Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Maeve E. Wallace
Summary: The rate of pregnancy-associated homicides in 2020 increased significantly, particularly among adolescents and non-Hispanic Black women. Most incidents involved firearms. Pregnant and postpartum women had a 35% higher risk of homicide compared to their nonpregnant counterparts.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anshul Saxena, Venkataraghavan Ramamoorthy, Muni Rubens, Peter McGranaghan, Emir Veledar, Khurram Nasir
Summary: During the past decade, various reforms have been implemented in the US to improve primary care. This study used national data to assess the quality of primary care and found a decrease in preventable hospitalizations, except for diabetes short-term complications and lower-extremity amputations, which showed an increase in hospitalizations.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Tamoore Arshad, James M. Paik, Rakesh Biswas, Saleh A. Alqahtani, Linda Henry, Zobair M. Younossi
Summary: The study found varying trends in the prevalence of NAFLD among adolescents and young adults in the United States. Males, Hispanics, and late adolescents showed higher prevalence rates, while Whites and Blacks had lower rates. Over the study period, there was an increasing trend in NAFLD prevalence among 18-24 year-olds, highlighting important public health and policy implications.
HEPATOLOGY COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
K. S. Joseph, Amelie Boutin, Sarka Lisonkova, Giulia M. Muraca, Neda Razaz, Sid John, Azar Mehrabadi, Yasser Sabr, Cande V. Ananth, Enrique Schisterman
Summary: Rigorous studies by the National Center for Health Statistics showed that reported increases in maternal mortality rates in the United States were due to changes in surveillance methods rather than actual increases in mortality. While crude maternal mortality rates did not significantly change, age-adjusted analyses indicated a reduction in maternal mortality rates over time. Racial disparities in maternal mortality rates persist, with Non-Hispanic Black women experiencing significantly higher rates compared to Non-Hispanic White women.
OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Orly Termeie, Lawrence Fiedler, Lisa Martinez, Jennifer Foster, Parvathi Perumareddi, Robert S. Levine, Charles H. Hennekens
Summary: This study compared the trends in mortality from alcoholic cirrhosis in the United States between 1999 and 2019 using data from the CDC. The results showed a significant increase in the mortality rate of alcoholic cirrhosis, which may be attributed to heavy alcohol consumption and the obesity epidemic. Further research and intervention are needed to address these alarming trends.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Yun Zhang, Joanna Yang, Wei Hou, Chrisa Arcan
Summary: This research explored 10-year trends in obesity and abdominal obesity prevalence among US adults, and found significant associations between certain types of physical activity and sedentary behavior with the risks of obesity or abdominal obesity, with differences between men and women. There was a reduced risk for abdominal obesity with some types of PA among both sexes and an increased risk with SB among women.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Kevin F. Boehnke, Owen Dean, Rebecca L. Haffajee, Avinash Hosanagar
Summary: Enrollment in medical cannabis programs in the United States increased approximately 4.5-fold from 2016 to 2020. Enrollment decreased in recreational states but increased in medical-only states. In 2020, 68.2% of patient-reported qualifying conditions had therapeutic value.
ANNALS OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Peter T. Merkt, Michael R. Kramer, David A. Goodman, Mary D. Brantley, Chloe M. Barrera, Lindsay Eckhaus, Emily E. Petersen
Summary: The study compared pregnancy-related mortality rates across urban and rural areas, showing significant disparities based on geographic location, age, and race. The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address these disparities and reduce pregnancy-related deaths.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Kaitlin Benedict, Ian Hennessee, Jeremy A. W. Gold, Dallas J. Smith, Samantha Williams, Mitsuru Toda
Summary: This study analyzed blastomycosis-associated hospitalizations in the United States from 2010 to 2020. The results showed a relatively low hospitalization rate with no apparent temporal trend, but higher rates among individuals aged 65 and older and males. The in-hospital death rate increased during this period and was associated with age, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and malignancy.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Marian F. MacDorman, Marie Thoma, Eugene Declcerq, Elizabeth A. Howell
Summary: The study revealed that the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 3.55 times that for non-Hispanic White women, with leading causes including eclampsia, preeclampsia, and postpartum cardiomyopathy. The prominence of cardiovascular-related conditions among the leading causes underscores the need for increased vigilance and prevention during pregnancy and postpartum period.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Christy L. Avery, Annie Green Howard, Hazel B. Nichols
Summary: The study reveals that the improvement in obesity-associated cancer mortality has slowed down, possibly being obscured by the patterns in total cancer mortality.
Article
Immunology
Emily Rayens, Karen A. Norris, Jose F. Cordero
Summary: The mortality rate for individuals with or at risk of invasive fungal infections has increased over the past 20 years, highlighting the urgent need for improvements in prevention, diagnostics, and treatment of fungal diseases. In the United States, there is chronic underdiagnosis of invasive fungal infections, making it difficult to determine the true burden of the disease. The number of risk conditions associated with fungal diseases and related deaths has been steadily rising, signaling the importance of enhancing prevention and management strategies to control morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised and at-risk patients.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Susan L. Hills, Andrea Morrison, Shawna Stuck, Kayleigh Sandhu, Krystal L. Mason, Danielle Stanek, Julie Gabel, Matthew A. Osborne, Betsy A. Schroeder, Edhelene Rico, Cherie L. Drenzek, Glen R. Gallagher, Jennifer Fiddner, Lea A. Heberlein-Larson, Catherine M. Brown, Marc Fischer
Summary: With the increase in Zika virus diagnostic testing and laboratory research, there has been a higher risk of potential Zika virus exposure among laboratory workers and biomedical researchers. This study reports four cases of laboratory-associated Zika virus disease in the United States during 2016-2019, highlighting the importance of implementing good laboratory biosafety practices to reduce the risk of infection among laboratory personnel.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Christopher Ma, Alexander S. Qian, Nghia H. Nguyen, Igor Stukalin, Stephen E. Congly, Abdel Aziz Shaheen, Mark G. Swain, Anouar Teriaky, Sumeet K. Asrani, Siddharth Singh
Summary: Between 1996 and 2016, there was a 4.3% annual increase in overall healthcare spending for patients with CLDs or cirrhosis in the United States, primarily driven by a 17.8% increase in price and intensity of hospital-based services. However, total healthcare spending per patient with CLDs or cirrhosis started decreasing after 2008, mainly due to reductions in ambulatory care spending.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Marie E. Thoma, Eugene R. Declercq
Summary: This study found that pregnancy-related mortality ratios increased significantly in 2021 compared to 2020, which is consistent with the rising rates of COVID-19-associated mortality among women of reproductive age. The increase was particularly pronounced among American Indian/Alaska Native birthing people.
OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Demography
Tom Wilson, Irina Grossman, Monica Alexander, Phil Rees, Jeromey Temple
Summary: This paper evaluates the current state of small area population forecasting and suggests areas for further research, highlighting the importance of various methods and techniques, and proposing future research directions.
POPULATION RESEARCH AND POLICY REVIEW
(2022)
Review
Statistics & Probability
Herbert Susmann, Monica Alexander, Leontine Alkema
Summary: This article introduces a model class, Temporal Models for Multiple Populations (TMMPs), to facilitate standard documentation of model assumptions and comparison between models. The class distinguishes between the process model and the data model, providing a general notation to describe latent trends in indicators and the data generating process of observed data.
INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nina M. Flores, Heather McBrien, Vivian Do, Mathew Kiang, Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, Joan A. Casey
Summary: The 2021 Texas Power Crisis caused widespread power outages, particularly impacting vulnerable populations. The study found that counties with higher Hispanic populations experienced more severe and prolonged outages. Individual-level survey data revealed that Black respondents were more likely to experience longer outages, while younger individuals and those with lower education were less prepared for outages.
JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Holly Elser, Sebastian T. Rowland, Maksym S. Marek, Mathew V. Kiang, Brittany Shea, Vivian Do, Tarik Benmarhnia, Andrea L. C. Schneider, Joan A. Casey
Summary: This study found that short-term exposure to PM2.5 and wildfire-specific PM2.5 were associated with an increased number of emergency department visits for headache in California. These findings suggest the need for patients, healthcare providers, and systems to respond to the increased healthcare needs related to headaches during wildfires and on days with poor air quality.
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
Mathew V. V. Kiang, Lindsey E. E. Carlasare, Sonoo Thadaney Israni, John J. J. Norcini, Junaid A. B. Zaman, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo
Summary: This cross-sectional study investigates the death rates of active and nonactive physicians aged 45 to 84 years.
JAMA INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Alexandra L. Potter, Chinmay Haridas, Krista Neumann, Mathew V. Kiang, Zhi Ven Fong, Corinne A. Riddell, Harrison G. Pope, Chi-Fu Jeffrey Yang
Summary: The incidence, timing, and factors associated with suicide among patients undergoing cancer operations were evaluated in this study. It was found that the incidence of suicide after surgery for cancer was significantly higher compared with the general US population. This highlights the need for regular suicide screening programs among these patients.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Holly Elser, Keith Humphreys, Mathew V. Kiang, Swapnil Mehta, Jong H. Yoon, William O. Faustman, Ellicott C. Matthay
Summary: This cohort study found no significant association between state cannabis legalization or commercialization and rates of psychosis-related health care claims. The findings do not support the hypothesis that cannabis legalization leads to increased rates of psychosis-related outcomes. Further research on this topic is needed.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
M. Maria Glymour, Marie-Laure Charpignon, Yea-Hung Chen, Mathew Kiang
Summary: Peer-reviewed journals are important but insufficient for scientific communication. Preprints are essential for rapid dissemination of research. Avoiding preprints hinders scientific progress and the public health impact of epidemiologic research.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vivian Do, Heather McBrien, Nina M. Flores, Alexander J. Northrop, Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, Mathew V. Kiang, Joan A. Casey
Summary: Power outages pose a threat to public health, especially with the increasing likelihood of outages due to climate change, aging electrical infrastructure, and higher energy demand. In this study, we examined power outages from 2018 to 2020 and found that an average of 520 million customer-hours per year were without power in 2,447 counties across the United States, affecting 73.7% of the population. We identified 17,484 outages lasting 8 hours or more, which can have significant health consequences, and 231,174 outages lasting 1 hour or more. These outages were most prevalent in counties in the Northeast, South, and Appalachian regions. Counties in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Michigan faced both frequent long-duration outages and high social vulnerability, as well as a prevalence of electricity-dependent durable medical equipment use. Furthermore, 62.1% of the long-duration outages coincided with extreme weather or climate events, particularly heavy precipitation, anomalous heat, and tropical cyclones. These findings can inform future large-scale epidemiology studies, guide equitable disaster preparedness and response efforts, and help prioritize resource allocation and interventions in specific geographic areas.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Shaniece Criss, Thu T. Nguyen, Eli K. Michaels, Gilbert C. Gee, Mathew V. Kiang, Quynh C. Nguyen, Samantha Norton, Eli Titherington, Leah Nguyen, Isha Yardi, Melanie Kim, Nhung Thai, Ariel Shepherd, Chris J. Kennedy
Summary: On March 16, 2021, a white man shot and killed eight victims, six of whom were Asian women at Atlanta-area spa and massage parlors. The study aimed to qualitatively summarize themes of tweets related to race, ethnicity, and racism immediately following the shootings, and examine temporal trends in hate speech and solidarity expressions before and after the shootings using a new methodology. The analysis revealed themes of solidarity, condemnation of the shootings, racism, the role of racist language during the pandemic, intersectional vulnerabilities, the relationship between Asian and Black struggles against racism, and discussions not related. The quantitative analysis showed a decrease in the proportion of racist tweets and an increase in solidarity speech, highlighting the importance of tracking hate and solidarity speech.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
Esther E. Velasquez, Tarik Benmarhnia, Joan A. Casey, Rosana Aguilera, Mathew V. Kiang
Summary: This study quantifies the exposure of schoolchildren in California to wildfire particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 μm.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Dielle J. Lundberg, Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, Ahyoung Cho, Rafeya Raquib, Elaine O. Nsoesie, Eugenio Paglino, Ruijia Chen, Mathew V. Kiang, Alicia R. Riley, Yea-Hung Chen, Marie-Laure Charpignon, Katherine Hempstead, Samuel H. Preston, Irma T. Elo, M. Maria Glymour, Andrew C. Stokes
Summary: This study examines the decrease in racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 mortality in the US between the initial wave and the Omicron wave. The study finds that the decrease in disparities is mainly attributed to increased mortality among non-Hispanic White adults and changes in the geographic spread of the pandemic.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ruijia Chen, Marie-Laure Charpignon, Rafeya V. Raquib, Jingxuan Wang, Erika Meza, Helene E. Aschmann, Michelle A. DeVost, Alyssa Mooney, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Alicia R. Riley, Mathew V. Kiang, Yea-Hung Chen, Andrew C. Stokes, M. Maria Glymour
Summary: This study compares excess deaths associated with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias during the COVID-19 pandemic between year 1 and year 2. The study examines the overall situation and breaks it down by age, sex, race and ethnicity, and place of death. Deaths associated with Alzheimer's disease increased significantly in the first year of the pandemic, but it is unclear whether the mortality declined in the second year when better prevention strategies and vaccines were available.
Article
Oncology
Alexandra L. Potter, Vedha Vaddaraju, Shivaek Venkateswaran, Arian Mansur, Simar S. Bajaj, Mathew V. Kiang, Anupam B. Jena, Chi-Fu Jeffrey Yang
Summary: This study found that there may be a disparate burden of COVID-19 mortality for patients with cancer compared to the general population, particularly during the Omicron wave. With the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, strategies to prevent COVID-19 transmission should remain a high priority.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ruijia Chen, Marie-Laure Charpignon, Rafeya V. Raquib, Jingxuan Wang, Erika Meza, Helene E. Aschmann, Michelle A. DeVost, Alyssa Mooney, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Alicia R. Riley, Mathew V. Kiang, Yea-Hung Chen, Andrew C. Stokes, M. Maria Glymour
Summary: This study compares excess deaths associated with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) between the first and second years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study finds that there were significant increases in mortality related to ADRD in the first year but these were largely reduced in the second year.
