Public Health Commons^™

E-Cigarette Use Reasons And Associated E-Cigarette Use Dependence Among College Students: A Longitudinal Examination, Tzung-Shiang Ou, Anne Buu, James J Yang, Hsien-Chang Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Previous studies have established an understanding of reasons for e-cigarette use and associated e-cigarette use patterns such as use frequency, yet the critical extension to associated e-cigarette dependence outcome remains under-researched. This study used longitudinal data to examine whether the reasons for e-cigarette use predict a higher/lower level of e-cigarette dependence.

Methods: This study recruited college students who were current e-cigarette users from Fall 2019 to Fall 2020 (four semesters) at three public universities in the Midwest and South of the U.S. Those who participated for at least two semesters were included (N = 366). Data were collected using …

Sleep Disturbance As A Precursor To Anxiety, Depression, And Ptsd Among Rural Kenyans: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis From A Rural Kenyan Interventional Cohort, Michael L Goodman, Miryoung Lee, Andrew Springer, Vanessa Schick, Elizabeth Vaughan, Christine Markham, Stanley Gitari, Fridah Mukiri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Sleep quality is essential to biopsychosocial functioning, yet there remains limited longitudinal research on sleep and mental or social well-being within low- or middle-income countries. This study utilised longitudinal cohort data from a community-based empowerment programme in Meru County, Kenya to assess cross-lagged correlations between sleep disturbance, social support, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. Participants (n = 373; 92% women; age range 18-86 years) who reported more sleep disturbance at T1 reported significantly more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and significantly less social support at T2 (average 11 weeks later), controlling for all within-time correlations across measures, …

Clinicians’ Perceptions Of Care Partner Involvement In Health Priorities Identification For People Living With Dementia, Joan K Monin, Emily Mroz, Kalisha Bonds Johnson, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Thi Vu, Mary Tinetti

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

In Utero Exposure To Antihistamines And Risk Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma In A Multigenerational Cohort, Caitlin C Murphy, Karim Seif El Dahan, Amit G Singal, Piera M Cirillo, Nickilou Y Krigbaum, Barbara A Cohn

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that liver disease originates in early life. Antihistamines cross the placenta and are frequently prescribed to pregnant women to treat nausea and vomiting, as well as allergy and asthma symptoms. Exposure to antihistamines in utero may impact the developing liver by reprogramming or inducing epigenetic changes in fetal hepatocytes.

METHODS: We examined in utero exposure to antihistamines and the risk of HCC in the Child Health and Development Studies, a multigenerational cohort that enrolled pregnant women in the East Bay, CA, between 1959 and 1966 (n=14,507 mothers and 18,751 liveborn offspring). We reviewed mothers' medical records …

A Qualitative Exploration To Inform An Oral Health Training For Disability Care Workers In Burkina Faso, Ave Põld, Dan Filwendé Kientega, Jocelyne Valérie Garé, Michael Lorenz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

AIM: To explore enablers and barriers to the creation of an oral health training for care workers at specialized centres for children with disabilities in Ouagadougou.

DESIGN: This was a formative study informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework using qualitative methods.

METHODS: Qualitative observations and 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted with care workers from six specialized centres for disability.

RESULTS: Carer workers emphasized that a successful oral health training must account for available resources and competencies in each specific centre. Part of the training must be dedicated to oral hygiene targeted for people with disabilities and provide knowledge about risk …

Validation Of Electronic Diagnostic Codes For Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder, Melissa B Jones, Carlos H Schenck, Mehrnaz Azarian, Ricardo E Jorge, Amir Sharafkhaneh, Javad Razjouyan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

We investigated the accuracy of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for the identification of veterans with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. The charts of 139 randomly sampled veterans with ≥ 1 ICD-9 and ICD-10 code(s) for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder were reviewed for documentation of a suspected, previous, or current diagnosis; clinical symptoms; and/or empiric treatments for this disorder. Notably, 71 (51.1%) patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder electronic diagnoses had not undergone polysomnography, and 29 (20.9%) had polysomnography reports without commentary on rapid eye movement sleep without atonia. Sleep centers are therefore encouraged …

Treatment Of Large Intracranial Aneurysms Using The Woven Endobridge (Web): A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis, Basel Musmar, Hamza Salim, Nimer Adeeb, Assala Aslan, Bahaa Aljeradat, Jose Diestro, Rachel Mclellan, Oktay Algin, Sherief Ghozy, Mahmoud Dibas, Sovann Lay, Adrien Guenego, Leonardo Renieri, Nicole Cancelliere, Joseph Carnevale, Guillaume Saliou, Panagiotis Mastorakos, Kareem El Naamani, Eimad Shotar, Kevin Premat, Markus Möhlenbruch, Michael Kral, Justin Vranic, Charlotte Chung, Mohamed Salem, Ivan Lylyk, Paul Foreman, Jay Vachhani, Hamza Shaikh, Vedran Župančić, Muhammad Hafeez, Joshua Catapano, Muhammad Waqas, Vincent Tutino, Mohamed Ibrahim, Marwa Mohammed, M. Ozgur Ozates, Giyas Ayberk, James Rabinov, Yifan Ren, Clemens Schirmer, Mariangela Piano, Anna Kühn, Caterina Michelozzi, Stéphanie Elens, Robert Starke, Ameer Hassan, Mark Ogilvie, Anh Nguyen, Jesse Jones, Waleed Brinjikji, Marie Nawka, Marios Psychogios, Christian Ulfert, Julian Spears, Brian Jankowitz, Jan-Karl Burkhardt, Ricardo Domingo, Thien Huynh, Juan Carlos Martinez-Gutierrez, Muhammed Essibayi, Sunil Sheth, Gary Spiegel, Rabih Tawk, Boris Lubicz, Pietro Panni, Ajit Puri, Guglielmo Pero, Erez Nossek, Eytan Raz, Monika Killer-Oberfalzer, Christoph Griessenauer, Hamed Asadi, Adnan Siddiqui, Allan Brook, David Altschul, Andrew Ducruet, Felipe Albuquerque, Robert Regenhardt, Christopher Stapleton, Peter Kan, Vladimir Kalousek, Pedro Lylyk, Srikanth Boddu, Jared Knopman, Mohammad A Aziz-Sultan, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, Frédéric Clarençon, Nicola Limbucci, Hugo Cuellar-Saenz, Pascal Jabbour, Vitor Pereira, Aman Patel, Adam Dmytriw

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device is primarily used for treating wide-neck intracranial bifurcation aneurysms under 10 mm. Limited data exists on its efficacy for large aneurysms. We aim to assess angiographic and clinical outcomes of the WEB device in treating large versus small aneurysms. We conducted a retrospective review of the WorldWide WEB Consortium database, from 2011 to 2022, across 30 academic institutions globally. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to compare small and large aneurysms on baseline characteristics. A total of 898 patients were included. There was no significant difference observed in clinical presentations, smoking status, pretreatment mRS, presence …

A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Young Women's Agency And Mental Health During Covid-19 In Low-Income Communities In Mumbai, India, Marie A Brault, Melissa F Peskin, Anastasia N Jones, Amrita Saikia, Rinchen O Bhutia, Sai Sammitha Cheruvu, Vaishali M Jagtap, Rajendra Singh, Poornima Nair, Rajesh Vedanthan, Sten H Vermund, Shubhada Maitra

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in India face additional health inequities compared to their male peers, as gender norms constrain agency for prevention and self-care. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns deepened health inequities and often worsened mental health, but the impacts on agency are unclear. This exploratory sequential mixed methods paper examined mental health and COVID-19 elements that exacerbated or mitigated adverse consequences for AGYW in low-income communities in Mumbai.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with AGYW (aged 15-25 years; N = 60) and adults (parents, healthcare providers, community-based organization representative; N = 30). …

Potential S1 Nerve Root Blocks Associated With Sacroiliac Joint Injections, Andrew Ng, Jesse Lou, Dajie Wang

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction is a common cause of lower back pain. The diagnosis of SI joint pain remains challenging. Sacroiliac joint injection remains the gold standard of diagnosis of SI joint pain as well as providing therapeutic effect. One complication related to SI joint injection is temporary numbness and weakness of the leg.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the anatomy of the SI joint and the flow of the contrast in the sacroiliac joint and to understand how local anesthetic can affect the nerve roots and cause temporary weakness and numbness of the leg.

METHODS: Patients who underwent SI joint …

Statistical Methods For Predicting E-Cigarette Use Events Based On Beat-To-Beat Interval (Bbi) Data Collected From Wearable Devices, James J Yang, Megan E Piper, Premananda Indic, Anne Buu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The prevalence of e-cigarette use among young adults in the USA is high (14%). Although the majority of users plan to quit vaping, the motivation to make a quit attempt is low and available support during a quit attempt is limited. Using wearable sensors to collect physiological data (eg, heart rate) holds promise for capturing the right timing to deliver intervention messages. This study aims to fill the current knowledge gap by proposing statistical methods to (1) de-noise beat-to-beat interval (BBI) data from smartwatches worn by 12 young adult regular e-cigarette users for 7 days; and (2) summarize the de-noised …

The Interaction Of Endorepellin And Neurexin Triggers Neuroepithelial Autophagy And Maintains Neural Tube Development, Lei Lu, Meizhu Bai, Yufang Zheng, Xiukun Wang, Zhongzhong Chen, Rui Peng, Richard H Finnell, Tongjin Zhao, Chengtao Li, Bo Wu, Yunping Lei, Jinsong Li, Hongyan Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Heparan sulfate proteoglycan 2 (HSPG2) gene encodes the matrix protein Perlecan, and genetic inactivation of this gene creates mice that are embryonic lethal with severe neural tube defects (NTDs). We discovered rare genetic variants of HSPG2 in 10% cases compared to only 4% in controls among a cohort of 369 NTDs. Endorepellin, a peptide cleaved from the domain V of Perlecan, is known to promote angiogenesis and autophagy in endothelial cells. The roles of enderepellin in neurodevelopment remain unclear so far. Our study revealed that endorepellin can migrate to the neuroepithelial cells and then be recognized and bind with the …

A Light-Responsive Neural Circuit Suppresses Feeding, Hailan Liu, Na Qu, Natalia Valdez Gonzalez, Marco A Palma, Huamin Chen, Jiani Xiong, Abhinav Choubey, Yongxiang Li, Xin Li, Meng Yu, Hesong Liu, Longlong Tu, Nan Zhang, Na Yin, Kristine Marie Conde, Mengjie Wang, Jonathan Carter Bean, Junying Han, Nikolas Anthony Scarcelli, Yongjie Yang, Kenji Saito, Huxing Cui, Qingchun Tong, Zheng Sun, Chunmei Wang, Xing Cai, Li Lu, Yang He, Yong Xu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Light plays an essential role in a variety of physiological processes, including vision, mood, and glucose homeostasis. However, the intricate relationship between light and an animal's feeding behavior has remained elusive. Here, we found that light exposure suppresses food intake, whereas darkness amplifies it in male mice. Interestingly, this phenomenon extends its reach to diurnal male Nile grass rats and healthy humans. We further show that lateral habenula (LHb) neurons in mice respond to light exposure, which in turn activates 5-HT neurons in the dorsal Raphe nucleus (DRN). Activation of the LHb→5-HTDRN circuit in mice blunts darkness-induced hyperphagia, while inhibition …

Hiv/Aids-Associated Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Treating Disadvantaged Communities Among Pre-Community-Based Dental Education Dental Students In The Us, Aditi Tomar, Hannah Balcezak, Shirley Lewis Miranda, Marie C Latortue, Richa Chinchkhandi, Lisa Wigfall

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study examines HIV/AIDS-associated knowledge and attitudes towards treating disadvantaged communities among predoctoral dental students in U.S. dental schools who have not yet commenced their Community-Based Dental Education (CBDE) training. It also compares the difference in the knowledge and attitudes between students with reported community engagement with PLWHA and those without. Our study comprised 89 predoctoral dental students within their D1-D3 years of dental school who had not yet initiated their Community-Based Dental Education (referred to as pre-CBDE dental students). Their responses were collected via an online survey. The participants were 68% females, 94% heterosexual, and with a mean age …

Dietary Acculturation Is Associated With Altered Gut Microbiome, Circulating Metabolites, And Cardiovascular Disease Risk In Us Hispanics And Latinos: Results From Hchs/Sol, Yi Wang, Guo-Chong Chen, Zheng Wang, Kai Luo, Yanbo Zhang, Yang Li, Amanda C Mcclain, Marta M Jankowska, Krista M Perreira, Josiemer Mattei, Carmen R Isasi, Maria M Llabre, Bharat Thyagarajan, Martha L Daviglus, Linda Van Horn, David Goldsztajn Farelo, Luis E Maldonado, Steven R Levine, Bing Yu, Eric Boerwinkle, Rob Knight, Robert D Burk, Robert C Kaplan, Qibin Qi, Brandilyn A Peters

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Dietary acculturation, or adoption of dominant culture diet by migrant groups, influences human health. We aimed to examine dietary acculturation and its relationships with cardiovascular disease (CVD), gut microbiota, and blood metabolites among US Hispanic and Latino adults.

Methods: In the HCHS/SOL (Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos), US exposure was defined by years in the United States (50 states and Washington, DC) and US nativity. A dietary acculturation pattern was derived from 14 172 participants with two 24-hour dietary recalls at baseline (2008-2011) using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, with food groups as predictors of US …

The Effect Of Cesarean Delivery On The Neonatal Gut Microbiome In An Under-Resourced Population In The Bronx, Ny, Usa, Sandra E Reznik, Ayodele J Akinyemi, David Harary, Mariam S Latuga, Mamta Fuloria, Maureen J Charron

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

BACKGROUND: Neonatal and early-life gut microbiome changes are associated with altered cardiometabolic and immune development. In this study, we explored Cesarean delivery effects on the gut microbiome in our high-risk, under-resourced Bronx, NY population.

RESULTS: Fecal samples from the Bronx MomBa Health Study (Bronx MomBa Health Study) were categorized by delivery mode (vaginal/Cesarean) and analyzed via 16 S rRNA gene sequencing at four timepoints over the first two years of life. Bacteroidota organisms, which have been linked to decreased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes, were relatively reduced by Cesarean delivery, while Firmicutes organisms were increased. Organisms belonging to …

Msl2 Variants Lead To A Neurodevelopmental Syndrome With Lack Of Coordination, Epilepsy, Specific Dysmorphisms, And A Distinct Episignature, Remzi Karayol, Maria Carla Borroto, Sadegheh Haghshenas, Anoja Namasivayam, Jack Reilly, Michael A Levy, Raissa Relator, Jennifer Kerkhof, Haley Mcconkey, Maria Shvedunova, Andrea K Petersen, Kari Magnussen, Christiane Zweier, Georgia Vasileiou, André Reis, Juliann M Savatt, Meghan R Mulligan, Louise S Bicknell, Gemma Poke, Aya Abu-El-Haija, Jessica Duis, Vickie Hannig, Siddharth Srivastava, Elizabeth Barkoudah, Natalie S Hauser, Myrthe Van Den Born, Uri Hamiel, Noa Henig, Hagit Baris Feldman, Shane Mckee, Ingrid P C Krapels, Yunping Lei, Albena Todorova, Ralitsa Yordanova, Slavena Atemin, Mihael Rogac, Vivienne Mcconnell, Anna Chassevent, Kristin W Barañano, Vandana Shashi, Jennifer A Sullivan, Angela Peron, Maria Iascone, Maria P Canevini, Jennifer Friedman, Iris A Reyes, Janell Kierstein, Joseph J Shen, Faria N Ahmed, Xiao Mao, Berta Almoguera, Fiona Blanco-Kelly, Konrad Platzer, Ariana-Berenike Treu, Juliette Quilichini, Alexia Bourgois, Nicolas Chatron, Louis Januel, Christelle Rougeot, Deanna Alexis Carere, Kristin G Monaghan, Justine Rousseau, Kenneth A Myers, Bekim Sadikovic, Asifa Akhtar, Philippe M Campeau

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Epigenetic dysregulation has emerged as an important etiological mechanism of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Pathogenic variation in epigenetic regulators can impair deposition of histone post-translational modifications leading to aberrant spatiotemporal gene expression during neurodevelopment. The male-specific lethal (MSL) complex is a prominent multi-subunit epigenetic regulator of gene expression and is responsible for histone 4 lysine 16 acetylation (H4K16ac). Using exome sequencing, here we identify a cohort of 25 individuals with heterozygous de novo variants in MSL complex member MSL2. MSL2 variants were associated with NDD phenotypes including global developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia, and motor issues such as coordination problems, feeding …

Clonal Hematopoiesis Driven By Mutated Dnmt3a Promotes Inflammatory Bone Loss, Hui Wang, Kimon Divaris, Bohu Pan, Xiaofei Li, Jong-Hyung Lim, Gundappa Saha, Marko Barovic, Danai Giannakou, Jonathan M Korostoff, Yu Bing, Souvik Sen, Kevin Moss, Di Wu, James D Beck, Christie M Ballantyne, Pradeep Natarajan, Kari E North, Mihai G Netea, Triantafyllos Chavakis, George Hajishengallis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) arises from aging-associated acquired mutations in hematopoietic progenitors, which display clonal expansion and produce phenotypically altered leukocytes. We associated CHIP-DNMT3A mutations with a higher prevalence of periodontitis and gingival inflammation among 4,946 community-dwelling adults. To model DNMT3A-driven CHIP, we used mice with the heterozygous loss-of-function mutation R878H, equivalent to the human hotspot mutation R882H. Partial transplantation with Dnmt3a

Community-Based Participatory Obesity Prevention Interventions In Rural Communities: A Scoping Review, Saagar Dhanjani, Haley Allen, Beatriz Varman, Chishinga Callender, Jayna M Dave, Debbe Thompson

Library Staff Publications

Child obesity is a worldwide public health concern. In America, children from rural areas have greater odds of obesity in comparison to those from urban areas. Community-engaged research is important for all communities, particularly under-represented communities. This paper reports the results of a scoping review investigating community-engaged research in obesity prevention programs tested with school-aged children in rural America. A literature search of Medline Ovid was conducted to identify interventions reporting the results of obesity prevention interventions that promoted a healthy diet or physical activity (PA) behaviors to school-age children in rural communities of the United States (US). After title …

Barriers To And Facilitators Of Implementing Colorectal Cancer Screening Evidence-Based Interventions In Federally Qualified Health Centers: A Qualitative Study, Emanuelle M Dias, Joe R Padilla, Paula M Cuccaro, Timothy J Walker, Bijal A Balasubramanian, Lara S Savas, Melissa A Valerio-Shewmaker, Roshanda S Chenier, Maria E Fernandez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: There is an urgent need to increase colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) uptake in Texas federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), which serve a predominantly vulnerable population with high demands. Empirical support exists for evidence-based interventions (EBIs) that are proven to increase CRCS; however, as with screening, their use remains low in FQHCs. This study aimed to identify barriers to and facilitators of implementing colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) evidence-based interventions (EBIs) in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

Methods: We recruited employees involved in implementing CRCS EBIs (e.g., physicians) using data from a …

Ai Driven Analysis Of Mri To Measure Health And Disease Progression In Fshd, Lara Riem, Olivia Ducharme, Matthew Cousins, Xue Feng, Allison Kenney, Jacob Morris, Stephen J Tapscott, Rabi Tawil, Jeff Statland, Dennis Shaw, Leo Wang, Michaela Walker, Leann Lewis, Michael A Jacobs, Doris G Leung, Seth D Friedman, Silvia S Blemker

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) affects roughly 1 in 7500 individuals. While at the population level there is a general pattern of affected muscles, there is substantial heterogeneity in muscle expression across- and within-patients. There can also be substantial variation in the pattern of fat and water signal intensity within a single muscle. While quantifying individual muscles across their full length using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) represents the optimal approach to follow disease progression and evaluate therapeutic response, the ability to automate this process has been limited. The goal of this work was to develop and optimize an artificial intelligence-based image …

Caregiver Recruitment Strategies For Interventions Designed To Optimize Transitions From Hospital To Home: Lessons From A Randomized Trial, Allison M Gustavson, Molly J Horstman, Jodie A Cogswell, Diane E Holland, Catherine E Vanderboom, Jay Mandrekar, William S Harmsen, Brystana G Kaufman, Cory Ingram, Joan M Griffin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Challenges to recruitment of family caregivers exist and are amplified when consent must occur in the context of chaotic healthcare circumstances, such as the transition from hospital to home. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic during our randomized controlled trial provided an opportunity for a natural experiment exploring and examining different consent processes for caregiver recruitment. The purpose of this publication is to describe different recruitment processes (in-person versus virtual) and compare diversity in recruitment rates in the context of a care recipient's hospitalization. We found rates of family caregiver recruitment for in-person versus virtual were 28% and 23%, respectively …

Financial Incentives For Smoking Cessation Among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Darla Kendzor, Michael Businelle, Summer Frank-Pearce, Joseph Waring, Sixia Chen, Emily Hébert, Michael Swartz, Adam Alexander, Munjireen Sifat, Laili Kharazi Boozary, David Wetter

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: Socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals (ie, those with low socioeconomic status [SES]) have difficulty quitting smoking and may benefit from incentive-based cessation interventions.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of incentivizing smoking abstinence on smoking cessation among adults with low SES.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This study used a 2-group randomized clinical trial design. Data collection occurred between January 30, 2017, and February 7, 2022. Participants included adults with low SES who were willing to undergo smoking cessation treatment. Data were analyzed from April 18, 2023, to April 19, 2024.

INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomized to usual care (UC) for smoking cessation (counseling …

Change In Trust In Us Government Health Agencies For Cancer Information In The Covid-19 Era, Onyema G Chido-Amajuoyi, Rajesh Talluri, Henry K Onyeaka, Itunu Sokale, Gideon T Dosunmu, Noelle Loconte, Sanjay Shete

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This cross-sectional study assesses changes in levels of public trust in US government health agencies providing cancer information.

Provider Experiences With Daily Use Of Elastomeric Half-Mask Respirators In Health Care, Morgan Lane, Lisa Pompeii, Janelle Rios, Elisa Benavides, Marie Kasbaum, Scott Patlovich, Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, Adam Hornbeck, Caitlin Mcclain, Rohan Fernando, Margaret Sietsema, Colleen Kraft

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: During public health emergencies, demand for N95 filtering facepiece respirators (N95 FFRs) can outpace supply. Elastomeric half-mask respirators (EHMRs) are a potential alternative that are reusable and provide the same or higher levels of protection. This study sought to examine the practical aspects of EHMR use among health care personnel (HCP).

Methods: Between September and December 2021, 183 HCPs at 2 tertiary referral centers participated in this 3-month EHMR deployment, wearing the EHMR whenever respiratory protection was required according to hospital protocols (ie, when an N95 FFR would typically be worn) and responding to surveys about their experience.

Results: …

Health Care Workers’ Comfort Ratings For Elastomeric Half-Mask Respirators Versus N95® Filtering Facepiece Respirators During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lisa Pompeii, Janelle Rios, Colleen S Kraft, Marie Kasbaum, Elisa Benavides, Scott J Patlovich, Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, Adam Hornbeck, Caitlin Mcclain, Rohan D Fernando, Margaret Sietsema, Morgan Lane

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Reusable elastomeric half-mask respirators (EHMR) are an alternative to address shortages of disposable respirators. While respirator discomfort has been noted as a barrier to adherence to wearing an N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) among health care personnel (HCP), few have examined EHMR comfort while providing patient care, which was the purpose of this study.

METHOD: Among a cohort of 183 HCP, we prospectively examined how HCP rated EHMR tolerability using the Respirator Comfort, Wearing Experience, and Function Instrument (R-COMFI) questionnaire at Study Week 2 and Week 10. At the completion of the study (Week-12), HCP compared EHMR comfort with …

High Throughput Plasma Proteomics And Risk Of Heart Failure And Frailty In Late Life, Diego Ramonfaur, Leo F Buckley, Victoria Arthur, Yimin Yang, Brian L Claggett, Chiadi E Ndumele, Keenan A Walker, Thomas Austin, Michelle C Odden, James S Floyd, Sandra Sanders-Van Wijk, Joyce Njoroge, Jorge R Kizer, Dalane Kitzman, Suma H Konety, Jennifer Schrack, Fangyu Liu, B Gwen Windham, Priya Palta, Josef Coresh, Bing Yu, Amil M Shah

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Heart failure (HF) and frailty frequently coexist and may share a common pathobiology, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Understanding these mechanisms may provide guidance for preventing and treating both conditions.

Objective: To identify shared pathways between incident HF and frailty in late life using large-scale proteomics.

Design, setting, and participants: In this cohort study, 4877 aptamers (Somascan v4) were measured among participants in the community-based longitudinal Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) cohort study at visit 3 (V3; 1993-1995; n = 10 638) and at visit 5 (V5; 2011-2013; n = 3908). Analyses were externally replicated among 3189 participants …

Long-Term Immune Response To Sars-Cov-2 Infection And Vaccination In Children And Adolescents, Sarah E Messiah, Yashar Talebi, Michael D Swartz, Rachit Sabharwal, Haoting Han, Emma Bergqvist, Harold W Kohl, Melissa Valerio-Shewmaker, Stacia M Desantis, Ashraf Yaseen, Steven H Kelder, Jessica Ross, Lindsay N Padilla, Michael O Gonzalez, Leqing Wu, David Lakey, Jennifer A Shuford, Stephen J Pont, Eric Boerwinkle

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: This analysis examined the durability of antibodies present after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in children and adolescents.

METHODS: Data were collected over 4 time points between October 2020-November 2022 as part of a prospective population-based cohort aged 5-to-19 years (N = 810). Results of the (1) Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Immunoassay for detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (Roche N-test); and (2) qualitative and semi-quantitative detection of antibodies to the SARS CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain (Roche S-test); and (3) self-reported antigen/PCR COVID-19 test results, vaccination and symptom status were analyzed.

RESULTS: N antibody levels reached a …

Genetic Correlations Between Liver Fat Content, Metabolic Health, And Adiposity Distribution In The Fels Longitudinal Study, Ariana L Garza, Miryoung Lee, John Blangero, Cici X Bauer, Stefan A Czerwinski, Audrey C Choh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and aims: Hepatic steatosis is known to be heritable, but its genetic basis is mostly uncharacterized. Steatosis is associated with metabolic and adiposity features; recent studies hypothesize that shared genetic effects between these traits could account for some of the unexplained heritability. This study aimed to quantify these genetic associations in a family-based sample of non-Hispanic white adults.

Methods and results: 704 participants (18-95 years, 55.8% female) from the Fels Longitudinal Study with an MRI assessment of liver fat were included. Quantitative genetic analyses estimated the age- and sex-adjusted heritability of individual traits and the genetic correlations within trait …

Association Between Participation And Satisfaction With Life Over Time In Older Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Tbi Model Systems Study, Zinat Taiwo, Angelle M Sander, Shannon B Juengst, Xiangyi Liu, Luis Leon Novelo, Flora M Hammond, Therese M O'Neil-Pirozzi, Paul B Perrin, Nicholas Gut

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To examine the association between participation and satisfaction with life at 1, 2, 5, and 10 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in older adults.

Setting: Community.

Participants: Participants ( N = 2362) who sustained complicated mild to severe TBI, requiring inpatient rehabilitation, at age 60 years or older and had follow-up data on participation and satisfaction with life for at least 1 follow-up time point across 1, 2, 5, and 10 years. Age at each time period was categorized as 60 to 64 years, 65 to 75 years, and 75 years or older.

Design: Secondary data analysis of …

Financial Incentives For Smoking Cessation Among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Darla E Kendzor, Michael S Businelle, Summer G Frank-Pearce, Joseph J C Waring, Sixia Chen, Emily T Hébert, Michael D Swartz, Adam C Alexander, Munjireen S Sifat, Laili Kharazi Boozary, David W Wetter

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals (ie, those with low socioeconomic status [SES]) have difficulty quitting smoking and may benefit from incentive-based cessation interventions.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of incentivizing smoking abstinence on smoking cessation among adults with low SES.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This study used a 2-group randomized clinical trial design. Data collection occurred between January 30, 2017, and February 7, 2022. Participants included adults with low SES who were willing to undergo smoking cessation treatment. Data were analyzed from April 18, 2023, to April 19, 2024.

INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomized to usual care (UC) for smoking cessation (counseling …