Publications by authors named "Sowmya Rao"

Background: While TB-related mortality in the US declined four-fold from 1990 to 2019, country-level estimates of TB burden obscure within-state racial heterogeneity and changes in TB burden over time. In sixteen US Southern States and Washington DC, the effects of health inequities engendered by Jim-Crow laws enacted from the late 1800s to the 1960s have not been evaluated for TB-related mortality. We, therefore, sought to compare TB mortality rates and annualized rate of change (AROC) between 1990 and 2019 in former Jim-Crow vs.

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Background And Aim: In 2018, the country of Georgia legalized cannabis for recreational use and decriminalized limited possession. This study aimed to assess whether cannabis use increased among young adults (ages 18-29 years) in Georgia after national policy changes and to evaluate whether perceived access became easier after legalization and current risk factors of young adult cannabis use.

Methods: We used data from the Georgian nationally representative survey administered in 2015 (n = 1308) and 2022 (n = 758), before and after decriminalization.

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Introduction: The deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) community experiences lower cancer screening rates than the general population. Cancer worry and fatalism can influence cancer screening, along with race, and the interaction of intrinsic factors with DHH health behavior needs to be investigated.

Objectives: The study examines the association of the intersection of race and hearing status with cancer worry and fatalism.

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Background: Findings from research and recommendations from the World Health Organization favor restrictive use of episiotomy, but whether this guidance is being followed in India, and factors associated with its use, are not known. This study sought to document trends in use of episiotomy over a five-year period (2014-2018); to examine its relationship to maternal, pregnancy, and health-system characteristics; and to investigate its association with other obstetric interventions.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected by the Maternal Newborn Health Registry, a prospective population-based pregnancy registry established in Central India (Nagpur, Eastern Maharashtra).

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Purpose: Some deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals face health information barriers, increasing their risk of diabetes mellitus (DM) and subsequent cancer development. This study examines if health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and deaf patient-reported outcomes (DHH-QoL) mediate the relationship between DM diagnosis and cancer screening adherence among DHH individuals.

Patients And Methods: In a cross-sectional study, US DHH adults assigned female at birth answered questions on cervical and breast cancer screenings from the ASL-English bilingual Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS-ASL) and the PROMIS (Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System) Deaf Profile measure's Communication Health and Global Health domains.

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Statement Of Problem: Quaternary ammonium (QA)-based monomers such as dimethyl-hexadecyl-methacryloxyethyl-ammonium iodide (DHMAI) and 2-dimethyl-2-dodecyl-1-methacryloxyethyl ammonium iodine (DDMAI) have been investigated as copolymerizable monomers to impart antimicrobial activity to dental restorative and prosthetic materials. However, the biocompatibility of these antimicrobial monomers needs to be investigated in vivo before their clinical use.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the in vivo biocompatibility of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) heat-polymerizing denture base resin copolymerized with varying concentrations of DHMAI and DDMAI.

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Background: Social desirability can negatively affect the validity of self-reported measures, including underreporting of stigmatized behaviors like alcohol consumption. The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (SDS) is widely implemented and comprised of Denial and Attribution Domains (i.e.

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  • More people around the world are getting stung by bees lately, and lots of stings can make someone very sick or even cause death.
  • A 70-year-old man in India sadly died after being stung by about 500 bees, which is one of the first known cases like this in the country.
  • Because the type of bees that stung him are unknown, it makes it harder for doctors to treat these dangerous reactions, showing why quick medical help is really important.
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  • This study evaluated how well the initiation of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) for transgender veterans aligns with clinical guidelines, specifically within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
  • A total of 4,676 veterans (3,547 feminizing and 1,129 masculinizing GAHT) were analyzed from 2007 to 2018, revealing significant demographic differences: feminizing GAHT recipients were mostly older and White non-Hispanic, while masculinizing recipients were more likely to be Black non-Hispanic and have PTSD.
  • The results indicated high rates of guideline concordance among those starting GAHT, with 97% of feminizing users of estrogen and 90
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Background: (Kpn) is the fourth leading cause of infection-related deaths globally, yet little is known about human antibody responses to invasive Kpn. In this study, we sought to determine whether the O-specific polysaccharide (OPS) antigen, a vaccine candidate, is immunogenic in humans with Kpn bloodstream infection (BSI). We also sought to define the cross-reactivity of human antibody responses among structurally related Kpn OPS subtypes and to assess the impact of capsule production on OPS-targeted antibody binding and function.

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Nearly one quarter (600,000) of all neonatal deaths worldwide per year occur in India. To reduce neonatal mortality, the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare established neonatal care units, including neonatal intensive care units and specialized neonatal care units to provide immediate care at birth, resuscitation for asphyxiation, postnatal care, follow up for high-risk newborns, immunization, and referral for additional or complex healthcare services. Despite these efforts, neonatal mortality remains high, and measures taken to reduce mortality have been severely challenged by multiple problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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  • * Out of 9,555 TGD patients analyzed, 57.4% received hormone therapy; factors such as being Black, living in the Northeast, having a drug use disorder, and having multiple comorbidities or social stressors significantly decreased the likelihood of receiving treatment.
  • * Younger patients (ages 21-29) were nearly three times more likely to receive hormone therapy compared to those over 60, highlighting disparities in access to care for older and marginalized groups within
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  • A study called the St PETER HIV trial explored how abstaining from alcohol and tobacco affects mental health in people with HIV, involving 400 participants in Russia.
  • The researchers looked at the relationship between 30-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) from alcohol and/or smoking and symptoms of anxiety and depression over 1, 3, 6, and 12 months using established mental health scales.
  • While initial analyses didn't find strong differences in mental health between groups over time, some patterns in depressive symptoms were noted, suggesting more research is needed, especially with larger sample sizes and longer periods of abstinence.
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Background: Obesity-related cancers in the 16 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries is quite prominent. The changes and time trends of the burden of obesity-related cancers in developing countries like SADC remain largely unknown. A descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted to assess the burden of obesity-related cancers, (liver, esophageal, breast, prostate, colon/rectal, leukemia, ovarian, uterine, pancreatic, kidney, gallbladder/biliary tract, and thyroid cancers) in SADC countries.

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Objectives: We examined gestational age (GA) estimates for live and still births, and prematurity rates based on last menstrual period (LMP) compared with ultrasonography (USG) among pregnant women at seven sites in six low-resource countries.

Design: Prospective cohort study SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This study included data from the Global Network's population-based Maternal and Newborn Health Registry which follows pregnant women in six low-income and middle-income countries (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Pakistan and Zambia). Participants in this analysis were 42 803 women, including their 43 230 babies, who registered for the study in their first trimester based on GA estimated either by LMP or USG and had a live or stillbirth with an estimated GA of 20-42 weeks.

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Background: Culture-based studies have shown that acquisition of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales is common during international travel; however, little is known about the role of the gut microbiome before and during travel, nor about acquisition of other antimicrobial-resistant organisms. We aimed to identify (1) whether the gut microbiome provided colonisation resistance against antimicrobial-resistant organism acquisition, (2) the effect of travel and travel behaviours on the gut microbiome, and (3) the scale and global heterogeneity of antimicrobial-resistant organism acquisition.

Methods: In this metagenomic analysis, participants were recruited at three US travel clinics (Boston, MA; New York, NY; and Salt Lake City, UT) before international travel.

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  • Lip, oral, and pharyngeal cancers pose significant global health challenges, making it essential to analyze their burden for effective health policies.
  • The study utilized data from the 2019 Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study to assess cancer incidence, mortality, and life years lost across 204 countries, linking these to socio-demographic factors.
  • Findings revealed approximately 370,000 cases and 199,000 deaths for lip and oral cavity cancer, and 167,000 cases and 114,000 deaths for other pharyngeal cancers in 2019, with smoking being the leading risk factor for these cancers, especially in low and middle SDI regions.
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Background: The clinical and microbial factors associated with Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infections (BSIs) are not well characterized. Prior studies have focused on highly resistant or hypervirulent isolates, limiting our understanding of K. pneumoniae strains that commonly cause BSI.

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Rationale For Review: This review aims to summarize the transmission patterns of influenza, its seasonality in different parts of the globe, air travel- and cruise ship-related influenza infections and interventions to reduce transmission.

Key Findings: The seasonality of influenza varies globally, with peak periods occurring mainly between October and April in the northern hemisphere (NH) and between April and October in the southern hemisphere (SH) in temperate climate zones. However, influenza seasonality is significantly more variable in the tropics.

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  • Deaf individuals using American Sign Language (ASL) face significant barriers in accessing healthcare due to systemic inequities, particularly those who feel they have low abilities to understand spoken information.
  • A study involved interviews with 266 deaf ASL users to analyze their access to medical interpretation, clinic visits, telehealth, and emergency departments, revealing improvements in outpatient access over time.
  • Findings showed a notable disparity in access to interpretation services, with only 32% of respondents with low perceived ability receiving necessary interpretation compared to 57% of those with high perceived ability, emphasizing the need for more equitable health care solutions for the Deaf community.
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Background: Extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-PE) present a risk to public health by limiting the efficacy of multiple classes of beta-lactam antibiotics against infection. International travellers may acquire these organisms and identifying individuals at high risk of acquisition could help inform clinical treatment or prevention strategies.

Methods: We used data collected from a cohort of 528 international travellers enrolled in a multicentre US-based study to derive a clinical prediction rule (CPR) to identify travellers who developed ESBL-PE colonization, defined as those with new ESBL positivity in stool upon return to the United States.

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Between 1% and 2% of the U.S. population has an intellectual disability (ID) and often experience disparities in health care.

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  • HIV/AIDS remains a significant public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa, with current efforts falling short of global targets for eradication set by UNAIDS and the SDGs.
  • The study utilized extensive data from various HIV prevalence surveys to estimate localized HIV infection rates across 43 African countries, focusing on specific age and sex groups from 2000 to 2018.
  • Findings revealed wide disparities in HIV prevalence within countries and districts, indicating that age and sex stratification provides more nuanced insights into the epidemic, which can help tailor prevention and treatment efforts more effectively.
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  • Older transgender and gender diverse (TGD) veterans face significant health disparities compared to cisgender veterans, with a focus on their unique health conditions and social stressors.
  • In a study of 1244 older TGD veterans, it was found that they were less likely to suffer from substance use disorders but more likely to experience issues like depression, Alzheimer's, and barriers to healthcare access.
  • The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to support the health and well-being of older TGD veterans, particularly regarding their increased social stressors and health challenges.
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