Faculty Bibliography

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the performance, stability, and decision-making behavior of large language models (LLMs) for title and abstract screening for radiology systematic reviews, with attention to prompt framing, confidence calibration, and model robustness under disagreement. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:We compared five LLMs (GPT-4o, GPT-4o mini, Gemini 1.5 Pro, Gemini 2.0 Flash, Llama 3.3 70B) on two imaging-focused systematic reviews (n = 5438 and n = 267 abstracts) using binary and ternary classification tasks, confidence scoring, and reclassification of true and synthetic disagreements. Disagreements were framed as either "LLM vs human" or "human vs human." We also piloted autonomous PubMed retrieval using OpenAI and Gemini Deep Research tools. RESULTS:LLMs achieved high specificity and variable sensitivity across reviews and tasks, with F1 scores ranging from 0.389 to 0.854. Ternary classification showed low abstention rates (<5%) and modest sensitivity gains. Confidence scores were significantly higher for correct predictions. In disagreement tasks, models more often selected the human label when disagreements were framed as "LLM vs human," consistent with authority bias. GPT-4o showed greater resistance to this effect, while others were more prone to defer to perceived human input. In the autonomous search task, OpenAI achieved moderate recall and high precision; Gemini's recall was poor but precision remained high. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:LLMs hold promise for systematic review screening tasks but require careful prompt design and circumspect human-in-the-loop oversight to ensure robust performance.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Many health life exposure factors (LEFs) influence cognitive decline and dementia incidence, but their relative importance to episodic memory (an early indicator of cognitive decline) among diverse older adults is unclear. We used machine learning to rank LEFs for memory performance in a large and diverse US cohort. METHODS:Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) and Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR), participants underwent neuropsychological testing and answered questionnaires about multiple LEFs. XGBoost and Shapley Additive exPlanation values ranked the importance of factors influencing cross-sectional episodic memory in the full sample and by sex and ethnic group. RESULTS:Among 2245 adults (mean age: 74 years; range 54-90), age, sex, education, volunteering, income, vision, hearing, sleep, and exercise contributed to memory performance regardless of group stratification. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS:This innovative methodology can help identify risk factors important for memory performance and guide future dementia risk reduction interventions among older adults. HIGHLIGHTS/CONCLUSIONS:This work uses a regression tree machine learning model (XGBoost) with highly interpretable Shapley Additive exPlanation values to analyze impacts of 12 life exposure factors plus age, sex and ethnoracial identity on episodic memory outcome. This approach has valuable properties, including the ability to implicitly account for variable interactions, non-linear relations with outcome, and missing values. Age, sex, education, income, volunteering, exercise, hearing and vision, and sleep (quality and duration) have important impacts on memory outcome in a combined model and in stratified models regardless of ethnoracial identity. We also demonstrate individualized models for subgroups of participants, showing how life exposure factors vary in importance between divergent populations and suggesting an approach to personalized interventions. This approach can be valuable for both policy decisions and individualized interventions to support healthy cognitive aging.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Screening for unhealthy alcohol and drug use is recommended in primary care, and effective implementation requires understanding patients' perspectives. Failure to identify and address potential differences in attitudes toward screening across demographic groups may result in care gaps, but research examining this is limited. METHODS:We surveyed 977 adult patients in 9 primary care clinics that participated in a screening implementation study. The survey collected demographics and attitudes toward screening/discussion of alcohol/drug use in primary care. We described responses overall and compared across age, gender, race, and ethnicity using Chi-square/Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS:Mean age was 51.1 years, and the sample was 39% male, 61% female, 72% White non-Hispanic, 11% Hispanic, 10% Black non-Hispanic, and 6% other/unknown race non-Hispanic. Most participants across all demographic groups reported supportive attitudes. Comfort reporting drug use was lower among young, male, Black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic patients, and comfort with screening overall was lower among middle-aged, Black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic patients. CONCLUSIONS:Results suggest that screening/discussion of alcohol/drug use in primary care is generally highly acceptable to patients across demographic groups. Strategies are needed to increase comfort and alleviate concerns about how medical information will be used, particularly among middle-aged, Black, and Hispanic patients.

Lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still of grave concern to families within the U.S. Latine community, as pre-pandemic disparities in healthcare and economic stability were significantly exacerbated by the global crisis (Martínez et al., 2021). In this mixed-methods study, we interviewed 42 pregnant and postpartum Latine mothers from low-income households living in the New York Metropolitan area to better understand pandemic related challenges and potential sources of support unique to this group of women. First, we identified broad themes related to specific psychosocial stressors impacting Latine mothers and their families. Second, in an effort to investigate coping strategies that may buffer feelings of persistent stress, mothers were divided into sustained-stress and tapered-stress groups based on reported levels of perceived stress during the height of the pandemic (March-April 2020) compared to the time of interview (August-December 2020). These two groups of mothers were significantly different on levels of PTSD symptoms, social support, and perceived discrimination. Notably, mothers in the tapered-stress group who reported lower-levels of stress at the time of interview described experiences of being distracted by daily activities or by family members as a coping mechanism. Together, these findings highlight the need to address structural barriers and improve access to mental health support in order to mitigate continuing sources of pandemic related stressors for Latine families.

BACKGROUND/UNASSIGNED:In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who need intestinal resection, prior data suggest that earlier surgical intervention may be associated with improved outcomes. However, surgery is often deferred for additional trials of advanced therapies, which potentially shifts patients from a fit to a frail preoperative state. OBJECTIVES/UNASSIGNED:This study aimed to evaluate clinical changes that occur in the year prior to intestinal resection in patients with IBD. DESIGN/UNASSIGNED:Retrospective cohort study. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:This was a multi-hospital retrospective study of patients ⩾18 years old who underwent initial IBD-related intestinal resection between January 1, 2018 and May 31, 2023. Clinical characteristics and radiographical skeletal muscle mass were compared using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test for continuous variables and McNemar's test for categorical variables. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED: = 0.06). CONCLUSION/UNASSIGNED:In the 6-12 months prior to an IBD-related intestinal resection, as compared to the month prior, individuals were less likely to be malnourished, have an infection, or need hospitalization for IBD. This suggests that minimizing delays to surgery may lead to improved outcomes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE/OBJECTIVE:Prostate cancer (PC) is the second most common cancer and a leading cause of death among males. In this systematic review we evaluated cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the relationship between dietary patterns and PC risk, progression, mortality, and biomarkers. METHODS:A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central was conducted through June 2024 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A total of 63 studies (49 cohort studies, 14 RCTs reports) examining dietary patterns and PC outcomes were included. Study quality was assessed using Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists. KEY FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS/UNASSIGNED:Among males without PC at baseline, plant-based and healthy dietary patterns (eg, higher Healthy Eating Index, lower dietary inflammatory and hyperinsulinemic scores) were generally associated with lower total PC risk. Among patients with PC, Mediterranean, plant-based, and low-inflammatory diets were more consistently linked to lower risk of progression and PC-specific mortality. RCTs testing various diet patterns showed mixed effects on prostate-specific antigen or tumor markers. Limitations include variations in diet definitions, outcomes, and follow-up duration, and residual confounding. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS:Healthy dietary patterns that support cardiometabolic health may also benefit PC prevention and management. While evidence appears stronger for diet in slowing PC progression after diagnosis, the impact of diet on reducing the risk of other PC outcomes should not be overlooked (eg, risk of developing PC or risk of PC death). Integrated strategies are needed to promote healthy eating, particularly for patients at risk of PC progression, as this population often has higher risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders such as diabetes.

BACKGROUND:The Korean government and experts initiated a national trauma system development project in 2012. Its first major initiative was establishing and operating regional trauma centers across the country. We assessed whether the severity-adjusted mortality rates were lower in trauma centers compared with non-trauma centers and the specific benefits of trauma centers for patients with trauma. METHODS:This retrospective cohort study analyzed the data of patients with trauma registered in the National Emergency Department Information System from 2015 to 2019. Additionally, we used the Korean Trauma Data Bank and trauma center status data provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. We focused on patients with survival probabilities of < 0.5 according to the International Classification of Diseases Injury Severity Score, 9th Edition. The severity-adjusted mortality rates between the trauma centers and non-trauma centers were compared. RESULTS:The 7 qualified trauma centers had notably more younger patients with penetrating injuries than the non-trauma centers. Patients admitted to the trauma centers had more critical vital signs and a higher incidence of reduced consciousness than those admitted to the non-trauma centers. After adjusting for severity, the in-hospital mortality rates were significantly lower in the trauma centers than in the non-trauma centers (16.9% vs. 18.2%; relative risk, 0.933; 95% confidence interval, 0.874-0.997). Patients in shock conditions had significantly lower mortality rates when treated in trauma centers. The disparity in cumulative mortality rates between the trauma centers and non-trauma centers was most pronounced 2 days post-admission. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:This study confirmed that the national project for establishing regional trauma centers effectively reduced mortality rates among severely injured patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION/BACKGROUND:Clinical Research Information Service Identifier: KCT0009684.

According to the family stress model (FSM), economic stressors undermine optimal child development through negative impacts on parent psychological well-being and family relationships, which in turn disrupt positive parenting. However, few studies have examined the role of interparental conflict among these pathways and the resilience factors that buffer the FSM processes. Understanding risk and resilience is especially relevant for families in Flint, MI, for whom poverty resulting from structural racism and chronic disinvestment has coincided with public health crises. Using 199 families from low socioeconomic backgrounds in an ongoing parenting intervention in Flint, this study examined whether parent psychological distress and interparental conflict mediated the association between economic pressure at baseline (around birth) and cognitive stimulation at 9 months, and whether parenting self-efficacy and social support moderated the sequential mediation. Data were collected through parent interviews at both time points. We found that the negative association between economic pressure at baseline and cognitive stimulation at 9 months was sequentially mediated by parent psychological distress and interparental conflict. Furthermore, this negative sequential mediation was reduced and became nonsignificant when parents reported higher levels of parenting self-efficacy and social support. These findings suggest that improving interparental relationships in addition to parent mental health may promote positive parenting in at-risk two-parent families and that strength-based interventions are needed to reinforce parenting self-efficacy and facilitate parents' social networks and connections with the community to foster positive parenting. Programs should address these issues during infancy to build a strong foundation for long-term healthy development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

BACKGROUND:Hypertension (HTN) is the leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Africa, yet integration of hypertension treatment in HIV clinics is sub-optimal. Cost-effective strategies to implement evidence-based hypertension care for this population are urgently needed to preserve the life-expectancy gains of antiretroviral therapy. METHODS:Building on insights gained from a comprehensive mixed-methods formative assessment, we used a human-centered design approach to develop a multi-component HIV-HTN integration (HTN-PLUS) strategy. In a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial, we are assessing the effectiveness, costs, and implementation of HTN-PLUS as well as a less resource intensive strategy of providing HTN medication and blood pressure cuffs (HTN-BASIC) free of charge to clinics. The trial is being conducted in 16 public and private not-for-profit HIV clinics in Kampala and Wakiso districts in Uganda. The co-primary effectiveness outcomes are population BP control (screened and documented BP < 140/90 mmHg) and HTN patient BP control [BP < 140/90 mmHg among PLWH with HTN]. The trial is designed to have > 80% power to detect a 12%-point increase in both outcomes compared to the pre-implementation control period across a range of scenarios of baseline hypertension prevalence and temporal improvements in the control period. At two pre-specified time points, we are conducting a Learn-As-You-Go optimization analysis and will adapt the HTN-PLUS strategy accordingly. To assess implementation outcomes, we have enrolled a prospective longitudinal mixed-methods cohort study of clinic health workers and PLWH with HTN. An extensive economic evaluation will include time and motion studies, facility-based costing, and out-of-pocket cost surveys to determine costs and cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS:Innovative implementation strategies to integrate evidence-based hypertension care for PLWH in Africa must be informed by the health workers and PLWH who are cared for across diverse HIV clinics. These clinics currently provide high quality HIV care as evidenced by high rates of HIV viral suppression but often lack the knowledge, skills and resources to provide HTN care. Funders and policymakers critically need to know both the effectiveness and costs to scale these strategies and potentially expand them to include other non-AIDS comorbidities. TRIAL REGISTRATION/BACKGROUND:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05609513. Registered on November 11, 2022.