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PubMed1999

Folate knowledge, intake from fortified grain products, and periconceptional supplementation patterns of a sample of low-income pregnant women according to the Health Belief Model.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed folate-related knowledge and behaviors and folate intake from grain products, assuming 1998 fortification requirements, of socioeconomically disadvantaged pregnant women. DESIGN: Interviews (based on the Health Belief Model) concerning folate and neural tube defects were conducted in a prenatal care clinic. SUBJECTS/SETTING: The convenience sample of 251 low-income, predominantly minority, pregnant women received services in an Atlanta, Georgia, public hospital. All subjects were eligible for or enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Frequency counts, means, and standard multiple linear regression. RESULTS: More than 80% of subjects did not take supplements preconceptionally. Many subjects (57%) had heard of folate, but fewer could correctly define folate (26%) or list any food sources of folate (30%). Most subjects (77%) will be able to achieve the goal of 400 micrograms folate per day exclusively through intake of fortified grain products. Approximately 20% of subjects will consume in excess of 1,000 micrograms folate per day solely through intake of fortified grains. Preconceptional use of supplements and several indicators of subjects' knowledge about folate were correlated with Health Belief Model constructs in manners consistent with the model framework. APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: This population of low-income women is likely to benefit substantially from folate fortification of grain products. However, health education remains essential for those women who are still unable to meet their folate requirements. The Health Belief Model may serve as an effective framework for tailoring folate educational interventions to high-risk populations. Research must be conducted into the risks of long-term high intakes of folate.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Baseline fruit and vegetable intake among adults in seven 5 a day study centers located in diverse geographic areas.

OBJECTIVE: To examine baseline rates of fruit and vegetable consumption among adults in the 5 A Day research trials in order to identify any regional and sociodemographic differences associated with daily servings. DESIGN: The main outcome measure was the frequency of fruits and vegetables consumed within 1 month of the baseline survey as assessed by a 7-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). SUBJECTS/SETTING: Participants (N = 15,060) were from 7 study centers. Study centers included schools (N = 48), worksites (N = 60), churches (N = 50), or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics (N = 15) in interventions to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Means and standard errors, adjusting for clusters, were calculated. A mixed linear model analyzed relationships between fruit and vegetable consumption and regional center, gender, age, race, education, income, marital status, food-shopping responsibility, and whether one lives with children. RESULTS: Results indicate an overall mean intake of 3.6 daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Significant differences in mean daily servings were found among the regional study centers (low of 3.0 to high of 4.1). There were significant differences in mean daily consumption by age (< 30 years = 3.7 servings per day; 30 to 49 years = 3.4; > or = 50 years = 3.7), education (> high school = 3.4 servings per day; high school graduate = 3.4; some college = 3.5; college graduate = 3.9), race (black = 3.7 servings per day; Hispanic = 3.0; white = 3.6; other = 3.7), marital status (married = 3.6 servings per day; single = 3.5), and food-shopping responsibilities (little = 3.2 servings per day; about half = 3.6; most = 3.8). Only 17% of respondents ate 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. CONCLUSIONS: The 7 regions showed significant variability in daily fruit and vegetable consumption, suggesting that a single national message to increase fruit and vegetable consumption may not reach the population segments most in need of changing. It is advisable to spend more time understanding the food consumption habits of the population under investigation to develop messages to foster behavior change.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Consumption of foods from the WIC food packages of Chinese prenatal patients on the US west coast.

OBJECTIVE: To assess consumption of foods from food packages provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) among 80 Chinese prenatal WIC recipients living in Oakland or San Francisco, Calif. DESIGN: During a single interview, a food frequency questionnaire was used to assess WIC food consumption by the prenatal patients for the period before and after receipt of WIC vouchers. SETTING: The study was conducted at Asian Health Services, Oakland, and the Chinatown Public Health Center of the San Francisco Department of Public Health in California. SUBJECTS: Eighty low-income Chinese prenatal women with limited education and limited ability to speak English, aged 21 to 43 years, with gestational stages of 15 to 38 weeks. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Descriptive statistics (frequency and percent distribution) were used to report the findings of the study. RESULTS: Subjects reported that before receiving WIC vouchers, milk, eggs, and juice were the only foods in their WIC food package that had been consumed frequently (> 5 times/week) in their daily diet. Other WIC foods, including cheese, peanut butter, dried beans, and hot and cold cereals, were consumed infrequently (0 to 1 time/month). Subjects reported that with the availability of WIC vouchers, milk, eggs, and juice remained frequently consumed with 81% to 100% of monthly supply as the most prevalent reported consumption rate. Dried beans and hot and cold cereals were also consumed frequently. Cheese remained poorly consumed (0% to 20% of the monthly supply). As many as 74 of 80 subjects stated that they had shared foods from their own WIC package, except milk, with their families. The use of any WIC foods provided to other children in the family was not assessed in this study. APPLICATIONS: Data from this study indicate that most WIC foods were well used by Chinese prenatal patients. The most notable exception was cheese, which was poorly consumed. The ready consumption of milk by pregnant Chinese WIC recipients in this study suggests that milk may be readily consumed by these women, even though it is atypical of the Asian diet. The WIC food package for Chinese prenatal patients may be improved by omitting cheese and substituting more milk and/or foods such as tofu and dark green leafy vegetables.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

An empiric evaluation of the Institute of Medicine's pregnancy weight gain guidelines by race.

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between pregnancy weight gain outside and within ranges recommended by the Institute of Medicine and birth weight by both prepregnant body mass index (BMI) and race-ethnicity. METHODS: Mean birth weight and incidence of term low birth weight (LBW, less than 2500 g) and high birth weight (more than 4500 g) were compared across BMI-pregnancy weight gain-race-ethnicity strata. Subjects were 173,066 white, black, and Hispanic low-income pregnant women attending prenatal nutrition programs between 1990 and 1993. RESULTS: Among low and average BMI women (all race-ethnicity groups), weight gain within Institute of Medicine ranges resulted in significant LBW reductions; further LBW reductions at gains beyond Institute of Medicine ranges were offset by increasing high birth weight risk. Among women of high and obese BMI, LBW trends were less pronounced; thus, the benefit of gaining within the Institute of Medicine range was less apparent. Although blacks in every BMI-weight gain category had lower mean birth weights than white women, gaining in the upper end of the Institute of Medicine ranges did not provide a consistent LBW reduction for black women; adjusted LBW odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for gains in the upper relative to the lower half of the Institute of Medicine range were 1.3 (0.8, 2.1), 0.7 (0.5, 1.03), 0.3 (0.2, 0.8), and 1.3 (0.7, 2.5) for black women of low, average, high, and obese BMI, respectively. CONCLUSION: Institute of Medicine pregnancy weight gain ranges recommended for low and average BMI women appear reasonable, but recommendations for high and obese BMI women require further evaluation. The recommendation that black women in all BMI groups strive for gains toward the upper ends of the ranges is not supported clearly by these data.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Female victims of intimate partner physical domestic violence (IPP-DV), California 1998.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to identify factors associated with adult female victims of intimate partner physical domestic violence (IPP-DV) in California and to estimate statewide IPP-DV prevalence. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 1998 California Women's Health Survey, a random, computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) survey of 4006 California women aged > or = 18, conducted by the California Department of Health Services. RESULTS: Data from the survey indicated that 6% of the women reported that in the previous 12 months, their intimate partners threw objects at them, or hit them with an object, or kicked, pushed, slapped, choked, beat up, or threatened them with a gun or a knife. Odds ratio (OR) analyses controlling for age and race/ethnicity suggest that a large number of factors are associated statistically with IPP-DV victims. These factors include feelings of ill physical and mental health; pregnancies at early age; smoking status; nutritional needs; low income; participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program; having children aged < 18 in the household; and limited access to health care. Among the non-U.S.-born respondents, IPP-DV victims were significantly younger when they entered the United States than their nonvictim counterparts. A multiple logistic regression model identified the following factors as main correlates with IPP-DV: feelings of being overwhelmed in the past 30 days (OR = 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.5-4.6); aged 18 to 44 (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.9-4.1); current smoking status (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.5-2.9); participation in WIC in the previous 2 years (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.2-2.6); and being out of work (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.1-1.9). CONCLUSIONS: The above findings suggest that a variety of venues (e.g., schools, mental and physical health care providers, WIC, immigration programs, and social services) will be needed in order to identify/gain access to IPP-DV victims, provide referral resources, and implement any future prevention efforts.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Spontaneous cessation of smoking and alcohol use among low-income pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Despite the strong evidence of harmful effects, tobacco and alcohol use during pregnancy continue to be major public health challenges. Some women, however, do stop spontaneously when they learn of their pregnancy. No study has investigated spontaneous cessation of both behaviors in a low-income predominantly unmarried U.S. population. OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of spontaneous cessation of cigarette and alcohol use alone and in combination and associated factors among low-income pregnant women. METHODS: Subjects (N=601) were currently smoking or smoking when they became pregnant and participating in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Baseline interviews assessed the factors being studied and the spontaneous cessation of cigarette and alcohol use with pregnancy. Saliva cotinine verified self-reported smoking status. RESULTS: Spontaneous cessation of smoking and alcohol use was reported by 28% and 80% of the women, respectively; 25% spontaneously quit both, and 15% stopped neither. Multivariable analyses indicated that smoking cessation was less likely in women who had previous births, had a husband or partner who smoked, were born in the United States, were black (non-Hispanic, non-Portuguese), had less than a high school education, were highly addicted, reported lower perceived risk to the fetus, and reported "too many other problems in life to stop." Hispanic ethnicity, younger age, and more social support to quit smoking were related to spontaneous alcohol abstinence. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted multiple strategies, including those aimed at increasing participation of partners, are needed for low-income pregnant smokers.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Immunization coverage among predominantly Hispanic children, aged 2-3 years, in central Los Angeles.

PURPOSE: To assess the immunization status of young children in a predominantly Hispanic region in and around downtown Los Angeles, and factors associated with complete immunization by age 24 months. METHODS: The information was gathered in a two-stage cluster survey with probability proportionate to estimated size (PPS) sampling of 30 clusters at the first stage, and simple random sampling of a constant number of children at the second stage. Vaccination coverage was determined by a review of the home immunization (HI) card, or of clinic records. RESULTS: Of the 270 sampled children, 91.5% were Hispanic and 6.7% were Black. Home telephone numbers were not available in 24.8% of the homes, and 34.1% reported having no health insurance. Vaccination coverage was over 90% for the first three doses of Diphtheria, tetanus toxoids and pertussis/ diphtheria, tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTP/DTaP)/Diphtheria and tetanus toxoids vaccine (DT), first two doses of poliovirus (Polio) vaccine, first dose of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and first two doses of hepatitis B (Hep B) vaccine. Yet, by age 24 months, only 72.2% of the children had received the combined series of 4:3:1 (i.e., four DTP/DTaP/DT, three Polio, one MMR). This was further reduced to 64.4% for the combined series of 4:3:1:3:3 (i.e., four DTP/DTaP/ DT, three Polio, one MMR, three Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), three Hep B). Factors associated with completed on-time vaccination were having an HI card available during the interview and being enrolled in Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). CONCLUSIONS: While vaccination levels for individual antigens were found to be high, more emphasis needs to be placed on getting preschool children vaccinated on-time according to the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development of an instrument to assess predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing constructs associated with fat intake behaviors of low-income mothers.

OBJECTIVE: To establish reliability and construct and discriminant validity of selected factors adapted from the Health and Taste Attitudes Questionnaire developed in Finland and the Food Choice Questionnaire developed in England for use with low-income mothers in the United States. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Head Start and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children sites in south-central Wisconsin. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 211 nonpregnant non-Hispanic black and white women. VARIABLES MEASURED: Predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing constructs of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model. ANALYSIS: Factor analyses. RESULTS: After modification, the resulting measurement models of predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing constructs demonstrated good reliability and construct and discriminant validity. These models showed excellent model fit (chi-square/df range 1.5-2.0, root mean square error of approximate range.05-.07, non-normed fit index range.97-1.0, comparative fit index range.98-1.0, incremental fit index range.98-1.0), with all factor loadings significant (P <.001). Items previously developed with European adults demonstrated different pattern structures in predisposing and enabling constructs but the same structures for reinforcing construct when applied to low-income mothers in the United States. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION: This modified instrument provides a tool for researchers and educators to further explore factors affecting fat intake behaviors in low-income mothers.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Food insecurity and food supplies in Latino households with young children.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between food insecurity and food supplies in Latino households. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey, conducted February to May 2001. SETTING: Six California counties. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sampling was used to recruit 274 low-income Latino families with preschool children from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Head Start, and other community-based organizations. Complete data were available for 256 families. VARIABLES MEASURED: Food security, household food scores. ANALYSIS: Pearson correlations, Kruskal-Wallis test, and logistics regression. Significance level at P <.05. RESULTS: Controlling for maternal education, food insecurity over the past 3 months was associated with lower household food supplies: dairy, r = -.18, P <.01; fruit, r = -.36, P <.001; grains, r = -.27, P <.0001; meats, r = -.22, P <.001; snack foods, r = -.23, P <.001; and vegetables, r = -.29, P <.001. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: In Latino households, greater food insecurity is associated with a lower variety of most foods, particularly fruits and vegetables. Future research in Latino households should explore the effects of seasonal food insecurity and household food shortages on food intake of individual household members, especially young children.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Holocaust survivors report long-term effects on attitudes toward food.

OBJECTIVE: To gather information from survivors on the effects that the Holocaust had on their current attitudes toward food. DESIGN: Qualitative study: one-on-one semistructured interviews with a script shaped by a pilot study. SETTING: South Florida homes and community sites, including the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 25 Holocaust survivors: 14 men, 11 women; ages 71 to 85 years. PHENOMENON OF INTEREST: Current attitudes toward food in relation to Holocaust experiences. ANALYSIS: Themes and illustrative quotations from transcriptions of audiotaped interviews. RESULTS: Food attitudes were influenced by Holocaust experiences. Five themes emerged: (1) difficulty throwing food away, even when spoiled; (2) storing excess food; (3) craving certain food(s); (4) difficulty standing in line for food; and (5) experiencing anxiety when food is not readily available. Empathy for those currently suffering from hunger was also reported. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Food-related issues from the Holocaust remain for survivors. Now in their 70s and 80s, many use health care and related services. Nutritionists, educators, and health professionals should be aware of such issues. Food and nutrition programs should minimize uncomfortable food-related situations for Holocaust survivors and others who experienced food deprivation.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development and validation of a self-efficacy measure for fat intake behaviors of low-income women.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a valid self-efficacy measure for eating low-fat diets in low-income women. DESIGN: Cognitive interviews followed by self-administered questionnaires. PARTICIPANTS/SETTINGS: 206 (6 + 200) nonpregnant black and white women participating in Head Start and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Wisconsin. VARIABLES MEASURES: A 13-item self-efficacy measure for eating low-fat diets. ANALYSIS: Content analysis and factor analyses. RESULTS: After cognitive interviews, 3 items were removed from a draft instrument. Factor analyses were carried out using data from 200 questionnaires that were randomly selected from a pool of 487 respondents: 100 for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and 100 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Based on EFA, the 10-item pool was further reduced to 8 items, and 3 domains emerged: negative affect, positive affect, and availability. The results of CFA showed excellent model fit to the data (chi 2/df = 1.2, non-normed fit index = 1.0, comparative fit index = 1.0, incremental fit index = 1.0, root mean square error of approximate =.046). This measure demonstrated excellent reliabilities (Cronbach alpha : .82-.92; composite reliability: .92-.99) and construct and convergent validities. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Information obtained from this revised instrument can be used among low-income women to measure self-efficacy for eating low-fat diets. This is an important step in developing more targeted and thus more effective education messages to help low-income women modify their fat intake behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

The influence of site of care on the content of prenatal care for low-income women.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether site of prenatal care influences the content of prenatal care for low-income women. DESIGN: Bivariate and logistic analyses of prenatal care content for low-income women provided at five different types of care sites (private offices, HMOs, publicly funded clinics, hospital clinics, and other sites of care), controlling for sociodemographic, behavioral, and maternal health characteristics. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 3405 low-income women selected from a nationally representative sample of 9953 women surveyed by the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, who had singleton live births in 1988, had some prenatal care (PNC), Medicaid participation, or a family income less than $12,000/year. OUTCOME MEASURES: Maternal report of seven initial PNC procedures (individually and combined), six areas of PNC advice (individually and combined), and participation in the Women Infant Children (WIC) nutrition program. RESULTS: The content of PNC provided for low-income women does not meet the recommendations of the U.S. Public Health Service, and varies by site of delivery. Low-income women in publicly funded clinics (health departments and community health centers) report receiving more total initial PNC procedures and total PNC advice and have greater participation in the WIC program than similar women receiving PNC in private offices. CONCLUSIONS: Publicly funded sites of care appear to provide more comprehensive prenatal care services than private office settings. Health care systems reforms which assume equality of care across all sites, or which limit services to restricted sites, may foster unequal access to comprehensive PNC.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Obesity in women from developing countries.

OBJECTIVES: The key objective was to estimate obesity (>/=30 kg/m2) in women 15-49 y from developing countries. A second objective was to study how obesity varies by educational level and by residence in urban and rural areas. A third objective was to investigate how national incomes shape the relationship between obesity and eduction or residence. DESIGN: The analyses use cross-sectional data from nationally representative surveys from developing countries carried out in the last decade. Most of the surveys were Demographic Health Surveys (DHS). Data from a survey from the USA are used for comparison. SETTING: The 39 surveys used come from 38 developing countries and the USA. SUBJECTS: A total of 147,938 non-pregnant women 15-49 y were included in the analyses. RESULTS: The percentage of obese women was 0.1% in South Asia, 2.5% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 9. 6% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 15.4% in Central Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS), 17.2% in the Middle East and North Africa, and 20.7% in the USA. Levels of obesity in countries increased sharply until a gross national product of US$1500 per capita (1992 values) was reached and changed little thereafter. In very poor countries, such as in Sub-Saharan Africa, obesity levels were greatly concentrated among urban and higher educated women. In more developed countries, such as those in Latin America and the CEE/CIS regions, obesity levels were more equally distributed in the general population. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the analyses presented and on a review of the literature, it is concluded that obesity among women is a serious problem in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and the CEE/CIS region. Obesity is less of a concern in Sub-Saharan Africa, China and South Asia. Obesity levels increased over time in most of the limited number of countries with data, but at varying rates. Rising national incomes in developing countries and increased 'Westernization' will most likely lead to increased levels of obesity in the future. SPONSORSHIP: Financial support was provided by the Food and Nutrition Program of the Pan American Health Organization and by the World Bank.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Plant sterol or stanol consumption does not affect erythrocyte osmotic fragility in patients on statin treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of plant sterol or stanol ester consumption on their incorporation into erythrocytes and their effects on osmotic fragility of red blood cells. DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled intervention trial. SUBJECTS AND INTERVENTION: Forty-one subjects on stable statin treatment - who already have increased serum plant sterol and stanol concentrations - first received for 4 weeks a control margarine. For the next 16 weeks, subjects were randomly assigned to one of three possible interventions. Eleven subjects continued with control margarine, 15 subjects with plant sterol ester enriched and 15 subjects with plant stanol ester-enriched margarine. Daily plant sterol or stanol intake was 2.5 g. Erythrocyte haemolysis was measured spectrophotometrically at five different saline concentrations. RESULTS: Despite significant (P = 0.004) increases of, respectively, 42 and 59% in cholesterol-standardized serum sitosterol and campesterol concentrations in the plant sterol group as compared to the control group, campesterol levels in the red blood cells did not change (P = 0.196). Osmotic fragility did not change significantly (P = 0.757) in the plant sterol and plant stanol groups as compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: We conclude that plant sterol and stanol ester consumption for 16 weeks does not change osmotic fragility of erythrocytes in statin-treated patients. SPONSORSHIP: Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (Program Nutrition: Health, Safety and Sustainability, Grant 014-12-010).

Anticholesteremic Agents↗
PubMed2000

Ethnic differences in perceptions of body size in middle-aged European, Maori and Pacific people living in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare perceptions of body size in European, Maori and Pacific Islands people with measured body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio and change in BMI since age 21 y. Socio-demographic factors that influenced perceptions of body size were also investigated. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. METHODS: Participants were 5554 workers, aged > or =40 y, recruited from companies in New Zealand during 1988-1990. RESULTS: Prevalences of BMI>25 kg/m2 were: Europeans, 64.7% men, 47.2% women; Maori, 93.2% men, 80.6% women; and Pacific Islanders, 94.1% men, 92.9% women. Similarly, prevalences of BMI >30 kg/m2 were: Europeans, 14.4% men, 14.6% women; Maori, 55.0% men, 41.9% women; and Pacific Islanders, 55.1% men, 71.7% women. At each perception of body size category, Maori and Pacific Islands men and women had a higher BMI than European men and women, respectively. BMI increased with increasing perception of body size in all gender and ethnic groups. Since age 21, increases in BMI were highest in Pacific Islands people and increased with increasing perceptions of body size category in all ethnic and gender groups. BMI adjusted odds (95% CI) of being in a lower perception category for body size were 1.70 (1.38-2.12) in Maori and 8.99 (7.30-11.09) in Pacific people compared to Europeans, 1.27 (1.13-1.42) times higher for people with no tertiary education, 1.41 (1.25-1.59) times higher in people with low socioeconomic status, and 0.94 (0.92- 0.95) for change in BMI since age 21. CONCLUSION: Nutritional programs aimed at reducing levels of obesity should be ethnic-specific, addressing food and health in the context of their culture, and also take into account the socioeconomic status of the group. On the population level, obesity reduction programs may be more beneficial if they are aimed at the maintenance of weight at age 21.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fingerprinting PCB patterns among Mohawk women.

This study examined the association of contaminated fish consumption and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) body burden by comparing the similarity of the congener pattern in yellow perch, caught near the point source of industrial pollution, and in other local fish to the pattern found in the breast milk of Mohawk women from Akwesasne, a Native American community located along the St. Lawrence River in New York, Ontario, and Quebec. The similarity is defined by the weighted Euclidean distance between two congener patterns. Ninety-seven Mohawk mothers participated and provided samples of breast milk. One hundred fifty-four nursing women from the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) of Warren and Schoharie counties, New York, who gave birth during the same time period, were used as the comparison group. Results revealed that the breast milk of the Mohawk women, who ate the most local fish, had a congener pattern that more closely resembled that of perch caught near the waste site or average sampled fish caught in the Reserve than Mohawk women who ate less fish or the controls. The outcome demonstrates how PCBs may be "fingerprinted" as they migrate offsite from industrial sources and ultimately result in human exposure.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Women's perceptions of outcomes of prenatal case management.

BACKGROUND: Comprehensive case management is a multidisciplinary, community-based service often available to Medicaid-eligible women. The purpose of the study was to identify the variety of maternal outcomes, other than birth outcomes, attributable to comprehensive prenatal case management. METHOD: This qualitative study used a social ecological approach. Twenty-four women were interviewed about the outcomes they experienced as a result of comprehensive prenatal case management. Ethnographic content analysis was used for data reduction. The participants' mean age was 25.4 (SD = 8.4) years, with an average parity of 1.9 (SD = 1.1). Fifteen participants (68%) had a 12th grade education or less. Ethnic minorities were included in the sample. Eleven participants (47%) worked at least part-time, although 23 (98%) were receiving Medicaid and 21 (88%) were receiving the Women, Infants, and Children's (WIC) supplementary nutrition program. RESULTS: The women attributed improvements of various types to the actions of the case manager, specifically in the areas of emotional well-being, learning, lifestyle behaviors, financial situation, services utilization, and maternal and infant physical health. CONCLUSION: Case management appeared to have immediate effects on the women, as well as intermediate effects, such as changes in lifestyle behaviors and services utilization. The women attributed those changes to having a healthy pregnancy.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Establishing an effective framework for physical activity counseling in primary care settings.

This article examines the role of the primary care physician in providing physical activity counseling and proposes a framework for maximizing the effectiveness of this activity. Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of physical activity counseling in the primary care setting. Unfortunately, the results of most of these studies have not been encouraging as there has not been compelling evidence that brief physical activity counseling for the general population results in long-term changes in physical activity behaviors. In contrast, the evidence of health improvements in patients who are successful in achieving levels of physical activity consistent with the Surgeon General's recommendations is compelling and should serve as the source of motivation as we seek more effective paradigms for physical activity counseling. The PACE (Patient-Centered Assessment and Counseling for Exercise and Nutrition) Program is presented as an evidenced-based and effective framework for effective physical activity counseling. By adopting a patient-centered approach to counseling and by tailoring the message to the readiness of the patient to take action, it is possible to engage in physical activity counseling in a cost- and time-effective manner. This article provides specific counseling strategies for addressing patients at various stages of readiness to engage in behavior change regarding physical activity.

Counseling↗