Publications by authors named "Ai Lin Tsai"

Introduction: Although poor glycemic control is associated with dementia, it is unknown if variability in glycemic control, even in those with optimal glycosylated hemoglobin A (HbA) levels, increases dementia risk.

Methods: Among 171,964 people with type 2 diabetes, we evaluated the hazard of dementia association with long-term HbA variability using five operationalizations, including standard deviation (SD), adjusting for demographics and comorbidities.

Results: The mean baseline age was 61 years (48% women).

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Objective: We examined the acceptability and feasibility of a multi-component digital health outreach intervention to promote uptake of guideline-recommended postpartum screening for type 2 diabetes among patients with gestational diabetes (GDM).

Methods: We conducted a 2 randomized factorial experiment as part of the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) preparation phase for developing behavioral interventions. Participants with current or recent GDM in an integrated healthcare system were randomized to receive an outreach message with up to four intervention components, designed to be self-administered in about 10 min and efficiently delivered online via REDCap: a streamlined values affirmation, personalized information on diabetes risk, an interactive motivational interviewing-based component, and an interactive action planning component.

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Importance: The levels of glycemic control associated with the lowest risk of dementia in people with type 2 diabetes are unknown. This knowledge is critical to inform patient-centered glycemic target setting.

Objective: To examine the associations between cumulative exposure to various ranges of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations with dementia risk across sex and racial and ethnic groups and the association of current therapeutic glycemic targets with dementia risk.

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Patients with gestational diabetes mellitus and from racial/ethnic minority groups face disproportionate risk for type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle interventions, if accessible and acceptable to diverse patients, could advance diabetes prevention and mitigate racial/ethnic disparities. Here we describe overall and race/ethnicity-specific reach, acceptability, and perceived success from an effective telehealth diabetes prevention lifestyle program for patients with gestational diabetes mellitus, implemented in the Gestational Diabetes Effects on Moms (GEM) cluster-randomized controlled trial.

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Introduction: Clinical guidelines urge timely postpartum screening for diabetes among women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), yet patient factors associated with screening uptake remain unclear. We aimed to identify patient factors associated with completed postpartum diabetes screening (2-hour oral glucose tolerance test within 4-12 weeks postpartum), as recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Research Design And Methods: Within the context of Gestational Diabetes' Effects on Moms (GEM), a pragmatic cluster randomized trial (2011-2012), we examined survey and electronic health record data to assess clinical and sociodemographic factors associated with uptake of ADA-recommended postpartum screening.

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Introduction: Suboptimal and differential participant engagement in randomized trials-including retention at primary outcome assessments and attendance at intervention sessions-undermines rigor, internal validity, and trial conclusions.

Methods: First, this study describes Methods-Motivational Interviewing approach and strategies for implementation. This approach engages potential participants before randomization through interactive, prerequisite orientation sessions that illustrate the scientific rationale behind trial methods in accessible language and use motivational interviewing to diffuse ambivalence about participation.

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Importance: Topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs), primarily used to treat atopic dermatitis (AD), carry a black box label warning users about the potential for increased skin cancer risk. The risk associated with keratinocyte carcinoma (KC), the most common cancer, defined as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), remains poorly defined because findings from large-scale postmarketing surveillance studies have not been reported.

Objectives: To examine KC risk overall and by subtype (BCC and SCC) among adults with AD exposed to TCIs compared with those exposed to topical corticosteroids (primary comparator group) and those unexposed to TCIs or topical corticosteroids (alternative comparator group) as well as alterations in risk with TCI dose, frequency, and duration of exposure.

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Background: Excess gestational weight gain (GWG) among women with overweight or obesity synergistically increases their already elevated risk of having gestational diabetes, a caesarean delivery, a large for gestational age infant, and post-partum weight retention, and increases their child's risk of obesity. We investigated whether a primarily telehealth lifestyle intervention reduced excess GWG among women with overweight or obesity.

Methods: We did a randomised controlled trial in five antenatal clinics of Kaiser Permanente; Oakland, San Leandro, Walnut Creek, Fremont, and Santa Clara, CA, USA.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to test whether 2 interventions promote interest in diabetes prevention among women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus, who face high lifetime risk for diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: We designed an email outreach message promoting an existing preventive lifestyle program. The message incorporated values affirmation, a theory-based intervention that can improve openness to health information but typically relies on a writing exercise less practical in health care settings.

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Background: Excess gestational weight gain (GWG) is common among women with overweight or obesity, increasing their risks for pregnancy complications, delivering a large infant, and postpartum weight retention. To date, only intensive interventions have had success and few interventions have been designed for implementation in healthcare settings.

Methods: We describe the development, rationale, and methods of GLOW (GestationaL Weight Gain and Optimal Wellness), a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention to prevent excess GWG among racially/ethnically diverse women with overweight or obesity in an integrated healthcare delivery system.

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Objective: Evaluate whether a tailored letter improved gestational weight gain (GWG) and whether GWG mediated a multicomponent intervention's effect on postpartum weight retention among women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Research Design And Methods: A cluster-randomized controlled trial of 44 medical facilities ( = 2,014 women) randomized to usual care or a multicomponent lifestyle intervention delivered during pregnancy (tailored letter) and postpartum (13 telephone sessions) to reduce postpartum weight retention. The tailored letter, using electronic health record (EHR) data, recommended an end-of-pregnancy weight goal tailored to prepregnancy BMI and GWG trajectory at GDM diagnosis: total GWG at the lower limit of the IOM range if BMI ≥18.

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This cohort study examines estimated herpes zoster incidence rates among systemically treated patients with psoriasis in a community-based health care delivery setting.

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Laboratory studies show that lithium, an activator of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, slows melanoma progression, but to our knowledge no published epidemiologic studies have explored this association. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult white Kaiser Permanente Northern California members (n = 2,213,848) from 1997-2012 to examine the association between lithium use and melanoma risk. Lithium exposure (n = 11,317) was assessed from pharmacy databases, serum lithium levels were obtained from electronic laboratory databases, and incident cutaneous melanomas (n = 14,056) were identified from an established cancer registry.

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Growing evidence links perceived stress-a potentially modifiable psychosocial risk factor-with health behaviors and obesity. Yet little is known about the relationship between stress during pregnancy and gestational weight gain, particularly among women with pregnancy complications. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis to examine associations between psychosocial stress during pregnancy and gestational weight gain among women with gestational diabetes.

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Background: Diet and physical activity lifestyle behaviors are modifiable risk factors for type 2 diabetes and are shaped by culture, potentially influencing diabetes health disparities.

Objectives: We examined whether ethnic identity-the strength of attachment to one's ethnic group, and a long-standing focus of psychological research-could help account for variations in lifestyle behaviors within a diverse population at high risk for chronic disease.

Methods: Using data from the Gestational Diabetes' Effects on Moms trial, this US-based cross-sectional study included 1463 pregnant women (74% from minority ethnic/racial groups; 46% born outside the US) with gestational diabetes (GDM), a common pregnancy complication conferring high risk for type 2 diabetes after delivery.

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Objective: To compare the effectiveness of diabetes prevention strategies addressing postpartum weight retention for women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) delivered at the health system level: mailed recommendations (usual care) versus usual care plus a Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)-derived lifestyle intervention.

Research Design And Methods: This study was a cluster randomized controlled trial of 44 medical facilities (including 2,280 women with GDM) randomized to intervention or usual care. The intervention included mailed gestational weight gain recommendations plus 13 telephone sessions between 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum.

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Background: Staphylococcus aureus can cause life-threatening infections. Human susceptibility to S. aureus infection may be influenced by host genetic variation.

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Background. The costs of providing care to HIV-infected (HIV+) patients with co-occurring diagnoses of substance use (SU) disorder or psychiatric disease (PD) are not well documented. It is our objective to evaluate costs in these HIV+ patients receiving care in a large health plan.

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Background: Women with gestational diabetes (GDM) are at high risk of developing diabetes later in life. After a GDM diagnosis, women receive prenatal care to control their blood glucose levels via diet, physical activity and medications. Continuing such lifestyle skills into early motherhood may reduce the risk of diabetes in this high risk population.

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Background: The benefits of some second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) must be weighed against the increased risk for diabetes mellitus. This study examines whether the association between SGAs and diabetes differs by dose.

Methods: Patients were ≥18 years of age from three US healthcare systems and exposed to an SGA for ≥45 days between November 1, 2002 and March 31, 2005.

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Background: We examined the association between substance use (SU) disorder and mortality among HIV-infected patients in a large, private medical care program.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort design, HIV-infected patients (≥14 years old) from a large health plan (Northern California) were studied to examine mortality associated with diagnosis of SU dependence or abuse over an 11-year period.

Results: At study entry or during follow-up, 2,279 (25%) of 9,178 HIV-infected patients had received a diagnosis of SU disorder.

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We examined the associations between psychiatric diagnoses, substance use disorders, health services, and mortality among 9751 HIV-infected patients (≥14 years old) in a large, private medical care program, in a retrospective cohort design over a 12-year period. All study data were extracted from computerized clinical and administrative databases. Results showed that 25.

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Background: Malignant glioma is a rare cancer with poor survival. The influence of diet and antioxidant intake on glioma survival is not well understood. The current study examines the association between antioxidant intake and survival after glioma diagnosis.

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