Sodium content of menu and commissary provisions in rural jail exceeds heart-healthy dietary recommendations

Purpose This paper determined sodium provisions from a seven-day cycle menu and commissary at a rural Southwest County jail and compared it to Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) recommendations for sodium. Design/methodology/approach A seven-day cycle menu and commissary items were used to determine sodium content for each meal and commissary pack. Estimates for the menu and commissary packs paired with the menu (commissary scenarios) were converted to a daily average of sodium and compared to DRI and DASH recommendations. Findings Menu provisions provided 167% of daily DRI sodium recommendations and 256% of daily DASH sodium recommendations. The sodium content for individual commissary scenarios averaged 218% of DRI and 334% of DASH recommendations. Commissary items are notably high in sodium and if eaten can significantly exceed dietary recommendations. Originality/value Small changes to one meal within the cycle menu and the inclusion of fresh or frozen produce could reduce sodium content to align with DRI and DASH recommendations.

Cardiovascular Risk Factors among Individuals Incarcerated in an Arizona County Jail

We aimed to estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity among a sample of individuals incarcerated in an Arizona county jail and compare prevalence estimates to a matched non-institutionalized population. From 2017–2018, individuals housed at a county jail completed a cross-sectional health survey. We estimated the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, overweight/obesity, cigarette smoking, binge drinking, and self-reported health among individuals incarcerated. We compared prevalence estimates of cardiovascular risk factors to a matched sample of 2017–2018 NHANES participants. Overall, 35.9%, 7.7%, and 17.8% of individuals incarcerated in jail self-reported hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, respectively. Of individuals incarcerated, 59.6% were overweight or obese and 36.8% self-reported fair or poor general health. Over half of individuals incarcerated reported ever smoking cigarettes (72.3%) and binge drinking (60.7%). Compared to a matched sample of NHANES participants, individuals incarcerated in jail had a statistically higher prevalence of cigarette smoking and binge drinking. Screening of cardiovascular risk factors and providing preventive measures and interventions, such as healthy eating, physical activity, or pharmacological adherence interventions, while individuals are incarcerated may contribute to the prevention and management of cardiovascular risk factors and, eventually, cardiovascular disease.

Abstract P083: Sodium Content Of Menu And Commissary Provisions In Rural Jail Exceed Heart-healthy Dietary Recommendations

Introduction: Incarcerated populations experience nearly two times the risk of Hypertension (HT) and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) relative to the general population. Incarcerated individuals lack the autonomy to make dietary changes to attenuate these risks. Dietary intake of sodium is considered the most critical and modifiable nutritional determinant to developing HT and CVD. The American Heart Association recommends the cardioprotective Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet which restricts sodium intake to 1500 mg per day, 800 mg less than the recommended Dietary Reference Intake (DRI). Nutrition in jail is obtained through menu provisions and purchasable packaged food and beverage items from the commissary, yet previous research indicating the high sodium content in jail meals has failed to include commissary items in total sodium intake. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that estimated daily sodium in a 7 day cycle menu and commissary items at a county jail exceed DRI and DASH diet recommendations. Methods: A 7 day cycle menu and commissary food list were obtained from a southwest rural county jail, which included 3 daily meals. Commissary items included 4 purchasable, pre-bundled food snack packs. NutriCalc Dietary Analysis software was used to determine sodium content for each meal, and commissary snack pack. Total sodium from the 7 day menu was divided by the number of days (7) to determine a daily average. For snack pack analyses, sodium of each of the 4 snack packs was added to the 7 day menu provisions and divided by 7, individually. All estimates were compared to DRI and DASH recommendations. Results: The sodium content from the menu and commissary significantly exceeded both DRI and DASH recommendations. The daily average sodium from menu provisions was 167% (3847/2300) of the DRI and 256% (3847/1500) of the DASH diet recommendations. Lunch provisions contributed the largest proportion (45%, 12051/26931) of total weekly sodium. When sodium from commissary snack packs was included with the 7 day cycle menu, daily average sodium content ranged from 173 to 292% [(3971/2300) to ( 6712/2300)] of DRI and 265 to 447% [(3970/1500) to (6712/1500)] of DASH diet recommendations. Conclusions: Small changes to one meal within the cycle menu and the inclusion of fresh or frozen produce could reduce sodium content to align with DRI and DASH recommendations. Commissary items make up a substantial portion of dietary sodium intake within jails. The addition of reduced sodium options to commissary snack packs may help limit sodium intake without restricting what little autonomy incarcerated individuals have over their diet. These alterations may help alleviate HT and CVD burden for incarcerated populations.

Carceral-community epidemiology, structural racism, and COVID-19 disparities

Black and Hispanic communities are disproportionately affected by both incarceration and COVID-19. The epidemiological relationship between carceral facilities and community health during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, remains largely unexamined. Using data from Cook County Jail, we examine temporal patterns in the relationship between jail cycling (i.e., arrest and processing of individuals through jails before release) and community cases of COVID-19 in Chicago ZIP codes. We use multivariate regression analyses and a machine-learning tool, elastic regression, with 1,706 demographic control variables. We find that for each arrested individual cycled through Cook County Jail in March 2020, five additional cases of COVID-19 in their ZIP code of residence are independently attributable to the jail as of August. A total 86% of this additional disease burden is borne by majority-Black and/or -Hispanic ZIPs, accounting for 17% of cumulative COVID-19 cases in these ZIPs, 6% in majority-White ZIPs, and 13% across all ZIPs. Jail cycling in March alone can independently account for 21% of racial COVID-19 disparities in Chicago as of August 2020. Relative to all demographic variables in our analysis, jail cycling is the strongest predictor of COVID-19 rates, considerably exceeding poverty, race, and population density, for example. Arrest and incarceration policies appear to be increasing COVID-19 incidence in communities. Our data suggest that jails function as infectious disease multipliers and epidemiological pumps that are especially affecting marginalized communities. Given disproportionate policing and incarceration of racialized residents nationally, the criminal punishment system may explain a large proportion of racial COVID-19 disparities noted across the United States.

The Medicalization of the Los Angeles County Jail System, 1978–2015

This chapter presents the historical transformation of the Los Angeles County jail system in order to explain why medicine has becomes a useful tool for jailers. Jails were successfully pressured into providing expanded healthcare by various legal agencies at the exact same time that they faced unprecedent budget constraint. In response, jails began thinking of their inmates less as violent gang members and more as mentally ill, substance abusers, and less threatening homeless persons. Doing so allowed them to draw in funding from other agencies and to release thousands of inmates. In total this resulted in the mere circulation of inmates between general housing and medicalized space as the key solution to the jail’s fiscal retrenchment and legal demands.

Hennepin County Adult Detention Center’s Response to a 2019 Hepatitis A Outbreak in Minnesota

Hennepin County Adult Detention Center (Jail) is Minnesota’s largest jail. In August 2019, the Minnesota Department of Health declared a statewide hepatitis A outbreak. Within three days, Hennepin County Jail Health Services made significant changes to vaccination protocols that increased vaccination rates from 0.6% to 7.1% among detainees, who have a greater risk of contracting hepatitis A. We highlight the opportunity for jails to develop sustainable public health interventions in the setting of community outbreaks. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print March 18, 2021: e1–e3. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306159 )