Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate how a 1-hour education session that highlights American Heart Association/American Diabetes Association's Know Diabetes by Heart (KDBH) messaging changed the knowledge and behavioural intention of participants. Design: Single group, quasi-experimental study evaluating the impact of the KDBH…

Background: The role of physical activity (PA) in mitigating fall risk among adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) is unclear. Purpose: We examined the associations of CVD-PA phenotypes with falls. Methods: Adults [greater than or equal to] 45 years (n = 295,282; N = 130,103,093) from the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System who…

Autistic individuals may be at risk of premature mortality, and physical health comorbidity increases this risk; however, most studies fail to include older autistic adults or consider lifestyle-related factors that affect health. We developed an anonymous, online physical health survey. The final sample included n = 2368 individuals (mean age =…

Poor physical health is common in people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI). Two-thirds of deaths in SMI could be avoided if patients are offered prompt physical health screening for known risk factors. We aimed to identify SMI patients registered at a General Practice and audit their care in relation to physical health monitoring. We included adult…

We know that responsive relationships and language-rich experiences for young children help build a strong foundation for later success in school. The rapidly advancing frontiers of 21st-century biological sciences now provide compelling evidence that the foundations of lifelong health are also built early, with increasing evidence of the…

Background: Due to significant medical improvements, persons with Down syndrome now live well into adulthood. Consequently, primary care for adults with Down syndrome needs to incorporate routine care with screening for condition-specific comorbidities. This study seeks to evaluate the adherence of primary care physicians to age- and…

The aim of this study was to describe the health status profile and identify the healthcare needs of adults with intellectual disability (ID) residing in 18 of Hong Kong's residential care facilities. The author employed a cross-sectional study using a structured questionnaire survey to collect data on 811 persons with ID (432 males, 53.3%, and…

This study provides an overview of the incidence of the communicable and non-communicable diseases in Pacific Island countries. Available health statistics confirms that children continue to die annually due to neonatal causes, diarrhoeal diseases, pneumonia and measles. The adult population in several countries reveals presence and emergence of…

Moffitt's developmental taxonomy of adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent offenders has received much empirical attention, with researchers focusing on the etiology and trajectory of offending between the two groups. Recently, Moffitt articulated a new hypothesis that has yet to be empirically assessed--that life-course-persistent…

Comparison of cardiovascular risk factors (blood lipids, obesity, and smoking) in 329 adults with mental retardation residing in various settings with subjects in the Framingham Offspring Study found that adults with mental retardation had cardiovascular risk profiles similar to those of individuals without mental retardation. (Author/DB)

This fact sheet on blood cholesterol examines the connection between cholesterol and heart disease, lists risk factors for heart disease that can and cannot be controlled, points out who can benefit from lowering blood cholesterol, distinguishes between blood and dietary cholesterol, describes low density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein…

A study interviewed caregivers and reviewed medical records of 278 adults with mental retardation with and without Down syndrome. The adults with mental retardation had age-related disorders comparable to those in the general population, but there was an increased frequency of thyroid disorders, nonischemic heart disorders, and sensory impairment.…

This paper presents epidemiologic evidence on the contributions of physical inactivity and reduced cardiorespiratory fitness to risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The types and dose of physical activity to reduce risk of CHD and plausible biologic mechanisms for the partial protective effect are reviewed. (Author/SM)

This booklet offers advice for adults who want to lower their blood cholesterol level. The first section, "What You Need To Know about High Blood Cholesterol," discusses blood cholesterol and why it matters, what cholesterol numbers mean, and what affects blood cholesterol levels. Section 2, "What You Need To Do To Lower Blood…

A study compared serum total cholesterol and blood pressure levels of participants in a voluntary national health screening with NHANES II estimates of the general U.S. population. Findings suggest the levels may not have decreased appreciably over 10 years; and continued national, state, and local behavior modification efforts are warranted. (SM)