lost more weight than less adherent vegans (-3.74 ± 1.05 (-5.82, -1.65)), adherent omnivores (-4.00 ± 1.27 (-6.51, -1.48)), and less adherent omnivores (-2.22 ± 0.98 (-4.15, -0.28)) at 6 months and lost more weight than less adherent vegans at 24 months (-4.96 ± 1.8 (-8.54, -1.37)) (all p  < 0.05). Adherent vegans had greater improvements in cholesterol-to-HDL ratio at 24 months (-0.47 ± 0.22 (-0.92, -0.03), p  = 0.04) and greater decreases in insulin (-4.57 ± 2.16 (-8.85, -0.29), p  = 0.04) at 6 months than all other participants combined., Conclusions: The study points to the benefit of the use of a PBD for reducing weight, lipids, and insulin in African American adults, but also highlights the importance of supporting adherence to the PBD., Clinical Trialsgov Id: Nutritious Eating With Soul (The NEW Soul Study); NCT03354377., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s). Obesity Science & Practice published by World Obesity and The Obesity Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Perceived stress in the United States has drastically increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and is associated with negative mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety. Digital mental health (DMH) interventions are efficacious tools to address negative mental health outcomes and have helped reduce the severity of psychological symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, and perceived stress, compared to waitlist controls. Although DMH tools have been studied in controlled settings, less is known about the real-world evidence of such interventions., Objective: This study aimed to (1) characterize patterns in baseline perceived stress and changes in perceived stress among Headspace members with moderate and severe baseline perceived stress and (2) examine associations between engagement with Headspace content and changes in perceived stress (ie, evaluate whether there is a dose-response relationship)., Methods: We evaluated real-world perceived stress and engagement data at 2 time points among Headspace app members with baseline moderate and severe perceived stress. Perceived stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and engagement using active days and active minutes engaged with Headspace as well as the number of user sessions. Descriptive statistics were computed for all variables. Correlations between baseline and follow-up scores, percent change in PSS-10 scores, days between PSS-10 use, active days, active days per week, active minutes, active minutes per day, sessions, and sessions per week were evaluated. We used t tests to investigate differences in the abovementioned parameters between (1) participants who did and those who did not see improvements in PSS-10 scores (yes vs no improvement) and (2) participants who saw ≥30% improvement versus those who saw a <30% improvement in PSS-10 scores., Results: Overall, 21,088 Headspace members were included in these analyses. On average, members saw a 23.52% decrease in PSS-10 scores from baseline to follow-up. On average, members had 2.42 (SD 1.76) active days per week and 25.89 (SD 33.40) active minutes per day, and completed 7.11 (SD 8.34) sessions per week. t tests suggest that members who saw improvements in PSS-10 scores from baseline to follow-up had significantly higher baseline PSS-10 scores (Cohen d=0.56), more active days per week (Cohen d=0.33), and more sessions per week (Cohen d=0.27) than those who did not see improvements in PSS-10 scores (all P<.001). Additional t tests suggest that members with ≥30% improvement in PSS-10 scores had significantly higher baseline PSS-10 scores (Cohen d=0.35), more active days per week (Cohen d=0.36), and more sessions per week (Cohen d=0.31) than those with a >30% improvement (all P<.001)., Conclusions: Real-world use of Headspace is associated with decreased perceived stress. Furthermore, data suggest that more engagement, specifically weekly active days and sessions, is associated with a greater likelihood of stress reduction., (© Christine Callahan, Justin Kimber, Emily Hu, Leah Tanner, Sarah Kunkle. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (https://mhealth.jmir.org).)

Background: While there is a strong association between adhering to a healthy dietary pattern and reductions in blood pressure, adherence remains low. New technologies aimed to help facilitate behavior change may have an effect on reducing blood pressure among individuals with hypertension., Objective: This study aims to evaluate characteristics of participants with stage 2 hypertension who used Foodsmart and to assess changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)., Methods: We analyzed demographic, dietary, and clinical characteristics collected from 11,934 adults with at least two blood pressure readings who used the Foodsmart platform. Stage 2 hypertension was defined as SBP ≥140 mmHg or DBP ≥90 mmHg. We calculated mean changes in blood pressure among participants with stage 2 hypertension and stratified by length of follow-up and the covariates associated with achieving blood pressure levels below stage 2 hypertension. We compared changes in diet quality and weight between participants with stage 2 hypertension at baseline who achieved stage 1 hypertension or below and those who did not., Results: We found that 10.63% (1269/11,934) of participants had stage 2 hypertension at baseline. Among Foodsmart participants with stage 2 hypertension at baseline, SBP and DBP decreased, on average, by 5.7 and 4.0 mmHg, respectively; 33.02% (419/1269) of participants with stage 2 hypertension at baseline achieved blood pressure levels below stage 2 hypertension (SBP <140 mmHg and DBP <90 mmHg). Using a multivariable ordinal logistic regression model, changes in Nutriscore (P=.001) and weight (P=.04) were statistically significantly associated with changes in blood pressure categories for users with stage 2 hypertension at baseline. Using a multivariable logistic regression model, we found that baseline Nutriscore, change in Nutriscore, and change in weight were associated with greater likelihood of users with stage 2 hypertension at baseline achieving a lower blood pressure category., Conclusions: This study evaluated changes in SBP and DBP among users (with hypertension) of the Foodsmart platform and found that those with stage 2 hypertension, on average, improved their blood pressure levels over time., (©Shivani Bakre, Benjamin Shea, Jason Langheier, Emily A Hu. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 17.03.2022.)

Objectives: To summarise evidence on the association between white rice consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes and to quantify the potential dose-response relation., Design: Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies., Data Sources: Searches of Medline and Embase databases for articles published up to January 2012 using keywords that included both rice intake and diabetes; further searches of references of included original studies., Study Selection: Included studies were prospective cohort studies that reported risk estimates for type 2 diabetes by rice intake levels., Data Synthesis: Relative risks were pooled using a random effects model; dose-response relations were evaluated using data from all rice intake categories in each study., Results: Four articles were identified that included seven distinct prospective cohort analyses in Asian and Western populations for this study. A total of 13,284 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were ascertained among 352,384 participants with follow-up periods ranging from 4 to 22 years. Asian (Chinese and Japanese) populations had much higher white rice consumption levels than did Western populations (average intake levels were three to four servings/day versus one to two servings/week). The pooled relative risk was 1.55 (95% confidence interval 1.20 to 2.01) comparing the highest with the lowest category of white rice intake in Asian populations, whereas the corresponding relative risk was 1.12 (0.94 to 1.33) in Western populations (P for interaction=0.038). In the total population, the dose-response meta-analysis indicated that for each serving per day increment of white rice intake, the relative risk of type 2 diabetes was 1.11 (1.08 to 1.14) (P for linear trend<0.001)., Conclusion: Higher consumption of white rice is associated with a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, especially in Asian (Chinese and Japanese) populations.