International Journal of Public Health

IntroductionClimate change is expected to alter daily patterns of sleep, sedentary behaviour and physical activity, yet empirically grounded projections across the full 24-hour movement spectrum are lacking. This study estimated how projected future warming may alter 24-hour movement behaviour patterns in adults. MethodsA Monte Carlo simulation framework estimated temperature-dependent distributions of daily movement behaviour duration using data from 368 adults in the Annual Rhythms in Adults ...

BackgroundFood systems--particularly livestock production--account for substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while unhealthy diets, characterized by excessive animal-based and insufficient plant-based food consumption, are a major risk factor for all-cause mortality in Europe. Implementing climate mitigation policies related to the GHG emissions of the food system could therefore bring important health co-benefits. MethodsWe developed a health impact assessment model based on a life table...

Introduction Heat waves are increasingly frequent and linked to higher mortality risks in Hong Kong. However, estimates of total excess mortality associated with heat waves remain unavailable. This study quantifies excess deaths associated with heat waves in Hong Kong from 2014 to 2023. Methods Daily age- and sex-specific mortality rates and population data were obtained from the Hong Kong Life Tables and Census and Statistics Department. Temperature data came from the Hong Kong Observatory, and...

IntroductionFlooding events, which are strongly linked to climate change and variability, have the potential to disrupt communities and health systems. Vaccination, a highly effective public health intervention, plays a pivotal role in preventing numerous deaths annually, particularly among children. However, the relationship between exposure to flood events and early childhood vaccination remains unexplored. MethodsThis study utilizes validated flood exposure data from the Global Flood Databas...

ObjectiveAlthough trauma-focused psychotherapies are effective for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), recovery under routine outpatient conditions remains variable. We examined whether participation in a structured Specialty Care (SC) model integrating clinician specialization, flexible treatment density, and coordinated navigation was associated with accelerated PTSD recovery compared with standard outpatient care. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective matched cohort study (2024-2025) of U.S....

Childhood adversities are common and linked to increased risk of premature mortality, including deaths from accidents in early adulthood. We examined associations between childhood adversity and specific types of lethal accidents using nationwide register data from 1,282,636 individuals in the DANish LIFE course (DANLIFE) cohort born between Jan 1, 1980, and Dec 31, 2001, who did not die or emigrate before age 16. Individuals were classified into five trajectory groups based on annual exposure t...

BackgroundHelmet use is a proven safety measure that reduces the risk of head injury among cyclists and e-scooter riders. Despite legal requirements for pedal bikes and e-bikes in Australia, compliance varies, particularly among users of electric vehicles. The growing popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters in urban areas presents new public health challenges, yet observational data on helmet use, behavioural determinants, and the effectiveness of safety interventions remain limited. AimPhase 3 of...

IntroductionNational trends in youth suicide risk may mask significant regional variations within a country. This article attempts to account for spatio-temporal trends through a comparative analysis across South America and Europe. This paper analyzes the spatiotemporal patterns in suicide mortality among young people (10-29 years) in Argentina, Chile, Spain, and Uruguay during the period 1997-2021. MethodsOfficial data from vital statistics and population censuses of the four countries were a...

ObjectivesPeople impacted by the criminal-legal system face significant challenges to securing and sustaining permanent housing. This study was designed to assess housing outcomes of an integrated intervention that offered housing, medical, and behavioral health services to individuals with criminal-legal system involvement. MethodsAfter a baseline needs assessment, participants were linked to services and completed quarterly study visits for up to 12 months. We used descriptive statistics to a...

Many Asian American (AA) subgroups experience disproportionate rates of cardiometabolic (CMB) conditions, yet the contextual drivers of these disparities remain unclear. Little is known about the role of Asian residential segregation, often conceptualized as Asian enclaves, with limited prior work largely ignoring region of origin and nativity. Using six years of population-based survey data from New York City (N>6,000 AAs) linked with multiple sources of community data, we examine how residence...

BackgroundHealth behaviors established during young adulthood significantly shape the long-term risk of non-communicable diseases and mental health disorders. Although behaviors such as diet, physical activity, sleep, and substance use are often targeted individually, growing evidence suggests these behaviors function as an interconnected system. However, the organization of lifestyle behaviors at the system level, and which behaviors exert the greatest structural influence, remains poorly under...

BackgroundPhysical activity is a key modifiable determinant of health, yet current guidelines primarily emphasize moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and provide limited guidance on other actionable dimensions such as daily step count and sedentary time. The growing availability of wearables enables high-resolution measurement of these metrics and assessment of their associations with clinical outcomes. MethodsMinute-level wearable data from adult participants of All of Us between 2015-2023 ...

Sleep architecture is essential for metabolic and cardiovascular health, yet the impact of day-to-day dietary variation on objective sleep physiology remains unclear. Using 4.8 thousand person-nights with real-time dietary logs and multi-stage wearable sleep recordings, we examined how prior-day nutrition relates to next-night sleep under free-living conditions. Higher fiber density was associated with increased restorative sleep, including +0.59 pp deep sleep, +0.76 pp REM sleep, -1.35 pp light...

ObjectiveThe objective of this analysis was to explore temporal and regional trends in breast pump prescription claims in outpatient settings in Germany, and to characterize the types of pumps covered. Study designWe conducted a nationwide secondary analysis of outpatient statutory health insurance billing data for breast pump prescriptions from 2011 to 2024, covering nearly 90% of the German population. Billing data from community pharmacies were scaled to full national coverage using regional...

Abstract/SummaryFinancial exploitation of older adults is an increasingly prevalent public health concern, yet few have characterized fraud prevalence longitudinally or evaluated whether financial exploitation vulnerability measures prospectively predict fraud outcomes. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examined fraud prevalence across a 14-year period and tested whether the Perceived Financial Vulnerability Scale (PFVS) predicts subsequent fraud victimization among older adult...

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with concurrent social instabilities, has raised concerns about the long-term impact on the population mental health. While existing studies have primarily focused on the acute phase, less is known about how anxiety and depression symptoms have evolved throughout prolonged societal disruption. This study aimed to identify distinct anxiety and depression symptom trajectories and to determine the individual, relational, and societal protective and risk fact...

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a traumatic birth is a serious but overlooked maternal morbidity, affecting ~20% of women following medically complicated deliveries. PTSD can undermine maternal caregiving. Rapid screening tools suited to busy obstetric settings are lacking. We developed and evaluated a brief screener, derived from the 20-item PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), to identify PTSD related to childbirth. Study Design: We enrolled 107 women with traumatic childbir...

Background: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival depends on timely bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and quick defibrillation via automated external defibrillator (AED). However, access to CPR education and willingness to intervene are not equitably distributed. Within the Muslim community, intersecting religious identity, language, immigration-related concerns, and other social determinants of health may affect CPR/AED education, bystander response, and ultimately OHCA out...

ObjectiveThe study aimed to analyze factors associated with cotinine levels as an early risk indicator for chronic diseases and students readiness to quit smoking in Praya Barat District. MethodsThis study used a cross-sectional design involving 563 high school students in Praya Barat District. Data analysis was performed using the Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression to identify determinants of high cotinine levels. ResultsA total of 67% of subjects had high cotinine levels, indic...

BackgroundHelmet use is a proven safety measure that reduces the risk of head injury among cyclists and e-scooter riders. Despite legal requirements for pedal bikes and e-bikes in Australia, compliance varies, particularly among users of electric vehicles. The growing popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters in urban areas presents new public health challenges, yet observational data on helmet use, behavioural determinants, and the effectiveness of safety interventions remain limited. AimPhase 4 of...