November 17, 2020
The 2020 SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) pandemic has had devastating primary effects on mortality and ongoing health across the globe. By the end of June 2020, more than 503,000 people had died of SARS-CoV2 (WHO, 2020b) and by four months later this figure was at 1.18 million globally, with more than 45 million infected (WHO, 2020a). In addition to these primary effects, secondary impacts are also being felt worldwide, such as on mental health, employment and education (Chen et al., 2020, Kim and Su, 2020, Nicola et al., 2020). Notably, these secondary effects may be disproportionately affecting certain societal groups, including those from low socio-economic backgrounds and women (Findlay et al., 2020, Özdin and Bayrak Özdin, 2020).
Gender inequality in publishing during the COVID-19 pandemic
November 17, 2020
Background: Our aim was to evaluate differences in reported citizenship tasks among women physicians due to personal or demographic factors and time spent performing those tasks for work. Materials and Methods: Attendees of a national women physician's leadership conference (Brave Enough Women Physicians Continuing Medical Education Conference) replied to a survey using Qualtrics© (2019 Qualtrics, Provo, UT), in September 2019. Data collected included age, race, ethnicity, training level, medical practice, specialty, current annual total compensation, educational debt, and number of children. We asked about employment-related citizenship tasks, including time spent on those activities, and perceived obligation to volunteer for citizenship tasks. Descriptive and impact of demographic factors on those opinions were evaluated using IBM SPSS v26.0. Results: Three hundred eighty-nine women physicians replied. When compared with their younger counterparts, women physicians older than 49 years stated they feel obligated to volunteer for these tasks because of their gender (p = 0.049), and were less likely able to decide which citizenship tasks they were assigned to (p = 0.021). Furthermore, a higher proportion of women of color physicians perceived race as a factor in feeling obligated to volunteer for work-related citizenship tasks, when compared with White women physicians (p < 0.001). Additionally, nearly 50% of women physicians reported spending more time on citizenship tasks than their male counterparts. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that gender, race, and age may play a role in the decision of women physicians to participate in work-related citizenship tasks. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on work-related citizenship tasks as described by women physicians. Still, an in-depth assessment on the role citizenship tasks play in the culture of healthcare is warranted.
Citizenship Tasks and Women Physicians: Additional Woman Tax in Academic Medicine?
November 16, 2020
Where you live matters in terms of Alzheimer’s disease risk. Scientists and medical researchers know that advanced age and certain changes in the brain increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Now they are looking at what role location might play. An emerging body of research is identifying counties and neighborhoods with higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 5.8 million people and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. Researchers in the field of aging are seeking to find out if those locations have common risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s and if any of those risk factors can be reduced.
November 16, 2020
The second lactate threshold (LT2) has previously been associated with endurance performance; however, comparisons between sexes are lacking regarding its efficacy. The aim of this study was to compare LT2 between men and women, specifically regarding its (a) relationship with endurance performance and (b) capacity to establish training and competition intensities.
The Efficacy of the Lactate Threshold: A Sex-Based Comparison
November 16, 2020
Background and purpose: Research suggests that women and men may present with different transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke symptoms. We aimed to explore symptoms and features associated with a definite TIA/stroke diagnosis and whether those associations differed by sex. Methods: We completed a retrospective cohort study of patients referred to The Ottawa Hospital Stroke Prevention Clinic in 2015. Exploratory multinomial logistic regression was used to evaluate candidate variables associated with diagnosis and patient sex. Backwards elimination of the interaction terms with a significance level for staying in the model of 0.25 was used to arrive at a more parsimonious model. Results: Based on 1770 complete patient records, sex-specific differences were noted in TIA/stroke diagnosis based on features such as duration of event, suddenness of symptom onset, unilateral sensory loss, and pain. Conclusions: This preliminary work identified sex-specific differences in the final diagnosis of TIA/stroke based on common presenting symptoms/features. More research is needed to understand if there are biases or sex-based differences in TIA/stroke manifestations and diagnosis.
Diagnosis of Transient Ischemic Attack: Sex-Specific Differences From a Retrospective Cohort Study
November 15, 2020
Stress may contribute to progression of coronary heart disease (CHD) through inflammation, especially among women. Thus, we sought to examine whether increased inflammatory response to stress among patients with CHD is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular events and whether this risk is higher in women. We examined inflammatory biomarkers known to increase with mental stress (speech task), including interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9) among 562 patients with stable CHD. Inflammatory response, the difference between post-stress and resting values, was examined as a predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) using subdistribution hazards models for competing risks adjusting for demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, and medications. MACE was defined as a composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina with revascularization, and heart failure. All biomarkers were standardized. The mean age was 63 years (range 34-79) and 24% were women. During a median follow-up of 3 years, 71 patients experienced MACE. Overall, there was no significant association between inflammatory response to stress and risk of MACE, but there were sex-based interactions for IL-6 (p = 0.001) and MCP-1 (p = 0.01). The risk of MACE increased 56% (HR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.21, 2.01; p = 0.001) and 30% (HR: 1.30; 95% 1.09, 1.55; p = 0.004) for each standard deviation increase in IL-6 and MCP-1 response to mental stress for women, respectively, while there was no association among men. Increased inflammation in response to stress is associated with future adverse cardiovascular outcomes among women with CHD.
November 15, 2020
Interstitial lung diseases comprise a family of progressive pulmonary disorders that are often idiopathic or associated with various systemic diseases and that is characterized by bilateral lung involvement with inflammation and tissue remodeling or fibrosis. The impact of sex, including the anatomic and physiologic traits that one is born with, on the development and progression of interstitial lung diseases is not entirely clear. Variances between men and women are driven by differences in male and female biology and sex hormones, among other differences, but their role remains uncertain. In this review, we summarize sex-related differences in the epidemiology and progression of certain interstitial lung diseases with a focus on the connective tissue related interstitial lung diseases, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and sarcoidosis. We also discuss cellular and pre-clinical studies that might shed light on the potential mechanisms responsible for these differences in the hope of unveiling potential targets for intervention and stimulating research in this needed field of investigation.
November 13, 2020
Objective: This cross-sectional study characterized associations between sex, role misidentification, and burnout among surgical and nonsurgical residents. Summary background data: Limited evidence suggests that female resident physicians are more likely to be misidentified as non-physician team members, with potential negative implications for wellbeing. The prevalence and impact of role misidentification on the trainee experience in surgical as compared to nonsurgical specialties is unknown.
Sex-Based Role Misidentification and Burnout of Resident Physicians: An Observational Study
November 13, 2020
Black Americans have increased risk for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses with prenatal origins. Prenatal choline promotes infant brain development and behavioral outcomes, but choline has not been specifically assessed in Black Americans. Pregnant women (N = 183, N = 25 Black Americans) enrolled in a study of prenatal stressors and interactions with prenatal choline. Black American women had lower 16-week gestation plasma choline than Whites. Lower choline was not related to obesity, income, or metabolic genotypes. Pregnant women in rural Uganda have higher choline levels than Black American women. Black Americans' lower choline was associated with higher hair cortisol, indicative of higher stress. Lower maternal choline was associated with offsprings' lower gestational age at birth and with decreased auditory P50 inhibition, a marker of inhibitory neuron development. Behavioral development was assessed on the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-R-SF (IBQ-R) at 3 months. Lower Black American maternal gestational choline was associated with lower infant IBQ-R Orienting/Regulation, indicating decreased attention and relation to caregivers. Additional evidence for developmental effects of choline in Black Americans comes from a randomized clinical trial of gestational phosphatidylcholine supplementation versus placebo that included 15 Black Americans. Phosphatidylcholine increased gestational age at birth and newborn P50 inhibition and decreased Social Withdrawn and Attention problems at 40 months of age in Black Americans' offspring compared to placebo. Inhibitory and behavioral deficits associated with lower prenatal choline in offspring of Black American women indicate potential developmental predispositions to later mental illnesses that might be ameliorated by prenatal choline or phosphatidylcholine supplementation.
November 12, 2020
Pearls have long been favored as objects of beauty. Now, Purdue University innovators are using the gem to provide potential new opportunities for spectral information processing that can be applied to spectroscopy in biomedical and military applications. The Purdue team demonstrated light transport-assisted information processing by creating a pearl spectrometer. Spectrometers probe interactions of matter and light as a function of the electromagnetic spectrum and are commonly used in biomedical and military applications. For example, they have been used for diagnostics of various types of cancer and for military gas sensing.
Pearls may provide new information processing options for biomedical, military innovations
