Hofstra University

About: Hofstra University is a education organization based out in Hempstead, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 6341 authors who have published 11896 publications receiving 268028 citations.

Suppression of alternans and conduction blocks despite steep APD restitution: electrotonic, memory, and conduction velocity restitution effects.

Abstract: We examine the utility of the action potential (AP) duration (APD) restitution curve slope in predicting the onset of electrical alternans when electrotonic and memory effects are considered. We de...

The Use of Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia: Evaluating the Evidence

Abstract: Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) are among the most effective treatments in psychiatry, yet they remain underutilized in clinical practice. Although LAIs are typically used to maintain treatment adherence in patients with chronic schizophrenia, recent research has suggested that they may also provide an effective treatment strategy for patients with early-phase or first-episode disease. In October 2015, a group of 8 experts on the management of schizophrenia and LAIs met to evaluate the evidence surrounding the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of LAIs and to develop practical recommendations regarding the clinical use, education, and unmet needs related to LAIs. Participants were also asked to rate the importance of several patient characteristics when choosing an LAI versus an oral antipsychotic, from the perspectives of 4 different stakeholder groups: patients, health care professionals, families, and payers. The evidence review demonstrated that LAIs are superior to placebo for acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia and, in general, appear to be similar to one another in terms of schizophrenia relapse prevention. Study design impacts the demonstrated efficacy of LAIs versus oral antipsychotics, but recent database and randomized controlled studies favor the use of LAIs in early-phase schizophrenia patients. LAIs vary considerably in their propensity to cause certain adverse effects, including weight gain, metabolic effects, extrapyramidal symptoms, and prolactin elevation, and these differences can be used to help guide LAI selection. Some studies, but not all, have demonstrated significant reductions in health care utilization or overall costs with LAIs. The expert panel identified several barriers to LAI use in current practice, including clinician lack of knowledge, negative attitudes about LAIs, and resource and cost issues. The participants also identified a number of additional factors that should be considered when weighing the use of LAI therapy, including medication adherence, relapse risk and severity, cognitive impairment, ease of use, substance misuse, access and cost, stigma, social support, patient autonomy, control over medication dosing, fear of needles, and the potential for patient harm due to relapses and associated loss of functioning. This evidence review, discussion, and summary recommendations may help clinicians, patients, families, payers, and other stakeholders to better characterize the role of LAIs in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Associations of ambient air pollution with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalization and mortality.

Abstract: Rationale: Ambient air pollution has been suggested as a risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies to support this assertion.Objectives: To investigate the associations of long-term exposure to elevated traffic-related air pollution and woodsmoke pollution with the risk of COPD hospitalization and mortality.Methods: This population-based cohort study included a 5-year exposure period and a 4-year follow-up period. All residents aged 45–85 years who resided in Metropolitan Vancouver, Canada, during the exposure period and did not have known COPD at baseline were included in this study (n = 467,994). Residential exposures to traffic-related air pollutants (black carbon, particulate matter <2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter, nitrogen dioxide, and nitric oxide) and woodsmoke were estimated using land-use regression models and integrating changes in residences during the exposure period. COPD hospitalizations and deaths during the follow-up peri...

Trajectories of PTSD risk and resilience in World Trade Center responders: an 8-year prospective cohort study.

Abstract: Background Longitudinal symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often characterized by heterogeneous trajectories, which may have unique pre-, peri- and post-trauma risk and protective factors. To date, however, no study has evaluated the nature and determinants of predominant trajectories of PTSD symptoms in World Trade Center (WTC) responders. Method A total of 10835 WTC responders, including 4035 professional police responders and 6800 non-traditional responders (e.g. construction workers) who participated in the WTC Health Program (WTC-HP), were evaluated an average of 3, 6 and 8 years after the WTC attacks. Results Among police responders, longitudinal PTSD symptoms were best characterized by four classes, with the majority (77.8%) in a resistant/resilient trajectory and the remainder exhibiting chronic (5.3%), recovering (8.4%) or delayed-onset (8.5%) symptom trajectories. Among non-traditional responders, a six-class solution was optimal, with fewer responders in a resistant/resilient trajectory (58.0%) and the remainder exhibiting recovering (12.3%), severe chronic (9.5%), subsyndromal increasing (7.3%), delayed-onset (6.7%) and moderate chronic (6.2%) trajectories. Prior psychiatric history, Hispanic ethnicity, severity of WTC exposure and WTC-related medical conditions were most strongly associated with symptomatic trajectories of PTSD symptoms in both groups of responders, whereas greater education and family and work support while working at the WTC site were protective against several of these trajectories. Conclusions Trajectories of PTSD symptoms in WTC responders are heterogeneous and associated uniquely with pre-, peri- and post-trauma risk and protective factors. Police responders were more likely than non-traditional responders to exhibit a resistant/resilient trajectory. These results underscore the importance of prevention, screening and treatment efforts that target high-risk disaster responders, particularly those with prior psychiatric history, high levels of trauma exposure and work-related medical morbidities.

Being grateful is beyond good manners: Gratitude and motivation to contribute to society among early adolescents

Abstract: Gratitude, a positive response to receiving a benefit, may contribute more to youth than just momentary happiness. It may ignite in youth a motivation for “upstream generativity” whereby its experience contributes to a desire to give back to their neighborhood, community, and world. We tested this notion by longitudinally examining early adolescents’ gratitude and their social integration, or motivation to use their strengths to help others and feel connected to others at a macro level. Middle school students (N = 700) completed measures of gratitude, prosocial behavior, life satisfaction, and social integration at baseline (T1), 3-months (T2), and 6-months (T3) later. Using bootstrapping to examine multiple mediators, controlling for demographics and social integration at T1, we found that gratitude at T1 predicted social integration at T3 and that prosocial behavior and life satisfaction at T2 mediated the relation. Further mediational analyses showed that gratitude and social integration serially enhanced each other. This prospective evidence aligns well with the interpretation that gratitude may help to initiate upward spirals toward greater emotional and social well-being. Implications are discussed in terms of gratitude’s role in positive youth development.