Author Interviews, Education, Gender Differences, JAMA, Surgical Research / 07.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50581" align="alignleft" width="86"]Maria S. Altieri, MD, MS Invasive surgery fellow Washington University, St. Louis, MO Dr. Altieri[/caption] Maria S. Altieri, MD, MS Invasive Surgery Stony Brook, NY MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: For majority of residents, training years coincide with prime child bearing years.  Historically, surgical residency has not been conducive for having children, as it is one of the most demanding experiences, requiring long hours, high stress levels, and the acquisition of clinical and technical skills over a short period of time. However, with recent trends towards a more favorable work-life balance and the 80-hour work week, more male and female residents are having children or considering having children during training.  Thus, the topic of parental leave during residency is becoming more fundamental.  However, there is little research on the attitudes of residents towards their pregnant peers and parental leave. We wanted to examine the perceptions of surgical trainees towards parental leave and pregnancy during residency.  Through understanding the perceptions of current residents, obstacles could be identified which could lead to potential changes in policies that could help to normalize parenthood and parental leave during surgical training.   
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Technology / 07.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kang Lee, PhD Dr Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study University of Toronto Toronto, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We use a technology called transdermal optical imaging I and my postdoc invented to record facial blood flow using a regular video camera on the smartphone. This technology capitalizes on the fact that light travels beneath the facial skin and reflect off the hemoglobin under the skin. Our technology captures the minute reflected photons to decode facial blood changes due to our pulses and other physiological activities. Using machine learning, a neural network model learns to use the facial blood flow to predict blood pressures taken with a FDA approved scientific blood pressure measurement instrument. We then use the final model to predict the blood pressures of a new group of participants whose data had never been used in the model training.
Author Interviews, Dental Research, JAMA, OBGYNE, Pediatrics, Vitamin D / 06.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hans Bisgaard, DMSc, MD Head of COPSAC, Professor Professor of Pediatrics, University of Copenhagen Founder and Head of the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood; Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen and Naestved Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Enamel defects is a global health challenges affecting typically 1/3 of school children and more in some regions. It leads to break down of the teeth and caries later on. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: Supplementation with high-dose vitamin D compared to standard dose in the third pregnancy trimester in a mother child cohort of 588 pairs lead to a significant reduction of enamel defects. Enamel defects was found in 28% of children by age 6 after standard dose of vitamin D supplementation (400 i.u.), compared to 15% after 7-fold higher dose vitamin D. 
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Lancet, Mayo Clinic, Technology / 02.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50536" align="alignleft" width="166"]Paul Friedman, M.D. Professor of Medicine Norman Blane & Billie Jean Harty Chair Mayo Clinic Department of Cardiovascular Medicine Honoring Robert L. Frye, M.D. Dr. Friedman[/caption] Paul Friedman, M.D. Professor of Medicine Norman Blane & Billie Jean Harty Chair Mayo Clinic Department of Cardiovascular Medicine Honoring Robert L. Frye, M.D. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heart rhythm that is often intermittent and asymptomatic.  It is estimated to affect 2.7–6.1 million people in the United States, and is associated with increased risk of stroke, heart failure and mortality. It is difficult to detect and often goes undiagnosed. After an unexplained stroke, it is important to accurately detect atrial fibrillation so that patients with it are given anticoagulation treatment to reduce the risk of recurring stroke, and other patients (who may be harmed by this treatment) are not. Currently, detection in this situation requires monitoring for weeks to years, sometimes with an implanted device, potentially leaving patients at risk of recurrent stroke as current methods do not always accurately detect atrial fibrillation, or take too long. We hypothesized that we could train a neural network to identify the subtle findings present in a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) acquired during normal sinus rhythm that are due to structural changes associated with a history of (or impending) atrial fibrillation.   Such an AI enhanced ECG (AI ECG) would be inexpensive, widely available, noninvasive, performed in 10 seconds, and immensely useful following embolic stroke of unknown source to guide therapy. To test this hypothesis, we trained, validated, and tested a deep convolutional neural network using a large cohort of patients from the Mayo Clinic Digital Data Vault.
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA, NYU/NYMC, Ophthalmology, Pharmaceutical Companies / 02.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50532" align="alignleft" width="150"] Dr. Thiel[/caption] Cassandra L. Thiel, PhD Assistant Professor NYU Langone School of Medicine Department of Population Health NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service NYU Tandon School of Engineering MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Most healthcare professionals and researchers are aware that the healthcare sector makes up about 18% of the US Gross Domestic Product. What many do not realize is that all of that economic activity results in sizable resource consumption and environmental emissions. The healthcare industry is responsible for 10% of the US’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 9% of air pollutants.1 Sustainability in healthcare is a developing field of research and practice, and my lab offers data and information by quantifying resource use and emissions of healthcare delivery. We started looking at cataract surgery a few years ago, in part because operating rooms (ORs) typically represent the largest portion of spending and garbage generation in a hospital.2,3 Cataract surgeries are interesting because they are one of the most common surgeries performed in the world. In the US, we spend $6.8 billion on them each year. Any changes we can make to individual cases would have much larger, global impacts. I studied cataract surgeries at a world-renowned, high-volume eye surgery center in India and helped validate that clinical care could be designed in a way that was effective, cost-efficient, and resource efficient. Compared to the same procedure in the UK, this surgery center generates only 5% of the carbon emissions (with the same outcomes).2 This site’s standard policy is to multi-dose their eye drops, or use them on multiple patients until the bottle was empty. As such, the site generated very little waste. Returning to the US, I observed cataract cases and heard the complaints of OR staff that they had to throw out many partially used or unused pharmaceuticals. In reviewing the literature, we could not find a study that quantified how much we were throwing away and what it cost us to do so. We, therefore, set up a study to look at this particular issue.
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, CDC, Hospital Acquired, Infections / 02.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50527" align="alignleft" width="185"]This image depicts a strain of Candida auris cultured in a petri dish at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Credit: Shawn Lockhart This image depicts a strain of Candida auris cultured in a petri dish at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Credit: Shawn Lockhart[/caption] Snigdha Vallabhaneni, MD, MPH Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  Response: We are concerned about the fungus Candida auris (or C. auris) because it causes serious infections, is often resistant to medications, and continues to spread at alarming rates in U.S. healthcare settings. Candida. auris  primarily affects patients in who are hospitalized for a long time or are residents of nursing homes that take care of patients on ventilators. C. auris is still rare in the United States and most people are at low risk of getting infected. People who get C. auris or other Candida infections are often already sick from other medical conditions and often have invasive medical care, including ventilators for breathing support, feeding tubes, central venous catheters, and have received lots of antibiotics. Many patients infected and colonized with C. auris move frequently between post-acute care facilities and hospitals, which increases the risk of spreading C. auris between facilities.
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Ophthalmology / 01.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50514" align="alignleft" width="163"] Dr. Hwang[/caption] Daejoon Alex Hwang, PhD Instructor in Ophthalmology Investigator, Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass. Eye and Ear Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Yellow night driving glasses are sold with promises to reduce headlight glare from oncoming traffic and help aging individuals see better at night. Despite a 1997 ruling by the Federal Trade Commission against one company’s claims, the products still remain popular online. We tested three commercially available yellow lens night driving glasses and compare their effectiveness with clear lens glasses on our novel headlight glare simulator in the driving simulator.
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA / 01.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50505" align="alignleft" width="133"]Eunyoung Cho, Sc.D. Associate Professor  Director of Research, Department of Dermatology The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology Brown School of Public Health Channing Division of Network Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Dr. Cho[/caption] Eunyoung Cho, Sc.D. Associate Professor Director of Research, Department of Dermatology The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology Brown School of Public Health Channing Division of Network Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common skin cancer in people with fair skin. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in many foods such as green leafy vegetables, fruits including cantaloupe, apricots, and mangos, and dairy products. We studied whether vitamin A intake is beneficial against SCC risk because there are few ways to prevent skin cancer.
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Hormone Therapy, JAMA, Schizophrenia / 01.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50518" align="alignleft" width="200"]Mark Weiser, M.D. Associate Director for Treatment Trials The Stanley Medical Research Institute Kensington, MD 20895 Dr. Weiser[/caption] Mark Weiser, M.D. Associate Director for Treatment Trials The Stanley Medical Research Institute Kensington, MD 20895 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Over the years many theories have been proposed explaining schizophrenia, and studies tested compounds based on these theories.  Some showed improvement in symptoms, but these positive findings were often not later replicated, and the theory discarded. Over the past 15 years several studies performed in Australia by Dr. Jayshri Kulkarni (Molecular psychiatry. 2015;20(6):695) showed positive effects of estrogen patches on symptoms in women with schizophrenia.
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, JAMA, Outcomes & Safety, Surgical Research / 31.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50510" align="alignleft" width="160"]Ninh T. Nguyen, MD Department of Surgery University of California Irvine Medical Center Orange, California Dr. Nguyen[/caption] Ninh T. Nguyen, MD Department of Surgery University of California Irvine Medical Center Orange, California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The US World & News Report publishes each year on top ranked hospitals for specific specialties. These ratings are promoted nationally and used by patients and physicians in making decisions about where to receive care for challenging conditions or common elective procedures. Bariatric, colorectal and hiatal hernia procedures are common gastrointestinal operations being performed at most hospitals. Seeking care for these operations specifically at top 50 ranked hospitals can pose significant logistic and financial constraints for most patients. The objective of this study was to determine whether top ranked hospitals (RHs) in Gastroenterology & GI Surgery (GGS) have improved outcomes for advanced laparoscopic abdominal surgery compared to non-ranked hospitals (NRHs).
Author Interviews, Lifestyle & Health, PNAS, Psychological Science, University Texas / 31.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50498" align="alignleft" width="190"]John M. Griffin PhD James A. Elkins Centennial Chair in Finance McCombs School of Business The University of Texas Dr. Griffin[/caption] John M. Griffin PhD James A. Elkins Centennial Chair in Finance McCombs School of Business The University of Texas  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The importance of personal traits compared to context for predicting behavior is a long-standing issue in psychology. Yet, we have limited evidence of how predictive personal conduct, such as marital infidelity, is for professional conduct. We use data on usage of a marital infidelity website as a measure of marital infidelity and find that it is strongly correlated with professional conduct in four different professional settings.
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, JAMA, Lifestyle & Health / 31.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_44215" align="alignleft" width="130"]Wei Bao, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Epidemiology College of Public Health University of Iowa Dr. Wei Bao[/caption] Wei Bao, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology College of Public Health, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242  and Yang Du University of Iowa MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In 2008, the US Department of Health and Human Services released the first federal Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which recommended that people should do at least 150 minutes moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. This key recommendation has been reaffirmed in the 2018 recently updated Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. In addition, the new 2018 Guidelines for the first time discussed health risks of sedentary behaviors. Insufficient physical activity and long sitting time have long been recognized as risk factors for major chronic diseases and mortality. Therefore, we were curious whether there have been a significant changes in adherence to the Physical Activity Guidelines in US adults since the release of the first edition of the federal guidelines in 2008 and whether sedentary behavior in US adults changed during the same period.
Author Interviews, Coffee, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, JAMA, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 30.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50491" align="alignleft" width="128"]Dr-Hui Wang Dr. Hui Wang[/caption] Prof Hui Wang PhD Wuhan University China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We started our work in the adverse outcome of maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy about 15 years ago. Then, we found that prenatal caffeine intake could result in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the offspring. However, the underlying mechanism was unclear. So, we start the current work, and found that hat maternal caffeine intake disrupts liver development before and after birth, which might be the trigger of the adult non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the offspring rats. Moreover, we further found that the fetal programming of liver glucocorticoid – insulin like growth factor 1 axis, a new endocrine axis first reported by our team, might participate in such process. 
Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, JAMA, Stroke / 29.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Blood Pressure Monitor" by Medisave UK is licensed under CC BY 2.0Kazuo Kitagawa, MD PhD Department of Neurology Tokyo Women's Medical University Tokyo, Japan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings Response:   Reduction in blood pressure (BP) reduces the rates of recurrent stroke, but the optimum BP target remained unclear. The results of RESPECT Study together with up-dated meta-analysis showed the benefit of intensive blood pressure lowering (<130/80 mmHg) compared with standard BP lowering (<140/90 mmHg). 
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Heart Disease / 29.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50478" align="alignleft" width="153"]Jeffrey L Jackson, MD, MPH Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Wisconsin Dr. Jackson[/caption] Jeffrey L Jackson, MD, MPH Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Wisconsin MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Unfortunately,  most systematic reviews exclude non-English trials, mostly for convenience, but nearly all systematic reviews wind up excluding at least 1 non-English trial.  We looked at whether this was justified, since Google Translate is a free and easily usable platform.  We had native-language speakers in 9 languages (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Romanian, Russian and Spanish) abstract data and had another researcher abstract all the articles using Google Translate. We found that there was over 90% agreement and that the few differences were due to human error, not to problems with the translations.
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics / 29.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50437" align="alignleft" width="120"]Daniel B. Horton, MD, MSCE Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Rutgers Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science Rutgers School of Public Health Dr. Horton[/caption] Daniel B. Horton, MD, MSCE Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Rutgers Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science Rutgers School of Public Health  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In 2008, several professional groups made recommendations against the use of cough and cold medicines in young children: the US Food and Drug Administration, for children younger than age 2; cough and cold medicine manufacturers, for children younger than age 4; and the American Academy of Pediatrics, for children younger than age 6. Prior studies showed equivocal findings on the effect of those professional recommendations on physicians' behavior. We studied how trends of physicians' recommendations of cough and cold medicines for children changed after 2008 for different age groups and different kinds of medicines, including cough and cold medicines with and without opioids as well as single-agent antihistamines. 
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA / 28.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: blood-tests-lab-testsRenuka S Bindraban, MD and Prabath W. B. Nanayakkara, MD, PhD Section of Acute Medicine Department of Internal Medicine Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute Amsterdam UMC Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherland  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It is well known that a significant portion of healthcare activities is considered of low-value. Eliminating such low-value care is often targeted in efforts to both contain rapidly increasing healthcare costs as well as maintain high-quality care. In this context, our study focused on reducing unnecessary laboratory testing. In 2008, our study group performed a multifaceted intervention aimed at reducing unnecessary diagnostic testing at the Internal Medicine department of the Amsterdam University Medical Center, location Vrije Universiteit (VU). In the ‘Reduction of Unnecessary Diagnostics Through Attitude Change of the Caregivers’, we implemented this successful intervention in the Internal Medicine departments of four large teaching hospitals in the Netherlands. The intervention included creating awareness through education and feedback, intensified supervision of residents, and changes in order entry systems.
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Cleveland Clinic, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease / 26.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50454" align="alignleft" width="159"]Dermot Phelan, MD, PhD Director of the Sports Cardiology Center Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio Dr. Phelan[/caption] Dermot Phelan, MD, PhD Director of the Sports Cardiology Center Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: It is well recognized that long-term elite endurance athletes are at higher risk of atrial fibrillation.  We wished to evaluate whether this held true for primarily strength-type athletes. We had the opportunity to screen almost 500 former NFL athletes.  It became clear that we were seeing more atrial fibrillation than one would expect during the screenings.
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA / 26.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50426" align="alignleft" width="128"]Justin C. McCarty, DO, MPH General Surgery Resident, PGY-4 Department of Surgery | St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center Dr. McCarty[/caption] Justin C. McCarty, DO, MPH General Surgery Resident, PGY-4 Department of Surgery | St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The main finding of the paper is that the assumption of the training that teaching how to apply one type of tourniquet translates to knowledge and understanding of how to apply any other tourniquet is questionable. I love the Stop the Bleed campaign and what it stands for but I believe that it is important that as it moves forward that there is continuous questioning of the educational curriculum and how it is delivered. Currently, I question whether the best interim method of teaching and empowering laypeople is to focus more on pressure and packing of wounds; a skill that is always fully translatable, doesn’t require anything other than a willing set of hands, and is incredibly effective, rather than tourniquets. A second question I have is whether existing tourniquets and the associated training are approaching the issue from the right angle since to me the device should be designed to not require training and continuous practice, but rather should be intuitive and simple to use, features lacking from all existing devices.  
BMJ, Gender Differences / 25.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50417" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr Crystal Lee BMedSc(Hons), MIPH, PhD, MBiostat Senior Research Fellow School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University Honorary Research Fellow The Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise & Eating Disorders The University of Sydney Adjunct Senior Research Fellow School of Public Health | Curtin University Dr. Lee[/caption] Dr Crystal Lee BMedSc(Hons), MIPH, PhD, MBiostat Senior Research Fellow School of Psychology and Public Health La Trobe University Honorary Research Fellow The Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise & Eating Disorders The University of Sydney Adjunct Senior Research Fellow School of Public Health | Curtin University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Primary care has been shown to play an important role in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Yet, studies in Australia and elsewhere from as far back as two decades ago identified gaps in the management of CHD patients in primary care. We analysed records of 130,926 patients with a history of CHD from 438 general practices across Australia to determine whether sex disparities exist in the management of CHD according to current clinical guidelines.
Author Interviews, JAMA, Menopause, Weight Research / 25.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50383" align="alignleft" width="128"]Yangbo Sun  MD, PhD Department of Epidemiology University of Iowa Dr. Yangbo Sun[/caption] Yangbo Sun  MD, PhD Department of Epidemiology University of Iowa [caption id="attachment_44215" align="alignleft" width="130"]Wei Bao, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Epidemiology College of Public Health University of Iowa Dr. Wei Bao[/caption] Wei Bao, MD, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology College of Public Health, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Obesity has become a serious health problem in the United States. Body mass index (BMI) which is calculated as weight (kg)/height (m)2, is the standard measure used to define obesity in clinical and public health guidelines. However, BMI does not distinguish body shape or body fat distribution. Meanwhile central obesity, characterized by relatively high abdominal fat distribution, has been associated with higher risk of mortality, independent of BMI. So for example, two persons with the same BMI of 24 which is considered as “normal weight”, might have different abdominal fat distribution, thus they might be facing different risk of developing disease and mortality. In the most recent obesity management guidelines, measuring central obesity was recommended among people who are either overweight or have class I obesity (BMI 25.0-34.9 kg/m2), but not among people of normal weight. This might send those people with normal weight but with high abdominal fat as well as those public and clinical professionals a wrong message that these people are free of any particular obesity-related risk, while in fact, they are at elevated risk of mortality and might need risk reduction interventions, such as lifestyle modifications and other interventions. So we did this study to evaluate the mortality risk among this neglected group of people. We found that women with normal weight central obesity were at increased risk of mortality.
Author Interviews, JAMA, NIH, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 25.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50397" align="alignleft" width="200"]Lan N. Đoàn, MPH CPH PhD Candidate, School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences College of College of Public Health and Human Sciences Oregon State University, Corvallis Lan N. Doan[/caption] Lan N. Đoàn, MPH CPH PhD Candidate, School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences College of College of Public Health and Human Sciences Oregon State University, Corvallis MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is a prevailing stereotype that Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA/NHPI) populations are a model minority group - healthier than all other racial/ethnic groups. As a result, health researchers often consider AA/NHPI so similar that their data is typically grouped together which masks their cultural and health differences. However, AA/NHPI populations represent more than 50 countries or cultures of origin and 100 different languages and have unique health needs and cultural preferences. Prior research has found minimal financial investments in AA/NHPI populations by federal agencies and philanthropy, even though AA/NHPI individuals represent more than 5.0% of the total US population and are the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the United States. The purpose of study was to conduct a review of clinical research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for AA/NHPI populations and to determine the level of NIH investment in serving these populations. We queried the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) system for extramural AA/NHPI focused clinical research projects conducted in the United States from January 1, 1992, to December 31, 2018. We included clinical research funded under research project grants, centers, cooperative awards, research career awards, training grants, and fellowships was included, with an advanced text search for AA/NHPI countries and cultures of origin. 
Author Interviews, Hepatitis - Liver Disease, JAMA, OBGYNE, USPSTF / 24.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50387" align="alignleft" width="170"]Melissa Simon, M.D., M.P.H.  George H. Gardner Professor of Clinical Gynecology Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Professor of Preventive Medicine and Medical Social Sciences Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Dr.Simon[/caption] Melissa Simon, M.D., M.P.H.  George H. Gardner Professor of Clinical Gynecology Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Professor of Preventive Medicine and Medical Social Sciences Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus, or HBV. HBV causes liver disease, which can be either a mild, short-term illness, or a serious, lifelong issue. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has reaffirmed its 2009 recommendation that clinicians screen all pregnant people for HBV at their first prenatal visit. This is an A recommendation.
Annals Thoracic Surgery, Author Interviews, Beth Israel Deaconess, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Geriatrics, Heart Disease, Primary Care / 23.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50354" align="alignleft" width="140"]Christina C. Wee, MD, MPH Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Director , Obesity Research Program Division of General Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Program, BIDMC Deputy Editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine Dr. Wee[/caption] Christina C. Wee, MD, MPH Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Director , Obesity Research Program Division of General Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Program, BIDMC Deputy Editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: New research is showing that for many people without diagnosed heart disease, the risk of bleeding may outweigh the benefits of taking a daily aspirin particularly in adults over 70 years of age.  The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology recently updated their guidelines and now explicitly recommend against aspirin use among those over the age of 70 who do not have existing heart disease or stroke. Our study found that in 2017,  a quarter of adults aged 40 years or older without cardiovascular disease – approximately 29 million people – reported taking daily aspirin for prevention of heart disease. Of these, some 6.6. million people did so without a physician's recommendation.
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Nutrition, Weight Research / 22.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50363" align="alignleft" width="128"]Frank Qian, MPH Department of Nutrition Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, Massachusetts Frank Qian[/caption] Frank Qian, MPH Department of Nutrition Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Plant-based diets have really grown in popularity in the last several years, particularly among the younger generation in the United States, many of whom are adopting a plant-based or vegetarian/vegan diet. However, the quality of such a diet can vary drastically. While many prior studies have demonstrated beneficial associations for risk of type 2 diabetes with healthful plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, and legumes, the opposite is true for less healthful plant-based foods such as potatoes and refined grains such as white rice. In addition, some animal-based foods, such as dairy and fish, have shown protective associations against the development of type 2 diabetes, so strict vegetarian diets which exclude these foods may miss out on the potential benefits. Given these divergent findings, we sought to pool all the available data from prior cohort studies to analyze whether the overall association of a diet which emphasizes plant-based foods (both healthful and unhealthful) are related to risk of type 2 diabetes.
Alcohol, Author Interviews, CMAJ, Emergency Care / 22.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50334" align="alignleft" width="200"]Daniel Myran, MD, MPH, CCFP Public Health & Preventive Medicine, PGY-5 University of Ottawa Daniel Myran[/caption] Daniel Myran, MD, MPH, CCFP Public Health & Preventive Medicine, PGY-5 University of Ottawa MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We know that alcohol consumption results in enormous health and societal harms globally and in Canada. While several studies have looked at changes in alcohol harms, such as Emergency Department (ED) visits and Hospitalizations due alcohol, this study is the first to examine in detail how harms related to alcohol have been changing over time in Canada.
Author Interviews, JAMA, Johns Hopkins, OBGYNE, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 20.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50337" align="alignleft" width="175"]Alison Gemmill, PhD Assistant Professor Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Dr. Gemmill[/caption] Alison Gemmill, PhD Assistant Professor Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: A growing body of evidence suggests that the circumstances surrounding the 2016 presidential election may have had a uniquely negative impact on the health of U.S. Latino population. Few studies, however, have evaluated the population health implications of the election for Latina mothers and their children. We used national data and methods that control for temporal patterning to test the hypothesis that preterm birth rose above otherwise expected levels among Latina women in the U.S. following the election of Donald Trump. We find that the number of preterm births among Latina women increased above expected levels following the election. Specifically, we find 3.5 percent more preterm births among Latinas than projected for nine months following election.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, ENT, JAMA, Surgical Research / 18.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_50301" align="alignleft" width="129"]Megan Rist Haymart MD Associate Professor Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes Clinic Michigan Medicine Dr. Haymart[/caption] Megan Rist Haymart MD Associate Professor Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes Clinic Michigan Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Thyroid cancer is a common malignancy with surgery considered one of the primary treatments. Complications from thyroid surgery can lead to long-term voice problems. However, few studies have used validated scales to quantify the impact of thyroid surgery on patient voice. Prior work has largely focused on single institution studies with high volume surgeons or claims data with reports of specific nerve injury. We surveyed a diverse cohort of patients affiliated with SEER sites Georgia and Los Angeles to identify the prevalence, severity and correlates of poor voice outcomes following surgery for differentiated thyroid cancer. We found that out of 2,325 patients 25.8% reported voice changes lasting greater than 3 months after surgery, 12.7% had abnormal voice per a validated voice scale (Voice Handicap Index- 10), and 4.7% reported a diagnosis of vocal fold motion impairment. We also identified patient factors associated with abnormal voice 2-4 years post op.
Addiction, Author Interviews, Cannabis, Columbia, JAMA, Opiods / 18.07.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_28490" align="alignleft" width="165"]Silvia S. Martins, MD, PHD Associate Professor of Epidemiology Department of Epidemiology Mailman School Of Public Health Columbia University New York, NY 10032 Dr. Silvia Martins[/caption] Silvia S. Martins, MD, PHD Associate Professor of Epidemiology Department of Epidemiology Mailman School Of Public Health Columbia University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Prior studies have suggested t6hat medical marijuana legalization might play a role in decreasing opioid use. We aimed to test this hypothesis using individual level data on nonmedical use of prescription opioids and opioid use disorder  from the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health.