The mental health toll of COVID-19 on healthcare workers (HCW) is not yet fully described. We characterized distress, coping, and preferences for support among NYC HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was a cross-sectional web survey of physicians, advanced practice providers, residents/fellows, and nurses, conducted during a peak of inpatient admissions for COVID-19 in NYC (April 9th-April 24th 2020) at a large medical center in NYC (n = 657). Results: Positive screens for psychological symptoms were common; 57% for acute stress, 48% for depressive, and 33% for anxiety symptoms. For each, a higher percent of nurses/advanced practice providers screened positive vs. attending physicians, though housestaff's rates for acute stress and depression did not differ from either. Sixty-one percent of participants reported increased sense of meaning/purpose since the COVID-19 outbreak. Physical activity/exercise was the most common coping behavior (59%), and access to an individual therapist with online self-guided counseling (33%) garnered the most interest. Conclusions: NYC HCWs, especially nurses and advanced practice providers, are experiencing COVID-19-related psychological distress. Participants reported using empirically-supported coping behaviors, and endorsed indicators of resilience, but they also reported interest in additional wellness resources. Programs developed to mitigate stress among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic should integrate HCW preferences.

Telomerase is up-regulated in the vast majority of human cancers and serves to halt the progressive telomere shortening that ultimately blocks would-be cancer cells from achieving a full malignant phenotype. In contrast to humans, the laboratory mouse possesses long telomeres and, even in early generation telomerase-deficient mice, the level of telomere reserve is sufficient to avert telomere-based checkpoint responses and to permit full malignant progression. These features in the mouse provide an opportunity to determine whether enforced high-level telomerase activity can serve functions that extend beyond its ability to sustain telomere length and function. Here, we report the generation and characterization of transgenic mice that express the catalytic subunit of telomerase (mTERT) at high levels in a broad variety of tissues. Expression of mTERT conferred increased telomerase enzymatic activity in several tissues, including mammary gland, splenocytes, and cultured mouse embryonic fibroblasts. In mouse embryonic fibroblasts, mTERT overexpression extended telomere lengths but did not prevent culture-induced replicative arrest, thus reinforcing the view that this phenomenon is not related to occult telomere shortening. Robust telomerase activity, however, was associated with the spontaneous development of mammary intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive mammary carcinomas in a significant proportion of aged females. These data indicate that enforced mTERT expression can promote the development of spontaneous cancers even in the setting of ample telomere reserve.

Approximately 50% of patients with cardiovascular disease and/or its major risk factors have poor adherence to their prescribed medications. Finding novel methods to help patients improve their adherence to existing evidence-based cardiovascular drug therapies has enormous potential to improve health outcomes while potentially reducing health care costs. The goal of this report is to provide a review of the current understanding of adherence to cardiovascular medications from the point of view of prescribing clinicians and cardiovascular researchers. Key topics addressed include: 1) definitions of medication adherence; 2) prevalence and impact of non-adherence; 3) methods for assessing medication adherence; 4) reasons for poor adherence; and 5) approaches to improving adherence to cardiovascular medications. For each of these topics, the report seeks to identify important gaps in knowledge and opportunities for advancing the field of cardiovascular adherence research.

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Objective To determine whether behavioral mechanisms explain the association between depressive symptoms and myocardial infarction (MI) or death in individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD). Background Depressive symptoms are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in individuals with CHD, but it is unclear how much behavioral mechanisms contribute to this association. Methods The study included 4,676 participants with a history of CHD. Elevated depressive symptoms were defined as scores ≥4 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression 4-item Scale. The primary outcome was definite/probable MI or death from any cause. Incremental proportional hazards models were constructed by adding demographics, comorbidities and medications, then four behavioral mechanisms (alcohol use, smoking, physical inactivity, and medication non-adherence). Results At baseline, 638 (13.6%) participants had elevated depressive symptoms. Over a median 3.8 years of follow up, 125 of 638 (19.6%) participants with and 657 of 4038 (16.3%) without elevated depressive symptoms had events. Higher risk of MI or death was observed for elevated depressive symptoms after adjusting for demographics (hazard ratio [HR] 1.41, 95% CI 1.15–1.72), but was no longer significant after adjusting for behavioral mechanisms (HR 1.14, 95% CI 0.93–1.40). The four behavioral mechanisms together significantly attenuated the risk for MI or death conveyed by elevated depressive symptoms (−36.9%, 95% CI −18.9 to −119.1%), with smoking (−17.6%, 95% CI −6.5% to −56.0%) and physical inactivity (−21.0%, 95% CI −9.7% to −61.1%) having the biggest explanatory roles. Conclusion Our findings suggest potential roles for behavioral interventions targeting smoking and physical inactivity in patients with CHD and comorbid depression.

Background Many hospital systems seek to improve patient satisfaction as assessed by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys. A systematic review of the current experimental evidence could inform these efforts and does not yet exist. Methods We conducted a systematic review of the literature by searching electronic databases, including MEDLINE and EMBASE, the six databases of the Cochrane Library, and grey literature databases. We included studies involving hospital patients with interventions targeting at least 1 of the 11 HCAHPS domains, and that met our quality filter score on the 27-item Downs and Black coding scale. We calculated post-hoc power when appropriate. Results A total of 59 studies met inclusion criteria, with with 44 of these did not meet the quality filter of 50% (average quality rating 27.8% ± 10.9%.) Of the 15 studies that met the quality filter (average quality rating 67.3% ± 10.7%), 8 targeted the Communication with Doctors HCAHPS domain, 6 targeted Overall Hospital Rating, 5 targeted Communication with Nurses, 5 targeted Pain Management, 5 targeted Communication about Medicines, 5 targeted Recommend the Hospital, 3 targeted Quietness of the Hospital Environment, 3 targeted Cleanliness of the Hospital Environment, and 3 targeted Discharge Information. Significant HCAHPS improvements were reported by 8 interventions, but their generalizability may be limited by narrowly focused patient populations, heterogeneity of approach, and other methodological concerns. Conclusions Although there are a few studies that show some improvement in HCAHPS score through various interventions, we conclude that more rigorous research is needed to identify effective and generalizable interventions to improve patient satisfaction.

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