Browsing by Author "Molly Rosenberg"
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Item Executive function associated with sexual risk in young South African women: Findings from the HPTN 068 cohort(2018-04-02) Molly Rosenberg; Audrey Pettifor; Mihaela Duta; Nele Demeyere; Ryan G. Wagner; Amanda Selin; Catherine MacPhail; Oliver Laeyendecker; James P. Hughes; Alan Stein; Stephen Tollman; Kathleen KahnPurpose Heightened sexual risk in adolescence and young adulthood may be partially explained by deficits in executive functioning, the set of cognitive processes used to make reasoned decisions. However, the association between executive function and sexual risk is understudied among adolescent girls and young women, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Methods In a cohort of 853 young women age 18–25 in rural Mpumalanga province, South Africa, we evaluated executive function with three non-verbal cognitive tests: I. a rule-finding test, II. a trail-making test, and III. a figure drawing test. Using log-binomial regression models, we estimated the association between lower executive function test scores and indicators of sexual risk (unprotected sex acts, concurrent partnerships, transactional sex, and recent HSV-2 infection). Results In general, young women with lower executive function scores reported higher frequencies of sexual risk outcomes, though associations tended to be small with wide confidence intervals. Testing in the lowest quintile of Test I was associated with more unprotected sex [aPR (95% CI): 1.4 (1.0, 1.8)]. Testing in the lowest quintile of Test II was associated with more concurrent relationships and transactional sex [aPR (95% CI): 1.6 (1.1, 2.5) and 1.7 (1.3, 2.4), respectively], and testing in the lowest four quintiles of Test III was associated with more concurrent relationships [aPR (95% CI): 1.7 (1.0, 2.7)]. Conclusions These results demonstrate an association between low executive function and sexual risk in South African young women. Future work should seek to understand the nature of this association and whether there is promise in developing interventions to enhance executive function to reduce sexual risk.Item TRENDS IN HOUSEHOLD MATERIAL RESOURCES AND COGNITIVE HEALTH IN A LONGITUDINAL COHORT STUDY OF AGING IN SOUTH AFRICA(2022) Lindsay Kobayashi; Chodziwadziwa Kabudula; Mohammed Kabeto; Xuexin Yu; Stephen Tollman; Kathleen Kahn; Lisa Berkman; Molly RosenbergMaterial resources that affect daily living conditions may be salient for cognitive aging in low-income settings, but evidence is limited on this topic. We investigated relationships between long-term trends in household material resources and subsequent cognitive function among 4,580 adults aged ≥40 in a population-representative cohort in Agincourt sub-district, South Africa, from 2001-2015. Household material resources (dwelling materials, water, sanitation, sources of power, modern amenities, and livestock) were assessed biennially from 2001- 2013. We evaluated mean resources, volatility in resources, and change in resources over this period in relation to cognitive function in 2014/2015. Higher mean household resources and larger improvements over time in resources were positively associated with subsequent cognitive function, independent of confounders. Findings were largely driven by modern amenities for food preparation, transportation, and communication outside of the household. Access to these amenities may support cognitive aging through boosting nutrition and cognitive reserve and should be investigated further.