Shona C. Fang

Objectives: Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffer from high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the growing number of women in the military, there is a critical need to understand the nature and extent of potential gender differences in PTSD-associated psychosocial functioning and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans, which has not been studied to date. Methods: We used data from a gender-balanced national patient registry of warzone-deployed OEF/OIF veterans (Project VALOR: Veterans After-Discharge Longitudinal Registry) to determine the impact of gender on PTSD-related psychosocial functioning and HRQOL in 1,530 United States Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans (50% female) with and without PTSD. Overall psychosocial functioning was assessed with the Inventory of Psychosocial Functioning (IPF) and mental and physical HRQOL with the Veterans RAND 12-item Health Survey (VR-12) Mental and Physical Component Summary scores, respectively. Stratified linear regression models estimated gender-specific associations, controlling for demographic, deployment, and postdeployment factors. Interaction models tested for significant effect moderation by gender. Results: In gender-stratified models, PTSD was strongly associated with higher IPF scores (greater functional impairment), with similar associations by gender. PTSD was also associated with lower Mental Component Summary scores (lower mental HRQOL) in both men and women, with no evidence of effect moderation by gender. PTSD was associated with lower Physical Component Summery scores in women but not men in adjusted models; however, interactions were not significant. Conclusion: PTSD among warzone-deployed OEF/OIF veterans is associated with significant impairments in both overall psychosocial functioning and HRQOL, with associations that are largely similar by gender. Findings support the need for thorough and continuous assessment of functional impairment and HRQOL during treatment of PTSD for both male and female OEF/OIF veterans.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, the association between change in ED status over time and future underlying CVD risk is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between change in ED status and Framingham CVD risk, as well change in Framingham risk. We studied 965 men free of CVD in the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey, a longitudinal cohort study with three assessments. ED was assessed with the five‐item International Index of Erectile Function at BACH I (2002–2005) and BACH II (2007–2010) and classified as no ED/transient ED/persistent ED. CVD risk was assessed with 10‐year Framingham CVD risk algorithm at BACH I and BACH III (2010–2012). Linear regression models controlled for baseline age, socio‐demographic and lifestyle factors, as well as baseline Framingham risk. Models were also stratified by age (≥/< 50 years). Framingham CVD risk and change in Framingham CVD risk were the main outcome measures. Transient and persistent ED was significantly associated with increased Framingham risk and change in risk over time in univariate and age‐adjusted models. In younger men, persistent ED was associated with a Framingham risk that was 1.58 percentage points higher (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.11, 3.06) and in older men, a Framingham risk that was 2.54 percentage points higher (95% CI: −1.5, 6.59), compared with those without ED. Change in Framingham risk over time was also associated with transient and persistent ED in men Fang SC, Rosen RC, Vita JA, Ganz P, and Kupelian V. Changes in erectile dysfunction over time in relation to Framingham cardiovascular risk in the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey. J Sex Med 2015;12:100–108

Background Sleep plays an important role in health and varies by social determinants. Little is known, however, about geographic variations in sleep and the role of individual-level and neighbourhood-level factors. Methods We used a multilevel modelling approach to quantify neighbourhood variation in self-reported sleep duration (very short Results Between neighbourhood differences accounted for a substantial portion of total variability in sleep duration. Neighbourhood variation persisted with control for demographics, SES and lifestyle factors. These characteristics accounted for a portion (6–20%) of between-neighbourhood variance in very short, short and long sleep, while nSES accounted for the majority of the remaining between-neighbourhood variances. Low and medium nSES were associated with very short and short sleep (eg, very short sleep OR=2.08; 95% CI 1.38 to 3.14 for low vs high nSES), but not long sleep. Further inclusion of health factors did not appreciably increase the amount of between-neighbourhood variance explained nor did it alter associations. Conclusions Sleep duration varied by neighbourhood in a diverse urban setting in the northeastern USA. Individual-level demographics, SES and lifestyle factors explained some geographic variability, while nSES explained a substantial amount. Mechanisms associated with nSES should be examined in future studies to help understand and reduce geographic variations in sleep.

Little is known about environmental determinants of sleep. We investigated the association between black carbon (BC), a marker of traffic-related air pollution, and sleep measures among participants of the Boston Area Community Health Survey. We also sought to assess the impact of sociodemographic factors, health conditions, and season on associations. Residential 24-h BC was estimated from a validated land-use regression model for 3821 participants and averaged over 1–6 months and 1 year. Sleep measures included questionnaire-assessed sleep duration, sleep latency, and sleep apnea. Linear and logistic regression models controlling for confounders estimated the association between sleep measures and BC. Effect modification was tested with interaction terms. Main effects were not observed between BC and sleep measures. However, in stratified models, males experienced 0.23 h less sleep (95% CI: −0.42, −0.03) and those with low SES 0.25 h less sleep (95% CI: −0.48, −0.01) per IQR increase in annual BC (0.21 μg/m³). In blacks, sleep duration increased with annual BC (β=0.34 per IQR; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.57). Similar findings were observed for short sleep (≤5 h). BC was not associated with sleep apnea or sleep latency, however, long-term exposure may be associated with shorter sleep duration, particularly in men and those with low SES, and longer sleep duration in blacks.