Biomedical subjects

Timothy McNeel

Publications and source records attributed to Timothy McNeel.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Active transportation increases adherence to activity recommendations.

BACKGROUND: Levels of physical activity (PA) contribute to health status and outcomes directly and indirectly via the effects of PA on obesity and other risk factors. Much past surveillance has focused on leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), but this may bias estimates of prevalence. This study explores inclusion of non-leisure-time walking and bicycling (NLTWB) used for transportation on the prevalence of adherence to PA recommendations and the magnitude of apparent disparities in adherence for California adults. METHODS: Results of the 2001 California Health Interview Survey, a large (n = 55,151) telephone survey were analyzed in 2005 using tabulation and logistic regression. RESULTS: Higher levels of LTPA were associated with youth, males, education, income, Pacific Islanders, and non-Hispanic (NH) whites. Inclusion of NLTWB reduced these differences for all five variables. The largest decreases in disparities in adherence occurred for race/ethnicity, education, and income, with decreases in adherence differences from approximately 18% to 7% for NH white vs Latino, approximately 27% to 16% for more than high school versus less than high school, and approximately 25% to 11% for more than 300% versus less than 100% of poverty level. Logistic regression comparing adherence gives similar results. For example, in respondents with more than high school education versus less than high school education (referent), the odds ratio changed from 2.23 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.0-2.4) to 1.7 (1.6-1.9) after the inclusion of NLTWB. CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of PA in multiple domains is required to understand differences in total levels of PA for people with different incomes, education levels, and racial/ethnic backgrounds. Inclusion of NLTWB reduces but does not eliminate disparities in adherence to recommended levels of PA.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Cancer screening and risk factor rates among American Indians.

OBJECTIVES: We examined cancer screening and risk factor patterns in California using 4 different statistical tabulations of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations. METHODS: We used the 2001 California Health Interview Survey to compare cancer screening and risk factor data across 4 different tabulation approaches. We calculated weighted prevalence estimates by gender and race/ethnicity for cancer screening and risk factors, sociodemographic characteristics, and access to care variables. We compared AIAN men and women with members of other racial groups and examined outcomes among AIAN men and women using the 4 tabulation methods. RESULTS: Although some differences were small, in general, screening and risk factor rates among American Indians/Alaska Natives were most similar to rates among Whites when the most inclusive multiracial tabulation approach was used and least similar when the more exclusive US census "single-race" approach was used. CONCLUSIONS: Racial misclassification and undercounting are among the most difficult obstacles to obtaining accurate and informative data on the AIAN population. Our analysis suggests some guidelines for overcoming these obstacles.

California↗

PubMed2005

Health behaviors of cancer survivors: examining opportunities for cancer control intervention.

PURPOSE: A population-based investigation was conducted to examine the prevalence of health behaviors (smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and cancer screening) of cancer survivors by age, time since diagnosis, and cancer site. Understanding health behaviors of survivors is imperative, as many survivors are living longer and are at risk for cancer recurrence, second cancers, and complications from treatment. METHODS: Using the National Health Interview Survey, this study examined the prevalence of smoking and alcohol use as well as whether cancer survivors (n = 7,384) are meeting current recommendations for physical activity and cancer screening compared with noncancer controls (n = 121,347). RESULTS: Cancer survivors are similar to controls with respect to smoking status and alcohol consumption after adjusting for group differences. However, younger survivors (18 to 40 years) are at greater risk for continued smoking than controls. Survivors are 9% more likely to meet physical activity recommendations compared with controls. chi2 tests indicate no significant differences in smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity by time since diagnosis, but differences by cancer site exist. Female cancer survivors are 34% and 36% more likely to meet mammogram and Papanicolaou smear screening recommendations, respectively, compared with controls. Similar screening patterns were found for prostate-specific antigen screening in men. CONCLUSION: This study provides benchmark approximations of the prevalence of risky health behaviors of survivors by time since diagnosis and cancer site. As part of the collective effort to reduce late effects of cancer treatment, oncologists may be in the best position to offer initial guidance for promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors among cancer survivors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Dietary intake estimates in the National Health Interview Survey, 2000: methodology, results, and interpretation.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the implementation of the Multifactor Screener in the 2000 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS); to provide intake estimates for fruits and vegetables, fiber, and percentage of energy from fat by various demographic and behavioral characteristics; and to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the method. DESIGN/SUBJECTS: The 2000 NHIS was conducted in 38,632 households in a clustered sample representative of the 48 contiguous states in the United States. The Cancer Control Module was administered to adults (18 years and older) and included 17 dietary intake questions. ANALYSES: After excluding individuals with missing data or unlikely values on the diet questions, we computed individual intake of servings of fruits and vegetables, percentage of energy from fat, and grams of fiber. We estimated median intakes and distributions of intakes using adjusted variance estimates. We present bivariate relationships between diet and demographics and diet and behavioral characteristics in almost 30,000 adults in the United States. RESULTS: In general, intakes of these dietary factors were closer to recommendations among well-educated individuals, those engaged in other healthful behaviors, and underweight and normal weight individuals. Latinos had higher intakes of fruits and vegetables (men: 6 servings; women: 4.8 servings) and fiber (men: 23 g; women: 17 g), and generally a lower percentage of energy intake from fat (men: 33.7%; women: 32.1%) than did non-Latino whites (men: 5.4 servings; women: 4.5 servings; men: 19 g; women: 14 g; men: 33.9%; women: 32.0%) and non-Latino blacks (men: 5.4 servings; women: 4.4 servings; men: 19 g; women: 13 g; men: 34.7%; women: 33.5%). The strengths and limitations of the short dietary assessment method are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: The Multifactor Screener in NHIS, when used in conjunction with external reference data, provides reasonable estimates for three dietary factors and suggests relationships between intakes and other characteristics that are consistent with other data. Thus, these NHIS estimates could provide useful national benchmarks for local surveys using the same instrument.

Adolescent↗