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Embargoed Access AJPH January 2020 Issue

sarah Jonas

EMBARGOED: See study titles for embargo release dates

Contact: Arnice Cottom, mediarelations@apha.org, 202-777-3913 

American Journal of Public Health January issue research highlights:

STUDY EMBARGOED UNTIL THURSDAY, NOV. 14, 4 P.M. ET: Diaper banks not meeting need of poor families 

U.S. diaper banks are not reaching enough poor families who may need them, a study in the January issue of APHA’s American Journal of Public Health finds. 

Researchers examined surveys between January and March 2017 from the National Diaper Bank Network, a nonprofit organization that provides leadership for more than 300 groups that provide diapers for people in need around the country. The goal was to determine how many children ages 4 and younger who lived in families at or below 200% of the federal poverty level received diapers from the bank network. 

They found that the percent of children in need who received free diapers from the network was low, coming in between 0% and 16% per state. In Arizona, for example, of 201,000 children matching the demographic protocol, fewer than 2,700 received diapers from an organization in the network. In Montana, North Dakota and Hawaii, no children received diapers from a network bank, the study found. 

Children are at risk of urinary infections and skin irritation when diapers are not regularly changed, the study said. Children’s concentration levels during pre-school education and parents’ work productivity can also be compromised. 

The researchers called for policies at the federal, state and municipal levels to expand diaper banks and make them more accessible to families in need. 

[Author Contact: Kelley E.C. Massengale, PhD, MPH, National Diaper Bank Network, “Diaper need met among low-income US children younger than 4 years in 2016]

  

STUDY EMBARGOED UNTIL THURSDAY, NOV. 14, 4 P.M. ET: Fentanyl-associated overdoses more prevalent in disadvantaged communities 

Drug-related deaths that involve fentanyl are more common in low-income neighborhoods, a study in the January issue of AJPH finds. 

Researchers examined records of fatal drug overdoses at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in the Chicago area from 2014 to 2018. They identified 1,433 fentanyl-involved overdoses and 1,838 overdoses that did not involve fentanyl.

When the deaths were categorized by ZIP code, low-income neighborhoods tended to have more fentanyl-involved overdoses. Such overdoses were more likely among males, blacks and Hispanics and younger people. 

Originally approved to treat severe pain, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid. As it is inexpensive, it is often mixed with heroin, enabling illicit drug dealers to make a higher profit, the researchers said. Fentanyl is also mixed with cocaine, Oxycontin, Xanax and other drugs. 

Drugs sold in low-income neighborhoods tend to be cheaply made and many times laced with fentanyl, researchers said, greatly increasing the possibility of overdose. The problem is similar to the socio-economic split between cocaine and crack in the 1980s, when the latter inexpensive drug devastated disadvantaged communities, the researchers noted. 

Neighborhood risk factors may be reduced through public health programs, such as those that improve infrastructure, community development and local health care, researchers said. 

“Future research should explore modifiable aspects of neighborhood deprivation that can be used to create actionable policy and interventions for prevention of fentanyl-involved overdoses,” the study authors said. 

[Author Contact: Elizabeth D. Nesoff, PhD, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, “The Geographic distribution of fentanyl-involved overdose deaths in Cook County, Illinois] 

 

STUDY EMBARGOED UNTIL THURSDAY, NOV. 21, 4 P.M. ET: Over-the-counter dietary medicines linked to eating disorders in women

Young women who use over-the-counter medicines to control weight are at risk for eating disorders, a study in the January issue of APHA’s AJPH finds. 

Researchers examined results of the U.S. Grow Up Today Study from 2001 to 2016, focusing on young women ages 14 to 36 who used diet-control medicines that were sold without a prescription. Over 10,000 participants were identified as using diet pills, and over 40,000 were identified as using laxatives. The researchers wanted to find out how many of the medicine users developed or had an eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. 

The study found that women using diet pills were at least five times more likely than other women in their age group to receive an eating disorder diagnosis within one to three years. Women using laxatives were at least six times more likely to receive a diagnosis. 

Over-the-counter dietary medicines are not recommended for healthy weight control and may contribute to behavioral, physiological and psychological issues that lead to unhealthy eating habits, the researchers said.

“Public health professionals, policymakers and community advocates should pursue remedies to reduce access to and use of these products, such as a tax on these products as well as legislation to ban the sale of diet pills to minors,” the study authors said. 

[Author Contact: Jordan A. Levinson, BA, the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA “Diet pill and Laxative use for weight control and subsequent incident eating disorder in US young women: 2001-2016 ]

  

These papers will also be available in the January issue of AJPH:

The articles above will be published online Nov. 14, 2019, at 4 p.m. EDT by AJPH under “First Look.”

“First Look” articles have undergone peer review, copyediting and approval by authors but have not yet been printed to paper or posted online by issue. AJPH is published by the American Public Health Association, and is available at www.ajph.org.

Complimentary online access to the journal is available to credentialed members of the media. Send inquiries to Arnice Cottom at APHA. A single print issue of the journal is available for $35 from the journal’s Subscriptions Department.

If you are not a member of the press, a member of APHA or a subscriber, online single-issue access is $30, and online single-article access is $22 at www.ajph.org. For direct customer service, call 202-777-2516, or email us.

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