Publications by authors named "Simmonds I"

Background: Earlier evidence indicated that metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) may adversely affect neonatal outcomes among patients conceiving soon after MBS, but recent studies demonstrated conflicting results, especially for new surgical techniques.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of MBS types and surgery to birth interval on maternal, birth, and nonbirth outcomes in women with severe obesity.

Setting: New York State's all-payer hospital discharge database (2008-2019).

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Introduction: Low-dose computed tomography screening for lung cancer reduces lung cancer mortality, but there is a lack of international consensus regarding the optimal eligibility criteria for screening. The Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial was designed to evaluate lung cancer screening (LCS) implementation, and a primary objective was prospective evaluation of three predefined eligibility criteria.

Methods: Individuals who had ever smoked, aged 55 to 80 years, who responded to written invitation, underwent telephone risk assessment and if eligible by at least one criterion (PLCO ≥ 1.

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Background And Objective: The Yorkshire Kidney Screening Trial (YKST) assessed the feasibility of adding abdominal noncontrast computed tomography (NCCT) to lung cancer screening to screen for kidney cancer and other abdominal pathology.

Methods: A prospective diagnostic study offered abdominal NCCT to 55-80-yr-old ever-smokers attending a UK randomised lung cancer screening trial (May 2021 to October 2022). The exclusion criteria were dementia, frailty, previous kidney/lung cancer, and computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and thorax within previous 6 and 12 mo, respectively.

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Introduction: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death globally. In 2022 the UK National Screening Committee recommended the implementation of a national targeted lung cancer screening programme, aiming to improve early diagnosis and survival rates. Research studies and services internationally consistently observe socioeconomic and smoking-related inequalities in screening uptake.

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Objectives: The Yorkshire Kidney Screening Trial (YKST) is a feasibility study of adding non-contrast abdominal CT scanning to screen for kidney cancer and other abdominal malignancies to community-based CT screening for lung cancer within the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial (YLST). This study explored the acceptability of the combined screening approach to participants and healthcare professionals (HCPs) involved in the trial.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with eight HCPs and 25 participants returning for the second round of scanning within YLST, 20 who had taken up the offer of the additional abdominal CT scan and five who had declined.

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Article Synopsis
  • Boreal wildfires in eastern Siberia have been increasing due to a combination of climate factors, leading to higher emissions of carbon dioxide and pollutants.
  • About 79% of the increase in summer vapor pressure deficit (VPD), which influences wildfires, is linked to background warming in the eastern Siberian Arctic due to declining sea ice, while 21% is attributed to changing atmospheric conditions.
  • Changes in Siberian blocking events are contributing to this issue, as they are becoming more frequent and intense due to warmer conditions, further exacerbating the wildfire situation in the region.
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Background: Up to 50% of those attending for low-dose computed tomography screening for lung cancer continue to smoke and co-delivery of smoking cessation services alongside screening may maximise clinical benefit. Here we present data from an opt-out co-located smoking cessation service delivered alongside the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial (YLST).

Methods: Eligible YLST participants were offered an immediate consultation with a smoking cessation practitioner (SCP) at their screening visit with ongoing smoking cessation support over subsequent weeks.

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Objectives: To evaluate psychological, social, and financial outcomes amongst individuals undergoing a non-contrast abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan to screen for kidney cancer and other abdominal malignancies alongside the thoracic CT within lung cancer screening.

Subjects And Methods: The Yorkshire Kidney Screening Trial (YKST) is a feasibility study of adding a non-contrast abdominal CT scan to the thoracic CT within lung cancer screening. A total of 500 participants within the YKST, comprising all who had an abnormal CT scan and a random sample of one-third of those with a normal scan between 14/03/2022 and 24/08/2022 were sent a questionnaire at 3 and 6 months.

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Introduction: Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) are relatively common incidental findings in participants undergoing low-dose CT screening for lung cancer. Some ILA are transient and inconsequential, but others represent interstitial lung disease (ILD). Lung cancer screening therefore offers the opportunity of earlier diagnosis and treatment of ILD for some screening participants.

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Introduction: COPD is underdiagnosed, and measurement of spirometry alongside low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for lung cancer is one strategy to increase earlier diagnosis of this disease.

Methods: Ever-smokers at high risk of lung cancer were invited to the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial for a lung health check (LHC) comprising LDCT screening, pre-bronchodilator spirometry and a smoking cessation service. In this cross-sectional study we present data on participant demographics, respiratory symptoms, lung function, emphysema on imaging and both self-reported and primary care diagnoses of COPD.

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Background: Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) is a safe and highly effective treatment for morbid obesity and related co-morbidities. While MBS access and insurance coverage have greatly improved, sex and racial disparities remain in utilization of MBS.

Objective: To identify novel intrinsic factors that may explain Black underutilization of surgical treatments for weight management.

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Article Synopsis
  • Incorporating spirometry into low-dose CT lung cancer screenings can help identify individuals with undiagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), although the effects of this approach are not fully understood.
  • A study involving 2,391 participants found that 8.4% met criteria for referral to a respiratory team, with a significant number receiving new COPD diagnoses and treatments after further assessment.
  • The research underscores the need for accurate postbronchodilator spirometry tests to confirm airflow obstruction before diagnosing and treating COPD, while also revealing challenges in using these screening results effectively.
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Winter Arctic sea-ice concentration (SIC) decline plays an important role in Arctic amplification which, in turn, influences Arctic ecosystems, midlatitude weather and climate. SIC over the Barents-Kara Seas (BKS) shows large interannual variations, whose origin is still unclear. Here we find that interannual variations in winter BKS SIC have significantly strengthened in recent decades likely due to increased amplitudes of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in a warming climate.

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Introduction: Kidney cancer (renal cell cancer (RCC)) is the seventh most common cancer in the UK. As RCC is largely curable if detected at an early stage and most patients have no symptoms, there is international interest in evaluating a screening programme for RCC. The Yorkshire Kidney Screening Trial (YKST) will assess the feasibility of adding non-contrast abdominal CT scanning to screen for RCC and other abdominal pathology within the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial (YLST), a randomised trial of community-based CT screening for lung cancer.

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Background: Screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) reduces lung cancer mortality; however, the most effective strategy for optimising participation is unknown. Here we present data from the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial, including response to invitation, screening eligibility and uptake of community-based LDCT screening.

Methods: Individuals aged 55-80 years, identified from primary care records as having ever smoked, were randomised prior to consent to invitation to telephone lung cancer risk assessment or usual care.

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Purpose Of Review: The management of diabetes has been revolutionized by the introduction of novel technological treatments and modalities of care, such as continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pump therapy, and telehealth. While these technologies have demonstrated improvement in health outcomes, it remains unclear whether they have reduced inequities from racial/ethnic minority or socioeconomic status. We review the current literature to discuss evidence of benefit, current limitations, and future opportunities of diabetes technologies.

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Introduction: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) represents more than half of all bariatric procedures in the USA, and robot-assisted sleeve gastrectomy (RSG) is becoming increasingly common. There is a paucity of evidence regarding postoperative surgical outcomes (> 30 days) in RSG patients, especially as these patients move between multiple hospital systems.

Methods: Using 2012-2018 New York State's inpatient and ambulatory data from the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System, bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed to examine patient long-term outcomes, postoperative complications, and charges following RSG versus LSG in unmatched and propensity score-matched (PSM) samples.

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Background: There are an estimated 100,000 cases of abdominal injury (ABI) in the USA, annually resulting in over $12 billion in direct medical cost and $18 billion in lost productivity. This study assesses the timeliness, safety, and efficacy of the surgical management of abdominal injuries (ABIs), hollow viscus injuries (HVIs), and colonic injuries (CIs) for patients residing in New York State (NYS).

Methods: Using data from NYS's Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS), we identified all trauma patients with ABI admitted between 2006 and 2015.

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We analyze the polar sea ice distribution and the global sea level pressure (SLP) and baroclinicity distributions over the "satellite" period of 1979-2020. In the Arctic, there are statistically significant sea ice extent (SIE) decreases in all calendar months, and the annual mean has lost 2.22 million km over the four decades.

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The Antarctic Peninsula of West Antarctica was one of the most rapidly warming regions on the Earth during the second half of the 20th century. Changes in the atmospheric circulation associated with remote tropical climate variabilities have been considered as leading drivers of the change in surface conditions in the region. However, the impacts of climate variabilities over the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere on this Antarctic warming have yet to be quantified.

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Introduction: Lung cancer is the world's leading cause of cancer death. Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening reduced lung cancer mortality by 20% in the US National Lung Screening Trial. Here, we present the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial (YLST), which will address key questions of relevance for screening implementation.

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Importance: The value of facedown positioning following surgery for large full-thickness macular holes is unknown.

Objective: To determine whether advice to position facedown postoperatively improves the outcome for large macular holes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This randomized, parallel group superiority trial with 1:1 randomization stratified by site with 3 months' follow-up was conducted at 9 sites across the United Kingdom and included participants with an idiopathic full-thickness macular hole of at least 400 μm minimum linear diameter and a duration of fewer than 12 months.

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Purpose Of Review: Dynamic manifestations of climate change, i.e. those related to circulation, are less well understood than are thermodynamic, or temperature-related aspects.

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This paper highlights some caveats in using composite analyses to form physical hypotheses on the associations between environmental variables. This is illustrated using a specific example, namely the apparent links between heat waves (HWs) and sea surface temperatures (SSTs). In this case study, a composite analysis is performed to show the large-scale and regional SST conditions observed during summer HWs in Perth, southwest Australia.

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