OUTSTANDING RESEARCH POSTER
Bowden RG, Deike E, Moreillon J, Griggs JO, Wilson RL, Shelmadine B, Beaujean AA
"The effects of increased dietary consumption of fish oil on lipid levels"
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Increased dietary intake of fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) has been suggested as a means to control lipid levels with equivocal findings in previous studies. Methods: A double-blind, randomized permuted-block and placebo controlled experimental design was used for this study. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patients (N=32) were followed prospectively for two-months while supplementing their diet with either 2.4 grams of fish oil (1400 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA], 1000mg of docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) or placebo (safflower oil). Results: Analysis of variance revealed no significant differences between the two groups concerning age, gender, ethnicity, inflammation levels, and lipid levels at baseline. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant time trend with higher HDL post-test levels in the fish oil group (p=.001) with a large effect size (Cohen’s d= -0.55). Conclusions: Dietary behavior change helped to improve the cardiovascular risk profile of CKD patients by increasing HDL. The protective effects that have occurred in this study are primarily due to EPA and DHA found in fish oil, which has been linked to reduced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This is a novel finding in that a significant challenge in CKD patients is to increase HDL levels as exercise is uncommon in this population. Additionally, even when exercise is initiated, CKD patients rarely have changes in HDL levels possibly due to other comorbid conditions. Dietary change in the present study suggests enhanced function of the reverse cholesterol transport mechanism through the increase of HDL. These findings can impact behavior/dietary changes in CKD patients with further investigation required to better define the long-term impact of increased fish oil consumption in the diet.
OUTSTANDING STUDENT RESEARCH POSTER
Gamble A, Waddell D, Ford-Wade MA, Bentley JP, Hallam JS
"The role of policy and the built environment on children's in-school physical activity in the Mississippi delta"
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this investigation was to describe state, district and school level policy regarding in-school physical activity (ISPA), the school built environment and ISPA of children ages 6 - 11 years in the Mississippi Delta. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to understand how current policy and the built environment influence ISPA and weight status. Eleven public schools in three districts representing two counties participated in this investigation. The mean physical education class time was 39.2 minutes +8.13. The mean percent of ISPA time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was 36.43% +15.0, corresponding to a mean time of 13.99 minutes +5.78. A relationship was found between children’s ISPA and BMI (r = 0.629; p = 0.05). There were inverse relationships between amenities to the school built environment and BMI (r = -0.619; p = 0.04), waist-to-height ratio (r = -0.819; p = 0.00) and total body weight (r = -0.615; p = 0.04). There was no relationship between ISPA and the school built environment. If students are given the opportunity for unstructured physical activity it is likely they will engage in MVPA. Data show that schools that provided unstructured physical activity time had higher MVPA minutes. For example, two schools provided little opportunity for ISPA through recess and physical education classes and these students had the highest BMI scores. When these students were provided unstructured play opportunities, they were among the most physically active students. Despite Mississippi State law, school districts and schools are failing to implement and enforce policies that provide students the opportunity to engage in 150-minutes of weekly physical activity
POSTERS OF DISTINCTION
Lacy ME, Orpinas P
"Smoking trajectories from middle to high school: The healthy teens project"
ABSTRACT
Purpose. Healthy Teens is a 7-year longitudinal study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This mixed-methods study aims to increase understanding of the risk and protective factors that influence the developmental trajectories of adolescents from middle to high school. This presentation has two objectives: 1) to identify and describe mutually exclusive smoking trajectory groups created based on self-reported levels of smoking from sixth to twelfth grade, and 2) to compare the prevalence of other drug use and dropout among these groups. Methods. The sample consisted of 674 students (47.2% girls; 46.7% White, 37.4% Black, 11% Latino) living in Northeast Georgia. Smoking and other substance use measures were taken from the Problem Behavior Frequency Scales. We compared alcohol, binge drinking, marijuana, meth and cocaine use, as well as prevalence of high school dropout, across smoking trajectory groups. Results. Five smoking trajectory groups were observed: Abstainer (55.5% of total sample, no smoking), Early Experimenter (4.7%, smoking in middle school only), Experimenter (14.4%, low smoking throughout), Late Starter (18.8%, low smoking in middle school, increasing throughout study), and Chronic User (6.5%, moderate to high levels throughout). Significant age, gender, race and family structure differences were observed across groups. As expected, other drug use followed a similar pattern as smoking trajectories. Dropout ranged widely from 10.4% of students in the Abstainer group to 45.5% of students in the Chronic User group. Conclusions. Participants in the Abstainer and Early Experimenter groups reported lower rates of other substance use and lower rates of school dropout than participants in the Experimenter, Late Starter and Chronic Use groups. The results of this study highlight the importance of prevention and early detection of smoking. Implications for prevention will be discussed.
Nguyen AL, Beyer K, Seal DW, Flores J, Maurana C, MCW VPI Community Asset Team
"An exploratory look at youth exposure to violence in an urban setting"
ABSTRACT
Purpose: This study is part of a city-wide youth Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI) in Milwaukee that seeks to explore youth exposure to violence in high-risk populations to increase understanding of the (1) pervasiveness of violence, (2) nature of the violence experienced, and (3) pathways by which youth are exposed to violence. Methods: Individual elicitation interviews were conducted with 18 (12 males, 6 females, mean age: 21.6 years) high-risk youth recruited through street outreach. Eight 60-90 minute focus groups were conducted with 64 (35 males, 29 females, mean age: 16.8 years) at-risk youth recruited through local community agencies. Results: Violence was pervasive in youth lives. All participants reported seeing/experiencing multiple forms of violence. Most participants said there were few, if any, places they felt safe. Youth experiences included (1) random and intentional street violence, (2) family/interpersonal violence, (3) school-based violence, (4) indirect violence (e.g., crime), and (5) prejudice/discrimination. Youth reactions to violence ranged from motivating positive effects (resilience and determination to escape) to negative effects (fear, paranoia, aggression). Some reported becoming accustomed to violence, while others felt a constant need for self-protection through carrying or being with others who carry weapons. Factors associated with violence existed at a number of different levels (societal, neighborhood, interpersonal, individual), reflecting a social-ecological perspective. Conclusions: Violence is pervasive in the lives of youth. Prevalent types of violence varied indicating t he need for prevention efforts to focus on a broad definition of violence. The social-ecological perspective suggests that prevention efforts should take a multi-level approach and involved not only service delivery to individuals but the larger community to address social and neighborhood issues related to violence.
Trapl E, Cofie L
"Use of brand examples in measurement of adolescent cigar use"
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the addition of brand-specific examples (e.g. Black & Milds) had an impact on lifetime and current use of cigars and little cigars among adolescents. We were also interested in understanding if these findings were consistent by gender, race, and geographic location (i.e. City, Inner Ring suburbs, Outer Ring suburbs). Methods: The 2009 Cuyahoga County Youth Risk Behavior Survey was conducted among 20 randomly selected high schools. Two versions of the survey were created; the first included items assessing lifetime and current cigar use without brand-specific examples (NBE) while the second included brand-specific examples (BE) in the items assessing cigar use. Both survey versions were distributed randomly within selected classrooms in participating schools. Results: BE survey respondents reported higher overall lifetime use (39.1% vs. 35.4%, p=.02) and current use (18.2% vs. 15.2%, p=.02) than NBE respondents. Within the City, both white and black BE respondents reported higher lifetime cigar product use prevalence and current cigar product use compared to the NBE group; however, the difference was only significant among black respondents (54.44% vs. 44.87%, p=.03). In the Outer Ring, white BE respondents were significantly less likely to report lifetime cigar use (OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.56 “ “ 0.96) and current cigar use (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.46 “ “ 0.99) when compared with white NBE respondents. Conclusion: Inclusion of brand specific examples in current measures of cigar product use may improve product use estimates in at-risk groups. However, better estimation of cigar product use may be accomplished by creating additional items to assess the use of subtypes of cigars.
Vesely SK, Tolma ET, Oman RF, Aspy CB, Boeckman L
"Prospective association between youth asset groups and initation of oral sex"
ABSTRACT
Increases in youth oral sex may contribute to increases in sexually transmitted infections because youth often do not perceive oral sex (OS) as “ risky.” This study examined associations between youth assets and OS using data from the Youth Asset Study, a 5-wave longitudinal study of youth/parent pairs to investigate associations among youth risk behaviors and 17 youth assets believed to influence behavior at multiple levels including individual (7 assets, e.g., responsible choices), family (4 assets, e.g., family communication), and community (6 assets, e.g., community involvement). Youth who reported no oral sex at baseline (N=810; Mean age 14.0; 39% White, 22% Black, 29% Hispanic; 10% other) were followed for 4 years to determine differences in asset groups between youth reporting OS (N=509) and those who did not. Results for the individual asset group were non-significant; however, for the community asset group, youth with 2 community assets vs. those with 0-1 community asset were almost 2 times as likely to report no OS after controlling for youth race, age, gender, family structure, education and income (OR=1.75, p<0.05). There was a significant interaction between the family asset group and race in that White youth with 2 or 4 family assets were about 9 and 7 times respectively, more likely to report no OS (p <.05) compared to youth with 0-1 family asset. Community and family assets may play a significant role in youth oral sex decisions. Future research should explore this role for specific groups addressing race/ethnicity, gender, age and SES category.
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