Clinical utility of the Fibrosis-4 index for predicting mortality in patients with heart failure with or without metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a prospective cohort study.

Background: The liver-heart axis potentially influences the risk of mortality in patients with heart failure. We aimed to identify the clinical utility of the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index in patients with heart failure for predicting mortality in the context of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

Methods: Patients with heart failure and a subsample of healthy participants were enrolled in the MyoVasc study (NCT04064450) and followed for nine years.

Mental health symptoms and burdens after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background: Previous studies have found adverse effects on mental health following infection with SARS-CoV-2. This study investigates whether mental health is also impaired in unknowingly infected individuals. In addition, the relevance of the severity of the infection and the time since the onset of infection were analyzed.

A randomized controlled trial evaluation of a smoking cessation and physical activity intervention delivered via telemedicine in the Norton Sound region of Alaska.

Objectives: Tobacco use disproportionately affects Alaska Native people. Physical activity may aid quitting smoking and provides health benefits. We tested telemedicine-delivered heart health interventions in Alaska's Norton Sound region.

Advising patients on the use of non-alcoholic beverages that mirror alcohol.

•Non-alcoholic beverages that mirror alcohol have potential benefits and risks.•Providers are currently offering varied health guidance on use of these beverages.•Research is needed to yield consensus on non-alcoholic beverage use health effects.

Reaffirmation of Mechanistic Proteomic Signatures Accompanying SGLT2 Inhibition in Patients With Heart Failure: A Validation Cohort of the EMPEROR Program.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors exert a distinctive pattern of direct biological effects on the heart and kidney under experimental conditions, but the meaningfulness of these signatures for patients with heart failure has not been fully defined.

Objectives: We performed the first mechanistic validation study of large-scale proteomics in a double-blind randomized trial of any treatment in patients with heart failure.

Methods: In a discovery cohort from the EMPEROR (Empagliflozin Outcome Trial in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction) program, we studied the effect of randomized treatment with placebo or empagliflozin on 1,283 circulating proteins in 1,134 patients with heart failure with a reduced or preserved ejection fraction.

Adding Virtual Reality Mindful Exposure Therapy to a Cancer Center's Tobacco Treatment Offerings: Feasibility and Acceptability Single-Group Pilot Study.

Background: Smoking contributes to 1 in 3 cancer deaths. At the Stanford Cancer Center, tobacco cessation medication management and counseling are provided as a covered benefit. Patients charted as using tobacco are contacted by a tobacco treatment specialist and offered cessation services.

Cytisinicline for Vaping Cessation in Adults Using Nicotine E-Cigarettes: The ORCA-V1 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The prevalence of e-cigarette use among US adults, especially young adults, is rising. Many would like to quit vaping nicotine but are unable to do so. Cytisinicline, a plant-based alkaloid, targets nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, reduces nicotine dependence, and helps adults to stop smoking cigarettes.

Obesity-related inflammatory protein signature in cardiovascular clinical outcomes: results from the Gutenberg Health Study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether an obesity-related inflammatory protein signature (OIPS) is associated with adverse cardiovascular events.

Methods: The Olink Target 96 Inflammation panel was performed in 6662 participants from the population-based Gutenberg Health Study (GHS). The OIPS was selected by a logistic regression model, and its association with cardiovascular outcomes was evaluated by Cox regression analysis.

Adapting a Financial Incentives Intervention for Smoking Cessation With Alaska Native Families: Phase 1 Qualitative Research to Inform the Aniqsaaq (To Breathe) Study.

Introduction: Alaska Native and American Indian (ANAI) peoples in Alaska currently experience a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality from tobacco cigarette use. Financial incentives for smoking cessation are evidence-based, but a family-level incentive structure has not been evaluated. We used a community-based participatory research and qualitative approach to culturally adapt a smoking cessation intervention with ANAI families.

Smoking Cessation, or How to Avert Half a Billion Premature Deaths - Now.

An estimated 1.1 billion people currently smoke cigarettes, and 50 to 70% likely will die from tobacco-related causes. This translates to 550 to 770 million expected tobacco deaths among those who currently smoke.

Non-alcoholic beverage consumption among US adults who consume alcohol.

Background And Aims: Non-alcoholic beverages (NABs) that mimic alcohol without inducing intoxication, such as non-alcoholic beers, non-alcoholic wines and spirit-free drinks, are increasing in popularity. It is unknown whether NABs help to mitigate or stimulate alcohol use. The present study aimed to describe NAB consumption practices among US adults consuming alcohol, characterize who is likely to consume NABs and examine whether NAB use influences desire for and perceived consumption of alcohol.

Predictors of Patient Engagement in Telehealth-Delivered Tobacco Cessation Treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Smoking causes one in three cancer deaths and may worsen COVID-19 outcomes. Telehealth tobacco cessation treatment is offered as a covered benefit for patients at the Stanford Cancer Center. We examined predictors of engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Effect of Limb Salvage Efforts in Different Age Groups: Relationships Between Major and Minor Amputations.

"Limb salvage" efforts, such as performing minor amputations before infections spread proximally from the foot to decrease major lower extremity amputation, are an important part of healthcare today. It is unclear whether these efforts are preventing the number of major amputations and improving patients' quality of life and the cost-effectiveness of the U.S.

Active Social Media Use and Health Indicators Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adults.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals may receive social support through active use of social media (i.e., posting and interacting).

A luminous fast radio burst that probes the Universe at redshift 1.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration pulses of radio emission originating from extragalactic distances. Radio dispersion is imparted on each burst by intervening plasma, mostly located in the intergalactic medium. In this work, we observe the burst FRB 20220610A and localize it to a morphologically complex host galaxy system at redshift 1.

[Utilization of video consultation in cardiovascular lipid treatment].

Background: Video consultation is a possibility for physician-patient communication independent of the location; however, only limited information is available for the possibility of sole use since 2018.

Methods: After the implementation of video consultation (Viomedi) in lipid consultations at the Medical University Mainz, the patients in the first quarter of 2022 were assessed depending on the possibility, suitability and readiness to participate. Included were patients under lipid management and long COVID patients.

Development and Phenotype of Heart Failure in Long-Term Survivors of Childhood Cancer: The CVSS Study.

Background The CVSS (Cardiac and Vascular Late Sequelae in Long-Term Survivors of Childhood Cancer) study aimed to investigate the prevalence of different stages of heart failure (HF) in childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) compared with the general population. Methods and Results A total of 1002 CCSs (age range, 23-48 years) diagnosed with neoplasia before an age of 15 years underwent a comprehensive cardiovascular screening. An age- and sex-matched sample from the population-based GHS (Gutenberg Health Study) served as a comparison group.

Kratom availability in California vape shops.

Kratom products are derived from trees native to Southeast Asia and have dose-dependent stimulant and opioid-like effects. Despite being on the Drug Enforcement Administration "Drugs and Chemicals of Concern List," kratom is legal for sale in most US states. However, there are scarce data on its availability.

Correlation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure with echocardiographic phenotypes of cardiac structure and function from three German population-based studies.

Arterial hypertension is considered a risk factor for the development of heart failure. Here we investigate cross-sectional associations of systolic and diastolic blood pressure with subtle functional and morphological changes of left ventricular echocardiographic parameters representing early dysfunction in three representative German population-based studies. We assessed 26,719 individuals without symptomatic heart failure from the Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS, n = 7396, derivation cohort), the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS, 14,715, validation cohort) and the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP, 4608, validation cohort).