Objective: To describe associations between self-reported general health status, chronic conditions, and use of supplements containing botanicals (SCB) and describe reasons for use among U.S. adult supplement users.
Design: Cross-sectional analysis using data from the 2009-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Information on self-reported dietary supplement use and...
Introduction: For people with bleeding disorders pain is often a daily challenge. Despite many advancements to the standard of care in recent decades, including more effective treatments, and more effective medication schedules, pain remains highly prevalent in people with bleeding disorders: existing pain treatment practices have not adequately addressed pain...
As life expectancy continues to rise, adults over 65 are one of the fastest-growing age groups in the United States. As we have made significant strides in mitigating disease, we now have to consider health states that lead to disablement and the inability to age-in-place, including falls, frailty, functional mobility,...
Childhood obesity and food insecurity are public health issues that often coexist, and both conditions are more prevalent among rural compared to non-rural populations. Social ecological prevention efforts are recommended, yet limited research has examined how rural family-home environments may influence obesity-preventing and -promoting behaviors. The purpose of this dissertation...
Immune system development during prenatal and early-life periods are essential for healthy development. Environmental and nutritional factors during these periods have strong influences on immune development and can have impacts on disease susceptibility for an individual throughout adulthood. Globally, hundreds of millions of people experience elevated environmental exposure to arsenic,...
Lead is a ubiquitous environmental toxin known to cause neurological deficits in children. There is no biological need for lead and no safe level of lead in the body has ever been identified. Despite dramatic decline in mean blood lead levels nationwide since the U.S. EPA’s ban on lead-based paint...
The coronavirus pandemic and its associated public health response resulted in disruptions in daily life as well as financial and other insecurities. This corresponded with an increase in adverse mental health outcomes in adolescents in the United States, including a temporary increase in suicidal ideation and behaviors. The pandemic also...
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are complex mixtures that form when organic matter is burned. Humans are primarily exposed to PAHs via air pollution from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass, such a motor vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke, wood smoke, or industrial emissions; or via ingestion of PAHs bound to...
Use of the Internet for health information has been gaining popularity, and some studies suggest an increase in the use of online interactive peer-to-peer forums for seeking health information. Internet health information-seeking is especially popular among those with stigmatized conditions such as obesity, and negative healthcare experiences have been linked...
Bangladesh is a developing country with burdens of environmental pollution and disparities in maternal and child health. Arsenic, manganese, and lead are pervasive environmental contaminants throughout Bangladesh with major exposures through drinking water and ambient pollution. Chronic exposures to arsenic, manganese, and lead in sensitive populations such as pregnant women,...