Attitudes, Beliefs, and Predictors of Gestational Weight Gain and Postpartum Weight Retention in South Africa: A Mixed Methods Analysis.

Suboptimal gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with pregnancy complications and postpartum weight retention (PPWR). Little data exists about GWG and PPWR attitudes and beliefs in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) to inform interventions. We examined GWG and PPWR attitudes, beliefs, and intentions among pregnant people, with and without HIV, in Cape Town, South Africa.

The ABCDs of nutritional assessment in infectious diseases research.

Malnutrition is the most common acquired cause of immunodeficiency worldwide. Nutritional deficiencies can blunt both the innate and adaptive immune response to pathogens. Furthermore, malnutrition is both a cause and consequence of infectious diseases.

Intestinal Parasitic Infections May Be Overlooked Drivers of the Tuberculosis Pandemic.

The burden of tuberculosis (TB) is disproportionate in tropical and subtropical regions, where parasitic coinfections are common. Given the significant geographical overlap between TB and intestinal parasitic infections, it is important to consider the implications of intestinal parasitic infections for the TB pandemic. Intestinal parasitic infections have been theorized to increase vulnerability to TB by altering the inflammatory milieu, inducing undernutrition that blunts the immune response, and affecting drug pharmacokinetics.

National Institutes of Health Funding for Tuberculosis Comorbidities Is Disproportionate to Their Epidemiologic Impact.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading infectious killer worldwide. We systematically searched the National Institutes of Health Research, Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) website to compare research funding for key TB comorbidities-undernutrition, alcohol use, human immunodeficiency virus, tobacco use, and diabetes-and found a large mismatch between the population attributable fraction of these risk factors and the funding allocated to them.

A micro-costing analysis of nutritional support for persons with TB and their families in India.

Undernutrition is the leading risk factor for TB infection and death in India. We undertook a micro-costing analysis of a nutritional intervention for household contacts of people living with TB in Puducherry, India. We found that the total 6-month food cost for a family of four was USD4/day.

Not business as usual: Engaging the corporate sector in India's TB elimination efforts.

India has the highest global burden of tuberculosis (TB), accounting for a quarter of the worldwide TB disease incidence. Given the magnitude of India's epidemic, TB has enormous economic implications. Indeed, the majority of individuals with TB disease are in their prime years of economic productivity.

Beneficial effects of prehospital use of statins in a large United States cohort of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 patients.

Aims: This large cohort study aimed to assess the role of chronic statin use on COVID-19 disease severity.

Methods: An observational retrospective study from electronic medical records of hospitalized patients (n = 43 950) with COVID-19 between January and September 2020 in 185 hospitals in the United States. A total of 38 875 patients met inclusion criteria; 23 066 were included in the propensity-matched sampling with replacement cohort; 11 533 were prehospital statin users.

Impact of Undernutrition on Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes in India: A Multicenter, Prospective, Cohort Analysis.

Background: Undernutrition is the leading risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) globally. Its impact on treatment outcomes is poorly defined.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort analysis of adults with drug-sensitive pulmonary TB at 5 sites from 2015-2019.

Corrigendum: Malnutrition leads to increased inflammation and expression of tuberculosis risk signatures in recently exposed household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.

Malnutrition leads to increased inflammation and expression of tuberculosis risk signatures in recently exposed household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: Most individuals exposed to (Mtb) develop latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and remain at risk for progressing to active tuberculosis disease (TB). Malnutrition is an important risk factor driving progression from LTBI to TB. However, the performance of blood-based TB risk signatures in malnourished individuals with LTBI remains unexplored.

Factors Influencing Thirty-Day Readmission Rate in Patients With Heart Failure Exacerbation.

Background: The purpose of this study is to further investigate the leading causes of readmission at 30 days in heart failure exacerbation patients, along with associations to mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions.

Methods: A retrospective data analysis was performed on a total of 33,400 patients between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020. The primary endpoints were to determine whether guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), length of stay, and time to first diuretic affect readmission rates.

COVID-19-related anxieties: Impact on duty to care among nurses.

Background: Duty to care is integral to nursing practice. Personal obligations that normally conflict with professional obligations are likely amplified during a public health emergency such as COVID-19. Organizations can facilitate a nurse's ability to fulfill the duty to care without compromising on personal obligations.

Nutritional Supplementation Would Be Cost-Effective for Reducing Tuberculosis Incidence and Mortality in India: The Ration Optimization to Impede Tuberculosis (ROTI-TB) Model.

Background: Undernutrition is the leading cause of tuberculosis (TB) in India and is associated with increased TB mortality. Undernutrition also decreases quality of life and economic productivity.

Methods: We assessed the cost-effectiveness of providing augmented rations to undernourished Indians through the government's Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

'People listen more to what actors say': A qualitative study of tuberculosis-related knowledge, behaviours, stigma, and potential interventions in Puducherry, India.

India has made substantial advancements in reducing the burden of tuberculosis (TB), but persons living with active TB (PLWATB) still face myriad challenges in seeking and receiving care, including TB-related stigma. To meet the END TB targets, it is critical that PLWATB engage in care and are able to adhere to treatment. This qualitative study aimed to understand TB-related stigma (perceived, enacted, and internalised) and possible interventions to reduce stigma in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, India.

Tuberculosis-Learning the Impact of Nutrition (TB LION): protocol for an interventional study to decrease TB risk in household contacts.

Background: Comorbidities such as undernutrition and parasitic infections are widespread in India and other tuberculosis (TB)-endemic countries. This study examines how these conditions as well as food supplementation and parasite treatment might alter immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection and risk of progression to TB disease.

Methods: This is a 5-year prospective clinical trial at Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research in Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, India.

Severe undernutrition in children affects tuberculin skin test performance in Southern India.

Background: Undernutrition impairs immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is a risk factor for tuberculosis disease (TB). We aim to investigate if severe undernutrition affects the tuberculin skin test (TST) response among household contacts (HHCs) of pulmonary TB cases.

Methods: We analyzed data from HHCs (> five years) of pulmonary TB cases in Southern India.

Comparing tuberculosis gene signatures in malnourished individuals using the TBSignatureProfiler.

Background: Gene expression signatures have been used as biomarkers of tuberculosis (TB) risk and outcomes. Platforms are needed to simplify access to these signatures and determine their validity in the setting of comorbidities. We developed a computational profiling platform of TB signature gene sets and characterized the diagnostic ability of existing signature gene sets to differentiate active TB from LTBI in the setting of malnutrition.

Nine SARS-CoV-2 Positive Pregnant Women and Their Infant Delivery Outcomes.

There are scientific reports from around the world describing the cases of COVID-19. This is a case series reporting outcomes of deliveries from nine mothers with positive SARS-CoV-2 testing at Healthcare Corporation of America hospitals in the United States from January to April 2020. Thirty-three percent of the women had cesarean sections.