Elevated uric acid level and metabolic syndrome in Non-Hispanic Black American adults.

Objectives: To ascertain the direct and indirect link between elevated uric acid (eUA) and metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) in Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) American adults.

Design: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to disentangle the U.S.

Biological sex disparity in survival outcomes following treatment for renal cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a type of kidney cancer has biological sex-based differences that play a role in cancer incidence. Specifically, the incidence of urinary system cancers in men is two times greater than in women, while the incidence of genital cancers is three times greater. There is conflicting epidemiologic and limited evidence in the literature to suggest apparent biological sex discrepancy.

Waiting times disparities for medication-assisted therapy among opioid use disorder treatment population in the United States.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment has been described as beneficial in reducing the burden of OUD and its related complications. Thus far, there is a paucity of literature on the time-to-treatment differences from the period of seeking treatment to when the patient starts treatment. Hence, it is deemed a form of barrier to the accessibility of OUD treatment programs.

Comorbid Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders: Prior Treatment/Admission as a Predictor of Criminal Arrest Among American Youths.

Background: There is a dearth of literature with regards to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes and criminal arrest relationships.

Aim: We aimed to examine the association between criminal arrest within a month prior to SUD treatment admissions among 12- to 24-year-old Americans and the role of recurrent or prior SUD treatment.

Methods: The 2017 United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Episode Data Set - Admissions (TEDS-A; N = 333,322) was used for this analysis.

Traumatic brain Injury related schizophrenia in individuals without family history: A case series.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) related mental disorder has been hypothesized in the literature before 1969 as the etiology of schizophrenia. TBI has been described as a complex of multiple genetic factors and interacting non-genetic factor influence. Most research on non-genetic factors has focused on the period from conception through childhood.

Alternative Tobacco Product Use and Smoking Quit Attempts Among Teenagers in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Public health interventions have heightened awareness of risk factors and ill effects of tobacco use. Though sales of conventional tobacco products have been steadily declining, there is the advent of a new generation of alternative tobacco products marketed with claims of reduced harms and smoking cessation aids. These products are increasing in prevalence and popularity among adolescents.

Biological sex disparity in survival outcomes following treatment for renal cell carcinoma: a systematic review protocol.

Objective: This systematic review will assess the biological sex disparity in survival outcomes following treatment for renal cell carcinoma and analyze the estimates of biological sex disparity outcomes following supposed or proposed curative treatment.

Introduction: Renal cell carcinoma is a type of kidney cancer. There is a lack of conformity in the literature on the biological sex disparity in survival outcomes after treatment.

Allostatic load, metabolic syndrome and self-rated health in overweight/obese Non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black and Mexican American adults.

Aim: This study examined the associations of high allostatic load (h_ALS) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) with and self-rated poor health (SRPH) in overweight/obese non-Hispanic White (NHW), non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and Mexican American (MA) adults.

Methods: The 2015-16 and 2017-18 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (n = 4403) were used for this study.

Results: Rates of h_ALS in overweight/obese NHW, NHW, and MA participants were 56.

Disparities in communication among the inpatient homeless population at a safety-net hospital.

Objective: To determine whether the homeless population experiences disparities in care and communication during inpatient hospitalizations in a safety-net hospital.

Methods: We administered a modified Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey to 112 age-sex- and education matched homeless and non-homeless adults at a university-affiliated-safety-net hospital from December 2017 through March 2018 and performed a retrospective review of medical records. Linear regression models were used to assess differences in responses to survey subscales, length of stay and other measures.

Comorbidities, Age, and Polypharmacy Limit the Use by US Older Adults with Nocturia of the Only FDA-approved Drugs for the Symptom.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine if the US adult population with nocturia (waking from sleep at night to void) can easily take medications (desmopressin acetate) approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for nocturia. The study examined: (1) the prevalence of comorbid conditions, laboratory abnormalities, and concomitant medications that increase risk of desmopressin use; and (2) whether these factors are associated with age or nocturia frequency.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional analysis of four US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) waves (2005-2012), a total of 4111 participants aged ≥50 years who reported ≥2 nightly episodes of nocturia were identified.

Culture Matters in Communicating the Global Response to COVID-19.

Current communication messages in the COVID-19 pandemic tend to focus more on individual risks than community risks resulting from existing inequities. Culture is central to an effective community-engaged public health communication to reduce collective risks. In this commentary, we discuss the importance of culture in unpacking messages that may be the same globally (physical/social distancing) yet different across cultures and communities (individualist versus collectivist).

Lifestyle Modification Practices and Drug Prescription Use in Elderly Americans with Metabolic Syndrome: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Aim: To determine differences in lifestyle modification practices and use of prescription drugs in a representative sample of Mexican American (MA), non-Hispanic White (NHW), and non-Hispanic Black (NHB) elderly Americans with metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methods: Data from the United States National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys were used in this study. Lifestyle modification practices include ongoing physical activity, weight control, and ongoing diet modifications.

Surrogate indexes of insulin resistance and risk of metabolic syndrome in non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black and Mexican American.

Aim: To compare the strength of associations between surrogate indexes of insulin resistance (sIR) and risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in non-Hispanic White (NHW), non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Mexican American (MA) adults.

Methods: The 2013-2016 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (n = 3435) were used for this study. The associations between sIR that includes Triglyceride/HDL cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C), triglyceride glucose (TG) index, visceral adiposity index (VAI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), TG-body mass index (TG-BMI), and TG-waist circumference (TG-WC) and risk for MetS were determined using the prevalence odds ratio (OR) from the logistic regression analyses.

Improved Hepatitis C Cure Cascade Outcomes Among Urban Baby Boomers in the Direct-Acting Antiviral Era.

Objectives: We compared outcomes of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) cure cascade (ie, the path a patient follows from diagnosis to cure), including antiviral treatment outcomes, from 2 HCV screening programs. Our objective was to assess whether treatment uptake and HCV cure rates improved in the cohort screened after the release of all-oral HCV direct-acting antiviral therapies.

Methods: We retrospectively compared outcomes of the HCV cure cascade from a cohort of newly diagnosed patients screened during 2012-2014 (period 1) with outcomes from a cohort of newly diagnosed patients screened during 2015-2016 (period 2) at Grady Health System in Atlanta, Georgia.

Chronic medical conditions based obesity phenotypes: A two-step cluster analysis of a representative sample of obese American adults.

Background And Objective: Although obesity is a heterogeneous disease, little is known regarding chronic medical conditions (CMCs) that defines variability in obese populations. The characterization of obese populations using CMCs rather than categorization using BMI alone can advance understanding of obesity. The aims of this study are to phenotype obesity in a large representative sample of non-Hispanic White (NHW), non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Mexican American (MA) obese adults using CMCs, and assess relationship between resulting phenotypes and self-rated health (SRH).

Comorbid Conditions and Driving Status Among Older Low-Income African Americans.

Introduction: While driving is an important instrumental activity of daily living (ADL), older adults belonging to low-income racial minorities make up a large proportion of never-drivers who utilize alternative modes of transportation (Babulal et al., Geriatrics 3, 2018; Choi and Mezuk, J Appl Gerontol 32:902-912, 2013). Our study is a comparative analysis of comorbid health conditions among older drivers and nondrivers receiving care at a safety net hospital in Atlanta in order to assess utilization of healthcare resources and chronic disease burden among the two groups.

Cluster analysis of multiple chronic conditions associated with urinary incontinence among women in the USA.

Objective: To identify patterns of prevalent chronic medical conditions among women with urinary incontinence (UI).

Materials And Methods: We combined cross-sectional data from the 2005-2006 to 2011-2012 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, and identified 3 800 women with UI and data on 12 chronic conditions. Types of UI included stress UI (SUI), urgency UI (UUI), and mixed stress and urgency UI (MUI).

The impact of IV alteplase on long-term patient survival: The Georgia Coverdell acute stroke registry's experience.

Introduction: Intravenous alteplase reduces disability and improves functionality among acute ischemic stroke patients. Two decades after its approval, only a small fraction of patients get the treatment, and demonstrating its impact on mortality may make a strong case for its wider use. This study assessed the impact of thrombolytic treatment by alteplase on 1-year mortality and readmission among acute ischemic stroke patients.

Effect of marijuana use on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality: A study using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey linked mortality file.

Background Reports associate marijuana use with cardiovascular emergencies. Studies relating marijuana use to cardiovascular mortality are scarce. Recent advance towards marijuana use legalization emphasizes the importance of understanding relationships between marijuana use and cardiovascular deaths; the primary ranked mortality.

Quality of Care and Its Impact on One-Year Mortality: The Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry.

Although performance measures help monitor the process change in quality improvement, their utility in measuring long-term outcomes is uncertain. This study assessed the 1-year mortality of acute ischemic stroke patients treated by hospitals participating in the Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry. Using 10 nationally approved performance measures, quality of care was defined both as an all-or-none measure (defect-free care) and as a composite index.

Highly Successful Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Treatment Outcomes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus/HCV-Coinfected Patients at a Large, Urban, Ryan White Clinic.

Background: The introduction of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) created a major paradigm shift in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Currently, there is little "real-world" data regarding hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment outcomes in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV-coinfected population.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study examined HCV treatment outcomes of HIV/HCV-coinfected patients at a large, urban, Ryan White-funded clinic caring for an underserved population.

African Ancestry Gradient Is Associated with Lower Systemic F-Isoprostane Levels.

. Low levels of systemic F-isoprostanes (F-IsoP) increase the risk of diabetes and weight gain and were found in African Americans. Low F-IsoPs could reflect an unfavorable metabolic characteristic, namely, slow mitochondrial metabolism in individuals with African ancestry.