HIV Trends in Metropolitan US Cities From 2014 to 2021: Baseline Data for the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative.

To examine baseline trends for the 2019 Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States (EHE), which aims to reduce HIV incidence by 90% by 2030 in the 57 counties and states responsible for half of incident infections, and to provide a counterfactual comparator for future evaluation of the initiative's midpoint. We used 2014‒2021 metropolitan statistical area (MSA) data to compare HIV diagnostic rate trends between MSAs subsuming EHE regions (n = 46) and other MSAs (n = 76). A difference-in-difference analysis illustrated potential early-stage programmatic effects.

Dehydration and Suboptimal Sleep Aggravate Early Renal Impairment in Children: Longitudinal Findings from the PROC Study.

Background: While dehydration is associated with pediatric renal impairment, the regulation of hydration status can be affected by sleep. However, the interaction of hydration and sleep on kidney health remains unclear.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study among 1914 healthy primary school children from October 2018 to November 2019 in Beijing, China.

Body composition trajectories during childhood predict skeletal maturation at puberty: A longitudinal study.

Nutritional status significantly impacts linear bone growth. We aimed to determine the relationship between the trajectories of four body composition indicators and pubertal advanced bone age. Trajectories of body mass index z-score (BMI z-score), visceral fat area z-score (VFA z-score), fat mass index z-score (FMI z-score), and fat-free mass index z-score (FFMI z-score) were identified based on three body composition measurements conducted from October 2018 to April 2023 within a pediatric cohort (the PROC study).

Global inequities in adverse pregnancy outcomes: what can we do?

The Health Equity Leadership & Exchange Network states that "health equity exists when all people, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, geographic location, or other societal constructs, have fair and just access, opportunity, and resources to achieve their highest potential for health." It is clear from the wide discrepancies in maternal and infant mortalities, by race, ethnicity, location, and social and economic status, that health equity has not been achieved in pregnancy care. Although the most obvious evidence of inequities is in low-resource settings, inequities also exist in high-resource settings.

A Mixed Methods Exploration of Young Women's Agency and Mental Health during COVID-19 in Low-Income Communities in Mumbai, India.

Introduction: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in India face additional health inequities compared to their male peers, as gender norms constrain agency for prevention and self-care. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns deepened health inequities and often worsened mental health, but the impacts on agency are unclear. This exploratory sequential mixed methods paper examined mental health and COVID-19 elements that exacerbated or mitigated adverse consequences for AGYW in low-income communities in Mumbai.

National age-specific mortality trends for cervical and breast cancers in urban-rural areas of China from 2009 to 2021: a population-based analysis.

Background: Cervical and breast cancers are among the top 4 leading causes of cancer-related mortality in women. This study aimed to examine age-specific temporal trends in mortality for cervical and breast cancers in urban and rural areas of China from 2009 to 2021.

Methods: Age-specific mortality data for cervical and breast cancers among Chinese women aged 20-84 years were obtained from China's National Disease Surveillance Points system spanning the years 2009 to 2021.

A Proposal of Utilizing Six Types of Involvement Model to Guide Kindergarten to 12th Grade School Parental Communication and Support During a Pandemic.

Background: Effective communication between schools and parents Is crucial for fostering understanding, trust, and collaboration to enhance educational outcomes and student well-being, especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the current level of communication between schools and families is frequently insufficient, exacerbating the difficulties in parental engagement, comprehension, and certain policy implementation. This deficiency becomes even more pronounced during crises due to the added stressors.

Maternal and Newborn Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and Pregnancy: Parallels and Contrasts with Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

Purpose Of Review: Our review aims to compare and contrast Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19's impact on maternal and neonatal outcomes. We have made significant progress in Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome prevention and treatment over the last few decades. Drawing on empirical evidence with past public health crises can offer valuable insights into dealing with current and future pandemics.

Longitudinal mass loads of phthalate esters in sewage sludge and their association with public health and social measures for COVID-19 control in Beijing.

This study examines the concentrations and population-normalized mass loads (PNML) of five phthalate esters (PAEs) and four metabolites (mPAEs) in 390 sewage sludge samples collected from two municipal wastewater treatment plants in Beijing between July 2020 and June 2023, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Through GC/MS analysis, the compounds were simultaneously quantified, with peak concentrations in 2020. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate emerged as predominant PAE and mPAE congeners with concentrations of 78.

Advantages and Limitations of the Body Mass Index (BMI) to Assess Adult Obesity.

Obesity reflects excessive fat deposits. At-risk individuals are guided by healthcare professionals to eat fewer calories and exercise more, often using body mass index (BMI; weight/height) thresholds for screening and to guide progress and prognosis. By conducting a mini-narrative review of original articles, websites, editorials, commentaries, and guidelines, we sought to place BMI in the context of its appropriate use in population health, clinical screening, and monitoring in clinical care.

Efficacy of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision to Prevent HIV Infection Among Men Who Have Sex With Men : A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Observational studies suggest that voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) may lower HIV risk among men who have sex with men (MSM). A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is needed to confirm this.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of VMMC in preventing incident HIV infection among MSM.

Reversing Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease Promotes Healthy Pediatric Cardiovascular Structures: The PROC Study.

Introduction: We investigated the impact of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) on cardiovascular structure development in children.

Methods: We followed 1,356 children with the mean age of 6.6 years for 4.

Assessing Direct and Spillover Effects of Intervention Packages in Network-randomized Studies.

Background: Intervention packages may result in a greater public health impact than single interventions. Understanding the separate impact of each component on the overall package effectiveness can improve intervention delivery.

Methods: We adapted an approach to evaluate the effects of a time-varying intervention package in a network-randomized study.

Assessment of a screening tool to aid home-based identification of adolescents (aged 10-14) living with HIV in Zambia and South Africa: HPTN 071 (PopART) study.

Introduction: The HPTN071 (PopART) for Youth (P-ART-Y) study evaluated the acceptability and uptake of a community-level combination HIV prevention package including universal testing and treatment (UTT) among young people in Zambia and South Africa. We determined whether a four-question primary care level screening tool, validated for use in clinical settings, could enhance community (door-to-door) identification of undiagnosed HIV-positive younger adolescents (aged 10-14) who are frequently left out of HIV interventions.

Method: Community HIV-care Providers (CHiPs) contacted and consented adolescents in their homes and offered them participation in the PopART intervention.

Assessing Direct and Spillover Effects of Intervention Packages in Network-Randomized Studies.

Intervention packages may result in a greater public health impact than single interventions. Understanding the separate impact of each component in the overall package effectiveness can improve intervention delivery. We adapted an approach to evaluate the effects of a time-varying intervention package in a network-randomized study.

Examining County-Level Associations between Federally Qualified Health Centers and Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Political Ecology of Health Framework.

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are the largest providers of healthcare for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in medically underserved communities in the United States (US). Through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), FQHCs have grown in number, but the impact of this growth on STIs is poorly understood. This ecological study seeks to quantify the association between FQHCs and STI prevalence in all US counties.

Impact of vaccination and high-risk group awareness on the mpox epidemic in the United States, 2022-2023: a modelling study.

Background: The unprecedented global outbreak of mpox in 2022 posed a public health challenge. In addition to the mpox vaccine campaign in the United States (US), community organisations and public health agencies initiated educational efforts to promote sexual risk reduction. This modelling study estimated the impact of the two-dose vaccination campaign and sexual behaviour changes coincident with high-risk group awareness on the mpox epidemic in the US.

Spatiotemporal trends in COVID-19 vaccine sentiments on a social media platform and correlations with reported vaccine coverage.

Objective: To assess spatiotemporal trends in, and determinants of, the acceptance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination globally, as expressed on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Methods: We collected over 13 million posts on the platform regarding COVID-19 vaccination made between November 2020 and March 2022 in 90 languages. Multilingual deep learning XLM-RoBERTa models annotated all posts using an annotation framework after being fine-tuned on 8125 manually annotated, English-language posts.

Comparative Effectiveness of Bivalent (Original/Omicron BA.4/BA.5) COVID-19 Vaccines in Adults.

The emergence of Omicron variants coincided with declining vaccine-induced protection against SARS-CoV-2. Two bivalent mRNA vaccines, mRNA-1273.222 (Moderna) and BNT162b2 Bivalent (Pfizer-BioNTech), were developed to provide greater protection against the predominate circulating variants by including mRNA that encodes both the ancestral (original) strain and BA.

Overall, Direct, Spillover, and Composite Effects of Components of a Peer-Driven Intervention Package on Injection Risk Behavior Among People Who Inject Drugs in the HPTN 037 Study.

We sought to disentangle effects of the components of a peer-education intervention on self-reported injection risk behaviors among people who inject drugs (n = 560) in Philadelphia, US. We examined 226 egocentric groups/networks randomized to receive (or not) the intervention. Peer-education training consisted of two components delivered to the intervention network index individual only: (1) an initial training and (2) "booster" training sessions during 6- and 12-month follow up visits.

Increasing Spiritual Beliefs are Associated With Lower HIV Incidence Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men: Results From HPTN 061 Longitudinal Study.

Background: There is a limited understanding about the impact of spiritual beliefs and activities on HIV seroconversion among black men who have sex with men (BMSM), which we investigate in this study.

Setting: United States.

Methods: The HIV Prevention Trials Network Study 061 collected demographic and biomedical assessments among BMSM across 6 United States cities for longitudinal analysis.

High-Level Drug-Resistant Mutations among HIV-1 Subtype A6 and CRF02_AG in Kazakhstan.

HIV incidence in Kazakhstan increased by 73% between 2010 and 2020, with an estimated 35,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in 2020. The development of antiretroviral drug resistance is a major threat to effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), yet studies on the prevalence of drug resistance in Kazakhstan are sparse. In this study on the molecular epidemiology of HIV in Kazakhstan, we analyzed 968 partial HIV-1 sequences that were collected between 2017 and 2020 from PLHIV across all regions of Kazakhstan, covering almost 3% of PLHIV in 2020.

A Review of the Effect of COVID-19-Related Lockdowns on Global Cancer Screening.

COVID-19 lockdowns have led to significant disruptions in preventative health services worldwide. This review aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on worldwide preventive cancer screening participation. Major medical databases were searched using the keywords 'lockdown,' 'cancer,' and 'screening or diagnosis,' and relevant articles were evaluated against inclusion and exclusion criteria.