DC Metro Area Research Articles

Effect of progestin-based contraceptives on HIV-associated vaginal immune biomarkers and microbiome in adolescent girls.

Adolescent girls bear a disproportionate burden of both the HIV epidemic and unintended pregnancies; yet important questions remain unanswered regarding the effects of hormonal contraceptives on the vaginal immune microenvironment, which can impact HIV susceptibility in this group. Multiple studies report genital immune alterations associated with the progestin-based contraceptive Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) in adult women, but there is little available data in adolescents. The objective of this longitudinal cohort study was to evaluate the effects of short-term use of three progestin-based contraceptives, levonorgestrel intrauterine device (LNG-IUD), subdermal etonogestrel (ETNG), and injectable DMPA, on HIV-associated vaginal immune biomarkers and microbiome in adolescent girls. Fifty-nine sexually active, HIV-uninfected girls aged 15-19, were recruited from the Washington DC metro area and self-selected into Control (condoms only), combined oral contraceptive pills, LNG-IUD, ETNG and DMPA groups. Vaginal swabs were collected at baseline prior to contraceptive use and at 3-month follow-up visit. Vaginal secretions were tested for pro-inflammatory (IL-1α, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, MIP-3α, IP-10, RANTES, MIP-1α, MIP-1β) and anti-inflammatory/anti-HIV (Serpin-A1, Elafin, Beta-Defensin-2, SLPI) immune biomarkers using ELISA and for anti-HIV activity using TZM-bl assay. Vaginal microbiome was evaluated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Data were analyzed using SAS Version 9. Among the 34 participants who completed both visits, no significant changes in median biomarker concentrations, HIV inhibition and microbiome composition were observed between baseline and follow-up visits for any of the contraceptive groups. IL-8 (p<0.01), MIP-3α (0.02), Elafin (p = 0.03) and RANTES (p<0.01) differed significantly by race whereas IL-6 was significantly different by age (p = 0.03). We conclude that 3-month use of LNG-IUD, ETNG and DMPA have minimal effects on adolescent vaginal immune microenvironment, and therefore unlikely to impact HIV risk. Future studies with larger sample size and longer follow-up are recommended to continue to evaluate effects of contraceptives on the lower genital tract immunity and susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections.

Small Pantry Project Has Big Impact on DC Metro Area

Small Pantry Project Has Big Impact on DC Metro Area

Assessing microbial diversity in soil samples along the Potomac River: implications for environmental health.

In this study, we investigated the microbial diversity and community composition of soil samples collected from various sites along the Potomac River within an urbanized region. The study integrates microbial analysis into an undergraduate chemistry curriculum, bridging theoretical education with practical, real-world applications. Our findings revealed the presence of both typical marine soil bacteria and bacterial taxa indicative of urbanization and waste runoff. Notably, the identified taxa shared among all samples demonstrated a strong presence of Burkholderiaceae, Nitrosomonadaceae, and Pedosphaeraceae, which are associated with agricultural pollution, organochlorine pesticide contamination, and bromochloromethane pollution. We observed significant variations in microbial community diversity across different sampling sites, emphasizing the influence of environmental factors on microbial abundance and diversity. These insights carry significant implications for understanding the consequences of urbanization on soil microbial communities along the Potomac River and can inform strategies for managing and preserving these ecosystems. Further research is warranted to elucidate the effects of soil health and microbial diversity in this region. IMPORTANCE This study integrates microbial analysis into an undergraduate chemistry class, offering students a hands-on approach to environmental research. We examined the soil along the urbanized Potomac River, discovering a mix of common marine microbes and others that are indicators of urban waste and pollution. Our findings provide valuable insights into the environmental impacts of urbanization on soil health and reveal the effectiveness of using modern genetic tools to teach students about real-world issues. This innovative educational approach not only deepens students' understanding of chemistry and ecology but also prepares them to be thoughtful, informed participants in addressing contemporary environmental challenges while shedding light on the state of the soil microbiome near and around the DC metro area.

Exploring Levels and Correlates of Depression Literacy Among Older Korean Immigrants.

Despite the high prevalence of depression among older Korean Americans (KAs), there has been very little research on depression literacy among older KAs. This study identified specific areas of improvement in depression literacy to address mental health promotion among KAs. Twenty-two items on the depression literacy scale were grouped under five key themes: incidence and prognosis, differential symptoms, symptom recognition, non-pharmacological effectiveness, and pharmacological knowledge. This study aimed to assess the level of understanding depression literacy based on five domains and identify factors associated with depression literacy and its domains among older KAs. A cross-sectional study with 178 KAs aged 60 years and older was conducted in the Washington DC Metro area. Interviewer and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with depression literacy and its domains. Statistical significance was set at p < .05 for analyses. Knowledge pertaining to all 5 depression literacy domains was low, particularly on pharmacological treatment and differential symptoms were noticeably low. The majority of participants had misconceptions about antidepressants. 86% believed that antidepressants can have a rapid effect on symptoms, 82.6% believed people with depression should stop taking antidepressants as soon as they feel better, and 66.3% believed antidepressants were addictive. Misperception about depression and antidepressants may be associated with poor mental health outcomes among older KAs. Culturally-tailored education for older KAs with limited English proficiency could be beneficial in promoting depression literacy and reducing stigma or misconceptions regarding depression and treatments.

Feasibility of collaborating with independent Latino-owned restaurants to increase sales of a healthy combo meal.

Americans spend the majority of their food dollars at restaurants and other prepared food sources, including quick-service and fast-food restaurants (PFS); independent small restaurants make up 66% of all PFS in the US. In this feasibility study, 5 independent and Latino-owned PFS in the Washington DC metro area worked with academic partners to start offering healthy combo meals with bottled water and promote these using on-site, community, and social media advertising. The number of healthy combos sold was collected weekly, showing that the new combos sold, and customers in all 5 sites were surveyed as they exited the PFS (n=50): >85% had noticed the combo meals; 100% thought it was a good idea to offer it, 68% had ordered the combo (of these, >94% of customers responded that they liked it). Results suggest that it is feasible to work with independent Latino-owned restaurants to promote healthy combos and collect data. Significance for public health Consuming foods away from home once a week or more has been associated with risk for obesity, and targeting independent, ethnic restaurants (full service and fast casual) with health interventions can attract segments of populations that are more vulnerable to health disparities and are typically hard to reach. There is need to determine potential dietary health impacts on consumers, the potential for profitability at the restaurant level, and if these types of restaurant interventions can be a sustainable, all of which would likely improve community health. This report adds that it is feasible, based on operability, acceptability, and perceived sustainability, to work with independent-owned restaurants to promote healthier food and beverage alternatives.

Lipoprotein Insulin Resistance Score: Validation and Utility in African Ancestry Populations

Lipoprotein insulin resistance (LPIR) is an emerging biomarker of insulin resistance (IR), and a score of >48 is a strong predictor of incident cardiometabolic disease disease in a predominantly European ancestry population. LPIR is derived from a composite score of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) lipoprotein (Lp) parameters: triglyceride-rich (TRLp), low density (LDLp), and high density (HDLp). Yet, there is a paucity of data in African ancestry population, in whom there is low-normal TRLp despite high rates of IR and diabetes. Therefore, we examined Lp profiles and LPIR in a large African ancestry cohort, stratified by sex to determine the relationship of LPIR with established markers of IR. This is a secondary analysis from 2 studies (The Africans in America and Federal Women’s Study) designed to evaluate the genetic, biological and socio-environmental factors of diabetes risk in those of African ancestry. All participants self-identified as healthy and lived in the DC metro area, n= 518: 87.7% African immigrant,12.3% African American; age 39±10 (20-65y); BMI 28.1±4.8 (18.2–45.2 kg/m2); 58% male; 31% with obesity, and 37% with abnormal glucose tolerance; mean±SD (range); median (25th-75th percentile). Fasting measures of IR (LPIR, triglyceride/HDL (TG/HDL) ratio and homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)) were compared with the whole-body insulin sensitivity index (WBISI) obtained during a multi-sample 75g OGTT, using spearman correlations. Lp particle size and subclass concentrations were measured by the amplitudes of the lipid-methyl group signals (NMR LipoProfile®). Men had lower BMI (27.1±3.9 vs 29.3±5.6 kg/m2), fat mass (23.5±5.5 vs 37.9±6.8 %), insulin resistance (WBISI: 6.2 (3.7–10.1) vs 4.9 (3.2–8.6), HOMA-IR: 1.3 (0.7–2.0) vs 1.6 (0.9–2.4), TG/HDL: 1.4 (1.0–2.2) vs 1.1 (0.8–1.5)), all P<0.001. LDLp (1226 (959–1531) vs 1239 (981–1553) nmol/L) and HDLp (17.6 (16.2–19) vs 17.5 (15.9–19.7) µmol/L) were similar by sex, P>0.6, while small LDLp 734 (523–1039) vs 541 (370–805) nmol/L and TRLp 80.5 (52.2–116.4) vs 53.6 (28.7 -89.3) nmol/L were higher in men. The total mean LPIR score was 28.9±18.7 and was higher in men (34±19 vs. 23±17), P<0.001. LPIR and TG/HDL ratio correlated with WBISI (r≥-0.40) and HOMA-IR (r≥0.40), P<0.001 with no differences by sex. HOMA-IR correlated with WBISI (r=-0.95, P<0.001). Overall, African ancestry individuals had high rates of abnormal glucose tolerance, obesity and LDLp but LPIR was 20 points lower than the established score for predicting cardiometabolic disease. It’s utility for detecting IR was modest but it may be an important adjunct for early cardiometabolic risk stratification in African ancestry populations in whom traditional screening methods have lower sensitivity.

Healthier Streets: How Superblocks and Congestion Pricing Can Help Reduce Air Pollution in Washington, DC

Cities face big challenges, including environmental threats, livability concerns, lack of new infrastructure, and increasing social inequity, among others. These challenges call for new and innovative ways to address them. Air pollution, a common problem in many cities, causes between 100,000 and 340,000 Americans to die prematurely every year (Fann et al. 2012; Caiazzo et al. 2013; Bowe et al. 2019; and Goodkind et al. 2019) and, out of those premature deaths, 53,000 are due to car pollution (Caiazzo et al. 2013). The Washington DC Metro Area is one of the top 20 cities in the United States with the highest smog pollution, highlighting the need for new regulations to reduce air pollution (American Lung Association 2020). Federal policies aimed at lowering the maximum concentration of air pollutants allowed by the EPA could improve public health, but cities can also reduce air pollution levels through policymaking. DC currently has two main transportation and sustainability plans to improve public transportation, infrastructure, and combat climate change. Cities similar to DC, such as Barcelona and London, have applied superblocks, restricted car access city areas, and congestion pricing policies respectively, aimed at reducing air pollution and improving quality of life. Fortunately, DC has many of the characteristics needed to successfully implement superblocks in areas of the city where residential housing and businesses share space, and congestion pricing in highly congested areas. I recommend the District Department of Transportation to establish pilot programs for each of these policies to reduce air pollution levels in the city.

Presidential inauguration tourism and hotel occupancy: Evidence from the Obama and Trump inaugurals

This article examines the impact of the inaugurations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump on hotel occupancy in the Washington DC metro area. Using daily hotel data from 2010 to 2020 and controlling for multiple other major events along with day, week, and year fixed effects, we find substantial effects of presidential inaugurations on hotel occupancy. Daily occupancy rates around the inaugurations are four to six times higher than the next largest event in our sample. We also find evidence that inaugurations are multiple-day tourist events, with hotel occupancy rates seeing positive leads and lags. We find little difference in overall hotel occupancy impacts between the Obama and the Trump inaugurations, although the pattern differs due to the differences when in the week they occurred. Unfortunately, our results cannot separate the effect of the Women’s March on Washington from the Trump inauguration.

A comparison of approaches to estimate traffic-related PM2.5 in a study of commuters

Background/Aim: Associations between exposure to traffic-related fine particulate matter (tr-PM2.5) and health are not fully understood. Exposure to tr-PM2.5 while commuting may reflect an important exposure environment relevant for health. However, estimating exposure to tr-PM2.5 is challenging because tr-PM2.5 is a spatially heterogeneous chemical mixture that cannot generally be directly observed. We compare two approaches to estimate personal exposure to tr-PM2.5 among commuters.Methods: We measured personal exposure to continuous PM2.5 and 48-hour integrated PM2.5 metals and black carbon (BC) for 49 women commuters in the DC metro area. We recorded vehicle trips across 48 hours using vehicle data loggers and dashboard cameras. We estimated tr-PM2.5 using two approaches: source apportionment and vehicle monitoring. The source apportionment approach applied Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) to integrated PM2.5 constituents as in previous studies. The vehicle monitoring approach estimated average PM2.5 exposure during vehicle trips identified using vehicle monitors. We compared estimates of tr-PM2.5 using Spearman correlations and comparing tertile groups. We also compared vehicle monitoring tr-PM2.5 with two tracers of tr-PM2.5: 48-hour integrated BC and zinc.Results: We fitted PMF to the integrated data and identified three sources: tailpipe emissions, salt, and road dust. Vehicle monitoring estimated personal tr-PM2.5 exposure with a mean of 6.7ug/m3 (interquartile range: 2.5,7.7). The correlation between tailpipe emissions and vehicle monitoring was 0.22, with correlations for the other sources close to zero. The two approaches generally grouped commuters differently, with 62% of commuters in different tertiles for tailpipe emissions and vehicle monitoring. Results were similar when BC and zinc were used instead of estimated sources.Conclusions: There were substantial differences between the two approaches for estimating tr-PM2.5 among commuters, indicating that using only integrated PM2.5 constituents may not be representative of commute-specific exposures. Future work will combine these two approaches to better estimate exposure to tr-PM2.5.

Young Women Exposed Actively to the Value of Biomedical Engineering.

To bridge the gap between the biological sciences (typically female-dominated) and engineering (typically male-dominated), biomedical engineering (BME) activities could potentially be used as a vehicle to alter female students' perception of engineering as a whole. Female's pursuit of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees is typically confined to the biological sciences and females earn a high proportion of degrees in nursing, psychology and the social sciences, yet male presence persists in physical sciences and engineering. Female's participation in engineering remains much lower than men at all degree levels. Here, research questions included do female high school students: 1) perceive engineering as relevant? 2) have an interest & aptitude towards exploring engineering in college and as a career? 3) have anxiety in terms of engineering? 4) have engineering "role-confidence"? Participants, a randomly selected pool of 28 high school students (almost exclusively female from schools throughout the DC Metro area) took part in a week-long, all-day workshop where they were exposed to female engineering mentors, peers, and activities tied to BME & Engineering. Pre and post surveys, adapted from standard STEM surveys, were administered to the pool of participants. Increases in confidence and interest in engineering and decreased anxiety were observed following female high school students' participation in hands-on activities in BME.

Impact of Bikesharing Pricing Policies on Usage and Revenue: An Evaluation Through Curation of Large Datasets from Revenue Transactions and Trips

A sustainable and robust stream of revenues is an essential element of the economic sustainability of bikeshare systems. To this effect, there is an unrelenting need to quantify and understand the impacts of pricing policies and operational considerations on a bikeshare system’s revenue and ridership. A notable gap exists in literature on studies related to the impact of changes in pricing policy on ridership and revenue. The primary objective of this research was to assess the impact of the introduction of a $2 per trip single-trip fare (STF) product for casual users by Capital Bikeshare (CaBi), the bikeshare system in the Washington DC metro area, on its ridership and revenue. Two-year ridership and revenue transaction datasets of CaBi were used in the analysis. A substantial data curation effort was undertaken to fuse elements between the two large transactional datasets. The effort not only facilitated the impact assessment but also enhanced the value of ridership dataset by identifying trips made by casual users by the type of fare product they purchased. The casual bikeshare user revenues were traced to individual bikeshare stations where trips originated, which allowed the comparison between revenues and ridership ‘before’ and ‘after’ the launch of STF at the station level. Over 22 million records on individual bikeshare trips and revenue transactions for 3 years and 330 bikeshare stations were analyzed. The results showed a statistically significant increase in casual user ridership after the introduction of STF. There was a statistically significant decrease in revenue per ride. Statistical tests indicated that these changes might be attributable to the introduction of STF. The methods used in this study are transferable. They can be used for curating ridership data and studying the impacts of bikeshare pricing policy changes on system usage and revenues at various public bikesharing systems with similar characteristics as Capital Bikeshare.

Centrality of traumatic events and men’s intimate partner violence perpetration.

The event centrality model indicates that the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs) occurs when a traumatic event becomes central to one's identity, marking a key turning point in one's life narrative and influencing the meaning assigned to subsequent posttrauma events. Previous research has shown that event centrality is associated with PTSSs among survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, research has not yet determined whether event centrality may explain associations between trauma exposure and IPV among perpetrators of IPV. Trauma and PTSSs are key risk factors for IPV perpetration, but many questions remain about the mechanisms that explain these associations. Study participants came from a sample of 134 men presenting for treatment at a community-based relationship violence intervention program in the Baltimore-Washington, DC metro area between July 2013 and July 2015 during routine program intake. In the hypothesized serial model, exposure to potentially traumatic events predicted event centrality, which predicted PTSSs, which predicted IPV perpetration and relationship problems. The serial mediation model was significant for physical assault, psychological aggression, emotional abuse, and relationship problems, but not for sexual coercion. The results indicate that the extent to which a trauma becomes central to one's identity is important in understanding the links between trauma exposure, PTSSs, and IPV perpetration. These findings support the development and application of trauma-informed interventions to reduce IPV perpetration and reduce event centrality in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

"Keep it Realistic": Reactions to and Recommendations for Physical Activity Promotion Messages From Focus Groups of Women.

Less than half of US adults meet the recommended guidelines of 150 minutes of exercise each week. Health promotion messages are frequently used to promote physical activity (PA); however, this messaging may be ineffective if it does not resonate with the target audience. The purpose of this exploratory study is to understand how women respond to examples of PA promotion messages. A qualitative study. Washington DC Metro Area. Forty women, stratified by race/ethnicity (white, black, Latina) and level of self-reported PA (active, inactive). Eight focus groups were conducted in which participants were shown 3 PA promotion messages representative of typical messaging strategies. Three researchers conducted a thematic analysis to code the data for emergent themes. Current PA promotion messaging strategies do not resonate with women. Women want to see individuals with "realistic" bodies who look similar to them (eg, body shape, age, race/ethnicity), and for PA messaging to include daily activities as a way to be active. Public health practitioners who promote PA to women should consider developing messages that better resonate with women's dynamic roles and lifestyles. Successful strategies may include depicting busy lifestyles that PA may be physically and logistically difficult to fit into and using models with diverse body shapes.

Determination of endogenous concentrations of nitrites and nitrates in different types of cheese in the United States: method development and validation using ion chromatography

ABSTRACTNitrites and nitrates can be present in dairy products from both endogenous and exogenous sources. In the European Union (EU), 150 mg kg–1 of nitrates are allowed to be added to the cheese milk during the manufacturing process. The CODEX General Standard for Food Additives has a maximum permitted level of 50 mg kg–1 residue in cheese, while in the United States (U.S.) nitrates are unapproved for use as food additives in cheese. In order to be able to investigate imported cheeses for nitrates intentionally added as preservatives and the endogenous concentrations of nitrates and nitrites present in cheeses in the U.S. marketplace, a method was developed and validated using ion chromatography with conductivity detection. A market sampling of cheese samples purchased in the Washington DC metro area was performed. In 64 samples of cheese, concentrations ranged from below the method detection limit (MDL) to 26 mg kg–1 for nitrates and no concentrations of nitrites were found in any of the cheese samples above the MDL of 0.1 mg kg–1. A majority of the samples (93%) had concentrations below 10 mg kg–1, which indicate the presence of endogenous nitrates. The samples with concentrations above 10 mg kg–1 were mainly processed cheese spread, which can contain additional ingredients often of plant-based origin. These ingredients are likely the cause of the elevated nitrate concentrations. The analysis of 12 additional cheese samples that are liable to the intentional addition of nitrates, 9 of which were imported, indicated that in this limited study, concentrations of nitrate in the U.S.-produced cheeses did not differ from those in imported samples.

Introductory Remarks by Tracey Begley

The discussion on humanitarian access is, unfortunately, an essential one to have right now. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that about 141 million people across thirty-seven countries are in need of humanitarian assistance. Of that, about 13.1 million people in Syria—that is twice the size of the population of the DC metro area—and 22.2 million in Yemen, just to name two countries in conflict. The operational and legal challenges to try to get even a small amount of assistance to people in need are tremendous.

Hidden Rainbows: Gay Bars as Safe Havens in a Socially Conservative Area Since the Pulse Nightclub Massacre

Gay and lesbian bars are considered a safe haven. Safe havens exist because of the larger cultural environment that makes safe places necessary. Some communities have noted reductions in the need for gay and lesbian bars due to growing acceptance within the community. However, many states and communities within the South and Bible Belt continue to propose and pass bills which target or restrict the freedoms of LGBT persons. These cultural overtones may support or encourage targeted violence, including the Pulse Nightclub Massacre which was the deadliest incidence of violence targeted at LGBT persons in the USA. This manuscript presents two studies: one at gay bars in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a socially conservative city/state, and the other examines four US communities following the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. Study 1 included interviews at entrance to the bar, exit from the bar, and within a week of leaving the bar in order to identify feelings of safety and comfort. Study 2 seeks to compare gay bar attendance and feelings of comfort and safety in gay bars in regions of the USA with varying structural stigma. Results of study 1 suggest that the participants felt safe (82.4%, n = 42) and comfortable (72.5%, n = 37). In study 2, individuals from Tulsa, Oklahoma were compared to individuals in New York and the DC metro area and were significantly less likely to attend gay bars after the Pulse shooting (t = 2.53 and 3.66, p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.001, respectively). Moreover, compared to individuals living in the DC metro area and Philadelphia, participants residing in the city in a conservative state felt significantly less safe attending gay bars (t = −2.03 and −2.30, respectively; p ≤ 0.05). No differences across the communities were noted by comfort within the gay bar space. In light of a changing political landscape, additional programming efforts may be necessary at gay bars in communities with high structural stigma. These efforts may include supporting the naturally occurring feelings of community connectedness and facilitating community building.

Assessing the health information source perceptions of tweens using card-sorting exercises

As young people are increasingly turning to the Internet to meet their information needs, it is imperative to investigate their perceptions regarding various potential sources of health information. A series of card-sorting exercises were administered to new participants in an after-school programme (HackHealth) to find out which sources of health information these greater Washington DC metro area middle school students would turn to, which they would not and their reasons behind these judgements. The findings revealed that participants were very aware of the importance of trustworthiness when looking for health information and they valued both professional expertise based on formal education and expertise born of personal experience with a particular health condition. However, they also valued convenience, ease and speed, and sometimes sacrificed information quality. Some important implications of these findings for healthcare and information professionals are identified and suggestions for future research in this area are offered.

Residential Land Values in the Washington, DC Metro Area: New Insights from Big Data

We use new property-level data to estimate the price of land from 2000 to 2013 for nearly the universe of detached single-family homes in the Washington, DC metro area and characterize the housing boom-bust cycle in land and house prices at a fine geography. The data show that land prices were more volatile than house prices everywhere, but especially so in the areas where land was inexpensive in 2000. We demonstrate that the change in the land share of house value during the boom was a significant predictor of the decline in house prices during the bust, highlighting the value of focusing on land in assessing house-price risk.

Contamination of post-harvest poultry products with multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Maryland-Washington DC metro area

We investigated the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in poultry retail meat samples from the Maryland-Washington DC metro area. A total of 24 S. aureus isolates were recovered from 96 whole poultry carcass samples and the prevalence of S. aureus were 25.0%, 14.29%, and 33.3% in retail poultry meats collected from farmers markets, organic and conventional retail supermarkets, respectively. Both single and multi-drug resistance isolates were detected in 58.3% (7/12) isolates from conventional retail meat products but none from farmers markets or organic retail meat isolates. Conventional retail meat isolates were found to be resistant to both erythromycin (50.0%) and tetracycline (58.3%). We also detected an MRSA isolate harboring mecA gene in conventional retail meat which showed co-resistance towards erythromycin, tetracycline, and vancomycin.

Abstract P291: Similar Over-Reporting of Physical Activity among African Immigrant Men and Women: The Africans in America Study

Levels of physical activity (PA), an important risk factor for cardiometabolic disease, may decline in Africans after immigration and it is unknown whether PA type differs by sex. To determine PA profile and perceived activity in African immigrants, we examined PA type and intensity using the self-report Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Typical Week Physical Activity Survey (TWPAS). Physical activity levels were defined as time spent in total and moderate-vigorous PA in 80 African immigrants living in the DC metro area, who self-identified as healthy (66% male; age 39.1±9.4y (mean±SD), range 22-58y; BMI 28.2±4.4 kg/m 2 , range 19.7-41.2). Total and moderate-vigorous PA were 1952.1±1759.6 and 717.6±840.3 min•wk -1 , respectively and did not vary by sex, P=0.9 (Fig 1). Men and women reported spending equal amounts of time in each moderate-vigorous PA category (household, occupational, childcare, intentional and volunteer, P=0.7). Ninety-five percent of Africans reported meeting moderate-vigorous PA guidelines &gt; 150 min•wk -1 (Fig 1A). However, 10% of Africans reported more total PA than there are minutes in a week (Fig 1B) and 1/3 reported excessive weekly moderate-vigorous PA (total &gt;5hr•dy -1 and intentional &gt; 2 hr•dy -1 ). In the 26 Africans with &gt;5 hr•dy -1 of total moderate-vigorous PA, those with an annual income of ≥$30,000 reported greater levels of moderate-vigorous PA than those with an income &lt;$30,000, 4866.8±1646.3 vs. 3558.7±769.9, respectively (P=0.01). Moderate-vigorous PA levels did not vary in this group by African birth region, education, years in the US or percent weight gain since immigration (P&gt;0.3). Self-reported PA profiles were similar among African immigrant men and women, but were over-reported by at least 10% of respondents. Over-reporting may be more common in Africans of higher socioeconomic status. The MESA TWPAS questionnaire provides insight into PA profiles in African immigrants, but is suboptimal for quantitative examination of PA levels.