Reported Health Conditions Research Articles

Physical Activity Levels, Correlates, and All-Cause Mortality Risk in People Living With Different Health Conditions.

To better understand physical activity behavior and its health benefits in people living with health conditions, we studied people with and without 20 different self-reported health conditions with regard to (1) their physical activity levels, (2) factors correlated with these physical activity levels, and (3) the association between physical activity and all-cause mortality. We used a subsample (n = 88,659) of the Lifelines cohort study from the Netherlands. For people living with and without 20 different self-reported health conditions, we studied the aforementioned factors in relation to physical activity. Physical activity was assessed with the Short Questionnaire to Assess Health-Enhancing Physical Activity Questionnaire, and mortality data were obtained from the Dutch death register. People with a reported health condition were less likely to meet physical activity guidelines than people without a reported health condition (odds ratios ranging from 0.55 to 0.89). Higher body mass index and sitting time, and lower self-rated health, physical functioning, and education levels were associated with lower odds of meeting physical activity guidelines across most health conditions. Finally, we found a protective association between physical activity and all-cause mortality in both people living with and without different health conditions. People living with different health conditions are generally less physically active compared with people living without a health condition. Both people living with and without self-reported health conditions share a number of key factors associated with physical activity levels. We also observed the expected protective association between physical activity and all-cause mortality.

Exposures to humidifier disinfectant and various health conditions in Korean based on personal exposure assessment data of claimants for compensation

BackgroundHumidifier disinfectants (HDs) were commonly used household chemicals to prevent microbial growth in a humidifier water tank in South Korea. A growing body of evidence has indicated that its airborne exposure can induce severe lung injury. However, there has been low awareness of other health outcomes in HD users. This study aimed to evaluate health conditions appealed by claimants for compensation in relation with an increased exposure to HD.MethodsFrom survey data of personal HD exposure assessment of claimants for compensation in Korea, we included a total of 4,179 subjects [cases in each dataset were defined by nine reported health conditions, i.e., pneumonia, asthma, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, otorhinolaryngologic disease, brain disease (including cerebrovascular disease), dermatological disease, lung cancer, and all cancers]. HD exposures was considered as the following exposure criteria: exposure duration, exposure proximity, exposure direction, chemical type, cumulative exposure time, indoor air concentration, and cumulative exposure level. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between HD exposure and health conditions.ResultsAfter adjusting for sociodemographic and health behavioral factors and other chemical exposures (households, environmental, and occupational exposures), an increase in cumulative HD exposure time was significantly associated with risks of all nine diseases (all p-trends < 0.05). An increase in HD exposure duration was associated with asthma, respiratory disease, otorhinolaryngologic disease, dermatological disease, all cancers, and lung cancer (p-trends < 0.05). Indoor HD concentration was associated with only pneumonia (p-trend = 0.015).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that cumulative exposures to airborne HD might potentially increase the risk of various reported health outcomes.

A systematic review of clinical health conditions predicted by machine learning diagnostic and prognostic models trained or validated using real-world primary health care data.

With the advances in technology and data science, machine learning (ML) is being rapidly adopted by the health care sector. However, there is a lack of literature addressing the health conditions targeted by the ML prediction models within primary health care (PHC) to date. To fill this gap in knowledge, we conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines to identify health conditions targeted by ML in PHC. We searched the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, Elsevier, BioRxiv, Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), and IEEE Xplore databases for studies published from January 1990 to January 2022. We included primary studies addressing ML diagnostic or prognostic predictive models that were supplied completely or partially by real-world PHC data. Studies selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment using the prediction model study risk of bias assessment tool were performed by two investigators. Health conditions were categorized according to international classification of diseases (ICD-10). Extracted data were analyzed quantitatively. We identified 106 studies investigating 42 health conditions. These studies included 207 ML prediction models supplied by the PHC data of 24.2 million participants from 19 countries. We found that 92.4% of the studies were retrospective and 77.3% of the studies reported diagnostic predictive ML models. A majority (76.4%) of all the studies were for models' development without conducting external validation. Risk of bias assessment revealed that 90.8% of the studies were of high or unclear risk of bias. The most frequently reported health conditions were diabetes mellitus (19.8%) and Alzheimer's disease (11.3%). Our study provides a summary on the presently available ML prediction models within PHC. We draw the attention of digital health policy makers, ML models developer, and health care professionals for more future interdisciplinary research collaboration in this regard.

Effects of donation frequency on U.S. source plasma donor health.

Plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) are essential, life-saving medicines manufactured from plasma donated by healthy human volunteers. PDMPs are used to treat a range of rare, serious, and chronic conditions, often genetic in origin. Approximately 70% of the Source Plasma (SP) used for PDMP manufacturing comes from United States (US). The hypothesis of the study is that US donation frequency does not impair donor self-reported functional health and well-being. A total of 5608 SP donors from 14 US SP centers were enrolled in a cross-sectional study to assess self-reported health related quality of life (HRQoL) and well-being. By sex, donors were assigned to one of four groups, according to their frequency of SP donation in the 12 months before enrollment. The SF-36v2® Health Survey (SF-36v2) and a survey assessing the frequency of various health conditions that may be associated with impaired immune function over different time periods were used. There were no statistically significant differences in SF-36v2 scores between any of the donor frequency groups, compared with new donors after controlling for potential confounding and accounting for multiple comparisons among males and females. Cough, cold, occasional fatigue, and sore throat were the most reported health conditions or symptoms, but there was no clear difference among sex or frequency groups. The self-reported data in this study support the hypothesis that compensated donations at US FDA permitted frequencies and volumes are consistent with maintaining donor health. Compared with the general population, SP donors have comparable or better health than the general population.

Awareness and perceptions of clinical trials in patients with cancer and their families in Turkey.

e18780 Background: Patient preference plays an important role in enrolling in clinical trials. We conducted this study to understand the perceptions knowledge and willingness of cancer patients or their families about clinical trials. Methods: A questionnaire in Turkish language was conducted including the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants and the factors that may affect their decision to participate in clinical trials. The study was carried out in 5 tertiary health care institutions with clinical research centers in Turkey. Adult patients diagnosed with solid tumors or their family members who agreed to participate were surveyed by medical doctors. Participants were interviewed between January 2020 and April 2021. Comparisons between groups were carried out using chi-square test χ2 for the categorical variables. IBM SPSS25 was used in analyses and p&lt;0.05 was accepted as the level of significance. Results: A total of 978 patients whose age ranged 18 and 82 (Mean= 51.43, SD=14.41) participated in the study. %50.3 was male, %40.7 was female. Willingness to participate a clinical trial was positively corelated with participants self reported health condition is excellent or good (p=0.206), well knowledge about clinical trials (p&lt;0.001), high school or higher education level (p&lt;0.001), household income above poverty level (p=0.003), previously received systemic cancer treatment of himself or family member or friend (p=0.03). %73.7 stated they are more willing to participate if their oncology specialist conducting the clinical trial. %84.3 want to get information about the clinical trial from their oncology specialist. %72.5 stated that positive experiences of a previous clinical trial participant will affect their decision making. Top corcerns about clinical trials are possible treatment side effects (%56.7), being treated as a test subject (%29), risk of placebo (%20.1). Top motivations are accessing best doctors (%45.8), accessing newest and best treatment options (%40.7), getting more information about their health condition (%68.9), helping science adventions (%82.6). Conclusions: Even when patients are eligible for a clinical trial physicians may somehow not discuss the clinical trial option. For patients oncology specialists are a highly trusted source of information and can play an important role in raising awareness and encouraging participation. [Table: see text] [Table: see text]

Personalized Treatment Decisions for Traumatic Proximal Finger Amputations: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Ray and proximal phalanx amputations present valid surgical options for the management of severe traumatic finger injuries. However, among these procedures, the superior one for optimal functionality and quality of life for patients still remains unknown. This retrospective cohort study compares the postoperative effects of each amputation type to provide objective evidence and to create a paradigm for clinical decision-making. A total of forty patients who had received either ray or proximal phalanx-level amputations reported on their functional outcomes using a combination of questionnaires and clinical testing. We found a decreased overall DASH score following ray amputation. Particularly, Part A and Part C of the DASH questionnaire were consistently lower compared with amputation at the proximal phalanx. Pain measurements in the affected hand were also significantly decreased during work and at rest in ray amputation patients, and they reported decreased cold sensitivity. Range of motion and grip strength were lower in ray amputations, which is an important preoperative consideration. We found no significant differences in reported health condition, evaluated according to the EQ-5D-5L, and blood circulation in the affected hand. We present an algorithm for clinical decision-making based on patients' preferences to personalize treatment.

Advanced EHR system in homes-in-schools’ automation using internet of things and machine learning

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are the health data collected and stored electronically for informative purposes in today’s healthcare to handle healthcare in patients’ hands, thereby reducing physical contact between healthcare seekers and providers. This paper reviews a complete health monitoring and health status reporting system using IoT technology to gather vital health statistics and machine learning to design an intelligent system. The proposed system will adopt IoT technology to collect health information from students in their residence and use a machine learning method to predict students’ health status from the institution’s Electronic Health Records before rendering health counselling services to students. It will also allow students to report health conditions to educational authorities on a complex Wireless Body Area Network to deploy Raspberry Pi 4B, sensors, cameras.

Burden Among Caregivers of Pediatric Patients with Neurofibromatosis Type1 (NF1) and Plexiform Neurofibroma (PN) in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study.

IntroductionPatients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) may develop plexiform neurofibromas (PNs) that can cause disfigurement, pain, and dysfunction, and may even be life-threatening. Studies have indicated NF1-PN can substantially impact the quality of life (QoL) of pediatric patients. However, research on caregiver burden is scarce.MethodsCaregivers of pediatric patients ages 2–18 years with NF1-PN in the USA were recruited through the Children’s Tumor Foundation to participate in an online cross-sectional survey (December 2020–January 2021). Caregiver burden was measured using the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and productivity loss from patientcare was measured using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire, adapted for caregiving (WPAI:CG).ResultsNinety-five caregivers were recruited with a median age of 44.0 years. Most were female (88.4%), white/Caucasian (85.3%), and did not have NF1 or PN (86.3% and 89.5%, respectively). Commonly reported health conditions among caregivers include anxiety (48.4%) and depression (34.7%). On the ZBI (range 0–88; higher = greater burden), mean (SD) scores were 23.0 (13.8) and 12.7% of caregivers reported moderate–severe (scores 41–60) or severe burden (scores 61–88). Fifty-six caregivers were employed and working in the 7 days prior to completing the WPAI:CG. They reported missing an average of 6.9% of their working hours and an average reduction of 17.3% of on-the-job effectiveness, contributing to 22.3% loss in work productivity. Among all 95 caregivers, an average of 17.2% of regular daily activities were impaired.ConclusionsThe burden among caregivers of pediatric patients with NF1-PN is considerable and underscores an unmet need for better disease management.

Consumer Expectation of Flavored Water Function, Sensory Quality, and Sugar Reduction, and the Impact of Demographic Variables and Woman Consumer Segment.

This study aimed to investigate consumer expectation of flavored water and potential consumer segments. The results showed flavored water was ranked the fourth most popular drink, after plain water, tea, and coffee, by 901 participants. Consumers highly expected functional flavored water with refreshing (87.4% selection), thirst-quenching (73.7%), and tasty (65.7%) qualities, containing vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and providing energy. Expected flavored water sensory qualities included temperature (62.4%), flavor (52.4%), and sweet taste (47.4%); lemon, berry, and lime flavors were most preferred, while bitterness, irritation, astringency, and sourness were least preferred. Pure sugar and honey were rated highest as the sweeteners for flavored water. Likewise, consumers were mostly concerned with taste followed by calories. Single demographic variables (age, reported health condition, drinking frequency, educational level) significantly influenced (p ≤ 0.05) flavored water function, sensory quality, and sugar reduction expectations. Females had higher expectation of flavored water’s refreshing and antioxidant functions. Cluster analysis revealed two consumer segments. The younger, low-education, self-reportedly less healthy cluster (mainly college students) expected various functions and flavors such as low temperature, cooling taste, diverse flavors, and sweet taste (and disliked bitterness). The older, educated, employed, self-reportedly healthy cluster had lower expectations of flavored water functions, were less sensitive to bitterness, and preferred no sweetness or little sweetness. These findings provide informative data to establish marketing and sales strategies for promoting flavored water.

Self-reported health condition severity and ambulation status postmajor dysvascular limb loss.

Individuals with dysvascular lower limb amputations (LLA) secondary to complications of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and/or diabetes have high rates of co-morbidities. To describe self-reported health condition severity and their association with sociodemographic factors and ambulations status among individuals with major dysvascular LLA. Cross sectional telephone and in person survey with adults with major dysvascular LLA living in the community setting in Ontario, Canada. Survey by phone/in person, and completion of the Dysvascular Conditions Scale and Special Interest in Amputee Medicine Mobility (SIGAM) Grade by each participant. Two hundred thirty-one individuals with major dysvascular LLAs participated in the study. Most of them were male individuals (80.5%) and had undergone a transtibial amputation (74%). On average, participants were 3.4 years postlimb loss and had five identified Dysvascular Conditions Scale health conditions. The top five reported health conditions were diabetes, hypertension, phantom limb pain, musculoskeletal pain, and back pain. With the exclusion of hypertension, these conditions were also perceived by respondents to be quite severe for their impact. Vision impairment was also rated as being severe in nature. Lower mobility Special Interest Group in Amputee Medicine grades were associated with higher health condition severity scores. Individuals with dysvascular limb loss experience high multimorbidity with perceived negative impact on their overall wellness and function. Rehabilitation and self-management strategies to help patients with dysvascular LLAs to manage chronic health conditions may improve outcomes.

Perceived Associations between Excessive Sugar Intake and Health Conditions.

Excessive sugar intake represents an increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases (e.g., obesity, cardiometabolic diseases, and dental diseases). Still, it is unclear whether people are aware of these adverse health outcomes. The current study systematically examined the extent to which people associate health conditions with excessive sugar intake. Participants (N = 1010 Portuguese volunteers) freely reported all health conditions they associated with excessive sugar consumption and rated the strength of these associations for eight specific health conditions. All participants reported health conditions associated with excessive sugar intake, with the most frequent being risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases (e.g., diabetes), cardiovascular diseases, oral problems, oncological and mental health conditions. Moreover, participants considered diabetes, overweight/obesity, and oral problems as being the conditions most related to excessive sugar intake. Women, participants with children in the household, and experts in health/nutrition rated excessive sugar intake as being more strongly linked to some of the health conditions. The identification of the health conditions that people associate with excessive sugar consumption may inform policymakers, educators, and health professionals and support interventions targeting the general public or specific groups (e.g., overweight people) in raising awareness of potential adverse health outcomes and, ultimately, contribute to reducing sugar intake.

Fournier's Gangrene as a Possible Surgical Complication of COVID-19

Fournier's gangrene (FG) is a rare form of necrotizing fasciitis affecting the perineal, perianal, or genital areas. The infection is usually seen in diabetic, alcoholic, or immunosuppressed patients. Urgent debridement and broad-spectrum antibiotics are the first-line therapy, where in some cases soft tissue reconstruction is required. We report two patients who developed FG during COVID-19 infection. None of the patients had a history of diabetes mellitus, alcoholism, or immune deficiency. The only reported health condition was COVID-19 infection. Emergent debridement and elective reconstruction were performed for both of the patients. High index of suspicion is required during the examination of the perineum and the genitalia of suspected patients with COVID-19 infection for early diagnosis and prevention of further complications. Larger studies are required to indicate the exact incidence of FG in patients with COVID 19 infection.

Health Problems and the Use of Medications and Traditional Therapies among Chinese Immigrants Living in Spain.

In this study, we investigate the health problems and the use of medications and traditional therapies among Chinese immigrants in the Southern region of Spain. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and including 133 immigrants and 7 stakeholders was conducted in 2017. Transcription, literal reading, and theoretical categorization were performed, and a narrative content analysis was carried out. The most common health problems were musculoskeletal (28.6%) and allergies (25.6%) related to work activity and unhealthy lifestyles. Key informants also reported gastric problems, stress, and changes in eating habits, mostly related to their work activity. For these problems, a large number of traditional remedies (herbs, diet therapy, acupuncture, vitamins, etc.) were used, usually combined with pharmaceutical drugs used for colds, flu, general malaise (29%), pain and fever (23%), and allergy drugs (9.2%). Chinese immigrants reported health conditions associated with their working conditions and life habits in Spain, using Traditional Chinese Medicine instead of pharmacological drugs. Understanding these health problems and promoting awareness towards traditional therapies in the healthcare system may help to design public policies and Health Promotion strategies targeting this group.

Comparing the Attitude toward the COVID-19 and the 2020/21 and 2019/20 Flu Vaccination Campaigns among Italian Healthcare Workers.

Background: While the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare workers (HCWs) is suboptimal, vaccine hesitancy has not been characterized in detail in this population. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of health-related conditions reported by HCWs during the COVID-19, 2020/21 flu, and 2019/20 flu vaccination campaigns, so to test the hypothesis that HCWs were more prone to report health conditions during the COVID-19 campaign. Methods: We analyzed vaccination questionnaires of 176 hospital-based HCWs who underwent the COVID-19 and the 2020/21 flu vaccinations; 2019/20 flu vaccination questionnaires were available for 130 of them. Outcomes included self-reported allergies, chronic diseases, and use of medications. We tested for prevalence equality, analyzed differences using the kappa statistics and concordance correlation, and explored factors associated with differences in reporting. Results: There was no difference in the proportion of HCWs reporting allergies in the three questionnaires, while chronic diseases were more frequently reported in the COVID-19 than in both 2020/21 (p = 0.04) and 2019/20 flu questionnaires (p = 0.02). Furthermore, a higher proportion of HCWs reported medications use in the COVID-19 vaccination questionnaire, compared to both the 2020/21 and the 2019/20 flu vaccination questionnaires (p < 0.001 for both). In each vaccine campaign, women reported more conditions than men, and the difference between chronic disease reports was greater for women than for men. Conclusions: Our results show more frequent reporting of health conditions during the COVID-19 than the flu vaccination campaigns, providing quantitative evidence of hesitancy of HCWs towards the COVID-19 vaccine.

Perceived health and interaction with healthcare workers of a hard-to-reach group in a Roman suburb

Abstract Previous studies have showed that people living in Bastogi - a segregated and deprived peripheral area of Rome- have difficulties in accessing and relating to health services. Our aim was to analyze the health perception, health-related behaviors, and the interaction between healthcare professionals and the census population living in Bastogi, compared to the population living in the area of the same local health unit, ASL Roma 1 (hereafter ASL). The PASSI survey (from the Italian Surveillance System) was administered by phone and through door-to-door interviews to a sample of 210 residents of Bastogi. Data were analyzed and compared to the ones of the ASL collected in 2017-2018. Descriptive and univariate analysis were performed with STATA 13. P-values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The socio-economic indicators, acknowledged determinants of health inequalities, showed a worse condition for the inhabitants of Bastogi. There was a significantly higher proportion of foreign and unemployed residents in Bastogi, with a lower educational level compared to the ASL. 58.1 % of the Bastogi group claimed their health to be good/very good (ASL: 71.6%; p = 0.000). 56.2% of the respondents from Bastogi were current smokers (ASL: 25.8%; p = 0.000). Risk factors for and prevalence of chronic diseases were significantly higher in Bastogi. The proportion of respondents who stated they had not had any recent contact with health professionals was significantly higher, and mammogram screening uptake was lower (75.3%; ASL: 90.4%; p = 0.001). Despite their lower help-seeking behavior, our study pointed out that the respondents from Bastogi who had had a contact with a health professional reported a higher perceived interest about their health than in the ASL. Further studies are needed to investigate whether this attention is attributable to the higher prevalence of chronic diseases or to the health professional's awareness of vulnerability of a hard-to-reach group. Key messages The population from Bastogi is marginalized and hard-to-reach: we found a worse overall self- reported health condition, a worse help-seeking behavior and a lack of reliance on health professionals. The PASSI survey administration has led to a greater involvement of the competent health institution, which resulted in the introduction of a community nurse and a Single Access Point.

A Study of Older Adults' Perception of High-Density Housing Neighbourhoods in Singapore: Multi-Sensory Perspective.

Associated sensory and cognitive declines progress with ageing and profoundly impact the daily living and quality of life of older adults. In the context of an increased ageing population globally, this paper outlines an exploratory study of socio-sensory properties of two high-density housing neighbourhoods in Singapore and the ways senior local residents perceive their familiar built environments. This study employed exploratory on-site exercises with 44 student researchers (including sensory photo-journeys, documentation of sensory properties and daily activity patterns), and 301 socio-perceptual surveys with local residents, the majority of whom were older adults. The findings reveal important aspects related to sensory assessment and appreciation (e.g., crowdedness, noise, smell, cleanliness), walking experience (e.g., safety, wayfinding) and overall satisfaction with the neighbourhood (e.g., available public amenities, opportunities for inter-generational bonding), some of which correlated with age and reported health condition. Multi-sensory assessment shows the capacity to inform more integrated, empathetic, ability-building and context-specific ageing-friendly neighbourhood design.

333 Associations Between Insomnia and Health Correlates in Nurses

Abstract Introduction Insomnia, shiftwork (i.e., circadian rhythm disruptions) and insufficient sleep are common among nurses and healthcare workers. Each of these sleep problems can contribute to physical (e.g., inflammation, musculoskeletal pain, cardiovascular disease and heart rate variability, indigestion, and menstrual cycle irregularity) and mental (e.g., depression, anxiety, suicidality) health problems as well as daytime fatigue and sleepiness among nurses and may contribute to burnout and job change. Methods Participants (N=458) were nurses recruited for a parent study, “Sleep and Vaccine Response in Nurses (SAV-RN)” (Taylor &amp; Kelly: R01AI128359-01). Most identified as female (90.5%), White/Caucasian (77.2%), and non-Hispanic (88.6%) with an average age of 39.03 (SD = 11.07). Participants completed baseline measures online via Qualtrics survey. The Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI; Espie et al., 2014) was used to identify a probable diagnosis of insomnia (score of ≤16 = Insomnia; endorsement of each of the primary DSM-5 criteria on the measure). In addition, a checklist of current major health conditions (high blood pressure, sleep apnea, GI issues, HIV/AIDS, cancer, etc.) was also completed. A Chi square test of Independence was conducted using SPSS to determine if insomnia detected by the SCI was associated with reported health conditions. Results At baseline, 25.4% of nurses had a probable insomnia diagnosis. Insomnia was associated with a greater likelihood of diagnosed sleep apnea, cancer (all types), high blood pressure, chronic pain, gastrointestinal problems, an autoimmune disease, and/or an endocrine problem at Month 11 of the study (all ps &amp;lt;.05). Data cleaning is ongoing, but similar analyses will be presented examining shift work sleep disorder and insufficient sleep (i.e., average &amp;lt; 6hrs per night) as individual and simultaneous predictors of physical and mental health at baseline and change from baseline to Month 11 (if available). Conclusion These results help to identify associations between insomnia and health conditions in nurses and may contribute to future research that supports evidence-based intervention and prevention strategies for this population. While evidence-based interventions for sleep disturbances and insomnia exist (CBT-I), accessibility and feasibility of scaling such interventions to reach the nursing community at large remains challenging. Support (if any):

Usefulness of Internet Surveys to Identify People with Disabilities: A Cautionary Tale

AbstractDisability is an important characteristic to consider in survey research. However, people with disabilities are a hard-to-reach population. Internet survey methods offer tremendous potential to expand researchers’ ability to reach and learn about people with disabilities. The goal of this study is to examine potential bias when using nonprobability Internet samples to investigate demographics and socioeconomic outcomes of people with disabilities. We compare the findings based on a national employment and disability survey instrument fielded to four samples: (1) a random-digit dial (RDD) sample, (2) a prescreened sample from a nonprobability Internet access panel, for which screening was based on the presence of 139 previously reported health conditions, (3) an unscreened sample from another nonprobability Internet access panel (without previously prescreened health conditions), and (4) a mixed nonprobability self-recruited (river and snowball) sample. Each sample was weighted on four demographic variables (gender, age, race/ethnicity, and region) using benchmarks from the American Community Survey (ACS). Three dichotomous outcome variables of interest (level of education, household income, and current employment status) were contrasted with weighted population estimates from the ACS. Results showed that the sample resulting from the RDD and all three nonprobability Internet samples differed significantly from ACS population estimates on all three outcome variables. Reweighting to include type of functional disability did not significantly reduce dissimilarities with ACS for any of the four samples. Nonprobability Internet survey methods offer relatively low-cost, easy-to-use avenues for disability-related research. Yet, researchers must proceed with caution to reduce or avoid known sources of bias in both the methodology and the interpretation of results.

Proliferation of Slums in Sub-Saharan Africa: Environmental Exposures and Human Health Effects

Slum settlements are a very prominent feature of the urban landscape of developing countries owing to uncontrolled urbanization in these countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for example, cities such as Accra, Lagos, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg and Durban are home to some of the world’s largest slum settlements. SSA and South Asia are the most rapidly urbanizing regions of the world. The highest population growth in urban areas are found in these two regions and are concentrated mainly in slum settlements. SSA records the highest number of slum dwellers with about 62% of its urban population residing in slums. Slum settlements are characterized by poor and damp housing, poor sanitation, open drains, and worsening air quality from unpaved roads, increased use of biomass fuels for cooking and open burning of solid waste. These deplorable environmental conditions exposes slum dwellers to pathogens and air pollution. Lack of pipe-borne water in slum areas has also meant consumption of unsafe water owing to reliance on ground and surface water which are often polluted by open drains and nearby pit latrines. Pit latrines are also in widespread use in these settlements.The environmental exposures in slum settlements have been attributed to the high burden of disease and ill-health recorded in these areas including diarrhea, cholera, gastroenteritis, respiratory illnesses, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and cardiovascular diseases. There is growing epidemiological evidence associating these environmental exposures with the listed adverse health outcomes. In this talk, drawing on evidence from the limited studies conducted in slum settlements of SSA cities, an overview of the environmental exposures and the frequently reported health conditions in these settlements will be provided. Solutions for addressing the deplorable environmental conditions in slum settlements will also be proffered for improved health of slum dwellers and for population health gains.

Obesity, the most common comorbidity in SARS-CoV-2: is leptin the link?

Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and lung disease. These diseases are the most commonly reported health conditions that predispose individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection to require hospitalization including intensive care unit admissions. The innate immune response is the host’s first line of defense against a human coronavirus infection. However, most coronaviruses are armed with one strategy or another to overcome host antiviral defense, and the pathogenicity of the virus is related to its capacity to suppress host immunity. The multifaceted nature of obesity including its effects on immunity can fundamentally alter the pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia, which are the major causes of death due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Elevated circulating leptin concentrations are a hallmark of obesity, which is associated with a leptin-resistant state. Leptin is secreted by adipocytes in proportion to body fat and regulates appetite and metabolism through signaling in the hypothalamus. However, leptin also signals through the Jak/STAT and Akt pathways, among others, to modulate T cell number and function. Thus, leptin connects metabolism with the immune response. Therefore, it seems appropriate that its dysregulation would have serious consequences during an infection. We propose that leptin may be the link between obesity and its high prevalence as a comorbidity of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this article, we present a synthesis of the mechanisms underpinning susceptibility to respiratory viral infections and the contribution of the immunomodulatory effects of obesity to the outcome.