Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene最新文献

Introduction: Despite modest research on oral healthcare during pregnancy, there is a dearth of evidence describing dental care among pregnant women experiencing homelessness. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between dental care utilization and social and behavioral determinants of health among United States (US) pregnant women who experienced homelessness relative to those who did not.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that used data from the 2012-2018 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). The sample consisted of 5,939 homeless and 209,942 non-homeless women. Bivariable and multivariable analyses were conducted to determine associations between dental health-related measures and social and behavioral determinants of health based on whether a woman experienced homelessness 12 months prior to birth.

Results: In this sample, 41.2% of homeless women saw a dentist for a problem while this was true for only 19.1% of women who were not homeless. Approximately 36.4% of women who experienced homelessness did not have their teeth cleaned before pregnancy compared to 25.7% of women who were not homeless. Lack of preventive care, smoking, older age, and experiencing multiple stressors during pregnancy were positively associated with seeing a dentist during pregnancy for both groups of women.

Conclusion: The results indicate the need for healthcare providers and policy officials to develop targeted interventions and policies to ensure that dental care is readily accessible for all pregnant women and especially those who are homeless.

This article examines how scrofula was classified as a distinct disease in Danish medical history around the turn of the 20th century. Dr. Niemeyer, a naturopathic advocate, attributed scrofula to an unhealthy composition of bodily fluids, whereas Dr. Geill viewed it as a tuberculous condition and a precursor to pulmonary tuberculosis. While they differed on causation - particularly regarding heredity - they agreed on prevention strategies, emphasizing fresh air, skin care, nutrition, and physical activity to reduce contagion and improve children's resilience. Physicians advocated guiding children in dietary and hygienic practices to fortify their resistance against the tubercle bacillus. The article highlights how naturopathic discourses were challenged by emerging claims that scrofula was an infectious disease. Expanding clinical assessments to include home hygiene and working conditions reflected broader shifts in societal health rationales. Public health measures required coordinated efforts between physicians and municipal authorities rather than being solely an individual responsibility. Finally, this historical perspective is framed within a modern public health context, emphasizing the bio-psycho-social model of health and disease. It underscores the lasting relevance of interconnected health approaches, drawing parallels between past strategies against scrofula and contemporary public health efforts to address infectious and non-communicable diseases. Integrating historical insights into modern policy and practice can enhance health equity and prevention strategies.

Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease primarily transmitted by Aedes aegypti, has become a growing global health concern, with dramatic increases in incidence in recent years. Although no direct evidence of dengue exists from ancient Egypt, this study investigates the theoretical possibility of its presence in that historical context. The approach integrates palaeoclimatic data, modern entomological and vector ecology studies, molecular clock analyses, and the interpretation of ancient Egyptian medical papyri. Special attention is given to the term temyt, described in association with dermatological and neurological symptoms in children and linked to the demon nesyt, as reinterpreted by scholars such as Bruno Halioua and Pascal Hannequin. These sources are critically re-evaluated alongside modern clinical symptomatology of dengue. Findings suggest that environmental and climatic conditions in ancient Egypt - particularly in regions like the Fayum- could have supported Aedes populations, and that certain disease descriptions may reflect empirical observations of vector-borne illnesses. While the evidence remains circumstantial and speculative, it opens new interpretative avenues regarding ancient Egyptian understandings of febrile, eruptive childhood diseases. The study concludes that dengue or dengue-like syndromes cannot be ruled out and that future interdisciplinary research, including palaeogenetic and archaeoviral approaches, may help clarify the presence of arboviral diseases in antiquity.

A century ago, on May 4, 1925, an Italian doctor, zoologist, botanist, and entomologist Giovanni Battista Grassi (1854-1925) died in Rome. He was known for his studies on malaria, and he was one of the founders of the "Italian school of malariology". At that time malaria was a main problem in the colonies for the military and in the tropics is a common disease that causes high fever and other symptoms. When the French chemist Louis Pasteur published his germ theory in the 1860s, scientists began to consider that an organism, might be responsible for the malaria disease and the breakthrough came in 1880 with Alphonse Laveran (1845-1922). It was therefore clear that many diseases are caused by microorganisms, and several scholars began to assume that also malaria was caused by a bacterium. Laveran recognized the parasite group that caused the infection in human beings; however, his studies were challenged. In 1889 Laveran showed that malaria is caused by another type of single-celled organism, a protozoan of the Plasmodium family, which attacks red blood cells and also identified other single-celled parasites that cause other diseases: there are four main types of malarial infection caused by four species of parasite plasmodium. In 1898 Grassi began a study that represented a turning point in the study and treatment of the disease. The authors aim to retrace the main steps in the historical evolution of this dangerous, infectious disease and they believe it's important to evoke the scientific personality of the Italian scientist Grassi who is one of the protagonists in the history of medicine and zoology between the 19^th and 20^th centuries, mainly because of his famous research, about the identification of the vector of human malaria.

Introduction: Gambling, especially when problematic, has been observed to have a significant impact on mental health, social relationships, and well-being in general. Social isolation and problematic social media use (PSMU) have also been identified as risk factors affecting psychological well-being, with a potential link to gambling that may intensify the impact on well-being, especially among adolescents. However, the interaction between these factors remains poorly explored, especially in younger populations. This study aims to investigate the effects of social isolation and problematic social media use on psychological well-being in a sample of adolescents, focusing on how these factors interact and influence well-being according to different engagement in gambling.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2021/2022 Italian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in Tuscany Region. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,265 Tuscan adolescents aged 15-17 years, divided into three groups according to gambling behavior: non-gamblers, occasional gamblers and problem gamblers. Participants completed self-report questionnaires to assess well-being, social isolation, and PSMU. Data were analyzed using clustering methods, descriptive statistics, and path analysis to explore the relationships among these variables.

Results: The study identified three distinct groups of gamblers: non-gamblers (74.3%), casual gamblers (10.0%) and problem gamblers (15,7%). Contrary to expectations, problem gamblers reported the highest well-being scores, suggesting potential compensatory mechanisms or subjective perceptions masking underlying vulnerabilities. Social isolation had a negative impact on well-being in all groups, with the strongest effects observed in casual gamers. Problematic social media use did not show significant differences between groups, but was associated with lower well-being in all groups. An unexpected positive interaction between social isolation and PSMU was found in problem gamblers, indicating a unique reinforcing relationship in this group.

Discussion: The results highlight the complex interaction between gambling behavior, social isolation, and problematic social media use in influencing adolescents' well-being. While social isolation consistently reduced well-being, problematic gamblers showed higher well-being scores, potentially due to developmental factors or maladaptive coping mechanisms.

Conclusion: The study emphasizes the need for further research to better understand these relationships, particularly in the context of online gambling and social media use, to provide targeted interventions for at-risk adolescents.

Objectives: To assess PE teachers' knowledge of physical fitness and its link to children's health and identify barriers and facilitators for its management in schools.

Methods: A total of 2,378 PE teachers (56% men) completed an online questionnaire on their knowledge, perceived barriers, and facilitators regarding physical fitness.

Results: Most of teachers reported being aware of the associations between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) (96%) and muscular strength (MS) (88%) with current health in youth. A smaller proportion of teachers acknowledged knowing the potential associations of these fitness components with future health in adulthood, specifically 40% for CRF and 22% for MS. The majority of teachers (80%) reported being sufficiently trained during their training courses to assess and develop the CRF. Only 50% of teachers reported feeling sufficiently trained to assess MS, while 58% reported being adequately trained to develop this component. Among the teachers, 82% reported that insufficient practice time, large class sizes, and high heterogeneity are key obstacles. Less than 50% identified other prioritized objectives as barriers, while 30% reported a lack of material resources as a significant limitation. Then, 84% of teachers reported being interested in participating in continued professional development focused on the promotion of physical fitness in youth through PE.

Conclusions: Barriers such as limited training, structural constraints, and low awareness of MS recommendations hinder effective fitness management. Addressing these through improved curricula, teacher training, and resources is crucial to enhancing youth fitness and health in France.

Introduction: Breast cancer has the highest incidence and mortality rate in India. Early detection of Breast cancer has better survival chances and reduces treatment costs. Breast cancer screening involves Breast Self-Examination (BSE), Clinical Breast Examination (CBE), and Mammography. The highest burden of breast cancer has been observed in metropolitan cities. So it becomes crucial to assess breast cancer awareness and screening practices among urban women. Moreover, currently, there is a significant gap in the literature concerning the barriers that affect screening practices amongst Indian women.

Methods: We conducted a survey-based, cross-sectional study on urban Indian women living in Uttar Pradesh. Women for this study were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire which included the socio-demographic variables (address, age, occupation, education level, marital status) of the participants and cancer and cancer screening-related questions.

Results: 612 urban women in Uttar Pradesh, India participated in our study. Most were married (96%) and unemployed (59%). Approximately 76% had received education at the high school level or higher, while only 19% had health insurance. The participants' ages ranged from 30 to 70 years, with a mean age of 41 years ± 8.25 years).

Conclusions: Our study revealed high breast cancer awareness among participants but disparities in screening awareness based on age, marital status, insurance, and education. Most women have a positive attitude towards breast cancer screening, recognizing its importance for early detection. This attitude can drive participation if barriers are addressed, including knowledge gaps, symptom ignorance, shyness, financial constraints, and a lack of female doctors.

Background: Dietary Diversity (DD) is one of the crucial determinants to address Healthy ageing among elderly people.

Objectives: To estimate prevalence with concerned determinants of Dietary Diversity, to assess intake-pattern of various nutrients and correlation of dietary diversity with healthy ageing among study participants.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 192 Elderly people (≥ 60 years of age) residing at Ahmedabad city, India, selected by two-stage Cluster sampling [As per Rapid Assessment Method for Older People (RAM-OP) survey sampling technique]. A pretested, semi-structured questionnaire including Socio-Demographic and Dietary-Diversity related details was utilised as survey-instrument. Healthy ageing was assessed with selected General Health status using two domains of total five; namely general Activity of Daily Living and Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) were applied to collect relevant data.

Results: Prevalence of Dietary-Diversity was 44.27% among study-participants. Various determinants such as living alone, socio-economic-class, co-morbidities, type of diet, oral health and meal-frequency revealed statistically significant association with Dietary Diversity. Cereals (96.9%), roots and tubers (91.7%), and condiments and mushrooms (90.1%) were the most common food-groups consumed by study participants. Of 85 participants with positive dietary diversity, more than two-thirds (67, 78.82%) were able to manage activities of daily living independently whereas approximately three-fifth (66, 61.68%) of sub-cohort of counterpart could manage the same independently. Predictors of IADL like use of telephone, practice of taking medications and managing their own money showed statistically significant association with presence of dietary-diversity.

Conclusion: Dietary diversity was prevalent among less than half of study-participants. A diverse diet showed statistical significant role in ensuring independence in general activities of daily living while gender-specific variations for instrumental activities of daily living.

Introduction: Theory-based educational interventions can play an important role in improving health literacy and promoting self-care behaviors and preventing diabetes complications. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of educational intervention based on the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior on health literacy, medication adherence, self-care behaviors and metabolic indicators in T2D patients.

Methods: The present research was a Quasi-experimental study with a control group and measuring outcome variables at baseline and 3 months after the theory-based intervention. With multi-stage sampling, 112 patients with T2D referred to healthcare centers of Qazvin city were assigned to experimental and control groups equally. The intervention included six online group education along with educational video, pamphlets and 60 SMS reminders using strategies as role-playing, lecture, and scenario presentation. The data collection tools were: Demographic items, summary of diabetes self-care activities scale, short test of functional health literacy in adults, The Morisky 8-item medication adherence scale, Sub-Scales of extended TPB (36 items). Paired and independent t-test, chi-square, ANOVA and ANCOVA were used to data analysis.

Results: The mean of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, action planning, coping planning, trust and the intention associated with health literacy and medication adherence increased significantly in the experimental group in the post-test by controlling the effect of the pre-test variable (P < 0.001). In addition, the results of ANCOVA showed the improvement in the total mean score of self-care and its dimension along with the meaning of FBS and HbA1c in the experimental group in the post-test (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: The focus of nurses and other medical staffs on improving health literacy, action & coping planning and psychological variables in the design of cognitive behavioral interventions can lead to improving self-care and medication adherence in T2D patients.