Pankil Shah

Data on COVID-19 outcomes in Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are lacking. We analyzed data from 6,244 patients from the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium, including 6.0% AAPI patients, to examine disparities in outcomes following acute COVID-19. Despite AAPI patients having lower median BMI than non-Hispanic White (NHW) patients and higher diabetes rates, both groups showed similar 30-day mortality and COVID-19 outcomes. In multivariable analyses, morbid obesity (BMI >35 kg/m ² ) in AAPI patients was associated with significantly higher 30-day mortality (OR 4.96; 95% CI 1.78 – 13.88) and COVID-19 severity (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.26 – 5.35); underscoring the differential impact of obesity in AAPI patients.

Background and Aims: Despite the substantial impact of environmental factors, individuals with a family history of liver cancer have an increased risk for HCC. However, genetic factors have not been studied systematically by genome-wide approaches in large numbers of individuals from European descent populations (EDP). Approach and Results: We conducted a 2-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) on HCC not affected by HBV infections. A total of 1872 HCC cases and 2907 controls were included in the discovery stage, and 1200 HCC cases and 1832 controls in the validation. We analyzed the discovery and validation samples separately and then conducted a meta-analysis. All analyses were conducted in the presence and absence of HCV. The liability-scale heritability was 24.4% for overall HCC. Five regions with significant ORs (95% CI) were identified for nonviral HCC: 3p22.1, MOBP, rs9842969, (0.51, [0.40–0.65]); 5p15.33, TERT, rs2242652, (0.70, (0.62–0.79]); 19q13.11, TM6SF2, rs58542926, (1.49, [1.29–1.72]); 19p13.11 MAU2, rs58489806, (1.53, (1.33–1.75]); and 22q13.31, PNPLA3, rs738409, (1.66, [1.51–1.83]). One region was identified for HCV-induced HCC: 6p21.31, human leukocyte antigen DQ beta 1, rs9275224, (0.79, [0.74–0.84]). A combination of homozygous variants of PNPLA3 and TERT showing a 6.5-fold higher risk for nonviral-related HCC compared to individuals lacking these genotypes. This observation suggests that gene-gene interactions may identify individuals at elevated risk for developing HCC. Conclusions: Our GWAS highlights novel genetic susceptibility of nonviral HCC among European descent populations from North America with substantial heritability. Selected genetic influences were observed for HCV-positive HCC. Our findings indicate the importance of genetic susceptibility to HCC development.

Objective: To assess both individual and interactive effects of prenatal medical conditions depression and diabetes, and health behaviors including smoking during pregnancy on infant birth defects. Methods: The data for this research study were collected by the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) in 2018. Birth certificate records were used in each participating jurisdiction to select a sample representative of all women who delivered a live-born infant. Complex sampling weights were used to analyze the data with a weighted sample size of 4,536,867. Descriptive statistics were performed to explore frequencies of the independent and dependent variables. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to examine associations among the independent and dependent variables. Results: The results indicate significant interaction between the variables smoking and depression and depression and diabetes (OR = 3.17; p-value < 0.001 and OR = 3.13; p-value < 0.001, respectively). Depression during pregnancy was found to be strongly associated with delivering an infant with a birth defect (OR = 1.31, p-value < 0.001). Conclusion: Depression during pregnancy and its interaction with smoking and diabetes are vital in determining birth defects in infants. The results indicate that birth defects in the United States can be reduced by lowering depression in pregnant women.

Background: This study was conducted to determine the impact of a patient’s ethnicity on seeking preventive dental services at the Community Health Centers (CHCs) in South-Central Texas. Methods: Primary electronic health records (EHR) data were collected regarding each patient’s medical and dental history, and comprehensive treatment planning. The researchers retrieved EHR from January 2016 to 2022. Bivariate analysis was completed to test the outcome with the predictor variable and covariates using the appropriate statistical tests. A multiple linear regression model was used to understand the association between the predictor and outcome variable while controlling for confounders. Results: The study findings revealed significantly higher dental visits (2.26 ± 2.88) for Hispanic patients. The results from the multiple regression model indicated that non-Hispanic patients had a smaller chance of visiting CHC for preventive dental services, by eight percent, compared to the Hispanic population (p-value < 0.001) when all other variables were held constant. However, the study results were not significant, as the effect size was too small to conclude the effect of ethnicity on the patients visiting the dental clinic at the CHC for preventive services. Conclusion: The study concluded that there is no difference in the preventive dental services completed by Hispanics and non-Hispanics when all other variables are controlled.

: Objective: To assess both individual and interactive effects of prenatal medical conditions depression and Diabetes, and health behaviors including smoking during pregnancy on infant birth defects. Methods: The data for this research study were collected by the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) in 2018. Birth certificate records were used in each participating jurisdiction to select a sample representative of all women who delivered a live-born infant. Complex sampling weights were used to analyze the data with a weighted sample size of 4,536,867. Descriptive statistics were performed to explore frequencies of the independent and dependent variables. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to examine associations among the independent and dependent variables. Results: The results indicate and significant interaction between the variables smoking and Depression and Depression and Diabetes (OR= 3.17; p-value Conclusion: Depression during pregnancy and its interaction with smoking and Diabetes are vital in determining birth defects in infants. The results indicate that birth defects in the United States can be lowering Depression in pregnant women.

Background: To determine the impact of a patient's ethnicity on the seeking preventive dental services at the Community Health Centers (CHCs) in South-Central Texas. Methods: Pri-mary electronic health records (HER) data were collected regarding each patient's medical and dental history, and comprehensive treatment planning. The researchers retrieved EHR from Jan-uary 2016 to 2022. Bivariate analysis was completed to test outcome with predicator and covariates using appropriate statistical tests. A multiple linear regression model was used to understand the association between the predictor and outcome variable while controlling for confounders. Results: The study findings revealed significantly higher dental visits (2.26 ± 2.88) for Hispanic patients. The results from the multiple regression model indicated that non-Hispanic patients had a 8% fewer chance of visiting the CHCs for preventive dental services compared to the Hispanic population (p-value<0.001) when all other variables are held constant. However, the study results were not significant as the effect size was small to conclude the effect of ethnicity on the patients visiting the dental clinic at the CHCs for preventive services. Conclusion: The study concluded that there is no difference in the preventive dental services completed by Hispanics and Non-Hispanics when all other variables are controlled.