Epidemiology Commons^™

Unpacking Misinfodemic During A Global Health Crisis: A Qualitative Inquiry Of Psychosocial Characteristics In Social Media Interactions, Sofia M Olivares, Sahiti Myneni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The pervasiveness of health information in social media has led to a modern misinformation crisis, also known as a misinfodemic. Misinfodemics have upended public health activities as clearly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study is to characterize social media content and information sources using theory-driven health behavior and psychology constructs to better understand the motifs of misinformation and their role in the dissemination of health (mis)information in Twitter posts. We analyzed 1,400 randomly selected tweets related to COVID-19 to ascertain four important variables, what is the tweet about (content), how is it structured (linguistic features), who …

Latent Linguistic Motifs In Social Media Postings Resisting Covid-19 Misinformation, Tavleen Singh, Sofia Olivares, Sahiti Myneni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Social media has become a predominant source of information for many health care consumers. However, false and misleading information is a pervasive problem in this context. Specifically, health-related misinformation has become a significant public health challenge, impeding the effectiveness of public health awareness campaigns and resulting in suboptimal responsiveness to the communication of legitimate risk-related information. Little is known about the mechanisms driving the seeding and spreading of such information. In this paper, we specifically examine COVID-19 tweets which attempt to correct misinformation. We employ a mixed-methods approach comprising qualitative coding, deep learning classification, and computerized text analysis to understand …

A Multi-Task Gaussian Process Self-Attention Neural Network For Real-Time Prediction Of The Need For Mechanical Ventilators In Covid-19 Patients, Kai Zhang, Siddharth Karanth, Bela Patel, Robert Murphy, Xiaoqian Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has overwhelmed the capacity of healthcare resources and posed a challenge for worldwide hospitals. The ability to distinguish potentially deteriorating patients from the rest helps facilitate reasonable allocation of medical resources, such as ventilators, hospital beds, and human resources. The real-time accurate prediction of a patient's risk scores could also help physicians to provide earlier respiratory support for the patient and reduce the risk of mortality.

METHODS: We propose a robust real-time prediction model for the in-hospital COVID-19 patients' probability of requiring mechanical ventilation (MV). The end-to-end neural network model incorporates the Multi-task …

On The Front Lines Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: Occupational Experiences Of The Intimate Partner Violence And Sexual Assault Workforce, Leila Wood, Rachel Voth Schrag, Elizabeth Baumler, Dixie Hairston, Shannon Guillot-Wright, Elizabeth Torres, Jeff R Temple

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the face of increasing risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgent need to understand the experiences of the workforce providing support to survivors, as well as the evolving service delivery methods, shifting safety planning approaches, and occupational stress of frontline workers. We addressed this gap by conducting an online survey of members of IPV and sexual assault workforce using a broad, web-based recruitment strategy. In total, 352 staff from 24 states participated. We collaborated with practitioner networks and anti-violence coalitions to develop the brief survey, which included questions about …

Part I Antimicrobial Resistance: Bacterial Pathogens Of Dermatologic Significance And Implications Of Rising Resistance, Saira George, Fiorinda F Muhaj, Celine D Nguyen, Stephen K Tyring

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been the defining global health crisis of our time, public health officials have been sounding the alarm of another ominous threat for years: an impending antimicrobial resistance crisis. In dermatology, antibiotics are often used for prolonged courses in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections and common inflammatory skin conditions, increasing the risk of microbiome alteration and antibiotic-related adverse effects, all while exerting consequential selective pressures on both pathogenic and bystander bacteria. In this review, we hope to raise awareness of the crisis of antimicrobial resistance and review resistance concerns related to dermatology-relevant bacterial …

Pneumothorax And Pneumomediastinum In Covid-19: A Case Series, Stephan Reyes, Brad Roche, Farah Kazzaz, Daniel Ocazionez, Aditya P Lal, Rosa M Estrada-Y-Martin, Sujith V Cherian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

COVID- 19 has become a major pandemic affecting more than 11 million people worldwide. Common radiological manifestations of COVID-19 include peripheral based ground-glass or consolidative opacities; however, pneumothorax and pneumo-mediastinum are very rare manifestations; even more so within patients not on mechanical ventilation. We present a case series of 5 patients with COVID-19 who either presented with or developed spontaneous pneumothorax or pneumo-mediastinum within the course of hospitalization. With the exception of one patient, all other patients developed pneumothorax as a late manifestation in their illness; more than 10 days after initial symptom onset in COVID-19. From within this case …

Factors Associated With Covid-19 Death In The United States: Cohort Study, Uan-I Chen, Hua Xu, Trudy Millard Krause, Raymond Greenberg, Xiao Dong, Xiaoqian Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Since the initial COVID-19 cases were identified in the United States in February 2020, the United States has experienced a high incidence of the disease. Understanding the risk factors for severe outcomes identifies the most vulnerable populations and helps in decision-making.

Objective: This study aims to assess the factors associated with COVID-19-related deaths from a large, national, individual-level data set.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted using data from the Optum de-identified COVID-19 electronic health record (EHR) data set; 1,271,033 adult participants were observed from February 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020, until their deaths due to COVID-19, deaths …

Tocilizumab In Patients Hospitalised With Covid-19 Pneumonia: Efficacy, Safety, Viral Clearance, And Antibody Response From A Randomised Controlled Trial (Covacta), Ivan O Rosas, Norbert Bräu, Michael Waters, Ronaldo C Go, Atul Malhotra, Bradley D Hunter, Sanjay Bhagani, Daniel Skiest, Sinisa Savic, Ivor S Douglas, Julia Garcia-Diaz, Mariam S Aziz, Nichola Cooper, Taryn Youngstein, Lorenzo Del Sorbo, David J De La Zerda, Andrew Ustianowski, Antonio Cubillo Gracian, Kevin G Blyth, Jordi Carratalà, Bruno François, Thomas Benfield, Derrick Haslem, Paolo Bonfanti, Cor H Van Der Leest, Nidhi Rohatgi, Lothar Wiese, Charles Edouard Luyt, Rebecca N Bauer, Fang Cai, Ivan T Lee, Balpreet Matharu, Louis Metcalf, Steffen Wildum, Emily Graham, Larry Tsai, Min Bao

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: In COVACTA, a randomised, placebo-controlled trial in patients hospitalised with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), tocilizumab did not improve 28-day mortality, but shortened hospital and intensive care unit stay. Longer-term effects of tocilizumab in patients with COVID-19 are unknown. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab in COVID-19 beyond day 28 and its impact on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) clearance and antibody response in COVACTA were investigated.

METHODS: Adults in Europe and North America hospitalised with COVID-19 (

FINDINGS: By day 60, 24·5% (72/294) of patients in the tocilizumab arm and 25·0% (36/144) in the placebo arm died (weighted …

Perceived Roles, Benefits And Barriers Of Virtual Global Health Partnership Initiatives: A Cross-Sectional Exploratory Study, Lisa Umphrey, George Paasi, William Windsor, Grace Abongo, Jessica Evert, Heather Haq, Elizabeth M Keating, Suet Kam Lam, Megan S Mchenry, Carolyne Ndila, Charles Nwobu, Amy Rule, Reena P Tam, Daniel Olson, Peter Olupot-Olupot

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Virtual global health partnership initiatives (VGHPIs) evolved rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure partnership continuity. However the current landscape for VGHPI use and preference is unknown. This study aimed to increase understanding of GH partners' perspectives on VGHPIs.

METHODS: From 15 October to 30 November 2020, An online, international survey was conducted using snowball sampling to document pandemic-related changes in partnership activities, preferences for VGHPIs, and perceived acceptability and barriers. The survey underwent iterative development within a diverse author group, representing academic and clinical institutions, and the non-profit sector. Participants from their professional global health networks were invited, …

Mechanistic Origin Of Different Binding Affinities Of Sars-Cov And Sars-Cov-2 Spike Rbds To Human Ace2, Zhi-Bi Zhang, Yuan-Ling Xia, Jian-Xin Shen, Wen-Wen Du, Yun-Xin Fu, Shu-Qun Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (RBDCoV2) has a higher binding affinity to the human receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) than the SARS-CoV RBD (RBDCoV). Here, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, binding free energy (BFE) calculations, and interface residue contact network (IRCN) analysis to explore the mechanistic origin of different ACE2-binding affinities of the two RBDs. The results demonstrate that, when compared to the RBDCoV2-ACE2 complex, RBDCoV-ACE2 features enhanced dynamicsand inter-protein positional movements and increased conformational entropy and conformational diversity. Although the inter-protein electrostatic attractive interactions are the primary determinant for the high ACE2-binding affinities of …

Demographic And Regional Trends Of Mortality In Patients With Aortic Dissection In The United States, 1999 To 2019, Salik Nazir, Robert W Ariss, Abdul Mannan Khan Minhas, Rochell Issa, Erin D Michos, Yochai Birnbaum, George V Moukarbel, P Kasi Ramanathan, Hani Jneid

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background Aortic dissection (AoD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. However, the burden of AoD mortality is not well characterized, and contemporary data and mortality trends in different demographic and geographic subgroups have not been described. Methods and Results Trends in AoD mortality were assessed using a cross-sectional analysis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database. Crude and age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) per 1 million people with associated annual percent changes were determined. Joinpoint regression was used to assess trends in the overall sample and different demographic (sex, race and ethnicity, …

Changes In Physical Activity Associated With The Covid-19 Pandemic In Individuals With Overweight And Obesity: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis With Historical Controls, Michael C Robertson, Che Young Lee, Ivan Haw-Chong Wu, Yue Liao, Margaret Raber, Nathan Parker, Thuan Le, Leticia Gatus, Karen M Basen-Engquist

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The objective of this study was to investigate changes in physical activity patterns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with overweight and obesity who were participating in a school district worksite weight loss program. We conducted comparative design interrupted time series analyses on physical activity device (Fitbit) data from the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years (N = 211). We administered a questionnaire in 2020 to supplement device data. After the stay-at-home orders in 2020, participants tended to decrease their weekly step count (B = -1315.7, SE = 627.7, p = .045), decrease their weekly "Lightly active minutes" (B = …

Colonic Epithelial Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (Ace2) Expression In Blacks And Whites: Potential Implications For Pathogenesis Covid-19 Racial Disparities, Mart De La Cruz, David P Nunes, Vaishali Bhardwaj, Deepika Subramanyan, Caroline Zaworski, Priya Roy, Hemant K Roy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Covid-19 toll is disproportionate in Blacks although the mechanisms remain incompletely understood. From a biological perspective, several host proteins have received most attention as logical susceptibility targets. Specifically, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) serves as the epithelial cell receptor and acts in concert with transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). Intriguingly, ACE2 can also suppress the inflammatory response and therefore may impact the severity of Covid-19 infections (from the exuberant immune response a.k.a. "cytokine storm"). We, therefore, assessed expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in Blacks versus Whites.

METHODS: Archived mucosal biopsies from colonoscopic biopsies of visually normal rectal mucosa without concurrent …

Skp2 Stabilizes Mcl-1 And Confers Radioresistance In Colorectal Cancer, Xinfang Yu, Li Zhou, Wenbin Liu, Lijun Liu, Feng Gao, Wei Li, Haidan Liu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Overexpression of Skp2 plays a critical role in tumorigenesis and correlates with poor prognosis in human malignancies. Thus, Skp2 has been proposed as an attractive target for anti-tumor interventions. The expression of Skp2 in human colorectal cancer (CRC) and the role of Skp2 in tumorigenic properties and irradiation sensitivities of CRC cells were examined by anchorage-dependent and -independent growth assays, immunoblot, flow cytometry, immunohistochemical staining, ubiquitination analysis, co-immunoprecipitation assay, CRISPR-Cas9-based gene knockout, and xenograft experiments. Skp2 is highly expressed in CRC patient tissues. Blocking Skp2 expression reduces the tumorigenic properties of CRC cells in vitro and in vivo. Depletion of …

Genetic Variants Associated Mrna Stability In Lung, Jian-Rong Li, Mabel Tang, Yafang Li, Christopher I Amos, Chao Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) analyses have been widely used to identify genetic variants associated with gene expression levels to understand what molecular mechanisms underlie genetic traits. The resultant eQTLs might affect the expression of associated genes through transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulation. In this study, we attempt to distinguish these two types of regulation by identifying genetic variants associated with mRNA stability of genes (stQTLs).

RESULTS: Here, we presented a computational framework that takes advantage of recently developed methods to infer the mRNA stability of genes based on RNA-seq data and performed association analysis to identify stQTLs. Using the …

Of Vascular Defense, Hemostasis, Cancer, And Platelet Biology: An Evolutionary Perspective, David G Menter, Vahid Afshar-Kharghan, John Paul Shen, Stephanie L Martch, Anirban Maitra, Scott Kopetz, Kenneth V Honn, Anil K Sood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We have established considerable expertise in studying the role of platelets in cancer biology. From this expertise, we were keen to recognize the numerous venous-, arterial-, microvascular-, and macrovascular thrombotic events and immunologic disorders are caused by severe, acute-respiratory-syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. With this offering, we explore the evolutionary connections that place platelets at the center of hemostasis, immunity, and adaptive phylogeny. Coevolutionary changes have also occurred in vertebrate viruses and their vertebrate hosts that reflect their respective evolutionary interactions. As mammals adapted from aquatic to terrestrial life and the heavy blood loss associated with placentalization-based live birth, platelets …

Prognostic And Predictive Biomarkers In Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Treated With Tocilizumab In A Randomized Controlled Trial, Jennifer Tom, Min Bao, Larry Tsai, Aditi Qamra, David Summers, Montserrat Carrasco-Triguero, Jacqueline Mcbride, Carrie M Rosenberger, Celia J F Lin, William Stubbings, Kevin G Blyth, Jordi Carratalà, Bruno François, Thomas Benfield, Derrick Haslem, Paolo Bonfanti, Cor H Van Der Leest, Nidhi Rohatgi, Lothar Wiese, Charles Edouard Luyt, Farrah Kheradmand, Ivan O Rosas, Fang Cai

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: To explore candidate prognostic and predictive biomarkers identified in retrospective observational studies (interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, ferritin, lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, d-dimer, and platelets) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia after treatment with tocilizumab, an anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody, using data from the COVACTA trial in patients hospitalized with severe coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia.

DESIGN: Exploratory analysis from a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial.

SETTING: Hospitals in North America and Europe.

PATIENTS: Adults hospitalized with severe coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia receiving standard care.

INTERVENTION: Randomly assigned 2:1 to IV tocilizumab 8 mg/kg or placebo.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN …

In Silico Analysis Of Dnd1 And Its Co-Expressed Genes In Human Cancers, Yun Zhang, Yafang Li, Dhruv Chachad, Bin Liu, Jyotsna D Godavarthi, Abie Williams-Villalobo, Latifat Lasisi, Shunbin Xiong, Angabin Matin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Dead-End (DND1) is an RNA-binding protein involved in translational regulation. Defects in DND1 gene causes germ cell tumors and sterility in rodents. Experimental studies with human somatic cancer cells indicate that DND1 has anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic function in some while oncogenic function in other cells. We examined The Cancer Genome Atlas data for gene alterations and gene expression changes in DND1 in a variety of human cancers. We found that DND1 is amplified, deleted or mutated in multiple human cancers. In different cancers, DND1 alteration correlates with increased diagnosis age of patients, shift in tumor spectrum or change of tumor …

Sars-Cov-2 Infection Increases Risk Of Acute Kidney Injury In A Bimodal Age Distribution, Erica C Bjornstad, Gary Cutter, Pramod Guru, Shina Menon, Isabella Aldana, Scott House, Nancy M Tofil, Catherine A St Hill, Yasir Tarabichi, Valerie M Banner-Goodspeed, Amy B Christie, Surapaneni Krishna Mohan, Devang Sanghavi, Jarrod M Mosier, Girish Vadgaonkar, Allan J Walkey, Rahul Kashyap, Vishakha K Kumar, Vikas Bansal, Karen Boman, Mayank Sharma, Marija Bogojevic, Neha Deo, Lynn Retford, Ognjen Gajic, Katja M Gist, Sccm Discovery Virus Investigators Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV2 develop acute kidney injury (AKI) frequently, yet gaps remain in understanding why adults seem to have higher rates compared to children. Our objectives were to evaluate the epidemiology of SARS-CoV2-related AKI across the age spectrum and determine if known risk factors such as illness severity contribute to its pattern.

METHODS: Secondary analysis of ongoing prospective international cohort registry. AKI was defined by KDIGO-creatinine only criteria. Log-linear, logistic and generalized estimating equations assessed odds ratios (OR), risk differences (RD), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for AKI and mortality adjusting for sex, pre-existing comorbidities, race/ethnicity, illness severity, …

Operational Effect Of Covid-19 On Surgical Care At A Tertiary Pediatric Hospital, Andrew M Ferry, Rami P Dibbs, Amanda Ward, Veronica Velez, Sarah L Ringold, Nakeisha M Archer, Janet M Winebar, Dean B Andropoulos, Larry H Hollier

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The detrimental effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have profoundly disrupted surgical care at health care facilities worldwide. At our tertiary pediatric hospital, we made substantial adjustments to surgical suite utilization and staff member scheduling to account for reductions in surgical volume, increased demand for staff members in other sectors of the hospital, and the highly infectious properties of the virus. Perioperative leaders took advantage of the pandemic's disruption to clinical activities to design and implement a new procedure-scheduling process to rectify the inefficiencies that had accumulated as the previous system evolved. The implementation of said directives was …

Snp Characteristics And Validation Success In Genome Wide Association Studies, Olga Y Gorlova, Xiangjun Xiao, Spiridon Tsavachidis, Christopher I Amos, Ivan P Gorlov

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Genome wide association studies (GWASs) have identified tens of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with human diseases and characteristics. A significant fraction of GWAS findings can be false positives. The gold standard for true positives is an independent validation. The goal of this study was to identify SNP features associated with validation success. Summary statistics from the Catalog of Published GWASs were used in the analysis. Since our goal was an analysis of reproducibility, we focused on the diseases/phenotypes targeted by at least 10 GWASs. GWASs were arranged in discovery-validation pairs based on the time of publication, with …

Covid-19 Hospital And Emergency Department Visitor Policies In The United States: Impact On Persons With Cognitive Or Physical Impairment Or Receiving End-Of-Life Care, Alexander X Lo, Logan K Wedel, Shan W Liu, Thiti Wongtangman, Phraewa Thatphet, Ilianna Santangelo, Anita N Chary, Paul D Biddinger, Corita R Grudzen, Maura Kennedy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the national distribution of COVID-19 hospital and emergency department visitor restriction policies across the United States, focusing on patients with cognitive or physical impairment or receiving end-of-life care.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study of visitor policies and exceptions, using a nationally representative random sample of EDs and hospitals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, by trained study investigators using standardized instrument.

RESULTS: Of the 352 hospitals studied, 326 (93%) had a COVID-19 hospital-wide visitor restriction policy and 164 (47%) also had an ED-specific policy. Hospital-wide policies were more prevalent at academic than non-academic (96% vs 90%;

CONCLUSION: …

Clonal Hematopoiesis Mutations In Patients With Lung Cancer Are Associated With Lung Cancer Risk Factors, Wei Hong, Ang Li, Yanhong Liu, Xiangjun Xiao, David C Christiani, Rayjean J Hung, James Mckay, John Field, Christopher I Amos, Chao Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is a phenomenon caused by expansion of white blood cells descended from a single hematopoietic stem cell. While CH can be associated with leukemia and some solid tumors, the relationship between CH and lung cancer remains largely unknown. To help clarify this relationship, we analyzed whole-exome sequencing (WES) data from 1,958 lung cancer cases and controls. Potential CH mutations were identified by a set of hierarchical filtering criteria in different exonic regions, and the associations between the number of CH mutations and clinical traits were investigated. Family history of lung cancer (FHLC) may exert diverse influences on …

Safety And Efficacy Of Electrical Stimulation For Lower-Extremity Muscle Weakness In Intensive Care Unit 2019 Novel Coronavirus Patients: A Phase I Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial, Alejandro Zulbaran-Rojas, Ramkinker Mishra, Naima Rodriguez, Rasha O Bara, Myeounggon Lee, Amir Behzad Bagheri, James P Herlihy, Muhammad Siddique, Bijan Najafi

Center on Aging Staff Publications

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) prolonged immobilization may lead to lower-extremity muscle deconditioning among critically ill patients, particularly more accentuated in those with 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. Electrical stimulation (E-Stim) is known to improve musculoskeletal outcomes. This phase I double-blinded randomized controlled trial examined the safety and efficacy of lower-extremity E-Stim to prevent muscle deconditioning.

Methods: Critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU were randomly assigned to control (CG) or intervention (IG) groups. Both groups received daily E-Stim (1 h) for up to 14 days on both gastrocnemius muscles (GNMs). The device was functional in the IG and …

Exercise-Induced Myokines Downregulates The Ace2 Level In Bronchial Epithelial Cells: Implications For Sars-Cov-2 Prevention, Vaishali Bhardwaj, Mart Dela Cruz, Deepika Subramanyam, Rohit Kumar, Sandeep Markan, Beth Parker, Hemant K Roy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The Covid-19 pandemic has emerged as the leading public health challenge of our time (20th century). While vaccinations have finally blunted the death rate, concern has remained about more virulent forms highlighting the need for alternative approaches. Epidemiological studies indicate that physical activity has been shown to decrease the risk of infection of some respiratory viruses. Part of the salutary effects of exercise is believed to be through the elaboration of cytokines by contracting skeletal muscles (termed myokines). The objective of this study was to investigate whether exercise-induced myokines would mitigate the SARS-CoV-2 infectivity of the bronchial epithelium through …

Covid-19 Outcomes In Myasthenia Gravis Patients: Analysis From Electronic Health Records In The United States, Youngran Kim, Xiaojin Li, Yan Huang, Minseon Kim, Aziz Shaibani, Kazim Sheikh, Guo-Qiang Zhang, Thy Phuong Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune, neuromuscular condition and patients with MG are vulnerable due to immunosuppressant use and disease manifestations of dyspnea and dysphagia during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Optum® de-identified COVID-19 Electronic Health Record (EHR) dataset. Primary outcomes, such as hospitalization, ventilator use, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death in COVID-19 patients with MG, were compared with those of COVID-19 patients without MG: the subgroups of non-MG included those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus (SLE), and multiple sclerosis (MS). We further analyzed factors affecting …

Characterizing Cancer And Covid-19 Outcomes Using Electronic Health Records, Youngran Kim, Liang Zhu, Huili Zhu, Xiaojin Li, Yan Huang, Chunhui Gu, Heather Bush, Caroline Chung, Guo-Qiang Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Patients with cancer often have compromised immune system which can lead to worse COVID-19 outcomes. The purpose of this study is to assess the association between COVID-19 outcomes and existing cancer-specific characteristics.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients aged 18 or older with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 between June 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020, were identified (n = 314 004) from the Optum® de-identified COVID-19 Electronic Health Record (EHR) derived from more than 700 hospitals and 7000 clinics in the United States. To allow sufficient observational time, patients with less than one year of medical history in the EHR dataset before their …

"Don't Know Where To Go For Help": Safety And Economic Needs Among Violence Survivors During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Leila Wood, Elizabeth Baumler, Rachel Voth Schrag, Shannon Guillot-Wright, Dixie Hairston, Jeff Temple, Elizabeth Torres

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine has created additional problems for survivors of interpersonal violence. The purpose of this study is to gain a preliminary understanding of the health, safety, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people that are experiencing or have previously experienced violence, stalking, threats, and/or abuse. An online survey, open from April to June 2020, was taken by people with safety concerns from interpersonal violence. Participants were recruited from IPV and sexual assault-focused agencies, state coalitions, and social media. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive methods in SPSS and coding methods from thematic and content …

Trends And Correlates Of Breakthrough Infections With Sars-Cov-2, Jose-Miguel Yamal, Savitri Appana, Mengxi Wang, Luis Leon-Novelo, Eric Bakota, Yuanqing Ye, Shreela Sharma, Alanna C Morrison, Dritana Marko, Stephen H Linder, Alison Rector, Katelyn K Jetelina, Eric Boerwinkle, Marcia De Oliveira Otto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) delta variant has been hypothesized to decrease the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. Factors associated with infections with SARS-CoV-2 after vaccination are unknown. In this observational cohort study, we examined two groups in Harris County, Texas: (1) individuals with positive Nucleic Acid Amplification test between 12/14/2020 and 9/30/2021 and (2) the subset of individuals fully vaccinated in the same time period. Infected individuals were classified as a breakthrough if their infection occurred 14 days after their vaccination had been completed. Among fully vaccinated individuals, demographic and vaccine factors associated with breakthrough infections were …

Incidence Rate Of Psychiatric Disorders In 2020: The Pivotal Role Played By Sars-Cov-2 Infection, Antonio L Teixeira, Regina M Hansen, Joseph S Wozny, Caroline M Schaefer, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, Lokesh Shahani, Scott D Lane, Jair C Soares, Trudy M Krause

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted mental health outcomes. While the frequency of anxiety and depressive symptoms has increased in the whole population, the relationship between COVID-19 and new psychiatric diagnoses remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE: to compare the population incidence rate of emergence of de novo psychiatric disorders in 2020 compared to the previous years, and to compare the incidence rate of new psychiatric disorder diagnoses between people with vs without COVID-19.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This study utilized administrative claims data from the Clinformatics® Data Mart database, licensed from Optum®. The study is a cross-sectional analysis that …