Iowa

The primary objective of the Iowa Centenarian Study is to further our understanding of determinants of exceptional longevity above and beyond health outcomes, particularly in rural environments. This introductory article provides a general overview of the study, its methodology and basic descriptive results. One hundred and fifty-two centenarians from a rural state participated in the study (average age was 101.6 years).

Serotonin Transporter (5HTT or SLC6A4) mRNA transcription is regulated by both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. Unfortunately, despite intense scrutiny, the exact identity and contribution of each of these regulatory mechanisms, and their relationship to behavioral illness remain unknown. This lack of knowledge is critical because alterations in SLC6A4 function are posited to be central to a wide variety of CNS disorders.

The present prospective, longitudinal study of 193 young adults (85 men, 108 women, M = 20.7 years old) and their partners in ongoing romantic relationships in 1997 was initiated in 1989, when the 193 target youths were in the 7th grade. On the basis of the model for the development of early adult romantic relationships (DEARR; C. Bryant & R. D. Conger, in press), the authors hypothesized that interactional processes in the family of origin would predict interpersonal skills by the target youths, which would be positively related to the early adult couple's relationship quality.

BACKGROUND: The authors investigated the role of private practitioners in the dental safety net, including the provision of care for Medicaid enrollees and attitudinal factors that affect participation. METHODS: In 2013, the authors sent a mixed-mode survey to all general dentists in Iowa assessing their current Medicaid participation and factors affecting participation, including attitudinal statements about altruism, the Medicaid program, and the government's role in providing access to dental care.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The authors' purpose was to develop an electronic teaching module in nonpharmacologic analgesia and anxiolysis for use in the radiology department. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The teaching document was derived from previous training courses validated by patient outcome. Skills in structured empathic attention and guidance of self-hypnotic relaxation were tested in a previous prospective, randomized study with 241 patients and shown to affect positively patients' perception of pain and anxiety.

CONTEXT: Lipophilic toxicants have been associated with hormone disruption, immune system suppression, reproductive disorders, several types of cancer, and other diseases. Due to environmental persistence and bioaccumulation, body burdens of certain toxicants, such as dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), appear to be a health risk despite the toxicants' having been banned for decades. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a safe, standardized, Ayurvedic detoxification procedure can mobilize lipid-soluble toxicants and stimulate their excretion.

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing usage and popularity of chiropractic care, there has been limited research conducted to examine the professional relationships between conventional trained primary care physicians (PCPs) and chiropractors (DCs). The objectives of our study were to contrast the intra-professional referral patterns among PCPs with referral patterns to DCs, and to identify predictors of PCP referral to DCs. METHODS: We mailed a survey instrument to all practicing PCPs in the state of Iowa. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize their responses.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is a recognized public health problem, impacting up to 80% of US adults at some point in their lives. Patients with LBP are utilizing integrative health care such as spinal manipulation (SM). SM is the therapeutic application of a load to specific body tissues or structures and can be divided into two broad categories: SM with a high-velocity low-amplitude load, or an impulse "thrust", (HVLA-SM) and SM with a low-velocity variable-amplitude load (LVVA-SM). There is evidence that sensorimotor function in people with LBP is altered.

OBJECTIVE: While depressive symptoms and knee pain are independently known to impede daily walking in older adults, it is unknown whether positive affect promotes daily walking. This study investigated this association among adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and examined whether knee pain modified this association. METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional analysis of the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study. We included 1,018 participants (mean ± SD age 63.1 ± 7.8 years, 60% women) who had radiographic knee OA and had worn a StepWatch monitor to record their number of steps per day.

Although it is widely known that use of dietary supplements is common in the United States, little is known about use patterns among older Americans. The authors examined trends in dietary supplement use and its contribution to total nutrient intake in the Iowa Women's Health Study cohort in 1986 (baseline) and 2004 (follow-up). The proportion of women who reported using dietary supplements increased substantially between baseline (66%) and follow-up (85%).