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Background Few studies have investigated the consequences of caregiving on the objectively measured physiological health outcomes in China. This study used population-based longitudinal data to examine the association between parental caregiving and blood pressure among Chinese women. Method This is a retrospective analysis of 2586 women using five waves of data from the Ever-Married Women Survey component of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2011). We applied growth curve models to examine trajectories of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) associated with parental caregiving among women in China. Results In multivariable analyses of blood pressure trajectories adjusting for potential confounders, parental caregivers had higher systolic (β-coefficient (β) = 1.16; p ≤ 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (β = 0.75; p ≤ 0.01) compared with non-caregivers across multiple waves. Caregivers and non-caregivers had similar levels of systolic blood pressure at baseline, but caregivers exhibited relatively higher growth rate over time. Diastolic blood pressure was much higher among caregivers at the baseline measure, and across time relative to non-caregivers. Moreover, low-intensity but not high-intensity caregivers showed higher growth rate compared with non-caregivers for both SBP and DBP. Discussion Our results demonstrate the negative cardiovascular consequences of parental caregiving among Chinese women. Findings from the study can be used to develop future stress management interventions to decrease hypertension risk within women who provide care to their parents.

Scholars discussed how systemic racism in the United States has made historically marginalized communities more vulnerable to coronavirus

Purpose This study aimed to examine whether the timing of depression onset relative to age at sexual debut is associated with teenage pregnancy. Methods Using data from 1,025 adolescent girls who reported having had sex in the National Comorbidity Survey—Adolescent Supplement, we applied cox proportional hazards models to test whether depression onset before first sex, at the same age as first sex, or after first sex compared with no depression onset was associated with experiencing a first teenage pregnancy. We examined the unadjusted risk by depression status as well as risk adjusted for adolescents' race/ethnicity, marital status, poverty level, whether the adolescent lived in a metropolitan area, living status, age at first sex, parental education, and age of mother when the adolescent was born. Results In both unadjusted and adjusted models, we found that adolescents with depression onset at the same age as having initiated sex were at an increased risk of experiencing a teenage pregnancy (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 2.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08–5.96; adjusted HR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.15–6.34) compared with those with no depression onset. Moreover, compared with those with no depression onset, the risk of pregnancy for girls experiencing depression onset before first sex also increased but was not significant (adjusted HR = 1.5, 95% CI: .82–2.76). Conclusions Timing of first depressive episode relative to age at first sexual intercourse plays a critical role in determining the risk of teenage pregnancy. Timely diagnosis and treatment of depression may not only help adolescents' mental well-being but may also help them prevent teenage pregnancy.

Police departments across the country are reporting a spike in domestic violence cases as stay-at-home orders put victims and their abusers in constant proximity.

Erich Battistin examines a relatively understudied early-childhood intervention for low birth-weight infants using new policy parameter

Long Doan along with Faculty Associates Liana Sayer, Sociology, and Jessica Fish, Family Science, will examine the social impacts of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic.

The tools we have to understand what is happening to the economy are becoming distorted or harder to interpret.

This year’s crabbing season is fraught with difficult choices for the nearly all-foreign-women workers during the pandemic hit

Introduction Accountable care organizations have been successful in improving quality of care, but little is known about who is benefiting from accountable care organizations and through what mechanism. This study examined variation of potentially preventable hospitalizations for chronic conditions with coexisting depression in adults by hospital accountable care organization affiliation and care coordination strategies by race/ethnicity. Methods Data  files of 11 states from 2015 State Inpatient Databases were used to identify potentially preventable hospitalizations for chronic conditions with coexisting depression by race/ethnicity; the 2015 American Hospital Association's Annual Survey was used to identify hospital accountable care organization affiliation; and American Hospital Association's Survey of Care Systems and Payment (collected from January to August 2016) was used to identify hospital Accountable care organizations affiliation and hospital-based care coordination strategies, such as telephonic outreach, and chronic care management. In 2019, multiple logistic regressions was used to test the probability of potentially preventable hospitalization by accountable care organization affiliation and race/ethnicity. The test was repeated on a subsample analysis of accountable care organization–affiliated hospitals by care coordination strategy. Results Preventable hospitalizations were significantly lower among accountable care organization–affiliated hospitals than accountable care organization–unaffiliated hospitals. Lower preventable hospitalization rates were observed among white, African American, Native American, and Hispanic patients. Effective care coordination strategies varied by patients’ race. Results also showed variation of the adoption of specific care coordination strategies among accountable care organization–affiliated hospitals. Analysis further indicated effective care coordination strategies varied by patients’ race. Conclusions Accountable care organizations and specifically designed care coordination strategies can potentially improve preventable hospitalization rates and racial disparities among patients with depression. Findings support the integration of mental and physical health services and provide insights for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services risk adjustment efforts across race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Experts believe the COVID-19 pandemic will not result in a rise in the American birthrate