Factors influencing Healthy Eating Habits among Low-Income African Americans in Tennessee

Introduction: Poor nutrition and diet are significant contributors to the development of chronic illnesses such as cancer and diabetes, particularly among individuals of lower socioeconomic status (SES).This study examined demographic and lifestyle factors that influenced decisions to engage in healthy eating behaviors among low-income African Americans in three urban Tennessee cities. Methods: As part of the Meharry Community Networks Program (CNP) needs assessment, a 123-item community survey was administered to assess demographic characteristics and eating behaviors among low-income African Americans. The total sample size was 1116. The primary outcome of interest was the healthy eating habits score which was calculated from a 13-item questionnaire that was part of the community survey. Results: Several statistically significant differences were observed between the mean healthy eating habits scores by sociodemographic variables such as marital status, age, education, and geographic location (P \u3c 0.05). Additionally, significant differences were observed by strategies used for maintaining weight including reducing fat and carbohydrate intake and exercising (P \u3c 0.05). There were also significant differences observed by obstacles to eating low fat foods including family habits and food preparation time (P \u3c 0.05). Discussion: Educational interventions aimed at weight-loss and improving healthy eating should incorporate information about obstacles and predictors to healthy eating

Prostate Cancer: Social, Economic and Demographic Correlates of Non Use of Supplemental Diets among Black Men in Florida

Background: Epidemiologic data consistently show that Black men in the U.S. are disproportionately affected by prostate cancer. The incidence rate is 60% higher and death rate is 2.1 times more for Black men compared to Whites. There is growing evidence from literature that nutritional supplements, such as selenium, lycopene, vitamin A, vitamin D and soy may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. However, the level of knowledge and usage of these supplemental diets among Black men is low. Therefore, it is important to understand why Black men are low users of the supplemental diets and develop intervention programs to change the underlining conditions. Objectives: Data collected in the state of Florida on prostate cancer disparities show that large proportion of Black men living in the state are nonusers of the supplemental diets. The purpose of this study is to identify socio-economic characteristics of U.S. born and foreign born Black men who are nonusers of the supplemental diets. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on prostate cancer disparity among Black men in five major cities in the State of Florida. Three thousand four hundred and ten valid respondents were included in the analysis. The main outcomes were socio-economic status, access to health care and awareness among Black men in relation to the use of supplemental diets that reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Descriptive statistics and zero-inflated regression models were used for data analysis. Results: The odds of nonuse of the supplemental diets were the highest for African born (Vitamin A OR = 2.32, P-value = 0.0060), for those who pray or do nothing when sick (Vitamin A OR = 2.84, P-value = 0.0367), with no insurance (Selenium OR = 1.32, P-value = 0.0007), and with no regular doctor to visit for medical care (Vitamin A OR = 1.29, P-value = 0.0318). Conclusion: The study data indicates that the usage of supplemental diets among Black men in Florida is very low. The study further provides rich data with regard to demographic characteristics for U.S. born and foreign born Black men that might serve to inform the usage of supplemental diets that may reduce the risk of prostate cancer

A Community-Driven Intervention for Improving Biospecimen Donation in African American Communities

Introduction Human biospecimens are an invaluable resource for addressing cancers and other chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of an educational intervention on biospecimen knowledge and attitudes. Methods The participants consisted of 112 African Americans, 18 years and older, and who had not provided biospecimens for any health-related research in the past. A total of 55 participants received the educational brochure, and 57 received the educational video. The main outcomes of the study were knowledge and attitudes for biospecimen donation. This information was collected pre- and post-intervention. Results The average knowledge scores increased (p \u3c 0.0001) and the average attitude scores for biospecimen donation improved (p \u3c 0.0001) post-intervention for both the video and brochure conditions. There was an interaction between the intervention condition and knowledge where the participants who received the educational video showed a greater increase in knowledge pre-to-post compared to those who received the educational brochure (p = 0.0061). There were no significant interactions between the two intervention conditions for attitudes toward biospecimen donation. Discussion The results of this study demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of an academic institution collaborating with the African American community in developing educational tools for biospecimen donation

Factors Influencing Breast Cancer Screening in Low-Income African Americans in Tennessee

This study examined demographic and lifestyle factors that influenced decisions and obstacles to being screened for breast cancer in low-income African Americans in three urban Tennessee cities. As part of the Meharry Community Networks Program (CNP) needs assessment, a 123-item community survey was administered to assess demographic characteristics, health care access and utilization, and screening practices for various cancers in low-income African Americans. For this study, only African American women 40 years and older (n = 334) were selected from the Meharry CNP community survey database. There were several predictors of breast cancer screening such as marital status and having health insurance (P \u3c .05). Additionally, there were associations between obstacles to screening and geographic region such as transportation and not having enough information about screenings (P \u3c .05). Educational interventions aimed at improving breast cancer knowledge and screening rates should incorporate information about obstacles and predictors to screening

Impacts of Extraction Methods in the Rapid Determination of Atrazine Residues in Foods using Supercritical Fluid Chromatography and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay: Microwave Solvent vs. Supercritical Fluid Extractions

It is an accepted fact that many food products that we eat today have the possibility of being contaminated by various chemicals used from planting to processing. These chemicals have been shown to cause illnesses for which some concerned government agencies have instituted regulatory mechanisms to minimize the risks and the effects on humans. It is for these concerns that reliable and accurate rapid determination techniques are needed to effect proper regulatory standards for the protection of people's nutritional health. This paper, therefore, reports the comparative evaluation of the extraction methods in the determination of atrazine (commonly used in agricultural as a herbicide) residues in foods using supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and microwave solvent extraction (MSE) methods were used to test samples of frozen vegetables, fruit juice, and jam from local food markets in Houston. Results showed a high recovery percentage of atrazine residues using supercritical fluid coupled with ELISA and SFC than with MSE. Comparatively, however, atrazine was detected 90.9 and 54.5% using SFC and ELISA techniques, respectively. ELISA technique was, however, less time consuming, lower in cost, and more sensitive with low detection limit of atrazine residues than SFC technique

Isolation of Angola-like Marburg virus from Egyptian rousette bats from West Africa.

Marburg virus (MARV) causes sporadic outbreaks of severe Marburg virus disease (MVD). Most MVD outbreaks originated in East Africa and field studies in East Africa, South Africa, Zambia, and Gabon identified the Egyptian rousette bat (ERB; Rousettus aegyptiacus) as a natural reservoir. However, the largest recorded MVD outbreak with the highest case-fatality ratio happened in 2005 in Angola, where direct spillover from bats was not  shown. Here, collaborative studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Njala University, University of California, Davis USAID-PREDICT, and the University of Makeni identify MARV circulating in ERBs in Sierra Leone. PCR, antibody and virus isolation data from 1755 bats of 42 species shows active MARV infection in approximately 2.5% of ERBs. Phylogenetic analysis identifies MARVs that are similar to the Angola strain. These results provide evidence of MARV circulation in West Africa and demonstrate the value of pathogen surveillance to identify previously undetected threats

National Antibiotic Consumption for Human Use in Sierra Leone (2017-2019): A Cross-Sectional Study.

Monitoring antibiotic consumption is crucial to tackling antimicrobial resistance. However, currently there is no system in Sierra Leone for recording and reporting on antibiotic consumption. We therefore conducted a cross-sectional study to assess national antibiotic consumption expressed as defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day using all registered and imported antibiotics (categorized under the subgroup J01 under the anatomical and therapeutic classification (ATC) system) as a proxy. Between 2017-2019, total cumulative consumption of antibiotics was 19 DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day. The vast majority consisted of oral antibiotics (98.4%), while parenteral antibiotics made up 1.6%. According to therapeutic /pharmacological subgroups (ATC level 3), beta-lactam/penicillins, quinolones, and other antibacterials (mainly oral metronidazole) comprised 65% of total consumption. According to WHO Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe), 65% of antibiotics consumed were Access, 31% were Watch, and no Reserve antibiotics were reported. The top ten oral antibiotics represented 97% of total oral antibiotics consumed, with metronidazole (35%) and ciprofloxacin (15%) together constituting half of the total. Of parenteral antibiotics consumed, procaine penicillin (32%) and ceftriaxone (19%) together comprised half of the total. Policy recommendations at global and national levels have been made to improve monitoring of antibiotic consumption and antibiotic stewardship

An Update on the Surveillance of Livestock Diseases and Antimicrobial Use in Sierra Leone in 2021-An Operational Research Study.

In Sierra Leone, in 2020, a study by the Livestock and Veterinary Services Division (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) on the surveillance system of animal diseases and antimicrobial use found poor reporting. Of the expected weekly districts reports, <1% were received and only three of the 15 districts had submitted reports occasionally between 2016 and 2019. Following this, staff-capacity-building on reporting was undertaken. In 2021, we reassessed the improvement in reporting and used the reports to describe livestock diseases and antimicrobials utilized in their treatment. Between March and October 2021, 88% of expected weekly reports from all 15 districts were received. There were minor deficiencies in completeness and consistency in the terminology used for reporting animal disease and antimicrobials. Available reports showed that 25% of the livestock had an infectious disease, and a quarter of the sick animals had received an antimicrobial drug. Most animals received antimicrobials belonging to World Organization for Animal Health's "veterinary critically important" category (77%) and World Health Organization's "critically" (17%) and "highly important" (60%) categories for human health. These indicate a significant improvement in the animal health surveillance system and highlight the need for enhanced antimicrobial stewardship to prevent misuse of antimicrobials that are significant in animal and human health