Frontiers in Public Health最新文献

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that develops after being exposed to trauma, such as experiencing or witnessing life-threatening events, including war and other natural disasters. Despite the high levels of conflict, little attention has been given to post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and its associated factors among internally displaced people in Northwest Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed from June to July 2022 in Northwest Ethiopia among internally displaced people. Simple random sampling was used to recruit 410 study participants. The standard tools used in this study included the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PLC-5), Kessler-10, and Oslo Social Support Scale to assess various variables. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Statistically significant factors were selected at a 95% confidence interval (CI) with adjusted odds ratio (AOR).

Results: The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among internally displaced people was 54.3%, with a 95% CI (49.5, 59.3). Current substance use [AOR 95% CI: 2.01(1.16, 3.48)]; living arrangements, such as living alone or with non-relatives [AOR = 2.13; 95% CI (1.17, 3.86) and AOR = 2.39; 95% CI: (1.21, 4. 70), respectively]; being violated [AOR = 2.49; 95% CI: (1.26, 4.94)]; and psychological distress [AOR = 3.21; 95% CI: (4.35, 9.34)] were significantly associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Conclusion: The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among internally displaced people was high. Therefore, stakeholders should provide immediate interventions that include further assessments using diagnostic criteria. In addition, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing psychotherapy along with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors as psycho-pharmacological treatment are recommended. Furthermore, efforts should be made to reduce the identified risk factors to improve outcomes for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Early childhood development is important for the future developmental behavior, physical fitness, and social adaptation. The content of the physical education curriculum in kindergarten is crucial for the growth of preschool children. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of 12-week of 4 different physical education curriculum interventions on developmental behavior and balance ability, and the correlation between these two factors in preschool children. 94 preschool children aged 4-6 years were stratified and randomly assigned to tennis group (TG), football group (FG), sensory integration group (SIG), and control group (CG). All interventions resulted in greater improvements in all developmental behavior indicators and balance ability after intervention compared to baseline. The SIG showed greater improvements in total development quotient (DQ), gross motor DQ, fine motor DQ, and balance ability than the other three groups after intervention. No significant difference in balance ability between FG and SIG was found. There was a positive and significant correlation between adaptability DQ, social behavior DQ, and balance ability after SIG intervention. The SIG training could correlate children's balance ability with their social behavior and adaptability. The sensory integration curriculum might be the optimal curriculum to promote the efficient improvement of preschool children's developmental behavior and motor competence.

Background: Supportive attitudes toward wife-beating and the experience of controlling behavior from husbands have been known to increase the risks of intimate partner violence (IPV). The aim of this study was to determine the effects of couple-based violence prevention education in addressing IPV-related knowledge, attitudes, and controlling behavior among male partners in rural Ethiopia.

Method: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted using a two-arm parallel group design. The 16 clusters were randomly allocated into 8 intervention groups and 8 control groups. A total of 432 couples (432 male partners and 432 pregnant wives) participated in the trial. Couple-based violence prevention education (CBVPE) was provided to the participants in the intervention group, while the control group received routine or standard care. Difference-in-difference analysis and the Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model were used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention.

Result: At the endline, 94.4% of male partners in the intervention group and 94.9% in the control group were available for the intention-to-treat analysis. Male partners in the intervention group were 3.7 times more likely to have good knowledge about IPV compared to male partners in the control group (AOR = 3.7; 95% CI 2.6-5.4). Male partners in the intervention group were 67.6% less likely to report supportive attitudes toward wife-beating compared to those in the control group (AOR = 0.324; 95% CI 0.229-0.459). Also, the proportion of controlling behavior exhibited by male partners in the intervention group was 56.4% less compared to the control group (AOR = 0.436; 95% CI 0.317-0.600).

Conclusion: The intervention proved effective in enhancing knowledge about IPV, reducing supportive attitudes toward wife-beating, and curbing controlling behaviors among male partners in the study setting. This approach holds promise for scaling up and adapting to similar contexts in Ethiopia.

Trial registration: The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with the identifier NCT05856214 on May 4, 2023.

Background: The global burden of liver cancer among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) has often been underestimated, despite significant shifts in its etiology. This study analyzes the disease burden of liver cancer in AYAs from 1990 to 2021 and forecasts trends up to 2040 using data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Our goal is to provide insights that can inform resource allocation and policy planning.

Methods: Incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) data were extracted and estimated annual percentage changes calculated to assess trends. Correlation between age-standardized rates and sociodemographic index (SDI) was analyzed using Spearman correlation, and future trends were predicted using the Bayesian age-period-cohort model.

Findings: Globally, there were 24,348 new liver cancer cases and 19,270 deaths among AYAs in 2021, with decreases in age-standardized rates for incidence, mortality, and DALYs from 1990 to 2021. East Asia bears the highest burden, with males experiencing significantly higher rates than females. The burden increases with age, peaking at 35-39 years. Higher SDI is associated with lower incidence, mortality, and DALYs. While HBV remains the leading cause, NASH is the fastest-growing contributor to liver cancer incidence and mortality. Projections indicate a continued decline in liver cancer burden among AYAs, though female cases are expected to rise.

Interpretation: Despite a gradual decline in liver cancer burden among AYAs, NASH is emerging as a significant and rising cause of incidence and mortality. Regional and gender disparities persist, highlighting the need for tailored prevention and healthcare strategies to alleviate the liver cancer AYA's burden globally.

Introduction: Social isolation and loneliness among older adults have garnered significant international attention, particularly as structures and services have evolved during a global pandemic. A growing body of research underscores disparities in social isolation and loneliness among intersecting social (e.g., race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability) and physical (e.g., rural/urban) locations. While empirical data about these global trends has increased, conceptual and theoretical frameworks are underdeveloped about disparities in social isolation and loneliness, especially from a global perspective. This article presents a novel equitable aging framework to help contextualize, understand, and explain how power influences disparities in social isolation and loneliness among older adults.

Equitable aging in health conceptual framework: Equitable aging builds on principles in critical gerontology, public health concepts of social and political determinants of health, international human rights, and intersectionality frameworks to present a new conceptual framework for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Equitable aging centers five domains of power (intrapersonal, interpersonal, disciplinary, structural, and cultural) as critical components (or hub) that drive six political and social determinants of health (economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, social and community context, and laws and politics). The sixth determinant of health (laws and policies) incorporates international human rights (economic, social, cultural, civil, political rights). When justice is infused in these domains of power, political and social determinants of health can produce equitable aging outcomes. The Equitable Aging in Health Framework presents a new tool that incorporates justice and power to help understand and explain disparities in social isolation and loneliness and ultimately how to achieve equitable opportunities for social connections for older adults.

Discussion: To illustrate the utility of this conceptual framework, this article presents six case studies of interventions in China, Taiwan, Spain, Sweden, Mexico, and the United States that employ this framework to address social isolation and loneliness among diverse communities of older adults. These interventions propose new services, programs, and policies that infuse different paradigms of justice and address domains of power in various ways to build social connections and support for older adults.

Background: Health literacy profoundly influences individuals' health development. As pivotal figures in shaping young children's well-being and delivering health education in kindergartens, kindergarten teachers are essential. Yet, assessing their health literacy remains challenging due to a scarcity of evaluation tools.

Methods: Based on existing research, the initial questionnaire was developed through interviews, summaries, and reviews. A total of N = 120 (M _age = 27.19, SD = 6.75, 94.2% female) kindergarten teachers participated in item analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). N = 642 (M _age = 28.12, SD = 5.77, 89.7% female) kindergarten teachers were involved in confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability analysis.

Results: The questionnaire on the health literacy of kindergarten teachers consists of 30 items in four dimensions: health concept, health behavior, health ability, and health knowledge. In the EFA, the cumulative variance contribution rate reached 61.220%. The CFA indicators satisfied the fit criteria, indicating a well-fitted model (χ²/df = 1.945, CFI = 0.956, TLI = 0.952, SRMR = 0.034, RMSEA = 0.038). The reliability analysis indicated that Cronbach's α, McDonald's ω, and split-half reliability all exceeded 0.8.

Conclusion: The Health Literacy Questionnaire for kindergarten teachers, with its strong reliability and validity, serves as a valuable assessment tool for this group's health literacy.

Objective: To investigate the acute effects of air pollution on the daily hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease.

Methods: Data of daily hospitalization for cardiovascular disease were collected from the hospital electronic health record system in Nanchong. The air pollutants and meteorological data were obtained from the fixed monitoring stations. We performed over-dispersed Poisson regression incorporated with distributed lag models to assess associations between short-term exposure to air pollutants and the risk of cardiovascular disease hospitalizations.

Results: A total of 373,390 hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases were identified. We found that a 10 μg/m³ increase in 7-day average concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ was associated with 1.15% (95%CI: 0.55-1.76%) and 0.51% (95%CI: 0.19-0.82%) higher cardiovascular disease admissions. NO₂ presents the largest adverse effect. The risk of cardiovascular disease admission increased by 6.26% with per 10 μg/m³ increase in NO₂ for lag07.

Conclusion: Short-term exposures to high concentrations of air pollutants increased the risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular disease. Policymakers need to develop policies and strategic plans to combat air pollution.

Objective: The study investigates the effects and mechanisms of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) in mitigating lung injury induced by particulate matter (PM).

Methods: The lung injury model was induced by PM particles in vivo and in vitro. Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining was utilized for the detection of the thickening of airway wall and the infiltration of inflammatory cells in mouse lung tissue. The expressions of inflammatory factors were detected in alveolar lavage fluid and cell supernatant. TUNEL (Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling) staining, Caspase-1, Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3-II (LC3-II) and Belcin-1 were used to observe the apoptosis and autophagy related expressions in mouse lung tissue, and p-p65 was detected by immunofluorescence.

Results: H&E staining revealed DHA alleviates PM-induced lung injury in vivo. Moreover, DHA reduced IL-6, IL-8, and IL-1β levels by ~50% (p < 0.05), highlighting its anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry showed that DHA treatment inhibited the pro-apoptotic expression of Bax/BCL2 and cleaved-Caspase-3, respectively. In addition, immunofluorescence staining revealed that the LC3-II and Beclin-1 levels dramatically increased in the PM group compared to Control group, but greatly reduced by DHA. Further, we found that DHA inhibited the activation of the NF-KB signaling pathway.

Conclusion: DHA protects against PM-induced lung injury through anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and autophagy-regulating mechanisms, offering a potential drug option for improving PM-induced lung injury.

Objectives: The workplace is considered one of the key settings in which to promote health and wellbeing. Reviews of workplace health promotion have shown that workplace interventions can positively impact on mental health, nutrition, and physical activity, and can impact positively on economic indicators such as absenteeism. One of the research gaps is workplace health promotion for people with an intellectual disability. This is an important gap to address as people with an intellectual disability have higher rates of avoidable mortality relative to the general population, increased rate of mental health problems, lower levels of physical activity, and poorer nutrition. People with an intellectual disability work across a range of industries and employment settings and it is important to understand potential strategies in supporting the health and wellbeing of this cohort within workplaces.

Methods: Forty-seven in-depth interviews were conducted with staff and supported employees from four organizations to examine job satisfaction and wellbeing experiences in the workplace and potential strategies for supporting health and wellbeing of people with an intellectual disability.

Results: The findings revealed that currently there is a strong emphasis on strategies such as mentoring and support, flexible approaches, and customized and varied roles to support mental wellbeing. There seems to be less focus on physical activity and nutrition with limited examples of strategies addressing these topics. There are also instances of bullying being experienced in open employment settings.

Conclusions: Further work is required to verify whether these results are consistent across the sector, but it does seem to illustrate that workplace wellbeing intervention models and strategies that are applicable in workplaces for the general population may not necessarily work in employment settings that are inclusive of people with an intellectual disability. The policy implication is that support structures so important to health and wellbeing within supported employment settings also need to be available in open employment environments. Further research and policy work is required to develop specific models and strategies that will be applicable to this population cohort within supported and open workplace settings.