Attendant Changes Research Articles

Climate change, the cutaneous microbiome and skin disease: implications for a warming world.

The skin plays an important role in human health by providing barrier protection against environmental stressors. In addition to human skin cells, the cutaneous barrier is also home to a network of organisms that have co-evolved with humans, referred to as the cutaneous microbiome. This network has been demonstrated to play an active role in skin health and the manifestation of cutaneous disease. Here, we review how a warming world and its attendant changes in climatic variables, including temperature, humidity, ultraviolet radiation, and air pollution, influence the cutaneous microbiome and, in turn, skin health. Studies indicate that the cutaneous microbiome is affected by these factors, and these changes may influence the epidemiology and severity of cutaneous disorders including atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, psoriasis, and skin cancer. Further investigation into how the cutaneous microbiome changes in response to climate change and subsequently influences skin disease is needed to better anticipate future dermatologic needs and potentially generate novel therapeutic solutions in response.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on visual outcomes of diabetic macular edema patients at a tertiary care veterans affairs center.

PurposeThere are limited studies on factors that impacted retina clinic patient outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to evaluate visual and anatomic outcomes in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) requiring anti-VEGF injections at the veterans’ affairs tertiary care eye clinic in Houston, TX.MethodsPatient volume from April 2020 was compared to that of April 2019 to determine attendance changes. To evaluate outcomes, we reviewed patients with DME who had scheduled appointments during April 2020. We tracked changes in central foveal thickness (CFT) and Snellen visual acuity (VA) measurements. Patient outcomes were classified as poor (defined as worsening VA or CFT at follow-up) or good (no worsening of either at follow-up). Regression analysis identified characteristics associated with poor outcomes.ResultsTo prevent the spread of COVID-19, patients were called to reschedule clinic appointments. Attendance frequency decreased from 523 patients in April 2019 to 246 patients in April 2020. 134 patients met inclusion criteria (mean age of 64.7 ± 8.8 years). 19/134 of patients were seen on schedule, 89/134 had delayed appointments (average follow-up interval of 115.2 ± 50.0 days), and 26/134 were lost to follow-up. Patients with delayed appointments had higher odds of poor outcome at follow-up compared to patients seen on schedule (OR = 4.03, 95% CI: 1.14–16.92, p = 0.04). Patient’s baseline visual acuity, macular thickness, comorbidities, and diabetic retinopathy severity, and demographics did not affect visual outcome at follow-up.ConclusionsOn average, patients were rescheduled to a visit 2.4 months later than their usual visit. Over half these patients experienced worsening of vision or edema. This demonstrates that lapses in care result in worsening of DME. However, there is no clear association between baseline characteristics and risk of disease progression.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-022-01049-5.

Searching for meaning: religious transitions as correlates of life meaning and purpose in emerging adulthood

ABSTRACT Achieving a sense of life meaning has been proposed as an evolutionary adaptation that promotes the human need for self-actualisation. This study explores how various dimensions of religiosity are associated with life purpose during emerging adulthood, a stage of the life course where religious decline and the search for meaning and purpose intersect. Prior studies on this topic, however, have typically not accounted for across-time fluctuations in religiosity. Therefore, using two waves of data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) (2005-2008), we consider how changes in religious attendance and perceived closeness with God are associated with changes in life meaning and purpose. Results suggest that consistent or increasing attendance and closeness with God predict greater life purpose, while declines in attendance associate with lower purpose. We discuss possible mechanism that may underlie our findings within the current religious climate of the United States.

Initial attendance and retention in adult healthcare as criteria for transition success among organ transplant recipients

Adolescent and young adult (AYA) solid organ transplant recipients experience worsening medical outcomes during transition to adult healthcare. Current understanding and definitions of transition success emphasize first initiation of appointment attendance in adult healthcare; however, declines in attendance over time after transfer remain possible, particularly as AYAs are further removed from their pediatric provider and assume greater independence in their care. The current study assessed health-care utilization, medical outcomes, and transition success among 49 AYA heart, kidney, or liver recipients recently transferred to adult healthcare. Differences in outcomes were examined along two transition success criteria: (1) initial engagement in adult healthcare within 6 or 12months of last pediatric appointment and (2) retention in adult healthcare over 3years following last pediatric appointment. Growth curve modeling examined change in attendance over time. Successful retention in adult healthcare was significantly related to more improved clinical outcomes, including decreased number and duration of hospitalizations and greater medication adherence, as compared to initial engagement. Significant declines in appointment attendance over 3years were noted, and individual differences in declines were not accounted for by age at transfer or time since transplant. Findings underscore support for AYAs after transfer, as significant declines in attendance were noted after initiating adult care. Clinical care teams should examine transition success longitudinally to address changes in health-care utilization and medical outcomes. Attention to interventions and administrative support aimed at maintaining or increasing attendance and identifying risk factors and intervention for unsuccessful transition is warranted.

Associations between a Universal Free Breakfast Policy and School Breakfast Program Participation, School Attendance, and Weight Status: A District-Wide Analysis.

Breakfast consumption among youth is associated with improved diet quality, weight, cognition, and behavior. However, not all youth in the United States consume breakfast. Participation in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) is also low relative to the lunch program. Universal free breakfast (UFB) policies have been implemented to increase breakfast participation by reducing cost and stigma associated with the SBP. This study examined whether a UFB policy implemented in a school district in the Southeast US was associated with changes in breakfast participation, school attendance, and student weight. A longitudinal study of secondary data was conducted, and a mixed modeling approach was used to assess patterns of change in SBP participation. General linear models were used to assess attendance and student weight change. On average, across schools in the district, there was an increase in breakfast participation of 4.1 percentage points following the implementation of the policy. The change in breakfast participation in schools differed by the percent of students in the school who received school meals for free or at a reduced price, the percent of students of color, and the grade level of the school. Increases in SBP participation were not associated with significant changes in attendance or weight. UFB policies may be effective in increasing participation in the SBP.

The Learning of Toraja Language Variations: The Students' Attitudes, Attendance, Activity Change, and Learning outcomes in Ke'te' Kesu' Toraja Tourism Site Context

Language plays an essential role in conveying knowledge and attitudes, including classroom culture. However, local languages ​​are no longer well understood by the younger generation for several reasons, including prestige. This study aims to analyze how changes in students' attitudes, attendance, and activities in learning Toraja language variations in elementary school students and describe student learning outcomes of Toraja language variations in elementary school students. This type of research uses mixed methods. The research design used for qualitative is descriptive qualitative, and quasi-experimental applied quantitatively. The respondents of this study were elementary school students. The research sample selection technique used purposive sampling. Data analysis techniques used are thematic analysis techniques and statistical techniques. The results of this study indicate that, in general, the results achieved by students after the implementation of the Toraja Language Variation Learning learning process for elementary school children at the Ke'te' Kesu' Toraja tourist location can provide an increase both in changes in student attitudes, activeness, attention, and motivation in completing assignments. Student learning outcomes in the variation of Toraja language learning in elementary school students at the Ke'te' Kesu' Toraja tourist location are in a suitable category. In applied linguistics, this research provides new vocabulary related to social context. This study provides local oral literature as an insight for students to expand their knowledge of literary works.

Isotopic and biogenic silica evidence for eutrophic conditions in South China during the Frasnian-Famennian biotic crisis

The Late Devonian Frasnian-Famennian (F F) transition at ca. 367 Ma was a key event in Phanerozoic Eon involving a massive biotic crisis, which coincided with a positive carbon isotope anomaly and large climate changes associated with eustatic fluctuations. The details underpinning the initiation of the mass extinction, however, remain problematic. To better understand this scientific issue, we conducted a time series of biogeochemical studies that included C N isotopes and biogenic silica (BSi) from the F F transition in the Yangdi section, South China. The carbon isotope data accurately constrain the Upper Kellwasser Horizon (UKH) and Lower Kellwasser Horizon (LKH) in this section. A short-term decrease in carbon isotope fractionation in the F F transition indicates a decreased p CO 2 level in the LKU and UKH, while the increased fractionation in the uppermost UKH was caused by the rapidly negative δ 13 C org excursion, likely as the result of enhanced inputs from chemoautotrophs. On the other hand, the nitrogen isotope data suggest that the surface water had limited availability of dissolved N before and after the F F boundary due to enhanced benthic denitrification; these conditions led to a supply of external nitrogen that was likely driven by persistent diazotrophy. Increased sedimentary δ 15 N (up to +7.3‰) during the UKH suggests a rapidly amplified nitrate pool associated with water column denitrification, implying intensification of marine productivity and expansion of dysoxic-anoxic conditions linked to intensified oceanic circulation. In addition, BSi in sediments has the potential to evaluate historic changes in primary productivity of oceans and the maxima of BSi mass values (up to 1.96%) are clearly documented in the upper part of the UKH. Insofar as the elevated abundance of biolimited nitrogen coincided with strongly increased marine phytoplankton productivity at the F F boundary, we speculate that the nutrient-driven eutrophic conditions in surface waters associated with attendant redox changes may have been the main killing mechanism in the mass extinction. • The cooling event in the UKH coincided with declined △ 13 C and elevated δ 15 N. • We attribute the low δ 15 N values to enhanced microbial nitrogen fixation. • Sedimentary δ 15 N increases are indicative of an amplified N pool. • Siliceous organism blooms are consistent with positive δ 13 C carb and δ 15 N shifts. • The F F crisis was likely the result of eutrophication in shallow water.

Bear presence attracts avian predators but does not impact lesser snow goose daily nest attendance

The presence of foraging bears in Arctic breeding bird colonies has been increasingly reported in the literature, and these may constitute disturbance events which cause incubating birds to leave their nest. Avian predators may associate with bears during such events, likely to capitalize on unattended nests in the presence of bears. Here, we estimated changes in daily nest attendance of lesser snow geeseAnser caerulescens caerulescensin the presence of foraging bears, and estimated the association between foraging bears and avian predators. We predicted decreased nest attendance by geese on days with bears, and close associations between avian predators and bears. We monitored snow goose nests with cameras from 2013 to 2018 to assess nest attendance behaviours on days when bears were in the colony compared to control days without bears. When bears were present in colonies, we estimated the probability of avian predator occurrence compared to control periods. When controlling for day of incubation and camera placement types, we found no significant effects of bears on daily nest attendance behaviours of snow geese (n = 85). We found a significantly higher probability of observing avian predators when bears were present (0.72) compared to control periods without bears (0.11). We show that snow geese do not alter daily nest attendance in the presence of foraging bears, and suggest this is due to the presence of avian predators.

RULER: A Social Emotional Learning Program’s Impact on School Climate

An urban public school system in the northeastern United States implemented the RULER Program, an evidence-based social emotional learning program, into schools in 2014. This case study investigates the impact of the RULER Program on school climate at one pre-K-8 school within that larger urban system. The study sought to determine if there are statistically significant changes in student suspensions, attendance, and academic achievement at that school since the initial implementation of the RULER Program by performing 2-proportion z tests. This study also sought to determine faculty and staff perceptions of school climate at the subject school by performing a descriptive analysis of survey data and coding interview and observation data for themes. The quantitative and qualitative data merge to provide a comprehensive explanation of the impact of a school wide social emotional learning program on school climate.

Aging-Induced Structural Evolution of a GeSe2 Glass Network: The Role of Homopolar Bonds

The structural evolution of GeSe2 glass during aging is studied using Raman spectroscopy and density relaxation measurements. The Raman spectra indicate volume- and entropy-driven changes in the relative concentrations of the corner-sharing (CS) and edge-sharing (ES) GeSe4 tetrahedra and in the degree of chemical order of the tetrahedral network during aging at 65 °C below the nominal glass transition temperature. The attendant structural changes involve a progressive increase in the CS:ES ratio and in the chemical order that can be expressed in the form of a reaction Ge-Ge + Se-Se → 2 Ge-Se, which shifts to the right, with lowering of fictive temperature. The isothermal relaxation of both the structure and density during aging displays rather similar stretched exponential kinetics with a stretching exponent β ∼0.54 and an average relaxation time of ∼13.5 h. In situ high-temperature Raman spectroscopic measurements indicate that structural relaxation does not affect the anharmonicity of the vibrational potential wells in the energy landscape of GeSe2 glass.

Factors associated with changes in adequate antenatal care visits among pregnant women aged 15-49 years in Tanzania from 2004 to 2016

BackgroundAntenatal care (ANC) is crucial for the health of the mother and unborn child as it delivers highly effective health interventions that can prevent maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a minimum of four ANC visits for a pregnant woman with a positive pregnancy during the entire gestational period. Tanzania has sub-optimal adequate (four or more) ANC visits, and the trend has been fluctuating over time. An understanding of the factors that have been contributing to the fluctuating trend over years is pivotal in increasing the proportions of pregnant women attaining adequate ANC visits in Tanzania.MethodsThe study used secondary data from Tanzania Demographic Health Survey (TDHS) from 2004 to 2016. The study included 17976 women aged 15-49 years. Data were analyzed using Stata version 14. Categorical and continuous variables were summarized using descriptive statistics and weighted proportions. A Poisson regression analysis was done to determine factors associated with adequate ANC visits. To determine factors associated with changes in adequate ANC visits among pregnant women in Tanzania from 2004 to 2016, multivariable Poisson decomposition analysis was done.ResultsThe overall proportion of women who had adequate ANC visits in 2004/05, 2010 and 2015/16 was 62, 43 and 51% respectively. The increase in the proportion of women attaining adequate ANC from 2010 to 2015/16 was mainly, 66.2% due to changes in population structure, thus an improvement in health behavior. While 33.8% was due to changes in the mother’s characteristics. Early initiation of first ANC visit had contributed 51% of the overall changes in adequate ANC attendance in TDHS 2015/16 survey.ConclusionEarly ANC initiation has greatly contributed to the increased proportion of pregnant women who attain four or more ANC visits overtime. Interventions on initiating the first ANC visit within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy should be a priority to increase proportion of women with adequate ANC visit.

Acceptability of telehealth CBT during the time of COVID-19: Evidence from patient treatment initiation and attendance records.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided unique conditions for examining outpatient psychotherapy clinics’ rapid transition to telehealth. The current study utilized data from a large, specialty CBT clinic to investigate attendance and treatment engagement changes when services were provided via telehealth versus in-person. Results indicate that, following a complete transition to telehealth services, clinic referrals were maintained. Further, telehealth treatment appeared to be entirely acceptable as assessed by a decreased missed visit rate of telehealth appointments compared to in-person appointments. Given the elimination of commuting times, telehealth has the potential to address disparities in care linked to physical distance from the clinic and/or differential ability to take time off work for appointments.

A comparative analysis of sonographic carotid artery Doppler indices in type 2 diabetics and non-diabetics

Background and Aim: Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a chronic metabolic disorder of global concern with signs of hyperglycemia due to insulin resistance, relative lack of insulin, or both. Stroke is a possible complication of this metabolic disorder as a result of advanced carotid artery atherosclerosis, which diabetic patients develop with attendant carotid blood flow changes. The present study evaluated sonographic carotid artery blood flow velocities in individuals with type 2 diabetics and compared with values in normoglycemic controls. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective case–control study, in which we evaluated carotid Doppler indices in 125 consenting confirmed type 2 diabetics (cases) and 125 age- and gender-matched normoglycemic healthy controls for a period of 6 months (October 2019 to March 2020). The diabetics (cases) were recruited using systematic sampling method and the controls via convenience sampling. Demographic data and anthropometric measurements as well as ultrasound findings were entered into a Microsoft Office Excel Database and analyzed using International Business Machines (IBM) Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21. Tables, scatter-plot graphs, and bar charts were used in showing and evaluating the findings. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to assess correlation between two continuous variables. Results: The mean age of type 2 diabetics was 67.06±9.8 years, whereas that of the non-diabetics was 66.98±10.7. Females were in majority in both groups (64 in diabetics and 70 in non-diabetics). There were 61 males in the diabetics and 55 males in the non-diabetics. The mean carotid blood flow velocities in the diabetics and non-diabetics were, respectively, as follows: common carotid artery (CCA) end-diastolic velocity (EDV) 21.03±2.3 and 25.22±2.5, CCA peak systolic velocity (PSV) 81.70±4.1 and 83.60±3.6, internal carotid artery (ICA) EDV 17.99±5.6 and 21.57±2.0, ICA PSV 69.30±5.1 and 73.87±2.1, and ICA/CCA PSV ratio 0.83±01 and 0.91±0.1. Conclusion: Type 2 diabetics had significantly lower carotid blood flow velocities than non-diabetics. This suggests that proper management and compliance with care may reduce the development of features of atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetics.

A Descriptive Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Department Attendance and Visit Characteristics in Singapore

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted the utilisation of Emergency Department (ED) services worldwide. This study aims to describe the changes in attendance at a single ED and corresponding patient visit characteristics before and during the COVID-19 period. Methods: In a single-centre retrospective cohort study, we used descriptive statistics to compare ED attendance, patient demographics and visit characteristics during the COVID-19 period (1 January–28 June 2020) and its corresponding historical period in 2019 (2 January–30 June 2019). Results: The mean ED attendance decreased from 342 visits/day in the pre-COVID-19 period to 297 visits/day in the COVID-19 period. This was accompanied by a decline in presentations in nearly every ICD-10-CM diagnosis category except for respiratory-related diseases. Notably, we observed reductions in visits by critically ill patients and severe disease presentations during the COVID-19 period. We also noted a shift in the ED patient case-mix from ‘Non-fever’ cases to ‘Fever’ cases, likely giving rise to two distinct trough-to-peak visit patterns during the pre-Circuit Breaker and Circuit Breaker period. Conclusions: This descriptive study revealed distinct ED visit trends across different time periods. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a reduction in ED attendances amongst patients with low-acuity conditions and those with highest priority for emergency care. This raises concern about treatment-seeking delays and the possible impact on health outcomes. The downward trend in low-acuity presentations also presents learning opportunities for ED crowd management planning in a post-COVID-19 era.

The opposing action of stromal cell proenkephalin and stem cell transcription factors in prostate cancer differentiation

BackgroundLoss of prostate cancer differentiation or de-differentiation leads to an untreatable disease. Patient survival would benefit if this can be prevented or reversed. Cancer de-differentiation transforms luminal-like (differentiated) adenocarcinoma into less luminal-like and more stem-like (undifferentiated) small cell carcinoma through a sequential activation of stem cell transcription factors (scTF) POU5F1, LIN28A, SOX2 and NANOG. Like stem cells, prostate small cell carcinoma express this quartet of scTF as well as a 10-fold lower level of β2-microglobulin (B2M) than that of differentiated cell types. In organ development, prostate stromal mesenchyme cells mediate epithelial differentiation in part by secreted factors.MethodsThe identified prostate stromal-specific factor proenkephalin (PENK) was cloned, and transfected into scTF+B2Mlo stem-like small cell carcinoma LuCaP 145.1, reprogrammed luminal-like scTF−B2Mhi LNCaP, and luminal-like scTF−B2Mhi adenocarcinoma LuCaP 70CR. The expression of scTF, B2M and anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) was analyzed in the transfected cells.ResultsPENK caused down-regulation of scTF and up-regulation of B2M to indicate differentiation. When transfected into reprogrammed LNCaP, PENK reversed the reprogramming by down-regulation of scTF with attendant changes in cell appearance and colony morphology. When transfected into LuCaP 70CR, PENK up-regulated the expression of adenocarcinoma antigen AGR2, a marker associated with cancer cell differentiation.ConclusionsProstate cancer cells appear to retain their responsiveness to stromal PENK signaling. PENK can induce differentiation to counter de-differentiation caused by scTF activation. The many mutations and aneuploidy characteristic of cancer cells appear not to hinder these two processes. Loss of prostate cancer differentiation is like reprogramming from luminal-like to stem-like.

Impact of COVID-19 on routine malaria indicators in rural Uganda: an interrupted time series analysis

BackgroundIn March 2020, the government of Uganda implemented a strict lockdown policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) was performed to assess whether major changes in outpatient attendance, malaria burden, and case management occurred after the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic in rural Uganda.MethodsIndividual level data from all outpatient visits collected from April 2017 to March 2021 at 17 facilities were analysed. Outcomes included total outpatient visits, malaria cases, non-malarial visits, proportion of patients with suspected malaria, proportion of patients tested using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), and proportion of malaria cases prescribed artemether-lumefantrine (AL). Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations and fractional regression was used to model count and proportion outcomes, respectively. Pre-COVID trends (April 2017-March 2020) were used to predict the’expected’ trend in the absence of COVID-19 introduction. Effects of COVID-19 were estimated over two six-month COVID-19 time periods (April 2020-September 2020 and October 2020–March 2021) by dividing observed values by expected values, and expressed as ratios.ResultsA total of 1,442,737 outpatient visits were recorded. Malaria was suspected in 55.3% of visits and 98.8% of these had a malaria diagnostic test performed. ITSA showed no differences between observed and expected total outpatient visits, malaria cases, non-malarial visits, or proportion of visits with suspected malaria after COVID-19 onset. However, in the second six months of the COVID-19 time period, there was a smaller mean proportion of patients tested with RDTs compared to expected (relative prevalence ratio (RPR) = 0.87, CI (0.78–0.97)) and a smaller mean proportion of malaria cases prescribed AL (RPR = 0.94, CI (0.90–0.99)).ConclusionsIn the first year after the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Uganda, there were no major effects on malaria disease burden and indicators of case management at these 17 rural health facilities, except for a modest decrease in the proportion of RDTs used for malaria diagnosis and the mean proportion of malaria cases prescribed AL in the second half of the COVID-19 pandemic year. Continued surveillance will be essential to monitor for changes in trends in malaria indicators so that Uganda can quickly and flexibly respond to challenges imposed by COVID-19.

Onset and termination of Heinrich Stadial 4 and the underlying climate dynamics

Heinrich Stadial 4 during the last glacial period was marked by severe cooling at northern high latitudes along with the attendant changes in Asian Monsoon (Chinese Stadial 4) and South American Monsoon (South American Stadial 4). Here we present improved constraints on timings of Heinrich/Chinese/South American Stadial 4 onset and termination at sub-centennial precision based on speleothem records. We show that their initial onsets were essentially synchronous (40.20 ± 0.08 thousand years ago) and led the Antarctic warming by ~300 years. The Heinrich/Chinese Stadial 4 termination commenced at 38.34 ± 0.07 thousand years ago following a centennial-scale reduction in the Amazon River runoff and a poleward shift of the Southern Westerly wind belt. These two precursor events may have contributed to a reduced Amazon Plume Region and an enhanced Agulhas salt/heat leakage that led to an abrupt resumption of the Atlantic Meridional Ocean Circulation eventually triggering the Heinrich/Chinese Stadial 4 termination.

Economic Impacts of Spillover Effects of Terrorism Countermeasures at Public Assembly Sites

Abstract In recent years, there have been many high-profile attacks on large, relatively unprotected venues, including entertainment and shopping complexes in the U.S. and around the world. Public and private decision-makers can choose from a wide array of terrorism countermeasures. A question arises as to whether patrons’ complaints about delays, inconvenience and invasion of privacy actually translate into decisions to attend fewer such events. This paper presents the bottom-line economic impacts of terrorism countermeasures on business revenue at three public assembly venues and on their surrounding regional economic activity. These venues include an MLB Stadium, an NBA/NHL Arena, and a Convention Center. The analysis is based primarily on survey responses relating to changes in attendance that stem from public perception of the implementation of four major types of countermeasures. The surveys indicated that the majority of patrons were not affected either way by the presence of the countermeasures, but nearly all of the remainder felt more secure in the presence of the countermeasures to both terrorism and ordinary crime, which resulted in an increased likelihood of attendance. The economic impact estimates yield a small but notable positive impact on business revenues, though this outcome varies significantly across venue types.

The Association of Religion and Spirituality with Obesity and Weight Change in the USA: A Large-Scale Cohort Study.

The association between religion, spirituality, and body weight is controversial, given the methodological limitations of existing studies. Using the Nurses' Health Study II cohort, follow-up occurred from 2001 to 2015, with up to 35,547 participants assessed for the religious or spiritual coping and religious service attendance analyses. Cox regression and generalized estimating equations evaluated associations with obesity and weight change, respectively. Religious or spiritual coping and religious service attendance had little evidence of an association with obesity. Compared with not using religious or spiritual coping at all, the fully adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were minimally different across categories: a little bit (HR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.92-1.18), a medium amount (HR = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.96-1.24), and a lot (HR = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.96-1.25) (Ptrend = 0.17). Compared with participants who never or almost never attend religious meetings or services, there was little evidence of an association between those attending less than once/month (HR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.97-1.10), 1-3 times/month (HR = 1.01, 95% CI: 0.90-1.13), once/week (HR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.83-1.02), and more than once/week (HR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.82-1.07) (Ptrend = 0.06). Findings were similar for weight change. There was no significant association between religious or spiritual coping, religious service attendance, obesity, and weight change. While religion and spirituality are prominent in American society, they are not important psychosocial factors influencing body weight in this sample.

Does Religious Participation Predict Future Expectations About Health? Using a Life Course Framework to Test Multiple Mechanisms.

Though an impressive array of health outcomes has been studied, research within the field of religion and health has not yet considered how religious involvement may affect future expectations about health. This is a significant shortcoming because the teachings of many religions direct adherent's focus to the distant future, and future self-ratings of health are a known predictor of subjective life expectancy and eventual mortality risk. Recognizing the need for a life course approach to conceptualizing patterns of religious involvement, we assess how stability or change in religious attendance from childhood to adulthood structures individual expectations of future health. Drawing on data from the 2017 Values and Beliefs of the American Public Study (Baylor Religion Survey Wave 5), we find that stable high (weekly) attendance between childhood and adulthood is associated with higher future health expectations. Parametric mediation analyses conducted in the counterfactual framework suggest that this association is explained by the tendency of frequent stable attenders to have (a) higher levels of beliefs in the sense of divine control and (b) a lower likelihood of engaging in harmful health behaviors (smoking).