"Drunkorexia": Understanding eating and physical activity behaviors of weight conscious drinkers in a sample of college students.

OBJECTIVE: Behaviors of weight conscious drinkers (BWCD) include disordered eating, excessive physical activity (PA), and heavy episodic drinking. Considering that approximately 25% of the college students report BWCD, it is important to investigate what characteristics increase the likelihood of college students engaged in BWCD for both moderate and vigorous PAs. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 510 college students were recruited from a large, public southeastern university. METHODS: Participants completed a cross-sectional survey during the spring 2015 semester. RESULTS: Of 510 respondents, 11.2% reported moderate PA-based BWCD and 14.7% reported vigorous PA-based BWCD. Weight loss intention, BMI and Greek affiliation predicted both moderate and vigorous BWCD. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings suggest that Greek-affiliated students and students with weight loss intentions might be at an increased risk for BWCD. Along with promoting lower levels of alcohol consumption, college practitioners should consider discussing issues of weight and body image with college students as they relate to maladaptive drinking behavior.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as a Stress Management Intervention for Cancer Care: A Systematic Review.

Cancer is acknowledged as a source of stress for many individuals, often leading to suffering, which can be long-lasting. Mindfulness-based stress reduction offers an effective way of reducing stress among cancer patients by combining mindfulness meditation and yoga in an 8-week training program. The purpose of this study was to inspect studies from October 2009 to November 2015 and examine whether mindfulness-based stress reduction can be utilized as a viable method for managing stress among cancer patients. A systematic search from Medline, CINAHL, and Alt HealthWatch databases was conducted for quantitative articles involving mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions targeting cancer patients. A total of 13 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of these 13 studies, 9 demonstrated positive changes in either psychological or physiological outcomes related to anxiety and/or stress, with 4 describing mixed results. Despite the limitations, mindfulness-based stress reduction appears to be promising for stress management among cancer patients.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) studies are being conducted with nonclinical populations, but very little is known about their effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy, mechanisms of actions, and moderators of MBSR for nonclinical populations. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review of studies published in English journals in Medline, CINAHL or Alt HealthWatch from the first available date until September 19, 2014. STUDY SELECTION: Any quantitative study that used MBSR as an intervention, that was conducted with healthy adults, and that investigated stress or anxiety. RESULTS: A total of 29 studies (n=2668) were included. Effect-size estimates suggested that MBSR is moderately effective in pre-post analyses (n=26; Hedge's g=.55; 95% CI [.44, .66], p<.00001) and in between group analyses (n=18; Hedge's g=.53; 95% CI [.41, .64], p<.00001). The obtained results were maintained at an average of 19 weeks of follow-up. Results suggested large effects on stress, moderate effects on anxiety, depression, distress, and quality of life, and small effects on burnout. When combined, changes in mindfulness and compassion measures correlated with changes in clinical measures at post-treatment and at follow-up. However, heterogeneity was high, probably due to differences in the study design, the implemented protocol, and the assessed outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: MBSR is moderately effective in reducing stress, depression, anxiety and distress and in ameliorating the quality of life of healthy individuals; however, more research is warranted to identify the most effective elements of MBSR.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction as a stress management intervention for healthy individuals: a systematic review.

Stress is a global public health problem with several negative health consequences, including anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, and suicide. Mindfulness-based stress reduction offers an effective way of reducing stress by combining mindfulness meditation and yoga in an 8-week training program. The purpose of this study was to look at studies from January 2009 to January 2014 and examine whether mindfulness-based stress reduction is a potentially viable method for managing stress. A systematic search from Medline, CINAHL, and Alt HealthWatch databases was conducted for all types of quantitative articles involving mindfulness-based stress reduction. A total of 17 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of the 17 studies, 16 demonstrated positive changes in psychological or physiological outcomes related to anxiety and/or stress. Despite the limitations of not all studies using randomized controlled design, having smaller sample sizes, and having different outcomes, mindfulness-based stress reduction appears to be a promising modality for stress management.

Factors associated with medication adherence in patients with epilepsy and recommendations for improvement.

Although it is one of the most common neurological disorders, epilepsy continues to be a highly stigmatized and disabling chronic condition. Healthy People 2020 aims for improvement in the health-related quality of life and well-being of Americans, including these medically vulnerable patients. Efforts to research and improve medication adherence in this population and others with chronic conditions are an important step towards this end. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with adherence and to provide recommendations for improvement. A cross-sectional survey research design was used in a convenience sample of patients receiving treatment at a tertiary epilepsy center. Adherence was measured by self-reported missed/skipped medication doses and seizure frequencies and by the presence of intractable seizures as indicated in patients' medical charts. Analysis was conducted with SPSS 21.0 on the data collected from the returned mailed surveys. Among the sample of 180 patients, most had some education beyond high school, household incomes of varying amounts, and health insurance coverage. Most of the participants were unemployed. Clinical records showed that 46% had intractable seizures. About 66% missed taking their medication on a monthly basis, with "forgetfulness" being the primary reason. Adherence (seizure frequency) was associated with being employed (P=.028). Adherence (complying with medication treatment plan) was also associated with "medication reminders" (P=.002) and educational attainment (P=.008). The findings indicate a continued need to explore the complex issue of adherence. The findings also highlight the need for health education and other public health and medical professionals to design effective strategies to connect patients with employment opportunities and other resources. Efforts are also needed to help provide information and build skills among patients with epilepsy that would lead to improved medication adherence and management.