Use of Financial Hardship as a Metric for Assessing Financial Toxicity in Surgical Trauma Patients.

Background: Financial toxicity is the detrimental impact of health care costs that must be mitigated to achieve universal health coverage. Catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) is widely used to measure financial toxicity but does not capture patient perspectives of unaffordable health care costs. Financial hardship (FH), a patient-reported outcome measure, is currently underutilized but may be an important adjunct metric.

Ultrasensitive detection of intact SARS-CoV-2 particles in complex biofluids using microfluidic affinity capture.

Measuring virus in biofluids is complicated by confounding biomolecules coisolated with viral nucleic acids. To address this, we developed an affinity-based microfluidic device for specific capture of intact severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Our approach used an engineered angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 to capture intact virus from plasma and other complex biofluids.

Brief Report: Transition Preparation and Post-Transition Evaluation Practices at Adult Clinics That Care for Young Adults With Perinatally Acquired HIV in Massachusetts, United States.

Background: Most young adults with perinatal HIV (PHIV) transition from pediatric or adolescent to adult clinical care. Although guidelines to increase transition success have been recommended, we know little about uptake of these guidelines, particularly by adult care clinics.

Methods: We administered web-based surveys to adult care providers of young adults with PHIV in Massachusetts to evaluate transition preparation and post-transition evaluation practices.

Extending the translational science benefits model to implementation science for cancer prevention and control.

Introduction: There is increasing pressure on the federal research budget and shifting public opinions about the value of the academic enterprise. We must develop and apply metrics that demonstrate the broad benefits of research for health and society. The Translational Science Benefits Model (TSBM) measures the impact of large-scale translational science initiatives, such as the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Moonshot.

Digital Exclusion and Depressive Symptoms among Older People: Findings from Five Aging Cohort Studies across 24 Countries.

Digital exclusion is a global issue that disproportionately affects older individuals especially in low- and middle-income nations. However, there is a wide gap in current research regarding the impact of digital exclusion on the mental health of older adults in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries. We analyzed data from 5 longitudinal cohorts: the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), and the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS).

Antipsychotic continuation during pregnancy and risk of postpartum relapse in women with schizophrenia: nationwide register-based study.

Background: Women with schizophrenia frequently discontinue antipsychotic medications during pregnancy. However, evidence on the risk of postpartum relapse associated with antipsychotic use during pregnancy is lacking.

Aims: To investigate the within-individual association between antipsychotic continuation during pregnancy and postpartum relapse in women with schizophrenia.

Effect of daily alcohol intake on sex hormone levels among postmenopausal breast cancer survivors on aromatase inhibitor therapy: a randomized controlled crossover pilot study.

Background: Alcohol intake is associated with a higher risk of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer (BC), presumably through its confirmed ability to increase sex hormone levels. Whether consuming alcohol within the recommended limit of one serving per day increases sex hormone levels among postmenopausal women taking aromatase inhibitors (AI) to inhibit estrogen production remains unknown. Therefore, we compared sex hormone levels following white wine to levels following white grape juice among ER + BC survivors taking AIs.

Effectiveness of a comic book intervention on mental health literacy among adolescents and youth in Burkina Faso: a randomized controlled trial protocol.

Background: In Burkina Faso, nearly half of the population is under 15 years old, and one in four adolescents experience depression. This underscores the critical need to enhance mental health literacy among adolescents and youth, empowering them to manage their mental well-being effectively. Comic books offer an engaging approach to health education, yet their effectiveness in addressing mental health remains largely untested.

Scaling and spreading age-friendly care: Early lessons from the VA National Age-Friendly Action Community.

Background: The Age-Friendly Health System (AFHS) initiative seeks to improve care for older adults through assessing and acting on the 4Ms (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, Mobility). The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) joined the initiative in 2020, and from 2022 to 2023, VA led its first Age-Friendly Action Community, a 7-month online educational series to teach clinicians about implementing the 4Ms across VA care settings.

Methods: The VA Action Community was designed to spread awareness about Age-Friendly care for older Veterans, improve interprofessional team knowledge for providing care guided by the 4Ms, and support AFHS implementation across multiple care settings.

Achieving the state of Georgia 25% HIV incidence reduction target among men who have sex with men in Atlanta through expanded use of multimodal pre-exposure prophylaxis: A mathematical model.

The US faces substantial demographic and geographic disparities in both HIV burden and access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an effective strategy to prevent HIV acquisition. Long-acting cabotegravir (CAB) is a novel, injectable PrEP option which demonstrated superior reduction in risk of HIV acquisition compared to daily-oral PrEP in the HPTN083 trial. We modelled the impact of increased PrEP initiations and the introduction of long-acting CAB on HIV incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Atlanta, Georgia, a population with a high burden of HIV.

Effect of a Narrative-Based Online Course Aimed at Reducing Stigma Toward Transgender Children and Adolescents: Longitudinal Observational Study.

Background: Stigma toward transgender children and adolescents negatively impacts their health and educational outcomes. Contact with members of stigmatized groups can dismantle stereotypes and reduce stigma by facilitating exposure to the unique cognitive and emotional perspectives of individuals within the group. Recent evidence suggests that video-based contact interventions can be as effective as face-to-face encounters, but challenges lie in protecting the identities of transgender youth, since many of them live in stealth.

Applying Natural Language Processing Techniques to Map Trends in Insomnia Treatment Terms on the r/Insomnia Subreddit: Infodemiology Study.

Background: People share health-related experiences and treatments, such as for insomnia, in digital communities. Natural language processing tools can be leveraged to understand the terms used in digital spaces to discuss insomnia and insomnia treatments.

Objective: The aim of this study is to summarize and chart trends of insomnia treatment terms on a digital insomnia message board.

Validation of an observational tool for assessing mother-child and father-child interactions in Mara, Tanzania.

A strong body of evidence has underscored the cross-cultural importance of nurturing parent-child relationships for promoting early child development outcomes. However, most research on parenting has predominantly relied on self-reported measures collected from mothers. Observational tools for assessing parent-child interactions from not only mothers but also fathers remains limited, especially in Majority World contexts.

Survey of Urogynecology Fellows on the Care of Patients with Differences in Sex Development/Intersex Traits.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Patients with differences in sex development or intersex traits (DSD/I) struggle to find clinically competent care in adulthood. We sought to describe the surgical exposure of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery (URPS) fellows who had previously trained in ObGyn (URPS-Gyn) to patients with DSD/I and their interest in performing 18 relevant procedures. We hypothesized that most graduating fellows would not have had exposure to many of the surgeries.

A field resource for the glioma cerebrospinal fluid proteome: impacts of resection and location on biomarker discovery.

Background: While serial sampling of glioma tissue is rarely performed prior to recurrence, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an underutilized longitudinal source of candidate glioma biomarkers for understanding therapeutic impacts. However, the impact of key variables to consider in longitudinal CSF samples for monitoring biomarker discovery, including anatomical location and post-surgical changes, remains unknown.

Methods: Aptamer-based proteomics was performed on 147 CSF samples from 74 patients, 71 of whom had grade 2-4 astrocytomas or grade 2-3 oligodendrogliomas.

Circulating metabolome in relation to cognitive impairment: a community‐based cohort of older adults.

Background: The role of circulating metabolome in cognitive impairment is limited and inconclusive. We aimed to identify plasma metabolites associated with cognitive impairment and evaluate the added predictive capacity of metabolite biomarkers on incident cognitive impairment beyond traditional risk factors.

Method: In the community‐based Rugao Longevity and Ageing Study (RuLAS), plasma metabolome was profiled by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

The impact of BDNF on the interplay between sleep time and cognitive function.

Background: Disrupted sleep patterns have been shown to exacerbate Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk, potentially because of sleep's role in memory consolidation and synaptic plasticity. Recent evidence highlights that high brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels, a protein enabling neuroplasticity and memory functions, could play a protective role in age related cognitive impairment. We examined the association between total sleep time and cognition, and BDNF levels as a potential modifier.

Predictive accuracy of plasma markers for Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular disease, and cognition in a population‐based study.

Background: Validating the predictive value of plasma markers for Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular disease and cognitive dysfunction in older adults representative of primary care settings, is needed to guide prevention and treatment decisions.

Method: At baseline, single molecule array plasma measures of Aβ42/40, pTau217, pTau181, GFAP and NfL were collected from 625 dementia‐free participants from the population‐based Rotterdam Study (mean age 63 years [range 54‐84], 51% women). After a mean follow‐up time of seven years [range 5‐9], participants underwent amyloid F‐florbetaben PET, brain MRI, and cognitive assessment.

Examining early cerebral amyloid beta and tau accumulation in association with cognition in a predominantly middle‐aged cohort.

Background: In older adults, greater amyloid (Aβ) and tau positron emission tomography (PET) binding is associated with cognitive decline and dementia. However, the association of early amyloid and tau PET accumulation with cognition at midlife remains unclear. The goal of the current study was to evaluate the associations of Aβ and tau PET with cognition in a predominately middle‐aged community‐based cohort, as well as to examine the factors that may modify these associations.

Brain metabolic alterations associated with cognitive resilience.

Background: Cognitive resilience (CR) refers to the continuum from worse to better‐than‐expected cognition, given the degree of neuropathology. Understanding mechanisms underlying CR could inform discovery of novel targets for dementia prevention; however, specific metabolic pathways underlying CR are yet to be elucidated.

Methods: Our study included 484 deceased participants (mean age at death =91 years, 70.

Tear proteomic signature associated with mild cognitive impairment and dementia: an exploratory analysis.

Background: Tear samples were low‐invasive to access and may reflect changes in the brain. We performed an exploratory proteomic analysis using tear samples to identify proteomic signature and potential pathways that may be associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.

Method: We performed a matched case‐control study using tear samples collected from community‐dwelling older adults, comprising 13 dementia, as well as 34 MCI and 34 age‐, sex‐, educational‐matched normal cognition (NC) controls (age: 73.

Assessing the feasibility of dried blood spot (DBS) collection for blood‐based biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in rural South Africa.

Background: The characterization of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD related dementias (ADRD) pathophysiology has been revolutionized by the development of highly sensitive blood‐based biomarkers. Although blood‐based biomarkers allow for greater access, cost effectiveness, and scalability, there are limitations for their implementation in resource‐constrained low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) and rural settings, where access to equipment, freezers, and assays is often limited. Dried blood spot (DBS) collection emerges as a promising, convenient, and cost‐effective method for acquiring blood samples in these contexts, but it is unclear whether highly sensitive assays typically applied to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), plasma, or serum can detect biomarker concentrations accurately.

Performance of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline for the Elderly (IQCODE) in Rural South Africa.

Background: Informant reports are commonly regarded as reliable and supplemental alongside respondent cognitive assessments, particularly in low‐literacy settings with absent normative data. We evaluate the performance of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) in rural South Africa.

Method: This study utilizes data from the Cognition and Dementia in a Longitudinal Health and Aging Study in South Africa (HAALSI‐HCAP).

A Prospective Study of Long‐Term Red Meat Intake, Risk of Dementia, and Cognitive Function in US Adults.

Background: Previous studies yielded inconsistent results regarding the association between red meat intake and cognitive health. We aimed to prospectively examine the associations between processed and unprocessed red meat intakes and various cognitive outcomes.

Method: We assessed diet intake every 2‐4 years using food‐frequency questionnaires and ascertained incident dementia cases through self‐report and death records in 87,424 participants free from Parkinson’s disease or baseline dementia, stroke, cancer from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS).

Food insecurity and dementia risk in US older adults: results from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

Background: Growing research suggests that food insecurity is associated with worse cognitive functioning; however, longitudinal studies are needed to examine food insecurity and dementia risk.

Methods: Using data from the 2013‐2021 Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the longest running nationally representative household panel survey, we examined the effects of food insecurity on dementia risk among 3,232 adults (≥65 years). Food insecurity was assessed biennially using the US Household Food Security Survey Module since 2015.