CAIRS Newsletter 2013

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CAIRS Newsletter 2011

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CAIRS Newsletter 2010

https://aquila.usm.edu/cairs_newsletters/1000/thumbnail.jp

Development and Evaluation of a Measure for Social Support Provided by Friends during Lifestyle Management Programs

Obesity is a public health crisis that contributes to chronic disease prevalence, morbidity, and mortality. Nutrition and physical activity are risk factors for many chronic diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease, the leading causes of death in the United States. Lifestyle management programs to address obesity and potential sequelae such as chronic conditions have shown efficacy, with social support an important factor in interventions. Instruments that assess social support specifically provided by friends are lacking but could be important predictors of program success. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the 10-item Social Support to Eat Better and Move More instrument that was developed and designed to measure support from friends that influence dietary and physical activity behaviors during lifestyle management programs. Data were collected during a cross-sectional study using purposive sampling strategies among adult residents of two southern states. Statistical analysis was conducted to examine latent factors, internal consistency, and convergent and predictive validity. These preliminary results indicated that the Social Support to Eat Better and Move More instrument had excellent internal consistency for the overall measure (α = 0.96) as well as for informational support (α = 0.97), emotional support (α = 0.96), and encouragement (α = 0.97). The tool related well to another general social support measure as well as to diet, physical activity, and health-related variables, and it can be a useful measure in lifestyle management studies

Social Determinants of Health Related To Stay-At-Home Order Adherence and Social Distancing Attitudes Among a Diverse Deep South Population

Objective: To describe COVID-19 related symptoms and medical care experienced in the first six months of the pandemic as well as stay-at-home order adherence, and attitudes related to COVID-19 risk and social distancing among a diverse sample of adults in the Deep South. Methods: Survey data were collected from 411 Louisiana and Mississippi residents for three weeks in June 2020 through social media. Results: Over half (52.5%) of participants who experienced COVID-19 related symptoms (with 41.5% experiencing at least one symptom) did not feel the severity of symptoms warranted seeking medical care. 91.6% of the Deep South adults visited certain places or did activities where visiting or gathering with other people was involved during stay-at-home mandates. Religiosity/spirituality, age, education, number of children in the home, attitudes related to COVID-19 risk of complications and social distancing were related to the greater/lesser likelihood of stay-at-home order adherence. Conclusions: Various cultural and contextual factors were related to stay-at-home order adherence. Understanding how social values, life stage, socioeconomic, and geographic factors influence stay-at-home order adherence would lead to more effective policy design to improve population adherence

The Church Bridge Project Focus Group Results: African American Perspectives of Weight Management Programs to Improve Nutrition and Physical Activity Behaviors

Background: The prevalence of obesity is disproportionately high among African Americans in the Southern US. More information is needed about factors that influence participation in nutrition and physical activity programs to promote healthy weight. Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore the weight management perceptions of young to middle aged adult African Americans. Methods: The Church Bridge Project intervention participants were recruited for two focus groups. Qualitative data were recorded, transcribed and a thematic content analysis was conducted to identify major themes. Results: Barriers included technology learning curve/burden and competing priorities. Facilitators included support, limited cost, convenience, and health. Participants perceived the term “weight management” program as overwhelming and defeating. Conclusion: The Church Bridge Project model confirmed social support and disease prevention as key factors for weight management. Further work should substantiate social support as a key factor to guide minority health efforts

Passive recruitment reach of a lifestyle management program to address obesity in the deep south during the COVID-19 pandemic

Obesity is a significant public health concern, especially in the Deep South and in Mississippi where prevalence is among the worst in the nation paired, with other poor health outcomes and socioeconomic conditions. Lifestyle management programs that address modifiable risk factors, such as nutrition and physical activity, can be effective mitigation strategies to halt weight accumulation patterns and ameliorate metabolic risk factors for some populations. However, there is limited evidence regarding the implementation of effective practice models to address obesity risk in underserved and underrepresented populations, such as African Americans, and people in the stage of earlier adulthood. Furthermore, there is growing evidence supporting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle management programs that should be considered in these populations. The purpose of this manuscript was to describe the development and telehealth implementation of a weight management program during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide a preliminary examination of recruitment strategies and baseline characteristics for enrolled participants. Passive recruitment (social media, web, email, and other media advertisements) resulted in 157 screening initiations, and 79 of those participants met the study inclusion criteria. Further, of the 79 eligible participants, 38 completed all study enrollment requirements and presented with metabolic abnormalities. The study findings add to the emerging body of evidence for how the pandemic may have impacted lifestyle management programs and is representative of an understudied and underrepresented population

Common, low-frequency, rare, and ultra-rare coding variants contribute to COVID-19 severity

The combined impact of common and rare exonic variants in COVID-19 host genetics is currently insufficiently understood. Here, common and rare variants from whole-exome sequencing data of about 4000 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were used to define an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting COVID-19 severity. First, variants were converted into separate sets of Boolean features, depending on the absence or the presence of variants in each gene. An ensemble of LASSO logistic regression models was used to identify the most informative Boolean features with respect to the genetic bases of severity. The Boolean features selected by these logistic models were combined into an Integrated PolyGenic Score that offers a synthetic and interpretable index for describing the contribution of host genetics in COVID-19 severity, as demonstrated through testing in several independent cohorts. Selected features belong to ultra-rare, rare, low-frequency, and common variants, including those in linkage disequilibrium with known GWAS loci. Noteworthily, around one quarter of the selected genes are sex-specific. Pathway analysis of the selected genes associated with COVID-19 severity reflected the multi-organ nature of the disease. The proposed model might provide useful information for developing diagnostics and therapeutics, while also being able to guide bedside disease management. © 2021, The Author(s)

Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.

Host-mediated lung inflammation is present1, and drives mortality2, in the critical illness caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Host genetic variants associated with critical illness may identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic development3. Here we report the results of the GenOMICC (Genetics Of Mortality In Critical Care) genome-wide association study in 2,244 critically ill patients with COVID-19 from 208 UK intensive care units. We have identified and replicated the following new genome-wide significant associations: on chromosome 12q24.13 (rs10735079, P = 1.65 × 10-8) in a gene cluster that encodes antiviral restriction enzyme activators (OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3); on chromosome 19p13.2 (rs74956615, P = 2.3 × 10-8) near the gene that encodes tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); on chromosome 19p13.3 (rs2109069, P = 3.98 ×  10-12) within the gene that encodes dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9); and on chromosome 21q22.1 (rs2236757, P = 4.99 × 10-8) in the interferon receptor gene IFNAR2. We identified potential targets for repurposing of licensed medications: using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that low expression of IFNAR2, or high expression of TYK2, are associated with life-threatening disease; and transcriptome-wide association in lung tissue revealed that high expression of the monocyte-macrophage chemotactic receptor CCR2 is associated with severe COVID-19. Our results identify robust genetic signals relating to key host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage in COVID-19. Both mechanisms may be amenable to targeted treatment with existing drugs. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials will be essential before any change to clinical practice