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Students with chronic health conditions miss more school days than their peers and are at increased risk for performing worse on standardized tests and not completing a high school degree. University-based researchers, state government leaders, and a local county school system collaborated to use existing health and academic data to (1) evaluate the strength of the relationship between health status and school performance (absenteeism, grades) and (2) describe the health status of students who are chronically absent. Analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, negative binomial regression models, and estimated marginal means. The most common health conditions among the 3,663 kindergarten through Grade 12 students were ADD (attention deficit disorder)/ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), asthma, migraine headaches, mental health conditions, and eczema/psoriasis/skin disorders. After controlling for covariates, having asthma or a mental health diagnosis was positively associated with absences; and having an ADD/ADHD or mental health diagnosis was negatively associated with GPA (grade point average). Chronically absent students had significantly lower GPAs, and a higher number of health conditions than other students. The success of this demonstration project encourages strengthening existing collaborations and establishing new multidisciplinary partnerships to analyze existing data sources to learn more about the relationship between student health and academic achievement. Moreover, connecting health status to academic achievement might be a chief tactic for advocating for additional resources to improve the care and management of chronic disease conditions among students.

Community water fluoridation (CWF) and its effect in reducing the burden of dental caries (tooth decay) is considered one of the 10 public health achievements in the 20th century. In the U.S., three-quarters (74.4%) of people on community water supplies have optimally fluoridated water, and each year approximately 90 communities actively consider starting or discontinuing CWF. CWF exists within the policy environment and includes actions taken by local community councils, health and water boards, and groups; state legislatures and health departments; national regulatory and science agencies; independent science entities; and professional and nonprofit organizations. Epidemiologists have been in the forefront of CWF. Experience with the past 70 years reveals that the coming decades will bring additional questions, recommendations, and challenges for CWF. The continued involvement of epidemiologists as part of multidisciplinary teams is needed in research, surveillance, peer review of studies, assessment of systematic review findings, and in the translation and communication of science findings to audiences with limited science/health literacy. This chapter's purpose is to 1) examine how epidemiologic evidence regarding CWF has been translated into practice and policy, 2) examine how recommendations for and challenges to CWF have affected epidemiologic research and community decision-making, and 3) identify lessons learned for epidemiologists., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The main objective of this study was to examine the association between four types of adverse life events (family environment, separation, social adversity, and death) and the development of depressive symptoms among Puerto Rican youth. This was a secondary analysis using three waves (2000-2004) of interview data from the Boricua Youth Study of 10-13 year old Puerto Rican youth residing in New York and Puerto Rico with no depressive symptoms at baseline (n = 977). Depressive symptoms increased with an increase in social adversity, separation, death, and death events. Youth support from parents was a significant protective factor for all adverse events and parent coping was a protective factor in social adversity events. Relying on standard diagnostic tools is ideal to identify youth meeting the criteria for a diagnosis of depression but not useful to detect youth who present with subclinical levels of depression. Youth with sub-clinical levels of depression will not get treated and are at increased risk of developing depression later in life. Adverse life events are potentially relevant to use in conjunction with other screening tools to identify Puerto Rican youth who have subclinical depression and are at risk of developing depression in later adolescence., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This study examines whether orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) primary caregivers are facing absolute household wealth (AWI) disparities, the association between AWI and women's overweight status, and the modifying role of OVC primary caregiving status on this relationship. Demographic Health Surveys data (2006-2007) from 20 to 49 year old women in Namibia (n = 6,305), Swaziland (n = 2,786), and Zambia (n = 4,389) were analyzed using weighted marginal means and logistic regressions. OVC primary caregivers in Namibia and Swaziland had a lower mean AWI than other women in the same country. In Zambia, OVC primary caregivers had a lower mean AWI score than non-primary caregivers living with an OVC but a higher mean AWI score than non-OVC primary caregivers. In Swaziland and Zambia, even small increases in household wealth were associated with higher odds for being overweight regardless of women's caregiving status. Only in Namibia, OVC primary caregiving modified the effect of the previous association. Among Namibian OVC primary caregivers, women who had at least medium household wealth (4 or more AWI items) were more likely to be overweight than their poorest counterparts (0 or 1 AWI items). OVC primary caregivers are facing household wealth disparities as compared to other women from their communities. Future studies/interventions should consider using population-based approaches to reach women from every household wealth level to curb overweight in Swaziland and Zambia and to focus on specific household wealth characteristics that are associated with OVC primary caregivers' overweight status in Namibia.

Public policy driving health disparities research has overwhelmingly focused on racial and ethnic populations other than non-Hispanic whites; these groups have historically been and continue to be disproportionately impacted by health disparities. Only recently has public policy focused on the inclusion of people with disabilities as a distinct health disparities population. These 2 areas of research have traveled parallel paths with little recognition of the health disparities that affect people at the intersection of race, ethnicity, and disability. This commentary reflects on the history, foci, and current status of these 2 separate tracks of health disparities research. We conclude the commentary with suggestions for merging the 2 tracks to develop research that addresses both disability as well as race and ethnicity.

Objective: Investigate the relationship between dietary acculturation and current self-rated health (SRH) among African immigrants, by country or region of origin., Design: Cross-sectional, mixed-methods design using baseline data from longitudinal study of immigrants granted legal permanent residence May to November, 2003, and interviewed June, 2003 to June, 2004., Setting: 2003 New Immigrant Survey., Participants: African immigrants from a nationally representative sample (n = 763) averaged 34.7 years of age and 5.5 years' US residency; 56.6% were male, 54.1% were married, 26.1% were Ethiopian, and 22.5% were Nigerian., Main Outcome Measure(s): Current SRH (dependent variable) was measured using 5-point Likert scale questions; dietary acculturation (independent variable) was assessed using a quantitative dietary change scale., Analysis: Multivariate logistic regression tested the relationship of dietary acculturation with current SRH (α = .05; P < .05 considered significant); exploratory qualitative subset dietary analysis (n = 60) examined food/beverages consumed pre-/post-migration., Results: African immigrants reporting moderate dietary change since arrival in the US had higher odds of poorer SRH status than immigrants reporting low dietary change (odds ratio, 1.903; 95% confidence interval, 1.143-3.170; P = .01). Among most dietary change groups, there was an increase in fast food consumption and decrease in fruit and vegetable consumption., Conclusions and Implications: Nutrition educators and public health practitioners should develop targeted nutrition education for African immigrants who are older, less educated, and at increased health risk., (Copyright © 2014 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Although over 1.5 million African immigrants live in the US, few studies have examined the relationship of language acculturation to health outcomes among African immigrant adults. The primary objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between English proficiency and current self-rated health among African immigrant adults. Using a cross-sectional design, a secondary data analysis was performed on baseline data from the African immigrant adult subsample (n = 763) of the 2003 New Immigrant Survey, a longitudinal study of lawful permanent residents. Limited English proficiency (LEP), increased duration of US residence, older age at immigration, being male, less than 12 years of education, poor pre-migration health, and chronic disease were associated with good/fair/poor current self-rated health. Findings support consideration of pre-migration health and chronic disease in future acculturation and health studies, and provision of linguistically competent interventions for LEP African immigrants at risk for poor health outcomes.

Purpose: Epidemiologists have long contributed to policy efforts to address health disparities. Three examples illustrate how epidemiologists have addressed health disparities in the United States and abroad through a "social determinants of health" lens., Methods: To identify examples of how epidemiologic research has been applied to reduce health disparities, we queried epidemiologists engaged in disparities research in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, and drew upon the scientific literature., Results: Resulting examples covered a wide range of topic areas. Three areas selected for their contributions to policy were: (1) epidemiology's role in definition and measurement, (2) the study of housing and asthma, and (3) the study of food policy strategies to reduce health disparities. Although epidemiologic research has done much to define and quantify health inequalities, it has generally been less successful at producing evidence that would identify targets for health equity intervention. Epidemiologists have a role to play in measurement and basic surveillance, etiologic research, intervention research, and evaluation research. However, our training and funding sources generally place greatest emphasis on surveillance and etiologic research., Conclusions: The complexity of health disparities requires better training for epidemiologists to effectively work in multidisciplinary teams. Together we can evaluate contextual and multilevel contributions to disease and study intervention programs to gain better insights into evidenced-based health equity strategies., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We examined common barriers and best practices in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of Latino lay health promoter programs., Methods: Ten lay health promoter program coordinators serving Maryland Latinos were recruited in 2009 through snowball sampling for in-depth semistructured interviews with a bilingual and bicultural researcher. Program coordinators were asked about recruitment, selection, training, and supervision; key program elements; and evaluation. Analyses were conducted to identify common themes., Results: Respondents had worked up to 13 years in programs focused on such areas as awareness of healthy lifestyles and reducing risk of illness. Coordinators looked for Latino leaders with team-building skills and a desire to help the community. Six programs compensated promoters with stipends; 4 paid an hourly wage. Promoters were usually trained in monthly meetings that actively engaged them. Most programs conducted site visits, practice sessions, and performance evaluations., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that successful health promoter programs require needs assessments, formation of a target population advisory board, identification of appropriate promoters, and a significant amount of training. These findings can be used to guide future programs in the identification, recruitment, and training of health promoters as well as in program monitoring.

Background: Previous studies have found that Latinos who smoke are less likely than non-Latino white smokers to use pharmaceutical aids such as nicotine replacement therapies or to receive physician advice to stop smoking. This qualitative study further explored barriers and facilitators to smoking cessation among Latino adults in Maryland., Methods: Five Spanish-language focus groups were conducted in September 2008 in Maryland with Latino current smoker and ex-smoker men and women (n = 55). Participants were recruited through flyers, information sheets, and site visits at community health clinics and Latino events, and were predominately of Central American origin., Results: Personal health concerns were the main reason to quit smoking; impact on children and family health and role model pressure were frequently mentioned. Barriers to quit smoking included environmental temptation and social factors, emotional pressure, addiction, and habitual behavior. Respondents mostly relied on themselves for cessation, with little use of cessation products or other medications, or awareness of available services., Conclusions: Social influence serves both as a strong motivation for Latinos to quit smoking and as a source of temptation to continue smoking. Favored by both current smokers and ex-smokers, lay health promoters are effective agents to reach Latinos with smoking cessation interventions. In addition, the low use of cessation services could be improved by increasing awareness and availability of Spanish-language cessation services.

Purpose: In the past decade, we have witnessed increasing numbers of individuals entering the field of epidemiology. With the increase also has come a diversity of training and paths by which individuals entered the field. The purpose of this survey was characterization of the epidemiology workforce, its job diversity, and continuing education needs., Methods: The Minority Affairs and Membership committees of the American College of Epidemiology (ACE) prepared and administered a workforce survey to identify racial/ethnic diversity, demographic background, workplace type, credentials, income, subspecialties, and continuing education needs of epidemiologists. The survey was self-administered to attendees of the Second North American Congress of Epidemiology in June 2006., Results: A sample of 397 respondents of the 1348 registered for the Congress was captured (29.5% response). Epidemiologists who participated were from 36 states and 18 countries; 54.6% were trained at the doctoral level; 19.1% earned $120,001 or more a year. A wide range of epidemiology subspecialties and continuing education needs were identified., Conclusions: This preliminary snapshot of epidemiologists indicates a wide range of training mechanisms, workplace sites, and subspecialties. Results indicate a need for examination of the core graduate training needs of epidemiologist as well as responding to desired professional development needs through the provision of continuing education efforts.

Introduction and Hypothesis: Despite higher rates of depression, lower hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use, and inadequate knowledge of factors associated with osteoporosis, Mexican Americans have been understudied with regards to the association between depression, osteoporosis, and fractures. We hypothesized that depression increases the risk for osteoporosis and fractures among older Mexican American women., Methods: Seven years of prospective data (1993-2001) from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly were analyzed for 1,350 women in the Southwest United States who had complete data for at least the first follow-up interview., Results: Respondents (mean age:75) were generally poorly educated, had low income, and reported poor or fair health. High levels of depressive symptoms were reported by 31%, while new diagnosis of osteoporosis and new fractures were reported by 18 and 13%, respectively. Logistic regression analyses showed that predictors of newly diagnosed osteoporosis included age, high school (HS) education, ever having been an alcoholic, early menopause, hormone replacement therapy, and high levels of depressive symptoms. Factors predictive of new fractures included age, HS education, diabetes, early menopause, and high levels of depressive symptoms., Conclusions: Depressive symptoms were associated with increased risk of osteoporosis and new fractures, even after controlling for other predictive factors.

Data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES) (1982 through 1984) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) II (1976 through 1980) were used to examine reported physician-diagnosed asthma among 6-month-old through 11-year-old children. The highest prevalence of active asthma was reported for Puerto Ricans: 11.2% compared with 3.3% for non-Hispanic Whites, 5.9% for non-Hispanic Blacks, 2.7% for Mexican Americans, and 5.2% for Cubans. Health services utilization and severity do not appear to explain the differences between Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans. Educational programs on asthma should consider focusing on Puerto Ricans.

To prevent posttransfusion viral hepatitis, screening of potential blood donors includes the measurement of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. The current use of single system-wide ALT cutoffs to determine acceptability of a blood unit or donor may not be appropriate, since male and Hispanic blood donors have much higher rejection rates than other donors, based solely on ALT level. Serum ALT measurements from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used to confirm these ALT elevations within general population samples of Mexican Americans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans. Until specific tests are available to detect all hepatitis viral infections, testing blood donors for ALT levels will likely continue. Health personnel should be cautious in their interpretation of "elevated" ALT levels in these Hispanic populations.

Residues of toxic chemicals in human tissues and fluids can be important indicators of exposure. Urine collected from a subsample of the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was analyzed for organochlorine, organophosphorus, and chlorophenoxy pesticides or their metabolites. Urine concentration was also measured. The most frequently occurring residue in urine was pentachlorophenol (PCP), found in quantifiable concentrations in 71.6% of the general population with an estimated geometric mean level of 6.3 ng/ml. Percent quantifiable levels of PCP were found to be highest among males. Quantifiable concentrations of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (5.8%), 2,4,5-trichlorophenol (3.4%), para-nitrophenol (2.4%), dicamba (1.4%), malathion dicarboxylic acid (0.5%), malathion alpha-monocarboxylic acid (1.1%), and 2,4-D (0.3%) were found, but at much lower frequencies. No quantifiable levels of 2,4,5-T or silvex were found. Preliminary analyses showed an apparent relationship between residue concentration and two measures of urine concentration (osmolality and creatinine). A large segment of the general population of the United States experienced exposure to certain pesticides, including some considered biodegradable, during the years 1976-1980.