Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Disease Outcomes: Cross-Sectional, Populationbased Study of Adults in Rural Uganda

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) pose a major threat to public health in sub-Saharan African communities, where the burden of these classes of illnesses is expected to double by 2030. Growing research suggests that past developmental experiences and early life conditions may also elevate CVD risk throughout the life course. Greater childhood stress and adversity are consistently associated with a range of adult CVDs and associated risk factors, yet little research exists on the long-term effects of early life stress on adult physical health outcomes, especially CVD risk, in sub-Saharan African contexts. This study aims to evaluate the associations between adverse childhood experiences and adult cardiometabolic risk factors and health outcomes in a population-based study of adults living in Mbarara, a rural region of southwestern Uganda. Methods Data come from an ongoing, whole-population social network cohort study of adults living in the eight villages of Nyakabare Parish, Mbarara. A modified version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences-International Questionnaire (ACEs) assessed past exposure to physical, emotional, and sexual adversity. Participants also took part in a health fair where medical histories on cardiometabolic risk factors and cardiovascular diseases were gathered. Multiple logistic regression models estimated the associations between ACEs and cardiometabolic risk factors and health outcomes. Results Data were available on 545 adults. The average number of ACEs was 4.9 out of a possible 16. The cumulative number of ACEs were associated with having a history of heart attack and/or heart failure (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.999-1.234, P = 0.051), but the estimated association was not statistically significant. ACEs did not have statistically significant associations with any others measures of adult cardiometabolic risk and CVD. Conclusions: Adverse childhood experiences are not associated with a range of adult cardiometabolic risk factors and health outcomes in this sample of rural Ugandan adults. Further research in this sample is necessary to identify the pathways that may motivate these null relationship and possibly protect against adverse cardiometabolic and cardiovascular health outcomes

Challenges of diabetes prevention in the real world : results and lessons from the Melbourne diabetes prevention study

OBJECTIVE: To assess effectiveness and implementability of the public health programme Life! Taking action on diabetes in Australian people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Melbourne Diabetes Prevention Study (MDPS) was a unique study assessing effectiveness of Life! that used a randomized controlled trial design. Intervention participants with AUSDRISK score ≥15 received 1 individual and 5 structured 90 min group sessions. Controls received usual care. Outcome measures were obtained for all participants at baseline and 12 months and, additionally, for intervention participants at 3 months. Per protocol set (PPS) and intention to treat (ITT) analyses were performed. RESULTS: PPS analyses were considered more informative from our study. In PPS analyses, intervention participants significantly improved in weight (-1.13 kg, p=0.016), waist circumference (-1.35 cm, p=0.044), systolic (-5.2 mm Hg, p=0.028) and diastolic blood pressure (-3.2 mm Hg, p=0.030) compared with controls. Based on observed weight change, estimated risk of developing diabetes reduced by 9.6% in the intervention and increased by 3.3% in control participants. Absolute 5-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduced significantly for intervention participants by 0.97 percentage points from 9.35% (10.4% relative risk reduction). In control participants, the risk increased by 0.11 percentage points (1.3% relative risk increase). The net effect for the change in CVD risk was -1.08 percentage points of absolute risk (p=0.013). CONCLUSIONS: MDPS effectively reduced the risk of diabetes and CVD, but the intervention effect on weight and waist reduction was modest due to the challenges in recruiting high-risk individuals and the abbreviated intervention

Faculty Publications for Academic Year 2018-19

Faculty publications of School of Architecture for the academic year 2018- 201

Engaging community pharmacists in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: protocol for the Pharmacist Assessment of Adherence, Risk and Treatment in Cardiovascular Disease (PAART CVD) pilot study

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally. Community pharmacist intervention studies have demonstrated clinical effectiveness for improving several leading individual CVD risk factors. Primary prevention strategies increasingly emphasise the need for consideration of overall cardiovascular risk and concurrent management of multiple risk factors. It is therefore important to demonstrate the feasibility of multiple risk factor management by community pharmacists to ensure continued currency of their role.Methods/Design: This study will be a longitudinal pre- and post-test pilot study with a single cohort of up to 100 patients in ten pharmacies. Patients aged 50-74 years with no history of heart disease or diabetes, and taking antihypertensive or lipid-lowering medicines, will be approached for participation. Assessment of cardiovascular risk, medicines use and health behaviours will be undertaken by a research assistant at baseline and following the intervention (6 months). Validated interview scales will be used where available. Baseline data will be used by accredited medicines management pharmacists to generate a report for the treating community pharmacist. This report will highlight individual patients&rsquo; overall CVD risk and individual risk factors, as well as identifying modifiablehealth behaviours for risk improvement and suggesting treatment and behavioural goals. The treating community pharmacist will use this information to finalise and implement a treatment plan in conjunction with the patient and their doctor. Community pharmacists will facilitate patient improvements in lifestyle, medicines adherence, and medicines management over the course of five counselling sessions with monthly intervals. The primary outcome will be the change to average overall cardiovascular risk, assessed using the Framingham risk equation.Discussion: This study will assess the feasibility of implementing holistic primary CVD prevention programs into community pharmacy, one of the most accessible health services in most developed countries.<br /

Development of a Complex Intervention for Effective Management of Type 2 Diabetes in a Developing Country

There has been little focus on designing tailored diabetes management strategies in developing countries. The aim of this study is to develop a theory-driven, tailored and context-specific complex intervention for the effective management of type 2 diabetes at a tertiary care setting of a developing country. We conducted interviews and focus groups with patients, health professionals, and policymakers and undertook thematic analysis to identify gaps in diabetes management. The results of our previously completed systematic review informed data collection. We used the United Kingdom Medical Research Council framework to guide the development of the intervention. Results comprised 48 interviews, two focus groups with 11 participants and three co-design panels with 24 participants. We identified a lack of structured type 2 diabetes education, counselling, and collaborative care of type 2 diabetes. Through triangulation of the evidence obtained from data collection, we developed an intervention called VICKY (patient-centred collaborative care and structured diabetes education and counselling) for effective management of type 2 diabetes. VICKY comprised five components: (1) patient-centred collaborative care; (2) referral system for patients across transitions of care between different health professionals of the diabetes care team; (3) tools for the provision of collaborative care and documentation of care; (4) diabetes education and counselling by trained diabetes educators; and (5) contextualised diabetes education curriculum, educational materials, and documentation tools for diabetes education and counselling. Implementation of the intervention may help to promote evidence-based, patient-centred, and contextualised diabetes care for improved patient outcomes in a developing country

Adverse childhood experiences and adult cardiometabolic risk factors and disease outcomes: Cross-sectional, population-based study of adults in rural Uganda.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) pose a major threat to public health in sub-Saharan African communities, where the burden of these classes of illnesses is expected to double by 2030. Growing research suggests that past developmental experiences and early life conditions may also elevate CVD risk throughout the life course. Greater childhood stress and adversity are consistently associated with a range of adult CVDs and associated risk factors, yet little research exists on the long-term effects of early life stress on adult physical health outcomes, especially CVD risk, in sub-Saharan African contexts. This study aims to evaluate the associations between adverse childhood experiences and adult cardiometabolic risk factors and health outcomes in a population-based study of adults living in Mbarara, a rural region of southwestern Uganda. Methods: Data come from an ongoing, whole-population social network cohort study of adults living in the eight villages of Nyakabare Parish, Mbarara. A modified version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences-International Questionnaire (ACEs) assessed past exposure to physical, emotional, and sexual adversity. Participants also took part in a health fair where medical histories on cardiometabolic risk factors and cardiovascular diseases were gathered. Multiple logistic regression models estimated the associations between ACEs and cardiometabolic risk factors and health outcomes. Results: Data were available on 545 adults. The average number of ACEs was 4.9 out of a possible 16. The cumulative number of ACEs were associated with having a history of heart attack and/or heart failure (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.999-1.234, P = 0.051), but the estimated association was not statistically significant. ACEs did not have statistically significant associations with any others measures of adult cardiometabolic risk and CVD. Conclusions: Adverse childhood experiences are not associated with a range of adult cardiometabolic risk factors and health outcomes in this sample of rural Ugandan adults. Further research in this sample is necessary to identify the pathways that may motivate these null relationship and possibly protect against adverse cardiometabolic and cardiovascular health outcomes

How a co-design process led to more contextually relevant family planning interventions in emerging urban settings in Eastern Uganda.

Voluntary, rights-based family planning upholds women's right to determine freely the number and spacing of their children. However, low-resource settings like Uganda still face a high unmet need for family planning. And, while urban areas are often indicated to have better access to health services, emerging evidence is revealing intra-urban socio-economic differentials in family planning utilization. To address the barriers to contraceptive use in these settings, understanding community-specific challenges and involving them in tailored intervention design is crucial. This paper describes the use of co-design, a human-centred design tool, to develop context-specific interventions that promote voluntary family planning in urban settings in Eastern Uganda. A five-stage co-design approach was used: 1) Empathize: primary data was collected to understand the problem and people involved, 2) Define: findings were shared with 56 participants in a three-day in-person co-design workshop, including community members, family planning service providers and leaders, 3) Ideate: workshop participants generated potential solutions, 4) Prototype: participants prioritized prototypes, and 5) Testing: user feedback was sought about the prototypes. A package of ten interventions was developed. Five interventions targeted demand-side barriers to family planning uptake, four targeted supply-side barriers, and one addressed leadership and governance barriers. Involving a diverse group of co-creators provided varied experiences and expertise to develop the interventions. Participants expressed satisfaction with their involvement in finding solutions to challenges in their communities. However, power imbalances and language barriers were identified by the participants as potential barriers to positive group dynamics and discussion quality. To address them, participants were separated into groups, and medical terminologies were simplified during brainstorming sessions. These changes improved participation and maximized the contributions of all participants. It is therefore important to consider participant characteristics and their potential impact on the process, especially when engaging diverse participant groups, and implement measures to mitigate their effects

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Adult Depression, and Suicidal Ideation in Rural Uganda: A Cross-Sectional, Population-Based Study

Background: Depression is recognized globally as a leading cause of disability. Early-life adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been shown to have robust associations with poor mental health during adulthood. These effects may be cumulative, whereby a greater number of ACEs are progressively associated with worse outcomes. This study aimed to estimate the associations between ACEs and adult depression and suicidal ideation in a cross-sectional, population-based study of adults in Uganda. Methods and findings: Between 2016 and 2018, research assistants visited the homes of 1,626 adult residents of Nyakabare Parish, a rural area in southwestern Uganda. ACEs were assessed using a modified version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences-International Questionnaire, and depression symptom severity and suicidal ideation were assessed using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist for Depression (HSCL-D). We applied a validated algorithm to determine major depressive disorder diagnoses. Overall, 1,458 participants (90%) had experienced at least one ACE, 159 participants (10%) met criteria for major depressive disorder, and 28 participants (1.7%) reported suicidal ideation. We fitted regression models to estimate the associations between cumulative number of ACEs and depression symptom severity (linear regression model) and major depressive disorder and suicidal ideation (Poisson regression models). In multivariable regression models adjusted for age, sex, primary school completion, marital status, self-reported HIV status, and household asset wealth, the cumulative number of ACEs was associated with greater depression symptom severity (b = 0.050; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.039–0.061, p \u3c 0.001) and increased risk for major depressive disorder (adjusted relative risk [ARR] = 1.190; 95% CI, 1.109–1.276; p \u3c 0.001) and suicidal ideation (ARR = 1.146; 95% CI, 1.001–1.311; p = 0.048). We assessed the robustness of our findings by probing for nonlinearities and conducting analyses stratified by age. The limitations of the study include the reliance on retrospective self-report as well as the focus on ACEs that occurred within the household. Conclusions: In this whole-population, cross-sectional study of adults in rural Uganda, the cumulative number of ACEs had statistically significant associations with depression symptom severity, major depressive disorder, and suicidal ideation. These findings highlight the importance of developing and implementing policies and programs that safeguard children, promote mental health, and prevent trajectories toward psychosocial disability. In a cross-sectional, population based study of adults in rural Uganda, Emily Satinsky and colleagues investigate adverse childhood experiences and associations with depression and suicidal ideation. Why was this study done?: What did the researchers do and find?: What do these findings mean?