This article provides an overview of the professional roles of audiologists and speech-language pathologists (S-LPs) in interprofessional primary care.

Current published literature considering primary care delivery within comprehensive interprofessional teams contains little representation of professionals from the fields of audiology and speech-language pathology.

An illustrative case scenario highlights the key roles of audiologists and S-LPs in primary care, and how collaborative relationships within an interprofessional primary care team structure can enhance the overall quality of care provided to patients and to their families.

As experts in the prevention, diagnosis, and rehabilitation of communication disorders, with S-LPs supporting speech and swallowing disorders and audiologists supporting hearing and vestibular disorders, S-LPs and audiologists are well-positioned to support meaningful participation in primary care across the lifespan and in collaboration with different healthcare professionals, including patients experiencing cognitive decline.

Rapid weight gain commonly occurs following the onset of first-episode psychosis (FEP), leading to cardiometabolic disease. Most weight gain in FEP occurs in the first 3 months of treatment, offering a critical window for prevention. Despite this, most studies aiming to prevent antipsychotic-induced weight gain include people with chronic illness or people who have had lengthy exposure to antipsychotic medication. We aimed to synthesize and analyze the literature on interventions aimed at preventing antipsychotic-induced weight gain.

We conducted a systematic review in PsycInfo, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and EMBASE of studies that examined the effectiveness of interventions in preventing antipsychotic-induced weight gain in FEP. We examined their effect on weight gain and a range of cardiometabolic markers.

We screened 2,092 articles, 13 of which were eligible. Behavioral interventions, all three of which consisted of a multidisciplinary team approach, resulted in a mean of 3.05 kg less weight gain than treatment-as-usual (95% CI 1.36 kg to 4.73 kg). Pharmacological interventions displayed marked clinical and statistical heterogeneity, with each of the seven trials in adults using a different pharmacological intervention. Few studies collected comprehensive data on metabolic health. Only two pharmacological studies, and five studies in total, have been published since 2010.

Despite the importance of preventing weight gain in FEP, there have been few recent studies investigating this topic. Our results indicate that multidisciplinary team interventions are effective in preventing weight gain in FEP and should be offered to all patients.

To assess knowledge and perceptions of low-carbohydrate and intermittent fasting diets among UK-based Pakistani and Bangladeshi individuals for type 2 diabetes prevention and management.

A cross-sectional survey.

The survey was administered online using Jisc Online Surveys.

Pakistani and Bangladeshi adults aged 18 and over who had lived in the UK for at least 1 year.

A total of 304 participants took part in the survey, of which 77 % (n 234) were females and 80·3 % (n 244) were Pakistanis. Intermittent fasting diets appeared to be somewhat more acceptable (n 107, 36 %) than low-carbohydrate diets (n 68, 22·8 %). Participants showed generally good dietary knowledge of carbohydrates and type 2 diabetes, although some gaps were identified. Key barriers to dietary change included reluctance to alter established eating habits as well as low motivation. Age, education and living arrangements were significant predictors of dietary knowledge and dietary preferences.

These findings support carrying out future research to test culturally tailored interventions, with particular attention to intermittent fasting approaches. Multidisciplinary interventions that involve family members, offer flexible meal timing and present dietary guidance within familiar cultural contexts may improve acceptability and adherence and lead to long-term sustained benefits.

To investigate the relationship between self-perceived overall dietary healthfulness and self-reported sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption among young adult Latinas, accounting for socio-economic and acculturation-related factors.

Cross-sectional analysis using survey data. SSB intake was assessed using the BEVQ-15, and dietary self-perception was measured via a two-item scale. Multiple linear regression models examined associations between self-perception and total daily SSB intake, adjusting for income, education and two validated acculturation indicators.

Participants were recruited from a national online panel across the USA.

A total of 881 Latina women aged 18–29 years participated. After removing cases with invalid outcome responses and outliers, 840 and 829 were included in descriptive and regression analyses.

Better dietary self-perception was significantly associated with greater total SSB intake in both unadjusted (B = 1·74, P = 0·048) and fully adjusted models (B = 2·10, P = 0·017). Lower income (B = –0·64, P = 0·031) and lower education (B = –0·77, P = 0·026) were also associated with higher intake. Acculturation variables were NS. Subcategory models showed positive associations between self-perception and sweet tea (B = 0·99, P < 0·001) and black coffee/tea with sugar (B = 0·51, P < 0·01) and a marginal inverse association with soft drinks (B = –0·47, P = 0·060).

Young Latinas who perceive their diets as healthy may consume more added sugar from beverages than recommended. Public health efforts should address this perception gap and emphasise culturally relevant messaging about hidden sugars in commonly consumed drinks.

To examine the association between household food insecurity (HFI) and low subjective well-being (SWB) among pregnant and postpartum women and determine whether these potential associations differed by maternal age and pregnancy status.

We conducted a secondary analysis of nationally representative cross-sectional data from women of reproductive age (15–49 years). HFI was measured using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale and categorised as none/mild, moderate or severe. Weighted multilevel logistic regression models were used to estimate OR and 95 % CI for the association between HFI and low levels of three SWB measures: happiness, life satisfaction and optimism. Analyses were stratified by age and pregnancy status.

Data were drawn from the 2021 Nigeria Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, Round 6.

The analytic sample comprised 12 587 women who were pregnant at the time of the survey or within 24 months postpartum.

HFI was significantly associated with all three measures of SWB, although the magnitude of associations varied by outcome, even after adjusting for individual-, household-and community-level characteristics. Stratified analyses revealed heterogeneity in the associations between HFI and SWB by age and pregnancy status. Overall, HFI was associated with lower levels of happiness, life satisfaction and optimism among pregnant and postpartum women in Nigeria.

Our findings demonstrate a negative association between HFI and SWB among pregnant and postpartum women in Nigeria. These associations were modified by maternal age and pregnancy status, suggesting that strategies to mitigate HFI should account for subgroup differences in order to effectively improve maternal well-being.

While the relationships between somatic movement, mental well-being, and brain health have been well established, the causal nature and underlying mechanisms of such associations remain incompletely understood.

By applying multi-stage Mendelian randomization to multi-source summary data derived from genome-wide association studies, we examined the causal effects of 4 somatic movement measures on 2 mental well-being indices and 13 types of brain structures, followed by testing the mediating roles of brain structures in accounting for the causal associations between somatic movement and mental well-being.

Two-sample Mendelian randomization revealed that more physical activity was causally associated with greater mental well-being (life satisfaction and positive affect), while more sedentary behavior (longer leisure screen time and more sedentary behavior at work) with lower mental well-being. With respect to brain structures, sedentary behavior was causally linked to decreased volume, surface area, and local gyrification index in distributed cortical regions. Remarkably, decreased surface area of the piriform cortex was found to mediate the causal associations between sedentary behavior and lower mental well-being.

Our findings not only complement and extend earlier reports on the associations of somatic movement with mental well-being and brain health by further resolving the causality but also help elucidate the neural mechanisms by which sedentary behavior adversely affects mental well-being.

Cardiac complications significantly contribute to mortality in Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients. Early detection of cardiac involvement is crucial for optimising therapeutic interventions. This study aimed to evaluate the role of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in detecting cardiac involvement, as assessed by real-time three-dimensional (four-dimensional) and three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

This cross-sectional study enrolled individuals under 21 years. Participants underwent clinical evaluation, real-time three-dimensional echocardiography, three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography, and simultaneous measurement of serum N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels. Correlation analysis between echocardiographic parameters and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide was performed.

The study comprised 38 Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients with a mean age of 9.40 ± 4.13 years. Moderate significant correlations were observed between N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and echocardiographic parameters, including basal anterolateral and inferolateral longitudinal strain, apical septal longitudinal strain, and basal anterolateral and inferolateral radial strain (p < 0.05). Subgroup analysis based on N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (<125 pg/ml vs. ≥125 pg/ml) revealed impaired basal anterolateral longitudinal strain in patients with high N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide.

This is the first study that includes N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in conjunction with real-time three-dimensional echocardiography and three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography for assessing cardiac involvement in Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients. The observed correlations between N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels and regional contraction parameters hold promise for its relevance as a biomarker for cardiac dysfunction. Prospective studies with a larger population with a broader range of disease severity are necessary in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The establishment of rapid response teams (RRTs) has gained increasing prominence due to the growing threats of emerging infectious diseases, natural disasters, and other public health emergencies. As a center for Hajj and a regional hub for commerce and travel, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) faces distinct challenges. This study explores the Ministry of Health’s main reasons and challenges in establishing RRTs.

We employed a cross-sectional qualitative design, utilizing in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and document analysis to explore the historical process of establishing RRTs in KSA and the challenges encountered.

Specialists’ insights revealed that the concept of RRTs was formally introduced and applied following the initiation of the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) in KSA in 1989. However, its primary implementation began after the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2014. Identified challenges included a lack of trained personnel and resource availability due to unclear governance. There is a need for real-time data collection and technological solutions, improved inter-agency collaboration and information sharing, and governance.

The establishment of RRTs in KSA is estimated to have started with the initiation of the FETP. The challenges encountered provide valuable lessons for future emergency responses.

Inflammation has been implicated in psychosis, but its role in individuals at clinical (CHR) and genetic (GHR) high-risk remains unclear. We therefore conducted a network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare circulating cytokine levels across CHR, GHR, and healthy control (HC) groups.

We systematically searched multiple databases up to February 2025, extracting cytokine levels (plasma/serum) from CHR, GHR, and HC groups. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using random-effects models. Given that no direct head-to-head comparisons between CHR and GHR were available, indirect comparisons were performed through the common comparator (HC). The transitivity assumption was assessed by comparing key study and participant characteristics across comparisons.

Thirty studies were included (CHR: 1601, GHR: 675, HC: 1980). NMA estimates indicated higher IL-6 levels in CHR compared with GHR, while IL-6 and IL-1β levels were lower in GHR compared with HC. In pairwise subgroup analyses, CHR converters showed higher IL-13 levels than non-converters. The evidence network was sparse and star-shaped, with all CHR–GHR estimates relying exclusively on indirect comparisons.

This study represents the first NMA to synthesize cytokine alterations in individuals at high risk for psychosis using indirect evidence. Elevated IL-6 in CHR individuals suggests immune activation, whereas reduced IL-6 in GHR may reflect a distinct immune profile. Increased IL-13 levels in converters highlight potential involvement of Th2-related pathways during transition to psychosis. However, the sparse nature of the evidence network necessitates cautious interpretation of the findings, and larger, standardized multi-center studies are required for confirmation.