Sexual Networks and HIV Risk among Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in 6 US Cities

Sexual networks may place U.S. Black men who have sex with men (MSM) at increased HIV risk. Methods Self-reported egocentric sexual network data from the prior six months were collected from 1,349 community-recruited Black MSM in HPTN 061, a multi-component HIV prevention intervention feasibility study. Sexual network composition, size, and density (extent to which members are having sex with one another) were compared by self-reported HIV serostatus and age of the men. GEE models assessed network and other factors associated with having a Black sex partner, having a partner with at least two age category difference (age difference between participant and partner of at least two age group categories), and having serodiscordant/serostatus unknown unprotected anal/vaginal intercourse (SDUI) in the last six months. Results Over half had exclusively Black partners in the last six months, 46% had a partner of at least two age category difference, 87% had ≤5 partners. Nearly 90% had sex partners who were also part of their social networks. Among HIV-negative men, not having anonymous/exchange/ trade partners and lower density were associated with having a Black partner; larger sexual network size and having non-primary partners were associated with having a partner with at least two age category difference; and having anonymous/exchange/ trade partners was associated with SDUI. Among HIV-positive men, not having non-primary partners was associated with having a Black partner; no sexual network characteristics were associated with having a partner with at least two age category difference and SDUI. Conclusions Black MSM sexual networks were relatively small and often overlapped with the social networks. Sexual risk was associated with having non-primary partners and larger network size. Network interventions that engage the social networks of Black MSM, such as interventions utilizing peer influence, should be developed to address stable partnerships, number of partners, and serostatus disclosure

Additional file 2: of Perceived stress as a risk factor of unemployment: a register-based cohort study

Table S2. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of unemployment by perceived everyday life stress quintiles. Unadjusted (model 1) and adjusted for gender, age, education level, income level, smoking, BMI, alcohol consumption and self-rated health (model 2). Complete cases (N = 8046). (DOCX 14 kb

Additional file 1 of Validation of retail food outlet data from a Danish government inspection database

Additional file 1. Map displaying the Capital region of Denmark (excluding the island Bornholm) (within dotted lines) illustrating the geographical distribution of the randomly selected grid cells (black boxes) for the ground-truthing. Each cell is 250x250m and contain at least one type of food outlet. 336 grids were selected; of these 3 were mistakenly placed outside the Capital region, while 4 grids were placed at an amusement park (i.e. not accessible to the greater public). These were discarded leaving 329 grids. Additionally, 32 grids were selected as being “empty” according the Smiley Register 2021. Map created in ArcGIS PRO

Additional file 2 of Validation of retail food outlet data from a Danish government inspection database

Additional file 2. List of search terms and characteristics for identification, location and classification of food outlets in the Smiley Register; Search terms are mainly given for the moderate definitions. Further, search terms are given for coffee shops that are included in the broad definitions of restaurants and fast food

Supplementary Material for: Multiple Silent Lacunes Are Associated with Recurrent Ischemic Stroke

Background: Silent lacunes are a common finding on brain imaging in ischemic stroke patients, but the prognostic significance of these lesions is uncertain. We aimed at investigating the association of silent lacunes and the risk of ischemic stroke recurrence, death, and cardiovascular events in a cohort of patients with incident ischemic stroke and no atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: We included 786 patients (mean age 59.5 (SD 14.0); 42.9% females) in a registry-based, observational cohort study on patients with first-ever ischemic stroke. On brain MRI we assessed the number of silent lacunes as none, single, or multiple and we calculated stratified incidence rates of the outcomes. Cox proportional hazard ratios (HRs) adjusted for age, gender, congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, and vascular disease were calculated with no silent lacunes as reference. In additional analyses, we further adjusted for white matter hyperintensities. Patients were followed up until death or recurrence of ischemic stroke. Results: In 81 (10.3%) patients, a single silent lacune was present, and in 87 (11.1%) patients, multiple silent lacunes were present. Patients with at least one silent lacune were older (mean age 66.1 vs. 57.7, p < 0.001) and were more often hypertensive (60.1 vs. 43.4%, p < 0.001) compared to patients with no silent lacunes. During a median follow-up time of 2.9 (interquartile range 3.1) years, we observed 53 recurrent ischemic strokes, 76 deaths, and 96 cardiovascular events. Incidence rates per 100 person-years of ischemic stroke recurrence were 1.6, 2.5, and 5.0 for none, single, and multiple silent lacunes respectively. Corresponding incidence rates were 2.6, 2.4, and 4.4 for death, and 3.4, 4.0, and 6.6 for cardiovascular events respectively. Adjusted HRs of ischemic stroke recurrence were 1.53 (0.67-3.49) and 2.52 (1.25-5.09) for a single and multiple silent lacunes, respectively. Further adjustment for white matter hyperintensities maintained positive association although not significant. Corresponding adjusted HRs were 0.56 (0.25-1.25) and 0.65 (0.33-1.25) for death and 1.16 (0.61-2.22) and 1.51 (0.86-2.66) for cardiovascular events. Conclusions: In this large cohort of patients with incident ischemic stroke and no AF, an increasing number of silent lacunes was associated with increasing incidence rates of ischemic stroke recurrence. In the adjusted Cox proportional hazard analyses, the presence of multiple silent lacunes was significantly associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke recurrence. The risk of death or cardiovascular events was not significantly influenced by the presence of silent lacunes

Additional file 3 of Validation of retail food outlet data from a Danish government inspection database

Additional file 3. The classification tool behind the field survey applied during ground-truthing; By completing the survey, each food outlet is geographically located and automatically classified into type (white boxes) based on the combination of answers. The white boxes comprise the five most common food outlets classifications used in the literature i.e. fast food, restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets, fruit and vegetable stores [16]. Light grey boxes supply information needed for the subsequent partitioning of each classification into three definitions; narrow, moderate and broad with inspiration from Wilkins et. al (2019a)

Additional file 1 of Validation of retail food outlet data from a Danish government inspection database

Additional file 1. Map displaying the Capital region of Denmark (excluding the island Bornholm) (within dotted lines) illustrating the geographical distribution of the randomly selected grid cells (black boxes) for the ground-truthing. Each cell is 250x250m and contain at least one type of food outlet. 336 grids were selected; of these 3 were mistakenly placed outside the Capital region, while 4 grids were placed at an amusement park (i.e. not accessible to the greater public). These were discarded leaving 329 grids. Additionally, 32 grids were selected as being “empty” according the Smiley Register 2021. Map created in ArcGIS PRO

Additional file 3 of Validation of retail food outlet data from a Danish government inspection database

Additional file 3. The classification tool behind the field survey applied during ground-truthing; By completing the survey, each food outlet is geographically located and automatically classified into type (white boxes) based on the combination of answers. The white boxes comprise the five most common food outlets classifications used in the literature i.e. fast food, restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets, fruit and vegetable stores [16]. Light grey boxes supply information needed for the subsequent partitioning of each classification into three definitions; narrow, moderate and broad with inspiration from Wilkins et. al (2019a)

Supplementary Material for: Multiple Silent Lacunes Are Associated with Recurrent Ischemic Stroke

Background: Silent lacunes are a common finding on brain imaging in ischemic stroke patients, but the prognostic significance of these lesions is uncertain. We aimed at investigating the association of silent lacunes and the risk of ischemic stroke recurrence, death, and cardiovascular events in a cohort of patients with incident ischemic stroke and no atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: We included 786 patients (mean age 59.5 (SD 14.0); 42.9% females) in a registry-based, observational cohort study on patients with first-ever ischemic stroke. On brain MRI we assessed the number of silent lacunes as none, single, or multiple and we calculated stratified incidence rates of the outcomes. Cox proportional hazard ratios (HRs) adjusted for age, gender, congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, and vascular disease were calculated with no silent lacunes as reference. In additional analyses, we further adjusted for white matter hyperintensities. Patients were followed up until death or recurrence of ischemic stroke. Results: In 81 (10.3%) patients, a single silent lacune was present, and in 87 (11.1%) patients, multiple silent lacunes were present. Patients with at least one silent lacune were older (mean age 66.1 vs. 57.7, p < 0.001) and were more often hypertensive (60.1 vs. 43.4%, p < 0.001) compared to patients with no silent lacunes. During a median follow-up time of 2.9 (interquartile range 3.1) years, we observed 53 recurrent ischemic strokes, 76 deaths, and 96 cardiovascular events. Incidence rates per 100 person-years of ischemic stroke recurrence were 1.6, 2.5, and 5.0 for none, single, and multiple silent lacunes respectively. Corresponding incidence rates were 2.6, 2.4, and 4.4 for death, and 3.4, 4.0, and 6.6 for cardiovascular events respectively. Adjusted HRs of ischemic stroke recurrence were 1.53 (0.67-3.49) and 2.52 (1.25-5.09) for a single and multiple silent lacunes, respectively. Further adjustment for white matter hyperintensities maintained positive association although not significant. Corresponding adjusted HRs were 0.56 (0.25-1.25) and 0.65 (0.33-1.25) for death and 1.16 (0.61-2.22) and 1.51 (0.86-2.66) for cardiovascular events. Conclusions: In this large cohort of patients with incident ischemic stroke and no AF, an increasing number of silent lacunes was associated with increasing incidence rates of ischemic stroke recurrence. In the adjusted Cox proportional hazard analyses, the presence of multiple silent lacunes was significantly associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke recurrence. The risk of death or cardiovascular events was not significantly influenced by the presence of silent lacunes

Additional file 2 of Validation of retail food outlet data from a Danish government inspection database

Additional file 2. List of search terms and characteristics for identification, location and classification of food outlets in the Smiley Register; Search terms are mainly given for the moderate definitions. Further, search terms are given for coffee shops that are included in the broad definitions of restaurants and fast food