Reasons for tubal sterilisation, regret and depressive symptoms

Objective—To examine the associations between sterilisation reasons, regret, and depressive symptoms. Study Design—Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White US women ages 25–45 who participated in the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB) and reported a tubal sterilisation surgery were included in the sample for this study (n=837). Logistic regression was used to examine how characteristics of the sterilisation surgery (reasons for sterilisation, time since sterilisation, and new relationship since sterilisation) are associated with the odds of sterilisation regret, and linear regression was used to examine associations between sterilisation regret, sociodemographic factors, and depressive symptoms. Results—Findings revealed that 28 percent of U.S. women who have undergone tubal sterilisation report regret. Time since sterilisation and having a reason for sterilisation other than simply not wanting (more) children (e.g., situational factors, health problems, encouragement by others, and other reasons) are associated with significantly higher odds of sterilisation regret. Finally, sterilisation regret is significantly associated with depressive symptoms after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusion—Sterilisation regret is relatively common among women who have undergone tubal sterilisation, and regret is linked to elevated, but not necessarily clinical depressive symptoms. The reasons for sterilisation can have important implications for women’s sterilisation regret and associated depressive symptoms

Reasons for tubal sterilisation, regret and depressive symptoms

Objective—To examine the associations between sterilisation reasons, regret, and depressive symptoms. Study Design—Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White US women ages 25–45 who participated in the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB) and reported a tubal sterilisation surgery were included in the sample for this study (n=837). Logistic regression was used to examine how characteristics of the sterilisation surgery (reasons for sterilisation, time since sterilisation, and new relationship since sterilisation) are associated with the odds of sterilisation regret, and linear regression was used to examine associations between sterilisation regret, sociodemographic factors, and depressive symptoms. Results—Findings revealed that 28 percent of U.S. women who have undergone tubal sterilisation report regret. Time since sterilisation and having a reason for sterilisation other than simply not wanting (more) children (e.g., situational factors, health problems, encouragement by others, and other reasons) are associated with significantly higher odds of sterilisation regret. Finally, sterilisation regret is significantly associated with depressive symptoms after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusion—Sterilisation regret is relatively common among women who have undergone tubal sterilisation, and regret is linked to elevated, but not necessarily clinical depressive symptoms. The reasons for sterilisation can have important implications for women’s sterilisation regret and associated depressive symptoms

Leanness and squamous cell oesophageal cancer

Background: Squamous cell oesophageal cancer is one of the few neoplasms inversely related to body mass index (BMI). However, it is not clear whether this is due to cancer-related weight loss or to other correlates of leanness. Patients and methods: 395 incident, histologically confirmed cases of squamous cell oesophageal cancer and 1,066 controls, admitted for acute, non-neoplastic diseases, in Italy and Switzerland. Odds ratios (ORs) were derived from multiple logistic regression, including terms for education, tobacco, alcohol, non-alcohol energy, fruit and vegetable intake Results: The ORs for the lowest vs. the highest quartile of BMI in the year before diagnosis were 2.0 in men, 1.6 in women, and 1.9 (95% confidence interval: 1.3-2.9) in both sexes combined. The association with leanness was stronger in heavy smokers, but was not accounted for by smoking and drinking, nor by differences in diet. Weight change in the decade prior to diagnosis showed no linear association with risk. However, cases were not leaner than controls at age 30 (OR = 0.6 for the lowest BMI quartile) and 50 (OR = 1.1). Conclusions: Leanness appears to be an indicator of squamous cell oesophageal carcinogenesis. However, low BMI in the distant past was unrelated to oesophageal cancer ris

Let’s Take A Walk: Exploring the Impact of an Inclusive Walking Program on the Physical and Mental Health of Adults with Intellectual Disability

Background: People with intellectual disabilities experience health disparities and poorer health outcomes than people without disabilities. Increased physical activity has been found to reduce the impact of chronic health conditions among people with intellectual disabilities. Method: The current study explored the impact of an inclusive walking program on the physical and mental health of adults with intellectual disabilities. Let’s Take A Walk paired adults with intellectual disabilities, hereafter referred to as Community Walkers (n = 27), with college students to walk around a college campus twice a week for 45 minutes across 10 weeks. Data on mental health outcomes, specifically depression and anxiety, were collected from 24 Community Walkers across four-time points (pre-, mid-, post-, and 3-months following intervention), and data on physical health outcomes were collected across two-time points (pre- and post-intervention). Results: Community Walkers reported significant decreases in both depression and anxiety from pre to post-implementation. Particularly promising was clinically significant decreases in anxiety symptoms over the 10-week program. No differences were noted on Community Walkers’ measures of physical health. Conclusion: Inclusive walking programs are a valuable and promising mechanism for building social connections and inclusion and improving mental health for adults with intellectual disabilities

It Takes a Village to Make a Scientist: Reflections of a Faculty Learning Community

Lab components of undergraduate science courses typically have students complete highly directed cookbook-like laboratory activities. These experiences rarely engage students in a meaningful manner and do not accurately convey what the work of science entails. With funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), we have created more authentic science research experiences in a variety of undergraduate science courses, including introductory courses. Achieving this among the diversity of freshmen and sophomore science courses—each typically serving hundreds of students on our campus—required careful planning and adaptation. This article describes the many challenges we faced in our effort to create more authentic undergraduate student research experiences and the significant progress we have made in making such experiences more common for our students. Improvements in first-year science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) retention over the last 2 years suggest that the experiences may be having a positive impact