
Nadia BennettUniversity of the West Indies · Caribbean Institute for Health Research
Nadia Bennett
Doctor of Medicine
About
48
Publications
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Introduction
Main Research Interests
1) Social support, team based strategies and lifestyle behaviours that that will improve blood pressure control among hypertensive patients.
2) Biological markers of vascular dysfunction
3) Systematic review methods
Skills and Expertise
Additional affiliations
July 2012 - present
Publications
Publications (48)
Recent studies have suggested that high levels of social support can encourage better health behaviours and result in improved cardiovascular health. In this study we evaluated the association between social support and ideal cardiovascular health among urban Jamaicans. We conducted a cross-sectional study among urban residents in Jamaica’s south-e...
Background Excess dietary salt consumption is a major contributor to hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Public education programs on the dangers of high salt intake, and population level interventions to reduce the salt content in foods are possible strategies to address this problem. In Jamaica, there are limited data on the levels of salt c...
This study aimed to estimate dietary sodium and potassium consumption among Jamaicans and evaluate associations with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2016-2017. Participants were noninstitutionalized Jamaicans aged ≥15 years. Trained staff co...
Recent studies suggest that high levels of social support can encourage better health behaviours and result in improved cardiovascular health. In this paper, we evaluated the association between social support and ideal cardiovascular health among urban Jamaicans.
We conducted a cross-sectional study among urban residents in Jamaica's southeast hea...
Objective
To summarize the evidence and identify gaps in the literature related to the impact of social factors on health outcomes across the life course for persons with Sickle Cell Disease.
Introduction
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of genetic diseases where abnormal hemoglobin is associated with recurrent complications across the life co...
Background
Despite limited data on neighborhood factors and health risk in Caribbean populations, previous analyses from Jamaica have shown that neighborhood and home disorder were associated with lower physical activity and higher cumulative biological risk among women, while poorer neighborhood infrastructure was associated with higher overweight...
The Human Mobility Transition model describes shifts in mobility dynamics and transport systems. The aspirational stage, ‘human urbanism’, is characterised by high active travel, universal public transport, low private vehicle use and equitable access to transport. We explored factors associated with travel behaviour in Africa and the Caribbean, in...
Objective: To estimate dietary sodium and potassium consumption among Jamaicans and evaluate associations with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2016-2017. Participants were non-institutionalized Jamaicans, ≥15 years. Trained staff col...
Introduction: Vascular growth factors (VasGFs) and increased arterial stiffness provide an early indication of structural and functional blood vessel changes that lead to cardiovascular disease. We aimed to determine if there was an association between serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EFG), angiopo...
Decreased physical activity (PA) has been associated with residents living in neighborhoods perceived as being disordered or having high crime levels. What is unknown are the characteristics of individuals who engage in moderate to vigorous levels of PA (MVPA) despite living in these vulnerable neighborhoods, or who may be referred to as positive d...
Background: Excess dietary salt consumption is a major contributor to hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Public education programs on the dangers of high salt intake, and population level interventions to reduce the salt content in foods are possible strategies to address this problem. In Jamaica, there are limited data on the levels of salt...
Travel has individual, societal and planetary health implications. We explored socioeconomic and gendered differences in travel behaviour in Africa, to develop an understanding of travel-related inequity. We conducted a mixed-methods systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42019124802). In 2019, we searched MEDLINE, TRID, SCOPUS, Web of Science, LILACS, Sci...
Objectives
Little is known of socioeconomic and gender disparities in tobacco use in the Caribbean. We evaluated education and occupation disparities in tobacco smoking prevalence in Jamaica.
Methods
Data on tobacco smoking, education attainment and usual occupation in adults 25-74 years in a national survey collected between 2007 and 2008 was anal...
Objective Ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) is associated with greater longevity and reduced morbidity, but no research on ICH has been conducted in Jamaica. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of ICH in urban Jamaica and to evaluate associations between ICH and community, household, and individual socioeconomic status (SES).
Design Cross-sectiona...
Background
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally. While upstream approaches to tackle NCD risk factors of poor quality diets and physical inactivity have been trialled in high income countries (HICs), there is little evidence from low and middle-income countries (LMICs) that bear a disproportionate NCD burden. Sub...
PurposeGeneral and central adiposity are associated with the risk of developing prostate cancer (PCa), but the role of these exposures on PCa survival among men of African ancestry are less studied. This study aimed to investigate the association of anthropometry at diagnosis with all-cause and PCa-specific mortality and evaluate whether androgen d...
BACKGROUND: Ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) is associated with greater longevity and reduced morbidity, but no research on ICH has been conducted in Jamaica. We estimated the prevalence of ICH in urban Jamaica and evaluated associations between ICH and community, household and individual socioeconomic status (SES).
METHODS: Cross-sectional study...
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) and community socioeconomic status (SES) in urban Jamaica.
Design and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using data on ICH and sociodemographic characteristics from the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2016-2017 and median unimproved land value for...
BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association defines ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) as having seven characteristics: non-smoker, body mass index <25kg/m2, ≥150 minutes of moderate physical activity weekly, healthy diet, normal blood pressure (< 120/80 mmHg), normal glucose (< 5.6 mmol/L) and normal cholesterol (<5.2 mmol/L). ICH is associated with...
Background Although several studies have identified risk factors for high blood pressure (BP), data from Afro-Caribbean populations are limited. Additionally, less is known about how putative risk factors operate in young adults and how social factors influence the risk of high BP. In this study, we estimated the relative risk for elevated BP or hy...
Data dictionary—variable names, labels, codes
Data spreadsheet for elevated blood pressure paper
Objectives: Socioeconomic disparities in health have emerged as an important area in public health, but studies from Afro-Caribbean populations are uncommon. In this study, we report on educational health disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity), among Jamaican ad...
Background
Studies have suggested that social inequalities in chronic disease outcomes differ between industrialized and developing countries, but few have directly compared these effects. We explored inequalities in hypertension and diabetes prevalence between African-descent populations with different levels of educational attainment in Jamaica a...
Background:
Sickle cell disease is a group of genetic diseases which is especially prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions; however, forced migration and ongoing population movement have spread it throughout the world, with estimated birth rates reaching 0.49 per 1000 in the Americas, 0.07 per 1000 in Europe, 0.68 per 1000 in South and South...
Despite the large body of research on racial/ethnic disparities in health, there are limited data on health disparities in Caribbean-origin populations. This scoping review aimed to analyze and synthesize published and unpublished literature on the disparities in hypertension and its complications among Afro-Caribbean populations.
A comprehensive p...
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the predominant cause of death globally. The large health disparities in the distribution of the burden of disease seen in developed and developing countries are of growing concern. Central to this concern is the poor outcome which is seen disproportionately in socially disadvantaged groups and racial/ethnic minori...
This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To assess the safety and efficacy of interventions for treating PH in people with SCD or thalassaemia.
Background
Despite the large body of research on racial/ethnic disparities in health, there are limited data on health disparities in Caribbean origin populations. This review aims to analyze and synthesize published literature on the disparities in diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications among Afro-Caribbean populations.
Methods
A detailed p...
To describe some contextual and methodological challenges to conduct systematic reviews (SR) in developing countries using experiences from Jamaica.
We identified four overarching challenges to conducting SRs in our setting, and present approaches used to overcome them. Challenges were evaluated using experiences in primary research and examples fr...
Objective: In this study we examined the effects of birth weight (BWT) and early life socioeconomic circumstances (SEC) on systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) among Jamaican young adults.
Study Design and Setting: Longitudinal study of 364 men and 430 women from the Jamaica 1986 Birth Cohort Study. Information on BWT and maternal SEC...
Background
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) has been shown to predict cardiovascular disease (CVD) endpoints and is associated with CVD risk factors and the metabolic syndrome. This study evaluated the association between hsCRP and CVD risk factors among Afro-Caribbean young adults in Jamaica.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional analy...
The abstract is published in Artery Research and is available at: http://www.arteryresearch.com/article/S1872-9312%2814%2900269-5/abstract
This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To determine the effectiveness of patient- and caregiver-centred educational interventions for changing knowledge and understanding of SCD among patients as well as caregivers of people with the disease. To assess the effectiveness and safety of patient- and...
Background: Femoral access is the most commonly used vascular access approach for coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but carries a risk of bleeding and vascular complications, which have been associated with a higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The use of the radial access has been reported to...
We longitudinally explored the relationship of body size and adiponectin levels in 393 community-dwelling Afro-Jamaicans. Adiponectin levels were greater in women, increased with age and declined with abdominal adiposity. Multivariate regression analyses suggest that subcutaneous fat in women may contribute significantly to the variance in their ad...
Objectives: adiponectin and ghrelin are associated with adiposity and type 2 diabetes in several studies. We sought to prospectively determine the interaction of adiponectin and ghrelin in the development of adiposity and hyperglycaemia. Design: prospective observational study. Participants: 393 community-dwelling Afro-Jamaicans (mean age 47 ± 13 y...
Adiponectin and ghrelin are associated with adiposity and type 2 diabetes in several studies. We sought to prospectively determine the interaction of adiponectin and ghrelin in the development of adiposity and hyperglycaemia.
Prospective observational study.
393 community-dwelling Afro-Jamaicans (mean age 47 +/- 13 years; BMI 27.3 +/- 6.3 kg/m(2);...