The proportion of dementia attributable to common modifiable lifestyle factors in Barbados.
Conclusion: Using a largely theoretical model, the six modifiable lifestyle factors were estimated to be attributable to 50.9% of dementia cases in Barbados. Since the risk factors have much in common, any intervention that targets one of them could significantly reduce future dementia prevalence. PMID: 31093046 [PubMed] (Source: Pan American Journal of Public Health)
Source: Pan American Journal of Public Health - May 19, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Rev Panam Salud Publica Source Type: research

Adaptation of the Human Gut Microbiota Metabolic Network During the First Year After Birth
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Center for Public Health Research (CSISP), Valencia, Spain. All women participating in the study read and signed forms of informed consent specifically approved for this project by the Ethics Committee. Author Contributions MF, JR-H, and FP conceived this study. IA and AF carried out the computational implementation. SP-B performed the metabolomic experiments. YV generated and processed metagenomic data and collected food frequency questionnaires. All authors wrote, read, and approved the manuscript. Funding IA was supported by a Basque Government predoctoral grant...
Source: Frontiers in Microbiology - April 23, 2019 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

A Risky Business? Habitat and Social Behavior Impact Skin and Gut Microbiomes in Caribbean Cleaning Gobies
Conclusion The results from this study showed that the bacterial communities of the skin of the two alternative ecotypes of E. prochilos can be distinguished using 16S rRNA gene sequences, even amongst fish captured only 10 s of meters apart. Furthermore, the skin microbiome of coral-dwelling gobies (cleaners) harbors higher bacterial diversity, including a significantly higher proportion of potential fish pathogens (e.g., Vibrio and Photobacterium). We propose that habitat use, diet and social engagement, due to frequent physical contact with potential diseased clients, could lead to significant differences in the divers...
Source: Frontiers in Microbiology - April 8, 2019 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

A practical model for identification of children at risk of excess energy intake in the developing world.
CONCLUSIONS: Children's diet quality, despite low intakes of fruit and vegetables, was within acceptable ranges as assessed by the DQI-I and RDA; however, portion size was large and EI high. A practical model for identification of children at risk of excess EI has been developed. PMID: 30846016 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Public Health Nutrition)
Source: Public Health Nutrition - March 7, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Gaskin PS, Chami P, Ward J, Solari OGB, Sing B, Jackson MD, Broome H Tags: Public Health Nutr Source Type: research

Foodborne disease outbreaks in Barbados (1998-2009): a 12-year review
Conclusions: The number of FBDOs is low in comparison to developed countries. However, the data was likely affected by under-reporting and inadequacies in the outbreak investigations and laboratory detection. Improvements in these areas would lead to not only better detection and characterisation of FBDOs in Barbados but improved food safety control measures. (Source: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries)
Source: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries - February 6, 2019 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research

Assessing the impact of the Barbados sugar-sweetened beverage tax on beverage sales: an observational study
The World Health Organization has advocated for sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes as part of a broader non-communicable disease prevention strategy, and these taxes have been recently introduced in a wide r... (Source: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity)
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity - January 30, 2019 Category: Nutrition Authors: Miriam Alvarado, Nigel Unwin, Stephen J. Sharp, Ian Hambleton, Madhuvanti M. Murphy, T. Alafia Samuels, Marc Suhrcke and Jean Adams Tags: Research Source Type: research

New | phs001143.v2.p1 | NHLBI TOPMed: The Genetics and Epidemiology of Asthma in Barbados
NHLBI TOPMed: The Genetics and Epidemiology of Asthma in Barbados  (study page |release notes) (Source: dbGaP, the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes)
Source: dbGaP, the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes - January 14, 2019 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: StudyRelease Source Type: research

Prosocial video game as an intimate partner violence prevention tool among youth: A randomised controlled trial
The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a context-specific, prosocial video game, Jesse, in increasing affective and cognitive responsiveness (empathy) towards victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) among children and adolescents (N = 172, age range 9 – 17 years, M = 12.27, SD = 2.26). A randomised controlled trial was conducted in seven schools in Barbados. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental (prosocial video game) or control (standard school curriculum) condition. Experimental and control group enrolled 86 participants each. Girls and boys in the experimental condition, but...
Source: Computers in Human Behavior - December 17, 2018 Category: Information Technology Source Type: research

Tumor suppression by Tegafur combined with Barbadian in S-180 tumor-bearing mice.
In conclusion, the combination of Tegafur and Barbadian has the significant effect of inhibiting mice S-180 sarcoma. The single use of chemotherapeutic drug Tegafur has no significant inhibitory effect on mice S-180 sarcoma. The single use of Barbadian has good antitumor effect and can resist the significant decrease of lymphocytes caused by the chemotherapeutic drug Tegafur. Thus, Barbadian has a good antitumor effect and can protect the immune system of the body, making it a viable treatment option. PMID: 30405750 [PubMed] (Source: Oncology Letters)
Source: Oncology Letters - November 9, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Oncol Lett Source Type: research

Sodium and potassium excretion in an adult Caribbean population of African descent with a high burden of cardiovascular disease
High sodium diets with inadequate potassium and high sodium-to-potassium ratios are a known determinant of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Caribbean island of Barbados has a high prevalence ... (Source: BMC Public Health)
Source: BMC Public Health - August 9, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Rachel M. Harris, Angela M. C. Rose, Ian R. Hambleton, Christina Howitt, Nita G. Forouhi, Anselm J. M. Hennis, T. Alafia Samuels and Nigel Unwin Tags: Research article Source Type: research

Identifying Areas at Greatest Risk for Recent Zika Virus Importation — New York City, 2016
In this study, we used logistic regression15 to predict weekly nowcasts16 throughout the summer of 2016 of census tracts at greatest risk of recent ZIKV importation. Nowcast results were used to inform geographically targeted activities, including performing public education, enrolling additional healthcare facilities in a sentinel surveillance system for detecting local ZIKV transmission, interpreting syndromic surveillance signals suggesting possible ZIKV-like illness, and, when reviewed in conjunction with mosquito surveillance data, informing control of Aedes spp. mosquitoes and placement of traps for continued surveil...
Source: PLOS Currents Outbreaks - July 25, 2018 Category: Epidemiology Authors: skgreene Source Type: research

Nonlinear and delayed impacts of climate on dengue risk in Barbados: A modelling study
ConclusionWe present a modelling approach to infer the risk of dengue outbreaks given the cumulative effect of climate variations in the months leading up to an outbreak. By combining the dengue prediction model with climate indicators, which are routinely monitored and forecasted by the Regional Climate Centre (RCC) at the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), probabilistic dengue outlooks could be included in the Caribbean Health-Climatic Bulletin, issued on a quarterly basis to provide climate-smart decision-making guidance for Caribbean health practitioners. This flexible modelling approach could be...
Source: PLoS Medicine - July 17, 2018 Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Rachel Lowe Source Type: research

Validation of the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale in a Caribbean student sample.
Abstract BACKGROUND: Research on depression among Caribbean children has been limited by a lack of valid and reliable measures. We addressed this problem by exploring the internal consistency reliability and the concurrent and discriminant validity of the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Rating Scale (KADS) among a wide cross-section of the student population attending elementary schools in Jamaica and Barbados. METHODS: Students enrolled in grade 6 in a cross-section of schools in Jamaica and Barbados were invited to participate in the study. Schools included a balance of government-funded public sch...
Source: cmaj - July 1, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Lowe GA, Lipps GE, Gibson RC, Jules MA, Kutcher S Tags: CMAJ Open Source Type: research

Childhood malnutrition and maltreatment are linked with personality disorder symptoms in adulthood: results from a Barbados lifespan cohort
Both childhood malnutrition and maltreatment (abuse and/or neglect) are associated with mental health problems that persist into adulthood, including personality pathology (Battle et al., 2004; Johnson et al., 1999). Most studies on these early adversities, however, do not examine their unique and combined associations with mental health outcomes, despite evidence that these early adversities often co-occur (Dong et al., 2004). (Source: Psychiatry Research)
Source: Psychiatry Research - June 16, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Rebecca S. Hock, Cyralene P. Bryce, Laura Fischer, Michael B. First, Garrett M. Fitzmaurice, Paul T. Costa, Janina R. Galler Source Type: research

Shifting the HIV Paradigm from Care to Cure: Proceedings from the Caribbean Expert Summit in Barbados, August 2017
AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, Ahead of Print. (Source: AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses)
Source: AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses - June 5, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: R. Clive Landis E. Akinola Abayomi Brendan C. Bain Edward Greene George Janossy Patrice Joseph Deanna Kerrigan J. Philip McCoy Cesar Nunez Maurice O'Gorman Alexander Pastoors Bharat S. Parekh Kim R. Quimby Thomas C. Quinn Kevin R. Robertson R éjean Thoma Source Type: research