An increase in “deaths of despair” in recent decades has been frequently portrayed as a phenomenon affecting white communities, but a new analysis in The Lancet shows the toll has been greater on Native Americans.
Tag: Mortality
Increasing Robo4 expression may help with infections
The researchers screened a library of drugs using a mouse endothelial cell line to identify pathways that are involved in the regulation of Robo4 and found that two competitive SMAD signaling pathways appear to regulate Robo4 expression. When the researchers treated LPS-injected mice with a drug that inhibits ALK1-SMAD signaling, they observed increased Robo4 expression, decreased vascular permeability, and reduced mortality.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to premature death
Now, new research from the University of South Australia gives strong evidence that vitamin D deficiency is associated with premature death, prompting calls for people to follow healthy vitamin D level guidelines.

Needs and Challenges for COVID-19 Boosters and Other Vaccines in the U.S.
FAU researchers and collaborators provide the most updated guidance to health care providers and urge how widespread vaccination with these boosters can now avoid the specter of future and more lethal variants becoming a reality.
New Risk Score Predicts Mortality for Atrial Fibrillation Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
Mount Sinai researchers develop new risk stratification tool to optimize patient care and outcomes after TAVR
Feeling Anxious or Blue? Ultra-processed Foods May be to Blame
A study measuring mild depression, number of mental unhealthy days and number of anxious days in 10,359 adults 18 and older found those who consumed the most ultra-processed foods as compared with those who consumed the least amount had statistically significant increases in the adverse mental health symptoms of mild depression, “mentally unhealthy days” and “anxious days.” They also had significantly lower rates of reporting zero “mentally unhealthy days” and zero “anxious days.” Findings are generalizable to the entire U.S. as well as other Western countries with similar ultra-processed food intakes.
Cardiac death rates declined for both Black and white Americans since 1999, but racial disparities persist
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center conducted a comprehensive investigation of national trends in cardiovascular mortality among Black and white women and men across multiple socio-demographic domains and found a decline in cardiovascular mortality rates across all groups over the last 20 years.
Research Shows Alarming Increases in Deaths from Alcoholic Cirrhosis in the U.S.
Researchers conducted an original research study utilizing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) to compare trends in mortality from alcoholic cirrhosis in the U.S. in 1999 with those 20 years later in 2019.
Heart Failure Patients Unvaccinated Against COVID-19 Are Three Times More Likely to Die From It Than Boosted Heart Failure Patients
EMBARGOED UNTIL JUNE 9, 2022, 10AM EST (New York, NY – June 9, 2022) – Heart failure patients who are unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are three times more likely to die if infected with the virus…
Many Historically “Redlined” California Communities Have Higher COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality
One of the legacies of “redlining” may be higher incidence and mortality rates of COVID-19 affecting the largely minority and poor residents of these neighborhoods, according to research published at the ATS 2022 international conference. ” Redlining is a Great Depression-era federal policy in which neighborhoods with large ethnic/racial minority groups were denied federal resources.
For older men, urinary symptoms may affect mortality risk – even if not ‘bothersome’
For men in their fifties and older, moderate to severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) such as incontinence and frequent nighttime urination (nocturia) are associated with an increased risk of death during long-term follow-up, suggests a Finnish study in The Journal of Urology®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Patients with rare scleroderma have deadlier organ damage, despite getting standard treatment
Patients with a rare form of scleroderma that causes more skin thickening have a greater chance of dying from related heart, lung and kidney problems, a new study found. This occurs despite the patient population taking drugs used to treat most people with scleroderma. Researchers say it is an opportunity for more targeted drug development.
COVID-19 slows birth rate in U.S., Europe
Throughout history, pandemics have been a key driver of human population change, thanks to mortality and declining fertility rates. And, according to a new study co-authored by a Cornell professor, COVID-19 is no exception.
Language barriers do not explain why immigrants have higher mortality from COVID-19
Language barriers or lack of institutional awareness do not explain why immigrants in Sweden have a higher mortality from COVID-19.
Molecular Mechanism for COVID-19 Mortality Identified
An enzyme with an elusive role in severe inflammation may be a key mechanism driving COVID-19 severity and could provide a new therapeutic target to reduce COVID-19 mortality. This finding by a team of researchers is detailed in a study to be published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Who Lives, Who Dies, and How and Why?
In a world dealing with the worst public health crisis in a century, the current U.S. system for tracking deaths suffers from organizational, political and procedural flaws that actually put public health and safety at risk, and requires significant updates and reform to solve the problems laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inequity in the air of India
Air pollution in India is generated more by the wealthy, while the poor suffer most of the health impact, according to a study by five IIASA researchers published in Nature Sustainability.
Americans with Higher Net Worth at Midlife Tend to Live Longer
One of the keys to a long life may lie in your net worth.
UCLA-led Research Finds Connections Between Air Quality and COVID Vulnerability
Even as governments across the United States consider lifting mask mandates and relaxing preventative measures as vaccination numbers creep up, new research from a UCLA-led team has found that such basic techniques significantly reduce the risk of getting COVID-19. In addition, the research found that U.S. counties with higher exposures to poor air quality, historically, saw higher county-level COVID-19 mortality rates in 2020.
Researchers Test Model to Predict Drug Overdose Deaths in U.S.
Researchers at UC San Diego, San Diego State University, and international collaborators have designed and validated a prediction model to signal counties at risk of future overdose death outbreaks.
Efforts to reduce opioid prescriptions may be hindering end-of-life pain management
Policies designed to prevent the misuse of opioids may have the unintended side effect of limiting access to the pain-relieving drugs by terminally ill patients nearing the end of their life, new research led by the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy suggests.
Black, Hispanic, Native Americans Have Borne the Burden of Years of Life Lost From the Pandemic
A UCLA Fielding School of Public Health-led team has found that Hispanic, Black, and Native Americans have carried the burden of the pandemic, both in overall mortality and specifically in years of potential life lost, in an analysis of 45 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (D.C.).

COVID-19 Mortality Rates in Los Angeles County Higher in Communities with Poor Air Quality
A research project led by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has found that Los Angeles County neighborhoods with poor air quality had the highest death rates from the pandemic.
High readmission rate found for adults with type 1 diabetes hospitalized for diabetic ketoacidosis
One in five adults with type 1 diabetes who require in-hospital treatment of the life-threatening condition diabetic ketoacidosis has an unplanned repeat hospital visit within a month and is twice as likely to die during the second hospitalization, a new study finds. The results, which will be presented at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, also identified several factors that increased the readmission risk for these patients.
Health declining in Gen X and Gen Y, national study shows
Recent generations show a worrying decline in health compared to their parents and grandparents when they were the same age, a new national study reveals.
Study finds racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes
Nursing homes with the largest proportions of non-White residents experience 3.3 times more COVID-19 deaths than do nursing homes with the largest proportions of White residents, according to a new study from the University of Chicago.
Vision Impairment is Associated with Mortality
A meta-analysis finds that vision impairment and blindness are tied to an increased risk of mortality, prompting the need to address global eye health disparities.

In-Person Reviews of ICU Patient Deaths Led to Care Improvements
Data from five years of in-person rapid mortality reviews of 500+ ICU patient deaths at a Los Angeles hospital not only identified immediate concerns related to patient care but also yielded valuable insights on potentially preventable patient deaths and areas for hospital improvement initiatives.
Does More Physical Activity and Less TV Viewing Reduce the Risk of Death?
Insufficient physical activity and sedentary behavior are both associated with higher risk of chronic disease and death. However, the long-term benefits of interventions to increase physical activity and reduce sitting time are unknown as randomized controlled trials are often infeasible…
Survival tip: Start at normal weight and slowly add pounds
People who start adulthood with a body mass index (BMI) in the normal range and move later in life to being overweight – but never obese – tend to live the longest, a new study suggests.

COVID-19 increases mortality rate among pregnant women
The study, which followed 240 pregnant women between March and June 2020, found that the COVID-19 mortality rate in the pregnant women was significantly higher when compared to the COVID-19 mortality rate in similarly aged individuals within Washington state.
Mount Sinai Researchers Build Models Using Machine Learning Technique to Enhance Predictions of COVID-19 Outcomes
Mount Sinai researchers have published one of the first studies using federated learning to examine electronic health records to better predict how COVID-19 patients will progress.
Community Spread of COVID-19 Tied to Patient Survival Rates at Area Hospitals
Discovering wide variation in hospitals’ COVID-19 survival rates, researchers found that the levels of the novel coronavirus in the surrounding community was likely the driving factor
Largest Study of Its Kind Identifies Which COVID-19 Patients Face the Greatest Risk of Mortality During Hospitalization
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients have a greater risk of dying if they are men or are obese or have complications from diabetes or hypertension, according to a new study conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. In a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the researchers evaluated nearly 67,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in 613 hospitals across the country to determine link between common patient characteristics and the risk of dying from COVID-19.
A surgeon’s birthday may be a dicey day for older patients
Older people who undergo emergency surgeries on their operating surgeon’s birthday may be more likely to die within a month than patients who go through similar procedures on other days, a new UCLA-led study suggests.
Assessing the impacts of global climate change on population trends
The European Research Council (ERC) will fund groundbreaking research led by IIASA World Population Program Deputy Director Raya Muttarak, which will comprehensively address the impacts of climate change on population dynamics.
Unmet Job Expectations Linked to a Rise in Suicide, Deaths of Despair
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, is the first to link the rise in suicide and drug-poisoning deaths among men without a college degree to declines in working-class jobs.

Research Helps Identify High-Risk Populations to aid Health Officials Combating the Pandemic
A team of UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researchers has developed a method to better guide public policy related to the control and prevention of COVID-19, based on identifying those most at risk in the pandemic

Researchers discover men fighting both cancer and COVID-19 at higher risk than women
Men with cancer and COVID-19 may be at significantly higher risk for severe symptoms and even death as compared to females fighting both, a University of Kansas Cancer Center research team has found.
Mount Sinai Develops Machine Learning Models to Predict Critical Illness and Mortality in COVID-19 Patients
Mount Sinai researchers have developed machine learning models that predict the likelihood of critical events and mortality in COVID-19 patients within clinically relevant time windows.
Pandemic-related stress leads to less employee engagement
As COVID-19 cases surged this spring, the pandemic led some people more than others to ponder their own mortality. A new study in China and the United States suggests that these people were the ones who showed the highest levels of stress and the least engagement at work.

Potent Drug Supply Drop, Not U.S. Domestic Drug Policies, Likely Behind 2018’s Overdose Death Downturn
The slight decline in drug overdose deaths in 2018 coincides with Chinese regulations on the powerful opioid carfentanil, rather than the result of domestic U.S. efforts to curb the opioid epidemic, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health analysis revealed today.
Hazardous Air Pollutant Exposure Linked as Contributing Factor to COVID-19 Mortality in the United States
A study by researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) researchers and ProPublica, and published in Environmental Research Letters has found a link between chronic exposure to hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) and COVID-19 mortality rates.
UCLA researchers investigate COVID-19-associated deaths in working-age Latinos
UCLA researchers investigate COVID-19-associated deaths in working-age Latinos. Professors David Hayes-Bautista and Paul Hsu, both with the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, have found that over the past three months, there was a nearly five-fold increase in death rates among working-age Latinos in California.
Failure to ‘flatten the curve’ may kill more people than we thought
New research by the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington finds that every six additional ICU beds or seven additional non-ICU beds filled by COVID-19 patients leads to one additional COVID-19 death over the following week.
NAU professors examine the role racial disparities play in mortality rates of rural, urban residents
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers collected nationally representative data from 3,131 U.S. counties between 1968-2016, and looked at historical trends in death rates between older black and white adults living in different communities.
Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Global Climate Change Mortality Study
New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 3, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Robert E. Kopp is available to discuss a major study released today on the global consequences of climate change on death rates. The study by the Climate Impact Lab,…
UCLA research investigates COVID-19 Death Patterns in California
Researchers from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health found deaths related to COVID-19‒associated conditions do not occur randomly in the state’s population; they occur more in some racial/ethnic (R/E) populations than in others.

Single-Dose Flu Drug Reduces Spread Within Households
Only 1.9% of uninfected household contacts who took a single dose of baloxavir marboxil came down with the flu.

Tip of the Iceberg: Existing Racial Inequalities in Death from COVID-19 Will Soar
Lifesaving innovations for COVID-19 will only markedly increase the already existing racial inequalities, if public health initiatives for equitable dissemination throughout all communities are not immediately developed. The introduction of drugs for HIV, respiratory distress syndrome, and hepatitis C resulted in racial inequalities. Moreover, before the introduction of the Salk polio vaccine in 1952, initially, black Americans experienced significantly lower rates of paralytic polio than white Americans. By 1959, after the widespread distribution of the vaccine, the reverse was true.