Despite increasing interest in the role of parks on children\'s health, there has been little empirical research on the impact of park interventions. We used a quasi-experimental pre-post study design with matched controls to evaluate the effects of park redesign and renovation on children\'s quality of life (QoL) in underserved neighborhoods in New York City, with predominantly Hispanic and Black populations. Utilizing longitudinal data from the Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) Study, we examined the parent-reported QoL of 201 children aged 3-11 years living within a 0.3-mile radius of 13 renovated parks compared to 197 children living near 11 control parks before and after the park intervention. QoL was measured using a modified version of the KINDL questionnaire, a health-related QoL scale that assessed children\'s physical and emotional well-being, self-esteem, and well-being in home, peer, and school functioning. Linear mixed regression model was used to examine the difference in difference (DID) between the intervention vs. control group for QoL. We found a significant differential improvement in the physical well-being subscale of KINDL in the intervention vs. control group (DID = 6.35, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.85-11,85, p = 0.024). The effect was particularly strong among girls (DID = 7.88, p = 0.023) and children of the lowest socio-economic background (p < 0.05). No significant DID was found in other KINDL domains. Our study indicated a beneficial impact of improving park quality on the physical well-being of children residing in underserved neighborhoods. These findings lend support for investments in neighborhood parks to advance health equity.

UNASSIGNED: A decline in adolescent health holds significant repercussions for public health. Promoting exercise is essential to improve physical and mental health among youth. This study aimed to explore the effect of CrossFit training programs on the physical health and sociogenic somatic anxiety of adolescents.
UNASSIGNED: In March 2023, 100 adolescents were openly recruited from eight middle schools in Jinhua, China. The participants, were divided equally into control and experimental groups, experienced either traditional or CrossFit training, respectively, over nine weeks. Evaluation measures included the analysis of social physique anxiety, body esteem, physical self-efficacy, and general physical health before and after the exercise program.
UNASSIGNED: Post-intervention data demonstrated marked reductions across all facets of the social physique anxiety scale, including worries about public scrutiny, anxiety from social comparison, and discomfort related to one\'s physical self-image, more so in the experimental group (P<0.05). Likewise, assessments of the physical self-perception profile and physical self-efficacy scale were enhanced, again with the experimental cohort displaying more pronounced improvements (P<0.05). Results from biophysical function evaluations indicated significant health improvements post-intervention, with noted advancements in lung capacity, aerobic fitness by the standing long jump, and muscular endurance as assessed by grip strength, sit-up, and push-up counts, primarily in the experimental group (P<0.05).
UNASSIGNED: CrossFit training offered considerable advantages by reducing social physique anxiety and enhancing adolescents\' body esteem and physical self-efficacy. The program stimulated improvements in body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, and flexibility.

BACKGROUND: Periodontal health plays a key role as a shared reference point for evaluating periodontal diseases and identifying significant treatment outcomes. Providing adequate instruction and enhancing the motivation of patients to maintain proper oral hygiene are crucial factors for successful periodontal treatment, with self-performed regular oral hygiene identified as a critical factor in improving the outcomes of treatment for periodontal diseases. Recently, mobile health (mHealth) solutions, especially mobile apps, have emerged as valuable tools for self-management in chronic diseases such as periodontal disease, providing essential health education and monitoring capabilities. However, the use of mHealth apps for periodontal health is complex owing to various interacting components such as patient behavior, socioeconomic status, and adherence to oral hygiene practices. Existing literature has indicated positive effects of mHealth on oral health behaviors, knowledge, attitude, practice, plaque index score, and gingivitis reduction. However, there has been no systematic review of mobile apps specifically targeting patients with periodontal disease. Understanding the design and impact of mHealth apps is crucial for creating high-quality apps.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness of existing mobile apps in promoting periodontal health.
METHODS: A comprehensive search strategy will be performed in multiple electronic databases (PubMed, EBSCOhost, CINAHL Plus, Dentistry & Oral Sciences, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) with the following keywords in the title/abstract: \"mobile application,\" \"mobile health,\" \"mHealth,\" \"telemedicine,\" \"periodontal health,\" \"periodontitis,\" and \"text message.\" Only randomized controlled trials will be included that assessed the following outcomes to measure periodontal health improvement: gingival index, bleeding index, periodontal pocket depth, and clinical attachment loss. Covidence will be used for data collection, and a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) flowchart will be used to describe the selection process of the included, identified, and excluded studies. The Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis approach will be used for meta-analysis of the extracted data from the included studies.
RESULTS: This review will not require ethical approval since no primary data will be included. As of July 2024, a total of 83 articles retrieved from various databases have been imported to Covidence with 13 articles deemed eligible for inclusion in the review. The review is currently ongoing and is expected to be complete by the end of 2024 with the results published in early 2025.
CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review and meta-analysis will contribute to developing mobile apps with enhanced criteria to improve periodontal clinical outcomes. The review emphasizes the importance of mHealth and preventing periodontal disease, which can set the stage for informed global health care strategies.
BACKGROUND: PROSPERO CRD42022340827; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=340827.
UNASSIGNED: DERR1-10.2196/50479.

UNASSIGNED: Professional athletes navigate a multitude of unique challenges associated to sport-specific factors (e.g., training, travel and competition) and non-sport factors (e.g., performance pressure, stress and anxiety) that can interfere with healthy sleep behaviors. Sleep plays a key role in proper biopsychosocial development as well as short- and long-term biological, physical, psychological, and cognitive health. As poor sleep quality is known to impair proper brain function, this study aimed to investigate the effect of sleep quality on a professional athlete\'s ability to train, recover, and perform, as well as their overall emotional and physical well-being.
UNASSIGNED: A cohort study was performed in 40 professional male cricket athletes from the Dutch national cricket team (mean age 26.5 ± 5.1 years). The athletes were monitored across a 22 weeks in-season training period. Sleep quality and overall emotional and physical well-being were assessed using daily sleep diaries and questionnaires which scored the readiness to train, stress levels, fatigue, muscle soreness and flu symptoms respectively. Quality of sleep and subsequent association with the consecutive elements of the well-being questionnaire were assessed through statistical using the student t-test and clinical differences with the methodology of Osoba and colleagues: <5% \"no change\", 5%-10% \"little change\"; 10%-20% \"moderate change\"; and >20% \"very much change\".
UNASSIGNED: The results demonstrated that the professional athletes assessed their sleep quality as average with a mean score of 3.4 out of 5. Lower perceived quality of sleep (<75th percentile) was correlated with a decreased readiness to train (mean score 3.2 [IQR: 3.0-4.0] vs. 3.5 [IQR: 3.0-5.0]; P < 0.001) and increased extent of muscle soreness (2.7 [IQR: 2.0-3.0] vs. 2.3 [IQR: 2-3]; P < 0.001), stress level (mean score 2.3 [IQR: 2.0-3.0] vs. 1.9 [IQR: 1.0-2.0]; P < 0.001) and perceived fatigue (mean score 2.9 [IQR: 2.0-3.0] vs. 2.3 [IQR: 2.0-3.0]; P < 0.001). Likewise, in patients with lower perceived quality of sleep, the proportion of players presenting with flu symptoms increased over 4-fold (4.1% vs. 17%; P < 0.001).
UNASSIGNED: This study highlights that good sleep quality positively influences the overall emotional and physical well-being of professional athletes. Our results emphasize the importance of targeted sleep interventions to improve sleep quality and subsequently optimize psychological and physiological wellness.

UNASSIGNED: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a significant global health concern for men. In Sub-Saharan Africa, PCa rates witnessed a 69% increase from 1990 to 2010. Despite this, there is a dearth of literature examining the experiences of spouses of men with PCa in Africa, as the majority of studies concentrate primarily on men.
UNASSIGNED: The study used a qualitative exploratory design, conducting in-depth face-to-face interviews with a semi-structured guide. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, with 35 recruited. Data was recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using content analysis, resulting in 2 themes and 11 subthemes.
UNASSIGNED: The research revealed that spouses providing care for husbands with PCa faced notable effects on their physical and emotional well-being. Notably, they reported experiencing leg pains due to prolonged sitting by their partners, as well as disruptions in sleep and a loss of appetite triggered by the hospital smell.
UNASSIGNED: Women encounter challenges in caring for their partners with PCa. Understanding these experiences will contribute to improving public support and assistance. Future studies should concentrate on developing interventions to help them cope with these challenges.

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional controlled study aims to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of children and adolescents with a molecular diagnosis of Marfan syndrome (MFS) or related disorders and to evaluate the factors associated with HRQoL in this population. Sixty-three children with MFS and 124 age- and sex-matched healthy children were recruited. HRQoL was assessed using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™) generic questionnaire. The correlation between HRQoL scores and the different continuous parameters (age, body mass index, disease severity, systemic score, aortic sinus diameter, and aerobic physical capacity) was evaluated using Pearson\'s or Spearman\'s coefficient. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed on the two health summary self-reported PedsQL™ scores (physical and psychosocial) to identify the factors associated with HRQoL in the MFS group.
RESULTS: Except for emotional functioning, all other domains of HRQoL (psychosocial and physical health, social and school functions) were significantly lower in children with MFS compared to matched healthy children. In the MFS group, the physical health summary score was significantly lower in female than in male patients (self-report: absolute difference [95%CI] = -8.7 [-17.0; -0.47], P = 0.04; proxy-report: absolute difference [95%CI] = -8.6 [-17.3; 0.02], P = 0.05) and also negatively correlated with the systemic score (self-report: R = -0.24, P = 0.06; proxy-report: R = -0.29, P = 0.03) and with the height Z-score (proxy-report: R = -0.29, P = 0.03). There was no significant difference in the physical health summary scores between the different genetic subgroups. In the subgroup of 27 patients who performed a cardiopulmonary exercise test, self- and proxy-reported physical health summary scores were highly correlated with their aerobic physical capacity assessed by peak oxygen consumption (VO2max) and ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT). In the multivariate analysis, the most important independent predictors of decreased physical health were increased height, decreased body mass index, decreased VAT and use of prophylactic therapy.
CONCLUSIONS: This study reports an impaired HRQoL in children and adolescents with MFS or related conditions, in comparison with matched healthy children. Educational and rehabilitation programs must be developed and evaluated to improve exercise capacity and HRQoL in these patients.
BACKGROUND: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03236571 . Registered 28 July 2017.

BACKGROUND: A high burden of physical, mental, and occupational health problems among migrant workers has been well-documented, but data on undocumented migrant workers are limited and their well-being has rarely been compared to that of the general population.
METHODS: Using data from a cross-sectional survey of non-professional migrant workers in South Korea in early 2021, we described their physical, psychological, social well-being and health behaviors across a wide range of outcomes, including self-rated health, occupational injury, cigarette smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, meal pattern, happiness, mental illness, social support, and social participation. The outcomes were first compared between documented and undocumented migrant workers in generalized linear regressions adjusting for potential confounders. Then, the well-being of the migrant workers was compared against that of the general population using data from the Korean Happiness Survey, which is a nationally representative survey of the South Korean general population conducted in late 2020. The parametric g-formula was performed to adjust for potential confounders.
RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounders, the undocumented migrant workers were less likely to be happy or participate in social communities, and much more likely to have anxiety or depression, smoke cigarettes, or engage in heavy alcohol consumption than the documented migrant workers. When compared to the general South Korean population, an evident social gradient emerged for happiness and mental illness; the undocumented experienced the worst outcome, followed by the documented, and then the general population. Also, the undocumented migrant workers were more likely to smoke cigarettes than the general population.
CONCLUSIONS: The undocumented migrant workers face considerably greater challenges in terms of mental health and happiness, demonstrate higher rates of risky health behaviors such as smoking and heavy drinking, and experience a lack of social support and community integration. A stark social gradient in happiness, mental illness, and cigarette smoking exists among the documented, undocumented migrant workers and the general population in South Korea. Socio-structural factors are likely to play a crucial role in contributing to the suboptimal level of overall well-being of undocumented migrant workers. Policy-level interventions as well as interpersonal efforts are in urgent need.

Acne scarring is a frequent complication of acne. Scars negatively impact psychosocial and physical well-being. Optimal treatments significantly improve the appearance, quality of life, and self-esteem of people with scarring. A wide range of interventions have been proposed for acne scars. This narrative review aimed to focus on facial atrophic scarring interventions. The management of acne scarring includes various types of resurfacing (chemical peels, lasers, and dermabrasion); the use of injectable fillers; and surgical methods, such as needling, punch excision, punch elevation, or subcision. Since the scarred tissue has impaired regeneration abilities, the future implementation of stem or progenitor regenerative medical techniques is likely to add considerable value. There are limited randomized controlled trials that aimed to determine which treatment options should be considered the gold standard. Combining interventions would likely produce more benefit compared to the implementation of a single method.

BACKGROUND: The work on offshore rigs is related to a number of physical and mental burdens. The subject matter of the paper refers to the assessment of the relation between the mode of adapting to occupational stress and the feeling of well-being among the employees of offshore rigs in Poland.
METHODS: The research procedure is a longitudinal study and encompasses analysis of data between 1993 and 2014. 167 employees of the Polish offshore rigs were studied: all of them were male and the average age was 42. Measuring tools were used to assess the subjective occupational stress, psychosocial work conditions, evaluation of physical and mental well-being and styles of coping with stress.
RESULTS: The perceived level of stress directly affects mental well-being (r = .19, p = .048): the higher the level of stress, the worse is the mental well-being (β = -.30). In a considerable part, the dependence between occupational stress and mental well-being may be clarified by the impact of the style of coping with occupational stress and the rate of stress dynamics (r = .32, p = .004). The higher the share of task-oriented coping style as compared to the emotion and avoidance-oriented style, the higher is the self-reported mental well-being. The higher the probability of affiliation with the group reporting a decrease in stress, the higher is the self-reported mental well-being. Perceiving stress has no direct or indirect impact on physical well-being (β =. 09; β = .08; β = -.11).
CONCLUSIONS: A dependence exists between the process of adapting to stress and the level of the self-reported mental well-being of the rig employees. The higher the probability of adaptation to the difficult situation at work in a way that the self-reported stress is reduced, the higher the self-reported mental well-being. Perceiving stress bears no direct or indirect impact on the physical well-being.

Prioritizing patient values-who/what matters most-is central to palliative care and critical to treatment decision making. Yet which factors are most important to family caregivers in these decisions remains understudied. Using data from a U.S. national survey of cancer caregivers (N = 1661), we examined differences in factors considered very important by caregivers when partnering with patients in cancer treatment decision making by cancer stage and caregiver sociodemographics. Fifteen factors were rated on a 4-point Likert-scale from \'very unimportant\' to \'very important.\' Descriptive statistics were used to characterize caregiver factors and tabulate proportions of importance for each. Generalized linear mixed effect modeling was used to examine the importance of factors by cancer stage, and chi-square analyses were performed to determine associations between caregiver sociodemographics and the five most commonly endorsed factors: quality of life (69%), physical well-being (68%), length of life (66%), emotional well-being (63%), and opinions/feelings of oncology team (59%). Significant associations (all p\'s < 0.05) of small magnitude were found between the most endorsed factors and caregiver age, race, gender, and ethnicity, most especially \'opinions/feelings of the oncology team\'. Future work is needed to determine the best timing and approach for eliciting and effectively incorporating caregiver values and preferences into shared treatment decision making.