PrEP awareness, willingness, and likelihood to use future HIV prevention methods among undergraduate college students in an ending the HIV epidemic jurisdiction.

OBJECTIVE: Identify factors associated with PrEP awareness, willingness, and future prevention modalities among undergraduate college students. PARTICIPANTS: Undergraduates (N = 701) were recruited from a private university, a public research university, and a private historically Black college and university for an online survey. METHODS: Upon multiple imputations, a multivariate logistic model, a multivariate multinomial model, and independent multivariate ordinal logistic models were used to calculate Rubin's rules-pooled adjusted odds ratios for PrEP awareness, willingness, and future HIV prevention methods. RESULTS: Only 33.4% of students had heard of and 32.4% were willing to take PrEP. PrEP willingness was higher among sexual minority students compared to heterosexual/straight students (OR = 1.65; 95% CI: 1.03-2.63); p = .036). The likelihood to take a future vaccine or antibody prophylaxis treatment was higher than the likelihood to take injectable PrEP or implants. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase PrEP uptake and willingness among undergraduates should emphasize equity in HIV education and include future prevention modalities.

Lost in translation: College students' knowledge of HIV and PrEP in relation to their sexual health behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a notable public health problem among young adults. The present study examined college students' knowledge of HIV and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in relation to their sexual health behaviors. PARTICIPANTS AND METHOD: Participants included 1516 students who completed questionnaires on actual and perceived HIV knowledge, perceived PrEP knowledge, and sexual health behaviors. RESULTS: While knowledge of HIV was high, knowledge of PrEP was low. Approximately 73% of the sample reported not using condoms at all times, and 41% reported never having been tested for HIV. Women, students at public schools, upper-year students, and students with higher HIV and PrEP knowledge were more likely to get tested for HIV than their counterparts. Knowledge of HIV and PrEP did not relate to condom use. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the need for increased education about PrEP and strategies to help students translate knowledge about HIV to recommended sexual health behaviors.

Adult age, gender, and race group differences in images of aging.

Younger and older African American and Caucasian American adults, who were matched by age (M age = 40.63 years), completed a survey on perceptions of aging and subjective age. The 2 groups did not differ in the age they considered someone to be old (M age = 74.5 years). However, when asked which age was the happiest age, African Americans chose a significantly younger age (M age = 18.26 years) than did Caucasian Americans (M age = 31.32 years), and this racial group difference interacted with age differences such that older Caucasian Americans named an older age than did younger Caucasian Americans. The authors found no such age difference for African Americans. When asked if old age was a happy time, 60% of Caucasian Americans answered yes, whereas only 2% of African Americans answered yes. These and other differences in images and concerns of old age and subjective age suggest a far more negative view of aging for African Americans and a need for changes in the provision of positive information about aging for this group.

Parent-reported periodic limb movement, sleep disordered breathing, bedtime resistance behaviors, and ADHD.

The purpose of this study was to compare the relative strength of association between symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with sleep disordered breathing (SDB), periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), and bedtime resistance behaviors (BRBs). The Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire was completed by parents of 283 children. Scales were derived to indicate risk for specific sleep disorders, then correlated with symptoms of ADHD. Strong independent interrelationships between symptoms of PLMD and symptoms of ADHD emerged, with potential additional contributions by bedtime resistance. These interrelationships remained after controlling for age, SDB, sleepiness, or BRBs. These data suggest ADHD symptoms may be especially related to PLMD but that insufficient sleep duration secondary to bedtime resistance and noncompliance may make an independent contribution.

Overweight and obesity prevalence rates among youth in the Carolinas.

Overweight and obesity have become major public health concerns in the United States, reaching epidemic proportions among adults and children in recent years. According to the most recent national surveys, American adults have experienced a 50% increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Moreover, an alarming 100% increase has been observed among children and adolescents since the 1970s. To assess the status of overweight and obesity prevalence among youth in the Carolinas, weight, height, waist, and hip circumferences were monitored during routine cholesterol screenings among 11- to 14-year-olds in two school districts. Of the twelve hundred students screened, 32.4% percent were overweight and 16.4% were obese, exceeding national averages of 22% and 11%, respectively. The overweight and obesity prevalence rates were even more dramatic when broken down by gender and ethnic/racial groups. For instance, 54% of black girls and 45% of black boys were overweight, and better than half of these students were obese. Overweight and obesity prevalence rates among black girls were nearly twice the rates observed for white girls. Ethnic differences in percentage of overweight and obese boys were not as great as those observed among girls. A number of factors may contribute to the unprecedented levels of overweight and obesity observed among American youth, including physical inactivity, poor nutritional habits (i.e., high-fat meals and snacks, and super-sizing), economic, and social factors. Consequently, the coordinated efforts of physicians, school nurses, teachers, parents, and students will be necessary to effectively address the growing problem of childhood obesity.