Healthcare Barriers of Residents at a Subsidized Housing Community

Introduction: Despite expanded healthcare programs, the low income and elderly lack coverage of vision, hearing, and dental services. Community services are often asked to fill these gaps. To evaluate the situation in Burlington, VT, we surveyed staff and residents in Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) subsidized housing to (1) identify gaps in healthcare coverage and (2) assess barriers to accessing those services in this population.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1207/thumbnail.jp

The effect of treatment of liraglutide on quality of life and depression in young obese women with PCOS and controls

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with reduced quality of life (QoL), though the role of associated obesity is unclear. In this study we examined the effects of six months treatment with liraglutide, 1.8 mg od, on obesity, depression and QoL in young women with PCOS and obesity compared to age- and weight-matched controls. In a cross-sectional study, 36 women were recruited (19 PCOS, 17 controls), age 33.9 ± 6.7 vs. 33.5 ± 7.1 yr, and weight 102.1 ± 17.1 vs. 100.4 ± 15.1 kg, respectively. PCOS was diagnosed according to the Rotterdam criteria. Depression was measured using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). QoL was measured using the World Health Organization QoL questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). At baseline there was no difference in QoL or CES-D scores between the two groups. At six months, weight was reduced by 3.0 ± 4.2 kg, p = .01, in the PCOS group and 3.8 ± 3.4 kg, p = .001, in controls. Psychological health improved in the PCOS group (percentage change 11.3%, p smaller than .02). Combining the two groups revealed significant improvement (p smaller than .05) in physical (82.6 ± 11.2 vs. 78.9 ± 13.6), psychological (62.4 ± 16.5 vs. 57.5 ± 16.4) and social health (76.6 ± 15.3 vs. 71 ± 16.8) components of the WHOQOL-BREF at six months. Weight loss is associated with an improvement in QoL; and when matched for age and obesity, PCOS was not independently associated with reduced QoL or depression