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Katherine Shepherd Hall

Associate Professor in Medicine
Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care

Selected Publications


Perceived Barriers and Benefits of Exercise Among Women Survivors of Sexual Violence by Physical Activity Level and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Status.

Journal Article Violence Against Women · November 2024 An online, cross-sectional survey of women survivors of sexual violence (SV; N = 355) gathered information on perceived barriers and benefits of exercise, along with exercise level and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. This study reports exerc ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sex-specific associations between self-reported physical activity and PTSD among survivors of sexual violence.

Journal Article J Behav Med · April 2024 This study examined sex-specific associations between sexual violence (SV) type and physical activity, and identified associations between PTSD symptoms and physical activity, all among cisgender men and women survivors of SV. Cross-sectional data from men ... Full text Link to item Cite

Exercise Preferences among Men Survivors of Sexual Violence by PTSD and Physical Activity Level: Recommendations for Trauma Informed Practice

Journal Article Journal of Men's Studies · March 1, 2024 This analysis reported interest in exercise programs made for men survivors of sexual violence (SV), preferences for the structure and content of these programs, and comparisons by physical activity level and PTSD status. A cross-sectional survey was condu ... Full text Cite

Trajectories of physical function changes for older veterans with serious mental illness in a clinical exercise program

Journal Article Mental Health and Physical Activity · March 1, 2024 Background and aims: Older persons with serious mental illness (SMI) have compromised physical function (endurance, strength, mobility). Multicomponent exercise is effective at improving function in older adults but has been minimally examined in older peo ... Full text Cite

Posttraumatic stress disorder, trauma, and accelerated biological aging among post-9/11 veterans.

Journal Article Transl Psychiatry · January 6, 2024 People who experience trauma and develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk for poor health. One mechanism that could explain this risk is accelerated biological aging, which is associated with the accumulation of chronic diseases, ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Longitudinal analysis of physical function in older adults: The effects of physical inactivity and exercise training.

Journal Article Aging Cell · January 2024 Lack of exercise contributes to systemic inflammation and is a major cause of chronic disease. The long-term impact of initiating and sustaining exercise in late life, as opposed to sustaining a sedentary lifestyle, on whole-body health measures such as ph ... Full text Link to item Cite

Older Veterans' perspectives on participation in a clinical exercise program: A qualitative study of the VA Gerofit exercise program.

Journal Article SAGE Open Med · 2024 OBJECTIVES: We explored the perspectives of older veterans in Gerofit, a Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) supervised clinical exercise program, to understand the factors associated with participation and how the program supported personal health goals. M ... Full text Link to item Cite

Outpatient Care Models: The Gerofit Model of Care for Exercise Promotion in Older Adults

Chapter · January 1, 2024 Maintaining independence is the most highly valued health outcome of older adults with chronic conditions, yet chronic pain and fear of exacerbating these conditions contribute to inactivity. Deconditioning and physical inactivity underlie much of the phys ... Full text Cite

Perceived Barriers and Benefits of Exercise Among Men with Histories of Sexual Violence: Impact of PTSD and Physical Activity Status.

Journal Article J Interpers Violence · December 2023 This study reported on perceived benefits and barriers of exercise among men with histories of sexual violence (SV) and compared these perceptions by activity level and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) status. An online, cross-sectional, survey of men ... Full text Link to item Cite

Physical Function Assessment of Older Veterans With Serious Mental Illness.

Journal Article Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · September 2023 OBJECTIVE: To characterize the physical function of older veterans with serious mental illness (SMI) across endurance, strength, and mobility domains. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of clinical performance data. SETTING: Gerofit program, a national outpati ... Full text Link to item Cite

Impact of Military Affiliation on Exercise Perceptions Among Survivors of Sexual Violence.

Journal Article Mil Med · July 22, 2023 INTRODUCTION: Military service members disproportionately experience sexual violence (SV) and its related health concerns. Although recent work has shown physical activity to be an effective strategy for improving physical and mental health among trauma-ex ... Full text Link to item Cite

Which Types of Stress Are Associated With Accelerated Biological Aging? Comparing Perceived Stress, Stressful Life Events, Childhood Adversity, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Journal Article Psychosom Med · June 1, 2023 OBJECTIVE: Stress and stressful events are associated with poorer health; however, there are multiple ways to conceptualize and measure stress and stress responses. One physiological mechanism through which stress could result in poorer health is accelerat ... Full text Link to item Cite

Tryptophan Metabolism and Neurodegeneration: Longitudinal Associations of Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites with Cognitive Performance and Plasma Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Biomarkers in the Duke Physical Performance Across the LifeSpan Study.

Journal Article J Alzheimers Dis · 2023 BACKGROUND: The kynurenine pathway (KP) comprises a family of tryptophan-derived metabolites that some studies have reported are associated with poorer cognitive performance and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). OBJECTI ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Retention of older veterans with serious mental illness in a clinical exercise program.

Journal Article Front Psychiatry · 2023 Older adults with serious mental illness (SMI) have compromised physical function that could be improved with exercise; however, retention in exercise programs is a challenge. This study was a retrospective analysis of retention for the 150 older veterans ... Full text Link to item Cite

A pilot study to assess the feasibility of a remotely monitored high-intensity interval training program prior to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2023 INTRODUCTION: Although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) can be a curative therapy for hematologic disorders, it is associated with treatment-related complications and losses in cardiorespiratory fitness and physical function. High-i ... Full text Link to item Cite

Exercise preferences among women survivors of sexual violence by PTSD and physical activity level: Implications and recommendations for trauma-informed practice

Journal Article Mental Health and Physical Activity · October 1, 2022 Background: This analysis reported (1) interest in exercise programs made for women survivors of sexual violence (SV), (2) preferences for the structure and content of these programs, and (3) comparisons of interest and preferences by physical activity and ... Full text Cite

Geriatric Assessment Reveals Actionable Impairments in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Candidates Age 18 to 80 Years.

Journal Article Transplant Cell Ther · August 2022 Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) is a potentially curative treatment for both malignant and nonmalignant hematologic diseases; however, reported rates of treatment-related mortality approach 30%. Outcomes are worse in patients who b ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cost and Quality of Life Outcomes of the STepped Exercise Program for Patients With Knee OsteoArthritis Trial.

Journal Article Value Health · April 2022 OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the randomized clinical trial STEP-KOA (STepped Exercise Program for patients with Knee OsteoArthritis). METHODS: The trial included 230 intervention and 115 control participants from 2 Vet ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Sickle Cell Disease Functional Assessment (SCD-FA) tool: a feasibility pilot study.

Journal Article Pilot Feasibility Stud · March 4, 2022 BACKGROUND: The life expectancy for individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) has greatly increased over the last 50 years. Adults with SCD experience multiple complications such as cardiopulmonary disease, strokes, and avascular necrosis that lead to lim ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Physical activity is a potential measure of physical resilience in older adults receiving hemodialysis.

Journal Article Front Nephrol · 2022 BACKGROUND: Physical resilience, or the ability to recover after a physical stressor, declines with aging. Efforts to preserve physical resilience in the older dialysis population are critically needed; however, validated, patient-centered measures that ar ... Full text Link to item Cite