Mount Sinai to lead aspen discussions on youth mental health, and healthspan science and practice

The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine

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Mount Sinai to Lead Aspen Discussions on Youth Mental Health, and Healthspan Science and Practice 

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Credit: Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System experts will lead discussions on innovative community-based approaches to youth mental health and emerging scientific advances that are transforming how we understand healthy aging and healthspan at the 2026 Aspen Ideas: Health and Aspen Ideas Festival.  

The conversations at the festivals, from Monday, June 22, to Wednesday, July 1, in Aspen, Colorado, will explore how collaboration, research, technology, and personalized care can improve health and well-being for people across communities and throughout life. 

Mount Sinai is an Official Presenting Sponsor of the Aspen Ideas Festival and Aspen Ideas: Health, and the only underwriter to support both events 

“We are excited to return as a health care sponsor to Aspen Ideas: Health and the Aspen Ideas Festival. Mount Sinai’s thought leaders will engage in timely conversations on some of the most important issues shaping the future of health and medicine,” said Brendan G. Carr, MD, MA, MS, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Sinai. “This year’s discussions will explore innovative approaches to healthy aging, longevity, mental health, personalized care, healthcare costs, the use of psychedelics in healthcare, artificial intelligence, and the future of medical education. Aspen provides a unique forum for bringing together leaders, innovators, and changemakers, and we look forward to contributing ideas that can help advance health and improve quality of life for people around the world. We invite attendees to join these conversations and explore the breakthroughs and solutions that will define the future of care.”   

Featuring discussions on festival themes that include artificial intelligence, digital health, neuroscience, mental health, longevity, and other emerging areas of medicine, Mount Sinai’s programming highlights how scientific discovery, collaboration, and innovation are helping advance health and improve lives.  Event time and location details are subject to change; visit www.mountsinai.org/aspen for the most up-to-date details. 

Kicking off Mount Sinai’s events during this year’s festival, Dr. Carr will moderate a panel with Russell Wilson and Sandra Brunson and key Mount Sinai physicians on how creative expression, sports, and community engagement can strengthen youth mental health, build resilience, and improve well-being. The panel will take place on Monday, June 22, from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm MDT in the East Lawn Tent. Panelists will include leaders from medicine, community-based programs, and professional sports. The conversation will explore how sports, play, and creative arts can serve as powerful, evidence-based interventions to build psychological safety, foster trust, reduce stress, and strengthen resilience. Panelists will also discuss how Mount Sinai and its partners are scaling culturally relevant, community-driven models—from locker rooms to clinics—that meet young people where they are. Panelists include: 

• Sandra Brunson, Co-Founder and CFO of the Second Round Foundation, Inc.  

• Sidney Hankerson, MD, MBA, Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Community Engagement in the Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 

• Russell Wilson, philanthropist, Super Bowl champion, and Founder of the Why Not You Foundation  

• Sarah Wood, MD, Division Chief of Adolescent Medicine, Director of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai  

Mount Sinai will also host a panel discussion on how advances in genomics, imaging, cardiovascular science, neurology, and data-driven health monitoring are helping translate scientific discovery into healthier aging and longer healthspan. This session will also be moderated by Dr. Carr, who will be joined by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai participants Fanny Elahi, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Pathology, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine; Eimear E. Kenny, PhD, Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine), and Genetics and Genomic Sciences, and Founding Director of the Institute for Genomic Health; Anuradha (Anu) Lala-Trindade (Lala), MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), and Population Health Science and Policy, and Director of Heart Failure Research; and Zahi A. Fayad, PhD, Founding Director of the BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute, Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Radiology, and Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology, and Medicine (Cardiology). Panelists will examine how these innovations can bridge discovery and delivery by powering smarter clinical trials, enabling more continuous and personalized care models, and accelerating interventions designed not only to extend lifespan, but also to add years of strength, clarity, and independence. This program will take place on Monday, June 29, from 11 am to 11:50 am MDT in the Koch Building, Booz Allen Hamilton Room. 

Other activities in which Mount Sinai Health System experts are participating include:  

• Brendan G. Carr, MD, MA, MS, will participate on a panel titled “Reducing Health Care Costs” on Thursday, June 25, 9 am to 9:50 am MDT in the Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room.  

• Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Executive Vice Chairman of the Mount Sinai Boards of Trustees, who served as Mount Sinai’s Chief Executive Officer for 20 years until 2024, will participate on a panel titled “Reimagining Medical Education” on Tuesday, June 23, 1:40 pm to 2:30 pm MDT in the Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room  

• Fanny Elahi, MD, PhD, will participate on a panel titled “Life, Optimized: What We Gain (and Lose) When AI Takes Over” on Friday, June 26, 11 am to 11:50 am MDT in the Koch Building, Lauder Room.  

• Rachel Yehuda, PhD, Chemers Neurstein Family Professor of Trauma and Resilience and Director of The Parsons Research Center for Psychedelic Healing at Mount Sinai, will participate on a panel titled “Are We Ready for Psychedelics?” on Wednesday, June 24, 9 am to 9:50 am MDT in the Greenwald Pavilion.  

Mount Sinai clinicians will be onsite to provide complimentary dermatologic screenings, body scans, grip strength assessments, and bio-age retinal scans at the Mount Sinai Healthspan Experience, located in The Grove at Aspen Meadows. Screenings will be available from June 22 through July 1. Sessions can be reserved in advance starting on Tuesday, June 16, by calling 929-829-2881 or sending an email to aspen@mountsinai.org. For more information about Mount Sinai’s speakers, events, and activities at the Aspen Ideas: Health and Aspen Ideas Festival, visit www.mountsinai.org/aspen.  

Media interested in speaking with any of the panelists before, during, or after Aspen Ideas may submit requests to: newsmedia@mssm.edu

About the Mount Sinai Health System  
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and leading schools of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it. 

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care from conception through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 10 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. 

The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked the No. 1 hospital in New York on Newsweek’s “World’s Best Hospitals” list and recognized by Newsweek as the No. 1 Best Smart Hospital in New York. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals,” “Best in State Hospitals,” “World’s Best Hospitals,” and “Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2025-2026. 

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube. To listen to news and stories from Mount Sinai, visit the Mount Sinai Podcast Network. 

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Positive everyday experiences have greater impact on young people than crises

University of Zurich

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Which major life events matter to young people? A recent study by the University of Zurich (UZH) shows that adolescents and young adults primarily cite positive, everyday developmental steps as formative events, for example school and apprenticeships, friendships, first relationships, travel and moving out of their parents’ home. UZH researchers evaluated open-ended written responses from 1,442 participants in a long-term study. Each participant was surveyed at the ages of 15, 17, 20 and 24.

Eight out of ten events mentioned are positive

The results paint a different picture than many classic studies on life events, which tend to focus on stressful experiences. Overall, 83% of the events mentioned were positive. The participants talked about school, training and apprenticeships particularly often, with these topics accounting for almost half of all mentions. Friendships and romantic relationships came in second place, at around 12%. Personal development and mental well-being accounted for about 8%, while travel and stays abroad stood at approximately 7%. 

“Our results show that youth is not primarily composed of crises. Many young people primarily mention positive developmental steps such as education, relationships and personal achievements,” says David Bürgin, clinical developmental psychologist and first author of the study. Lilly Shanahan, co-leader of the study, adds: “Support services should therefore not only focus on how to cope with stress. Stable relationships, positive experiences and opportunities to experience self-efficacy are just as important.”

Nevertheless, the researchers found that psychological stress was still part of the equation. Adolescents and young adults with more severe symptoms of anxiety and depression mentioned stressful relationship experiences, conflicts, loss and personal failures significantly more often. Correspondingly, they referred to positive events such as travel, educational achievements and sports activities less frequently.

Changing priorities

The study also revealed that clear changes occur between adolescence and early adulthood. While school, friendships and leisure time were paramount in middle adolescence, education, work, relationships and independence grew in significance later on. Topics such as sport and going out were mentioned less frequently as the participants became older, while work, housing and having children became more important over time. The researchers also found differences based on gender, social background and experiences of migration. However, broadly speaking, the most important topics were very similar across social groups.

Modern language processing reveals patterns

The research team used automated language processing methods to evaluate thousands of open-ended written responses according to topic. “Our analyses show how freely formulated responses from large longitudinal studies can be processed in such a way that they provide a structured picture of young people’s experiences. This allows their perspectives remain visible in their own words,” says first author Christina Haag, who is now at the University of Cambridge. The study is one of the first large-scale, long-term studies in the world to use such methods to analyze open-ended responses from young people.

References 

David Bürgin, Christina Haag, Lynn Alison Büeler, Laura Bechtiger, Clarissa Janousch, Elena Feldmann, Denis Ribeaud, Manuel Eisner, Viktor von Wyl, Lilly Shanahan. Personally meaningful life events from adolescence to young adulthood: A longitudinal natural language processing analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 22 June 2026. DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.70169

The study is a collaboration between the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development and the Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute at the University of Zurich. The project was supported by the UZH Population Research Center as part of its Seed Grants Program.

Contact 

Prof. Dr. Lilly Shanahan
Department of Psychology / Clinical Developmental Psychology
Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development
University of Zurich
+41 44 634 06 09

lilly.shanahan@psychologie.uzh.ch

Dr. David Bürgin
Department of Psychology / Clinical Developmental Psychology
Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development
University of Zurich

david.buergin@jacobscenter.uzh.ch

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Journal

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

DOI

10.1111/jcpp.70169 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Personally meaningful life events from adolescence to young adulthood: A longitudinal natural language processing analysis.

Article Publication Date

22-Jun-2026

 

Does drinking juice, soda during childhood increase the risk of high blood pressure?

Substituting soda, sports drinks and fruit juice with whole fruit may be associated with a lower risk of developing high blood pressure as an adult, according to a long-term study published in the journal Circulation

American Heart Association

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Research Highlights:

• In a study that spanned 25 years, people who drank more sugary beverages and fruit juice beginning in childhood had a higher risk of developing high blood pressure than those drinking less.
• Substituting one serving per day of sugary beverages with whole fruit, milk or water was associated with a lower risk of high blood pressure. Also, replacing fruit juice with whole fruit was associated with a lower risk.

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Monday, June 22, 2026

DALLAS, June 22, 2026 — Drinking fruit juice and sugar-sweetened beverages from childhood through adulthood may be linked to an increased risk of developing high blood pressure as an adult, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.

“Dietary habits in early life can have lasting health consequences,” said senior study author Vasanti Malik, Sc.D., M.Sc., an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Chronic Disease Prevention in the department of nutritional sciences at Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, and an adjunct faculty member in the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

”High blood pressure is also emerging earlier in life, with growing rates being seen in younger adults, in children and adolescents, which highlights the importance of early detection and prevention,” she said.

High blood pressure can lead to other serious health conditions or events, such as heart attack and stroke. While some risk factors for blood pressure such as family history, age, gender and race cannot be changed, unhealthy lifestyle factors, such as lack of physical activity, smoking and poor diet, can increase the risk of high blood pressure.

The analysis included more than 25,000 participants from a study of U.S. youths. Participants reported how often, on average, they consumed sugar-sweetened beverages, including sodas, punches, lemonades, teas and sports drinks; fruit juice and whole fruits. They also reported their intake of other foods and beverages typically consumed and their body measurements and habits, such as physical activity and smoking, via questionnaires completed every 1 to 4 years.

Researchers estimated the associations of total fructose and sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juice and whole fruit intake with self-reported high blood pressure diagnoses. They also developed models of the effect of substituting sugar-sweetened beverages or fruit juice with whole fruit, milk and water. Participants were followed for up to 25 years.

What are the key results of the analysis?:

• Participants who drank two or more servings of sugar-sweetened beverages per day had a 52% higher risk of later developing high blood pressure compared to those who consumed less than three servings a week. A typical serving was defined as a 12-ounce can or glass.
• Among sugary drink subtypes, each daily serving of soda and sports drinks was associated with a 23% and 36% higher risk of high blood pressure, respectively.
• Those who drank 1.5 or more servings of fruit juice per day had a 35% higher risk of developing high blood pressure compared to those who said they drank less than one serving a week. One serving was defined as an 8-ounce glass.
• For subtypes of fruit juice, each daily serving of orange juice was associated with a 20% higher risk of high blood pressure, while apple and other juices were not. However, the researchers noted the potential for misclassification, as orange-flavored drinks with added sugars may have been misreported as orange juice.
• The substitution analysis suggested that replacing a daily serving of sugary beverage with whole fruit could be associated with a 22% lower risk of developing high blood pressure.
• Similarly, replacing fruit juice with whole fruit could result in a 19% lower risk of developing high blood pressure.
• Substituting sugar-sweetened beverages with milk or water in the model analysis was associated with up to a 13% lower risk of developing high blood pressure, whereas no significant association was found for replacing fruit juice with milk or water.
• This link between sugary drinks/fruit juice and high blood pressure was independent of overall diet quality, physical activity and other factors.

“Sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soda and sports drinks, which are often marketed as somewhat healthy, should be limited,” Malik said. “Fruit juice intake may be harmless at low levels yet harmful at higher intake levels. They should always be 100% fruit juice, and even so, consumed only in moderation. Whole fruit should be emphasized over sugary beverages.”

A 2026 Dietary Guidance to Improve Cardiovascular Health scientific statement from the American Heart Association notes that added sugar in beverages and foods should be minimized.

American Heart Association volunteer expert Amit Khera, M.D., FAHA, vice-chair of the dietary guidance writing committee, said that while the association between sugar-sweetened beverages and increased hypertension and cardiovascular risk is generally consistent across studies, these findings add several new insights: “First, the focus on childhood and the importance of health behaviors in childhood with adult risk factor development provides a critical opportunity for prevention. As has been seen in adults, the total amount of fructose seems less important for the development of hypertension than the type of food where it is consumed, so sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juice relate to increased risk, while whole fruit does not.

“Secondly, there has been a misconception about fructose in general being harmful for cardiovascular health regardless of the source, and that fruit juices are beneficial for health. This study demonstrates that neither seems to be correct,” added Khera, the director of preventive cardiology and clinical chief of cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

He also noted this study’s population was mostly white children and adults; “however, non‑Hispanic Black and Hispanic American populations have the highest sugar-sweetened beverages intake, so these findings may be even more relevant for those groups.”

The American Heart Association advocates for science-based policies that reduce consumption of sugary drinks. These policies include:

• Establishing taxes on sugary drinks to decrease consumption.
• Improving nutrition standards in school meals.
• Enhancing “informed dining” in restaurants.
• Improving diet quality in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

What are the details, background, design and limitations of the study?

• The participants were from the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS), which included the GUTS I study initiated in 1996 and the GUTS II, which was initiated in 2004. The offspring of participants in the Nurses’ Health Study II were recruited for GUTS nationwide.
• The study followed 25,749 participants, ages 9 to 16, (about 55% female and 96% non-Hispanic white participants) for up to 25 years. The median age of the participants by the end of the follow-up period was 36 years.
• Participants completed 132-item food frequency questionnaires, administered annually from 1996 to 1998, then in 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2015. Children with high blood pressure or with missing dietary information at baseline were not included in this analysis.
• The food frequency that was used to assess diet asked how often, on average, they consumed a standard serving of a food or beverage, ranging from “never or less than once per month” to “6 or more per day”. A serving was specified as a 12-ounce can or glass of sugar-sweetened beverages and an 8-ounce glass of fruit juice.
• Sugar-sweetened beverages were defined as sodas, fruit punches, lemonades, iced teas, sports drinks and non-carbonated fruit drinks. Fruit juice included orange juice, apple juice and other 100% fruit juice drinks. Whole fruits included apples, oranges, bananas, mangos, grapes, pears, melons, strawberries and peaches.
• Substitution analyses were conducted by contrasting one serving per day of sugar-sweetened beverages or fruit juice with a serving of fruit juice, milk (1%, 2% and whole milk but not chocolate or flavored milk), water or whole fruit.
• Blood pressure was self-reported through the 2010 to 2021 questionnaires. Participants were asked if they had ever been diagnosed by a healthcare professional with high blood pressure. In the 2010 questionnaire, the earliest response option for the year of diagnosis was “before 1996” and ranged until “2010+”.
• Limitations of the study include the inability to prove cause and effect because it was based on questionnaires and self-reports and some factors not included in this analysis may have affected the results. In addition, the findings may not apply to other groups not included in this study.

Co-authors, disclosures and funding sources are listed in the manuscript.

Studies published in the American Heart Association’s scientific journals are peer-reviewed. The statements and conclusions in each manuscript are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives more than 85% of its revenue from sources other than corporations. These sources include contributions from individuals, foundations and estates, as well as investment earnings and revenue from the sale of our educational materials. Corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations to the Association. The Association has strict policies to prevent any donations from influencing its science content and policy positions. Overall financial information is available here.

Additional Resources:

• Multimedia is available on the right column of release link.
• After June 22, view the manuscript online.
• American Heart Association news release: Following 9 key steps for a lifetime of eating well can support heart health (March 2026)
• American Heart Association health information: Rethink Your Drink: How to Reduce Sugary Drinks
• American Heart Association health information: Sip Smarter Infographic
• Follow American Heart Association/American Stroke Association news on X @HeartNews
• Follow news from American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation @CircAHA

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health, and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

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Journal

Circulation

DOI

10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.077666 

Article Title

Consumption of Fructose-Containing Food and Beverage Sources in Childhood Through to Adulthood and Risk of Hypertension: A Prospective Cohort Study

Survey reveals major gaps in cardio-oncology training

European Society of Cardiology

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Key takeaways 

• Cardio-oncology is an emerging field dedicated to ensuring that patients receive the best cancer therapy while minimising cardiovascular side effects.

• Results from the first comprehensive assessment of cardio-oncology training have revealed profound educational gaps.

• The ESC Core Curriculum for Cardio-Oncology and ESC Cardio-Oncology certification aim to help fill these gaps, with further wide-ranging activities needed to ensure all healthcare professionals are equipped to prevent, recognise and treat cardiovascular complications in patients with cancer.

Vienna, Austria – 20 June 2026: An international survey has highlighted major gaps in cardio-oncology training, despite its increasing clinical importance.1 These results were presented at ESC Cardio-Oncology 2026, the second annual conference of the European Society of Cardiology’s Council of Cardio-Oncology.

While modern treatments for cancer are helping patients to live longer, there is growing concern about the cardiovascular side effects of cancer therapies. Cardio-oncology is a relatively new field that aims to optimise cancer treatment while minimising cardiovascular toxicity. The ESC established the Council of Cardio-Oncology and published expert-led guidelines on cardio-oncology in 2022.2 The Cardio-Oncologists Of tomorrow Leaders (COOL) group was created from within the ESC Council to engage the next generation of cardio-oncology specialists and develop educational strategies to meet their evolving needs.

Members of COOL and the ESC Council were involved in the presented study. Explaining the rationale, Doctor Massimiliano Camilli from the Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli, IRCCS, Rome, Italy, said: “The COOL group launched the first comprehensive, international survey on cardio-oncology education, from medical school through postgraduate training, to understand the current status and the needs of healthcare professionals across Europe and beyond.”

An anonymised, web-based survey was distributed to cardiologists, cardiology residents and other healthcare professionals treating patients with cancer. A total of 398 respondents from 63 countries completed the survey, of whom 73% were board-certified cardiologists.

The survey revealed limited cardio-oncology training during undergraduate and postgraduate education. Only 10% of respondents reported exposure to cardio-oncology training during medical school, and 17% during residency. When asked about the availability of structured cardio-oncology educational programmes at their institution, the vast majority of respondents – 87% – reported no availability of formal training. Subgroup analyses found that access to cardio-oncology training opportunities was greater in respondents working in academic hospitals and in participants from European compared with non-European countries.

Across the respondents, diagnosing cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity alongside strategies for risk stratification, prevention and monitoring were highlighted as key priority areas of knowledge. The preferred learning formats were fellowships focused on cardio-oncology, webinars, university master’s degrees and position statements on controversial topics developed by scientific societies. Respondents identified the ESC and national cardiac societies as the principal organisations able to lead education in the field.

Summing up the results, Doctor Camilli said: “The survey identified profound gaps in cardio-oncology education during medical school and residency and in structured institutional programmes.” On the positive side, he noted that efforts are being made to fill the gaps: “The recently released ESC Core Curriculum for Cardio-Oncology,3 together with the ESC Guidelines,2 facilitate training standardisation and provide the foundations for new ESC Cardio-Oncology certification.” He concluded, “Improving cardio-oncology education is a must – across all stages of medical training and all specialities involved – to enable prevention and early management of cardiovascular complications in patients with cancer.”

ENDS


References: 

[1] ‘Educational needs in cardio-oncology: an international survey by the COOL group of the ESC Council of Cardio-Oncology’ presented during the Education, training and service development in cardio-oncology session on 20 June at 09:45 to 10:30 in Room D3.

[2] Lyon AR, López-Fernández T, Couch LS, et al. 2022 ESC Guidelines on cardio-oncology developed in collaboration with the European Hematology Association (EHA), the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO) and the International Cardio-Oncology Society (IC-OS). Eur Heart J. 2022;43:4229−4361.

[3] López-Fernández T, Farmakis D, Ameri P, et al. European Society of Cardiology Core Curriculum for cardio-oncology. Eur J Heart Fail. 2024;26:754−771.

 

Most people seeking a kidney transplant never reach the waitlist

Reducing barriers in the evaluation process may improve access to lifesaving procedures

NYU Langone Health / NYU Grossman School of Medicine

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Nearly half of Americans with kidney failure who are referred for transplantation never begin the process required to be considered for a new organ, a new study shows, while less than a fifth actually complete the assessment and get on the waitlist.

While experts have studied what happens once people make it onto the list, little attention has been paid to challenges in making the waitlist in the first place, the study authors said.  

Led by NYU Langone Health researchers, the national study of 720,348 patients referred for the procedure found that those who were unmarried, had severe obesity, or lived in rural areas were less likely to start or complete an evaluation at a transplant center and make the waitlist. Older, Spanish-speaking, and poorer patients were especially unlikely to progress, as were those treated at smaller centers or at programs in the South. Results showed that only 19 percent of referred patients completed the evaluation, and 48 percent never even started it.

“Our findings suggest that a substantial proportion of people who need a new kidney fall out of the process long before they reach the waitlist, let alone make it to the operating room,” said study lead author Conor Donnelly, MD. “Which transplant center you go to, where you live, and even whether you are married all appear to influence your chances of moving forward to the waitlist for a new kidney.” Dr. Donnelly is a resident and PhD student in NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery. 

Much of this variation may stem from the complexity of the process, which can be difficult for patients to navigate, said Dr. Donnelly. Once a referral for a kidney transplant is made, the patient undergoes a battery of tests to provide a detailed picture of their health. These tests may include blood work, chest imaging, and cancer screenings, often requiring the patient to make several visits over a period of months while also attending dialysis sessions each week. Only after this process is completed and the candidate is approved are they placed on the waitlist.

Smaller centers with fewer resources and transplant slots may be more selective and risk-averse than larger programs, the researchers said. Also, candidates who are unmarried or lack strong social support may struggle to make repeated trips for evaluations and follow-up appointments. This may help explain why people living in urban areas, where transplant centers are more numerous and often closer to home, are more likely to move forward in the process.

Publishing online June 20 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the study is the largest and most detailed to date to examine where patients drop out of the kidney transplant process, according to the authors. It is simultaneously being presented at the American Transplant Congress, the annual joint meeting of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.   

For the study, the team used Epic Cosmos, a dataset of more than 300 million electronic health records from over 1,850 hospitals, including more than a third of all US transplant centers. The researchers focused on adults referred for a kidney transplant between 2014 and 2025, tracking each patient through four stages: referral, evaluation, waitlist, and transplant. 

Using statistical models, the researchers analyzed how a wide range of factors, from age and sex to geographic location and medical history, affected the chance of moving from one step to the next. They also examined social vulnerability—a measure of how a person’s living conditions, such as poverty, lack of transportation, and unstable housing, may disadvantage them when they’re trying to get care. 

“These results demonstrate that finding ways to reduce barriers to both evaluation and waitlisting could help expand much-needed access to kidney transplantation,” said study co-senior author Allan B. Massie, PhD, an associate professor in the Departments of Surgery and Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “Providing patients with better education and support to help them navigate the complex and sometimes grueling process would be a good start.”

“Our findings highlight the need to better support patients in progressing from referral to the waitlist, where many possibly eligible individuals are not ultimately listed,” said study co-senior author Michal A. Mankowski, PhD. 

Dr. Mankowski, an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said the team next plans to extend this research approach to other types of organ transplants, for which the path to the waitlist can look very different. 

NYU Langone Health provided funding for the study. 

Along with Drs. Donnelly, Massie, and Mankowski, NYU Langone researchers involved in the study were Suhani Patel, MPH; Syed Ali Husain, MD, MPH; Sommer E. Gentry, PhD; Bonnie E. Lonze, MD, PhD; Sunjae Bae, MD, PhD; Babak J. Orandi, MD, PhD; Mara A. McAdams DeMarco, PhD; and Dorry L. Segev, MD, PhD. Other study co-investigators were Rachel Patzer, PhD, MPH, at Indiana University in Indianapolis, and David Axelrod, MD, at University Hospitals in Cleveland.  

Dr. Orandi has served on an advisory board for the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. NYU Langone Health is managing the terms and conditions of this relationship in accordance with its policies and procedures. 

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About NYU Langone Health
NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient, Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 118 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation for four years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently ranked four of its clinical specialties number one in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. The system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.

Media Inquiries
Shira Polan 
212-404-4279
Shira.Polan@NYULangone.org 

 

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Journal

Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Evaluating Barriers to Kidney Transplantation in the United States

Article Publication Date

20-Jun-2026

COI Statement

Dr. Orandi has served on an advisory board for the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. NYU Langone Health is managing the terms and conditions of this relationship in accordance with its policies and procedures.