Background: While observational studies have established a connection between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and heightened risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD), the causal relationships are not well-defined. This study is designed to examine the causality between ASD, ADHD, and CVD risk as well…

Background: Personal Health literacy (PHL) is essential in cardiovascular risk management. Hindrances in PHL can lead to poor cardiovascular outcomes. Purpose: To investigate whether limited PHL is associated with lower likelihoods of i) overall cardiovascular health and ii) individual cardiovascular health components as defined by the American…

Background: Affective associations have been shown to predict physical activity, but interventions designed to manipulate affective associations are limited. Purpose: To increase physical activity through manipulation of affective associations toward physical activity using the values component from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in…

Objective: Racial/ethnic minorities experience disproportionately greater risk to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This study examined racial/ethnic discrimination--as a psychosocial stressor--in a path model and its associations with CVD health risk factors among undergraduate students of color (SoC). Participants: The sample included 404 SoC…

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors, physical fitness, and coronary risk factors in university students. 320 male and female (nm: 171; nf: 149, respectively) students from a university participated in this study voluntarily. For the determination of body composition and Body Mass…

Introduction: Children and young adults with Down syndrome can demonstrate increased behavior problems compared to their typically developing peers through childhood and adolescence. This study aims to: (1) identify common patterns of behaviors in children and young adults with Down syndrome and (2) assess potential medical comorbidities that…

The theory of social gradient in health posits that individuals with lower socioeconomic status (SES) have poorer health outcomes, compared with those in higher socioeconomic brackets. Applied to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), this theory has largely been corroborated by studies from the West. However, evidence from sub-Saharan Africa are mixed,…

Hostility may be related to risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), such as blood pressure. However, the process by which hostility affects blood pressure is not fully understood. The current study sought to evaluate abdominal obesity (waist-to-hip ratio [WHR]) as a potential mediator and modifier of the relationship between cynical…

Presents a short biography of one of the winners of the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. The 2012 winner is Angela J. Grippo for her creative contributions in investigating the association between depression and cardiovascular disease in preclinical animal models.…

Objective: To examine gender differences in the association between beliefs in heart disease preventability and 10-year incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a population-based sample. Methods: A total of 2,688 Noninstitutionalized Nova Scotians without prior CHD enrolled in the Nova Scotia Health Study (NSHS95) and were followed for 10…

Introduction: Disparities in cardiovascular diseases are one of today's most important public health challenges. Pathological processes related to modifiable cardiovascular risk factors have shown to begin in childhood and disparities in these risk factors have been reported in adolescence. Food insecurity is significantly associated with…

The purpose of this study was to determine if body composition and blood pressure (BP), two markers for Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), were correlated in college football players. Height, weight, BMI, systolic (SBP) and Diastolic (DBP) blood pressure and body composition (three measures) were assessed in a Division IAA football team (N = 55). Data…

Context/Purpose: Most rural hospitals can provide medical care to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients, but a need for advanced cardiac care requires timely transfer to a tertiary hospital. There is little information on AMI in-hospital mortality predictors among rural transfer patients. Methods: Cross-sectional retrospective analyses on…

Background: Although the prevalence of obesity is increasing during adulthood, there have been few assessments of obesity, cardiovascular risk factors, and levels of physical activity among adult elementary school staff. Methods: Data were collected from 745 African-American and White female school personnel in a suburban school district in…

Background: Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States, yet a comprehensive and evidence-based heart disease knowledge assessment is currently not available. Purpose: This paper describes the two-phase development of a novel heart disease knowledge questionnaire. Methods: After review and critique of the…