Medical and Research Library News

Happy New Year!

Training opportunities
Websites and reports on trending topics
Journal articles of note

Training opportunities

Note: The following webinars and online classes are not affiliated with DSHS or the DSHS Library. They are presented here as opportunities to learn more information of interest to public health personnel. All times listed are in Central Daylight Time.

January 10, 2023; 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Pandemic Preparedness: Accelerating the Discovery of New Therapeutics. The COVID-19 pandemic showed how poorly prepared we were to deal with a newly emerging respiratory virus. Antiviral drugs with the appropriate spectrum of activity can protect against a new pandemic threat until a vaccine can be developed and deployed. Drugs should be suitable for post-exposure prophylaxis or treatment of mild disease, possess oral activity with a good safety profile, have a low cost of goods, and be easy to deliver and suitable for combination. This presentation from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will provide a perspective on pandemic preparedness, the approaches that are being taken to tackle this problem, and the need to ensure equitable access to any drugs that are developed.

January 11, 2023; 10-11 a.m. Creativity, Ideation, and Engagement: How a Grant Idea is Formed. Forming partnerships, thinking of grant ideas, and finding the time to execute projects can feel daunting, especially when it isn’t clear where to start. This session from the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) will walk through a practical process of identifying grant ideas, provide real-life examples, and explore learned insights. Together, we will demystify the creative process and gain confidence in building a grant that works for everyone’s situation.

January 17, 2023; 11 a.m.–12 p.m. Analysis of Count Data in Medical and Social Sciences: An Application to Smoking Among Students. The goal of this webinar, presented by the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, is to introduce count data regression models in the medical and social sciences. First, we will see what count data are and some examples analyzed in the literature. Second, we will introduce some of the most useful count data regression models, explaining their drawbacks and advantages. Simultaneously, we will see, using free statistical software, how to estimate these models, how to select the "best" model or models using various criteria, how to interpret the estimates, and how to report the results directly in word processor format. In short, the objective is to arouse in some of you interest in this type of methodology so that you can implement it in the realization or direction of end-of-degree projects, doctoral theses, and research articles.

January 19, 2023; 12-1 p.m. Breastfeeding and Incarceration. Join the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Maternal and Infant team and breastfeeding professionals for a webinar addressing lactation education and support for incarcerated persons. Experts will address the power of breastmilk and how that positively impacts the incarcerated population. 

Websites and reports on trending topics

The Cochrane Library - This library resource consists of a collection of evidence-based medicine databases, including the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. It provides up-to-date information on the effects of interventions in health care and evidence to support decisions taken in health care and to inform those receiving care. Search for systematic reviews, protocols, trials, methods studies, and more.

Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN): Findings From Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits, 2021 - An analysis of final 2021 DAWN data presents: (1) nationally representative weighted estimates, including percent and unadjusted rates per 100,000, for all drug-related ED visits, (2) nationally representative weighted estimates for the top five drugs in drug-related ED visits, (3) the assessment of monthly trends and drugs involved in polysubstance ED visits in a subset of sentinel hospitals, and (4) the identification of drugs new to DAWN’s Drug Reference Vocabulary.

eBooks at EBSCOhost – This TexShare resource offers the full text of thousands of fiction and nonfiction books on a variety of topics. It also hosts the ebook titles that the DSHS library has purchased. When logged in through DSHS, you will find the Library’s ebooks on public health and management topics in addition to the titles TexShare provides. Please contact the library for remote access options.

Journal of Public Health Management and Practice - Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey 2021 Supplement – This special supplement presents a collection of articles that underscores the actionable data that the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey provides for the governmental public health workforce, which is particularly important in a time of change related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Journal articles of note

Luckhaupt SE, Horter L, Groenewold MR, et al. COVID-19 outbreaks linked to workplaces, 23 US jurisdictions, August-October 2021 [published online ahead of print, 2022 Dec 8]. Public Health Rep. doi:10.1177/00333549221138294
Abstract
Objectives: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, several outbreaks were linked with facilities employing essential workers, such as long-term care facilities and meat and poultry processing facilities. However, timely national data on which workplace settings were experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks were unavailable through routine surveillance systems. We estimated the number of US workplace outbreaks of COVID-19 and identified the types of workplace settings in which they occurred from August-October 2021.
Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected data from health departments on workplace COVID-19 outbreaks from August through October 2021: the number of workplace outbreaks, by workplace setting, and the total number of cases among workers linked to these outbreaks. Health departments also reported the number of workplaces they assisted for outbreak response, COVID-19 testing, vaccine distribution, or consultation on mitigation strategies.
Results: Twenty-three health departments reported a total of 12,660 workplaces COVID-19 outbreaks. Among the 12,470 workplace types that were documented, 35.9% (n = 4474) of outbreaks occurred in healthcare settings, 33.4% (n = 4170) in educational settings, and 30.7% (n = 3826) in other work settings, including non-food manufacturing, correctional facilities, social services, retail trade, and food and beverage stores. Eleven health departments that reported 3859 workplace outbreaks provided information about workplace assistance: 3090 (80.1%) instances of assistance involved consultation on COVID-19 mitigation strategies, 1912 (49.5%) involved outbreak response, 436 (11.3%) involved COVID-19 testing, and 185 (4.8%) involved COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
Conclusions: These findings underscore the continued impact of COVID-19 among workers, the potential for work-related transmission, and the need to apply layered prevention strategies recommended by public health officials.

Ream MA, Lam WKK, Grosse SD, et al. Evidence and recommendation for mucopolysaccharidosis type II newborn screening in the United States [published online ahead of print, 2022 Nov 29]. Genet Med. 2022. doi:10.1016/j.gim.2022.10.012
Abstract
Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II), also known as Hunter syndrome, is an X-linked condition caused by pathogenic variants in the iduronate-2-sulfatase gene. The resulting reduced activity of the enzyme iduronate-2-sulfatase leads to the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans that can progressively affect multiple organ systems and impair neurologic development. In 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration approved idursulfase for intravenous enzyme replacement therapy for MPS II. After the data suggesting that early treatment is beneficial became available, 2 states, Illinois and Missouri, implemented MPS II newborn screening. Following a recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children in February 2022, in August 2022, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services added MPS II to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel, a list of conditions recommended for newborn screening. MPS II was added to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel after a systematic evidence review reported the accuracy of screening, the benefit of presymptomatic treatment compared with usual case detection, and the feasibility of implementing MPS II newborn screening. This manuscript summarizes the findings of the evidence review that informed the Advisory Committee's decision.

Schraw JM, Benjamin RH, Shumate CJ, et al. Patterns of co-occurring birth defects in children with anotia and microtia [published online ahead of print, 2022 Dec 21]. Am J Med Genet A. 2022. doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.63081
Abstract
Many infants with anotia or microtia (A/M) have co-occurring birth defects, although few receive syndromic diagnoses in the perinatal period. Evaluation of co-occurring birth defects in children with A/M could identify patterns indicative of undiagnosed/unrecognized syndromes. We obtained information on co-occurring birth defects among infants with A/M for delivery years 1999-2014 from the Texas Birth Defects Registry. We calculated observed-to-expected ratios (OER) to identify birth defect combinations that occurred more often than expected by chance. We excluded children diagnosed with genetic or chromosomal syndromes from analyses. Birth defects and syndromes/associations diagnosed ≤1 year of age were considered. We identified 1310 infants with non-syndromic A/M, of whom 38% (N = 492) were diagnosed with co-occurring major defects. Top combinations included: hydrocephalus, ventricular septal defect, and spinal anomalies (OER 58.4); microphthalmia and anomalies of the aorta (OER 55.4); and cleft lip with or without cleft palate and rib or sternum anomalies (OER 32.8). Some combinations observed in our study may represent undiagnosed/atypical presentations of known A/M associations or syndromes, or novel syndromes yet to be described in the literature. Careful evaluation of infants with multiple birth defects including A/M is warranted to identify individuals with potential genetic or chromosomal syndromes.

Weber KA, Yang W, Carmichael SL, et al. Assessing associations between residential proximity to greenspace and birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Environ Res. 2023;216(Pt 3):114760. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.114760
Abstract
Background: Residential proximity to greenspace is associated with various health outcomes.
Objectives: We estimated associations between maternal residential proximity to greenspace (based on an index of vegetation) and selected structural birth defects, including effect modification by neighborhood-level factors.
Methods: Data were from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (1997-2011) and included 19,065 infants with at least one eligible birth defect (cases) and 8925 without birth defects (controls) from eight Centers throughout the United States. Maternal participants reported their addresses throughout pregnancy. Each address was systematically geocoded and residences around conception were linked to greenspace, US Census, and US Department of Agriculture data. Greenspace was estimated using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI); average maximum NDVI was estimated within 100 m and 500 m concentric buffers surrounding geocoded addresses to estimate residential NDVI. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals comparing those in the highest and lowest quartiles of residential NDVI and stratifying by rural/urban residence and neighborhood median income.
Results: After multivariable adjustment, for the 500 m buffer, inverse associations were observed for tetralogy of Fallot, secundum atrial septal defects, anencephaly, anotia/microtia, cleft lip ± cleft palate, transverse limb deficiency, and omphalocele, (aORs: 0.54-0.86). Results were similar for 100 m buffer analyses and similar patterns were observed for other defects, though results were not significant. Significant heterogeneity was observed after stratification by rural/urban for hypoplastic left heart, coarctation of the aorta, and cleft palate, with inverse associations only among participants residing in rural areas. Stratification by median income showed heterogeneity for atrioventricular and secundum atrial septal defects, anencephaly, and anorectal atresia, with inverse associations only among participants residing in a high-income neighborhood (aORs: 0.45-0.81).
Discussion: Our results suggest that perinatal residential proximity to more greenspace may contribute to a reduced risk of certain birth defects, especially among those living in rural or high-income neighborhoods.

For more information, employees may email the Medical and Research Library at library@dshs.texas.gov to receive research assistance, learn how to access electronic materials, or to obtain the full text of articles mentioned in this month’s news.

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Training opportunities
Websites and reports on trending topics
Journal articles of note

Training opportunities

Note: The following webinars and online classes are not affiliated with DSHS or the DSHS Library. They are presented here as opportunities to learn more information of interest to public health personnel. All times listed are in Central Daylight Time.

December 7, 2022; 1-2 p.m. How Health Centers Can Take Action to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes. This webinar will provide an overview of the National Diabetes Prevention Program, how health centers can identify people at risk, and how they can help their patients get the support they need to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes is a high-risk condition for developing chronic diseases, and health centers are an ideal location for identifying individuals at risk for type 2 diabetes, screening those individuals for eligibility in a CDC-recognized diabetes prevention program, and referring them to care. Presented by The National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH).

December 12, 2022; 12-1 p.m. Reaching Gen Z: Engaging Young Audiences in Public Health. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) will host a virtual conversation on effective communication strategies for rebuilding trust in public health and engaging Gen Z as public health advocates. This webinar will detail the importance of public health messaging, social media, outreach and engagement and data; provide tips and advice for creating new or updating existing crisis communications plans; and share information on tools and resources to assist public health leaders and health communicators in combating misinformation and disinformation.

December 14, 2022; 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Discovering Antibodies in Months: New Advances in HT-SPR, Single-cell BCR-seq and RNA-seq. Join this webinar to hear experts share a robust method for antigen-specific antibody identification, including current industry advances. They will explain cell types, cell states, and developmental workflows using BCR-seq or scRNA-seq, and discuss how high-throughput biophysical screening, epitope binning, and mapping are allowing therapeutic candidate selection from crude samples. Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

December 21, 2022; 12-1 p.m. Anxiety and Depression: Screening and Intervention within an Integrated Care Setting. This webinar will state the prevalence of anxiety and major depressive disorder in the United States with respect to gender, ethnicity, and age​, review recent USPSTF recommendations regarding anxiety screening​, identify comorbidities associated with anxiety and major depression​, orient participants to the PHQ-9, (PHQ-3) and GAD-7, and identify intervention strategies within an integrated care setting. Presented by the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) Behavioral Health (BH) Technical Assistance (TA).

Websites and reports on trending topics

Community Engagement: An Essential Component of an Effective and Equitable Substance Use Prevention System - Community engagement is often cited as a tool to improve the health of the community and its members. This guide from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will review evidence related to leveraging community engagement to support the implementation and scale-up of evidence-based programs and policies.

FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) - The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) is a highly interactive web-based tool that contains information on adverse event and medication error reports submitted to FDA.

Partnerships Between Public Health and Public Safety to Reduce Drug Overdoses – This special supplement from the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice highlights practical information for those who design and implement programs. The articles illustrate the range of work and actors that contribute to these efforts, along with how PH/PS partnerships can contribute to a reduction in overdose deaths.

STAT!Ref - This DSHS Medical and Research Library resource provides full-text access to key medical reference sources. It includes Red Book, AMA coding manuals, medical dictionaries, drug guides, and many other medical reference books.

Journal Articles of Note

Betancourt D, Canfield MA, Ethen MK, et al. Connecting children with birth defects to health and social service programs: A collaboration between the Texas Birth Defects Registry and agency social workers. [published online ahead of print, 2022 Nov 14]. Birth Defects Res. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.2126
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Timely referral to services for children born with birth defects can improve health outcomes. Birth defects surveillance registries may be a valuable data source for connecting children to health and social service programs.
METHODS: Population-based, state-wide data from the Texas Birth Defects Registry (TBDR) at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) were used to connect children 9-18 months old, born with select birth defects with DSHS social workers. The social workers reviewed developmental milestones and referred children and their families to various health and social service programs. We tabulated the proportions of children meeting milestones and referral characteristics by referral program type and type of birth defect.
RESULTS: Social workers reached 67% (909/1,362) of identified families. Over half of children (54%, 488/909) were not meeting the developmental milestones for their age. Social workers provided over 3,000 program referrals, including referring 21% (194/909) of children to Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) and 28% (257/909) to case management.
CONCLUSION: Our results illustrate a method of leveraging a birth defects surveillance system for referral services. Given the large number of referrals made, our findings suggest that birth defects registries can be a valuable source of data for referring children to programs.

Jafry MZ, Reuven SM, Britton M, et al. Providers' non-cigarette tobacco use intervention practices in relation to beliefs about patients, prioritization of and skills for intervention, and referral knowledge in Texas healthcare centers providing care to persons with behavioral health needs. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(21):14269. doi:10.3390/ijerph192114269
ABSTRACT
Rates of non-cigarette (colloquially, other) tobacco use is elevated among adults with behavioral health conditions. Little is known about whether behavioral health providers are using brief interventions, including the evidence-based 5As (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange) for other tobacco use, or what provider factors may be associated with use of these interventions. The current study redressed this gap. Overall, 86 providers in Texas (9 Federally Qualified Health Centers, 16 Local Mental Health Authorities (LMHAs) that provide a broad range of mental and behavioral health services, 6 substance use treatment programs in LMHAs, and 55 stand-alone substance use treatment programs) took a survey assessing their beliefs regarding (1) patients' concerns about other tobacco use; (2) their desire to quit; (3) importance of intervening on other tobacco use with cessation counseling; (4) perceived skills to intervene; (5) knowledge of referral options for treatment. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between each factor and use of the 5As. Results showed that 70.9% of providers asked patients about other tobacco use status, 65.1% advised them to quit, 59.3% assessed quit interest, 54.7% assisted with a quit attempt, and 31.4% arranged a follow-up. Providers who believed patients were concerned about other tobacco use, recognized the importance of offering other tobacco use cessation counseling, believed they had the necessary skills to treat other tobacco use, and possessed knowledge of referral options, respectively, were more likely to deliver the 5As (ps < 0.05). Results add to a limited literature on provider intervention practices for other tobacco use in settings where behavioral health care is provided, highlighting the significance of provider beliefs, perceived skills, and referral knowledge to care delivery. Findings reveal opportunities to increase delivery of the 5As for other tobacco use to behavioral health patients and suggest provider factors that could be targeted to build this capacity.

Kharrazi M, Sacramento C, Comeau AM, et al. Missed cystic fibrosis newborn screening cases due to immunoreactive trypsinogen levels below program cutoffs: A national survey of risk factors. Int J Neonatal Screen. 2022;8(4):58. Published 2022 Oct 27.
doi:10.3390/ijns8040058
ABSTRACT
Testing immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT) is the first step in cystic fibrosis (CF) newborn screening. While high IRT is associated with CF, some cases are missed. This survey aimed to find factors associated with missed CF cases due to IRT levels below program cutoffs. Twenty-nine states responded to a U.S-wide survey and 13 supplied program-related data for low IRT false screen negative cases (CFFN) and CF true screen positive cases (CFTP) for analysis. Rates of missed CF cases and odds ratios were derived for each factor in CFFNs, and two CFFN subgroups, IRT above ("high") and below ("low") the CFFN median (39 ng/mL) compared to CFTPs for this entire sample set. Factors associated with "high" CFFN subgroup were Black race, higher IRT cutoff, fixed IRT cutoff, genotypes without two known CF-causing variants, and meconium ileus. Factors associated with "low" CFFN subgroup were older age at specimen collection, Saturday birth, hotter season of newborn dried blood spot collection, maximum ≥ 3 days laboratories could be closed, preterm birth, and formula feeding newborns. Lowering IRT cutoffs may reduce "high" IRT CFFNs. Addressing hospital and laboratory factors (like training staff in collection of blood spots, using insulated containers during transport and reducing consecutive days screening laboratories are closed) may reduce "low" IRT CFFNs.

Marengo LK, Archer N, Shumate C, Canfield MA, Drummond-Borg M. Survival of infants and children born with severe microcephaly, Texas, 1999-2015 [published online ahead of print, 2022 Nov 8]. Birth Defects Res. 2022. doi:10.1002/bdr2.2109
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Severe microcephaly is a brain reduction defect where the delivery head circumference is <3rd percentile for gestational age and sex with subsequent lifelong morbidities. Our objective was to evaluate survival among 2,704 Texas infants with severe microcephaly delivered 1999-2015.
METHODS: Infants with severe microcephaly from the Texas Birth Defects Registry were linked to death certificates and the national death index. Survival estimates, hazard ratios (HR) and confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards models stratified by presence versus absence of co-occurring defects.
RESULTS: We identified 496 deaths by age 4 years; most (42.9%) occurred in the neonatal period, and another 39.9% died by 1 year of age. Overall infant survival was 84.8%. Lowest infant survival subgroups included those with chromosomal/syndromic conditions (66.1%), very preterm deliveries (63.9%), or co-occurring critical congenital heart defects (44.0%). Among infants with severe microcephaly and a chromosomal/syndromic co-occurring defect, the risk of death was nearly three-fold higher among those with: proportionate microcephaly (i.e., small baby overall), relative to non-proportionate (HR = 2.84, 95% CI = 2.17-3.71); low-birthweight relative to normal (HR = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.92-3.85); critical congenital heart defects (CCHD) relative to no CCHD (HR = 2.90, 95% CI = 2.20-3.80). Trisomies were a leading underlying cause of death (27.5%).
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, infants with severe microcephaly had high 4-year survival rates which varied by the presence of co-occurring defects. Infants with co-occurring chromosomal/syndromic anomalies have a higher risk of death by age one than those without any co-occurring birth defects.

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Training opportunities
Websites and reports on trending topics
Journal articles of note

Training opportunities

Note: The following webinars and online classes are not affiliated with DSHS or the DSHS Library. They are presented here as opportunities to learn more information of interest to public health personnel. All times listed are in Central Daylight Time.

November 2, 2022; 12-1 p.m. Improving Health Through Nature. This talk, presented by the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, will examine the growing body of evidence examining the relationship between improved health and well-being and time spent in nature. Topics will include dose, measuring nature exposure, health benefits, and potential pathways through which nature improves health. The development of evidence-based interventions to increase time in nature, particularly those that address health disparities will also be covered.

November 9, 2022; 1-2 p.m. Concurrent Treatment of Smoking Cessation and Substance Use Disorder in Primary Care. Join the National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH) and the National Nurse-led Care Consortium (NNCC) in a webinar focused on strategies to support smoking cessation and substance use disorder (SUD) in primary care for residents of public housing. Speakers will present gaps in knowledge regarding policy related to public housing and smoking, more recently around the increased use and concern of vaping. Subject matter experts will discuss the importance of clinical interaction, readiness to change, and implementation of motivational interviewing in mental health treatment while addressing substance use disorder.

November 10, 2022; 11 a.m.-12 p.m. The Profoundly Personal Side of Rare Disease: Humanizing the Therapeutic Journey of Patients. How best to support patients with a rare disease is ill-defined. Medical teams, especially doctors, are often insufficiently trained to explain to patients that they do not have the answers—or even know how to get them. Healthcare systems are not equipped to provide the psychological and social support patients need. Genetic counseling is complex in the setting of undiagnosed patients. Layered on this is the complexity of supporting the mental or physical disabilities that many patients with a rare disease must manage, whether they have a diagnosis or not. The humanistic support of patients with rare diseases and their families’ needs to improve. In this webinar from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), you will hear from experts who struggle with these issues and can provide guidance on how to do better.

November 11, 2022; 12-1 p.m. Busting the Myths: Smoking Cessation for Individuals with Psychiatric Disorders. Smoking is an important concern for psychiatrists and their patients. Data shows that about 1 person in 5 in the general population smokes or uses tobacco products and that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Patients with mental illness have a higher rate of smoking than the base population and smoke twice as many cigarettes as smokers without mental illness. The good news is that more approaches, both pharmacologic and psychosocial, are available now to help people, including psychiatric patients, stop smoking. This webinar from the National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH) will discuss how to refute myths surrounding tobacco use, examine the challenges posed by individuals with behavioral health issues trying to stop smoking, and provide smoking cessation strategies for clinicians helping patients with behavioral health issues.

Websites and reports on trending topics

Family-Focused Interventions to Prevent Substance Use Disorders in Adolescence - Explore resources from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to learn about promising family-focused interventions in primary care settings that can prevent adolescents from developing substance use disorders later in life. Adolescence is a crucial life stage for intervention, as youth who do not use substances are less likely to suffer from substance use disorders as adults. They are also more likely to graduate from high school and less likely to experience depression and anxiety.

Health Affairs: Special Issue on Disability and Health - On October 3, 2022, Health Affairs published a theme issue on disability and health. This open-access issue includes original research, analyses, and commentaries that provide a multidimensional perspective on disability and health.

PolicyMap - This mapping tool provided by the Public Health Digital Library (PHDL) allows users to dig deeper into place-based data and gain insights to help find solutions to the most tractable issues. It combines extensive data indicators with a contemporary, state-of-the-art mapping platform and expanded analytics. As a PHDL consortium member, the DSHS Medical and Research Library provides this tool and many other public health information resources. Access is available through the PHDL portal. First-time users will need to register with their DSHS email.

ProQuest Ebook Central – ProQuest Ebook Central is a science and technology ebook collection. It offers more than 28,000 eBooks spanning coverage in all science and technology topics with a focus on computers and IT, engineering, life and physical sciences, and math. Register here to create an account for access.

The State of Mental Health in America 2023 Report - Mental Health America (MHA) recently released its annual State of Mental Health in America report which provides a snapshot of mental health status among youth and adults for policy and program planning, analysis, and evaluation; tracks changes in the prevalence of mental health issues and access to mental health care; and seeks to understand how changes in national data reflect the impact of legislation and policies

Journal articles of note

Anderson EJ, Creech CB, Berthaud V, et al. Evaluation of mRNA-1273 vaccine in children 6 months to 5 years of age [published online ahead of print, 2022 Oct 19]. N Engl J Med. 2022; doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2209367
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The safety, reactogenicity, immunogenicity, and efficacy of the mRNA-1273 coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine in young children are unknown.
METHODS: Part 1 of this ongoing phase 2-3 trial was open-label for dose selection; part 2 was an observer-blinded, placebo-controlled evaluation of the selected dose. In part 2, we randomly assigned young children (6 months to 5 years of age) in a 3:1 ratio to receive two 25-μg injections of mRNA-1273 or placebo, administered 28 days apart. The primary objectives were to evaluate the safety and reactogenicity of the vaccine and to determine whether the immune response in these children was non-inferior to that in young adults (18 to 25 years of age) in a related phase 3 trial. Secondary objectives were to determine the incidences of Covid-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection after administration of mRNA-1273 or placebo.
RESULTS: On the basis of safety and immunogenicity results in part 1 of the trial, the 25-μg dose was evaluated in part 2. In part 2, 3040 children 2 to 5 years of age and 1762 children 6 to 23 months of age were randomly assigned to receive two 25-μg injections of mRNA-1273; 1008 children 2 to 5 years of age and 593 children 6 to 23 months of age were randomly assigned to receive placebo. The median duration of follow-up after the second injection was 71 days in the 2-to-5-year-old cohort and 68 days in the 6-to-23-month-old cohort. Adverse events were mainly low-grade and transient, and no new safety concerns were identified. At day 57, neutralizing antibody geometric mean concentrations were 1410 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1272 to 1563) among 2-to-5-year-olds and 1781 (95% CI, 1616 to 1962) among 6-to-23-month-olds, as compared with 1391 (95% CI, 1263 to 1531) among young adults, who had received 100-μg injections of mRNA-1273, findings that met the noninferiority criteria for immune responses for both age cohorts. The estimated vaccine efficacy against Covid-19 was 36.8% (95% CI, 12.5 to 54.0) among 2-to-5-year-olds and 50.6% (95% CI, 21.4 to 68.6) among 6-to-23-month-olds, at a time when B.1.1.529 (omicron) was the predominant circulating variant.
CONCLUSIONS: Two 25-μg doses of the mRNA-1273 vaccine were found to be safe in children 6 months to 5 years of age and elicited immune responses that were non-inferior to those in young adults.

Benjamin RH, Canfield MA, Marengo LK, Agopian AJ. Contribution of preterm birth to mortality among neonates with birth defects [published online ahead of print, 2022 Oct 10]. J Pediatr. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.10.002
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of neonatal mortality risk attributable to preterm delivery among neonates with birth defects.
STUDY DESIGN: Using a statewide cohort of live born infants from the Texas Birth Defects Registry (1999-2014 deliveries), we estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of neonatal mortality (death <28 days) attributable to prematurity (birth at <37 weeks versus ≥37 weeks) for 31 specific birth defects. To better understand the overall population burden, analyses were repeated for all birth defects combined.
RESULTS: Our analyses included 169,148 neonates with birth defects, of which 40,872 (24.2%) were delivered preterm. The estimated proportion of neonatal mortality attributable to prematurity varied by birth defect, ranging from 12.5% (95% CI: 8.7-16.1) for hypoplastic left heart syndrome to 71.9% (95% CI: 41.1-86.6) for anotia or microtia. Overall, the proportion was 51.7% (95% CI: 49.4-54.0) for all birth defects combined.
CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of deaths among neonates with birth defects are attributable to preterm delivery; our results highlight differences in this burden across common birth defects. Our findings may be helpful for prioritizing future work focused on better understanding the etiology of prematurity among neonates with birth defects and the mechanisms by which prematurity contributes to neonatal mortality in this population.

Jacks BE, Ekpemiro CU, Adeosun AA, et al. Molecular markers of pancreatic cancer: A 10-year retrospective review of molecular advances. Cureus. 2022;14(9). doi:10.7759/cureus.29485
Pancreatic cancer remains the third leading cause of death among men and women in the United States. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most common type of pancreatic cancer maintains its reputation of being the most aggressive with a poor prognosis. One of the contributing factors to the high mortality of PDAC is the absence of biomarkers for the early detection of disease and the complexity of tumor biology and genomics. In this review, we explored the current understanding of epigenetics and diagnostic biomarkers in PDAC and summarized recent advances in molecular biology. We discussed current guidelines on diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, especially in high-risk individuals. We also reviewed studies that have touched on identifying biomarkers and the role they play in making early diagnosis although there are currently no screening tools for PDAC. We explored the recent understanding of epigenetic alterations of PDAC and the future implications for early detection and prognosis. In conclusion, the new and emerging advances in the detection and treatment of PDAC can lead to an improvement in the current outcome of PDAC.

Pezzi C, Kumar GS, Lee D, et al. Blood lead levels among Afghan children in the United States, 2014-2016. Pediatrics. 2022;150(5). doi:10.1542/peds.2021-054727
Lead poisoning disproportionately affects children and can result in permanent neurologic damage. Although blood lead levels (BLLs) declined among children in the United States over the past several decades, children resettling to the United States from other countries emerged as a population at risk for BLLs that are higher than the United States blood lead reference value of ≥5 µ/dL at the time of this analysis.

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