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Are diets with a greater environmental impact less healthy? This is a key question for nutrition policy, but previous research does not provide a clear answer. To address this, our objective here was to test whether American diets with the highest carbon footprints predicted greater population-level mortality from diet-related chronic disease than those with the lowest.
Design:
Baseline dietary recall data were combined with a database of greenhouse gases emitted in the production of foods to estimate a carbon footprint for each diet. Diets were ranked on their carbon footprints and those in the highest and lowest quintiles were studied here. Preventable Risk Integrated Model (PRIME), an epidemiological modelling software, was used to assess CVD and cancer mortality for a simulated dietary change from the highest to the lowest impact diets. The diet–mortality relationships used by PRIME came from published meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and prospective cohort studies.
Setting:
USA.
Participants:
Baseline diets came from adults (n 12 865) in the nationally representative 2005–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Results:
A simulated change at the population level from the highest to the lowest carbon footprint diets resulted in 23 739 (95 % CI 20 349, 27 065) fewer annual deaths from CVD and cancer. This represents a 1·83 % (95 % CI 1·57 %, 2·08 %) decrease in total deaths. About 95 % of deaths averted were from CVD.
Conclusions:
Diets with the highest carbon footprints were associated with a greater risk of mortality than the lowest, suggesting that dietary guidance could incorporate sustainability information to reinforce health messaging.
Chronic muscle diseases (MD) are progressive and cause wasting and weakness in muscles and are associated with reduced quality of life (QoL). The ACTMuS trial examined whether Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as an adjunct to usual care improved QoL for such patients as compared to usual care alone.
Methods
This two-arm, randomised, multicentre, parallel design recruited 155 patients with MD (Hospital and Depression Scale ⩾ 8 for depression or ⩾ 8 for anxiety and Montreal Cognitive Assessment ⩾ 21/30). Participants were randomised, using random block sizes, to one of two groups: standard medical care (SMC) (n = 78) or to ACT in addition to SMC (n = 77), and were followed up to 9 weeks. The primary outcome was QoL, assessed by the Individualised Neuromuscular Quality of Life Questionnaire (INQoL), the average of five subscales, at 9-weeks. Trial registration was NCT02810028.
Results
138 people (89.0%) were followed up at 9-weeks. At all three time points, the adjusted group difference favoured the intervention group and was significant with moderate to large effect sizes. Secondary outcomes (mood, functional impairment, aspects of psychological flexibility) also showed significant differences between groups at week 9.
Conclusions
ACT in addition to usual care was effective in improving QoL and other psychological and social outcomes in patients with MD. A 6 month follow up will determine the extent to which gains are maintained.
Although bovine embryo in vitro production (IVP) is a common assisted reproductive technology, critical points warrant further study, including sperm traits and oxidative status of sperm for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Our aim was to evaluate whether the lipid peroxidation index of commercial bull semen is influenced by sperm traits and oxidative status of sperm populations selected using Percoll® gradient. Semen straws from 48 batches from 14 Nelore bulls were thawed individually, analyzed for motility and subjected to Percoll selection. After Percoll, the lipid peroxidation index of the extender was evaluated, whereas selected sperm were analyzed for motility, acrosome and membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, chromatin resistance and oxidative potential under IVF conditions. Batches were divided retrospectively in four groups according to lipid peroxidation index. Sperm from Group 4 with the lowest index of lipid peroxidation had, after Percoll selection, greater plasma membrane integrity (81.3%; P = 0.004), higher mitochondrial potential (81.1%; P = 0.009) and lower oxidative potential (135.3 ng thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)/ml; P = 0.026) compared with Group 1 with highest lipid peroxidation index (74.3%, 73% and 213.1 ng TBARS/ml, respectively). Furthermore, we observed negative correlations for the lipid peroxidation index with motility, membrane integrity and mitochondrial potential, and positive correlations with oxidative potential. In conclusion, oxidative stress in semen straws, as determined using lipid peroxidation in the extender, is associated with sperm traits and their oxidative potential under IVF conditions. These results provided further insights regarding the importance of preventing oxidative stress during semen handling and cryopreservation, as this could affect sperm selected for IVF. Finally, Percoll selection did not completely remove sperm with oxidative markers.
Nearly three times as many people detained in a jail have a serious mental illness (SMI) when compared to community samples. Once an individual with SMI gets involved in the criminal justice system, they are more likely than the general population to stay in the system, face repeated incarcerations, and return to prison more quickly when compared to their nonmentally ill counterparts.
The Cal-DSH Diversion Guidelines provide 10 general guidelines that jurisdictions should consider when developing diversion programs for individuals with a serious mental illness (SMI) who become involved in the criminal justice system. Screening for SMI in a jail setting is reviewed. In addition, important treatment interventions for SMI and substance use disorders are highlighted with the need to address criminogenic risk factors highlighted.
Whether unintentional or by design, built, social, and perceived environments influence the human experience. Behavior is not solely the product of a rational motivated actor, operating independently from his or her environment; rather, it is also a function of edifices, neighborhoods, and public spaces, as well as the inhabitants, community norms, and the social capital they generate. Likewise, addictive behaviors have as much to do with the environmental contexts surrounding individuals as with their unique biological factors, specific brain mechanisms, and psychogenic causes. Any attempt to address addiction at either individual or population levels would benefit from careful consideration of the social and contextual influences on cognitions, opportunities, motivations, and behaviors. Interventions informed by this understanding are more likely to be efficacious than those solely targeted toward individual biology, motivations, or attitudes. In this chapter, we discuss the relationship between physical and social environments (PSE), health, and the behavior of humans. We then focus on the influential role of the PSE on the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances; food, eating behaviors, and addictions contributing to the current obesity epidemic; and a selection of other behavioral addictions. The chapter closes by discussing methodological considerations and implications for professional practice.
To quantify diet-related burdens of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) by country, age and sex in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Design:
Intakes of eleven key dietary factors were obtained from the Global Dietary Database Consortium. Aetiologic effects of dietary factors on CMD outcomes were obtained from meta-analyses. We combined these inputs with cause-specific mortality data to compute country-, age- and sex-specific absolute and proportional CMD mortality of eleven dietary factors in 1990 and 2010.
Setting:
Thirty-two countries in LAC.
Participants:
Adults aged 25 years and older.
Results:
In 2010, an estimated 513 371 (95 % uncertainty interval (UI) 423 286–547 841; 53·8 %) cardiometabolic deaths were related to suboptimal diet. Largest diet-related CMD burdens were related to low intake of nuts/seeds (109 831 deaths (95 % UI 71 920–121 079); 11·5 %), low fruit intake (106 285 deaths (95 % UI 94 904–112 320); 11·1 %) and high processed meat consumption (89 381 deaths (95 % UI 82 984–97 196); 9·4 %). Among countries, highest CMD burdens (deaths per million adults) attributable to diet were in Trinidad and Tobago (1779) and Guyana (1700) and the lowest were in Peru (492) and The Bahamas (504). Between 1990 and 2010, greatest decline (35 %) in diet-attributable CMD mortality was related to greater consumption of fruit, while greatest increase (7·2 %) was related to increased intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Conclusions:
Suboptimal intakes of commonly consumed foods were associated with substantial CMD mortality in LAC with significant heterogeneity across countries. Improved access to healthful foods, such as nuts and fruits, and limits in availability of unhealthful factors, such as processed foods, would reduce diet-related burdens of CMD in LAC.
The Time to Change (TTC) anti-stigma campaign, launched in January 2009 in England, intends to make fundamental improvements across England in: public knowledge, attitudes and discriminatory behaviour in relation to people with mental illness. To be effective and valid the campaign must reach a wide range of diverse audiences. This study explores attitudes of people from ethnic minority communities in relation to mental health.
Objectives
The study investigates:
1) General attitudes and perceptions about mental illness in ethnic minority communities
2) How we might increase awareness about mental wellbeing and decrease stigma in ethnic minority communities.
Methods
Ten focus groups with members of ethnic minority groups were conducted. Five groups consisted of service users and five were composed of non-service users. Two groups comprised participants from an Indian origin, two Somali origin, two Afro-Caribbean origin and the other groups were mixed.
Results
We will present findings regarding the ways in which traditional perceptions of mental health and personal experiences of ethnic minority service users affect their perceptions of sources of support such as family, friends, medical staff and religion and how this feedback could inform ant-stigma interventions.
Conclusion
The study suggests that in order to maximise the impact of anti-stigma campaigns, attention should be given to sources of discrimination and traditional perceptions of mental illness which are emphasised by ethnic minority groups. When planning anti-stigma campaigns it is important to incorporate experiences and perceptions from a wide range of audiences.
The advent of genome wide association studies have resulted in the identification of a number of novel genetic loci for schizophrenia and related disorders. Understanding the functional impact of these variants on brain structure and function is crucial to understand their role in disease pathology. We presents data based on our genetic and neuropsychological assessment of almost 700 patients and healthy participants for a number of these variants and replication of our findings in independent samples of almost 1500 cases and controls. Specifically, we will use this data to suggest that the risk associated with some genetics variants (e.g. NOS1) is being mediated by an influence on variation in intelligence and other cognitive phenotypes, while other risk variants (e.g. ZNF804A) delineate illness subtypes in which cognitive deficits are a less prominent feature.
This presentation will focus on two things. First, the process of receiving a psychiatric diagnosis and the reactions that users of psychiatric services might have to this. These reactions vary – they are not homogenous. They include relief, rejection and denial. The presentations will also look at what happens when users receive more than one diagnosis, either concurrently or over time. Secondly, the presentation will consider how users and user organisations may contribute to changes in the system of classification of diagnosis itself. Communication between psychiatrists involved in changing classification systems and organisations of service users will be considered. Recommendations will then be made.
Social contact is one of the most effective strategies for improving inter-group relations and is supported by decades of positive evidence. Several studies specifically support social contact interventions as a way of reducing stigma against people with mental health problems. Despite the effectiveness of this approach, some social groups have few opportunities for social contact in the real world.
Objectives
Using the England Time to Change anti-stigma campaign as an example, we investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of delivering social contact interventions at the mass population level to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental health problems.
Aims
To investigate: (i) the feasibility of scaling up social contact interventions to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental health problems and (ii) the effectiveness of mass population social contact interventions to: improve intended stigmatising behaviour, increase willingness to disclose mental health problems and to promote engagement in antistigma activities.
Methods
Two types of mass participation social contact programmes within England's Time to Change campaign were evaluated via self-report questionnaire. Participants at social contact events were asked about the occurrence and quality of contact, attitudes, readiness to discuss mental health, and intended behaviour towards people with mental health problems.
Results
Findings on feasibility and effectiveness of social contact programmes will be presented.
Conclusion
This study suggests that social contact interventions can be used by anti-stigma campaigns to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental health problems. Further investigation is needed regarding the maintenance of these changes
The construction and distribution of books containing large copperplate images was of great importance to practitioners of natural history during the eighteenth century. This article examines the case of the botanist and president of the Royal Society Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820), who attempted to publish a series of images based on the botanical illustrations produced by Georg Forster (1754–94) on Cook's second voyage of exploration (1772–5) during the 1790s. The analysis reveals how the French Revolution influenced approaches to constructing and distributing works of natural history in Britain, moving beyond commercial studies of book production to show how Banks's political agenda shaped the taxonomic content and distribution of this publication. Matters were complicated by Forster's association with radical politics and the revolutionary ideologies attached to materials collected in the Pacific by the 1790s. Banks's response to the Revolution influenced the distribution of this great work, showing how British loyalist agendas interacted with scientific practice and shaped the diffusion of natural knowledge in the revolutionary age.
Short-term peripheral venous catheter–related bloodstream infection (PVCR-BSI) rates have not been systematically studied in resource-limited countries, and data on their incidence by number of device days are not available.
Methods:
Prospective, surveillance study on PVCR-BSI conducted from September 1, 2013, to May 31, 2019, in 727 intensive care units (ICUs), by members of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC), from 268 hospitals in 141 cities of 42 countries of Africa, the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, South East Asia, and Western Pacific regions. For this research, we applied definition and criteria of the CDC NHSN, methodology of the INICC, and software named INICC Surveillance Online System.
Results:
We followed 149,609 ICU patients for 731,135 bed days and 743,508 short-term peripheral venous catheter (PVC) days. We identified 1,789 PVCR-BSIs for an overall rate of 2.41 per 1,000 PVC days. Mortality in patients with PVC but without PVCR-BSI was 6.67%, and mortality was 18% in patients with PVC and PVCR-BSI. The length of stay of patients with PVC but without PVCR-BSI was 4.83 days, and the length of stay was 9.85 days in patients with PVC and PVCR-BSI. Among these infections, the microorganism profile showed 58% gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli (16%), Klebsiella spp (11%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6%), Enterobacter spp (4%), and others (20%) including Serratia marcescens. Staphylococcus aureus were the predominant gram-positive bacteria (12%).
Conclusions:
PVCR-BSI rates in INICC ICUs were much higher than rates published from industrialized countries. Infection prevention programs must be implemented to reduce the incidence of PVCR-BSIs in resource-limited countries.
Filarial nematodes possess glutathione transferases (GSTs), ubiquitous enzymes with the potential to detoxify xenobiotic and endogenous substrates, and modulate the host immune system, which may aid worm infection establishment, maintenance and survival in the host. Here we have identified and characterized a σ class glycosylated GST (OoGST1), from the cattle-infective filarial nematode Onchocerca ochengi, which is homologous (99% amino acid identity) with an immunodominant GST and potential vaccine candidate from the human parasite, O. volvulus, (OvGST1b). Onchocerca ochengi native GSTs were purified using a two-step affinity chromatography approach, resolved by 2D and 1D SDS-PAGE and subjected to enzymic deglycosylation revealing the existence of at least four glycoforms. A combination of lectin-blotting and mass spectrometry (MS) analyses of the released N-glycans indicated that OoGST1 contained mainly oligomannose Man5GlcNAc2 structure, but also hybrid- and larger oligommanose-type glycans in a lower proportion. Furthermore, purified OoGST1 showed prostaglandin synthase activity as confirmed by Liquid Chromatography (LC)/MS following a coupled-enzyme assay. This is only the second reported and characterized glycosylated GST and our study highlights its potential role in host-parasite interactions and use in the study of human onchocerciasis.
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection can cause serious illness including haemolytic uraemic syndrome. The role of socio-economic status (SES) in differential clinical presentation and exposure to potential risk factors amongst STEC cases has not previously been reported in England. We conducted an observational study using a dataset of all STEC cases identified in England, 2010–2015. Odds ratios for clinical characteristics of cases and foodborne, waterborne and environmental risk factors were estimated using logistic regression, stratified by SES, adjusting for baseline demographic factors. Incidence was higher in the highest SES group compared to the lowest (RR 1.54, 95% CI 1.19–2.00). Odds of Accident and Emergency attendance (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.10–1.75) and hospitalisation (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.36–2.15) because of illness were higher in the most disadvantaged compared to the least, suggesting potential lower ascertainment of milder cases or delayed care-seeking behaviour in disadvantaged groups. Advantaged individuals were significantly more likely to report salad/fruit/vegetable/herb consumption (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.16–2.17), non-UK or UK travel (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.40–2.27; OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.35–2.56) and environmental exposures (walking in a paddock, OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.22–2.70; soil contact, OR 1.52, 95% CI 2.13–1.09) suggesting other unmeasured risks, such as person-to-person transmission, could be more important in the most disadvantaged group.
Introduction: Effective communication to develop a shared understanding of patient/caregiver (P/C) expectations is critical during emergency department (ED) encounters. However, there is limited research examining the use of communication tools of P/C expectations to improve communication in the ED. The objective of this study was to examine satisfaction with a patient expectations questionnaire, known as the PrEPP tool, and its impact on communication and management of patients in the ED. Methods: The PrEPP tool collected P/C expectations over 3 phases of the study. In phase1, the PrEPP tool was distributed to all P/Cs (CTAS score of 2 to 5) in four EDs in Nova Scotia. In phase 2 the PrEPP tool was refined to a 5-item questionnaire. In phase 3 the PrEPP tool was re-implemented over a six-month period. Follow-up surveys were distributed to P/Cs via email (phase 1, 3) and HCPs on iPads in the ED (phase 3) to determine the impact of the tool on communication and management of patients. Entries were compiled on a REDCap database and descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses related to satisfaction.The PrEPP tool collected P/C expectations over 3 phases of the study. In phase1, the PrEPP tool was distributed to all P/Cs (CTAS score of 2 to 5) in four EDs in Nova Scotia. In phase 2 the PrEPP tool was refined to a 5-item questionnaire. In phase 3 the PrEPP tool was re-implemented over a six-month period. Follow-up surveys were distributed to P/Cs via email (phase 1, 3) and HCPs on iPads in the ED (phase 3) to determine the impact of the tool on communication and management of patients. Entries were compiled on a REDCap database and descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses related to satisfaction. Results: In Phase 1, 11418 PrEPP tools and 147 surveys (29% response rate) were collected from January-June 2016. The majority of P/Cs found the PrEPP questionnaire easy to complete (95.9%) and felt HCPs met their expectations (87.1%). In Phase 3, 951 P/C (31.1% response rate) and 128 HCP surveys were collected. Of P/C respondents 45.9% felt PrEPP helped to communicate expectations, while 49.7% said that they would like to use it on future ED visits. The majority of P/C respondents (75.4%) indicated their expectations were met during their visit to the ED. Of those whose expectations were not met, 69% felt their expectations were not discussed. The majority of HCP respondents (90.4%) indicated they used the PrEPP tool at least sometimes. Also, 78.4% said it influenced patient communication and 42% indicated the tool influenced management of patients at least sometimes. Conclusion: Obtaining expectations early in the patient encounter may provide opportunities for improved communication in the ED. P/Cs found the PrEPP tool easy to use to communicate their expectations and HCPs felt it influenced communication and management of patients in the ED. Further qualitative thematic analysis is needed to explore how the PrEPP tool impacted ED visits.