Anthony F Marcus

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This study tracked over 4,300 patients with moderate-to-severe eczema to compare rates of eye inflammation (conjunctivitis and keratitis) in those taking dupilumab versus those not taking it. Patients on dupilumab were nearly twice as likely to develop conjunctivitis and four times as likely to develop keratitis within one year. These real-world findings align with clinical trial data and help doctors counsel patients about eye-related side effects when prescribing dupilumab.

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Pharmacoepidemiology studies drug use and effects across populations, but historically have not represented all groups equally. This paper introduces the ETIE framework—Explore, Tailor, Implement, Evaluate—giving researchers a step-by-step guide to account for diversity factors like sex, race, age, and socioeconomic status in their studies. Applying this framework helps ensure that drug safety and effectiveness findings are accurate and fair for everyone, not just the groups most often studied.

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Researchers tested whether existing validated algorithms for identifying new breast cancer cases in general insurance databases would perform equally well in a specific subgroup—patients with atopic dermatitis. One algorithm consistently underestimated breast cancer rates, while another matched national cancer registry data, but both showed lower rates in the eczema population than in the general population. The findings warn researchers not to assume a validated algorithm will work reliably when applied to a different patient population without re-checking its accuracy.

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Insurance claims databases are widely used in medical research, but reliable methods to identify eye conditions like conjunctivitis and keratitis from billing codes did not exist. Researchers developed and tested algorithms using diagnosis codes and prescription records, validating them against actual medical records reviewed by an ophthalmologist—the conjunctivitis algorithm was 81% accurate and the keratitis algorithm 80% accurate. These tools are now available for researchers studying eye complications in eczema patients and similar populations.

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Patients on long-term dialysis often have altered metabolism, making standard calorie prediction formulas inaccurate for them. This three-year study of 116 dialysis patients used measured resting energy expenditure and identified weight, age, sex, and the inflammation marker C-reactive protein as the best predictors, producing a new disease-specific formula that was accurate for 61% of patients. The equation gives clinicians a better starting point for calculating calorie needs in dialysis patients and reducing dangerous malnutrition.

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Premature infants in the NICU often receive donor breast milk when their mother's own milk is unavailable, but donor milk is assumed to have fewer nutrients. This study measured actual calorie and protein content using a breast milk analyzer in 29 very low birth weight infants and found that donor milk and mother's own milk delivered nearly identical calories and protein after standard fortification. Despite this, both milk types failed to meet minimum calorie targets on more than half of feeding days, pointing to a need for improved fortification strategies.

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Worksite wellness programs can help employees lose weight, but many regain it after the initial program ends. This 26-week study of 64 university employees found that those who exercised at least 150 minutes per week continued losing weight and body fat between weeks 12 and 26, while those exercising less tended to regain what they had lost. Meeting standard physical activity guidelines appears to be the key factor in keeping weight off after a structured wellness program.

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Measuring a dialysis patient's resting energy expenditure requires a steady breathing period during the test, but the standard 10-minute requirement can be hard for sick patients to achieve. This study tested whether shorter intervals of 2 to 5 minutes produced equally valid measurements in 125 dialysis patients and found that a 5-minute steady-state interval gave results as accurate as the 10-minute standard while allowing more patients to complete the test. Shortening the required measurement window makes calorie assessment more practical and accessible for this population.

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Many bariatric surgery programs require patients to lose a set amount of weight before surgery, but some patients struggle to meet this goal. This study of 378 surgery candidates on a four-week low-calorie diet found that 63% met the weight loss target, and identified that being male, white, having hypertension, and having a lower starting BMI predicted success. The results give clinicians a way to flag at-risk patients early so they can receive extra support before surgery.

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Protein-energy wasting—a form of malnutrition—is common and dangerous in dialysis patients, but it is unclear which screening tools best identify it. This study compared two scoring tools (the 7-point Subjective Global Assessment and the Protein Energy Wasting score) against registered dietitian evaluations in 133 dialysis patients. The SGA was more precise but missed some cases, while the PEW score caught all cases but flagged many false positives—both tools were best at ruling out malnutrition rather than confirming it.

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Doctors at organ transplant organizations sometimes take a small tissue sample from a donor's liver before transplanting it to check if the organ is healthy enough to use. Researchers surveyed 49 transplant organizations across the U.S. and found that about 82% do this procedure, but they do it inconsistently—some almost never use it while others use it regularly—depending mainly on factors like the donor's age, weight, and alcohol history. The main reasons this matters: transplant centers need better information about whether these biopsies actually help predict which livers will work well after transplant, because right now organizations are doing them very differently, and most doctors aren't even sure the biopsies are easy or accurate enough to rely on.

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The Certified Nutrition Support Clinician (CNSC) credential is designed to verify specialized knowledge for healthcare professionals managing patients on feeding tubes or IV nutrition. A survey of over 4,400 nutrition professionals found that credential holders answered significantly more questions correctly on a complex pancreatitis case scenario than non-credentialed peers (6.2 vs. 4.6 out of 8). The results support the credential as a meaningful marker of clinical knowledge in nutrition support practice.

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Both social isolation and living in a poor neighborhood are linked to higher death rates, but how these two factors work together had not been studied. Analyzing national health survey data linked to 18 years of mortality follow-up, the study found that low social integration raised the risk of death by 42%, while neighborhood poverty alone had no independent effect. People who were both socially isolated and living in high-poverty areas had a 63% higher mortality risk, suggesting that strengthening social ties may be especially important in disadvantaged communities.

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Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions, and even short-term lifestyle programs can begin to reverse these risks. A 12-week university worksite wellness program with dietitian-led individual counseling produced significant reductions in weight, waist circumference, and other heart disease risk factors among 79 overweight and obese employees. The study shows that brief, structured workplace interventions can deliver meaningful health improvements.

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Social integration—having strong ties to family, friends, and community—protects health, but where people live may shape what kinds of social connections they have. Using national U.S. health survey data for over 16,000 people, the study found that living in a high-poverty neighborhood was associated with weaker overall social ties but more frequent contact with neighbors. Poverty shapes not just how connected people are, but the type of connections available to them, which has implications for health interventions.

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Worksite wellness programs aim to improve employee health, but the connection between physical activity and quality of life within these programs is understudied. Among 64 university employees in a 12-week program, anxiety decreased significantly by week 12, and those with hypertension who increased physical activity reported fewer sick days and better mental health. The findings suggest that physical activity is a key driver of quality-of-life gains in employer-sponsored wellness programs.

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Sex offender internet registries are meant to help the public protect themselves and their children, but how many people actually know about and use these registries is unclear. A telephone survey of 1,016 New Jersey residents found that 51% were aware of the state registry and 17% had used it, and among users, 68% took some safety action based on what they found. Awareness gaps by ethnicity, education, and internet access point to the need for targeted public outreach to make these registries more useful.