Social influence of adult children on parental health behavior among South Asian immigrants: findings from the MASALA (Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America) study.

Objectives: Examine the social influence of adult children on the cardiovascular-related health behaviors of older South Asian (SA) immigrants to inform lifestyle interventions.Design: This mixed-methods study used data from an ancillary study of social networks (2014-2018) in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America cohort. Phase 1 was a quantitative analysis of self-reported diet and physical activity among SA adults (n = 448, mean age = 58 years, SD 8.4) who named at least one adult child to their social network. The Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) was used to measure parents' diet; higher numbers indicate a healthier diet (range 0-110). Phase 2 was a thematic content analysis of in-depth qualitative interviews from a subsample of these parents (n = 23, mean age = 55, SD 7.6).Results: Parents with an adult child in their network who consumed uncooked vegetables daily had mean parental AHEI score 1.5 points higher (adjusted p-value = 0.03) than those who had a child in the network who ate uncooked vegetables less often. When at least one adult child in their network ate fresh fruit daily compared to less frequently or when at least one child ate non-SA food daily compared to less frequently, mean parental AHEI scores were higher by 2.0 (adjusted p-value = 0.01) and 1.6 (adjusted p-value = 0.03) points respectively. Parents with an adult child in their network who exercised at least weekly were more likely to meet guideline-recommended physical activity levels than parents with children who exercised less often (76% v. 56%, adjusted p-value = 0.02). Adult children provided social support and were seen as 'role models' for healthy behavior, especially when adopting Western health behaviors.Conclusion: Positive role modeling and support from adult children were important facilitators of healthy behavior change in older SA immigrants and can inform health behavior interventions for SA adults.

Recruitment and retention of US South Asians for an epidemiologic cohort: Experience from the MASALA study.

INTRODUCTION: There are few longitudinal studies about South Asians (SAs) and little information about recruitment and retention approaches for this ethnic group. METHODS: We followed 906 SAs enrolled in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) cohort for 5 years. Surviving participants were invited for a second clinical exam from 2015 to 2018. A new wave of participants was recruited during 2017-2018. We assessed the yields from different methods of recruitment and retention. RESULTS: A total of 759 (83%) completed the second clinical exam, and 258 new participants were enrolled. Providing a nearby community hospital location for the study exam, offering cab/shared ride reimbursement, and conducting home visits were the most effective methods for enhancing retention. New participant recruitment targeted women and individuals with lower socioeconomic status, and we found that participant referrals and active community engagement were most effective. Mailing invitational letters to those identified by electronic health records had very low yield. CONCLUSION: Recruitment and retention strategies that address transportation barriers and increase community engagement will help increase the representation of SAs in health research.

Social network body size is associated with body size norms of South Asian adults.

AIMS: To examine the association between social network body size and body size norms in South Asian adults. METHODS: Participants (n = 766) from the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study (2014-2018) provided detailed information about their five closest network members. Participants' perceptions of their network members' body sizes, their own body size (self-body size), and a healthy body size for men and women (body size norms) were assessed using the Stunkard 9-figure scale. Adjusted hierarchical linear regression models were used to examine associations between the average body size of network members and perceived body size norms. RESULTS: Participants' average age was 59.1 years (SD = 9.2) and 44.1% were women. Participants reported an average network body size of 4.0 (SD = 1.1). The average body size norm for male and female Stunkard images was 3.6 (SD = 1.0) and 3.4 (SD = 0.8), respectively. Social network body size was positively associated with increasing body size norms (ß-coefficient = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.36), independent of self-body size. DISCUSSION: Social networks may influence body size norms in South Asian adults. Long-term follow up of the MASALA cohort will determine if social network body size and body size norms are associated with weight- control behaviors and weight change.

Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America: Use of Web-Based Methods for Follow-Up and Collection of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures.

BACKGROUND: A key challenge for longitudinal cohort studies is follow-up and retention of study participants. Participant follow-up in longitudinal cohort studies is costly and time-consuming for research staff and participants. OBJECTIVE: This study determined the feasibility and costs of using Web-based technologies for follow-up and collection of patient-reported outcomes in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study. METHODS: The MASALA study is a community-based cohort of 906 South Asians in the United States. Since the baseline in-person visits (2010-2013), a yearly telephone follow-up survey was used to assess participants' health status and incidence of cardiovascular disease. A Web-based version of the follow-up survey was developed using the REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) Web app. Participants from the Chicago field center who were due for their annual follow-up and who had a valid email address were sent an email link to a secure online portal where they could complete the survey. Telephone follow-up was used with nonresponders. RESULTS: A link to the Web survey was emailed to 285 participants (February to October 2014) and the overall completion rate was 47.7% (136/285). One-third of participants who were unresponsive (n=36) to annual telephone follow-up completed the Web survey. Web responders were younger, more likely to be married, and to have higher education and income compared (P<.05) to telephone-only responders. Web survey development involved 240 hours of research staff time. Since launching, the Web-based survey has required 3 hours per week of staff time. CONCLUSIONS: Although electronic follow-up will not be a panacea for cohort operations, it will serve as an adjunctive strategy to telephonic follow-up for maximizing cohort retention with lower costs.

Qualitative Process Evaluation of a Community-Based Culturally Tailored Lifestyle Intervention for Underserved South Asians.

Introduction There are few examples of effective cardiovascular disease prevention interventions for South Asians (SAs). We describe the results of a process evaluation of the South Asian Heart Lifestyle Intervention for medically underserved SAs implemented at a community-based organization (CBO) using community-based participatory research methods and a randomized control design (n = 63). Method Interviews were conducted with 23 intervention participants and 5 study staff using a semistructured interview guide focused on participant and staff perceptions about the intervention's feasibility and efficacy. Data were thematically analyzed. Results Intervention success was attributed to trusted CBO setting, culturally concordant study staff, and culturally tailored experiential activities. Participants said that these activities helped increase knowledge and behavior change. Some participants, especially men, found that self-monitoring with pedometers helped motivate increased physical activity. Participants said that the intervention could be strengthened by greater family involvement and by providing women-only exercise classes. Staff identified the need to reduce participant burden due to multicomponent intervention and agreed that the CBO needed greater financial resources to address participant barriers. Conclusion Community-based delivery and cultural adaptation of an evidence-based lifestyle intervention were effective and essential components for reaching and retaining medically underserved SAs in a cardiovascular disease prevention intervention study.

Regulators of the Bacillus subtilis cydABCD operon: identification of a negative regulator, CcpA, and a positive regulator, ResD.

The cydABCD operon of Bacillus subtilis encodes products required for the production of cytochrome bd oxidase. Previous work has shown that one regulatory protein, YdiH (Rex), is involved in the repression of this operon. The work reported here confirms the role of Rex in the negative regulation of the cydABCD operon. Two additional regulatory proteins for the cydABCD operon were identified, namely, ResD, a response regulator involved in the regulation of respiration genes, and CcpA, the carbon catabolite regulator protein. ResD, but not ResE, was required for full expression of the cydA promoter in vivo. ResD binding to the cydA promoter between positions -58 and -107, a region which includes ResD consensus binding sequences, was not enhanced by phosphorylation. A ccpA mutant had increased expression from the full-length cydA promoter during stationary growth compared to the wild-type strain. Maximal expression in a ccpA mutant was observed from a 3'-deleted cydA promoter fusion that lacked the Rex binding region, suggesting that the effect of the two repressors, Rex and CcpA, was cumulative. CcpA binds directly to the cydA promoter, protecting the region from positions -4 to -33, which contains sequences similar to the CcpA consensus binding sequence, the cre box. CcpA binding was enhanced upon addition of glucose-6-phosphate, a putative cofactor for CcpA. Mutation of a conserved residue in the cre box reduced CcpA binding 10-fold in vitro and increased cydA expression in vivo. Thus, CcpA and ResD, along with the previously identified cydA regulator Rex (YdiH), affect the expression of the cydABCD operon. Low-level induction of the cydA promoter was observed in vivo in the absence of its regulatory proteins, Rex, CcpA, and ResD. This complex regulation suggests that the cydA promoter is tightly regulated to allow its expression only at the appropriate time and under the appropriate conditions.

CcpA causes repression of the phoPR promoter through a novel transcription start site, P(A6).

The Bacillus subtilis PhoPR two-component system is directly responsible for activation or repression of Pho regulon genes in response to phosphate deprivation. The response regulator, PhoP, and the histidine kinase, PhoR, are encoded in a single operon with a complex promoter region that contains five known transcription start sites, which respond to at least two regulatory proteins. We report here the identification of another direct regulator of phoPR transcription, carbon catabolite protein A, CcpA. This regulator functions in the presence of glucose or other readily metabolized carbon sources. The maximum derepression of phoPR expression in a ccpA mutant compared to a wild-type stain was observed under excess phosphate conditions with glucose either throughout growth in a high-phosphate defined medium or in a low-phosphate defined medium during exponential growth, a growth condition when phoPR transcription is low in a wild-type strain due to the absence of autoinduction. Either HPr or Crh were sufficient to cause CcpA dependent repression of the phoPR promoter in vivo. A ptsH1 (Hpr) crh double mutant completely relieves phoPR repression during phosphate starvation but not during phosphate replete growth. In vivo and in vitro studies showed that CcpA repressed phoPR transcription by binding directly to the cre consensus sequence present in the promoter. Primer extension and in vitro transcription studies revealed that the CcpA regulation of phoPR transcription was due to repression of P(A6), a previously unidentified promoter positioned immediately upstream of the cre box. Esigma(A) was sufficient for transcription of P(A6), which was repressed by CcpA in vitro. These studies showed direct repression by CcpA of a newly discovered Esigma(A)-responsive phoPR promoter that required either Hpr or Crh in vivo for direct binding to the putative consensus cre sequence located between P(A6) and the five downstream promoters characterized previously.