The Prevalence of Brain Injury Among Survivors and Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence and the Prevalence of Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among People With Brain Injury: a Scoping Review
AbstractPurpose of reviewThe goal of this review is to address prevalence rates in four groups: (i) brain injury (BI) among intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors, (ii) BI among IPV perpetrators, (iii) IPV victimization among people with BI, and (iv) IPV perpetration among people with BI. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for peer-reviewed research articles that quantitatively examined IPV in relation to BI.Recent findingsThirty-two articles were included in the final review. Eighteen articles assessed the prevalence of BI among IPV survivors, 5 assessed the prevalence of fatal BI among samples of IPV ho...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - August 8, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Place-Based Interventions and the Epidemiology of Violence Prevention
AbstractPurpose of ReviewViolence is a leading cause of death, disability, and health inequity in the United States. This review summarizes the scientific literature on place-based interventions and violence, describes study design challenges, and suggests future directions for this group of interventions.Recent FindingsViolence prevention strategies commonly target high-risk individuals, but recent research has found that place-based interventions are practical, sustainable, and high-impact opportunities that benefit communities at large. This body of work has largely consisted of quasi-experimental studies of land and bu...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - August 3, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
A Critical Review of Text Mining Applications for Suicide Research
AbstractPurpose of ReviewApplying text mining to suicide research holds a great deal of promise. In this manuscript, literature from 2019 to 2021 is critically reviewed for text mining projects that use electronic health records, social media data, and death records.Recent FindingsText mining has helped identify risk factors for suicide in general and specific populations (e.g., older adults), has been combined with structured variables in EHRs to predict suicide risk, and has been used to track trends in social media suicidal discourse following population level events (e.g., COVID-19, celebrity suicides).SummaryFuture re...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - July 26, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Alcohol-Induced Death in the USA from 1999 to 2020: a Comparison of Age –Period–Cohort Methods
AbstractPurpose of this reviewAlcohol-induced mortality has been increasing in the USA for over a decade, but whether increases are specific to particular birth cohorts remains inadequately understood, in part because estimating age –period–cohort (APC) models is methodologically controversial. The present study compares four different age–period–cohort models for alcohol-induced death in the USA from 1999 to 2020.Recent findingsWe utilized US vital statistics data from 1999 to 2020; alcohol-induced deaths included those fully attributable to alcohol excluding poisoning. Age –period–cohort models included first...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - July 23, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Electronic Health Records and Antimicrobial Stewardship Research: a Narrative Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review summarises epidemiological research using electronic health records (EHR) for antimicrobial stewardship.Recent FindingsEHRs enable surveillance of antibiotic utilisation and infection consultations. Prescribing for respiratory tract infections has declined in the UK following reduced consultation rates. Reductions in prescribing for skin and urinary tract infections have been less marked. Drug selection has improved and use of broad-spectrum antimicrobics reduced. Diagnoses of pneumonia, sepsis and bacterial endocarditis have increased in primary care. Analytical studies have quantified...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - July 21, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Interpersonal and Self-Directed Violence Among Sexual and Gender Minority Populations: Moving Research from Prevalence to Prevention
AbstractPurpose of reviewThis scoping review of reviews aimed to detail the breadth of violence research about sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) in terms of the three generations of health disparities research (i.e., documenting, understanding, and reducing disparities).Recent FindingsSeventy-three reviews met inclusion criteria. Nearly 70% of the reviews for interpersonal violence and for self-directed violence were classified as first-generation studies. Critical third-generation studies were considerably scant (7% for interpersonal violence and 6% for self-directed violence).SummaryThird-generation research to reduce ...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - July 21, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Synthetic Control Methodology for Examining Firearm Policy
AbstractPurpose of ReviewFirearm policies have the potential to alleviate the public health burden of firearm violence, yet it is unclear which policies are effective. The current review aims to summarize studies that use synthetic control methods to overcome previous methodological limitations when examining the impacts of firearm policies.Recent FindingsEvidence from studies using synthetic control methods find compelling evidence that purchasing licensing laws for all individuals (e.g., permit-to-purchase) have a preventive effect on firearm deaths. Otherwise, the effects of other firearm policies targeting firearm avai...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - July 19, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Community-Based Participatory Research to Improve Cardiovascular Health Among US Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review aims to assess the contemporary community-based participatory research (CBPR) literature seeking to improve the cardiovascular health of racial and ethnic minority groups in the USA with a higher burden of cardiovascular risk factors and social determinants of health. It summarizes recent CBPR studies based on the American Heart Association Life ’s Simple 7 (LS7) framework, delineating seven modifiable health behaviors and clinical factors to promote cardiovascular health.Recent FindingsAlthough limited in quantity, studies demonstrated preliminary effectiveness in improving individua...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - July 11, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Considerations of Biomarker Application for Cancer Continuum in the Era of Precision Medicine
AbstractPurpose of the ReviewThe goal of this review is to highlight emerging biomarker research by the key phases of the cancer continuum and outline the methodological considerations for biomarker application.Recent FindingsWhile biomarkers have an established role in targeted therapy and, to some extent, disease monitoring, their role in early detection and survivorship remains to be elucidated. With the advent of omics technology, the discovery of biomarkers has been accelerated exponentially, therefore careful consideration to ensure an unbiased study design and robust validity is crucial.SummaryThe rigor of biomarker...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - July 9, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Agent-Based Modeling: an Underutilized Tool in Community Violence Research
AbstractPurpose of ReviewCommunity violence is a serious public health problem, and generational investments are being made to address it. Agent-based models (ABMs) are computational tools that can help to optimize allocation of those investments, analogous to how computer simulation models, broadly, have informed decision making in other fields, such as infectious disease control. In this review, we describe ABMs, explain their potential role in community violence research, discuss recent studies that have applied ABMs to community violence, and point to opportunities for further progress.Recent FindingsWe identified thre...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - July 8, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Machine Learning Approaches for Measuring Neighborhood Environments in Epidemiologic Studies
AbstractPurpose of reviewInnovations in information technology, initiatives by local governments to share administrative data, and growing inventories of data available from commercial data aggregators have immensely expanded the information available to describe neighborhood environments, supporting an approach to research we call Urban Health Informatics. This review evaluates the application of machine learning to this new wealth of data for studies of the effects of neighborhood environments on health.Recent findingsProminent machine learning applications in this field include automated image analysis of archived image...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - June 30, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
The Utility of Multistate Models: A Flexible Framework for Time-to-Event Data
AbstractPurpose of ReviewSurvival analyses are common and essential in medical research. Most readers are familiar with Kaplan –Meier curves and Cox models; however, very few are familiar with multistate models. Although multistate models were introduced in 1965, they only recently receive more attention in the medical research community. The current review introduces common terminologies and quantities that can be estima ted from multistate models. Examples from published literature are used to illustrate the utility of multistate models.Recent FindingsA figure of states and transitions is a useful depiction of a multis...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - June 29, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Linkage Disequilibrium Score Statistic Regression for Identifying Novel Trait Associations
AbstractPurpose of ReviewIn this paper, we review the linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSR) statistical method for computing correlation and shared heritability between complex polygenetic traits.Recent FindingsApplications of the LDSR method have been prominent and wide ranging, building off the abundance of GWAS summary statistic data available both publicly and privately. LDSR has provided insight into the shared genetic architecture of many complex diseases, including anxiety disorders, psychiatric disorders, neurologic disorders, and many cancers including lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer. A recent HDL met...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - June 24, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Ambient Air Pollution Exposure Assessments in Fertility Studies: a Systematic Review and Guide for Reproductive Epidemiologists
AbstractPurpose of ReviewWe reviewed the exposure assessments of ambient air pollution used in studies of fertility, fecundability, and pregnancy loss.Recent FindingsComprehensive literature searches were performed in the PUBMED, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. Of 168 total studies, 45 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. We find that 69% of fertility and pregnancy loss studies have used one-dimensional proximity models or surface monitor data, while only 35% have used the improved models, such as land-use regression models (4%), dispersion/chemical transport models (11%), or fusion models (2...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - May 13, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
Cancer Data Visualization: Developing Tools to Serve the Needs of Diverse Stakeholders
AbstractPurpose of reviewTo describe how cancer data visualization tools can catalyze novel research and inform local cancer control planning.Recent findingsIn recent years, cancer centers across the nation have increasingly embraced geospatial tools to respond to the unique distributions of disease and multilevel risk factors within their catchment areas. Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami, Florida, recently developed a publicly available, interactive, web-based cancer data visualization tool called SCAN360. Using SCAN360 as an example, we discuss key considerations and challenges for the development of cancer...
Source: Current Epidemiology Reports - April 9, 2022 Category: Epidemiology Source Type: research
