Patient-Centered Measures of Goal Concordance in Geriatrics and Palliative Care: A Scoping Review.

Importance: Goal concordance underpins high-quality care for patients with serious illness and older adults with multimorbidity and geriatric syndromes; however, a criterion standard for measurement is lacking.

Objective: To identify and describe patient- and caregiver-reported measures of goal concordance for patients with serious illness, geriatric syndromes, and multimorbidity to create a conceptual model of goal-concordance measurement.

Evidence Review: This scoping review included an electronic search across MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, the CINAHL, and PsycINFO through September 2024.

Pre-surgery gut microbial diversity and abundance are associated with post-surgery onset of cachexia in colorectal cancer patients: the ColoCare Study.

Background: Cachexia accounts for about 20% of all cancer-related deaths and it is indicative of poor prognosis and progressive functional impairment. The role of the gut microbiome in the development of cachexia in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients has not been established.

Methods: Pre-surgical stool samples from n = 103 stage I-III CRC patients in the ColoCare Study were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing (Illumina) to characterize fecal bacteria.

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Helicobacter pylori Screening and Eradication in Junior High School Students in Yokosuka, Japan: Prevalence, Eradication Rates, and Challenges.

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection increases the risk of developing gastric cancer. Early eradication is effective in reducing the risk. An increasing number of Japanese municipalities are implementing school-based H.

Vitamin D insufficiency in pregnant women from Lebanon: prevalence and key predictors.

Background: Suboptimal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) during pregnancy can have adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Aim: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant females in Lebanon and to identify its risk factors.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving pregnant females identified during their first-early second trimester visit to obstetricians in two centers in Beirut.

Transparent reporting of observational studies emulating a target trial: the TARGET Statement.

Importance: When randomized trials are unavailable or not feasible, observational studies can be used to answer causal questions about the comparative effects of interventions by attempting to emulate a hypothetical pragmatic randomized trial (target trial). Published guidance to aid reporting of these studies is not available.

Objective: To develop consensus based guidance for reporting observational studies performed to estimate causal effects by explicitly emulating a target trial.

Traffic-emitted ultrafine particles disrupt macrophage efferocytosis and resolution of allergic lung inflammation.

Background: Particulate matter (PM) in air pollution is a major health concern. PM includes ultrafine particles (UFPs - PM, particles of ≤ 0.1μm), which can evoke lung inflammation.

Evaluating multi-ancestry genome-wide association methods: Statistical power, population structure, and practical implications.

The increasing availability of diverse biobanks has enabled multi-ancestry genome-wide association studies (GWASs) to enhance the discovery of genetic variants across traits and diseases. However, the choice of an optimal method remains debated, due to challenges in statistical power differences across ancestral groups and approaches to account for population structure. Two primary strategies exist: (1) pooled analysis, which combines individuals from all genetic backgrounds into a single dataset while adjusting for population stratification using principal components, increasing the sample size and statistical power but requiring careful control of population stratification; and (2) meta-analysis, which performs ancestry-group-specific GWASs and subsequently combines summary statistics, potentially capturing fine-scale population structure but facing limitations in handling admixed individuals.

Quantification of Differences in Sleep Measurement by a Wrist-Worn Consumer Wearable Compared to Research-Grade Accelerometry and Sleep Diaries of Female Adults in Free-Living Conditions.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to compare sleep measurements by a consumer-wearable with research-standard actigraphy coupled with sleep diaries in free-living female adults.

Methods: Forty-seven females in the Nurses' Health Study 3 (NHS3) participated in the Sleep and Physical Activity Validation Substudy (SPAVS), where they were asked to concurrently wear a consumer wearable (Fitbit Charge, Models 3 or 5) and a research-grade accelerometer (Actigraph, GT3X+ or Actisleep) on the same wrist and fill out a smartphone-based sleep diary for fourteen consecutive days. We compared measures of total sleep time (TST), time in bed (TIB), and sleep efficiency (SE) from the consumer wearable with actigraphy measures as our research-standard reference for TST and SE and self-reported sleep diary as our reference for TIB.

Inequalities in diarrhoea, pneumonia and measles deaths: estimates for 21 sub-Saharan African countries.

Objective: To develop new methods to analyse the distributions of diarrhoea, pneumonia and measles deaths in children younger than 5 years across wealth quintiles.

Methods: We used Demographic and Health Surveys conducted since 2013 from 21 sub-Saharan African countries. We implemented multidimensional optimization techniques to estimate the joint impact of risk factors (that is, stunting, wasting, underweight, vitamin A deficiency and unsafe sanitation), immunization coverage and treatment utilization, on the distribution of deaths from diarrhoea, pneumonia and measles across wealth quintiles in each country.

Exploring the barriers and facilitators to safer hair product purchasing and use among Black women in the greater Boston area through photovoice in the RESTYLE study.

Introduction: Racial/ethnic differences in personal care product (PCP) use, including hair products, are well-documented in the United States (US). Black women are more highly exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals in PCPs compared to other racial/ethnic groups. We identified barriers and facilitators to safer hair product purchasing and use in the greater Boston, Massachusetts area.

Local Recurrence and Survival in Patients With Melanoma In Situ.

Importance: The overdiagnosis of melanoma in situ (MIS) is well documented. There is limited evidence on the rate of local recurrence of the non-lentigo maligna (non-LM)/non-acral lentiginous melanoma (non-ALM) subtypes.

Objective: To investigate local recurrence and prognosis in non-LM/non-ALM MIS, the histopathological clearance of the excisional biopsy margins, and the association with the size of wide excision margins.

Transparent Reporting of Observational Studies Emulating a Target Trial-The TARGET Statement.

Importance: When randomized trials are unavailable or not feasible, observational studies can be used to answer causal questions about the comparative effects of interventions by attempting to emulate a hypothetical pragmatic randomized trial (target trial). Published guidance to aid reporting of these studies is not available.

Objective: To develop consensus-based guidance for reporting observational studies performed to estimate causal effects by explicitly emulating a target trial.

Arteriosclerosis in the heart-brain axis and Alzheimer's disease plasma markers in the Rotterdam Study.

BackgroundArteriosclerosis in the heart-brain axis has emerged as an important area of study in Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia research. While previous research primarily focused on structural brain changes, the relationship between arteriosclerosis and blood-based markers for AD dementia remains understudied.ObjectiveTo comprehensively assess arteriosclerosis in the heart-brain axis and investigate its link to AD dementia plasma markers.

REFINE2: A simplified simulation tool to help epidemiologists evaluate the suitability and sensitivity of effect estimation within user-specified data.

Epidemiologists have access to various methods to reduce bias and improve statistical efficiency in effect estimation, from standard multivariable regression to state-of-the-art doubly-robust efficient estimators paired with highly flexible, data-adaptive algorithms ("machine learning"). However, due to numerous assumptions and trade-offs, epidemiologists face practical difficulties in recognizing which method, if any, may be suitable for their specific data and hypotheses. Importantly, relative advantages are necessarily context-specific (data structure, algorithms, model misspecification), limiting the utility of universal guidance.

HIV resistance to dolutegravir varies with co-administered agents.

We hypothesized that HIV-dolutegravir-resistance is more frequent when co-administered with nucleos(t)ides with shorter intracellular half-lives. Multivariable analysis of 183 viremic (≥200c/mL) participants from four cohorts (N=660 participants) found dolutegravir-resistance in 21 (11.5%).

A cross-sectional study of demographic variation in health problem-related limitations in life across 22 countries: a cross-national analysis.

Background: Health limitations, defined as problems in life that limit an individual from activities of daily living, have been associated with human flourishing, globally. However, how health problems leading to functional limitations vary across multiple demographic characteristics and how these vary across countries requires additional exploration.

Methods: The Global Flourishing Study is a 5-year longitudinal study of human flourishing among 202,898 individuals across 22 countries.

Cost and cost-effectiveness analysis of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in obstetrics: a systematic review protocol.

Introduction: Facing the profound health impacts and economic challenges posed by the high maternal mortality ratio worldwide, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has shown its potential to enhance diagnostic efficiency, reduce healthcare costs and improve health outcomes. However, concerns regarding the explicit and implicit costs as well as actual clinical outcomes of POCUS also exist. This systematic review protocol aims to synthesise existing evidence regarding the costs and cost-effectiveness of POCUS in obstetric care to provide a clearer understanding of its economic and clinical impact, ultimately guaranteeing global maternal and neonatal health and supporting the vision of the 2030 sustainable development goals.

Assessing the global variation in patient characteristics, management and short-term outcomes of spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage worldwide: a protocol for a global observational prospective multicentre study (the PLOT-ICH study).

Introduction: Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide, with the greatest burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Haemorrhagic stroke or spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage (sICH), including intraparenchymal haemorrhage (IPH) and subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), has the highest mortality and morbidity. Local management practices for haemorrhagic stroke vary greatly between geographical regions.

Fine particulate matter exposure and sperm DNA fragmentation in US men: a spatial cross-sectional study.

Study Question: Does exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) impact sperm DNA fragmentation?

Summary Answer: Higher PM2.5 exposure was associated with increased sperm DNA fragmentation, with greater effects observed in men of lower socioeconomic status (SES).