Faculty Bibliography

Background and Aims: Diabetes technology (DT) use is associated with lower HbA1c in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Non- Hispanic Black and Hispanic populations are more likely to have lower DT use and higher HbA1c compared to non-Hispanic White populations. We examined the extent to which differential DT use explains outcome disparities at an outpatient pediatric diabetes center in NYC.
Method(s): Patients identifying as non-White, Hispanic, or non-English language preference were grouped (minority race/ language; MRL) and compared to non-Hispanic White, Englishpreferred patients. HbA1c >9% was categorized as high. T-test and chi-square statistics compared patient characteristics by HbA1c category. Binomial regression with generalized estimating equations estimated associations (risk ratios, RR; 95% confidence intervals, CI) between MRL and high HbA1c. First, models were adjusted for insurance type and Child Opportunity Index (COI), then additionally for CGM and pump use.
Result(s): Patients (n = 331) aged 2-25 years with T1D >= 3 months attended 709 visits (mean 2.2, SD 1.2) from 2020-2021; 32% identified as MRL. At the most recent visit, 16% had HbA1c>9% (MRL 29%, non-MRL 10%), 87% used CGMs (MRL 77%, non-MRL 92%), and 78% used pumps (MRL 72%, non-MRL 81%). MRL youth were 2.5 (95% CI 1.6-4.0) times more likely to have HbA1c>9% as compared to non-MRL youth, adjusted for insurance and COI. After adjusting for DT use, MRL youth remained twice as likely to have HbA1c>9% (RR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.3).
Conclusion(s): While the disparity in HbA1c between MRL and non-MRL youth can be partially attributed to DT use, disparity persists even after accounting for DT use

Caring for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be complicated, especially when challenging behaviors are present. Providers may feel unprepared to work with these individuals because specialized training for medical and social service providers is limited. To increase access to specialized training, we modified an effective half-day ASD-Care Pathway training (Kuriakose et al. 2018) and disseminated it within five different settings. This short, focused training on strategies for preventing and reducing challenging behaviors of patients with ASD resulted in significant improvements in staff perceptions of challenging behaviors, increased comfort in working with the ASD population, and increased staff knowledge for evidence-informed practices. Implications, including the impact of sociodemographic characteristics on pre/post changes, and future directions are discussed.

BACKGROUND:Adult females of reproductive age (18-44 years) with disabilities have higher rates of health-risk behaviors and chronic conditions compared to their counterparts without disabilities; however, there is limited examination of diet. OBJECTIVE:To examine associations of self-reported disability status with diet quality and diet-related factors. DESIGN/METHODS:Cross-sectional data were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2013-2018. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING/METHODS:Adult females aged 18-44 years were included. Disability was defined as serious difficulty hearing, seeing, concentrating, walking, dressing, and/or running errands due to physical, mental, or emotional conditions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES/METHODS:The Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 assessed diet quality. Diet-related factors included self-rated diet healthfulness, meal characteristics, food security, and food assistance programs. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS/METHODS:Multivariable linear regression estimated differences in HEI-2015 scores for a given day and multivariable Poisson regression estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of diet-related factors by disability status. RESULTS:Of 3,579 adult females, 557 (16%) reported any disabilities, 207 (6%) of whom reported having two or more types of disabilities. Differences in mean HEI-2015 scores for a given day were one third to half of a point lower for fruits, total protein foods, and seafood/plant proteins among females with two or more types of disabilities compared to those without disabilities. Females with any disabilities were more likely to rate their diet as poor, have low food security, participate in food assistance programs, and consume frozen foods/pizza compared to those without disabilities (aPR ranged from 1.35 to 1.93); they were less likely to be the main food planner/preparer or shopper for their households. CONCLUSIONS:Some indicators of diet quality and diet-related factors differed between adult females with and without disabilities. Further investigation of dietary intakes and behaviors, as well as access to and availability of healthy foods, among females with disabilities is necessary.

Health status during the reproductive years influences fecundity, fertility, and the future health of males and their offspring. There remains a dearth of literature examining men's preconception health, especially among high-risk populations, such as those with disabilities. The objective of this study was to examine indicators of preconception health, including chronic medical conditions, lifestyle behaviors, and health care utilization, among males of reproductive age with and without disabilities in the United States. Data were from 3,702 males of reproductive age (18-44 years) who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2013-2018. Approximately 14% of males reported having at least one disability related to vision, hearing, cognition, mobility, self-care, or independent living. Among all men, suboptimal preconception health indicators were prevalent including poor or fair self-rated health; low education and household income status; lack of health insurance and no recent utilization of health care and dental care; cigarette smoking; frequent alcohol consumption and binge drinking; marijuana and illegal drug use; obesity; low fruit and vegetable intake and no multi-vitamin use; low physical activity; short sleep durations; depressive symptoms; and hypertension and asthma. Compared to males with no disabilities, males with any disabilities were more likely to have suboptimal preconception health indicators. Strategies to promote and improve sexual health, preconception care, and family planning services among all men are needed. For males with disabilities, specifically, further investigation of their specific health needs related to sex, reproduction, family planning, and fatherhood, as well as interactions with health care providers, is required.

Elevated exposure to multiple trace metals can be neurotoxic even at relatively low levels. These findings are primarily evident from adult occupational studies as well as in children exposed prenatally or in early childhood. Less research has focused on the neurodevelopmental impacts of exposure to metals among school-aged children. We examined associations between exposure to a mixture of four metals (arsenic, cadmium, manganese, lead) measured in hair and markers of cognition, attention, and behavior among 222 6-12 year old children who participated in a 2009-2010 neurodevelopmental follow-up to the C8 Health Project. Using quantile-based g-computation we estimated the adjusted overall metal mixture effect ψ (95 % CI) as the change in outcome per decile increase in all metals in the mixture. Hair metal levels varied by metal, with cadmium being lowest (median 0.007, interquartile range (IQR) 0.013 μg/g) and lead the highest concentration (median 0.152, IQR 0.252 μg/g). Children's cognitive skills and development, attention/impulsivity, and behavior were all close to standardized population means. Each decile increase in all metals was associated with a Full Scale IQ reduction of 1.01 points (95 % confidence interval (CI) -1.88, -0.15) and Verbal IQ reduction of 1.11 points (95 % CI -1.97, -0.25), adjusted for child age, sex, secondhand smoke exposure, HOME score, maternal education, maternal IQ, and examiner. Maternal report of ADHD-like behaviors and executive functioning also showed adverse associations with the metal mixture. Our findings suggest that similar to exposure during prenatal and early childhood periods, recent exposure to metals during middle childhood is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental consequences. Middle childhood may also be a developmental window of susceptibility to the negative consequences of exposure to environmental neurotoxicants.

BACKGROUND:The association between adversity and psychopathology in adolescents and adults is characterized by equifinality. These associations, however, have not been assessed during early childhood when psychopathology first emerges. Defining adversity using both dimensional and cumulative risk approaches, we examined whether specific types of adversity are differentially associated with psychopathology in preschool-aged children. METHODS:Measures of threat, deprivation, and total adversities (i.e., cumulative risk) were calculated based on parent-reported information for 755 2- to 5-year old children recruited from pediatric primary care clinics. Logistic regression was used to estimate cross-sectional associations between type of adversity and anxiety, depression, ADHD, and behavioral disorder diagnoses. RESULTS:Threat and cumulative risk exhibited independent associations with psychopathology. Threat was strongly related to behavioral disorders. Cumulative risk was consistently related to all psychopathologies. CONCLUSIONS:Using mutually adjusted models, we identified differential associations between threat and psychopathology outcomes in preschool-aged children. This selectivity may reflect different pathways through which adversity increases the risk for psychopathology during this developmentally important period. As has been observed at other ages, a cumulative risk approach also effectively identified the cumulative impact of all forms of adversity on most forms of psychopathology during early childhood.

This study examined product use among pregnant women and new mothers in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic (July 2020-June 2021). Women reported use of personal care and household cleaning products within the previous month, changes in antibacterial product use, receipt of healthcare provider advice, and opinions on environmental chemicals (n = 320). On average, women used 15 personal care products and 7 household cleaning products. Non-Hispanic Black women used nearly two more personal care products; non-Hispanic Black women, those with a college degree, and essential workers used 1-3 more household cleaning products. Women who were Hispanic or reported their race and ethnicity as Other were two times more likely to use antibacterial personal care products. Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and women who reported their race and ethnicity as Other were 1.5 times more likely to increase antibacterial product use during the pandemic. Nearly all women agreed that environmental chemicals pose health risks and are impossible to avoid, while less than one quarter received advice regarding product use. Product use is a modifiable source of chemical exposures. Results from this study suggest that women may have increased their product use during the pandemic. Healthcare providers may use the current focus on health hygiene to promote discussion and assessment of environmental chemical exposures with patients.

OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to characterize suicide risk screening results for youth in pediatric ambulatory subspecialty clinics. METHOD/METHODS:The Ask Suicide-Screening Questions was administered to patients ages 9-24 years in 12 subspecialty clinics to assess suicide risk, determined by suicide ideation/behavior. The SAMSHA-HRSA standard framework for integrated health was used to categorize each clinic's level of behavioral health integration. RESULTS:6365 patients completed 7440 suicide risk screens; 6.2% of patients screened positive at their initial screen and 4.1% at subsequent annual screens. There was no dose-response pattern between increasing level of integration and decreasing likelihood of a positive suicide screen. Youth identifying as gender expansive were 3.1 times (95% CI [2.0, 4.9]) more likely to screen positive as compared to cisgender youth, adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, screen type, year, and clinic integration level. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Results surrounding disparities in suicide risk based on gender identity underscore the importance of further investigating how to optimally identify and manage high-risk, often understudied youth at suicide risk.

Background:Previous studies demonstrated that when the violence-exposed child becomes a mother and interacts with her own child during early sensitive periods for social-emotional development, she may have difficulties providing sensitive responsiveness to the child's emotional communication. Such difficulties place the child's development of emotional comprehension (EC) and related self-regulation at risk. The aim of this study was to examine how mothers' interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic disorder (IPV-PTSD) would affect their children's EC and their own ability to predict their children's EC. We also investigated how mothers' predictive ability would correlate with child psychopathology. Methods:Sixty-one mother-child dyads (36 with IPV-PTSD) participated in this study. Children's (mean age = 7.0 years, SD = 1.1) EC was assessed with the Test of Emotion Comprehension (child TEC) and their psychopathology as reported by the mother was assessed with the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and as evaluated by a clinician using selected modules of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS). Mothers were measured for IPV-PTSD with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and for their capacity to predict their child's emotional comprehension (mother-responding-as-child TEC; mTEC). Results:We found no significant between-group differences in children's level of EC. Maternal PTSD was associated with lower scores on the mTEC, however. Reduced maternal scores on the mTEC were significantly associated with maternal report of increased aggressive child behaviour and with depression symptoms on the K-SADS. Further, scores on the mTEC interacted with maternal report of child aggression on child oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms on the K-SADS. Conclusion:These findings support that improving maternal emotional comprehension may help reduce child risk for psychiatric morbidity in this population.