Household air pollution exposure in adult women is associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness: A cross-sectional study of the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network trial.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, disproportionately affecting people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Biomass fuels used for cooking in LMICs contribute significantly to household air pollution (HAP), which has been associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and other pathways linked to atherosclerosis. We evaluate the association between HAP exposure and atherosclerosis by use of carotid artery ultrasound.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass for Cooking and Effects on Blood Pressure: Results from the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Trial.

Background: Exposure to household air pollution from burning coal and biomass for cooking is associated with higher blood pressure and other adverse indicators of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. Evidence demonstrating that switching from biomass to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will reduce blood pressure is limited.

Methods: As part of a larger trial of 3200 households, we conducted a randomized trial of 342 women aged 40 to 79 years who lived in households using biomass for cooking in rural areas of Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda to assess the effects of a free LPG stove and fuel intervention.

Household air pollution and blood pressure among adult women participants of the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Trial: An exposure-response analysis.

Background: Exposure to air pollutants, like fine particulate matter (PM), has been linked to higher blood pressure (BP). Few studies have examined this association in biomass-dependent settings. We seek to determine whether high exposure during a 16 month period was associated with an increase in BP among older adult women over the study period and to determine whether short-term increases in exposure were associated with higher coincident blood pressure.

Blood Pressure Measurements From Self-Service Health Kiosks in US Retail Stores, 2017-2024.

Importance: Hypertension is the leading risk factor for mortality in the US. Current national estimates of the prevalence of high blood pressure (BP) are derived from lagged averages based on complex, multistage, probability sampling designs to be representative of the US population.

Objective: To describe the distribution of BP readings among a convenience sample of individuals aged 18 to 99 years.

Inferring the relative importance of navigation and landscape effects for migratory populations using agent-based models.

Seasonal migration is a vital behavior for numerous animal species, offering ecological services such as seed dispersal, pollination, and resource influxes. However, accurately describing and predicting the spatial dynamics of migrating populations remains a challenge due to the scale of the behavior and the different navigation strategies employed by the animals to complete it. The goal of this study is two-fold: (1) to develop an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate the final spatial distributions of migratory animals using two navigation strategies-true navigation and vector navigation-and (2) to use a case study of migratory monarch butterflies to determine the value of comparing model-generated spatial patterns with empirical observations.

UTILIZING A CAPTURE-RECAPTURE STRATEGY TO ACCELERATE INFECTIOUS DISEASE SURVEILLANCE.

Monitoring key elements of disease dynamics (e.g., prevalence, case counts) is of great importance in infectious disease prevention and control, as emphasized during the COVID-19 pandemic.

infection, Hansen's disease, and helminth infections: A cross-sectional study in southeastern Brazil.

Background: Prior studies have demonstrated associations between helminths and mycobacterial infections, suggesting a can alter the susceptibility do mycobacterial infection or disease. Our goal was to assess the association of infection with parasitic infections in a highly endemic area for Hansen's disease in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Methods: Adults and children ages 3 years and older were enrolled from communities in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and nearby municipalities.

Gestational and postnatal exposures to fine particulate matter (PM) and their association with acute ear infections, diarrhea, respiratory symptoms, and mortality: A longitudinal study of infants in the multicountry Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial.

Exposure to household air pollution from cooking with biomass is a risk factor for infant morbidity and mortality. The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) evaluated the effects of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove and fuel intervention on air pollutant exposure and health outcomes among 3195 pregnant women (nine to 19 weeks' gestation) and their infants in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda. We measured PM exposure among women before childbirth and infants in the postnatal period.

Exposure-response relationship of household air pollution on body mass index among women in rural areas of Guatemala, India, Peru and Rwanda: household air pollution intervention network trial.

Background: Household air pollution from burning biomass materials, the main cooking fuel in low- and middle-income countries, may be linked to metabolic dysfunction. We assessed cross-sectional associations between household air pollution and body mass index (BMI), expecting to see increased BMI with higher pollution concentrations.

Methods: We analyzed data from 414 women aged 40 to 79 years who resided in the households using biomass fuel and were enrolled in the multi-country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Trial.

Integrating data at multiple spatial scales to estimate the local burden of the opioid syndemic.

The opioid epidemic has been particularly severe in Ohio, prompting significant efforts to understand its spatial patterns, mainly using available data at the county level. However, relying solely on county-level analysis can overlook crucial information relevant to localized effects. To address this, we integrate spatially misaligned data observed at the county and ZIP code levels to explore the complex interaction of five opioid-related outcomes, providing a more detailed local understanding of the opioid epidemic.

A Bayesian spatial measurement error approach to incorporate heterogeneous population-at-risk uncertainty in estimating small-area opioid mortality rates.

Monitoring small-area geographical population trends in opioid mortality has significant implications for informing preventative resource allocation. A common approach to estimating small-area opioid mortality uses a standard disease mapping method where population-at-risk estimates (denominators) are treated as fixed. This assumption ignores the uncertainty in small-area population estimates, potentially biasing risk estimates and underestimating their uncertainties.

Effects of indoor cooking with liquefied petroleum gas versus solid biomass on mosquito and fly density in households.

Cleaner cooking fuels are increasingly promoted to reduce household air pollution-related health effects, but evidence is limited whether changes in cooking fuels could alter vector behavior and human exposure to vector-borne diseases. In the context of a randomized controlled trial in eastern Rwanda, we evaluated differences in mosquito and fly density in 109 intervention houses which received liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves, a continuous fuel supply, and were encouraged to cook indoors compared to 102 control households which continued cooking with biomass fuels, primarily outdoors. Anopheles mosquito densities were similar in the intervention group compared to the control group (RR = 0.

Association of prenatal and early-life polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure with dental caries in childhood.

Background: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), generated through incomplete combustion of organic materials such as coal and wood, and through activities, like charbroiling meat and smoking tobacco, negatively impact children's health. This study evaluates early-life PAH exposure in children from Southern India and its association with early childhood caries (ECC).

Methods: We utilized maternal and child urine samples from the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) cohort to measure PAH metabolites: 2-naphthol (2-NAP) and 1-hydroxypyrene (1-PYR).

Association between Personal Exposure to Household Air Pollution and Glycated Hemoglobin among Women in Rural Areas of Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda: Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Trial.

Background: Household air pollution from biomass cookstoves is a major concern in low- and middle-income countries because it may be linked with increasing rates of metabolic disorders such as diabetes. We assessed cross-sectional associations between household air pollution concentrations and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels.

Methods: We analyzed data from 346 women 40 to years of age who cooked with biomass fuel and were enrolled in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Trial in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda.

Predictors of Personal Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter, Black Carbon, and Carbon Monoxide among Pregnant Women in Rwanda: Baseline Data from the HAPIN Trial.

Background: Exposure to household air pollution from the combustion of solid fuels is a leading risk factor for death and disease in low- and middle-income countries, where cleaner cooking and lighting options are often unavailable. Few studies have measured personal exposure during pregnancy, a sensitive period of development, particularly in Africa.

Objective: We aimed to characterize exposure during early to midpregnancy among women in Rwanda and to assess predictors of personal exposure, including stove and fuel type, cooking behaviors, housing conditions, sociodemographic characteristics, and other potential sources of exposure.

Urban water network upgrades improve quality and access to drinking water in the PAASIM matched cohort study in Beira, Mozambique.

Rigorous evaluations of community water supply interventions are necessary to understand their impact on water quality and access. Our study in Beira, Mozambique assessed the impact of water infrastructure improvements in neighborhoods with or without piped water network upgrades. Data were collected from 642 households on microbial contamination in stored and source water, water access, and satisfaction with water service.

Guidance for conducting and evaluating serological surveys to assess interruption of yaws transmission in the context of an eradication target.

This document provides a summary of guidance developed for national programmes on conducting serosurveys to assess yaws transmission status, with the objective of confirming yaws seroprevalence below 1% at each of three serosurveys over a period of 3-10 years after reporting the last case of active yaws in a region. It proposes active testing of children aged 1-5 years through population-based surveys and includes recommendations on survey design, sample size determination, sampling of primary sampling units (PSUs) within an evaluation unit, sampling of households within PSUs, integration with existing public health surveys, and follow-up protocols for positive results. Geospatial analysis and sustained surveillance are recommended for accurate assessment of whether transmission interruption has been achieved.

Baseline associations between exposure to metals and systolic and diastolic blood pressure among women in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Trial.

Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) are metals that occur naturally in the environment and are present in biomass fuels, such as wood. When these fuels are burned, they can release Pb and Cd into the air, leading to exposure through inhalation. Studies of exposure to metals and health outcomes suggest harmful impacts, including cardiovascular diseases.

Understanding the opioid syndemic in North Carolina: A novel approach to modeling and identifying factors.

The opioid epidemic is a significant public health challenge in North Carolina, but limited data restrict our understanding of its complexity. Examining trends and relationships among different outcomes believed to reflect opioid misuse provides an alternative perspective to understand the opioid epidemic. We use a Bayesian dynamic spatial factor model to capture the interrelated dynamics within six different county-level outcomes, such as illicit opioid overdose deaths, emergency department visits related to drug overdose, treatment counts for opioid use disorder, patients receiving prescriptions for buprenorphine, and newly diagnosed cases of acute and chronic hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus.

Advancing Ethical Considerations for Data Science in Injury and Violence Prevention.

Data science is an emerging field that provides new analytical methods. It incorporates novel data sources (eg, internet data) and methods (eg, machine learning) that offer valuable and timely insights into public health issues, including injury and violence prevention. The objective of this research was to describe ethical considerations for public health data scientists conducting injury and violence prevention-related data science projects to prevent unintended ethical, legal, and social consequences, such as loss of privacy or loss of public trust.

Exposure Contrasts of Women Aged 40-79 Years during the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Randomized Controlled Trial.

Exposure to household air pollution has been linked to adverse health outcomes among women aged 40-79. Little is known about how shifting from biomass cooking to a cleaner fuel like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) could impact exposures for this population. We report 24-h exposures to particulate matter (PM), black carbon (BC), and carbon monoxide (CO) among women aged 40 to <80 years participating in the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network trial.

Accounting for local incidence when estimating rotavirus vaccine efficacy among countries: a pooled analysis of monovalent rotavirus vaccine trials.

Rotavirus vaccine appears to perform sub-optimally in countries with higher rotavirus burden. We hypothesized that differences in the magnitude of rotavirus exposures may bias vaccine efficacy (VE) estimates, so true differences in country-specific rotavirus VE would be exaggerated without accommodating differences in exposure. We estimated VE against any-severity and severe rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) using Poisson regression models fit to pooled individual-level data from Phase II and III monovalent rotavirus vaccine trials conducted between 2000 and 2012.

Spatial associations between measures of public transportation and diabetic foot ulcer outcomes in the state of Georgia: 2016-2019.

Introduction: There are limited data regarding the associations between public transportation reliance, availability, and diabetic foot ulcer (DFU)-related amputations.

Research Design And Methods: We used visit-level data from the Georgia 2016-2019 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project database and obtained transportation variables from open sources. Using Bayesian spatial-temporal models, we assessed the associations between transportation and DFU-related amputations within each quartile of poverty status indicators at the ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA) level.

IGAMT: Privacy-Preserving Electronic Health Record Synthesization with Heterogeneity and Irregularity.

Utilizing electronic health records (EHR) for machine learning-driven clinical research has great potential to enhance outcome predictions and treatment personalization. Nonetheless, due to privacy and security concerns, the secondary use of EHR data is regulated, constraining researchers' access to EHR data. Generating synthetic EHR data with deep learning methods is a viable and promising approach to mitigate privacy concerns, offering not only a supplementary resource for downstream applications but also sidestepping the privacy risks associated with real patient data.