Faculty Bibliography

Spaceflight induces molecular, cellular, and physiological shifts in astronauts and poses myriad biomedical challenges to the human body, which are becoming increasingly relevant as more humans venture into space^1-6. Yet, current frameworks for aerospace medicine are nascent and lag far behind advancements in precision medicine on Earth, underscoring the need for rapid development of space medicine databases, tools, and protocols. Here, we present the Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA), an integrated data and sample repository for clinical, cellular, and multi-omic research profiles from a diverse range of missions, including the NASA Twins Study⁷, JAXA CFE study^8,9, SpaceX Inspiration4 crew^10-12, plus Axiom and Polaris. The SOMA resource represents a >10-fold increase in publicly available human space omics data, with matched samples available from the Cornell Aerospace Medicine Biobank. The Atlas includes extensive molecular and physiological profiles encompassing genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and microbiome data sets, which reveal some consistent features across missions, including cytokine shifts, telomere elongation, and gene expression changes, as well as mission-specific molecular responses and links to orthologous, tissue-specific murine data sets. Leveraging the datasets, tools, and resources in SOMA can help accelerate precision aerospace medicine, bringing needed health monitoring, risk mitigation, and countermeasures data for upcoming lunar, Mars, and exploration-class missions.

IMPORTANCE/UNASSIGNED:Black and Hispanic patients have high rates of recurrent stroke and uncontrolled hypertension in the US. The effectiveness of home blood pressure telemonitoring (HBPTM) and telephonic nurse case management (NCM) among low-income Black and Hispanic patients with stroke is unknown. OBJECTIVE/UNASSIGNED:To determine whether NCM plus HBPTM results in greater systolic blood pressure (SBP) reduction at 12 months and lower rate of stroke recurrence at 24 months than HBPTM alone among Black and Hispanic stroke survivors with uncontrolled hypertension. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS/UNASSIGNED:Practice-based, multicenter, randomized clinical trial in 8 stroke centers and ambulatory practices in New York City. Black and Hispanic study participants were enrolled between April 18, 2014, and December 19, 2017, with a final follow-up visit on December 31, 2019. INTERVENTIONS/UNASSIGNED:Participants were randomly assigned to receive either HBPTM alone (12 home BP measurements/week for 12 months, with results transmitted to a clinician; n = 226) or NCM plus HBPTM (20 counseling calls over 12 months; n = 224). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES/UNASSIGNED:Primary outcomes were change in SBP at 12 months and rate of recurrent stroke at 24 months. Final statistical analyses were completed March 14, 2024. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:Among 450 participants who were enrolled and randomized (mean [SD] age, 61.7 [11.0] years; 51% were Black [n = 231]; 44% were women [n = 200]; 31% had ≥3 comorbid conditions [n = 137]; 72% had household income <$25 000/y [n = 234/324]), 358 (80%) completed the trial. Those in the NCM plus HBPTM group had a significantly greater SBP reduction than those in the HBPTM alone group at 12 months (-15.1 mm Hg [95% CI, -17.2 to -13.0] vs -5.8 mm Hg [95% CI, -7.9 to -3.7], respectively; P < .001). The between-group difference in SBP reduction at 12 months, adjusted for primary care physician clustering, was -8.1 mm Hg (95% CI, -11.2 to -5.0; P < .001) at 12 months. The rate of recurrent stroke was similar between both groups at 24 months (4.0% in the NCM plus HBPTM group vs 4.0% in the HBPTM alone group, P > .99). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE/UNASSIGNED:Among predominantly low-income Black and Hispanic stroke survivors with uncontrolled hypertension, addition of NCM to HBPTM led to greater SBP reduction than HBPTM alone. Additional studies are needed to understand the long-term clinical outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and generalizability of NCM-enhanced telehealth programs among low-income Black and Hispanic stroke survivors with significant comorbidity. TRIAL REGISTRATION/UNASSIGNED:Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT02011685.

OBJECTIVE:To simultaneously explore associations between digital health, sociodemographic factors, and medical conditions on patient-centered communication (PCC). These are under-explored, yet important knowledge gaps to fill because perceived quality PCC may influence health information seeking behaviors and health outcomes. METHODS:Data from the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey were analyzed. The primary outcome was PCC, which was the summed score of 7 PCC-related questions. Factors of interest included whether participants used electronic methods to communicate with health professionals, age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, feelings about household income, and history of medical conditions. Descriptive statistics and linear regressions were conducted. RESULTS:In the multivariate linear regression model, people aged 65-74 years compared with 18-34 year-olds, those with some college compared with college graduates, and those who felt they were living comfortably on their household income compared with all others reported higher PCC scores. People with a history of hypertension compared with those without reported higher PCC scores. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Similar to past studies, sociodemographic factors were associated with PCC. A novel finding was that a history hypertension was associated with perceived quality of PCC. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS:This research may inform methods to enhance communication between patients and clinicians.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:Although technology-supported interventions are effective for reducing chronic disease risk, little is known about the relative and combined efficacy of mobile health strategies aimed at multiple lifestyle factors. The purpose of this clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy of technology-supported behavioral intervention strategies for managing multiple lifestyle-related health outcomes in overweight adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). DESIGN AND METHODS/METHODS:, age ≥40 years), T2D, and CKD stages 2-4 were randomized to an advice control group, or remotely delivered programs consisting of synchronous group-based education (all groups), plus (1) Social Cognitive Theory-based behavioral counseling and/or (2) mobile self-monitoring of diet and physical activity. All programs targeted weight loss, greater physical activity, and lower intakes of sodium and phosphorus-containing food additives. RESULTS:Of 256 randomized participants, 186 (73%) completed 6-month assessments. Compared to the ADVICE group, mHealth interventions did not result in significant changes in weight loss, or urinary sodium and phosphorus excretion. In aggregate analyses, groups receiving mobile self-monitoring had greater weight loss at 3 months (P = .02), but between 3 and 6 months, weight losses plateaued, and by 6 months, the differences were no longer statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS:When engaging patients with T2D and CKD in multiple behavior changes, self-monitoring diet and physical activity demonstrated significantly larger short-term weight losses. Theory-based behavioral counseling alone was no better than baseline advice and demonstrated no interaction effect with self-monitoring.

BACKGROUND:Shortening time between office visits for patients with uncontrolled hypertension represents a potential strategy for improving blood pressure (BP). OBJECTIVE:We evaluated the impact of multimodal strategies on time between visits and on improvement in systolic BP (SBP) among patients with uncontrolled hypertension. DESIGN/METHODS:We used a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial with three wedges involving 12 federally qualified health centers with three study periods: pre-intervention, intervention, and post-intervention. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:Adult patients with diagnosed hypertension and two BPs ≥ 140/90 pre-randomization and at least one visit during post-randomization control period (N = 4277). INTERVENTION/METHODS:The core intervention included three, clinician hypertension group-based trainings, monthly clinician feedback reports, and monthly meetings with practice champions to facilitate implementation. MAIN MEASURES/METHODS:The main measures were change in time between visits when BP was not controlled and change in SBP. A secondary planned outcome was changed in BP control among all hypertension patients in the practices. KEY RESULTS/RESULTS:Median follow-up times were 34, 32, and 32 days and the mean SBPs were 142.0, 139.5, and 139.8 mmHg, respectively. In adjusted analyses, the intervention did not improve time to the next visit compared with control periods, HR = 1.01 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.04). SBP was reduced by 1.13 mmHg (95% CI: -2.10, -0.16), but was not maintained during follow-up. Hypertension control (< 140/90) in the practices improved by 5% during intervention (95% CI: 2.6%, 7.3%) and was sustained post-intervention 5.4% (95% CI: 2.6%, 8.2%). CONCLUSIONS:The intervention failed to shorten follow-up time for patients with uncontrolled BP and showed very small, statistically significant improvements in SBP that were not sustained. However, the intervention showed statistically and clinically relevant improvement in hypertension control suggesting that the intervention affected clinician decision-making regarding BP control apart from visit frequency. Future practice initiatives should consider hypertension control as a primary outcome. CLINICAL TRIAL/BACKGROUND:www.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02164331.

Roughly half of the adults in the United States are diagnosed with hypertension (HTN). Unfortunately, less than one-third have their condition under control. Clinicians generally have positive regard for the use of HTN guidelines to achieve HTN treatment goals; however, actual uptake remains low. Factors underpinning clinician variation in practice are poorly understood. To understand the relationship between clinicians' personal motivation to complete goals and their uptake of the Joint National Commission's HTN guidelines. The authors used Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT, ie, prevention and promotion focus), an empirically supported motivational theory, as a guiding framework to examine the relationship. The authors hypothesized that clinicians with high prevention focus would report following guidelines more often and have shorter follow-up visit intervals for patients with uncontrolled blood pressure. Clinicians (n  = 27) caring for adult patients diagnosed with HTN (n = 8605) in Federally Qualified Health Centers (n = 8). Clinicians' prevention and promotion focus scores and the number of days between visits for their patients with uncontrolled systolic blood pressure (SBP) (≥ 140 mm Hg). Consistent with RFT, 60% of prevention focused clinicians reported they always followed the monthly visit guideline for the patients with uncontrolled blood pressure, compared with 38% of promotion focused clinicians (p = .254). The unadjusted probability of returning for a follow-up visit within 30 days was greater among patients whose clinician was higher in prevention focus (p = .009), but there was no evidence at the 0.05 significance level in our adjusted model. These findings provide some limited evidence that RFT is a useful framework to understand clinician adherence to HTN treatment guidelines.

OBJECTIVE:To examine the prevalence and correlates of depression in a cohort of black and Hispanic stroke survivors with uncontrolled hypertension. SETTING/METHODS:Baseline survey data from 10 stroke centres across New York City. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:Black and Hispanic stroke survivors with uncontrolled hypertension (n=450). OUTCOME MEASURES/METHODS:Depressive symptoms were assessed with the 8-item Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measure. Depression was defined as a PROMIS score ≥55. Other data collected included clinical factors, health-related quality of life (EuroQoL five dimensions (EQ-5D)), functional independence (Barthel Index, BI), stroke-related disability (Modified Rankin Score), physical function (PROMIS Physical Function) and executive functioning (Frontal Assessment Battery). RESULTS:The mean age was 61.7±11.1 years, 44% of participants were women and 51% were black. Poststroke depression was noted in 32% of the cohort. Examining bivariate relationships, patients with depression were observed to have poorer function and quality of life as evidenced by significantly lower PROMIS physical function scores (36.9±8.32 vs 43.4±10.19, p<0.001); BI scores (79.9±19.2 vs 88.1±15.1, p<0.001); EQ-5D scores (0.66±0.24 vs 0.83±0.17, p<0.001) and higher Rankin scores (2.10±1.00 vs 1.46±1.01, p<0.001) compared with those without depression. Multivariate (model adjusted) significant correlates of depression included lower self-reported quality of life (OR=0.02 (CI 0.004 to 0.12) being younger (OR=0.94; 95% CI 0.91 to 0.97); not married (OR=0.46; CI 0.24 to 0.89)); and foreign-born (OR=3.34, 95% CI 1.4 to 7.97). There was a trend for higher comorbidity to be uniquely associated with depression (≥3 comorbid conditions, OR=1.49, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.23). CONCLUSIONS:Poststroke depression is common among black and Hispanic stroke survivors with higher rates noted among foreign-born patients and those with high comorbidity. These findings highlight the importance of screening for depression in minority stroke survivors. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER/BACKGROUND:http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01070056.

People living with HIV (PWH) are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke in comparison to their non-infected counterparts. The ABCS (aspirin-blood pressure control-cholesterol control-smoking cessation) reduce atherosclerotic (ASCVD) risk in the general population, but little is known regarding strategies for promoting the ABCS among PWH. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), we designed multilevel implementation strategies that target PWH and their clinicians to promote appropriate use of the ABCS based on a 10-year estimated ASCVD risk. Implementation strategies include patient coaching, automated texting, peer phone support, academic detailing and audit and feedback for the patient's clinician. We are evaluating implementation through a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial based on the Reach-Effectiveness-Adoption-Maintenance/Qualitative-Evaluation-for-Systematic-Translation (RE-AIM/QuEST) mixed methods framework that integrates quantitative and qualitative assessments. The primary outcome is change in ASCVD risk. Findings will have important implications regarding strategies for reducing ASCVD risk among PWH.