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Importance: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) reflects past glucose concentrations, but this relationship may differ between those with sickle cell trait (SCT) and those without it.Objective: To evaluate the association between SCT and HbA1c for given levels of fasting or 2-hour glucose levels among African Americans.Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective cohort study using data collected from 7938 participants in 2 community-based cohorts, the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study and the Jackson Heart Study (JHS). From the CARDIA study, 2637 patients contributed a maximum of 2 visits (2005-2011); from the JHS, 5301 participants contributed a maximum of 3 visits (2000-2013). All visits were scheduled at approximately 5-year intervals. Participants without SCT data, those without any concurrent HbA1c and glucose measurements, and those with hemoglobin variants HbSS, HbCC, or HbAC were excluded. Analysis of the primary outcome was conducted using generalized estimating equations (GEE) to examine the association of SCT with HbA1c levels, controlling for fasting or 2-hour glucose measures.Exposures: Presence of SCT.Main Outcomes and Measures: Hemoglobin A1c stratified by the presence or absence of SCT was the primary outcome measure.Results: The analytic sample included 4620 participants (mean age, 52.3 [SD, 11.8] years; 2835 women [61.3%]; 367 [7.9%] with SCT) with 9062 concurrent measures of fasting glucose and HbA1c levels. In unadjusted GEE analyses, for a given fasting glucose, HbA1c values were statistically significantly lower in those with (5.72%) vs those without (6.01%) SCT (mean HbA1c difference, -0.29%; 95% CI, -0.35% to -0.23%). Findings were similar in models adjusted for key risk factors and in analyses using 2001 concurrent measures of 2-hour glucose and HbA1c concentration for those with SCT (mean, 5.35%) vs those without SCT (mean, 5.65%) for a mean HbA1c difference of -0.30% (95% CI, -0.39% to -0.21%). The HbA1c difference by SCT was greater at higher fasting (P = .02 for interaction) and 2-hour (P = .03) glucose concentrations. The prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes was statistically significantly lower among participants with SCT when defined using HbA1c values (29.2% vs 48.6% for prediabetes and 3.8% vs 7.3% for diabetes in 572 observations from participants with SCT and 6877 observations from participants without SCT; P<.001 for both comparisons).Conclusions and Relevance: Among African Americans from 2 large, well-established cohorts, participants with SCT had lower levels of HbA1c at any given concentration of fasting or 2-hour glucose compared with participants without SCT. These findings suggest that HbA1c may systematically underestimate past glycemia in black patients with SCT and may require further evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Incarceration history is associated with lower rates of condom use and increased HIV risk. Less is known about duration of incarceration and multiple incarcerations' impact on condom use post-release.Methods: In the current study, we surveyed 1,416 adults in Mississippi about their incarceration history and sexual risk behaviors. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to test associations between duration of incarceration, multiple incarcerations, socio-demographic factors, substance use, sexual behavior, and event level condom use at last sex.Results: After adjusting for covariates, having been incarcerated for at least 6 months two or more times remained significantly associated with condomless sex.Conclusions: This study found a strong, independent relationship between condom use and multiple, long-term incarceration events among patients in an urban STI clinic in the Deep South. The results suggest that duration of incarceration and multiple incarcerations have significant effects on sexual risk behaviors, underscoring the deleterious impact of long prison or jail sentences on population health. Our findings also suggest that correctional health care professionals and post-release providers might consider offering comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and those providing community care should consider screening for previous incarceration as a marker of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental incarceration is associated with mental and physical health problems in children, yet little research directly tests mechanisms through which parental incarceration could imperil child health. We hypothesized that the incarceration of a woman or her romantic partner in the year before birth constituted an additional hardship for already-disadvantaged women, and that these additionally vulnerable women were less likely to engage in positive perinatal health behaviors important to infant and early childhood development. We analyzed 2006-2010 data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System to assess the association between incarceration in the year prior to the birth of a child and perinatal maternal hardships and behaviors. Women reporting incarceration of themselves or their partners in the year before birth of a child had .86 the odds (95 % CI .78-.95) of beginning prenatal care in the first trimester compared to women not reporting incarceration. They were nearly twice as likely to report partner abuse and were significantly more likely to rely on WIC and/or Medicaid for assistance during pregnancy. These associations persist after controlling for socioeconomic measures and other stressors, including homelessness and job loss. Incarceration of a woman or her partner in the year before birth is associated with higher odds of maternal hardship and poorer perinatal health behaviors. The unprecedented scale of incarceration in the US simultaneously presents an underutilized public health opportunity and constitutes a social determinant of health that may contribute to disparities in early childhood development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Incarceration of a household member has been associated with adverse outcomes for child well-being. Methods. We assessed the association between childhood exposure to the incarceration of a household member and adult health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the 2009/2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System controlling for age, race/ethnicity, education, and additional adverse childhood experiences. Results. Adults who lived in childhood with an incarcerated household member had higher risk of poor HRQOL compared with adults who had not (adjusted relative risk [ARR] 1.18; 95% CI 1.07, 1.31). Among Black adults the association was strongest with the physical health component of HRQOL (ARR 1.58 [95% CI 1.18, 2.12]); among White adults, the association was strongest with the mental health component of HRQOL (ARR 1.29, [95% CI 1.07-1.54]). Conclusions. Living with an incarcerated household member during childhood is associated with higher risk of poor HRQOL during adulthood, suggesting that the collateral damages of incarceration for children are long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on using the breast cancer diagnostic and screening tool mammography among women in the U.S. It describes how the study was conducted in 42- to 80-year-old women, and discusses the use of the data-mining technique Classification Tree Analysis (CTA) from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) dataset. It also cites the impact of the Affordable Care act on the accessibility of health providers and insurance.

Disparities in incarceration rates and in prison-based TB/HIV testing may contribute to health disparities in the communities most affected by incarceration. We analyzed Bureau of Justice Statistics surveys of federal and state prison inmates to assess TB and HIV screening rates for US-born Hispanics, foreign-born Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks, and non-Hispanic whites. Screening rates were high overall but foreign-born Hispanic inmates had significantly lower odds of being tested for TB in both state (AOR 0.55) and federal prisons (AOR 0.31) compared to white inmates. Foreign-born Hispanics also had lower odds of being tested for HIV in state prisons and Hispanics had lower odds of being tested for HIV in federal prisons compared to white inmates. Screening for infectious diseases in state and federal prisons is high but Hispanics have higher odds of going untested; this has important consequences for prevention of further transmission in the communities to which they return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]