Nevin Manimala

Aging Ment Health. 2025 Jul 18:1-12. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2025.2532658. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a dementia awareness and stigma reduction program among the Arab minoritized population in Israel. Specifically, we examined changes in knowledge, stigma, perceived susceptibility, and support sources following community-based informational sessions conducted by trained Arab student facilitators.

METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was used. A pre-post design with 1349 participants was employed for the quantitative component, assessing changes in subjective and objective knowledge, stigma, perceived susceptibility, and support sources. The qualitative component included in-depth interviews with 40 student facilitators to explore their experiences and insights. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, regression analyses, and thematic content analysis.

RESULTS: The findings revealed significant increases in dementia knowledge, positive emotional reactions, and use of formal support sources. However, no significant changes were observed in perceived susceptibility, negative emotional reactions, or behavioral discrimination. Qualitative findings highlighted facilitators’ role in challenging misconceptions, fostering engagement, and addressing cultural barriers to dementia discussions.

CONCLUSION: The program effectively enhanced dementia knowledge and encouraged community dialogue but had limited impact on deep-seated stigma. Future initiatives should incorporate sustained interventions and culturally tailored messaging to further promote dementia awareness and reduce stigma in minoritized communities.

PMID:40680202 | DOI:10.1080/13607863.2025.2532658

Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2025 Jul 18. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202505-1102LE. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:40680196 | DOI:10.1164/rccm.202505-1102LE

Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2025 Jul 18. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202505-1235LE. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:40680193 | DOI:10.1164/rccm.202505-1235LE

J Med Internet Res. 2025 Jul 18;27:e75701. doi: 10.2196/75701.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In today’s digital landscape, social media proliferation offers easier access to others’ information and social activities but also introduces challenges such as social media fatigue (SMF). Previous studies have linked the fear of missing out (FoMO) to SMF; however, the directionality of this relationship remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the relationship between FoMO and SMF among college students and examine whether a mutually predictive relationship exists between them.

METHODS: This study adopted a longitudinal research design, administering questionnaires at two distinct time points (ie, T1 and T2) separated by a two-month interval. At T1, the questionnaire included demographic variables of the research subjects (student ID, name, gender, etc.), the Fear of Missing Out Scale, and the Social Media Fatigue Scale. At T2, the questionnaire consisted only of collecting demographic information (student ID and name) for matching, along with the same two scales. Following data collection, the datasets from the two time points were matched based on the demographic information; only successfully matched data were included in the final analyses. Subsequently, descriptive statistics and correlation analyses of FoMO and SMF at T1 and T2 were conducted using SPSS (version 26.0). Finally, a cross-lagged panel analysis was conducted using the FoMO and SMF at T1 and T2 to examine the autoregressive and cross-lagged relationships between the variables over time.

RESULTS: A total of 862 valid questionnaires were matched across the two data collection steps. Correlation analysis showed that FoMO at T1 was positively correlated with SMF at T1 (r=0.340; P<.001) and FoMO at T2 (r=0.332; P<.001) and SMF at T2 (r=0.229; P<.001). FoMO at T2 was positively correlated with SMF at T1 (r=0.217; P<.001) and T2 (r=0.417; P<.001). SMF at T1 and T2 were also positively correlated (r=0.425; P<.001). The cross-lagged regression results indicated that using the autoregressive path, FoMO at T1 positively predicted FoMO at T2 (β=0.300; P<.001), and SMF at T1 positively predicted SMF at T2 (β=0.351; P<.001). Additionally, FoMO at T1 positively predicted SMF at T2 (β=0.067; P=.003), and SMF at T1 positively predicted FoMO at T2 (β=0.156; P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS: There is a bidirectional relationship between FoMO and SMF among college students, suggesting a mutual influence over each other and that this relationship perpetuates a negative cycle. These findings further extend existing research and provide insights for developing mental health programs for college students.

PMID:40680183 | DOI:10.2196/75701

JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2025 Jul 18;11:e72590. doi: 10.2196/72590.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Caring for individuals with rare diseases (RDs) presents unique challenges that can significantly impact caregivers’ quality of life (QoL). The World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) is a widely used tool for assessing QoL across different populations.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the QoL of caregivers of individuals with RDs and evaluates the psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-BREF in this population.

METHODS: A self-administered, anonymous, computer-assisted web-based survey was conducted among family caregivers of individuals with RDs in Poland between March and August 2024. Due to the lack of a national registry of patients with RDs, participants were recruited through convenience sampling via associations, foundations, and organizations of patients with RDs. Eligibility criteria included being 18 years and older of age, speaking Polish, being a caregiver of a person with a confirmed RD diagnosis, and providing informed consent. The survey included sociodemographic questions and the Polish version of the WHOQOL-BREF, which assesses QoL across 4 domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach α, and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the instrument’s structural validity.

RESULTS: A total of 942 caregivers of individuals with various RDs participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the 4-domain structure, with further improvement in a finally modified WHOQOL-BREF model (χ2243=1043.0; P<.001; Comparative Fit Index=0.919; Tucker-Lewis Index=0.907; root-mean-square error of approximation=0.059). Internal consistency was satisfactory, with Cronbach α values ranging from 0.70 (social relationships) to 0.84 (psychological health). Mean domain scores on a scale of 0-100 were 50.2 (SE 0.59; physical health), 54.9 (SE 0.59; psychological health), 51.3 (SE 0.67; social relationships), and 52.1 (SE 0.56; environment), with minimal floor and ceiling effects (≤1.4%) across domains. Younger female caregivers reported significantly lower psychological health (eg, mean 43.6, SE 0.59 vs mean 59.9, SE 10.0 for younger male caregivers) and social relationships (mean 39.3, SE 3.34 vs mean 55.0, SE 4.75) well-being compared to other groups. Exactly 151 (16%) of caregivers rated their overall QoL as poor or very poor, and 289 (30.7%) were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their health, with female caregivers reporting more dissatisfaction (n=263, 32.4%) than male caregivers (n=26, 20%). Overall, our findings demonstrate the robust psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-BREF among caregivers of people with RDs and provide domain-specific normative data to guide future research and interventions.

CONCLUSIONS: The WHOQOL-BREF is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing QoL among caregivers of individuals with RDs, though the social relationship domain may require further refinement. Caregivers experience varying QoL outcomes depending on demographic factors, highlighting the need for targeted support interventions. Future research should explore cultural adaptations and potential supplementary modules to enhance the instrument’s applicability in caregiver populations.

PMID:40680179 | DOI:10.2196/72590

Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2025 Jul 18:ezaf241. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezaf241. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the outcome of a frail patients electively treated for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) by open surgery with enhanced repair protocol (OSER) or endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR).

METHODS: A retrospective study on frail AAA patients treated by EVAR and OSER was conducted. Patients were defined as frail if presenting a normalized total psoas muscle area (nTPA) <500 mm2/m2. This study aimed to evaluate the association between sarcopenia and AAA-related as well as all-cause mortality rates. Secondary outcomes included reinterventions, operative time, blood transfusion, length of ICU and postoperative hospital stay.

RESULTS: A total of 403 patients were included in the study, of which 122 (30.3%) had a nTPA < 500mm2/m2. Among them, 272 (67.5%) patients were treated with EVAR while 131 (32.5%) with OSER. Although EVAR was more frequently performed in sarcopenic patients than OSER (p < 0.001), there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of intraoperative and postoperative outcomes. Likewise, no statistically significant differences were found regarding mortality and reintervention rates at Kaplan-Meier analysis. However, sarcopenic patients undergoing OSER exhibited a significantly higher all-cause mortality rate at 1 month (p = 0.031) and cumulative follow-up (p = 0.004) compared to all other subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS: the present experience demonstrates that less invasive approaches, but surgical or endovascular, are viable for AAA patients with no significant difference in intraoperative and immediate postoperative outcomes. Nevertheless, the potential of EVAR as a preferred strategy should be considered for frail patients based on ascertained sarcopenia.

PMID:40680178 | DOI:10.1093/ejcts/ezaf241

J Med Internet Res. 2025 Jul 18;27:e68200. doi: 10.2196/68200.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Protecting public health depends on the effective communication of health-related information to the public, especially during public health emergencies. Health communication campaigns traditionally relied on mass media outlets but increasingly incorporate social media platforms. This paper presents a content analysis of original communications posted to X (formerly Twitter) by the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) from May 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023, a time characterized by the concurrent COVID-19 pandemic and mpox epidemic public health emergencies.

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to investigate: (1) what information was being discussed by CDPH, (2) how information was presented, (3) the nature of communications, and (4) the impact of communication attributes on engagement. Secondary objectives included investigating the correlation between mpox cases and mpox-related communications and using a bioethical risk communication framework to characterize the intent of mpox-related communications.

METHODS: Original communications posted by the CDPH from May 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023, were collected. Communication attributes including the date and time of posting, the communication text, accompanying media, text in image-based accompanying media, and the language of the text were extracted at the time of collection. A total of 2 researchers independently reviewed the communications using a coding schema that was developed to codify the health topics and the bioethical framework to codify the intent of mpox-related communications. Percent agreement and Cohen kappa were used to establish intercoder reliability. Negative binomial regressions were used to investigate the impact of attributes on public engagement. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to measure the strength and direction of the correlation between the weekly number of mpox cases and the number of weekly mpox-related communications.

RESULTS: A total of 1105 original communications were posted, a majority of which discussed communicable diseases (n=539, 51.8%), were posted in English (n=801, 72.5%), during the standard workday (n=1003, 90.8%), and with additional media (n=839, 75.9%). All communications were proactive in nature, and none directly responded to other accounts. Regression analysis suggested that communications posted during the workday (event rate ratio [ERR]=1.25) and those with images (ERR=2.59) or videos (ERR=2.40) received significantly higher levels of engagement, as did those discussing maternal and child health (ERR=2.35), mental health (ERR=1.48), and substance use (ERR=1.61). Communications discussing communicable diseases were not among the health topics with higher levels of engagement. Communications posted exclusively in Spanish received significantly lower levels of engagement (ERR=0.67). In addition, mpox-related communications were positively correlated with reported mpox cases at a significant level, and most mpox-related communications sought to inform the public (n=60, 60.6%), as opposed to influence behavior (n=39, 39.4%).

CONCLUSIONS: Social media platforms can represent valuable tools for risk communication during public health emergencies but should supplement other dissemination vehicles that may be more appropriate for communicating nuanced information, achieving behavior change, and reaching certain demographic groups.

PMID:40680161 | DOI:10.2196/68200

J Crohns Colitis. 2025 Jul 18:jjaf131. doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjaf131. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Outcomes of patients admitted with acute severe ulcerative colitis(ASUC) in the post biologic era are under explored, as well as ability of scoring indices to predict early steroid non-response.

METHODS: This Retrospective cohort study included adults hospitalized with ASUC(2010-2022) at London Health Sciences Centre, Canada. Steroid response, need for rescue therapy, colectomy during index hospitalization and colectomy and hospitalization at 3- and 12-months following discharge was assessed. Logistic regression identified predictors of steroid non-response, defined as need for rescue therapy or colectomy during hospitalization.

RESULTS: Of 261 adults hospitalized with ASUC(male : 51.7%, mean age : 40.6 years), 71.2% had extensive colitis. After intravenous corticosteroid therapy during index admission, 55.7%(n = 147) had response, 37.9%(n = 99) received rescue therapy (infliximab: 98, tofacitinib: 1 and cyclosporine: 0), and 8%(21/261) underwent colectomy. Additionally, 11.6%(28/240) of patients discharged from hospital underwent colectomy within the first 12 months (8.3% at 3-months and 3.3% between 3-12 months). There was no difference between steroid responders and steroid non-responders for colectomy(11%vs12.6%) or hospitalization(33.5%vs32.6%) at 12 months. The overall cumulative probabilities of colectomy of entire cohort at 1 year, 3 years and 5 years were 13.5%, 16.1%, and 17.4%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, Day-3 Oxford criteria was the only factor found to be statistically significant in predicting steroid non-response(odds ratio 4.70, 95%CI [1.06-20.80]).

CONCLUSIONS: Day-3 Oxford criteria was an independent predictor of steroid non-response. The risk of colectomy remains substantial after discharge despite low in-hospital colectomy rate following an episode of ASUC. Initial steroid response did not affect long-term colectomy rate at 12 months.

PMID:40680157 | DOI:10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjaf131

Microb Genom. 2025 Jul;11(7). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001439.

ABSTRACT

Chitin is a highly abundant biopolymer of bioeconomic, biochemical and commercial importance. This carbohydrate is a source of nutrients for chitinolytic bacteria and can influence natural competence, surface adsorption and other fundamental aspects of prokaryote physiology. Bacterial enzymatic degradation of chitin is mediated by a well-studied set of hydrolytic enzymes, transcriptional regulators and carbohydrate transport proteins. Many of these gene products have been functionally characterized in vitro or in vivo, but there is a reliance on in silico genomic approaches to study the variation of these metabolic components amongst diverse bacteria. Computational surveys of bacterial genomes to date have tended to focus on determining the presence and absence of chitin metabolism genes in diverse genomes, but not on the diversity of sequences amongst these gene families. To enable future research into chitin metabolism variation in vibrios and other bacteria, we present ChiVariARIBA, a workflow for extracting chitin metabolism genes from published genome sequences of chitinolytic Vibrio species and their relatives, compatible with the rapid gene-finding and variant-characterizing tool ARIBA, with which to describe the presence of chitin-metabolising genes in genomes of interest and to characterize the sequence variation of these genes across diverse bacteria.

PMID:40679853 | DOI:10.1099/mgen.0.001439

JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jul 1;8(7):e2521902. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.21902.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Hypertension contributes to US maternal-infant morbidity and mortality, with potential attenuation from breastfeeding. Little is known regarding breastfeeding outcomes among mother-infant dyads exposed to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP).

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the extent to which HDP is associated with never breastfeeding and the time to breastfeeding cessation among postpartum women in the US.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used nationally representative data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). Participants included women from 43 US states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico who had a live birth between January 2016 and November 2022. Complete data for HDP exposure, outcomes of breastfeeding noninitiation or cessation, and all covariates were included in the analysis, performed from October to December 2024.

EXPOSURE: Self-reported high blood pressure or hypertension, preeclampsia, or eclampsia before or during pregnancy.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Odds of never breastfeeding, hazard of breastfeeding cessation, and median time to breastfeeding cessation, adjusted for sociodemographic and maternal-infant health covariates.

RESULTS: Of 205 247 women (weighted number, 10 915 302), mean (SD) age was 30.0 (5.8) years; 99.0% were first-time mothers; 54.0% had private and 40.0% had Medicaid insurance; and 91.0% delivered a term infant. HDP and breastfeeding initiation were reported by approximately 17.0% and 88.0% of women, respectively. Adjusting for covariates, HDP was associated with higher odds of never breastfeeding (adjusted odds ratio, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.05-1.18), and among those who breastfed, a higher adjusted hazard of breastfeeding cessation (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.14-1.21). The median time to breastfeeding cessation among those with HDP was 17 weeks shorter than among those without HDP (unadjusted median duration, 17 [IQR, 5.0 to >46.7] vs 34 [IQR, 9.0 to >46.7] weeks).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study representing more than 10 million US postpartum women, HDP was associated with higher odds of never breastfeeding and a higher hazard of breastfeeding cessation. Studies to understand the potential mechanisms of this association are required to develop targeted breastfeeding support strategies for individuals with HDP.

PMID:40679825 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.21902