Combinatorial analysis reveals highly coordinated early-stage immune reactions that predict later antiviral immunity in mild COVID-19 patients.

While immunopathology has been widely studied in patients with severe COVID-19, immune responses in non-hospitalized patients have remained largely elusive. We systematically analyze 484 peripheral cellular or soluble immune features in a longitudinal cohort of 63 mild and 15 hospitalized patients versus 14 asymptomatic and 26 household controls. We observe a transient increase of IP10/CXCL10 and interferon-β levels, coordinated responses of dominant SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 and fewer CD8 T cells, and various antigen-presenting and antibody-secreting cells in mild patients within 3 days of PCR diagnosis.

Longitudinal analysis of T cell receptor repertoires reveals shared patterns of antigen-specific response to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

T cells play a prominent role in orchestrating the immune response to viral diseases, but their role in the clinical presentation and subsequent immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection remains poorly understood. As part of a population-based survey of the municipality of Vo', Italy, conducted after the initial SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, we sampled the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoires of the population 2 months after the initial PCR survey and followed up positive cases 9 and 15 months later. At 2 months, we found that 97.

Mid-Life Physical Activity and Late-Life Cognitive Performance among American Indians.

Introduction: Research on factors associated with late-life cognitive performance in diverse racial/ethnic groups is increasingly important due to the growing size and racial diversity of the elder population.

Methods: Using data on American Indians (AIs) from the Strong Heart Study, we measured associations between mid-life physical activity (PA), assessed by a questionnaire or pedometer, and performance on tests of general cognitive function, phonemic fluency, verbal learning and memory, and processing speed. Cognitive tests were administered 7-21 years after PA measurements.

Substance use and mental health in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: We examined the prevalence of substance use as a coping mechanism and identified relationships between maternal mental health over time and use of substances to cope during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among pregnant women in the U.S.A.

Stressors, coping, and resources needed during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of perinatal women.

Background: Psychological stress and coping experienced during pregnancy can have important effects on maternal and infant health, which can also vary by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Therefore, we assessed stressors, coping behaviors, and resources needed in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of 162 perinatal (125 pregnant and 37 postpartum) women in the United States.

Methods: A mixed-methods study captured quantitative responses regarding stressors and coping, along with qualitative responses to open-ended questions regarding stress and resources needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Association of Sickle Cell Trait With Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease Among African American Individuals.

Importance: The incidence of and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) are substantially higher among African American individuals compared with non-Hispanic White individuals, even after adjusting for traditional factors associated with CHD. The unexplained excess risk might be due to genetic factors related to African ancestry that are associated with a higher risk of CHD, such as the heterozygous state for the sickle cell variant or sickle cell trait (SCT).

Objective: To evaluate whether there is an association between SCT and the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) or composite CHD outcomes in African American individuals.

Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Diagnoses in American Indians.

The burden of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) has increased substantially in the United States, particularly in health disparity populations. Little is known about the epidemiology of ADRD in American Indian (AI) adults, although they have a high prevalence of ADRD risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and smoking. Using electronic health records from a large health care organization during 2016-18, we describe characteristics of AI patients aged ≥55 years with and without an ADRD diagnosis, assess ADRD risk factors and contrast findings with results from age- and sex-matched non-Hispanic White (NHW) patients.

Strong Men, Strong Communities: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Diabetes Prevention Intervention for American Indian and Alaska Native Men.

Type 2 diabetes is a serious global epidemic that disproportionately affects disadvantaged populations. American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIs/ANs) have the highest rates of diabetes in the nation with a prevalence of 14.7% in 2018, more than twice that of non-Hispanic Whites.

Genome-Wide Association Study Meta-Analysis of Stroke in 22 000 Individuals of African Descent Identifies Novel Associations With Stroke.

Background And Purpose: Stroke is a complex disease with multiple genetic and environmental risk factors. Blacks endure a nearly 2-fold greater risk of stroke and are 2× to 3× more likely to die from stroke than European Americans.

Methods: The COMPASS (Consortium of Minority Population Genome-Wide Association Studies of Stroke) has conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of stroke in >22 000 individuals of African ancestry (3734 cases, 18 317 controls) from 13 cohorts.

Parental Depression Symptoms at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Discharge and Associated Risk Factors.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors associated with parental depressive symptoms at neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge and determine the relationships among depressive symptoms, stress, and social support.

Study Design: Parents participating in the Giving Parents Support trial (n = 300) were surveyed before NICU discharge. Depressive symptoms, stress, and social support were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10), Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS).

Phenome-wide association analysis of LDL-cholesterol lowering genetic variants in PCSK9.

Background: We characterised the phenotypic consequence of genetic variation at the PCSK9 locus and compared findings with recent trials of pharmacological inhibitors of PCSK9.

Methods: Published and individual participant level data (300,000+ participants) were combined to construct a weighted PCSK9 gene-centric score (GS). Seventeen randomized placebo controlled PCSK9 inhibitor trials were included, providing data on 79,578 participants.

Lifestyle Risk Factors and Findings on Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Older Adult American Indians: The Strong Heart Study.

Background: Clinical stroke is prevalent in American Indians, but the lifestyle risk factors for vascular brain injury have not been well-studied in this population. The purpose of this study was to correlate brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings with obesity, alcohol use, and smoking behaviors in elderly American Indians from the Strong Heart Study.

Methods: Cranial MRI scans (n = 789) were analyzed for dichotomous measures of infarcts, hemorrhages, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and cerebral atrophy and continuous measures of total brain, WMH, and hippocampal volume.

A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Telomere Length and Sleep in the Women's Health Initiative.

Telomere length is a heritable marker of cellular age that is associated with morbidity and mortality. Poor sleep behaviors, which are also associated with adverse health events, may be related to leukocyte telomere length (LTL). We studied a subpopulation of 3,145 postmenopausal women (1,796 European-American (EA) and 1,349 African-American (AA)) enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative in 1993-1998 with data on Southern blot-measured LTL and self-reported usual sleep duration and sleep disturbance.

Vascular Risk Factors and Findings on Brain MRI of Elderly Adult American Indians: The Strong Heart Study.

Background: Clinical stroke is prevalent in American Indians, but the risk factors for cerebrovascular pathology have not been well-studied in this population. The purpose of this study was to correlate abnormalities on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with clinical risk factors in a cohort of elderly American Indians.

Methods: Brain MRI scans from 789 participants of the Strong Heart Study were analyzed for infarcts, hemorrhage, white matter disease, and measures of cerebral atrophy including ventricular and sulcal grade and total brain volume.

The genetic underpinnings of variation in ages at menarche and natural menopause among women from the multi-ethnic Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study: A trans-ethnic meta-analysis.

Current knowledge of the genetic architecture of key reproductive events across the female life course is largely based on association studies of European descent women. The relevance of known loci for age at menarche (AAM) and age at natural menopause (ANM) in diverse populations remains unclear. We investigated 32 AAM and 14 ANM previously-identified loci and sought to identify novel loci in a trans-ethnic array-wide study of 196,483 SNPs on the MetaboChip (Illumina, Inc.

Discovery, fine-mapping, and conditional analyses of genetic variants associated with C-reactive protein in multiethnic populations using the Metabochip in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) study.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a circulating biomarker indicative of systemic inflammation. We aimed to evaluate genetic associations with CRP levels among non-European-ancestry populations through discovery, fine-mapping and conditional analyses. A total of 30 503 non-European-ancestry participants from 6 studies participating in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology study had serum high-sensitivity CRP measurements and ∼200 000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped on the Metabochip.

The Giving Parents Support Study: A randomized clinical trial of a parent navigator intervention to improve outcomes after neonatal intensive care unit discharge.

Parents of infants hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experience increased anxiety and stress, which may persist after discharge. The rationale and design of a randomized clinical trial assessing the impact of a 1-year, post-discharge, peer support intervention (parent navigation) on parental mental health and infant health care utilization is described. Qualitative methods guided the adaptation of an existing parent support program to target emotional and resource-related needs of NICU families.

Association of Sickle Cell Trait With Ischemic Stroke Among African Americans: A Meta-analysis.

Importance: African Americans and individuals of African ancestry have a higher risk of stroke compared with non-Hispanic white individuals. Identifying the source of this disparity could provide an opportunity for clinical stroke risk stratification and more targeted therapy. Whether sickle cell trait (SCT) is an indicator of increased risk of ischemic stroke among African Americans is still unclear.

Combination of indoor residual spraying with long-lasting insecticide-treated nets for malaria control in Zambezia, Mozambique: a cluster randomised trial and cost-effectiveness study protocol.

Background: Most of the reduction in malaria prevalence seen in Africa since 2000 has been attributed to vector control interventions. Yet increases in the distribution and intensity of insecticide resistance and higher costs of newer insecticides pose a challenge to sustaining these gains. Thus, endemic countries face challenging decisions regarding the choice of vector control interventions.

A multinational study on motor function in early-onset FSHD.

Objectives: To investigate motor function associations with age, sex, and repeats among participants with early-onset facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) type 1 as defined by weakness onset before 10 years of age.

Methods: We collected standardized motor assessments, including manual muscle testing (MMT), quantitative muscle testing, functional motor evaluations, and clinical severity scores (CSSs), at 12 Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group centers. To measure associations, we used linear regression models adjusted for sex, evaluation age, age at onset of weakness, and repeats.

Multiancestry genome-wide association study of 520,000 subjects identifies 32 loci associated with stroke and stroke subtypes.

Stroke has multiple etiologies, but the underlying genes and pathways are largely unknown. We conducted a multiancestry genome-wide-association meta-analysis in 521,612 individuals (67,162 cases and 454,450 controls) and discovered 22 new stroke risk loci, bringing the total to 32. We further found shared genetic variation with related vascular traits, including blood pressure, cardiac traits, and venous thromboembolism, at individual loci (n = 18), and using genetic risk scores and linkage-disequilibrium-score regression.

Leukocyte telomere length, T cell composition and DNA methylation age.

Both leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and DNA methylation age are strongly associated with chronological age. One measure of DNA methylation age─ the extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (EEAA)─ is highly predictive of all-cause mortality. We examined the relation between LTL and EEAA.

Leisure-time physical activity and leukocyte telomere length among older women.

Background: Shortened leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a purported marker of cellular aging, is associated with morbidity and mortality. However, the association of physical activity, a modifiable lifestyle behavior, with LTL has not been adequately studied among older adults.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we examined associations of various intensity levels of leisure-time physical activity with LTL among 1476 older white and African American women from the Women's Health Initiative Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health study.