Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:Relationships between early kidney disease, neurocognitive function, and brain anatomy are poorly defined in African Americans with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). STUDY DESIGN/METHODS:Cross-sectional associations were assessed between cerebral anatomy and cognitive performance with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) in African Americans with T2DM. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:African Americans with cognitive testing and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the African American-Diabetes Heart Study Memory in Diabetes (AA-DHS MIND; n=512; 480 with MRI) and Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) MIND (n=484; 104 with MRI) studies. PREDICTORS/METHODS:eGFR (CKD-EPI creatinine equation), spot UACR. MEASUREMENTS/METHODS:concentration, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, smoking, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease were used to test for associations between kidney phenotypes and the brain in each study; a meta-analysis was performed. RESULTS:; and UACR, 119.2±336.4mg/g. In the fully adjusted meta-analysis, higher GMV associated with lower UACR (P<0.05), with a trend toward association with higher eGFR. Higher white matter lesion volume was associated with higher UACR (P<0.05) and lower eGFR (P<0.001). WMV was not associated with either kidney parameter. Higher UACR was associated with lower Digit Symbol Coding performance (P<0.001) and a trend toward association with higher Stroop interference; eGFR was not associated with cognitive tests. LIMITATIONS/CONCLUSIONS:Cross-sectional; single UACR measurement. CONCLUSIONS:In African Americans with T2DM, mildly high UACR and mildly low eGFR were associated with smaller GMV and increased white matter lesion volume. UACR was associated with poorer processing speed and working memory.

INTRODUCTION: Because of the rapidly increasing use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), this study aimed to investigate the individual characteristics and state-level prevalence of U.S. adults who have switched to e-cigarettes from traditional cigarettes. METHODS: Data from the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 National Adult Tobacco Surveys were analyzed in 2016. Relative percent change in switching was estimated, and the state-specific prevalence of adults who switched to e-cigarettes from traditional cigarettes was calculated and mapped. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to examine how switching varied by sociodemographic subgroups and region. RESULTS: Overall, the number of individuals who switched from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes increased by approximately 100% over the 1-year interval. Significant increases were found among a number of sociodemographics and regions. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that young adults and those living in the South and West were more likely to switch to e-cigarettes, compared to former smokers who did not switch. Compared with current dual users, those with higher education and those who were not single were more likely to switch to e-cigarettes. The state with the highest prevalence of switching was New Mexico (7.3%), whereas Connecticut had the lowest prevalence (0.8 %) among former smokers. CONCLUSIONS: There is an increase in the progression from traditional cigarette use to e-cigarette use. Further research is warranted to determine whether this change continues and facilitates cigarette smoking cessation as a possible public health benefit and opportunity to save lives rather than constitutes a potential threat to public health.

OBJECTIVE:and diabetes duration) with brain volumes and vascular pathology on brain MRI and to assess whether the associations of diabetes with brain volumes are mediated by brain vascular pathology. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:≥6.5%] <7.0% vs. ≥7.0%), with further stratification by diabetes duration (<10 vs. ≥10 years). RESULTS:> 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:and longer disease duration) but not prediabetes or less-severe diabetes was associated with smaller brain volumes and an increased burden of brain vascular pathology. No evidence was found that associations of diabetes with smaller brain volumes are mediated by brain vascular pathology, suggesting that other mechanisms may be responsible for these associations.

BACKGROUND: Due to the increasing prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD), the impact of cannabis use on public health may be significant. OBJECTIVE: The present study seeks the possible precursors (e.g., alcohol use) of CUD in order to minimize the potential negative consequences of CUD such as impaired coordination and performance. METHOD: The Harlem Longitudinal Development Study included 674 participants (53% African Americans, 47% Puerto Ricans), with 60% females (n=405) from a six wave survey. We used a growth mixture model to obtain the trajectories of alcohol use from the mean ages of 14 to 36. To examine the associations between alcohol use trajectories and CUD, we used logistic regression analyses with the indicator of CUD as the dependent variable and the indicator of membership in each trajectory group as the independent variables. RESULTS: A three alcohol use trajectory group model was selected. Male gender, higher frequency of cannabis use in adolescence, and a lower educational level were associated with an increased likelihood of having CUD. Membership in the increasing alcohol use group (OR=27.44, p < .01; AOR=15.54, p < .01) and the moderate alcohol use group (OR=10.40, p < .05; AOR=8.63, p < .05) were associated with an increased likelihood of having CUD compared with the membership in the no or low alcohol use group. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our study support the hypothesis that addressing alcohol use at an early age could impact later CUD.

PURPOSE: Inguinal herniorrhaphy is the most common general surgical procedure. It is associated with frequent complications such as recurrence (1.9% with mesh), post-operative hematoma (4.5%), reduced sensation (0 - 42.8%), chronic post-operative pain (5.1%), vasal injury (0.1 - 0.53%) and infection (3 - 6%)1-5. Drawing on our experience utilizing the operating microscope for varicocelectomy, vasectomy reversal and repair of iatrogenic vasal obstruction from hernia repair, we employed it for inguinal hernia repair. This paper describes the rationale, technique and outcomes of microsurgically assisted inguinal hernia repair. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 291 microsurgically assisted inguinal hernia repairs were performed on 253 men by the same urologist (MG). Simultaneous microsurgical varicocelectomy or other testicular procedures were performed in 83% of cases. All were open repairs through an inguinal incision with the vas deferens, ilioinguinal nerve, genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve and spermatic vasculature identified and preserved. Median follow up was 8.6 months, and outcomes were assessed through examination, pain reporting and pathology reports. RESULTS: Chronic postoperative pain, sensory loss, infection, hematoma, vasal injury and recurrence were assessed. The incidence of hematoma was 0.85%. No hernia recurrences, chronic postoperative pain, sensory loss, infection or vasal injury was reported. CONCLUSIONS: Using an operating microscope, complications of inguinal hernia repair such as vasal obstruction, testicular atrophy, recurrence, infection, hematoma, chronic postoperative pain and loss of sensation are minimized. Microsurgically assisted hernia repair is a promising technique, especially when employed by a urologist performing simultaneous microsurgical varicocelectomy or procedures involving spermatic cord structures or testis.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a multi-institutional analysis of clinical factors predicting unplanned hospital readmission after major inpatient urologic surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) is a risk-adjusted data collection mechanism for analyzing clinical outcomes data including 30-day perioperative readmissions and complications. We identified 23,108 patients who underwent major inpatient urologic surgery from 2011 to 2012. Readmission rates were determined and stratified by procedure type. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine independent risk factors for 30-day unplanned hospital readmissions. RESULTS: Of 23,108 total patients undergoing urologic surgery, 1329 patients (5.8%) had unplanned readmissions. Upper tract reconstruction and urinary diversion without cystectomy (21/102) and cystectomy (291/1,662) had the highest rates of readmission of all procedures analyzed. Readmitted patients had a 64.2% (853/1329) and 64.4% (855/1329 patients) rate of major and minor complications, respectively, compared to 6.7% (1459/21779) and 15.9% (3462/21779) for patients not readmitted (p<0.02). Organ space infection (OR 15.23), pulmonary embolism (OR 12.14), deep venous thrombosis (OR 10.96), and return to the operating room (OR 8.46) were the most substantial predictors of readmission. Laparoscopic/robotic procedures had significantly lower readmission rates compared to open procedures for prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy, and nephrectomy (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Readmission after inpatient urological surgery occurs at a rate of 5.8%, with cystectomy and urinary diversion demonstrating the highest rates. Major and minor postoperative complications were the most substantial predictors of readmission. These results may guide risk reduction initiatives to prevent readmissions after major urologic surgery.

Endothelin-1, a marker of endothelial dysfunction, is a potent vasoconstrictor released by endothelial cells and an important regulator of renal physiology. It is not known whether elevated serum levels of endothelin-1 indicate future risk of kidney disease in the general population. In participants in the Jackson Heart Study, a community-based observational study of cardiovascular risk in black adults, we measured serum endothelin-1 level at baseline (2000-2004; n=3538). We defined incident CKD as eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m² and ≥30% eGFR decline at the third visit (2009-2013) relative to baseline among those participants with baseline eGFR ≥60 ml/min per 1.73 m² At baseline, mean age was 55 years old, 37% of participants were men, and mean eGFR was 94 ml/min per 1.73 m² Over a median follow-up of 8 years, 228 (6.4%) cases of incident CKD occurred in participants. Participants with baseline endothelin-1 levels in higher quartiles had a greater incidence of CKD in the fully adjusted model (odds ratio for fourth versus first quartile, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.11 to 2.96; P

BACKGROUND: Because of confounding from the urban/rural and socioeconomic organizations of territories and resulting correlation between residential and nonresidential exposures, classically estimated residential neighborhood-outcome associations capture nonresidential environment effects, overestimating residential intervention effects. Our study diagnosed and corrected this "residential" effect fallacy bias applicable to a large fraction of neighborhood and health studies. METHODS: Our empirical application investigated the effect that hypothetical interventions raising the residential number of services would have on the probability that a trip is walked. Using global positioning systems (GPS) tracking and mobility surveys over 7 days (227 participants, 7440 trips), we employed a multilevel linear probability model to estimate the trip-level association between residential number of services and walking to derive a naive intervention effect estimate; and a corrected model accounting for numbers of services at the residence, trip origin, and trip destination to determine a corrected intervention effect estimate (true effect conditional on assumptions). RESULTS: There was a strong correlation in service densities between the residential neighborhood and nonresidential places. From the naive model, hypothetical interventions raising the residential number of services to 200, 500, and 1000 were associated with an increase by 0.020, 0.055, and 0.109 of the probability of walking in the intervention groups. Corrected estimates were of 0.007, 0.019, and 0.039. Thus, naive estimates were overestimated by multiplicative factors of 3.0, 2.9, and 2.8. CONCLUSIONS: Commonly estimated residential intervention-outcome associations substantially overestimate true effects. Our somewhat paradoxical conclusion is that, to estimate residential effects, investigators critically need information on nonresidential places visited.