The correlates and intensity of COVID-19 vaccine brand preferences in Canada

Most work on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has focused on its attitudinal and demographic correlates of individuals, but the characteristics of vaccines themselves also appear to be important. People are more willing to take vaccines with higher reported levels of efficacy and safety. Has this dynamic sparked hesitancy towards specific vaccines? We conduct a series of cross-sectional survey experiments to test for brand-based differences in vaccination intention, perceived efficacy, and perceived safety. Examining more than 6,500 individuals in a series of cross-sectional surveys, we find that respondents report less willingness to take AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines compared to those from Pfizer and Moderna, despite all vaccines being approved as safe by a federal regulator. Further, these brand preferences are meaningful: respondents report willingness to wait months for their preferred vaccine over AstraZeneca. We show that these brand effects are strongest among people who are usually most open to mass vaccination efforts. Our findings call for additional research on the determinants and consequences of COVID-19 vaccine-specific hesitancy and communication strategies to minimize this challenge.

The Prevalence and Correlates of Disability in Singapore: Results from a Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey

Objective: The study aims to estimate the prevalence of disability and the association of disability with socio-demographic correlates and health outcomes among the Singapore population. Methods: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a representative sample of Singapore’s population. Using the Washington Group’s questionnaire, disability was defined using both the ‘standard’ (a lot of difficulty or higher in one or more domains) and the ‘wider’ threshold (of ‘some’ or greater difficulty). Data on socio-demographic correlates, self-reported lifestyle, physical activity, chronic conditions, and health-related quality of life were also collected. Results: The prevalence of any disability using the standard threshold was 3.1% (95% CI: 2.4–4.1). When separated by disability type, mobility (1.8%) was the most prevalent, followed by vision (0.8%), cognition (0.5%), hearing (0.3%), and self-care (0.2). In the adjusted regression analysis, lower education and unemployed and economically inactive status (versus employed) were significantly associated with disability. Conclusions: Although this prevalence is lower than other countries, it is a significant finding in terms of actual numbers and impact at both the individual and the societal levels. Our findings also highlight the need to strengthen health services and preventive interventions targeting older adults and those who are physically inactive to reduce the burden of disability in these groups.

Prevalence, Comorbidity, and Sociodemographic Correlates of Psychiatric Disorders in the All Of Us Biobank

ABSTRACTImportanceAll of Us is a landmark initiative for population-scale research into the etiology of psychiatric disorders and disparities across various sociodemographic categories.ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence, comorbidity, and demographic covariates of psychiatric and substance use disorders in the All of Us biobank.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsWe estimated prevalence, overlap, and demographic correlates for psychiatric disorders derived from electronic health records in the All of Us biobank (release 5; N = 331,380)ExposuresSocial and demographic covariates.Main Outcome and MeasuresPsychiatric disorders derived from ICD10CM codes and grouped into phecodes across six broad domains: mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, stress-related disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorders.ResultsThe prevalence of various disorders ranges from approximately 15% to less than 1%, with mood and anxiety disorders being the most common, followed by substance use disorders, stress-related disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorders. There is substantial overlap among disorders, with a large portion of those with a disorder (~57%) having two or more registered diagnoses and tetrachoric correlations ranging from 0.43 – 0.74. The prevalence of disorders across demographic categories demonstrates that non-Hispanic whites, those of low socioeconomic status, women and those assigned female at birth, and sexual minorities are at greatest risk for most disorders.Conclusions and RelevanceAlthough the rates of disorders in All of Us are lower than rates for disorders in the general population, there is considerable variation, comorbidity, and differences across social groups. Large-scale resources like All of Us will prove to be invaluable for understanding the causes and consequences of psychiatric conditions. As we move towards an era of precision medicine, we must work to ensure it is delivered in an equitable manner.

Behavioral and Demographic Predictors of Exercise During A COVID-19 Lockdown in Three Ghanaian Cities

Background: This study assessed behavioral and demographic correlates of exercise during a COVID-19 lockdown in three cities. A cross-sectional design was employed. An online survey was used to collect data from residents of three Ghanaian cities, namely Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale.Methods: A total of 621 residents participated in the study. Most of the participants had tertiary educational qualifications and were aged 18 to 54 years. A binary logistic regression was used to present findings.Results: The results indicate that unemployed participants were about 13 times more likely to exercise than those who were employed. Individuals aged 25 to 30 years were about 0.7 times less likely to exercise compared with those aged 18 to 24 years. Participants with one or more chronic diseases were about 19 times more likely to exercise compared with those without a chronic condition. Residents who reported a reduction in moderate physical activity time of between 30 to 60 minutes were less likely to exercise compared with those who did not.Conclusion: The study concludes that the behavioral and demographic correlates of exercise during the lockdown are age, chronic disease status, employment, physical activity time lost, smoking, and domestic violence experience.

Socio-demographic Correlates of Diabetes Self-reporting Validity: An Adult’s Kurdish Population-based Study

Background: The aim was to assess the validity of self-reported according to the demographic and socio-economic feature in a the Dehgolan Prospective Cohort Study (DehPCS)Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analytical study on 4400 subjects aged 35-70 years of DehPCS. The reference for having diabetes was oral hypoglycemic drug consumption, insulin injection, or high FBS representing diabetes. Self-reported diabetes status was investigated by well-trained interviewers before the identification of diabetes status based on reference criteria. The validity criteria of self-reported diabetes were assessed using sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values. Socio-demographic correlates of self-reported agreement were examined by multinomial logistic regression. Results: 3996 agreed to participate in this study (participation=90.8%). The diabetes prevalence among the study population was 13.1% based on self-report and 9.7% based on reference. Of the 523 people who reported diabetes, 213 (41.28%) did not have diabetes. We found a good agreement of 92.3% with an acceptable kappa value of 65.1% between self-reported diabetes and reference. Self-reported diabetes also guaranteed sensitivity of 78.5%, specificity of 93.9%, positive and negative predictive value of 58.7% and of 98.0% respectively. Female, higher economic class, higher BMI, and family history of diabetes were increased the chance of false positive. Being male and aging and moderate economic class increased the chance of false positive. Conclusion: Self-reported diabetes is identified as a relatively valid tool that could fairly determine the diabetes prevalence in epidemiological studies. It should be noted that its validity is influenced by some socio-demographic characteristics.

Correlates of Screen Time in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review Study

Introduction: The use of screen media by children and adolescents is increasing and has destructive effects on various development aspects. This study was done to determine the correlates of Screen Time (ST) in children and adolescents. Materials and Methods: Published articles from January 2000 to September 2020 were searched through PubMed, PsycNet, Science Direct, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Magiran, SID, and IranDoc databases were searched for Persian studies with no time limitation. The used keywords were correlates OR predictors + screen time, screen use, screen viewing, screen media, mobile use, cellphone use, TV/ television viewing, TV/ television use, TV/ television, computer use, video game, Media exposure, Media use, electronic media, digital media, digital devices, tablet use + adolescent, youth, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and children. The literature search identified 51 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Results: After reviewing the studies according to the PRISMA checklist, the correlates were Grouped in five categories: (i) child biological and demographic correlates, (ii) behavioral correlates, (iii) family biological and demographic correlates, (iv) family structure related correlates, and (v) socio-cultural and environmental correlates. The most common correlates found were age, sex, and Body Mass Index (BMI) of children, age and education of parents, socio-economic status, physical activity, quality of the neighborhood, parents’ ST, rules, and Digital Devices (DD) in the child/ adolescent’s bedroom. Conclusion: The ST in children and adolescents is associated with several factors at intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social/ cultural levels. It is suggested that health promotion programs to reduce the use of these devices should be implemented with a comprehensive view of the individual, family, and society.