Citations

Abstract Advocacy has long been at the core of the infectious diseases (ID) field, with clinicians and researchers advocating to ensure patients can access the care they need on an individual and global scale. The Infectious Diseases Society of America Training Program Directors’ (PD) Committee met in 2024 and discussed ways that advocacy is and should be incorporated into fellowship training, as well as highlighted the role PDs play in advocating for their trainees. Policies with a negative impact on ID clinical care, public health, and research underscore the importance of mobilizing the field of ID to advocate for the patients and communities we serve, as well as for ourselves. This paper presents ideas generated at this meeting and is meant to serve as a reference for ID PDs, as well as the wider ID community, as a call to action for teaching and participating in advocacy work.

Importance Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH) represents a high, underprioritized burden among noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and people living with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Objective To identify cost-effective management approaches to prevent, detect, and treat MASH and liver fibrosis in people living with T2D. Design, Setting, and Participants This economic evaluation consisted of a generalized cost-effectiveness analysis (GCEA) that was conducted for 12 countries (Brazil, Chile, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, and the United States), across all 6 World Health Organization (WHO) regions. A cohort state-transition model simulated liver disease development and its impact on a synthetic cohort, aged 19 years and older and living with T2D, over their lifespan across 10 liver health states. Exposures Using an 80% coverage level, 14 management approaches were compared, including screening via the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) test and Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) test or vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) as well as treatment with pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions. Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcomes were the average cost-effectiveness ratios (ACERs) and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs), which were used to construct care expansion paths by ranking the management approaches in order of cost-effectiveness. The main measures were the total incremental costs and the total incremental quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) of each intervention. Results In this GCEA, the outcomes were evaluated with respect to country-specific willingness-to-pay thresholds. The standard of care had the lowest ACERs in 8 countries (not in Chile, Germany, Saudi Arabia, or the United States). Treatment with intensive lifestyle interventions (ILIs), after screening via ELF or VCTE, was cost-effective in all countries. ILIs and treatment with semaglutide was cost-effective in 11 countries (not in Tanzania); ILIs and treatment with resmetirom was cost-effective in 8 countries (not in Brazil, South Africa, Tanzania, or Thailand). Conclusion and Relevance In this economic evaluation, screening followed by ILIs was found to be a cost-effective management approach for MASH and liver fibrosis among people living with T2D in all countries. Screening followed by pharmacological treatment was cost-effective in most countries. These results can inform health policy decision-making and further the development of WHO recommended interventions to address NCDs.

Importance The Breast Cancer Index (BCI) previously identified premenopausal patients with tumors in which the ratio of expression of HOXB13 relative to IL17BR (hereafter, BCI [H/I]–low tumors) as likely to derive greatest benefit from ovarian function suppression (OFS)–containing adjuvant therapy in the Suppression of Ovarian Function Trial (SOFT) trial. Objectives To assess BCI as a predictive biomarker of benefit from exemestane plus OFS vs tamoxifen plus OFS and to validate BCI as a prognostic biomarker for premenopausal patients. Design, Setting, and Participants This prognostic study used a prospective-retrospective translational design within the Tamoxifen and Exemestane (TEXT) and SOFT trials (enrolled November 2003 to April 2011). Blinded BCI testing in all available tumor samples was completed in March 2024. Premenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer randomized to tamoxifen plus OFS or exemestane plus OFS who had BCI assessed were included. Analysis occurred from March to August 2024. Exposure 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen plus OFS or exemestane plus OFS. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcomes were breast cancer-free interval (BCFI) for predictive analyses and distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI) for prognostic analyses after a median follow-up of 13 years in the TEXT cohort. Secondary objectives examined the predictive performance of BCI (H/I) in the combined TEXT and SOFT cohort overall and in prespecified clinical subgroups. Results Of 1782 patients in the TEXT study, 1034 (58.0%) had BCI (H/I)–low tumors; 915 (51.3%) of patients had N0 disease and 1077 (60.4%) were younger than 45 years. Patients with BCI (H/I)–low tumors had a 6.6% absolute benefit in 12-year BCFI (HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.44-0.85) for exemestane plus OFS vs tamoxifen plus OFS, while those with BCI (H/I)–high tumors had a 6.3% absolute benefit (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.57-1.07; P for interaction = .29). Results were consistent in the combined TEXT plus SOFT cohort (2896 patients) and adjusting for clinicopathological variables. Clinical subgroup analyses consistently showed benefit of exemestane plus OFS vs tamoxifen plus OFS for BCI (H/I)–low tumors, and more variable relative treatment effects among BCI (H/I)–high tumors, including by age. Post hoc exploratory time-varying estimates suggested the treatment × BCI associations may differ in years 0 to 5 vs greater than 5 years. BCI and BCI N+ as continuous indices were prognostic for distant recurrence in N0 (HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.11-1.44; P < .001) and N1 (HR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.21-2.05; P < .001) cancers. The 12-year DRFI was 96.3%, 90.3%, and 84.9% for BCI low-, intermediate-, and high-risk N0 cancers, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance In this study of premenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer, BCI (H/I) status did not clearly predict greater benefit of adjuvant exemestane plus OFS vs tamoxifen plus OFS for women with BCI (H/I)–low tumors than for those with BCI (H/I)–high tumors; BCI continuous indices were reconfirmed as prognostic for premenopausal women. These findings support prior results of SOFT, which compared tamoxifen-alone vs OFS with either exemestane or tamoxifen, indicating premenopausal patients with BCI (H/I)–low tumors may benefit from more intensive endocrine therapy.

Introduction: In patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) at high cardiovascular risk, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RAs) have been shown to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events. However, patients with valvular heart disease, including those undergoing transcatheter aortic-valve implantation (TAVI), have been largely excluded from randomized trials. Hypothesis: We investigated whether GLP1-RA use is associated with improved one-year cardiovascular outcomes in patients with T2D undergoing TAVI. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX network. Adults (≥18 years) with T2D who underwent TAVI between 2015 and 2023 were included and stratified based on GLP1-RA initiation within 14 days post-TAVI. Baseline characteristics, comorbidities, medications, and laboratory data were balanced using 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM). The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality or hospitalization at 1 year. Secondary outcomes included acute heart failure (HF) exacerbation, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), cardiac arrest, and ischemic stroke. Outcomes were assessed from 1 month to 1 year after TAVI. Survival probabilities were estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis, and hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated with Cox proportional hazards models. Results: Among 20,454 patients with T2D undergoing TAVI from 2015-2023, 937 received GLP1-RAs. After PSM, 930 patients were included in each cohort, with a mean age of 73 years and 37% female. The mean follow-up duration was 342 days for GLP1-RA users and 325 days for non-users. GLP1-RA cohort exhibited a higher 1-year survival probability (93.8%) compared to non-users (89.5%) (HR 0.573 [95% CI, 0.410-0.801]; p=0.001). GLP1-RA use was also associated lower rates of all-cause hospitalization (HR 0.762 [95% CI, 0.652-0.891]; p=0.001), acute HF exacerbation (HR 0.687 [95% CI, 0.566-0.834]; p<0.001), and cardiac arrest (HR 0.452 [95% CI, 0.213-0.960]; p=0.034). No differences were observed in AMI (HR 1.033 [95% CI, 0.750-1.423]; p=0.844), or ischemic stroke (HR 0.875 [95% CI, 0.659-1.162]; p=0.356). Conclusions: In patients with T2D undergoing TAVI, GLP1-RA use is associated with significant survival benefits and improved cardiovascular outcomes, including reductions in acute HF exacerbation, all-cause hospitalization, and cardiac arrest. These findings highlight the need for prospective clinical trials to confirm these results.

BACKGROUND: The association between breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and the risk of incident ischemic stroke remains unclear. We aimed to investigate ischemic stroke risk among breast cancer survivors and evaluate the association by age, follow-up duration, and cancer treatments. METHODS: Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, we studied 113,232 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer (aged ≥18 years) without prior stroke history who underwent breast cancer surgery between January 2010 and December 2016. Each was matched 1:3 by birth year to a cancer-free female population (n=322,818). Subdistribution hazard ratios (sHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated, accounting for death as a competing risk and adjusting for sociodemographic factors and cardiovascular and noncardiovascular comorbidities. RESULTS: Over a mean follow-up of 7.2 years, ischemic stroke occurred in 1,155 (1.0%) breast cancer surgery survivors. Overall, breast cancer survivors had a slightly lower risk of stroke than cancer-free women (sHR 0.94; 95% CI 0.88–1.00). However, stroke risk was elevated in the short term following diagnosis (sHR 1.59, 95% CI 1.34–1.89 at 1 year; sHR 1.17, 95% CI 1.05–1.30 at 3 years) across all age groups, with stronger associations observed at 3 and 6 months post-diagnosis. A reduced risk was observed after 1 year in a landmark analysis that included only individuals event-free at the 1-year follow-up (sHR 0.87, 95% CI 0.81–0.93). Among breast cancer survivors, treatment with anthracycline (sHR 1.25) and the combination of tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors (sHR 1.49) were associated with increased stroke risk, whereas radiation therapy was associated with decreased risk (sHR 0.84). These associations weakened and became nonsignificant after 1 year. Stroke risk was also higher in breast cancer survivors with low income, hypertension, diabetes, or current smoking. CONCLUSION: The association between breast cancer and ischemic stroke risk is time-dependent, with increased short-term risk post-diagnosis and treatment, followed by a decline over time. These findings highlight the importance of proactive stroke risk management, including baseline cardiovascular assessments and ongoing monitoring for thromboembolic events.

Objective: The specialty of critical care in the United States currently lacks a single, broad, unified database. We conducted a scoping review of existing established national ICU databases, describing national and international patterns of critical care delivery. Data Sources: A systematic literature search was undertaken using MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science search engines. Study Selection: Projects describing national critical care delivery (including any subspecialty) published in any language were included. Titles, abstracts, and full-text manuscripts were reviewed in duplicate for inclusion. Data Extraction: National database characteristics were collected, including the number and subspecialty of ICUs, the inaugural year, data entry methodology, the number of episodes of care included, and captured clinical data elements. Data Synthesis: Of 24,003 abstracts screened, 185 manuscripts were eligible for inclusion. Thirty countries were identified as having established national ICU registries: Argentina, Australia/New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay. Data entry commonly incorporates a combination of automated data abstraction from electronic healthcare systems and manual data entry, followed by independent validation. Frequently recorded variables include patient demographics; admission vital signs and laboratory data; comorbidities; admission source and diagnoses; ICU diagnoses, treatments, and complications; illness severity scores; and clinically relevant outcomes including discharge disposition, functional status, lengths of stay, and mortality. Conclusions: Insights and experience gained from the study of mature national ICU registries may be used to guide an equivalent U.S. multidisciplinary program aimed at benchmarking, needs assessment, quality improvement, and research facilitation

ABSTRACT Suicidality contributes substantially to global morbidity and mortality, yet despite its heritability, its biological etiology remains largely elusive. We conducted multi-ancestry genome-wide association study meta-analyses of suicidal ideation (259,747 cases), suicide attempt (64,993 cases), suicide death (9,197 cases), and suicidal behavior (suicide attempt/ death, 75,300 cases), across 54 cohorts (e.g., the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Million Veteran Program, UK Biobank). We identified 77 significant loci across meta-analyses, including 59 previously unreported for suicidality. SNP-based heritability ranged from 2.0-6.7% and there were strong, yet incomplete, genetic correlations between suicidality phenotypes (0.70-0.88). Fine-mapping prioritized putative causal SNPs and 20 credible genes. Enrichment analyses implicated synaptic pathways and neuronal populations predominantly in subcortical brain regions (e.g., amygdala excitatory, medium spiny, hippocampal CA1-3). Together, these findings establish suicidality as a polygenic set of traits with both shared and distinct genetic influences, providing a foundation for future studies of suicide biology and etiology.

Abstract Disclosure: R. Castaneda: None. D. Bechenati: None. R.D. Rivera Gutierrez: None. M.A. Espinosa: None. J.L. Villamarin: None. E. Tama: None. J.L. Meek: None. P. Bennett: None. A. Acosta: Novo Nordisk, Gila Therapeutics, Amgen Inc, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, General Mills, Currax, Nestle, Phenomix Sciences, Busch Health, RareDiseases, National Institute of Health, Vivus Pharmaceuticals, Apollo Endosurgery, Satiogen Pharmaceuticals, Spatz Medical. S. Faubion: Era Women’s Health Platform, PriMed, MedAll, AiCME, Medscape, Weight Watchers. C. Shufelt: Bayer Advisory Board. M.D. Hurtado: Novo Nordisk, National Institute of Health, Phenomix. Introduction: Tirzepatide, a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist, is an FDA-approved medication demonstrating the highest efficacy for weight loss among currently available treatments. However, the influence of sex and age on weight loss outcomes with tirzepatide remains unclear. Objective: To investigate the influence of sex and age on weight loss outcomes in patients treated with tirzepatide. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated weight loss outcomes associated with tirzepatide across sex and age groups. Patients with active malignancy, prior bariatric surgery, or concurrent anti-obesity medication were excluded. The primary endpoint was total body weight loss percentage (TBWL%) at 15 months by sex and age. The influence of age was analyzed as a categorical (≤45, 46-59, ≥60 years) and continuous variable. Secondary outcomes included TBWL% at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months by sex and age. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and multivariate regression; results are reported as mean ± standard deviation. Results: The study included 1033 patients (57.1% female; mean age 56 ± 11 years; mean BMI, 37.7 ± 8 kg/m2). By age category, 18.8% (196) were ≤45 years (35.7% males, 64.3% females), 45.9% (473) were 46-59 years (42.7% males, 57.3% females), and 35.3% (364) were ≥60 years (54.7% males, 45.3% females). At all timepoints, TBWL was significantly greater in females compared to males at all timepoints. At 15 months females had a higher TBWL than males: 15.3% ± 10, n=340, vs. 10.2% ± 8, n=244, (p &lt; 0.001). Among females, premenopausal women achieved a higher TBWL than postmenopausal women: 16.9% ± 10 vs 14.4% ± 9, p = 0.04. Analysis by age groups revealed a trend toward higher TBWL in younger patients that did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.152): ≤45 years (14.7% ± 10%), 46-59 years (12.9% ± 10%), and ≥60 years (12.7% ± 9%). After adjusting for baseline age, BMI, and diabetes status, sex remained a strong predictor for weight loss outcomes (PE= 4.5, 95% CI [2.96, 5.97], p &lt; 0.001), following type 2 diabetes status (PE= 4.8, 95% CI [3.0, 6.7], p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Sex but not age was a strong predictor of weight loss with tirzepatide. Female sex was associated with greater weight loss than male sex. These results emphasize the importance of considering sex-specific factors in weight loss strategies and warrant further investigation into the underlying biological mechanisms. Differential weight loss by menopause, underscores the role of sex hormones. Presentation: Monday, July 14, 2025

Abstract Disclosure: R.D. Rivera Gutierrez: None. D. Bechenati: None. R. Castaneda: None. M.A. Espinosa: None. J.L. Villamarin: None. E. Tama: None. J.L. Meek: None. T.M. Taaffe: None. P.K. Bennett: None. A.J. Acosta: Novo Nordisk, Gila Therapeutics, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Amgen Inc, General Mills, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Currax, Nestle, Phenomix Sciences, Busch Health, RareDiseases, National Institute of Health, Vivus Pharmaceuticals, Apollo Endosurgery, Satiogen Pharmaceuticals, Spatz Medical. S. Faubion: Era Women’s Health Platform, PriMed, AiCME, MedAll, Medscape, Weight Watchers. C. Shufelt: Bayer Advisory Board. M.D. Hurtado: Novo Nordisk, National Institute of Health, Phenomix Sciences. Background: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) have demonstrated cardiovascular (CV) benefits. Tirzepatide (TZP), a dual GLP-1 and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist approved for weight management and glycemic control, currently lacks evidence on CV outcomes. This study evaluates TZP’s impact on cardiometabolic parameters and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk scores. Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective study of adults prescribed TZP from June 1, 2022, to November 1, 2024. Inclusion criteria included 12 months of TZP use and age &gt;18 years. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy, active malignancy, concurrent FDA-approved antiobesity medications, and prior bariatric surgery. Endpoints included changes in blood pressure, lipid profiles, liver enzymes, glucose control parameters, medication use (statins, aspirin, antihypertensives), and ASCVD risk scores from baseline to 12 months, stratified by sex. Data were obtained from electronic medical records. We present data as mean differences [95% CI]. We used T-tests and multivariate regression analyses for analyses. Results: Among 831 participants (59.4% female; 91.2% White; mean age: 58 ± 12 years), 12-month weight loss was -12% [-13, -11], p&lt;0.001. We observed significant improvement in systolic blood pressure (SBP) (-4 [-5, -3] mmHg, p&lt;0.001), triglycerides (TG) (-38 [-52, -23] mg/dL, p&lt;0.001), total cholesterol (TC) (-7 [-10, -4] mg/dL, p&lt;0.001), LDL cholesterol (LDL) (-6 [-9, -4] mg/dL, p&lt;0.001), fasting glucose (FG) (-39 [-48, -29] mg/dL, p&lt;0.001), ALT (-10 [-15, -5] U/L, p&lt;0.001), HbA1c (-1.3% [-1.5, -1.2], p&lt;0.001), and HDL cholesterol (HDL) (+4 [+3, +5] mg/dL, p&lt;0.001). The Lifetime and 10-year ASCVD scores did not significantly change after 12 months (p&gt;0.05), underscoring TZP’s potential in mitigating the aging-associated increase in CV risk. Considering sex, females had greater weight loss (-13% [-14, -12] vs. -10% [-11, -9], p&lt;0.001), and greater improvements in TC (-5% [-8, -2] vs -3% [-6, 0.1], p&lt;0.001) and LDL (-10% [-14, -6] vs -4% [-8, 1], p&lt;0.001). Males had a greater reduction in DBP (-2% [-4, -1] vs (-1% [-6, 3], p=0.006). Both males and females demonstrated similar improvements in FG and HbA1c. Conclusion: TZP significantly improved CV and metabolic parameters after 12 months, with greater benefits observed in females. These improvements effectively mitigated the age-related rise in ASCVD risk scores. Larger, prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings and further investigate TZP’s long-term CV effects. Presentation: Monday, July 14, 2025