Effect of Perceived Neighborhood Environment on Cannabis Use during Pregnancy among African American Women.

Environmental context is an important predictor of health behavior. Understanding its effect on cannabis use among pregnant women is yet to be understood. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of perceived neighborhood environment on prenatal cannabis use and explore the mediating role of stress.

Serious infections and tuberculosis adversely impact outcomes of juvenile onset systemic lupus erythematosus in India.

Background: Infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We assessed the incidence and risk factors for major infections in juvenile SLE.

Methods: A retrospective review of 225 patients of juvenile SLE (ACR 1997 criteria) with age <18 years visiting the rheumatology clinic at a single centre between 2000 to 2020 was done from case records and the hospital electronic health records.

Semaphorins and its receptors: Emerging cellular biomarkers and therapeutic targets in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.

Semaphorins have been discovered to play an array of roles in immune regulation, especially in the complex field of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Originally discovered for their critical role in directing axon growth during brain development, semaphores have since been shown to have versatile actions. They are distinguished by a conserved extracellular sema domain with a 7-blade beta propeller structure.

Serum p-Glycoprotein and Monomeric C-Reactive Protein are Elevated in Takayasu Arteritis.

Purpose: Existing biomarkers including C-reactive protein (CRP) do not adequately distinguish active and inactive TAK. We compared serum p-glycoprotein (p-gp)/Multidrug Resistance Protein 1 (MDR1), monomeric CRP (mCRP), CRP, and mCRP:CRP ratio in Takayasu arteritis (TAK) and healthy controls and their relationship with disease activity.

Patients And Methods: Serum p-gp mCRP (ELISA) and CRP (nephelometry) were compared between consecutive adults with TAK (>18 years) enrolled from a prospective cohort (n = 92) and healthy controls (n = 29), and between active vs inactive TAK (n = 46 each).

Clinical manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis, including comorbidities, complications, and long-term follow-up.

Symmetric inflammatory polyarthritis is the most prominent manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, RA can practically affect any organ system, whether hematologic, neurological, cardiac, lung, skin, eyes, or kidneys. Systemic involvement in RA can be severe when there is interstitial lung disease, scleritis, amyloidosis, pure red cell aplasia, or myelodysplasia.

Preterm Birth in African American Women: A Multi-Omic Pilot Study in Early Pregnancy.

Preterm birth (PTB; <37 weeks completed gestation) is a devastating problem affecting over 13 million live births worldwide. In the U.S.

Indian Rheumatology Association guidelines for the management of ANCA associated vasculitis.

Background: The ACR in 2021 and the EULAR in 2022 published recommendations for management of ANCA-associated vasculitis. Given the differences in the demographic, clinical profiles, and the socio-economic realities between various countries, there is a need for development of guidelines for the management of AAV for less economically developed regions of the world.

Methods: These guidelines were made following the GRADE methodology.

Associations Among Racial Discrimination, Perceived Stress, and Birth Satisfaction in Black Women in the Postpartum Period.

Objective: To examine associations among experiences of racial discrimination, perceived stress, and birth satisfaction and to test if perceived stress mediates the relationship between racial discrimination and birth satisfaction among Black women in the postpartum period.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from the Biosocial Impact on Black Births study.

Setting: A postpartum unit of a large hospital in Central Florida.

Tuberculosis is the predominant infection in systemic sclerosis: thirty-year retrospective study of serious infections from a single centre.

To look for the spectrum of infections and the factors predisposing to infection in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). In this retrospective study, demographic, clinical features, details of infections, immunosuppressive therapy, and outcomes of patients with SSc attending clinics at department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India from 1990 to 2022 were captured. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression was applied to identify independent predictors of infection.

Neighborhood Environment and Perceived Stress Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Childbearing Black Women.

Purpose: The purpose of this study among pregnant and postpartum Black women was twofold: (1) to compare levels of perceived stress, depressive symptoms, social support, and neighborhood disorder and crime before the pandemic vs during the pandemic; and (2) to examine the association of perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and social support with neighborhood disorder and crime at both time points.

Methods: This was a prospective study as part of the Biosocial Impact on Black Births, a longitudinal study that examined the role of maternal factors on preterm birth among Black women. A sample of 143 women were included who responded to survey questions during pregnancy prior to the pandemic and again after birth, during the pandemic.

A Mixed Methods Approach to Understand Mother-Father Relationship and Perceived Stress Among Black Pregnant Women.

Background: Black women in the United States report moderate to high levels of perceived stress during pregnancy. Though lower levels of involvement and support from father of the baby (FOB) and higher levels of conflict have been associated with higher levels of maternal perceived stress, it is not clear how Black pregnant women experience the mother-father relationship and its influence on perceived stress.

Purpose: To examine and describe the mother-father relationship and its role in experiences of perceived stress from the perspective of Black pregnant women.

Biological use influences the impact of inflammation on risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Chronic inflammation promotes cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) improve disease activity and cardiovascular disease outcomes. We explored whether bDMARDs influence the impact of disease activity and inflammatory markers on long-term cardiovascular risk in RA.

Placental chronic inflammatory histopathology and fetal growth in a cohort with universal placental examination.

Introduction: Chronic placental inflammation is a routinely diagnosed group of placental lesions that reflect immunologic dysfunction of the mother, fetus, or both.

Methods: Complete placental pathology examinations were performed for all term births at New York Presbyterian- Brooklyn Methodist Hospital from January 2010-August 2016. Diagnoses were blinded except to gestational age.

Maternal affective symptoms and sleep quality have sex-specific associations with placental topography.

Background: The impacts of prenatal maternal affective symptoms on the placental structure are not well-established. Employing Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial autocorrelation, Moran's I, can help characterize placental thickness uniformity/variability and evaluate the impacts of maternal distress on placental topography.

Methods: This study (N = 126) utilized cohort data on prenatal maternal affective symptoms and placental 2D and 3D morphology.

Predictors of Intensive Care Unit Admissions in Patients Presenting with Coronavirus Disease 2019.

 Increased mortality rates among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) highlight a compelling need to establish predictive criteria for ICU admissions. The aim of our study was to identify criteria for recognizing patients with COVID-19 at elevated risk for ICU admission.  We identified patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and were hospitalized between March and May 2020.

Prevalence, Predictors, and Prognosis of Serious Infections in Takayasu Arteritis: A Cohort Study.

Objective: To describe the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes associated with serious infections in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA).

Methods: Serious infections, defined as infections resulting in hospitalization or death or unusual infections like tuberculosis, were identified from a cohort of patients with TA. Corticosteroid and disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) use at the time of serious infection was noted.

Corrigendum: Social mobility and perinatal depression in Black women.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/frhs.2023.

Neighborhood racial composition and experiences of racial discrimination: Associations with cytokines during pregnancy among African American women.

Background: Preterm birth rates are consistently higher in African American (AA) pregnancies compared to White pregnancies in the United States. Neighborhood racial composition, experiences of racial discrimination, and systemic inflammation are factors that have been associated with preterm birth and other adverse pregnancy outcomes that may account for these disparities. Here, we investigated whether perceived neighborhood racial composition and experiences of discrimination were predictive of cytokine levels during pregnancy among AA individuals.