Student Abstracts
2017 STEP-UP Students:
Alexander S. Wesley
ABSTRACT
Overall health is often linked with the socioeconomic status of an individual. To combat this problem and to increase the overall health of low-socioeconomic groups, the Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health (SBDOH) workgroup created the One Degree Program. One Degree offers a free and accessible way in which patients of all levels of income can receive help with access to medical, legal, financial, housing, food, and everyday family needs. In addition to resources, One Degree was created to address one of the main challenges to SBDOH, which is staffing. Through an electronic screening across different clinical settings, One Degree can improve patient health while decreasing the need for direct patient screening. This easily accessible website allows for patients to be screened electronically (similar to Apples’ Siri technology) to access a wide variety of resources through the convenience of their handheld devices. In addition to expanding One Degrees’ resources, the program allows health care organizations to add information to customize the medical resources available to their patients while limiting staff time to locate these resources. Finally, the program allows patients to create, “Health Plans,” which further promote their SBDOH and contribute to an increase in overall health.
Accessible medical care is a necessity that often is unavailable to poor individuals who lack the quality of care necessary for a healthy life. The One Degree program hopes to fill this gap by connecting at risk people with free and or affordable care and resources.
Key Words: Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health (SBDOH), One Degree, socioeconomic status.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The STEP-UP HS program is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, Grant number: 2R25DK078382-12
Nadia Selby
ABSTRACT
Research indicates promotion of pod-based electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) on social media may increase use by underage persons. Consequently, efforts have been made to restrict the use of these platforms to advertise to adolescents. However, the efficacy of such efforts has not been adequately assessed. This study investigates whether social media mentions (i.e., instances of a keyword appearing) decreased after JUUL closed its social media accounts in November 2017.
This study reviews literature relevant to social media featuring prominent pod-based e-cigarettes JUUL, PHIX, Suorin, and MyBlu. Pubmed was queried using the following search terms: (Pod-based e-cigarettes or JUUL or PHIX or Suorin or MyBlu) AND (social media or Facebook or Twitter) from June 1, 2015, to June 1, 2019. Of the initial articles identified, those that included information on social media use trends, number of followers of company-owned accounts, or number of social media mentions were summarized in a narrative review. The social media monitoring site Mention (https://mention.com/en/) was used to ascertain the number of mentions of JUUL, PHIX, Suorin, and MyBlu on Facebook and Twitter between the dates June 1, 2015, and June 1, 2019. A statistical comparison of mentions before and after November 2017 was conducted.
Results will demonstrate whether restriction of company-owned social media platforms results in reduced social media mentions. This study will also provide insight into the exposure of adolescents to social media featuring pod based e-cigarettes. Such insights may be used to inform future policy aimed at limiting underage use.
Key Words: Electronic cigarettes, social media, adolescents, JUUL, Twitter
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The STEP-UP HS program is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, Grant number: 2R25DK078382-12
Jayden Capella
ABSTRACT
Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease where the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone needed to control blood glucose levels. While there is no cure, research shows we may improve glycemic control in individuals with T1D through a balanced diet including fruits, vegetables and an adequate intake of carbohydrates. Food security is defined as, access to enough adequately nutritious foods to promote an “active, healthy life.” Food insecurity occurs when there is uncertain availability of affordable, nutritious food.
Most research on food security and diabetes has focused on the Type 2 Diabetes population. We are therefore proposing a more novel topical focus on T1D, with these research questions; what proportion of T1D patients seen at the USF Diabetes and Endocrinology Center have experienced food insecurity in the last twelve months? Is there a significant difference in glycemic control (measured by Hemoglobin A1C [HbA1c]) between T1D patients living in food secure versus food insecure households?
To examine the research questions, we are using the USDA Household Food Security Survey Module (18 item). We built the survey in RedCap and will distribute it to all USF T1D patients via email. Surveys will be scored to determine household food security status. Descriptive statistics will be used to d define the T1D patient population.
These data will inform quality improvement projects to be implemented by the USF clinic team, to tailor nutrition and dietary education to patients’ means and connect T1D patients with community resources to address food insecurity.
Key Words: Type 1 Diabetes, glycemic control, food insecurity
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The STEP-UP HS program is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, Grant number: 2R25DK078382-12
Adrian Stefan
ABSTRACT
Excessive television (TV) watching may be a marker of a sedentary lifestyle which in turn may lead to health problems including cognitive disorders. Thus, we investigated the relationship between TV watching time and cognitive function. We hypothesize that there is an association between the number of hours of TV watching and cognitive function in a sample of cognitively unimpaired individuals.
We conducted a cross-sectional study derived from the Arizona APOE Cohort study. The participants completed a survey which assessed frequency of TV watching. The sample consisted of 150 cognitively unimpaired participants (75.3% female). The median (IQR) age was 72.0 (67.0, 77.0) years. The frequency of television watching was converted into a TV score, which ranged from 1 (> 8 hours of TV/day) to 6 (< 1 hour of TV/day), where a higher TV score is indicative of watching less TV. The mean (SD) TV score was 4.4 (±1.0). We conducted a general linear regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, education and APOE e4 status. We observed a positive association between a higher TV score and Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) total learning (a measure of episodic memory). Each 1-point increase in TV score is associated with an increase of total learning AVLT score by 2.064 (p=0.0119).
These preliminary findings suggest that less TV watching is associated with an increase in the total learning scores of the RAVLT. However, this cross-sectional observation needs to be confirmed by a cohort study.
Key words: Television, Cognitively Unimpaired, Episodic Memory
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The STEP-UP HS program is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, Grant number: 2R25DK078382-12
Ryan Kennedy
ABSTRACT
Neuromuscular diseases constitute the majority of genetic disorders that affect skeletal muscle function. Myofibrillar myopathy (MFM) is a form of neuromuscular disorder characterized by muscle weakness and limited mobility. MFM is clinically and genetically heterogeneous and can have disease onset in patients from childhood to late adulthood. Mutations in 17 known genes create symptoms associated with MFM. While the exact biological progression of MFM is not entirely clear, z-disc disorganization in affected muscles is a common disease pathology among the different forms of MFM—causing structural defects and thereby function deficits in skeletal muscle. MFM is usually progressive and can affect skeletal and cardiac muscles. There are currently no treatments for MFM, due to a lack of understanding of the disease on a molecular level. Clinical studies are increasingly reporting novel mutations in MFM causing genes; however, the mechanism of these variants on skeletal muscle structure and function is unclear. We propose to model common MFM variants in cell culture and in vivo zebrafish models to observe their effects on sarcomere function and development. This approach allows for greater understanding of the in vivo impact of MFM causing mutations, as zebrafish exhibit a high genomic conservation and similar muscle composition to humans. An understanding of the disease mechanism is critical for the development of specific treatments. Thus, clarification of the mechanisms of MFM variants on mutant protein function in skeletal muscles will help establish suitable therapies for pre-clinical evaluation.
Key terms: Muscular Dystrophy- a genetic condition that causes progressive weakness of the muscles Myofibrillar Myopathy-a genetic condition that weakens patients' skeletal muscles Z-Discs-lines that define the edges of sarcomeres; anchor down the actin filaments Myofibrillar disorganization-structural changes in the myofibrils, leading to reduced force generation in affected muscles.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The STEP-UP HS program is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, Grant number: 2R25DK078382-12