Translating Public Health Recommendations Using the Army Design Methodology.

The U.S. Army employs over 470,000 active duty soldiers throughout the world.

The Common Antidiabetic Drug Metformin Reduces Odds of Developing Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: AMD is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in older individuals in the Western world, and there are currently no therapies to halt disease progression. Studies suggest that the commonly prescribed antidiabetic drug, metformin, is associated with decreased risk of several ocular diseases, but no work has investigated the effect of metformin use on development of AMD. Thus, we aim to investigate whether metformin use is associated with decreased risk of developing AMD.

Diagnostic sequence of cocaine use disorder in relation to other mental health conditions among college students.

Cocaine use is increasing. Comorbidities and diagnostic sequencing are needed among college students to inform treatment of cocaine use disorder (CUD). Using electronic medical records from the psychiatric clinic at the student health care center of a large, public university from 2005 to 2015, patients diagnosed with CUD were identified.

Systematically collected information at encounters with HIV-positive students: A review of 10 years of electronic medical records.

The objective of this study was to examine clinical and epidemiological information collected by Student Health Center (SHC) providers on HIV-positive students, and benchmark this information against Infectious Disease Society of America guidelines. Students who utilized the SHC and had an ICD-9 code indicating positive HIV status between 2005 and 2015 ( = 7). In June 2016, we accessed the free-form provider notes of the SHC's electronic medical records to identify specific, recorded epidemiological and clinical information.

Clinical and Epidemiologic Patterns of Chikungunya Virus Infection and Coincident Arboviral Disease in a School Cohort in Haiti, 2014-2015.

Background: Beginning in December 2013, an epidemic of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection spread across the Caribbean and into virtually all countries in the Western hemisphere, with >2.4 million cases reported through the end of 2017.

Methods: We monitored a cohort of school children in rural Haiti from May 2014, through February 2015, for occurrence of acute undifferentiated febrile illness, with clinical and laboratory data available for 252 illness episodes.

The role of benzathine penicillin G in predicting and preventing all-cause acute respiratory disease in military recruits: 1991-2017.

The adenovirus vaccine and benzathine penicillin G (BPG) have been used by the US military to prevent acute respiratory diseases (ARD) in trainees, though these interventions have had documented manufacturing problems. We fit Poisson regression and random forest models (RF) to 26 years of weekly ARD incidence data to explore the impact of the adenovirus vaccine and BPG prophylaxis on respiratory disease burden. Adenovirus vaccine availability was among the most important predictors of ARD in the RF, while BPG was the ninth most important.

Dengue fever outbreaks in Eritrea, 2005-2015: A case for strengthening surveillance, control and reporting.

Background: The geographic distribution and burden of dengue is increasing globally. This study aims to evaluate dengue outbreaks and to substantiate the need for strengthened surveillance, reporting and control in Eritrea.

Methods: Data from two cross-sectional dengue epidemic investigations in 2005 and 2010 were analyzed.

Shifts in endocrine homeostasis and preventive hormone replacement therapy: extending the Women's Health Initiative globally.

Background: Reducing disease risk for women after menopause is global health issue. A major portion of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) consisted of two clinical trials involving 161,809 post-menopausal women aged 50-79 that tested the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on reducing cardiovascular disease and other secondary outcomes. Previous analyses of the data reveal that HRT should not be recommended for post-menopausal women, but show potential benefits for younger women.

Community-based reports of morbidity, mortality, and health-seeking behaviours in four Monrovia communities during the West African Ebola epidemic.

The goal of this study was to assess morbidity, mortality, and health-seeking behaviours during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Monrovia, Liberia. This study examined commonly reported symptoms of illness, pre-clinical diagnostic practices, typical healthcare-seeking strategies, and health resources available to populations, in order to identify salient needs and gaps in healthcare that would inform local emergency response efforts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with household members in four Monrovia neighbourhoods.

Clinical and spatial features of Zika virus in Mexico.

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging arbovirus transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes, the same vectors that transmit dengue virus and chikungunya. Recent work has suggested that prior infection with dengue could lead to more severe clinical disease in ZIKV patients. Here, we describe the spatial distribution of and clinical symptoms experienced by ZIKV cases in Mexico.