The impact of sport and physical activity programs on the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: A systematic review.

This review aimed to identify and assess existing evidence of the impact of sport and physical activity programs on mental health and social and emotional wellbeing outcomes within young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The review also aimed to highlight limitations of current practice within the research area. A systematic search of literature was undertaken on three peer-reviewed databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE and SPORTSDiscus) and grey literature from January to March 2021. Studies were included if they described a sport and physical activity program for young (10-24 years) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and reported mental health or social and emotional wellbeing outcomes. Seventeen studies were selected for this review. Within these studies, the most commonly reported outcomes were related to psychosocial development (N = 12) and a sense of connectedness (N = 12). Mental illness related outcomes (N = 1) were rarely reported, as were substance use (N = 2) and social and emotional literacy (N = 1). Promising outcomes included increased connection to culture, self-esteem and confidence. Nonetheless, due to indirectness and suboptimal study design the precise impact on these outcomes could not be determined. A relevant evidence base is emerging on the impact sport and physical activity programs have on the mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. However, further research that utilises robust, culturally appropriate methodologies and tools needs to be undertaken before the effects of sport and physical activity programs can reliably be discerned.

Can bone-regulating hormones and nutrients help characterize the metabolically healthy obese phenotype.

BACKGROUND:: Bone-regulating hormones and nutrients play an important role in influencing metabolic health. AIM:: The aim of this study was to determine whether bone-regulating hormones and nutrients, such as parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), and magnesium (Mg) could be used to characterize the metabolically healthy obese (MHO) phenotype. METHODS:: This study included 27 overweight or obese participants (14 men/13 women) classified as MHO ( n = 14) or metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO) ( n = 13) based on the presence or absence of metabolic abnormalities, determined by percentage body fat, percentage trunk fat, and waist circumference. Biochemical (serum concentrations of hormones and cytokines such as PTH, 25OHD, ionized Mg (iMg), cytokines, lipids, glycemic indices), physiological (percentage body fat, percentage trunk fat, blood pressure (BP)), and dietary intake (Mg intake, calcium intake) measurements were obtained. RESULTS:: Serum PTH concentrations were significantly lower ( p = 0.005) in the MHO group (39.68 ± 11.06 pg/mL) compared with the MUO group (63.78 ± 25.82 pg/mL). Serum iMg concentrations were higher ( p = 0.052) in the MHO group (0.565 ± 0.41 mmol/L) than in the MUO group (0.528 ± 0.050 mmol/L). Serum concentrations of osteocalcin were also higher (10.37 ± 3.70 ng/mL) in the MHO compared with the MUO (6.51 ± 4.14 ng/mL) group ( p = 0.017). The MHO group had significantly lower serum insulin concentrations ( p = 0.006) and diastolic BP ( p = 0.035). Concentrations of serum 25OHD, total triglycerides, C-reactive protein and systolic BP did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS:: These findings suggest that bone-regulating hormones and nutrients, especially serum PTH, osteocalcin concentrations, and dietary Mg intakes, can help to characterize the MHO phenotype.

Cost-Effectiveness and Quality of Care of a Comprehensive ART Program in Malawi.

The aim of this study is to assess the cost-effectiveness of a holistic, comprehensive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment Program in Malawi.Comprehensive cost data for the year 2010 have been collected at 30 facilities from the public network of health centers providing antiretroviral treatment (ART) throughout the country; two of these facilities were operated by the Disease Relief through Excellent and Advanced Means (DREAM) program.The outcomes analysis was carried out over five years comparing two cohorts of patients on treatment: 1) 2387 patients who started ART in the two DREAM centers during 2008, 2) patients who started ART in Malawi in the same year under the Ministry of Health program.Assuming the 2010 cost as constant over the five years the cost-effective analysis was undertaken from a health sector and national perspective; a sensitivity analysis included two hypothesis of ART impact on patients' income.The total cost per patient per year (PPPY) was $314.5 for the DREAM protocol and $188.8 for the other Malawi ART sites, with 737 disability adjusted life years (DALY) saved among the DREAM program patients compared with the others. The Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio was $1640 per DALY saved; it ranged between $896-1268 for national and health sector perspective respectively. The cost per DALY saved remained under $2154 that is the AFR-E-WHO regional gross domestic product per capita threshold for a program to be considered very cost-effective.HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome comprehensive treatment program that joins ART with laboratory monitoring, treatment adherence reinforcing and Malnutrition control can be very cost-effective in the sub-Saharan African setting.

Multi-country analysis of treatment costs for HIV/AIDS (MATCH): facility-level ART unit cost analysis in Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia.

BACKGROUND: Today's uncertain HIV funding landscape threatens to slow progress towards treatment goals. Understanding the costs of antiretroviral therapy (ART) will be essential for governments to make informed policy decisions about the pace of scale-up under the 2013 WHO HIV Treatment Guidelines, which increase the number of people eligible for treatment from 17.6 million to 28.6 million. The study presented here is one of the largest of its kind and the first to describe the facility-level cost of ART in a random sample of facilities in Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia. METHODS & FINDINGS: In 2010-2011, comprehensive data on one year of facility-level ART costs and patient outcomes were collected from 161 facilities, selected using stratified random sampling. Overall, facility-level ART costs were significantly lower than expected in four of the five countries, with a simple average of $208 per patient-year (ppy) across Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia. Costs were higher in South Africa, at $682 ppy. This included medications, laboratory services, direct and indirect personnel, patient support, equipment and administrative services. Facilities demonstrated the ability to retain patients alive and on treatment at these costs, although outcomes for established patients (2-8% annual loss to follow-up or death) were better than outcomes for new patients in their first year of ART (77-95% alive and on treatment). CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrated that the facility-level costs of ART are lower than previously understood in these five countries. While limitations must be considered, and costs will vary across countries, this suggests that expanded treatment coverage may be affordable. Further research is needed to understand investment costs of treatment scale-up, non-facility costs and opportunities for more efficient resource allocation.