Communication quality predicts patients' colorectal cancer screening behavior.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the quality of patient/clinician communication as one potential factor that impacts colorectal cancer screening behavior. As part of a larger randomized controlled trial conducted between 2011 and 2016 in the setting of community and academic family medicine or internal medicine practices in Michigan, USA, patients completed a pre-encounter survey, completed their regularly scheduled visit with their primary care clinician (which was audio-recorded), completed a post-encounter survey, and allowed 6-month follow-up chart audit. We trained 10 coders to rate 216 of the audio-recorded conversations between 216 patients and their primary care physicians for 6 specific features of communication quality (using 7-point scales), including the extent to which participants enacted attention to medical content, engagement, emotional expression, relationships, face, and accommodation. At least 3 coders rated each conversation, and intraclass correlations (i.e., reliability assessment) were in the good to excellent range. We found that patient and clinician attention to face (an identity goal) was a significant predictor of colorectal cancer screening at 6 months follow up. Measuring communication in terms of attention to multiple goals reveals unexpected findings about the aspects of communication that impact colorectal cancer screening behavior. The focus of many interventions to improve colorectal cancer screening rates is on the content (i.e., task goals) of clinicians' communication (such as presenting the different options for screening), yet the content of communication was not a significant predictor of screening in the present study. Rather, clinicians' and patients' attention to identity goals predicted screening behavior, which suggests that interventions may not need to be overly complex and that simply improving the quality of attention to identity goals in clinician communication might be one of the most straightforward yet impactful ways to improve colorectal cancer screening uptake among patients.

Exercise and nutrition to improve cancer Treatment-Related outcomes (ENICTO).

Chemotherapy treatment-related side-effects are common and increase the risk of suboptimal outcomes. Exercise interventions during cancer treatment improve self-reported physical functioning, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, but it is unclear whether these interventions improve important clinical outcomes, such as chemotherapy relative dose intensity (RDI). The National Cancer Institute funded the Exercise and Nutrition to Improve Cancer Treatment-Related Outcomes (ENICTO) Consortium, to address this knowledge gap. This paper describes the mechanisms hypothesized to underpin intervention effects on clinically-relevant treatment outcomes, briefly outlines each project's distinct research aims, summarizes the scope and organizational structure of ENICTO, and provides an overview of the integrated common data elements used to pursue research questions collectively. In addition, the paper includes a description of consortium-wide activities and broader research community opportunities for collaborative research. Findings from the ENICTO Consortium have the potential to accelerate a paradigm shift in oncology care such that cancer patients could receive exercise and nutrition programming as the standard of care in tandem with chemotherapy to improve RDI for a curative outcome.

Digital therapeutics lead to clinically significant body weight loss in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Most patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease are unable to achieve clinically significant body weight loss with traditional in-person approaches. Digital therapeutic (DTx)-delivered interventions offer promise to remove barriers to weight loss success inherent to traditional resource-heavy in-person programs and at a population level, but their efficacy remains relatively unknown. METHODS: Published studies were identified through May 2023 by searching the following electronic databases: PubMed and Embase (Ovid). DTx intervention was compared to standard of care. The primary outcome was a change in body weight. Secondary outcomes included clinically significant body weight loss (≥5%) and change in liver enzymes. RESULTS: Eight studies comprising 1001 patients met inclusion criteria (mean age: 47 y; body mass index: 33.2 kg/m2). The overall rate of clinically significant body weight loss was 33%, with DTx lifestyle interventions ranging from 4 to 24 months in length. DTx lifestyle intervention achieved statistically significant body weight loss (absolute change -3.4 kg, 95% CI: -4.8 to -2.0 kg, p < 0.01, relative change -3.9%, 95% CI: -6.6 to -1.3, p < 0.01) as well as clinically significant body weight loss of ≥5% (risk ratio: 3.0, 95% CI: 1.7-5.5, p < 0.01) compared to standard of care. This was seen alongside improvement in liver enzymes. CONCLUSIONS: DTx-delivered lifestyle intervention programs lead to greater amounts of body weight loss than traditional in-person lifestyle counseling. These results further support the role of DTx in delivering lifestyle intervention programs to patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and suggest that this scalable intervention offers promise to benefit the billions of patients worldwide with this condition.

Acute seizures after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in young individuals: 11-year trends and association with mortality.

BACKGROUND: The rate of spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage (sICH) is rising among young Americans. Trends in acute seizure (AS) incidence in this age group is largely unknown. Further, the association of AS with mortality has not been reported in this age group. The aim of this study is to determine trends in AS among young individuals with sICH. METHODS: The Merative MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters database, for the years 2005 through 2015, served as the data source for this retrospective in-hospital population study. This period was chosen as spontaneous ICH incidence increased among young individuals between 2005 and 2015. Our study population included patients aged 18-64 years with ICH identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth and Tenth Revision (ICD-9/10) codes 430, 431, 432.0, 432.1, 432.9, I61, I61.0, I61.1, I61.2, I61.3, I61.4, I61.5, I61.6, I61.8, and I61.9, excluding those with a prior diagnosis of seizures (ICD-9/10 codes 345.x,780.3x, G40, G41, and R56.8). We computed yearly AS incidence, mortality (in patients with and without seizures), and analyzed trends. We applied a logistic regression model to determine the independent association of AS with mortality accounting for demographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: AS incidence increased linearly between 2005 (incidence rate: 8.1 %) and 2015 (incidence rate: 11.0 %), which represents a 26 % relative increase (P for trends <0.0001). In-hospital mortality rate was 14.3 % among those who developed AS and 11.5 % among those who did not have AS. Overall, between 2005 and 2015, in-hospital mortality decreased from 13.0 % to 9.7 % among patients without AS but remained unchanged among those with AS. Patients who developed AS were 10 % more likely to die than those who did not (OR: 1.10, 95 % confidence interval: 1.02-1.18). CONCLUSIONS: Between 2005 and 2015, the incidence of AS increased by nearly 26 % among young Americans with sICH. In-patient mortality remained unchanged among those who developed seizures but declined among those who did not. The occurrence of AS was independently associated with a 10 % higher risk of in-hospital death.

Effects of ACE inhibitor/ARB therapy and long COVID on kidney disease: a retrospective cohort study using real-world data.

Background: The association between angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 susceptibility, particularly via ACE-2 receptor upregulation in the kidneys, raises concerns about potential kidney disease risks in long coronavirus disease (COVID) patients. This study explores the association of ACEI/ARB therapy on acute kidney injury (AKI), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and all-cause mortality in patients with and without long COVID. Methods: A retrospective cohort study using TriNetX datasets was conducted, with diagnoses of long COVID via International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes and prescription for ACEI/ARB as the classification of four cohorts: long COVID ACEI/ARB users (LCAUs), long COVID ACEI/ARB non-users (LCANs), non-long COVID ACEI/ARB users (NLCAUs) and non-long COVID ACEI/ARB non-users (NLCANs). Multivariable stratified Cox proportional hazards regression models assessed the adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) across groups. Additional analyses were conducted, including time-dependent exposure analysis and comparison with an active comparator, calcium channel blockers. Results: Our study included 18 168 long COVID and 181 680 propensity score-matched non-long COVID patients from October 2021 to October 2023. ACEI/ARB use did not significantly affect the risk of AKI or CKD when comparing LCAUs with LCANs and NLCAUs with NLCANs. However, a protective effect against all-cause mortality was observed {aHR 0.79 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65-0.93]} in the NLCAU group compared with the NLCAN group. Conversely, long COVID was associated with increased risks of CKD [aHR 1.49 (95% CI 1.03-2.14)] and all-cause mortality [aHR 1.49 (95% CI 1.00-2.23)] when comparing LCANs with NLCANs. The additional analyses support the primary findings. Conclusions: ACEI/ARB treatment does not increase the incidence of CKD or AKI, regardless of long COVID status. However, long COVID itself is associated with increasing risks of kidney diseases and all-cause mortality.

Exercise improves surrogate measures of liver histological response in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Exercise is recommended for the management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), yet effects on liver histology remain unknown, especially without significant weight loss. We aimed to examine changes in surrogate measures of liver histological response with exercise training. METHODS: We conducted a post hoc pooled analysis of three randomised controlled trials (duration: 12-20 weeks) comparing aerobic exercise interventions with controls. The primary outcome measure was a ≥30% relative reduction in (MRI-measured) liver fat, as a surrogate measure of liver histological response (the threshold necessary for fibrosis improvement). Secondary outcome measures were changes in other biomarkers of liver fibrosis, anthropometry, body composition and aerobic fitness. RESULTS: Eighty-eight adults (exercise: 54, control: 34; male: 67%) were included with mean (SD) age 51 (11) years and body mass index 33.3 (5.2) kg/m2. Following the intervention, exercise had ~5-fold (OR [95%CI]: 4.86 [1.72, 13.8], p = .002) greater odds of ≥30% relative reduction in MRI-measured liver fat compared with control. This paralleled the improvements in anthropometry (waist and hip circumference reduction), body composition (body fat, visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue) and aerobic fitness (V̇O2peak, ventilatory threshold and exercise capacity). Importantly, these effects were independent of clinically significant body weight loss (<3% body weight). CONCLUSION: Exercise training led to clinically meaningful improvements in surrogate serum- and imaging-based measures of liver histological change, without clinically meaningful body weight reduction. These data reinforce the weight-neutral benefit of exercise training and suggest that aerobic training may improve liver fibrosis in patients with MASLD.

AMPED study: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial of different doses of aerobic exercise training.

Recently renamed, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease remains a leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Regular physical activity is recommended as a treatment for all with this condition because it is highly efficacious, especially when exercise training is undertaken with a specific goal in mind. Despite decades of research demonstrating exercise's efficacy, key questions remain about the mechanism of benefit and most efficacious dose, as well as the independent impact on liver histology. To answer these questions, we present the design of a 16-week randomized controlled clinical trial of 45 adults aged 18-69 years with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. The primary aim of this study is to better understand the dose required and mechanisms to explain how exercise impacts multiple clinical end points in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. The primary outcome is MRI-measured liver fat. Secondary outcomes include other biomarkers of liver fibroinflammation, liver histology, and mechanistic pathways, as well as cardiometabolic risk and quality of life. This is the first study to compare different doses of exercise training to determine if there is a differential impact on imaging and serum biomarkers as well as liver histology.

Zoster Vaccine Lowers Stroke and Myocardial Infarction Risk in Chronic Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Herpes zoster increases stroke and myocardial infarction risk. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of live attenuated zoster vaccination on stroke and myocardial infarction risk in patients at risk of zoster, including those with hypertension, diabetes mellites, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, asthma, and chronic liver disease. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study utilizing continuous de-identified claims data from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database (collected from 2005-2018) containing data for 200 million commercially insured Americans. Participants included 27,093 adults vaccinated against zoster with at least 5 years of continuous enrollment, age and sex-matched 1:5 with unvaccinated controls. OR, risk difference, and the number needed to treat evaluated the effect of vaccination on stroke and myocardial infarction while controlling for relevant comorbidities. RESULTS: Over the period of 5 years, proportions of myocardial infarction (1.29% vs 1.82%; p<0.05) and stroke (1.61% vs 2.20%; p<0.05) were lower in vaccinated versus unvaccinated individuals, respectively, controlling for age and sex, with the greatest benefit for people with diabetes (stroke OR=0.64, 95% CI=0.58, 0.71; myocardial infarction OR=0.63, 95% CI=0.57, 0.71). Although hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had the highest odds of stroke and myocardial infarction, vaccination still provided significant risk-reduction (hypertension: stroke 0.75 [0.68, 0.83], myocardial infarction 0.73 [0.65, 0.81]; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: stroke 0.75 [0.68, 0.83], myocardial infarction 0.74 [0.66, 0.83]). CONCLUSIONS: Live attenuated zoster vaccination is associated with lower risk of stroke and myocardial infarction in adults with at-risk comorbidities, controlling for age and sex. Vaccination may provide cardiovascular benefits beyond zoster prevention.

Can machine learning predict late seizures after intracerebral hemorrhages? Evidence from real-world data.

INTRODUCTION: Intracerebral hemorrhage represents 15 % of all strokes and it is associated with a high risk of post-stroke epilepsy. However, there are no reliable methods to accurately predict those at higher risk for developing seizures despite their importance in planning treatments, allocating resources, and advancing post-stroke seizure research. Existing risk models have limitations and have not taken advantage of readily available real-world data and artificial intelligence. This study aims to evaluate the performance of Machine-learning-based models to predict post-stroke seizures at 1 year and 5 years after an intracerebral hemorrhage in unselected patients across multiple healthcare organizations. DESIGN/METHODS: We identified patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) without a prior diagnosis of seizures from 2015 until inception (11/01/22) in the TriNetX Diamond Network, using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) I61 (I61.0, I61.1, I61.2, I61.3, I61.4, I61.5, I61.6, I61.8, and I61.9). The outcome of interest was any ICD-10 diagnosis of seizures (G40/G41) at 1 year and 5 years following the first occurrence of the diagnosis of intracerebral hemorrhage. We applied a conventional logistic regression and a Light Gradient Boosted Machine (LGBM) algorithm, and the performance of the model was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC), the area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC), the F1 statistic, model accuracy, balanced-accuracy, precision, and recall, with and without seizure medication use in the models. RESULTS: A total of 85,679 patients had an ICD-10 code of intracerebral hemorrhage and no prior diagnosis of seizures, constituting our study cohort. Seizures were present in 4.57 % and 6.27 % of patients within 1 and 5 years after ICH, respectively. At 1-year, the AUROC, AUPRC, F1 statistic, accuracy, balanced-accuracy, precision, and recall were respectively 0.7051 (standard error: 0.0132), 0.1143 (0.0068), 0.1479 (0.0055), 0.6708 (0.0076), 0.6491 (0.0114), 0.0839 (0.0032), and 0.6253 (0.0216). Corresponding metrics at 5 years were 0.694 (0.009), 0.1431 (0.0039), 0.1859 (0.0064), 0.6603 (0.0059), 0.6408 (0.0119), 0.1094 (0.0037) and 0.6186 (0.0264). These numerical values indicate that the statistical models fit the data very well. CONCLUSION: Machine learning models applied to electronic health records can improve the prediction of post-hemorrhagic stroke epilepsy, presenting a real opportunity to incorporate risk assessments into clinical decision-making in post-stroke care clinical care and improve patients' selection for post-stroke epilepsy research.

Robust integration of secondary outcomes information into primary outcome analysis in the presence of missing data.

In clinical and observational studies, secondary outcomes are frequently collected alongside the primary outcome for each subject, yet their potential to improve the analysis efficiency remains underutilized. Moreover, missing data, commonly encountered in practice, can introduce bias to estimates if not appropriately addressed. This article presents an innovative approach that enhances the empirical likelihood-based information borrowing method by integrating missing-data techniques, ensuring robust data integration. We introduce a plug-in inverse probability weighting estimator to handle missingness in the primary analysis, demonstrating its equivalence to the standard joint estimator under mild conditions. To address potential bias from missing secondary outcomes, we propose a uniform mapping strategy, imputing incomplete secondary outcomes into a unified space. Extensive simulations highlight the effectiveness of our method, showing consistent, efficient, and robust estimators under various scenarios involving missing data and/or misspecified secondary models. Finally, we apply our proposal to the Uniform Data Set from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center, exemplifying its practical application.

Complete Mitochondrial Genome for Lucilia cuprina dorsalis (Diptera: Calliphoridae) from the Northern Territory, Australia.

The Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina dorsalis, is a major sheep ectoparasite causing subcutaneous myiasis (flystrike), which can lead to reduced livestock productivity and, in severe instances, death of the affected animals. It is also a primary colonizer of carrion, an efficient pollinator, and used in maggot debridement therapy and forensic investigations. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of L. c. dorsalis from the Northern Territory (NT), Australia, where sheep are prohibited animals, unlike the rest of Australia. The mt genome is 15,943 bp in length, comprising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and a non-coding control region. The gene order of the current mt genome is consistent with the previously published L. cuprina mt genomes. Nucleotide composition revealed an AT bias, accounting for 77.5% of total mt genome nucleotides. Phylogenetic analyses of 56 species/taxa of dipterans indicated that L. c. dorsalis and L. sericata are the closest among all sibling species of the genus Lucilia, which helps to explain species evolution within the family Luciliinae. This study provides the first complete mt genome sequence for L. c. dorsalis derived from the NT, Australia to facilitate species identification and the examination of the evolutionary history of these blowflies.

The impact of kidney stone disease on quality of life in high-risk stone formers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of kidney stone disease (KSD) and its treatment on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of high-risk stone formers with hyperparathyroidism, renal tubular acidosis, malabsorptive disease, and medullary sponge kidney. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life questionnaire was used to evaluate HRQOL in 3301 patients with a history of KSD from 16 institutions in North America between 2014 and 2020. Baseline characteristics and medical history were collected from patients, while active KSD was confirmed through radiological imaging. The high-risk group was compared to the remaining patients (control group) using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. RESULTS: Of 1499 patients with active KSD included in the study, the high-risk group included 120 patients. The high-risk group had significantly lower HRQOL scores compared to the control group (P < 0.01). In the multivariable analyses, medullary sponge kidney disease and renal tubular acidosis were independent predictors of poorer HRQOL, while alkali therapy was an independent predictor of better HRQOL (all P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with active KSD, high-risk stone formers had impaired HRQOL with medullary sponge kidney disease and renal tubular acidosis being independent predictors of poorer HRQOL. Clinicians should seek to identify these patients earlier as they would benefit from prompt treatment and prevention.

Re-Analyses of 8 Historical Trials in Cardiovascular Medicine Assessing Multimorbidity Burden and Its Association with Treatment Response.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the multimorbidity burden of clinical trial participants and assess its association with treatment response. METHODS: We conducted a reanalysis of patient level data. There were 29,954 participants from 8 clinical trials containing 11 comparisons between an intervention and control condition. Patients were classified by Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score. The primary outcomes were the primary study endpoints as originally specified for each trial. A Cox model that included the CCI score groups, the randomized group, and their interaction, was used to compare the primary outcome between randomized groups. The interaction term between randomized group and comorbidity index allowed the treatment effect to differ by level of comorbidity index and comprised the primary effect of interest. Hazard ratios and risk differences were reported for all comparisons. RESULTS: The mean CCI scores of trial populations ranged from 2.1 to 3.9 points, and the percentage of patients with scores ≥5 from 3% to 39%. Tests of interaction terms in models yielded P values ≤ .10 for 4/11 comparisons and ≤ .05 for 2/11 comparisons. In 3 additional comparisons, potentially important treatment variation on an absolute scale was observed despite interaction tests with P values > .10 on the relative scale. CONCLUSIONS: These trials were mainly composed of patient populations with CCI scores ≤4. Despite this, biologically plausible treatment interactions were commonly suggested. These results are hypothesis generating; confirmation of results would require larger studies or studies targeted specifically toward patients with higher levels of multimorbidity.

Berry Consumption in Relation to Allostatic Load in US Adults: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2010.

INTRODUCTION: Berries are a rich source of antioxidant polyphenols and other nutrients that are associated with good health. Allostatic load (AL) is an aggregate measure of chronic stress-induced physiological dysregulations across cardiovascular, metabolic, autonomic, and immune systems; the extent of these dysregulations, collectively or in each system, can be characterized by a composite score or a domain score assessed by integrated biomarkers. It was hypothesized that the anti-inflammatory and other effects of berries lower AL. The association was determined between berry consumption and AL composite and domain scores in the 2003-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). METHODS: Berry intake was measured using two 24 h dietary recalls collected from US adults in the 2003-2010 NHANES (n = 7684). The association with AL and its specific domains was examined using population weight-adjusted multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: The mean AL composite scores for consumers of any berries (11.9), strawberries (11.6), and blueberries (11.6), respectively, were significantly lower than nonconsumers (12.3), after fully adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and dietary confounders. A significant dose-response relationship was determined between greater consumption of total berries, strawberries, and blueberries and lower mean AL composite scores (p-trend < 0.05, for all). Consistently, mean cardiovascular and metabolic domain scores remained significantly lower in the consumers of total berries (mean cardiovascular domain score: 4.73 versus 4.97 for nonconsumers; mean metabolic domain score: 2.97 versus 3.1), strawberries (4.73 versus 4.95; 2.99 versus 3.1), and blueberries (4.6 versus 4.95; 2.92 versus 3.11). Berry consumers also had significantly lower mean AL immune scores (1.52 versus 1.56) and lower mean AL autonomic scores (2.49 versus 2.57) than nonconsumers (initial sample: n = 15,620). CONCLUSIONS: The current study indicates that consumption of berries lowers the AL composite scores and potentially reduces stress-related disease risks in the US adult population.

Association of Long COVID with mental health disorders: a retrospective cohort study using real-world data from the USA.

OBJECTIVES: Mental health disorders (MHD) rank third for US adult hospitalisations. Given the substantial prevalence of 'Long COVID' in SARS-CoV-2 survivors, this study aims to assess its association with increased MHD risk using extensive real-world data. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study with propensity score matching was conducted. We used the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes to identify individuals with Long COVID status and COVID-19 histories. Multivariable stratified Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was conducted to determine the association of Long COVID status with MHD. SETTING: Data were sourced from the TriNetX database, spanning records from 1 October 2021 to 16 April 2023. PARTICIPANTS: Two distinct cohorts were established: one comprising individuals diagnosed with Long COVID and another comprising individuals with no history of Long COVID or COVID-19. At the start of the study, none of the participants had a recorded MHD. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome of interest was a composite diagnosis of MHD. Secondary outcomes were individual mental health conditions. RESULTS: The study included 43 060 control participants without Long COVID and 4306 Long COVID participants, demonstrating well-balanced distribution across all covariates. After adjusting for 4 demographic factors and 10 comorbidities, Long COVID was associated with MHD (adjusted HR, aHR 2.60; 95% CI 2.37 to 2.85). In subgroup analysis, Long COVID was associated with major depression disorder (aHR 3.36; 95% CI 2.82 to 4.00) and generalised anxiety disorder (aHR 3.44; 95% CI 2.99 to 3.96). CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective large real-world cohort study, Long COVID was associated with an increased risk of incident MHD. The MHD impact is significant considering the vast number of patients with Long COVID. Enhanced MHD screening among COVID-19 survivors should be a priority.

Consumption of Berries and Flavonoids in Relation to Mortality in NHANES, 1999-2014.

BACKGROUND: Berries are foods that are abundant in nutrients, especially flavonoids, that promote good health; however, the effects of total berries on mortality are not well characterized. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated whether intakes of total berries and specific berry types including blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, flavonoids, and subclasses of flavonoids (anthocyanidins, flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, and isoflavones) in relation to mortality risk in United States adults. METHODS: A nationally representative sample of the United States adult population was obtained using data from the 1994-2014 NHANES (n = 37,232). Intake of berries was estimated using 24-h food recalls (1999-2014), and flavonoids intake was calculated using the matched USDA's expanded flavonoid database. Mortality outcomes based on 8 y of follow-up were obtained using linked death certificates. RESULTS: Compared with nonconsumers, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for all-cause mortality was 0.79 [95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.7, 0.89] for any berry consumption, 0.86 (0.75, 0.99) for strawberry consumption 0.79 (0.66, 0.95) for blueberries, and 0.69 (0.51, 0.93) for cranberries. Compared with the lower median of intake, risk of all-cause mortality for greater intake was 0.85 (0.74, 0.97) for total flavonoids, 0.85 (0.76, 0.95) for anthocyanidins, 0.9 (0.82, 0.99) for flavan-3-ols, 0.89 (0.79, 0.9) for flavanols, and 0.89 (0.8, 0.99) for flavones. There was a dose-response relationship between intakes of total flavonoids, anthocyanidins, and flavones and lower all-cause mortality risks (Ptrend < 0.05). Risk for cardiometabolic mortality was 0.75 (0.58, 0.98) for berry consumers and 0.49 (0.25, 0.98) for cranberry consumers. For respiratory disease mortality, risk was 0.41 (0.2, 0.86), compared with blueberry nonconsumers. CONCLUSION: Higher intakes of berries and flavonoids were associated with a lower overall mortality risk in adult Americans. Few adults regularly consume berries, indicating that increased intake of berries and flavonoid-rich foods may be beneficial to health.

The Epidemiology of Berry Consumption and Association of Berry Consumption with Diet Quality and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in United States Adults: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2018.

BACKGROUND: Berries are rich in important nutrients and bioactive compounds, which could potentially contribute to maintenance of normal lipid and glucose profiles. OBJECTIVE: We reported the epidemiology of berry consumption and examined associations of berry consumption with diet quality [measured by Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015)] and levels of cardiometabolic risk factors, including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol), glycated hemoglobin, and fasting biomarkers: triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL cholesterol), glucose, insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). METHODS: We evaluated 33,082 adults (aged ≥20 y) using two 24-h diet recalls from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003-2018). Multivariable linear regression models were applied to examine the associations of total and individual berry intake with diet quality and cardiometabolic risk factors using appropriate sample weights. RESULTS: Approximately 25 % of the United States adults consumed berries (0.08 ± 0.003 cup-equivalents/d), representing ∼10 % of the daily mean total fruit intake. Among berry consumers, the mean intake of strawberries (0.31 ± 0.01 cup-equivalents) was higher than for other berries. Berry consumers had a significantly higher HEI-2015 score than nonconsumers (mean HEI-2015 score = 58.8 compared with 52.3, P < 0.0001). Berry consumers had significantly lower concentrations of cardiometabolic indices than nonconsumers, including BMI, WC, SBP, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and higher mean HDL cholesterol, after adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and dietary confounders (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: United States adult berry consumers had a higher diet quality and lower concentrations of cardiometabolic risk factors, suggesting a favorable role for berries in diets and cardiometabolic disease prevention in United States adult population.

Causal inference with a mediated proportional hazards regression model.

The natural direct and indirect effects in causal mediation analysis with survival data having one mediator is addressed by VanderWeele (2011) [1]. He derived an approach for (1) an accelerated failure time regression model in general cases and (2) a proportional hazards regression model when the time-to-event outcome is rare. If the outcome is not rare, then VanderWeele (2011) [1] did not derive a simple closed-form expression for the log-natural direct and log-natural indirect effects for the proportional hazards regression model because the baseline cumulative hazard function does not approach zero. We develop two approaches to extend VanderWeele's approach, in which the assumption of a rare outcome is not required. We obtain the natural direct and indirect effects for specific time points through numerical integration after we calculate the cumulative baseline hazard by (1) applying the Breslow method in the Cox proportional hazards regression model to estimate the unspecified cumulative baseline hazard; (2) assuming a piecewise constant baseline hazard model, yielding a parametric model, to estimate the baseline hazard and cumulative baseline hazard. We conduct simulation studies to compare our two approaches with other methods and illustrate our two approaches by applying them to data from the ASsessment, Serial Evaluation, and Subsequent Sequelae in Acute Kidney Injury (ASSESS-AKI) Consortium.

Evaluating the relationship between physical activity and quality of life in a racially diverse sample of breast cancer survivors.

PURPOSE: Physical activity (PA) has been shown to improve quality of life (QoL) in predominantly White cancer survivors. Very few studies have examined the association between PA and QoL among Black breast cancer survivors (BCS). We investigated the association between PA and multiple QoL domains and the effects of race on the proposed association in a racially diverse group of BCS. METHODS: This was an exploratory study using secondary data from a completed 12-month randomized controlled  trial (RCT). Mixed effects models were tested on a subset of participants in the control and exercise groups of the RCT. The primary outcomes were changes in the QoL domains (baseline to 12 months post baseline). RESULTS: There were 173 participants included in this analysis, averaging 59 years of age; about 33% of the participants were Black women. There were no significant differences in the QoL outcomes between the control and exercise groups at 12 months post baseline. Race was not a significant moderator. Exercise improved emotional/mental wellbeing and body image as it relates to social barriers at 12 months post baseline in Black and White BCS, but the changes in these outcomes were only statistically significant in White BCS (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Results show that exercise can improve multiple QoL domains over time in Black BCS. However, the significance of the effect on QoL was isolated to White BCS. The small sample size in Black women could constrain the statistical significance of observed effects. Future studies are warranted to assess associations between exercise and QoL in larger samples of Black women.