Heterogeneity in Spatial Inequities in COVID-19 Vaccination Across 16 Large US Cities
AbstractDifferences in vaccination coverage can perpetuate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disparities. We explored the association between neighborhood-level social vulnerability and COVID-19 vaccination coverage in 16 large US cities from the beginning of the vaccination campaign in December 2020 through September 2021. We calculated the proportion of fully vaccinated adults in 866 zip code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) of 16 large US cities: Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, all in California; Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Minneapolis, Minnesota; New York, New York; Phi...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - April 22, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
The Effect of Maternal US Nativity on Racial/Ethnic Differences in Fetal Growth
AbstractWhile racial/ethnic differences in fetal growth have been documented, few studies have examined whether they vary by exogenous factors, which could elucidate underlying causes. The purpose of this study was to characterize longitudinal fetal growth patterns by maternal sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical factors and examine whether associations with maternal race/ethnicity varied by these other predictors. Between 2016 and 2019, pregnant women receiving prenatal care at NYU Langone Health (New York, New York) were invited to participate in a birth cohort study. Women completed questionnaires, and clinical da...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - April 16, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Defective Placentation Syndromes and Intellectual Disability in the Offspring: Nationwide Cohort and Sibling-Controlled Studies
AbstractWe investigated the relationships between syndromic manifestations of defective placentation and the incidence of intellectual disability (ID) in offspring by conducting a population-based cohort study of 1,581,200 nonmalformed, live singleton infants born in Sweden between 1998 and 2014. Exposures were: 1) placental abruption, 2) preterm preeclampsia (<34 weeks of gestation), 3) preeclampsia combined with infant being small for gestational age (SGA) at birth, and 4) spontaneous preterm birth. The outcome was an ID diagnosis after 3 years of age. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - April 5, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Population Attributable Fraction of Nonvaccination of Child and Adolescent Vaccines Attributed to Parental Vaccine Hesitancy, 2018 –2019
AbstractUnderstanding the role of vaccine hesitancy in undervaccination or nonvaccination of childhood vaccines is important for increasing vaccine confidence and uptake. We used data from April to June interviews in the 2018 and 2019 National Immunization Survey –Flu (n = 78,725, United States), a nationally representative cross-sectional household cellular telephone survey. We determined the adjusted population attributable fraction (PAF) for each recommended childhood vaccine to assess the contribution of vaccine hesitancy to the observed nonvaccination level. Hesitancy is defined as being somewhat or very hesitant t...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - March 15, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Environmental Influences on Sleep in the California Teachers Study Cohort
AbstractOnly two-thirds of Americans meet the recommended 7 hours of sleep nightly. Insufficient sleep and circadian disruption have been associated with adverse health outcomes, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Several environmental disruptors of sleep have been reported, such as artificial light at night (ALAN) and noise. These studies tended to evaluate exposures individually. We evaluated several spatially derived environmental exposures (ALAN, noise, green space, and air pollution) and self-reported sleep outcomes obtained in 2012 –2015 in a large cohort of 51,562 women in the California Teachers Study...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - October 6, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Re: “improvements in neighborhood socioeconomic conditions may improve resident diet”
In the article “Improvements in Neighborhood Socioeconomic Conditions May Improve Resident Diet” by Richardson et al. (1), there was an error in Figure 2. It did not depict the associations for renters from the neighborhood with Healthy Eating Index (HEI), residential sales price change to HEI, and neighborhood satisfaction change to HEI. The figure has been corrected online. (Source: American Journal of Epidemiology)
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - September 10, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
A Note From the Editors
In celebration of our 100th anniversary, theAmerican Journal of Epidemiology is requesting submissions for a new series highlighting members of our field to elevate the different areas of epidemiology. Authors are invited to submit up to 300 words describing the life and work of an influential epidemiologist whose contribution to the discipline has expanded fundamental knowledge of the breadth and depth of the field. Self-nominations are also welcome. We hope to increase awareness about all aspects of epidemiology. In addition, these articles will be used to help expand Wikipedia coverage of epidemiologists, especially tho...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - September 1, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Why Does Influenza Hit the Poor More Than the Rich? A 1931 Social Epidemiology Article That Broke New Ground in the History of Confounding, Mediation, and Interaction
AbstractIn 1931, Edgar Sydenstricker, the former statistician of the US Public Health Service, challenged the common belief that the 1918 influenza outbreak had affected “the rich and the poor alike.” Using data from 112,317 participants in a 1918 US national survey, he observed that, on the contrary, both morbidity and mortality from the flu had been higher among the poor than among the rich. To explain these differences, Sydenstricker stratified the analyses b y 2 measures of affluence collected in the survey: “economic status” (from “very poor” to “well-to-do”) and household crowding (i.e., number of peo...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - August 4, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
What Happens to Your Manuscript: Characteristics of Papers Published in Volume 189
Last year, we at theAmerican Journal of Epidemiology promised to regularly track and report characteristics of submissions to and papers published in theJournal to help you understand what to expect if you choose to submit your valuable work to us. The goal in providing these data is to be intentional and transparent about our process for putting together a journal that serves to enrich and educate practicing epidemiologists working in both general and specialty fields. To this end, we have also recently published a mission statement for theJournal from our editorial board (1). (Source: American Journal of Epidemiology)
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - July 27, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Metals and Breast Cancer Risk: A Prospective Study Using Toenail Biomarkers
This study offers little support for metals, individually or as mixtures, as risk factors for breast cancer. Mechanisms for inverse associations with some metals warrant further study. (Source: American Journal of Epidemiology)
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - July 15, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Persistence of Disparities Among Racially/Ethnically Marginalized Groups in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Regardless of Statewide Shelter-in-Place Policies: An Analysis From Northern California
We examined hospitalizations and ICU transfers by race/ethnicity and pandemic period using logistic regression. Among 16,520 people with COVID-19 (mean age = 46.6 (standard deviation, 18.4) years; 54.2% women), during the post-SIP period, patients were on average younger and a larger proportion were Hispanic. In adjusted models, odds of hospitalization were 20% lower post-SIP as compared with the SIP period, yet all non-White groups had higher odds (odds ratios = 1.6–2.1) than non-Hispanic White individuals, regardless of period. Among hospitalized patients, odds of ICU transfer were 33% lower post-SIP than during SIP...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - July 2, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Impact Evaluation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Policy: A Guide to Common Design Issues
AbstractPolicy responses to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), particularly those related to nonpharmaceutical interventions, are unprecedented in scale and scope. However, evaluations of policy impacts require a complex combination of circumstance, study design, data, statistics, and analysis. Beyond the issues that are faced for any policy, evaluation of COVID-19 policies is complicated by additional challenges related to infectious disease dynamics and a multiplicity of interventions. The methods needed for policy-level impact evaluation are not often used or taught in epidemiology, and they differ in important ways t...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - June 28, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Pharmacoepidemiology, Machine Learning, and COVID-19: An Intent-to-Treat Analysis of Hydroxychloroquine, With or Without Azithromycin, and COVID-19 Outcomes Among Hospitalized US Veterans
In conclusion, we assessed the effectiveness of HCQ with or without azithromycin in treatment of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, using a national sample of the US veteran popu lation. Using rigorous study design and analytic methods to reduce confounding and bias, we found no evidence of a survival benefit from the administration of HCQ. (Source: American Journal of Epidemiology)
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - June 24, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Novel Application of Nutritional Biomarkers From a Controlled Feeding Study and an Observational Study to Characterization of Dietary Patterns in Postmenopausal Women
AbstractDietary guidance emphasizes healthy dietary patterns, but supporting evidence comes from self-reported dietary data, which are prone to measurement error. We explored whether nutritional biomarkers from the Women ’s Health Initiative Nutrition and Physical Activity Assessment Study Feeding Study (NPAAS-FS) (n = 153; 2010–2014) and the Women’s Health Initiative Nutrition and Physical Activity Assessment Study Observational Study (NPAAS-OS) (n = 450; 2006–2009) could identify biomarker signatures of dietary patterns for development of corresponding regression calibration equations to help mitigate measure...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - June 18, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Diemer and Swanson Reply to “Considerations Before Using Pandemic as Instrument”
AbstractDimitris and Platt (Am J Epidemiol. 2021;190(11):2275-2279) take on the challenging topic of using “shocks” such as the severe acute respiratory system coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic as instrumental variables to study the effect of some exposure on some outcome. Evoking our recent lived experiences, they conclude that the assumptions necessary for an instrumental variable analysis will o ften be violated and therefore strongly caution against such analyses. Here, we build upon this warranted caution while acknowledging that such analyses will still be pursued and conducted. We discuss strategies for evalua...
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology - June 16, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
