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Biomedical subjects

Elizabeth Goodman

Publications and source records attributed to Elizabeth Goodman.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Impact of objective and subjective social status on obesity in a biracial cohort of adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the associations between socioeconomic status (SES), two levels of subjective social status (SSS), and adolescent obesity. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Cross-sectional study of 1491 black and white adolescents attending public school in a suburban school district in Greater Cincinnati, Ohio. BMI > or =95th percentile derived from measured height and weight defined overweight. Students rated SSS on separate 10-point scales for society and school. A parent provided information on parent education and household income for SES. RESULTS: Although there were no sex differences in SES, black students were more likely to come from families with less well-educated parents and lower incomes (p < 0.001). Black girls had the lowest societal SSS (p = 0.003), lowest school SSS (p = 0.046), and highest BMI (p < 0.001). Prevalence of overweight was highest among black girls (26.0%) and boys (26.2%), intermediate for white boys (17.2%), and least for white girls (11.6%). Logistic regression modeling revealed that parent education, household income, and school SSS were each associated with overweight. In a fully adjusted model, school SSS retained its association to overweight (odds ratio, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.06,1.26) independent of SES. The association of school SSS was strongest among white girls, intermediate for white and black boys, and absent for black girls. DISCUSSION: Perceptions of social stratification are independently associated with overweight. There were important racial and sex differences in the social status-overweight association. SSS in the more immediate, local reference group, the school, had the strongest association to overweight.

Adolescent↗

A multilevel analysis of the relation of socioeconomic status to adolescent depressive symptoms: does school context matter?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the socioeconomic context of the school environment is associated with adolescent depressive symptoms independent of individual household income. Study design Data were drawn from a 1995 nationally representative study of 7th to 12th grade students. Multivariable linear regression at the school and individual levels assessed the relation between income and depressive symptoms. Multilevel modeling techniques were then used to understand how these factors are jointly associated with adolescent depressive symptoms. PARTICIPANTS: Adolescents (n=13,235) in grades 7 through 12 from 132 schools whose parent provided income information. RESULTS: Linear regression analyses indicated that lower household income, average school income, and increasing school-level income inequality were significantly (P<.001) associated with depressive symptoms. Further examination of these relations through multilevel modeling indicated that both household income (P<.01) and average school income (P<.05) were significantly related to depressive symptoms after adjusting for covariates, with evidence for an interaction between the two. The impact of lower household income on depressive symptoms was approximately 2-fold greater for students attending a poor versus a rich school. CONCLUSIONS: School context is associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms, even after adjusting for individual-level factors. The school environment may partially buffer the adverse influence of lower household income on adolescent depressive symptoms.

Adolescent↗

The public health impact of socioeconomic status on adolescent depression and obesity.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the public health impact of the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient on adolescents' physical and mental health. METHODS: Population attributable risk (PAR) for household income and parental education were calculated relative to depression and obesity among a nationally representative sample of 15,112 adolescents. RESULTS: PARs for income and education were large. Across each gender and race/ethnicity group, the PAR for education tended to exceed that for income. For depression, the adjusted PAR for income was 26%, and the PAR for education was 40%; for obesity, the adjusted PAR for income was 32%, and the PAR for education was 39%. CONCLUSIONS: SES is associated with a large proportion of the disease burden within the total population.

Adolescent↗

Socioeconomic status, depressive symptoms, and adolescent substance use.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationships among socioeconomic status (SES), depression, and substance use among teenagers. We hypothesized that, among teenagers, substance use was associated with SES in a graded fashion and that depression is a mechanism through which SES affects substance use behaviors. DESIGN: Linear regression analyses of cross-sectional data from Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1995). PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen thousand one hundred twelve adolescents whose parents answered questions assessing household income and parental education. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine. RESULTS: For all 4 substances, frequency of use varied by SES. In the total population, inverse SES gradients were present for cigarette use (education, mean change= -0.052; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.081 to -0.023; income, mean change= -0.038; 95% CI, -0.069 to -0.007) and alcohol use (income, mean change= 0.044; 95% CI, 0.016-0.071). The relationship between marijuana use and education was also significant but inverse-U-shaped, not linear. This relationship was only present among nonwhite teenagers. Race/ethnicity also moderated the relationships between SES and cigarette use and SES and cocaine use. For cigarette use, stratification by race/ethnicity revealed an inverse graded relationship among white non-Hispanic teenagers and a direct, graded relationship among nonwhite teenagers (ie, mean change for education among white non-Hispanic teenagers, -0.012; 95% CI, -0.016 to -0.075; mean change for education among nonwhite teenagers, 0.040; 95% CI, 0.014-0.072). For cocaine use, a weak, inverse linear relationship existed only between education and cocaine use among white non-Hispanic teenagers (mean change for education, -0.013; 95% CI, -0.026 to -0.0004). The relationship between the SES indicator and substance use weakened when depressive symptoms were entered into the model for the SES-cigarette use relationship (23% decrease in mean change associated with a 1-unit change in both education and income) and for the association between education and cocaine use among white non-Hispanic teenagers (31% decrease). CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic status is associated with substance use among teenagers but the nature of the relationship is not consistent across SES indicators or across race/ethnicity groups. Depressive symptoms are a mechanism through which SES affects cigarette and cocaine use behaviors among teenagers. However, these data indicate that interventions targeted toward decreasing depressive symptoms will not have a strong impact on the effects of SES on teenage substance use.

Adolescent↗

Physiologic regulators of bone turnover in young women with anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the role of physiologic regulators of bone turnover in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). STUDY DESIGN: Adolescent girls with AN (n = 61) had anthropometric, nutrition, and exercise data acquired, and bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Serum samples were obtained for hormones, proresorptive cytokines, and bone formation markers, and urine for bone resorption markers. RESULTS: In bivariate correlation analyses, significant (P <.05) predictors of lumbar BMD included height, weight, and exercise. In multiple regression models, these significant relationships held, even after controlling for the duration of amenorrhea and AN. For total body BMD, the same positive predictors were found and percentage of body fat was a negative correlate. For hip BMD, exercise and weight were found to be positive predictors. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) was inversely correlated with N-telopeptides (NTx), and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) was directly correlated with osteocalcin. Proresorptive cytokine levels were low or undetectable. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise and weight were positive predictors of BMD. These data are the first to suggest a relationship between DHEAS and increased bone resorption in AN. IGF-I was correlated with bone formation indices. Low cytokine levels suggest that these factors do not mediate the increased bone resorption of AN.

Adolescent↗

Effects of oral dehydroepiandrosterone on bone density in young women with anorexia nervosa: a randomized trial.

Young women with anorexia nervosa (AN) have subnormal levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and estrogen that may be mechanistically linked to the bone loss seen in this disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a 1-yr course of oral DHEA treatment vs. conventional hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) in young women with AN. Sixty-one young women were randomly assigned to receive oral DHEA (50 mg/d) or HRT (20 micro g ethinyl estradiol/0.1 mg levonorgestrel). Anthropometric, nutrition, and exercise data were acquired every 3 months, and bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition were measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) every 6 months over 1 yr. Serum samples were obtained for measurements of hormones, proresorptive cytokines, and bone formation markers, and urine was collected for determinations of bone resorption markers at each visit. In initial analyses, total hip BMD increased significantly and similarly (+1.7%) in both groups. Hip BMD increases were positively correlated with increases in IGF-I (r = 0.44; P = 0.030) and the bone formation marker, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase increased significantly only in the DHEA treatment group (P = 0.003). However, both groups gained significant amounts of weight over the year of therapy, and after controlling for weight gain, no treatment effect was detectable. There was no significant change in lumbar BMD in either group. Both bone formation markers, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin, increased transiently at 6-9 months in those subjects receiving DHEA compared with the estrogen-treated group (P < 0.05). Both DHEA and HRT significantly reduced levels of the bone resorption markers, urinary N-telopeptides (P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between changes in IGF-I and changes in weight, body fat determined by DXA, and estradiol for both groups. In addition, patients receiving DHEA exhibited improvement on three validated psychological instruments (Eating Attitudes Test, Anorexia Nervosa Subtest, and Spielberger Anxiety Inventory). Both DHEA and HRT had similar effects on hip and spinal BMD. Over the year of treatment, maintenance of both hip and spinal BMD was seen, but there was no significant increase after accounting for weight gain. Compared with HRT, DHEA appeared to have anabolic effects, evidenced by the positive correlation between increases in hip DXA measurements and IGF-I and significant increases in bone formation markers. Both therapies significantly decreased bone resorption. Replicating results from studies of the elderly, DHEA resulted in improvements in specific psychological parameters in these young women.

Adipose Tissue↗

A prospective study of the role of depression in the development and persistence of adolescent obesity.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent obesity is a strong predictor of adult obesity, and adult obesity has been associated with depression, especially in women. Studies have also suggested an association between depression in adolescence and higher body mass index (BMI) in adulthood. Whether depression leads to obesity or obesity causes depression is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To determine in longitudinal analyses whether depressed mood predicts the development and persistence of obesity in adolescents. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 9374 adolescents in grades 7 through 12 who completed in-home interviews for the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Assessments were made at baseline (1995) and at follow-up 1 year later. Depressed mood was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. BMI (kg/m2) was calculated from self-reported height and weight. BMI percentiles and z scores were computed using the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts. Obesity was defined as BMI > or =95th percentile, overweight as BMI > or =85th percentile and <95th percentile, and normal weight as BMI <85th percentile. A parental respondent gave information on household income, parental education, and parental obesity. RESULTS: At baseline, 12.9% were overweight, 9.7% were obese, and 8.8% had depressed mood. Baseline depression was not significantly correlated with baseline obesity. Among the 9.7% who were obese at follow-up, 79.6% were obese at baseline, 18.6% were overweight at baseline, and 1.8% were normal weight at baseline. Having depressed mood at baseline independently predicted obesity at follow-up (odds ratio: 2.05; 95% confidence interval: 1.18, 3.56) after controlling for BMI z score at baseline, age, race, gender, parental obesity, number of parents in the home, and family socioeconomic status. This finding persisted after controlling further for the adolescents' report of smoking, self-esteem, delinquent behavior (conduct disorder), and physical activity. After controlling for all these same factors, depressed mood at baseline also predicted obesity at follow-up among those not obese at baseline (odds ratio: 2.05; 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 4.06) and follow-up BMI z score among those obese at baseline (beta = 0.11; standard error beta = 0.05). In contrast, baseline obesity did not predict follow-up depression. CONCLUSIONS: Depressed adolescents are at increased risk for the development and persistence of obesity during adolescence. Understanding the shared biological and social determinants linking depressed mood and obesity may inform the prevention and treatment of both disorders.

Adolescent↗

Social inequalities in biomarkers of cardiovascular risk in adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: Cardiovascular disease, which begins early in life but often is not manifest until adulthood, is the nation's leading cause of mortality. Social inequalities in cardiovascular disease are pervasive, yet the process by which they accrue is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to explore the associations between socioeconomic status, a range of biomarkers reflective of cardiovascular risks, and a cumulative physiological risk score among adolescents. METHODS: Non-Hispanic black and white high school students (N = 758) in a suburban Midwestern public school district had a physical examination to measure height, weight, and waist circumference and a fasting morning blood sample drawn to assess cortisol, insulin, glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, fibrinogen, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides. A cumulative risk score was created from these physiological measures and waist circumference. Information on parent education and household income was obtained from a parent in a separate survey. Generalized estimating equation models were used to assess the association of parent education to the risks and the cumulative risk score adjusting for age, gender, and race. RESULTS: Lower parent education was associated with higher insulin, higher glucose, greater insulin resistance, higher LDL cholesterol, lower HDL cholesterol, higher waist circumference, and higher body mass index (p <.05 for all), but not cortisol, fibrinogen, glycosylated hemoglobin, or triglycerides in adjusted analyses. Cumulative risk scores ranged from 0 to 7 and were highly skewed; the median risk score was 1. A total of 7.4% had risk scores of 4 or more. Lower parent education was also associated with higher cumulative risk score (p <.001) and this association was maintained after adjustment for body mass index. Risk scores were highest, on average, among those with insulin levels greater than 1 standard deviation above the mean (mean risk score = 3.2, standard error = 0.18, median = 3). CONCLUSION: Lower parent education is associated with multiple metabolic risks and cumulative risk in adolescents, suggesting that there is a strong intergenerational transfer of education's influence on cardiovascular health. Our data imply that regulation of insulin may be a key factor underlying the influence of lower parent education on cardiovascular health early in the life course.

Adolescent↗