Unique insights into COVID-19 impact on human experience

COVID-19: Origin, Impact and Management - Bentham Books

Book Announcement

BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS

Bentham Science’s latest book on COVID-19, COVID-19: Origin, Impact and Management, is now published, offering a comprehensive summary of recent findings on the impact of COVID-19 on various aspects of human life. The book is edited by expert scientists, and features contributions from academicians and scholars from leading institutions in India. It provides readers from science, humanities and commerce backgrounds with a valuable and interdisciplinary perspective on the pandemic.

With a focus on findings from India, the book covers a range of topics including the effects of COVID-19 on physical and psychological well-being, loss of jobs, pay cuts, education, and unpaid caregiving. The book also blends basic and applied research in biology, medicine and social science to offer readers a comprehensive view of the effects of the outbreak.

The book's key features include updated references for advanced readers, and interdisciplinary content making it useful for researchers and working professionals in industry and academia. Its blend of basic and advanced research provides general readers with a broad and insightful perspective on COVID-19's impact on the human experience.

The first part of this book includes interesting topics such as a review on organophosphates and SARS-CoV-2 in connection with severe respiratory disease, the moderating effect of government stimulus programs, psychological distress and COVID-19, the diversified impact of COVID-19 on the development of children, and more.

COVID-19 has affected the lives of people across the globe, and this book offers a valuable resource for those seeking to understand the pandemic's impact. The book is expected to be a valuable addition to the literature on COVID-19 and its effects on human life.

To learn more about COVID-19 and its impact on various aspects of human life, please visit the site.

Changes to the diagnosis and

 treatment of COVID-19 in China

 throughout the pandemic

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WILEY

An article in Health Care Science provides an in-depth analysis of the changes made to the diagnosis and treatment protocol for COVID-19 in China over the course of the pandemic.

The authors compare and summarize each of the 10 versions of the protocol issued by the National Health Commission of China over 3 years, highlighting the evolving scientific evidence and disease situation that informed these changes.

The summary provides valuable insights into the adaptive healthcare management and response to COVID-19 in China, which can inform the global response to the pandemic.

“Clinical management of emerging diseases requires constant adaptation. This review highlights China's evidence-based approach to refining diagnosis, treatment, and care protocols over time, demonstrating how these changes have effectively combated the challenges of COVID-19,” said co–corresponding author You Wu, PhD, of Tsinghua University.

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hcs2.45

 

Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.

About the Journal
Health Care Science is a high-quality, peer-reviewed, open access journal, which aims to provide a platform for the researchers, scholars, administrators, and innovators to share their research in the quality, evaluation, and technology of healthcare service delivery, healthcare management, and healthcare policy on a scientific basis.

About Wiley
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a global leader in scientific research and career-connected education. Founded in 1807, Wiley enables discovery, powers education, and shapes workforces. Through its industry-leading content, digital platforms, and knowledge networks, the company delivers on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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JOURNAL

Health Care Science

DOI

10.1002/hcs2.45 

ARTICLE TITLE

Evolution and Major Changes of the Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for COVID-19 Patients in China 2020 - 2023

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-May-2023

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Psychopathic traits behind the rise and fall of Madoff

New research warns firms to be wary of the risks from high-flying ‘corporate psychopaths’

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY

A new academic study examining the actions of Bernie Madoff, the New York banker behind the world’s biggest Ponzi fraud, suggests companies do more to root out “corporate psychopaths” within their organisations to prevent financial ruin.

The study, published in the International Journal of Market Research, looked at Madoff’s behaviour throughout his life including during his business dealings, his trial, and his time in prison.

It warns that while people with some psychopathic personality traits tend to get ahead in corporate finance, their recklessness and greed can bring down organisations and even entire economies.

Author of the research Dr Clive R. Boddy, Associate Professor at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), is a pioneer in the field of corporate psychopathy. Around 0.6%-1.2% of the adult population are defined as psychopaths, meaning they possess no conscience, shame, guilt or ability to experience love for or feel empathy towards other people. The term corporate psychopath refers to well-performing psychopaths who work in corporate settings.

Madoff’s Ponzi fraud centred around the asset management branch of his financial firm and it defrauded thousands of investors across the world. The fraud was uncovered in December 2008 and was thought to be worth around $64billion. He was jailed for 150 years in 2009 and died in 2021 in a prison for inmates with health needs.

Madoff’s actions were examined against two established scales of psychopathy. These include personality traits such as superficial charm and apparent intelligence; lack of sincerity or truthfulness; a tendency to cheat; a lack of remorse; being emotionally shallow; a lack of self insight; calmness; and apparent rationality.

The research suggests Madoff embodied all of these behavioural traits in addition to many others. He was renowned for his bullying towards his detractors, while carefully crafting an image of rationality and competence to those whose opinion was important to him and his business. His ego reportedly remained intact even when in prison, where he showed no remorse for the victims of his crimes.

Dr Boddy said: “Highly psychopathic senior businesspeople who were quite plausibly genuine psychopaths are visible in commercial history.

“This new study aims to understand whether some corporate scandals and bankruptcies feature senior corporate officials who might be workplace psychopaths, and this has demonstrably been the case.

“People have often wondered whether Bernie Madoff was in fact a corporate psychopath, and he certainly scored highly on the two measures of psychopathy utilised within this study.

“The findings suggest that Madoff’s fraud was an outcome of his personality and that similar personalities such as Robert Maxwell and Ken Lay, have behaved in similar ways.

“There are likely to be plenty of people in the world of corporate finance with similar psychopathic traits to Bernie Madoff. The job for financial corporations and firms, if they want to give themselves the best chance of avoiding crisis, would appear to be identifying them before they ascend to power.”

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JOURNAL

International Journal of Market Research

DOI

10.1177/14707853231173260 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Insights into the bernie madoff financial market scandal which identify new opportunities for business market researchers

A comprehensive European history of violence in the 20th century

The Volkswagen Foundation provides funding for an ambitious endeavour of Pavel Kolář, professor of Eastern European history at the University of Konstanz

Business Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF KONSTANZ

"Even though the Iron Curtain fell decades ago, today's historiography often still includes a Cold War inspired East-West perspective, especially when it comes to the topic of violence. Western Europe is often presented as the norm when compared with Eastern European developments that are viewed as 'different' and 'less civilized'," observes Pavel Kolář, professor of Eastern European history at the University of Konstanz. In his new strategic concept "Violence in East and West – Towards an Integrated History of the 20th Century Europe", Pavel Kolář, aims to overcome this approach while bringing together research, teaching and international collaboration. In the context of the Momentum Initiative, the Volkswagen Foundation is funding the project with almost 800,000 euros for an initial period of four years.

With this funding, Kolář aims to correct various tendencies in the European historiography of violence. "Until now, the prevailing interpretation has been that violence in Europe has been gradually disappearing since World War II. However, I propose that violence has not continually decreased, but that its forms of manifestation have changed and become less visible. State violence has been systematically obscured or hidden and increasingly directed against marginalized social groups," Kolář explains. He sees many examples of this in Western Europe, too, including police violence, violence at countries' borders, or violence in care institutions – against children or disabled people. For a long time, these forms of violence were not publicly criticized, which helped them remain concealed. "In order to establish and maintain stability, all political systems in the last century used force in various ways – dictatorships and democracies alike," says the historian.

Pavel Kolář's work not only focuses on politically motivated large-scale violence, but also on everyday phenomena in society. He will engage in intensive exchange with other researchers studying violence in different regions of Europe in order to develop a truly comprehensive perspective on European violence. A planned fellowship programme at the University of Konstanz is one of several measures intended to facilitate this goal.

 

About the Momentum Initiative

The Volkswagen Foundation's Momentum Initiative supports recently tenured professors with strategically developing their position and pursuing new ideas. After successful evaluation of the initial funding phase, projects can receive funding for a further two years. More information is available on the Momentum website: www.volkswagenstiftung.de/momentum

 

Key facts:

• In the context of the Momentum Initiative, the Volkswagen Foundation provides funding for the strategic endeavour "Violence in East and West – Towards an Integrated History of the 20th Century Europe" led by Pavel Kolář, Professor of Eastern European history at the University of Konstanz.
• The aim is to write and teach a comprehensive European history of violence in the 20th century that critically examines both Eastern and Western Europe equally.
• Funding amount: up to 794,300 euros
• Funding period: four years (option of a two-year extension)
• This round, a total of 13 applications were selected for funding.

The predicted average annual net carbon sink of Gracilaria cultivation in China from 2021 to 2030 may double that of the last ten years

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

 

IMAGE: RDOC, RECALCITRANT DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON; POC, PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON; DOC, DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON view more 

CREDIT: ©SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

A marine research team led by Professor YAN Qingyun has proposed a method to assess the net carbon sink of marine macroalgae (Gracilaria) cultivation. Then, they calculated the net carbon sink of Gracilaria cultivation in China based on the yield of annual cultivated Gracilaria in the last ten years. Also, the net carbon sink trend of Gracilaria cultivation in the next ten years was predicted by the autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA). Finally, they explored the potential carbon sink increase and methane reduction related to Gracilaria cultivation in China through a scenario analysis.

Their results suggested that the net carbon sink of Gracilaria cultivation in China was about 32.1-92.4 kilotons per year from 2011 to 2020, and showed a great annual growth trend. Specifically, the predicted average annual net carbon sink of Gracilaria cultivation from 2021 to 2030 would double that of the last ten years (i.e., increase to 77.8-191.4 kilotons per year). Thus, the Gracilaria cultivation could contribute considerably in the achievement of China’s carbon peak goal. Moreover, under a scenario of producing ruminant green feed with additional Gracilaria cultivation, each ton of macroalgae was predicted to reduce carbon emission (i.e., methane) by 0.33-0.68 tons.

In summary, marine macroalgae cultivation might form a synergistic chain of “carbon sink increase-water purification-economy-methane reduction.” A synergistic new model that operates through marine macroalgae cultivation, economic aquaculture, and green feed production was proposed in this study.

The predicted average annual net carbon sink of Gracilaria cultivation from 2021 to 2030 tend to increase continuously, might have the potential to double that of last ten years and reach 191.4 kilotons in 2030.

CREDIT

©Science China Press

See the article:

Xu Y, Liu H, Yang Y, Shen H, Zhang R, Wang C, Huang Z, He J, He Z, Yan Q. 2023. Assessment of carbon sink potential and methane reduction scenarios of marine macroalgae (Gracilaria) cultivation. Science China Earth Sciences, 66(5): 1047–1061, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-022-1053-3

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JOURNAL

Science China Earth Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s11430-022-1053-3 

Morning lark or night owl: Baylor researchers highlight the influence of behavior on the circadian preferences of college students

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

WACO, Texas (May 17, 2023) – Many people perceive that they are night owls or morning larks, and that can’t be changed. It’s called a chronotype – your body’s need for sleep at a certain time – and it is generally considered to be unchangeable. However, a new study from researchers with Baylor University’s Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory shows that chronotypes are more flexible than originally thought.

The research team’s findings, “Chronotype in college science students is associated with behavioral choices and can fluctuate across a semester,” were recently published in the journal Chronobiology International.

While genetics may predispose an individual to prefer the morning or evening hours, being a night owl can also result from behavioral choices. Whether driven by biology, institutional factors or behavioral choices, being an evening chronotype can be a detriment to sleep health, alertness in class and academic success.

Baylor sleep researcher Michael K. Scullin, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Blake Barley, doctoral candidate in psychology in Scullin’s sleep lab, examined how institutional factors, biological factors and behavioral choices play a role in sleep problems for college students and if chronotypes may more malleable than current theories suggest.

Through a series of questionaries given throughout the 2018-19 academic year, researchers asked 858 undergraduate students enrolled in demanding science courses to assess their sleep behaviors and quality, state their chronotype and rate their academic demands and stress levels, as well as the amount of their caffeine consumption and social media usage throughout the day.

FINDINGS

Evening- and morning-type students showed similar stress levels and academic demands, but evening chronotypes showed significantly worse sleep quality and duration. Evening types are disadvantaged when they have to wake up early for class or work.

The college students who identified as evening-types had several behaviors that are known to delay bedtimes, shorten sleep duration and worsen sleep quality. They used social media for 40 minutes while in bed, consumed caffeine later in the day and napped more than morning-types, which resulted in less night-time sleeping, worse sleep quality and greater sleepiness while in class. 

As the semester progressed, some students reported a switch in chronotype. This chrono-switching was linked to changes in behavior, which resulted in improved sleep health, less sleepiness and higher semester GPAs.

ACTIONS

“Engaging in healthier daytime behaviors can lead to better sleep that then feeds back into better daytime life,” Scullin said. “When your daytime life is better, you can often get to bed and fall asleep earlier, enjoy better sleep quality and get into a good cycle.”

Students who switched from evening- to morning-types or who had stayed morning-types showed significantly better semester GPAs than students who stayed evening-types or switched from morning-to-evening types. They also reported consuming less caffeine after 5 p.m. and showed significantly better sleep quantity and quality.

Barley said some simple changes can improve sleep quality.

• Avoid electronics near bedtime.
• Avoid caffeine and other stimulants at least six hours before bedtime.
• Avoid long daytime naps.
• Avoid exercising in the evenings.

Scullin emphasized that chronotype malleability is a new idea, and that not all night owls should try to become morning larks or vice versa. The focus for each individual should be on getting the quality sleep they need to be healthy and productive.

This study was supported by the National Science Foundation [1920730 and 1943323].

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Michael K. Scullin’s research investigates how sleep physiology impacts memory, cognition and health. He also is interested in how we use memory to fulfill our daily intentions (a special kind of memory called “prospective" memory), including whether reminder apps and other technological solutions can reduce prospective memory difficulties in older age and the early states of Alzheimer's disease. He completed his doctorate in the Behavior, Brain and Cognition program at Washington University in St. Louis and then a post-doctoral fellowship in the Neurology and Sleep Medicine program at Emory University School of Medicine. He is involved in service committees for the Sleep Research Society, i serves as a columnist for Teaching Current Directions in Psychological Science at APS and co-founded the APA journal Translational Issues in Psychological Science.

Blake Barley is a graduate student at Baylor University working with Dr. Scullin in the Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Lab. His research interests include examining the impact of sleep on cognitive processes like learning, memory and creativity. He also is interested in studying the impact of poor sleep behaviors on cognitive and academic outcomes. Barley said studying sleep and these various factors can lead to the development of better interventions to not only help people learn more about why sleep is important, but also lead to lasting improvements in their sleep health and behaviors.

In addition to Scullin and Barley, the research team includes Chenlu Gao, Tayler Luster, Abbye Porro, Mojgan Parizi-Robinson, Dena Quigley and Paul Zinke.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. 

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 11 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website.

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JOURNAL

Chronobiology International

DOI

10.1080/07420528.2023.2203251 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Chronotype in college science students is associated with behavioral choices and can fluctuate across a semester

Treatment naïve transgender youth exhibit unhealthy lifestyle behaviours that may have gender-specific effects on body weight

Study finds over three-quarters of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth who have not had gender-affirming therapies report avoiding physical activity, almost two-thirds eat an unhealthily diet, and around half report not getting enough sleep.

Reports and Proceedings

EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF OBESITY

New research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Dublin, Ireland (17-20 May) suggests that transgender and gender diverse (TGD) young people who have not had gender-affirming hormone therapies often lead unhealthy lifestyles that may result in gender-specific changes in body weight and composition.

The study by Ophir Borger, clinical dietician and Professor Yael Lebenthal, Director of the Paediatric Endocrinology and Metabolic Disease Unit at Dana-Dwek Children’s Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel and colleagues, highlights the need for individualised medical and nutrition interventions in this unique group of individuals to protect their long-term metabolic and cardiovascular health.

“We hope this research creates awareness about the challenges gender diverse young people face, and how this may affect their lifestyle choices and in turn their weight status and future health,” says Professor Lebenthal. “We hope our findings can help individuals, families and health care providers better understand and make a tangible difference to their health and wellbeing.”

Research suggests that TGD adolescents are at a greater risk for overweight and obesity than their peers in the general population. Current guidelines for the diagnosis and management of gender diverse children and youth focus on mental health and medical interventions, but provide little information on lifestyle habits, body composition, and cardiometabolic risk factors of this unique population.

Research has consistently shown that sexual minorities often exhibit unfavorable lifestyle habits, including an unhealthy diet, lower physical activity, inadequate sleep, and high use of prescribed medications for associated conditions, all of which may contribute to an unhealthy metabolic profile [1].

To find out more about lifestyle habits and weight status in treatment-naïve TGD children and adolescents, researchers recruited 153 TGD young people (average age 16 years; 94 TGD males [61%] designated female at birth) who attended the national referral gender clinic in Tel Aviv between January 2021 and December 2022. These young people are all in the initial stages of their transitioning journey – none have had gender reassignment surgery (which normally would not take place until at least age 18 years) or begun any kind of gender affirming treatment. Such therapy would only be prescribed after a comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment and consultation process. The young people in this study report gender incongruence (gender identity that is not aligned with the sex designated at birth) and decided to consult the National Children and Adolescents Gender Clinic.

All participants completed comprehensive interviews about their lifestyle habits, and researchers measured body composition and BMI according to designated sex at birth and age using US CDC growth charts.

The analysis also examined whether participants met healthy lifestyle recommendations to undertake at least 60 minutes of exercise every day [2]; eat a healthy diet low in processed food and sugary drinks and high in fibre [3], and to get adequate sleep for their age [4].

The study found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of the cohort reported eating an unhealthy diet, over three-quarters (78%) did not take part in physical activity, and half (49%) reported inadequate sleep.

The research team also found that 21 (36%) of TGD females and 29 (31%) of TGD males did not meet any of the three lifestyle recommendations. Worse still, only 16 (11%) of the TGD youth in the cohort [5 TGD females and 11 TGD males] met all three recommendations.

Interestingly, TGD males were twice as likely to be living with overweight, obesity, or severe obesity than TGD females (39% vs 20%); and TGD females were three times more likely to be underweight (15% vs 4%).

In addition, compared to TGD females, TGD males had much higher average BMI z-scores (a measure of body weight based on height for each age group by gender; 0.62 vs -0.25) and lower median muscle-to-fat ratio z-scores (low MFR z-score can predict cardiovascular risk factors; -0.86 vs -0.31).

“Our findings underscore the need for comprehensive metabolic evaluation and tailored interventions for this unique group of individuals. Further studies are needed to determine the most beneficial programme to promote future positive health outcomes,” says Professor Lebenthal.
 

For interviews with article author Professor Yael Lebenthal, Dana-Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv, Israel please contact E) yaelleb@tlvmc.gov.il  T) +972-54-4642167

Alternative contact in the ECO Press Room: Tony Kirby T) + 44(0)7834 385827 E) tony@tonykirby.com

Notes to editors:

[1] Diet and Physical Activity Behaviors Among Adolescent Transgender Students: School Survey Results - Journal of Adolescent Health (jahonline.org);  Sleep Deprivation and Chronic Health Conditions Among Sexual Minority Adults: Behavioral Sleep Medicine: Vol 17, No 3 (tandfonline.com);  Weight Status, Medication Use, and Recreational Activities of Treatment-Naïve Transgender Youth (liebertpub.com)
[2] Physical activity level categorised by WHO recommendations:
Children and adolescents aged 5–18 years: at least an average of 60 minutes per day of moderate-to vigorous-intensity, mostly aerobic, physical activity, across the week.
[3] Nutritional intake (by registered dietician) – Favourable: low consumption of sweetened beverages/fast foods/saturated fats/processed food/red meat; high in dietary fibre. Unfavourable: High consumption of sweetened beverages/fast foods/saturated fats/processed food/red meat; low in dietary fibre.
[4] AAP and AASM sleep recommendations: those aged 6–12 years should get 9–12 hours of sleep per 24 hours; and 13–18-year-olds should get 8–10 hours per 24 hours.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

This press release is based on oral presentation AD06.03 at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO). All accepted abstracts have been extensively peer reviewed by the congress selection committee. There is no full paper at this stage, but the authors are happy to answer your questions. The research has not yet been submitted to a medical journal for publication. As it is an oral presentation, there is no poster.

Professor Lebanthal will present this study at an embargoed press conference at 1200H Noon Dublin Time on Weds 17 May. An audio of the embargoed press conference plus a link to the slide presentation will be circulated after the press conference.

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ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-May-2023

Nearly half of adolescents using semaglutide in trial dropped below the clinical cut-off for obesity

Peer-Reviewed Publication

THE OBESITY SOCIETY

DUBLIN—A new secondary analysis of the STEP TEENS trial presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2023, Dublin 17-20 May) and published in the journal Obesity shows that almost half (45%) of the adolescents assigned to semaglutide in the trial managed to lose enough weight to drop below the clinical cutoff for obesity.

The study, led by Aaron S. Kelly, PhD, co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and colleagues, also showed almost three quarters (74%) moved down by at least one weight category.

The full STEP TEENS trial, published in 2022 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), showed the efficacy of semaglutide in helping adolescents lose weight. In this secondary analysis of the STEP TEENS trial, the authors examined the effect of semaglutide treatment on improvement in body mass index (BMI) categories.

Adolescents aged 12 to under 18 years with BMI in the highest 5% were included in this analysis. Participants were randomized 2:1 to once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg (n=134) or placebo (n=67) for 68 weeks; both groups received matching lifestyle counseling. The proportion of participants who achieved an improvement in BMI category from baseline to week 68 was assessed using on-treatment data.

BMI categories, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention BMI charts, were: normal weight (BMI ≥5th to <85th percentile); overweight (BMI ≥85th to <95th percentile); and obesity class I (OCI; BMI ≥95th percentile). Severe obesity class II (OCII) and class III (OCIII) are based on a percentage above the 95th percentile cutoff for obesity – OCII is defined as ≥20% above this cutoff and OCIII is defined as ≥40% above this cutoff. 

Of 201 adolescents randomized, 62 (31%), 69 (34%) and 69 (34%) were in OCIII, OCII and OCI, respectively; only one participant (0.5%) had overweight and was excluded from this secondary analysis. At randomization, mean body weight was 107.5 kg and mean BMI was 37.0 kg/m2  (OCII).

At week 68, 74% of participants on semaglutide had an improvement of one or more BMI categories versus 19% on placebo. An improvement of ≥2 BMI categories occurred in 45% of participants treated with semaglutide versus 3% with placebo. Overall, treatment with semaglutide reduced the proportion of participants with the most severe degree of obesity (OCIII) from 37% to 14% after 68 weeks.

By week 68, a total of 45% participants in the semaglutide arm experienced a reduction in BMI below the clinical cutoff point for obesity (i.e., reached normal weight or overweight) versus 12% of participants in the placebo arm.

The authors concluded, “Once-weekly semaglutide was associated with clinically meaningful improvements in BMI categories versus PBO across all BMI classes in adolescents with obesity.”

“These results underscore the high degree of clinical effectiveness of semaglutide in adolescents with obesity,” said Kelly. “In a practical sense, we see that semaglutide reduced weight to a level below what is defined as clinical obesity in nearly 50% of the teens in our trial, which is historically unprecedented with treatments other than bariatric surgery.” 

Aaron S. Kelly, PhD, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis. Please e-mail to arrange an interview. kelly105@umn.edu Twitter: @AaronKelly_PhD

Note to Editors:

Kelly will present this study at an embargoed press conference at 1200H Noon Dublin Time on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. An audio of the embargoed press conference plus a link to the slide presentation will be circulated after the press conference.

This press release is based on oral presentation AD06.04 at the European Congress on Obesity, and the study will be published at the above embargo time in the journal Obesity. The material has also been peer reviewed by the congress selection committee.

For a link to full embargoed paper (including all conflict of interest disclosures), click here

For a post-embargo paper link to use in your stories, click here  

For STEP TEENS trial published in NEJM in 2022, click here

#  #  #

The Obesity Society (TOS) is the leading organization of scientists and health professionals devoted to understanding and reversing the epidemic of obesity and its adverse health, economic and societal effects. Combining the perspective of researchers, clinicians, policymakers and patients, TOS promotes innovative research, education and evidence-based clinical care to improve the health and well-being of all people with obesity. For more information, visit www.obesity.org.

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JOURNAL

Obesity

Women and non-white groups still missing out on top US research prize

Among Lasker award winners of last 70 years, only 8% have been women and only 4% have been non-white individuals; Researchers call for more transparency around the entire awards process

BMJ

The number of women and non-white people in academic medicine and biomedical research continues to increase, yet the proportion of women among Lasker Award recipients has not changed in more than 70 years, finds a study published by The BMJ today.

And only one non-white woman was identified as having received a Lasker Award over the course of seven decades, the findings show.

The researchers say these results are difficult to reconcile given the ever increasing number of qualified scientists from diverse backgrounds, and they call for more transparency around the entire awards process to help address this issue.

The prestigious Lasker Awards, often referred to as “America's Nobels” have been awarded annually since 1945 to people who have made important contributions to, or public service on behalf of medicine.

Since 2014, the Lasker Foundation has publicly emphasised the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and advocated for women in science and medicine. Yet studies assessing the proportion of women among prestigious award recipients have shown that women are underrepresented among Nobel laureates and recipients of various international research awards.

To find out whether gender and racial inequities exist among Lasker Award recipients, a team of US researchers examined inequities in the gender and ethnic group of Lasker Award winners from 1946 to 2022.

They found that, among 397 Lasker Award recipients since 1946, 92.2% (366 of 397) were men and 7.8% (31 of 397) were women. Most award recipients were categorised as white (95.7%, 380 of 397) while 4.3% (17 of 397) were categorised as non-white.

They also found that the proportion of women receiving an award did not change significantly between the first and the last decade (15.6% in 2013-22 compared with 12.9% in 1946-55).

And since 2014, when the first diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative was published by the Lasker Foundation, more men (86.8%) than women (13.2%) have received an award, and most award recipients have been white (94.7%).

The researchers also point out that time from receiving a terminal degree (the highest degree available in any academic discipline) to winning a Lasker Award does not appear to fully account for these inequities.

The average time from terminal degree to Lasker Award receipt is 30 years, they explain. Yet from 2019 to 2022, women have comprised a smaller proportion of basic and clinical research award recipients (7.1%) than would be expected based on the proportion earning life science doctoral degrees 30 years previously in 1989 (38.1%).

This is an observational study so can’t establish cause and the researchers point to several limitations, such as possible misclassification of personal characteristics and challenges in identifying the population from which award recipients are selected. 

Nevertheless, they say these findings “establish the need for further investigation of possible factors that could hinder women and non-white people from entering the pool of eligible award recipients.” 

They also show that simply publicising commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives does not necessarily guarantee change or equitable practice, they add.

This study illustrates deep and persistent problems in academia that extend beyond prestigious awards to inequity in salaries, recognition, and academic promotion in higher education institutions, argue BMJ editors Elizabeth Loder and Nazrul Islam, in a linked editorial.

Drawing on their own experiences and observations of these problems in their academic careers, they explain that the causes of inequity are complex and multidimensional and must be addressed through the creation of safe and inclusive environments, accessible and appropriate mentoring, and measures to improve our understanding of unconscious bias, systemic racism, and homophily (greater attraction for “people like us”).

And they urge awarding authorities to make data on nominations and the composition of selection committees publicly available in a timely manner for independent review and scrutiny.

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DOI

10.1136/bmj-2023-074968 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Women and non-white people among Lasker Award recipients from 1946 to 2022: cross sectional study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-May-2023

COI STATEMENT

All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/ and declare: no support from any organization for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous three years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Prostate cancer ‘test by request’ policies drive overdiagnosis and inequity with minimal benefit, argue experts

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

Most high income countries, including the UK, do not have a national prostate cancer screening programme, but instead allow men without symptoms to get a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test if they wish, after talking to their doctor.

But experts writing in The BMJ today argue that these shared decision policies have led to high rates of PSA testing and clear medical harm, with minimal benefit and inequity.

Andrew Vickers and an international group of colleagues argue that high income countries should either implement a comprehensive risk based approach to PSA testing - designed to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment - or discourage PSA testing through a clear recommendation against screening, along with policies that make it hard to obtain a test without specific symptoms.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, and the third leading cause of cancer death in men in Europe. 

But it’s still not clear whether the benefits of PSA screening, as currently practiced, outweigh the harms of overdiagnosis and overtreatment - when low risk tumours that would never cause symptoms or shorten life are detected and treated unnecessarily.

In the UK, for example, it is estimated that about 10,000 men are overdiagnosed with prostate cancer every year, exposing them to potential side effects of treatment without receiving any benefit.

Given this uncertainty, almost all high income countries have opted for PSA testing based on shared decision making.

But the authors argue that relying on shared decision making to guide PSA testing has led to high rates of PSA testing particularly in older men, who are most likely to be harmed by screening and least likely to benefit. The shared decision making approach also reflects and reproduces health inequities. For example, in Canada and the US, PSA testing is less common in people from ethnic minorities, while in the UK and Switzerland, rates of PSA testing are lower in economically deprived areas.

In contrast, they say implementing a comprehensive, risk based prostate cancer early detection programme that carefully manages not just testing, but also biopsy and subsequent treatment, could substantially reduce the harms of overdiagnosis and overtreatment that have accompanied PSA-based screening.

Alternatively, they suggest restricting PSA testing to men with symptoms, with possible exceptions for a small number of men at high risk, but they acknowledge that such policies are largely untested and would require further research.

“Although we believe that early detection of prostate cancer should involve shared decision making, the current approach of determining testing by shared decision making has resulted in the worst possible practical outcome of high levels of PSA testing and medical harm, with minimal benefit and inequity,” they write.

“To make better use of PSA testing, policy makers should choose between a comprehensive, risk adapted approach that is specifically designed to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment, or restricting PSA testing to people referred to urologists with symptoms,” they explain.

“That choice will need to take into account wider patient and public perspective, as well as health economic concerns,” they conclude.

Is the UK really ready to roll out prostate cancer screening, asks a linked feature? It describes how proponents and positive news coverage suggest a national programme is “in pipeline” – but finds uncertainty, controversy, and a need for more evidence.

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JOURNAL

The BMJ

DOI

10.1136/bmj-2022-071082 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Analysis: Current policies on early detection of prostate cancer create overdiagnosis and inequity with minimal benefit

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-May-2023

COI STATEMENT

WehavereadandunderstoodBMJpolicyondeclarationofinterestsanddeclare thefollowing:AVisaco-inventorofthe4kscore,acommercialtestforpredictingprostatebiopsy outcome.Hereceivesroyaltiesfromsalesofthetest.HeownsstockoptionsinOpko,whichoffersthe test.JChasreceivedreimbursementforconsultancyfromAstraZeneca,Ferring,Roche,andJanssen; speakerfeesfromBMS,MSD,Janssen,Astellas,NucleixandRoche;honorariaformembershipof advisoryboardsforFerring,Roche,Gilead,Photocure,BMS,QEDtherapeuticsandJanssen;andresearch fundingfromRoche.