Correlates of early breastfeeding cessation and breastmilk expression in Uganda: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the correlates of early breastfeeding (BF) cessation and breastmilk expression (BE) among mothers 12 months after childbirth. METHODS: We used a case-control study design to compare characteristics between mothers who stopped BF and expressed breastmilk 12 months after childbirth in Uganda. BF practices were determined in 12-month follow-up interviews using an adapted World Health Organization infant feeding questionnaire. Univariate and bivariate logistic regression models identified correlates of early BF cessation and BE as distinct but related outcomes. RESULTS: The odds of early BF cessation were higher among mothers who expressed breastmilk irrespective of maternal age (adjusted odds ratio: 2.82; 95% confidence interval: 1.39, 5.68). Mothers who stopped BF and did not express breastmilk were more likely to be older than those who continued BF and did not express breastmilk during the first 12 postpartum months. CONCLUSION: Mothers living with human immunodeficiency virus infection have disproportionately high odds of early BF cessation that may contribute to disparities in child health outcomes. Promotion of safe BF practices coupled with family and social support could be a viable preventive strategy for attenuating such disparities, especially among young mothers at risk of early BF cessation.

Continuation of Teletherapy After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survey Study of Licensed Mental Health Professionals.

BACKGROUND: The use of teletherapy has exponentially increased in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Studies on teletherapy documented substantial benefits of accessibility and convenience even before the start of the pandemic. Although recent studies show that this modality of therapy delivery is here to stay, few have studied who will most benefit from this trend. OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we report predictors of continued teletherapy usage in a sample of licensed mental health professionals in the United States during a time period when pandemic-related restrictions began diminishing. As such, it is one of the first studies to examine factors related to continued benefits of teletherapy postpandemic. METHODS: Participation from licensed mental health professionals was sought on listservs of national organizations of multiple mental health organizations. Data were collected via an anonymous link to a survey on Qualtrics between January 2021 and April 2021. Participants responded to questions on therapist demographics, practice setting, experiences of shifting to teletherapy, perspectives on continued use of teletherapy, and their client characteristics. Findings related to client characteristics that predicted continued teletherapy usage are presented here. RESULTS: A total of 186 individuals consented to participate in the survey, with a final sample of 114 with complete data. A majority of participants identified as female (92/114, 80.7%), White (94/114, 82.5%), and having a master's degree (75/114, 65.5%) from a nationally accredited program (106/114, 93%). Data were analyzed using heteroskedastic regression modeling with client-related factors as predictors. Two models were run with and without distance travelled by clients as a control variable. Model estimates from both models showed that continued use of teletherapy postpandemic was predicted by the following factors: higher percentage of clients from rural areas, younger and older adult clients, clients with Medicare, and clients with marginalized gender and religious/spiritual identities. Significantly, having a higher percentage of clients from lower socioeconomic status, a higher percentage of those with Medicaid coverage, and a higher percentage of couples and families as clients predicted decreased use of teletherapy postpandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from the study suggest that while some groups of clients are more likely to continue to receive benefits of teletherapy, vulnerable groups such as those in lower socioeconomic conditions, Medicaid beneficiaries, and those who seek couple and family therapy may be less likely to be served by it. These differences point to a need to address factors driving telehealth care disparities such as access to technology, housing, and childcare issues, as well as the need for continued training for licensed professionals.

Video Game Addictive Symptom Level, Use Intensity, and Hedonic Experience: Cross-sectional Questionnaire Study.

BACKGROUND: The effects of behavioral addiction to video games has received increasing attention in the literature, given increased use intensity among subgroups of video game players. OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to empirically determine the relationship between intensity of video gaming and hedonic experience of the player. METHODS: We conducted a survey of 835 individuals who regularly play video games to determine the relationship between intensity of use and hedonic experience. We divided the sample into quartiles by self-reported video game addictive symptom level (from the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale) and conducted polynomial regressions separately for each quartile. RESULTS: We found that the higher video game addictive symptom level groups experienced a U-shaped (curvilinear) relationship between hedonic experience and intensity of play, whereas groups with lower video game addictive symptom levels exhibited no such relationship. The coefficients for the highest addictive symptom level group (quartile 4) for marginal effects for hours played per week and hours played per week squared were significantly negative (P=.005) and significantly positive (P=.004), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are consistent with sensitization and tolerance theories, which suggest that high-symptom groups experience frustration and disappointment until they achieve excessive dopamine release, at which point their hedonic experience is expected to improve with additional play. Conversely, low-symptom groups experience no such fall-and-rise pattern. This result is consistent with the outcome that members of the latter group play the game for the direct experience, such that their hedonic experience is more directly related to events occurring in the game than to the increasingly elusive pursuit of excessive dopamine release. We also find that high-symptom groups spend substantially more time and money to support video game use and are much more likely to engage in video game use at the expense of other important activities, such as working, sleeping, and eating.

Age at League Entry and Early All-Cause Mortality among National Football League Players.

BACKGROUND: A growing body of research suggests that American football players are exposed to higher cumulative head impact risk as competition level rises. Related literature finds that head impacts absorbed by youth, adolescent, and emerging adult players are associated with elevated risk of long-term health problems (e.g., neurodegenerative disease onset). Most National Football League (NFL) players enter the League as emerging adults (18-24 years old), a period of continued cognitive and overall physical development. However, no prior research has studied the effect of age-at-entry on long-term NFL player health. Hypothesis/Purpose: This study assesses whether early NFL player age-at-entry is associated with increased risk of early all-cause mortality, controlling for player position, BMI, year-of-entry, birth year, and NFL Draft round (expected ability upon League entry). STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective cohort study included 9049 players who entered the NFL from 1970-2017 and subsequently played at least one game. The variables whether deceased, age-at-death, age-at-entry, and controls were collected from Pro Football Reference website, a leading data site for American football that has been used extensively in the literature. Data collection began on 13 July 2017, and follow-up ended on 1 July 2018. Statistical analysis was performed from 10 March 2020 to 3 August 2020. Data was validated by checking a large sub-sample of data points against alternative sources such as NFL.com and NFLsavant.com. METHODS: Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to examine variation in death hazard by NFL player age-at-entry, conditional upon a full set of controls. RESULTS: Conditional on controls, Cox regression results indicate that a one-year increase in age-at-entry was significantly associated with a 14% decreased hazard-of-death (H.R., 0.86; 95% CI, 0.74-0.98). Among relatively young entering players, the increased hazard appears to be concentrated in the first quartile of players by age at League entry (20.2 to 22.3 years). Players not in this quartile exhibited a decreased hazard-of-death (H.R., 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57-0.97) compared with players who entered at a relatively young (first quartile) age. CONCLUSION: An earlier age-at-entry is associated with an increased hazard-of-death among NFL players. Currently, the NFL regulates age-at-entry only indirectly by requiring players to be 3 years removed from high school before becoming NFL Draft-eligible. Implementing a minimum age at entry for NFL players of 22 years and 4 months at beginning of season is expected to result in reduced mortality. What is known about this subject? There are no prior studies on the effects of NFL player age-at-entry on early mortality risk. What this study adds to existing knowledge: This study determines whether entering the NFL at an age of physical and physiological development is related to early mortality risk.

Community-level impacts of sanitation coverage on maternal and neonatal health: a retrospective cohort of survey data.

INTRODUCTION: Access to sanitation facilities (toilets or latrines) greatly improves human health. Low community sanitation coverage may lead to increased exposure to pathogens for households both with and without a sanitation facility. METHODS: We created a retrospective cohort using Demographic and Health Surveys from 1990 through 2018. Using regression with matched women as a random intercept, we assessed the association between community-level sanitation coverage and neonatal mortality (Poisson model, n=1 254 862 live births, 187 datasets), small birth size (logit model, n=1 058 843 live births, 187 datasets) and anaemia (logit model, n=1 304 626 women, 75 datasets). RESULTS: Among women with household sanitation, the incidence of neonatal death (incidence rate ratio: 0.85, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.93), the odds of small birth size (OR: 0.81, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.87) and anaemia (OR: 0.82, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.85) were lower for women in communities with 100% sanitation coverage compared with 1%-30% (p≤0.001 for all). There was no difference in neonatal deaths between women in communities with 31%-99% sanitation coverage compared with 1%-30% (p≥0.05). Among women without household sanitation, there were no differences in neonatal mortality by community sanitation (p≥0.05). The odds of small birth size were decreased (OR: 0.91, 95% CI 0.87 to 0.97, p=0.003) for women in communities with 61%-99% sanitation coverage compared with 1%-30%; there was no association with the other community sanitation categories (p≥0.05). The odds of anaemia were increased (OR: 1.08, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.11, p<0.001) for women living in communities with 0% sanitation coverage compared with 1%-30%, but no association with the other community sanitation categories (p≥0.05). CONCLUSION: Community sanitation coverage is associated with improved maternal and neonatal outcomes, particularly among women with household sanitation. This suggests that the impact of sanitation coverage on maternal and neonatal health is underestimated unless the community-level effects are considered.

US Physicians' Perspective on the Sudden Shift to Telehealth: Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: Given the sudden shift to telemedicine during the early COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a survey of practicing physicians' experience with telehealth during the prepandemic and early pandemic periods. Our survey estimates that most patient visits in the United States during the early COVID-19 pandemic period were conducted via telehealth. Given this magnitude and the potential benefits and challenges of telehealth for the US health care system, in this paper, we obtain, summarize, and analyze telehealth views and experiences of US-based practicing-physicians. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the extent of shift toward telehealth training and care provision during the early pandemic from the US-based practicing physicians' perspective. We also sought to determine the short- and long-term implications of this shift on the quality, access, and mode of US health care delivery. METHODS: We conducted a purposive, snowball-sampled survey of US practicing-physicians. A total of 148 physician completed the survey. Data were collected from July 17, 2020, through September 4, 2020. RESULTS: Sample training intensity scaled 21-fold during the early pandemic period, and patient-care visits conducted via telehealth increased, on average, from 13.1% directly before the pandemic to 59.7% during the early pandemic period. Surveyed physician respondents reported that telehealth patient visits and face-to-face patient visits are comparable in quality. The difference was not statistically significant based on a nonparametric sign test (P=.11). Moreover, physicians feel that telehealth care should continue to play a larger role (44.9% of total visits) in postpandemic health care in the United States. Our survey findings suggest a high market concentration in telehealth software, which is a market structural characteristic that may have implications on the cost and access of telehealth. The results varied markedly by physician employer type. CONCLUSIONS: During the shift toward telehealth, there has been a considerable discovery among physicians regarding US telehealth physicians. Physicians are now better prepared to undertake telehealth care from a training perspective. They are favorable toward a permanently expanded telehealth role, with potential for enhanced health care access, and the realization of enhanced access may depend on market structural characteristics of telehealth software platforms.

Routine deworming during antenatal care decreases risk of neonatal mortality and low birthweight: A retrospective cohort of survey data.

BACKGROUND: Soil transmitted helminths (STH) are a common infection among pregnant women in areas with poor access to sanitation. Deworming medications are cheap and safe; however, the health benefit of deworming during pregnancy is not clear. METHODS / PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We created a retrospective cohort of more than 800,000 births from 95 Demographic and Health Survey datasets to estimate the impact of deworming medicine during routine antenatal care (ANC) on neonatal mortality and low birthweight. We first matched births on the probability of receiving deworming during ANC. We then modeled the birth outcomes with the matched group as a random intercept to estimate the effect of deworming during antenatal care after accounting for various risk factors. We also tested for effect modification of soil transmitted helminth prevalence on the impact of deworming during ANC. Receipt of deworming medication during ANC was associated with a 14% reduction in the risk of neonatal mortality (95% confidence interval = 10-17%, n = 797,772 births), with no difference between high and low transmission countries. In low transmission countries, we found an 11% reduction in the odds of low birth weight (95% confidence interval = 8-13%) for women receiving deworming medicine, and in high transmission countries, we found a 2% reduction in the odds of low birthweight (95% confidence interval = 0-5%). CONCLUSIONS / SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest a substantial health benefit for deworming during ANC that may be even greater in countries with low STH transmission.

Comparing prioritization strategies for delivering indoor residual spray (IRS) implementation, using a network approach.

BACKGROUND: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is an effective method to control malaria-transmitting Anopheles mosquitoes and often complements insecticide-treated mosquito nets, the predominant malaria vector control intervention. With insufficient funds to cover every household, malaria control programs must balance the malaria risk to a particular human community against the financial cost of spraying that community. This study creates a framework for modelling the distance to households for targeting IRS implementation, and applies it to potential risk prioritization strategies in four provinces (Luapula, Muchinga, Eastern, and Northern) in Zambia. METHODS: Optimal network models were used to assess the travel distance of routes between operations bases and human communities identified through remote sensing. Network travel distances were compared to Euclidean distances, to demonstrate the importance of accounting for road routes. The distance to reaching communities for different risk prioritization strategies were then compared assuming sufficient funds to spray 50% of households, using four underlying malarial risk maps: (a) predicted Plasmodium falciparum parasite rate in 2-10 years olds (PfPR), or (b) predicted probability of the presence of each of three main malaria transmitting anopheline vectors (Anopheles arabiensis, Anopheles funestus, Anopheles gambiae). RESULTS: The estimated one-way network route distance to reach communities to deliver IRS ranged from 0.05 to 115.69 km. Euclidean distance over and under-estimated these routes by - 101.21 to 41.79 km per trip, as compared to the network route method. There was little overlap between risk map prioritization strategies, both at a district-by-district scale, and across all four provinces. At both scales, agreement for inclusion or exclusion from IRS across all four prioritization strategies occurred in less than 10% of houses. The distances to reaching prioritized communities were either lower, or not statistically different from non-prioritized communities, at both scales of strategy. CONCLUSION: Variation in distance to targeted communities differed depending on risk prioritization strategy used, and higher risk prioritization did not necessarily translate into greater distances in reaching a human community. These findings from Zambia suggest that areas with higher malaria burden may not necessarily be more remote than areas with lower malaria burden.

Association of Professional Football Cumulative Head Impact Index Scores With All-Cause Mortality Among National Football League Players.

Importance: Long-term adverse health outcomes, particularly those associated with repetitive head impacts, are of growing concern among US-style football players in the US and Canada. Objective: To assess whether exposure to repetitive head impacts during a professional football career is associated with an increase in the risk of all-cause mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study included 13 912 players in the 1969 to 2017 National Football League (NFL) seasons. All cause-mortality up until July 1, 2018, was included. Data collection was performed from July 13, 2017, to July 1, 2018, as reported in the Pro Football Reference. Exposures: The main exposure was a professional football cumulative head impact index (pfCHII). The pfCHII was measured by combining cumulative padded practice time and games played summed during seasons of play reported in the Pro Football Reference and a player position risk adjustment from helmet accelerometer studies. Main Outcomes and Measures: Demographic characteristics except for the pfCHII were calculated for 14 366 players with complete follow-up. The pfCHII was calculated for 13 912 players (eliminating the 454 specials teams players). Cox proportional hazards regression was used to compare hazard ratios (HRs) of death by repetitive head impacts. Analyses were unadjusted and adjusted for birth year, body mass index, and height. Results: Among 14 366 NFL players who had follow-up for analysis, the mean (SD) age was 47.3 (14.8) years, the mean (SD) body mass index was 29.6 (3.9), and 763 of 14 366 players (5.3%) had died. Among 13 912 players in the pfCHII analysis, the median pfCHII was 32.63 (interquartile range, 13.71-66.12). A 1-log increase in pfCHII was significantly associated with an increased hazard of death for the 1969 to 2017 seasons (HR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.21-3.37; P = .01) after adjustment. The quadratic pfCHII was also statistically significant (HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85-0.98; P = .01), indicating that the hazard of death increased at a decreasing rate, whereas the pfCHII increased. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings suggest that an increase in repetitive head impacts is associated with an increased hazard of death among NFL players. Reduction in repetitive head impacts from playing football or other activities through additional rule and equipment changes may be associated with reduced mortality.

Mortality risk factors among National Football League players: An analysis using player career data.

In general, National Football League (NFL) players tend to live longer than the general population. However, little information exists about the long-term mortality risk in this population. Frequent, yet mild, head trauma may be associated with early mortality in this group of elite athletes. Therefore, career playing statistics can be used as a proxy for frequent head trauma. Using data from Pro Football Reference, we analyzed the association between age-at-death, position, and NFL seasons-played among 6,408 NFL players that were deceased as of July 1, 2018. The linear regression model allowing for a healthy worker effect demonstrated the best fit statistics (F-statistic = 9.95, p-value = 0.0016). The overall association of age-at-death and seasons-played is positive beginning at the 10.75 and 10.64 seasons-played point in our two models that feature seasons-played and seasons-played squared as explanatory variables. Previous research that does not account for this survivorship bias/healthy worker effect may not adequately describe mortality risk among NFL players.

A Systematic Review of Etiological Risk Factors Associated With Early Mortality Among National Football League Players.

BACKGROUND: Multiple risks predispose professional football players to adverse health outcomes and, in extreme cases, early death; however, our understanding of etiological risk factors related to early mortality is limited. PURPOSE: To identify etiological risk factors associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among National Football League (NFL) players. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Articles examining all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk factors among previous NFL players were identified by systematically searching: PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from 1990 to 2017. Study eligibility and quality were evaluated using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 801 nonduplicated studies were identified through our search strategy. Of these, 9 studies examining 11 different risk factors were included in the systematic review. Overall, the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality was lower among NFL players than among the general male population in the United States. Nonwhite athletes, those in power positions, and those with a high playing-time body mass index (≥30 kg/m2) were associated with elevated all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risks. CONCLUSION: Methodological issues associated with the examined all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk factors preclude a definitive conclusion of etiological protective or risk effects. Comparison groups less prone to selection bias ("healthy worker effect") and a life-course approach to the evaluation of suspected risk factors are warranted to identify etiological factors associated with early mortality among NFL players.