Purpose
Prostate cancer (PCa) and its treatment can impact health-related quality of life (HRQoL). There are few studies of HRQoL in long-term PCa survivors of African ancestry from low- and ...middle-income countries. We examined the effect of PCa treatment on HRQoL of Jamaican PCa survivors compared with cancer-free controls and explored the effect of demographic and clinical factors on these outcomes.
Methods
PCa survivors (
n
= 64) treated with and without ADT along with PCa-free controls (
n
= 88) from a case–control study of 10 years post enrolment. HRQoL was measured using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life (EORTC-QLQ-C30). Effects of demographic and clinical variables on HRQoL on PCa and type of therapy were evaluated in multivariable linear regression models.
Results
HRQoL of PCa survivors (overall and by treatment group) indicated a high quality of life, comparable to PCa-free men. However, ADT-treated survivors had lower physical functioning that was of small clinical relevance compared with those not on ADT. Symptom burden scores of PCa survivors and controls were similar excluding fatigue and dyspnoea which were highest in men on ADT and controls. In multivariable models, PCa was not an important determinant of overall HRQoL, functioning or symptom burdens. Underlying medical conditions and marital status were the main contributors to HRQoL in PCa survivors.
Conclusion
PCa cancer status was not an independent determinant of long-term HRQoL in Jamaican men. Interventions addressing social factors and comorbid illnesses could improve HRQOL in long-term PCa survivors.
Introduction
Parental feeding styles in the first years of life may increase childhood overweight risk. There are few studies on this association in children under 2 years. The current study aimed to ...investigate the association between maternal feeding styles and Caribbean infants’ risk of overweight at 18 months and determine whether maternal depression is an important confounder in the association.
Methods
It is a prospective study of mother–child dyads that participated in a three‐island parenting trial. Maternal and infant characteristics were collected at infant age 6–10 weeks with maternal depression assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES‐D) scale questionnaire. Feeding styles were measured using items from the Toddler Feeding Behaviour Questionnaire at 12 months. Infant weight and length were measured at 18 months, and infants at risk of overweight were defined as weight‐for‐length z‐scores (WLZ) > 1. Factor analysis was used to identify feeding styles and associations with overweight risk assessed using multilevel logistic regression accounting for country and health clinic. Logistic regression models were adjusted for infant and maternal covariates, with a final model including depressive symptom scores.
Results
Of 366 infants assessed, 18.9% were affected by the risk of overweight. Five feeding styles were identified—uninvolved, indulgent, forceful, restrictive and responsive. Only restrictive feeding was associated with an increased risk of overweight (OR 95% CI, 1.61 1.22, 2.13). The association strengthened after adjusting for maternal depressive symptoms (OR 95% CI, 1.79 1.30, 2.30), representing an 11.18% increase in the risk of overweight odds.
Conclusion
Interventions that address restrictive feeding may be one strategy to reduce overweight risk among Caribbean maternal–infant dyads.
We report our experience with a validated waist-worn activity monitor in Jamaican adolescents attending urban high schools. Seventy-nine adolescents from the Global Diet and Activity Research (GDAR) ...study, recruited from 5 urban Jamaican high schools (two coeducational (n = 37), two all-female schools (n = 32) and one all-boys school (n = 10)) were asked to wear Actigraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers for 7 days (24-h), removing the device only when bathing or swimming. They also logged wake up and bed times in an activity diary. Accelerometry was considered valid if at least 4 days with ≥ 10-h monitor wear were recorded. Validity was compared by adolescent demographic and school characteristics. We also reviewed the students' written feedback on objective physical activity measurement.
Participants, 80.5% female, had a mean age of 15.5 ± 0.8 years with 60% attending schools in low-income communities. Accelerometer return rates were > 98% with 84% providing valid data. Validity did not vary by age group, sex and school setting. While participants were excited about participating in the accelerometer sub-study, commonly reported challenges included monitor discomfort during sleep and maintaining the study diary. Objective measurement of physical activity using 24-h waist-worn accelerometers is feasible and acceptable in Jamaican adolescents.
To examine associations between maternal characteristics and feeding styles in Caribbean mothers.
Participants were mother-child pairs enrolled in a cluster randomised trial of a parenting ...intervention in three Caribbean islands. Maternal characteristics were obtained by questionnaires when infants were 6-8 weeks old. Items adapted from the Toddler Feeding Behaviour Questionnaire were used to assess infant feeding styles at the age of 1 year. Feeding styles were identified using factor analysis and associations with maternal characteristics assessed using multilevel linear regression.
Health clinics in St. Lucia (n 9), Antigua (n 10) and Jamaica (n 20).
A total of 405 mother-child pairs from the larger trial.
Maternal depressive symptoms were associated with uninvolved (β = 0·38, 95 % CI (0·14, 0·62)), restrictive (β = 0·44, 95 % CI (0·19, 0·69)) and forceful (β = 0·31, 95 % CI (0·06, 0·57)) feeding and inversely associated with responsive feeding (β = -0·30, 95 % CI (-0·56, -0·05)). Maternal vocabulary was inversely associated with uninvolved (β = -0·31, 95 % CI (-0·57, -0·06)), restrictive (β = -0·30, 95 % CI (-0·56, -0·04)), indulgent (β = -0·47, 95 % CI (-0·73, -0·21)) and forceful (β = -0·54, 95 % CI (-0·81, -0·28)) feeding. Indulgent feeding was negatively associated with socio-economic status (β = -0·27, 95 % CI (-0·53, -0·00)) and was lower among mothers ≥35 years (β = -0·32, 95 % CI (-0·62, -0·02)). Breast-feeding at 1 year was associated with forceful feeding (β = 0·41, 95 % CI (0·21, 0·61)). No significant associations were found between maternal education, BMI, occupation and feeding styles.
Services to identify and assist mothers with depressive symptoms may benefit infant feeding style. Interventions to promote responsive feeding may be important for less educated, younger and socio-economically disadvantaged mothers.
This study evaluates a simple clinical audit tool for assessing quality of care and blood pressure control among persons with hypertension in primary care clinics. A systematic random sampling of ...persons with diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) attending five health centers in Kingston, Jamaica, was conducted. A modified Ministry of Health paper‐based audit tool captured quality of care and outcome indicators (blood pressure and glycemic control). Additional chart audits were conducted by a physician and nurse to assess reliability. One hundred and forty‐nine charts were audited between January and September 2017. One hundred and thirty‐eight persons (92.6%) had hypertension (27 men and 111 women); 77 persons (51.7%) had DM (14 men and 63 women). The median age was 64 years old. Approximately two‐thirds of persons with HTN and DM had electrolytes, lipid profile, and ECG done within the last year. One‐fifth of persons with hypertension (18.5% men and 19.8% women, P = 1.000) had adequate blood pressure control with greater control among persons with HTN only compared to persons with both DM and HTN. Poor glycemic control was recorded for 69% of persons with DM (57% men and 71% women, P = .297). Moderate to substantial inter‐rater agreement was observed for quality of care indicators. Our findings confirmed that hypertension and glycemic control are inadequate among persons attending primary care clinics in Jamaica's capital city. Simplified clinical audits can provide important quality of care and outcome indicators without losing the meaningfulness of the data collected.
Background
25 hydroxyvitamin D 25(OH)D and serum calcium have been associated with incident prostate cancer (PCa). However, there is limited data on whether these metabolites predict survival in men ...of African descent, a population disproportionately affected by PCa. We studied the relationship of 25(OH)D at PCa diagnosis with all-cause and cancer-specific mortality among Jamaican men and examined whether serum calcium modified any associations.
Methods
Serum 25(OH)D from 152 Jamaican men with incident PCa within the Prostate Cancer Risk Evaluation (PROSCARE) study were re-evaluated approximately 11 years after enrollment. 25(OH)D analyses were stratified using the using Holick criteria. PCa-specific and all-cause mortality were examined in Kaplan–Meier survival curves and Cox regression models adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), smoking and Gleason score. Restricted cubic splines evaluated nonlinear associations. Serum calcium was assessed as an effect modifier of the association between 25(OH)D and mortality.
Results
Of cases with available 25(OH)D, 64 men with PCa survived, 38 deaths were PCa specific and 36 died of other causes. At baseline, 9.9% of cases were vitamin D deficient and 61.2% were vitamin D sufficient. Compared to 25(OH)D sufficient men, those with 25(OH)D <20.0 ng/mL concentrations were associated with higher PCa-specific mortality (adjusted HR, 4.95; 95% CI, 1.68, 14.63, P = .004) and all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 2.40; 95%CI, 1.33, 4. 32, P = .003). Serum calcium was not associated with survival and did not modify any associations with 25(OH)D.
Conclusions
25(OH)D deficiency at PCa diagnosis predicted decreased survival for overall and PCa-specific cancer in Caribbean men of African ancestry.
Although adolescence is considered a difficult time for diabetes management, there is little published qualitative research on adolescent Jamaicans with diabetes. This study investigates the ...experiences of Jamaican adolescents living with diabetes to determine how their needs can be addressed. Nineteen adolescents participated in two urban and two rural focus groups and were asked to draw pictures representing their experiences. Thematic analysis was used to analyze their narratives, while their drawings were analyzed using a variation of Lauritsen and Mathiasen's (2003) method. Results show that control was the central theme: children felt controlled by diabetes and the people in their lives. Diabetes restricted their activities and imposed a sense of difference. Support from those around them could be both helpful and constricting. Children tried to resist control through disregarding the rules, being secretive, defiant, and manipulating others into allowing nonadherence. They also tried to adhere to the rules, find a balance between following them and engaging in desired activities, and to be positive. Those most positive about living with diabetes did not feel controlled by diabetes or others' understandings of it and, with loved ones' support, had rejected diabetes' negative meanings. Extreme distress was felt by rural children. All children had been noncompliant. Healthcare practitioners and policymakers should provide education in schools to facilitate fair and effective treatment. Mental health specialists should assist children to negotiate stigma and distress. Group sessions with significant others are important for collaborative decisions on enabling support.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Marshall Tulloch-Reid and colleagues argue that development of research capacity in Latin America and the Caribbean requires investment in both individuals and regional institutions
Black Caribbean women have a higher burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors than their male counterparts. Whether this results in a difference in incident cardiovascular events is ...unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the 10 year World Health Organization/International Society for Hypertension (WHO/ISH) CVD risk score for Jamaica and explore the effect of sex as well as obesity, physical activity and socioeconomic status on these estimates.
Data from 40-74 year old participants in the 2007/08 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey were used. Trained interviewers administered questionnaires and measured anthropometrics, blood pressure, fasting glucose and cholesterol. Education and occupation were used to assess socioeconomic status. The Americas B tables were used to estimate the WHO/ISH 10 year CVD risk scores for the population. Weighted prevalence estimates were calculated. Data from 1,432 (450 men, 982 women) participants were analysed, after excluding those with self-reported heart attack and stroke. The women had a higher prevalence of diabetes (19%W;12%M), hypertension (49%W;47%M), hypercholesterolemia (25%W;11%M), obesity (46%W;15%M) and physical inactivity (59%W;29%M). More men smoked (6%W;31%M). There was good agreement between the 10-year cardiovascular risk estimates whether or not cholesterol measurements were utilized for calculation (kappa -0.61). While 90% had a 10 year WHO/ISH CVD risk of less than 10%, approximately 2% of the population or 14,000 persons had a 10 year WHO/ISH CVD risk of ≥30%. As expected CVD risk increased with age but there was no sex difference in CVD risk distribution despite women having a greater risk factor burden. Women with low socioeconomic status had the most adverse CVD risk profile.
Despite women having a higher prevalence of CVD risk factors there was no sex difference in 10-year WHO/ISH CVD risk in Jamaican adults.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Slowing the diabetes epidemic in Africa requires improved detection of prediabetes. A1C, a form of glycated hemoglobin A, is recommended for diagnosing prediabetes. The glycated proteins, ...fructosamine and glycated albumin (GA), are hemoglobin-independent alternatives to A1C, but their efficacy in Africans is unknown. Our goals were to determine the ability of A1C, fructosamine, and GA to detect prediabetes in U.S.-based Africans and the value of combining A1C with either fructosamine or GA.
Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were performed in 217 self-identified healthy African immigrants (69% male, age 39 ± 10 years mean ± SD, BMI 27.6 ± 4.5 kg/m(2)). A1C, fructosamine, and GA were measured. Prediabetes was diagnosed by American Diabetes Association criteria for glucose obtained from a 2-h OGTT. The thresholds to diagnose prediabetes by A1C, fructosamine, and GA were the cutoff at the upper tertile for each variable: ≥5.7% (39 mmol/mol) (range 4.2-6.6% 22.4-48.6 mmol/mol), ≥230 µmol/L (range 161-269 µmol/L), and ≥13.35% (range 10.20-16.07%), respectively.
Prediabetes occurred in 34% (74 of 217). The diagnostic sensitivities of A1C, fructosamine, and GA were 50%, 41%, and 42%, respectively. The P values for comparison with A1C were both >0.3. Combining A1C with either fructosamine or GA increased sensitivities. However, the sensitivity of A1C combined with fructosamine was not better than for A1C alone (72% vs. 50%, P = 0.172). In contrast, the sensitivity of A1C combined with GA was higher than for A1C alone (78% vs. 50%, P < 0.001).
As individual tests, A1C, fructosamine, and GA detected ≤50% of Africans with prediabetes. However, combining A1C with GA made it possible to identify nearly 80% of Africans with prediabetes.
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