Race Relations

BACKGROUND: The number of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) positive patients and fatalities keeps rising. It is important to recognize risk factors for severe outcomes. Evidence linking vitamin D deficiency and the severity of COVID-19 is tangential but substantial - relating to race, obesity, and institutionalization. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the function of vitamin D and nutritional defense against infections such as COVID-19, which is the goal of this research...

BACKGROUND: An angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) is the preferred renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitor for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Among eligible patients, insurance status and prescriber concern regarding out-of-pocket costs may constrain early initiation of ARNI and other new therapies. OBJECTIVES: In this study, the authors sought to evaluate the association of insurance and other social determinants of health with ARNI initiation at discharge from HFrEF hospitalization...

BACKGROUND: Time-restricted eating (TRE) lowers body weight in many studies. Whether TRE induces weight loss independent of reductions in calorie intake, as seen in rodent studies, is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of TRE versus a usual eating pattern (UEP) on body weight in the setting of stable caloric intake. DESIGN: Randomized, isocaloric feeding study. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03527368). SETTING: Clinical research unit...

BACKGROUND: Despite its approval for acute ischemic stroke >25 years ago, intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) remains underused, with inequities by age, sex, race, ethnicity, and geography. Little is known about IVT rates by insurance status. METHODS AND RESULTS: We assessed temporal trends from 2002 to 2015 in IVT for acute ischemic stroke in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample using adjusted, survey - weighted logistic regression. We calculated odds ratios for IVT for each category in 2002 to 2008 (period 1) and 2009 to 2015 (period 2)...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disorder with various systemic and ocular clinical manifestations. In patients with SLE, central retinal vein and artery occlusion, choroidopathy, and occlusive vasculitis are among the most significant and clinically relevant ocular manifestations, although they do not commonly occur. We present a case series of three SLE patients of different races and genders who developed ocular-related clinical features of SLE during the course of their systemic disease...

OBJECTIVE: There are clinical differences in healthy skin requirements and skin-aging features by race and ethnicity. However, individuals of color are underrepresented in dermatology-related medical information. We sought to gather information from women of color regarding their attitudes about the importance of the prevention of skin aging, available information, and perception of representation in skin-aging prevention information. METHODS: This study involved an observational, cross-sectional, online survey of women aged 18 to 70 years residing in the United States...

OBJECTIVES: IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) can affect nearly any organ and is often treated with glucocorticoids, which contribute to organ damage and toxicity. Comorbidities and healthcare utilization in IgG4-RD are poorly understood. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study using claims data from a United States managed care organization. Incident IgG4-RD cases were identified using a validated algorithm; general population comparators were matched by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and index date...

BACKGROUND: Eliminating hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a significant worldwide challenge requiring innovative approaches for vaccination, screening, disease management, and the prevention of related conditions. Programs that support patients in accessing needed clinical services can help optimize access to preventive services and treatment resources for hepatitis B. METHODS: Here, we outline a coordinator-supported program (HBV Pathway) that connects patients infected with HBV to laboratory testing, imaging, and specialty care for treatment initiation and/or liver cancer surveillance (screening of high-risk patients for liver cancer)...

Esophageal adenocarcinoma is the most common histological subtype of esophageal cancer in Western countries and shows poor prognosis with rapid growth. EAC is characterized by a strong male predominance and racial disparity. EAC is up to fivefold more common among Whites than Blacks, yet Black patients with EAC have poorer survival rates. The racial disparity remains largely unknown, and there is limited knowledge of mutations in EAC regarding racial disparities. We used whole-exome sequencing to show somatic mutation profiles derived from tumor samples from 18 EAC male patients...

AIMS: For over 30 years, combined research and treatment settings in the US have been critical to conceptualizing care for first-episode psychosis (FEP). Here we describe an early example of such a context, the Services for the Treatment of Early Psychosis (STEP) clinic, which is affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh. METHODS: We describe STEP's historical roots and establishment in the early 1990s; STEP's research and treatment contributions, alongside its growth and ongoing leadership...

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of GLP-1 agonists compared to SGLT-2 inhibitors on diabetic retinopathy. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical cohort study using TriNetX (Cambridge, MA, USA), a federated electronic health records network comprising multiple healthcare organizations. METHODS: Patients with an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy and monotherapy treatment, excluding insulin, with GLP-1 agonists or SGLT-2 inhibitors...

Ovarian cancer is considered the most fatal and costly gynecologic cancer. Although personalized therapies have improved ovarian cancer prognosis, they have resulted in increased financial toxicity concerns among this population. This study evaluated financial toxicity in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Using secondary data from a study of barriers to palliative care, financial toxicity (FT) was measured through the Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity scale. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to assess the relationship between selected demographic (i...

UNLABELLED: Although experiences with police vary widely by race in the United States, many Americans expressed negative reactions to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020, which led to racially diverse protests for Floyd's justice. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed differences in Black and White Americans' reactions to the murder of George Floyd and the presence of White Americans at the subsequent protests for justice. METHOD: Black and White Americans ( N = 290) took part in an online study in which they responded to questions regarding their reactions to the murder of George Floyd, the subsequent protests for justice, and critical knowledge (e...

OBJECTIVE: Loss of control (LOC) eating (feeling unable to control food type/amount eaten) during pregnancy is common and linked to risk for poor cardiovascular health (CVH), but it is unclear whether prenatal LOC eating directly relates to CVH during pregnancy. The current study tested associations between prenatal LOC eating and CVH during pregnancy in a sample with prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25. METHOD: At 12-20 weeks' gestation, participants ( N = 124) self-reported: prenatal LOC eating, diet, physical activity, nicotine use, sleep; height/weight were measured...

The present study investigated matches and mismatches between adolescent and parent socialization domains (i.e., protection, guidance) as related to adolescent reception of parental support during a laboratory-based social evaluation challenge. Participants were 80 early adolescents ( M age = 12.36 years, SD = 1.33, 55% males, 55% Black, 42.5% White, and 2.5% other races or ethnicities) and one parent or guardian per adolescent. Observational measures of parent socialization domains assessed sensitivity to adolescents' thoughts and feelings (protection domain) and prosocial behavioral advice (guidance domain)...

Behavioral economic theory has been extensively applied to understand alcohol use disorder (AUD). Applications of behavioral economic theory conceptualize AUD as a pattern of harmful alcohol use over extended periods of time in which choices between drinking or engaging in alcohol-free activities favor drinking. Recovery, in contrast, entails a sustained shift toward a pattern of selecting rewarding alcohol-free activities. The present study examined whether alcohol-free activity engagement and the relative-reinforcement value (RRV) of engaging in those activities predicted AUD treatment outcomes via secondary analysis of data from Project MATCH, a multisite randomized clinical trial examining behavioral treatments for AUD ( N = 1,279, 75...

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) complicates ∼10% of pregnancies, with the highest rates among Asian women. Evidence suggests that GDM is associated with an increased risk for future chronic health conditions, yet data for Asian women are sparse. We explored the association between prior GDM and metabolic dysfunction with nationally representative data to obtain Asian-specific estimates. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, data were drawn from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 7195 women with a prior pregnancy...

INTRODUCTION: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the leading cause of death in pregnant women. Although it can be difficult to identify patients experiencing IPV, injuries to the head, neck, or face due to an assault are known to correlate with intentional injury. The objective of this study is to assess the contemporary burden of IPV in pregnancy and describe the patient characteristics. METHODS: The National Inpatient Sample was queried for all pregnant women between January 2016 and December 2019...

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a risk factor for experiencing left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) declines during receipt of potentially cardiotoxic breast cancer (BC) treatment. We sought to determine whether the hypertension stage is associated with LVEF decline during BC treatment. METHODS: Across 24 centers, cardiac magnetic resonance measures of LVEF and brachial arterial blood pressure (BP) measurements were performed in women with stages I to III BC before and 3 months after initiating potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy...

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) are common in racehorses and have been of increasing concern in horses travelling internationally to compete. Understanding the differences in bone turnover between local horses and international horses following long-distance air transportation may inform MSI prevention strategies. OBJECTIVES: To understand the differences in bone turnover markers and risk of MSI between local horses and international horses following long-distance air transportation...