Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Expanding The Boundaries Of Food Policy: The Turn To Equity In New York City, Nevin Cohen, Rositsa Ilieva

Publications and Research

Policymakers acknowledge that the food system is multidimensional and that social determinants affect diet-related health outcomes, yet cities have emphasized programs and policies narrowly connected to food access and nutritional health. Over the past fifteen years, the boundaries of food governance have expanded to include a wider range of issues and domains not previously considered within the purview of food policy, like labor, housing, and education policies. This paper illustrates the processes by which this shift occurs by presenting the case of New York City, which has broadened its food governance to a larger set of issues, requiring cross-sectoral initiatives …

Africans Who Arrive In The United States Before 20 Years Of Age Maintain Both Cardiometabolic Health And Cultural Identity: Insight From The Africans In America Study, Elyssa M. Shoup, Thomas Hormenu, Nana H. Osei-Tutu, M.C. Sage Ishimwe, Arielle C. Patterson, Christopher W. Dubose, Annemarie Wentzel, Margrethe F. Horlyck-Romanovsky, Anne E. Sumner

Publications and Research

The overall consensus is that foreign-born adults who come to America age < 20 y achieve economic success but develop adverse behaviors (smoking and drinking) that lead to worse cardiometabolic health than immigrants who arrive age ≥ 20 y. Whether age of immigration affects the health of African-born Blacks living in America is unknown. Our goals were to examine cultural identity, behavior, and socioeconomic factors and determine if differences exist in the cardiometabolic health of Africans who immigrated to America before and after age 20 y. Of the 482 enrollees (age: 38 ± 1 (mean ± SE), range: 20–65 y) in the Africans in America cohort, 23% (111/482) arrived age < 20 y, and 77% (371/482) arrived age ≥ 20 y. Independent of francophone status or African region of origin, Africans who immigrated age < 20 y had similar or better cardiometabolic health than Africans who immigrated age ≥ 20 y. The majority of Africans who immigrated age < 20 y identified as African, had African-born spouses, exercised, did not adopt adverse health behaviors, and actualized early life migration advantages, such as an American university education. Due to maintenance of cultural identity and actualization of opportunities in America, cardiometabolic health may be protected in Africans who immigrate before age 20. In short, immigrant health research must be cognizant of the diversity within the foreign-born community and age of immigration.

Understanding Of Aerosol Transmission Of Covid 19 In Indoor Environments, Adama Barro, Cathal O'Toole, Jacob S. Lopez, Matthew Quinones, Sherene Moore

Publications and Research

Our reason for discussing severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or 2019 novel corona virus (Covid-19), is to understand its aerosol transmission characteristics in indoor spaces and to mitigate further spread of this disease by designing a new HVAC system. The problem that we are tackling is the spread of covid-19 droplets through aerosol transmission by looking at potential engineering solutions to the existing HVAC systems. The purpose is to eradicate the spread of the COVID-19 by testing indoor spaces in an effort to understand the effectiveness of ventilation controls. We believe that scientists and engineers have not …

Reproducibility And Sensitivity Of Thirty-Six Methods To Quantify The Sars-Cov-2 Genetic Signal In Raw Wastewater: Findings From An Interlaboratory Methods Evaluation In The U.S., Brian M. Pecson, Emily Darby, Charles N. Haas, Yamrot M. Amha, Mitchel Bartolo, Richard Danielson, Yeggie Dearborn, George Di Giovanni, Christobel Ferguson, Stephanie Fevig, Erica Gaddis, Donald Gray, George Lukasik, Bonnie Mull, Liana Olivas, Adam Olivieri, Yan Qu, Sars-Cov-2 Interlaboratory Consortium, John J. Dennehy

Publications and Research

In response to COVID-19, the international water community rapidly developed methods to quantify the SARS-CoV-2 genetic signal in untreated wastewater. Wastewater surveillance using such methods has the potential to complement clinical testing in assessing community health. This interlaboratory assessment evaluated the reproducibility and sensitivity of 36 standard operating procedures (SOPs), divided into eight method groups based on sample concentration approach and whether solids were removed. Two raw wastewater samples were collected in August 2020, amended with a matrix spike (betacoronavirus OC43), and distributed to 32 laboratories across the U.S. Replicate samples analyzed in accordance with the project's quality assurance plan …

Childhood Maltreatment And Lead Levels In Middle Adulthood: A Prospective Examination Of The Roles Of Individual Socio-Economic And Neighborhood Characteristics, Anthony Carpi, Valentina Nikulina, Xuechen Li, Cathy Spatz Widom

Publications and Research

Background Lead is a common environmental hazard because of its past use as an additive to gasoline and household paint. Some evidence suggests that children with histories of child abuse and neglect are at elevated risk for residence in communities and households with less desirable characteristics and high levels of exposure to environmental hazards and toxins.

Objectives To understand whether childhood maltreatment leads to higher levels of household dust lead and blood lead in adulthood and the extent to which characteristics of a person’s physical environment or individual level socio-economic status (SES) (based on unemployment, poverty, and receipt of public …

Workers At Long-Term Care Facilities And Their Risk For Severe Covid-19 Illness, Jessica Greene, Diane Gibson

Publications and Research

Given the high concentration of COVID-19 cases in long-term care (LTC) facilities in the United States, individuals working in these facilities are at heightened risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Using data from the nationally-representative 2017 and 2018 National Health Interview Surveys on adults who reported working in LTC facilities, this study examines the extent to which LTC workers are also at increased risk or potentially at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 including hospitalization, intubation, or death. We used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of conditions placing individuals in these risk categories to the extent possible. We …

Trust: Assessing The Efficacy Of An Intervention To Increase Hiv Self‑Testing Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men (Msm) And Transwomen, Victoria Frye, Vijay Nandi, Mark Q. Paige, Jermaine Mccrossin, Debbie Lucy, Marya Gwadz, Patrick S. Sullivan, Donald R. Hoover, Leo Wilton

Publications and Research

HIV testing among young Black MSM and transwomen (YBMSM/TW) is the gateway to biomedical HIV prevention or treatment. HIV self-testing (HST) is a method that may increase consistent HIV testing. TRUST, a brief, peer-based behavioral intervention, was designed to increase uptake of consistent (every three months) HST among YBMSM/TW in New York City. To test the efficacy of the intervention, we randomized 200 friend pairs into either the intervention condition (TRUST) or a time and attention control condition. A modified intent-to-treat analysis found that self-reported HST at 3-month follow-up was statistically significantly higher (uOR 2.29; 95% CI 1.15, 4.58) and …

Mental Health Literacy In A Diverse Sample Of Undergraduate Students: Demographic, Psychological, And Academic Correlates, Rona Miles, Laura Rabin, Anjali Krishnan, Evan Grandoit, Kamil Kloskowski

Publications and Research

Background: Investigating variables associated with mental health literacy in the college-age population takes us one step closer to providing intervention for this vulnerable group, where growing rates of psychological disorders are a serious public concern. This study adds to the existing literature by incorporating, within a single model, multi-faceted variables (demographic, psychological, and academic) that contribute to mental health literacy in demographically and ethnically diverse college students.

Methods: Participants were undergraduate students enrolled at nine different colleges that are part of a large, urban, public university system. A total of 1213 respondents (62.0% female, 73.3% non-white) completed an in- person …

The Cost Effectiveness Of Mental Health Treatment In The Lifetime Of Older Adults With Hiv In New York City: A Markov Approach, Juan J. Delacruz, Mark Brennan-Ing, Andreas Kakolyris, Omar Martinez

Publications and Research

Background

There are noticeable gaps in knowledge regarding the cost and effectiveness of integrated medical and behavioral services for older adults with HIV. Their lifespan is close to the population’s level but their quality of life has sharply declined due to depression and substance use. Mental health disorders are widespread among an aging population with HIV. Objective The aim of this study was to build a decision analytic model to evaluate medical interventions with and without mental health treatment using primary data of 139 older adults with HIV and health outcomes from the literature.

Methods

We tracked the progression of …

Gender And Racial Disparity For Hospital Emergency Service Usage In Usa: A Quantitative Analysis For Various Age Groups During 2010–2017., Subhendra N. Sarkar, Anthony F. Devito, Evans Lespinasse, Faisal Khosa

Publications and Research

Background: Annually emergency department (ED) services are utilized by more than 100 million Americans making ED usage trends important determinants of healthcare quality, outcomes and cost. Previous workers have demonstrated the existence of disparity in various healthcare services in USA although a comprehensive analysis has not been undertaken. Dahlgren and Whitehead rainbow model has offered insights for multiple factors of influence on an individual’s health and focuses on the relationships among these factors. The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH; WHO initiatives) suggests that the social and environmental factors are at the root of most of the inequalities responsible …

The Occupational Depression Inventory: A New Tool For Clinicians And Epidemiologists, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Background: Depressive symptoms induced by insurmountable job stress and sick leave for mental health reasons have become a focal concern among occupational health specialists. The present study introduces the Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI), a measure designed to quantify the severity of work-attributed depressive symptoms and establish provisional diagnoses of job-ascribed depression. The ODI comprises nine symptom items and a subsidiary question assessing turnover intention. Methods: A total of 2254 employed individuals were recruited in the U.S., New Zealand, and France. We examined the psychometric and structural properties of the ODI as well as the nomological network of work-attributed depressive symptoms. …

Exercise Behavior And Mood During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Taiwan: Lessons For The Future, Yu-Kai Chang, Chiao-Ling Hung, Sinika Timme, Sanaz Nosrat, Chien-Heng Chu

Publications and Research

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its associated governmental recommendations and restrictions have influenced many aspects of human life, including exercise and mental health. This study aims to explore the influence of COVID-19 on exercise behavior and its impact on mood states, as well as predict changes in exercise behavior during a similar future pandemic in Taiwan. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between 7 April and 13 May 2020 (n = 1114). Data on exercise behavior pre and during the pandemic and mood states were collected. A cumulative link model was used to predict changes in exercise frequency …

Association Of Body Shape Index (Absi) With Hand Grip Strength, Nir Y. Krakauer, Jesse C. Krakauer

Publications and Research

Hand grip is a leading measure of muscle strength and general health, yet its association with body shape is not well characterized. Here, we examine correlations between grip strength, a body shape index (ABSI), and body mass index (BMI) in the 2011–2014 United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cohorts. Grip strength was found to correlate negatively with ABSI (though positively with BMI), suggesting that those with a more central body profile tend to be weaker than others with the same weight. Individuals with low grip strength, as well as those with high ABSI, were more likely to die …

What Do We Learn When The Unknown Suddenly Appears?, Kari Singletary, Linda Paradiso

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Protocol For A National Probability Survey Using Home Specimen Collection Methods To Assess Prevalence And Incidence Of Sars-Cov-2 Infection And Antibody Response, Aaron J. Siegler, Patrick S. Sullivan, Travis Sanchez, Ben Lopman, Mansour Fahimi, Charles Sailey, Martin Frankel, Richard Rothenberg, Colleen F. Kelley, Heather Bradley

Publications and Research

Purpose: The U.S. response to the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has been hampered by early and ongoing delays in testing for infection; without data on where infections were occurring and the magnitude of the epidemic, early public health responses were not data-driven. Understanding the prevalence of SARSCoV- 2 infections and immune response is critical to developing and implementing effective public health responses. Most serological surveys have been limited to localities that opted to conduct them and/or were based on convenience samples. Moreover, results of antibody testing might be subject to high false positive rates in the setting of low prevalence of immune …

Ptsd And Depressive Symptoms As Potential Mediators Of The Association Between World Trade Center Exposure And Subjective Cognitive Concerns In Rescue/Recovery Workers, Ankura Singh, Rachel Zeig-Owens, Laura Rabin, Theresa Schwartz, Mayris P. Webber, David Appel, David J. Prezant, Charles B. Hall

Publications and Research

We observed that World Trade Center (WTC) exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and depressive symptoms were associated with subjective cognitive concerns in Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) rescue/recovery workers. This follow-up study examined whether PTSD symptoms and/or depressive symptoms mediate the observed association between WTC exposure and subjective cognitive concerns. We included WTC-exposed FDNY workers who completed the Cognitive Function Instrument (CFI), measuring self-perceived cognitive decline (N = 9516). PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms were assessed using the PCL-S and CES-D, respectively. Multivariable linear regression estimated the association between WTC exposure and CFI score, adjusting …

Covid-19: Health As A Common Good, Alfredo Morabia

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Neuroinvasion, Neurotropic, And Neuroinflammatory Events Of Sars-Cov-2: Understanding The Neurological Manifestations In Covid-19 Patients, Yassine Yachou, Abdeslem El Idrissi, Vladimir Belapasov, Said Ait Benali

Publications and Research

Respiratory viruses are opportunistic pathogens that infect the upper respiratory tract in humans and cause severe illnesses, especially in vulnerable populations. Some viruses have neuroinvasive properties and activate the immune response in the brain.These immune events may be neuroprotective or they may cause long-term damage similar to what is seen in some neurodegenerative diseases. The new “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2” (SARS-CoV-2) is one of the Respiratory viruses causing highly acute lethal pneumonia coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with clinical similarities to those reported in “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus” (SARS-CoV) and the “Middle East Respiratory SyndromeCoronavirus” (MERS-CoV) including neurological …

The Public Health We Need, Alfredo Morabia

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Resuming On-Site Services: Final Report And Recommendations Of The Cuny Libraries Covid-19 Task Force, Kathleen Dreyer, Jeffrey Delgado, Karen Okamoto, Steven Ovadia, Roxanne Shirazi, Michael Waldman, Haruko Yamauchi, Simone Yearwood

Publications and Research

This report was prepared by the CUNY Libraries COVID-19 Task Force, which formed in May 2020 with the following charge:

Authorized by the CUNY Office of Library Services and the Council of Chief Librarians, the task force is charged to survey best practices shared by libraries world-wide and to develop guidelines for CUNY Libraries site management, staff and user safety, circulation and resource sharing, and materials handling as pandemic conditions evolve.

A summary of the draft report was submitted by Interim Dean for Library Services Polly Thistlethwaite to CUNY’s Academic & Student Support Task Force on June 23, 2020. The …

Addressing The Commercial Determinants Of Health Begins With Clearer Definition And Measurement, Kelley Lee, Nicholas Freudenberg

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Stress Measured By Allostatic Load Varies By Reason For Immigration, Age At Immigration, And Number Of Children: The Africans In America Study, Thomas Hormenu, Elyssa M. Shoup, Nana H. Osei-Tutu, Arsene F. Hobabagabo, Christopher W. Dubose, Lilian S. Mabundo, Stephanie T. Chung, Margarethe F. . Horlyck-Romanovsky, Anne E. Sumner

Publications and Research

Stress leads to physiologic dysfunction and cardiometabolic disease. Allostatic load score (ALS) measures stress-induced cardiovascular, metabolic, and inflammatory biomarkers. We estimated the odds of high ALS by reason for and age at immigration, duration of American residence, number of children, and socioeconomic status in 193 African immigrants (male: 65%, age 41 ± 10 y (mean ± Standard Deviation (SD)), range 22–65 y). ALS was calculated with High-ALS defined as ALS ≥ 3.0 and Low-ALS defined as ALS < 3.0. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were performed, the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk estimated, and TNF-α, an inflammatory cytokine, measured. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds of High-ALS. In the High- and Low-ALS groups, ALS were 4.0 ± 1.2 vs. 1.3 ± 0.7, diabetes prevalence: 14% vs. 4%, CVD risk: 23% vs. 8%, TNF-α levels: 15 ± 9 vs. 11 ± 6 pg/mL, respectively (all p ≤ 0.01). Immigrants were more likely to be in the High-ALS group if their reason for immigration was work or asylum/refugee (OR 2.18, p = 0.013), their age at immigration was ≥30 y (OR 3.28, p < 0.001), their duration of residence in United States was ≥10 y (OR 3.16, p = 0.001), or their number of children was ≥3 (OR 2.67, p = 0.019). Education, income, health insurance, marital status, and gender did not affect High-ALS odds. Factors adversely influencing allostatic load and cardiometabolic health in African immigrants were age at and reason for immigration, duration of residence in America, and number of children.

Online Grocery Shopping By Nyc Public Housing Residents Using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) Benefits: A Service Ecosystems Perspective, Nevin Cohen, Katherine Tomaino-Fraser, Chloe Arnow, Michelle Mulcahy, Christophe Hille

Publications and Research

This paper examines adoption of online grocery shopping, and potential cost and time savings compared to brick and mortar food retailers, by New York City public housing residents using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. A mixed methods action research project involving the co-creation of an online shopping club, the Farragut Food Club (FFC), recruited 300 members who registered to shop online using SNAP, and received waivers on delivery minimums and provided technical assistance and centralized food delivery. We conducted a survey (n = 206) and focus groups to understand shopping practices; FFC members collected receipts of groceries over two …

Enhancing Global Health Communication During A Crisis: Lessons From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Scott C. Ratzan, Silvia Sommarivac, Lauren Rauh

Publications and Research

Background/objective: The understanding and practice of public health crisis communication are improved through the study of responses to past crises, but require retooling for present challenges. The ‘Addressing Ebola and other outbreaks’ checklist contains guiding principles built upon maxims developed from a World Health Organization consultation in response to the mad cow (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) crisis that were later adopted for Ebola. The purpose of this article is to adapt the checklist for the health communication challenges and public health practices that have emerged during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The communication challenges of promoting vaccine acceptance are used …

Racism And The Political Economy Of Covid-19: Will We Continue To Resurrect The Past?, Zinzi D. Bailey, J. Robin Moon

Publications and Research

COVID-19 is not spreading over a level playing field; structural racism is embedded within the fabric of American culture, infrastructure investments, and public policy, and fundamentally drives inequities. The same racism that has driven the systematic dismantling of the American social safety-net has also created the policy recipe for American structural vulnerability to the impacts of this and other pandemics. The Bronx provides an important case study for investigating the historical roots of structural inequities showcased by this pandemic; current lived experiences of Bronx residents are rooted in the racialized dismantling of New York City’s public infrastructure and systematic disinvestment. …

Post-Infectious Sequela Of Sars-Cov-2 Infection In Adults And Children: An Overview Of Available Agents And Clinical Responsiveness, David S. Younger

Publications and Research

The SARS-CoV-2 2019 pandemic has created challenges to managing the post-infectious autoimmune consequences of a disease that leads to the high case fatality in adults and children. The spectrum of agents available to modulate and suppress the immune system in combination with other appropriate antiviral antibiotics and life support measures is reviewed. All of the agents envisioned to treat Covid-19 disorders, including a newly recognized pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, impact post-infectious mechanisms in keeping with the multiplier effect of infection, immunity and inflammation known as I-Cubed (I3).

Studying Public Perception About Vaccination: A Sentiment Analysis Of Tweets, Viju Raghupathi, Jie Ren, Wullianallur Raghupathi

Publications and Research

Text analysis has been used by scholars to research attitudes toward vaccination and is particularly timely due to the rise of medical misinformation via social media. This study uses a sample of 9581 vaccine-related tweets in the period 1 January 2019 to 5 April 2019. The time period is of the essence because during this time, a measles outbreak was prevalent throughout the United States and a public debate was raging. Sentiment analysis is applied to the sample, clustering the data into topics using the term frequency–inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) technique. The analyses suggest that most (about 77%) of the …

Healthcare Expenditure And Economic Performance: Insights From The United States Data, Viju Raghupathi, Wullianallur Raghupathi

Publications and Research

This research explores the association of public health expenditure with economic performance across the United States. Healthcare expenditure can result in better provision of health opportunities, which can strengthen human capital and improve the productivity, thereby contributing to economic performance. It is therefore important to assess the phenomenon of healthcare spending in a country. Using visual analytics, we collected economic and health data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the years 2003–2014. The overall results strongly suggest a positive correlation between healthcare expenditure and the economic indicators of income, GDP, and labor productivity. …

Pain Management: Genetic Basis For Racial Disparities?, Brittany Taylor

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A National Prospective Cohort Study Of Sars/Cov2 Pandemic Outcomes In The U.S.: The Chasing Covid Cohort, Mckaylee Robertson, Sarah Kulkarni, Amanda Berry, Chloe Mirzayi, Andrew Maroko, Rebecca Zimba, Drew Westmoreland, Christina Grov, Angela Parcesepe, Levi Waldron, Denis Nash

Publications and Research

Introduction: The Chasing COVID Cohort (C 3 ) study is a US-based, geographically and socio-demographically diverse sample of adults (18 and older) enrolled into a prospective cohort study during the upswing of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We used internet-based strategies to enroll C 3 participants beginning March 28th, 2020. Following baseline questionnaire completion, study participants will be contacted monthly (for 6 months) to complete assessments of engagement in non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g., use of cloth masks, avoiding large gatherings); COVID-19 symptoms; SARS/COV2 testing and diagnosis; hospitalizations; healthcare access; and uptake of health messaging. Dried blood spot (DBS) specimens will be …