Chicago Area Research Articles

Natural shorelines support greater diversity and abundances of fishes than armoured shores along Chicago's waterways

Abstract Shoreline armouring is one of the most ubiquitous alterations to aquatic systems globally. Armouring and hardening to prevent erosion and maintain land uses reduce or eliminate habitat complexity that softer and more natural, vegetated shorelines offer. The effects that shoreline armouring has had on biodiversity of coastal and estuarine communities are well studied, while studies in freshwater systems remain sparse. Data collected during a large‐scale long‐term fish survey with high spatial resolution from the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee's Monitoring and Response Work Group were re‐analysed to assess the effects that bulkhead versus natural shorelines have on fish diversity and abundance. Lengths of bulkhead, natural and riprap shoreline were calculated within 300 m of each sampling location, which occur every 100 m throughout the Chicago Area Waterway System. Water depths of each sampling location were also classified into deep (>6 m), mid‐range (4–6 m) or shallow (<4 m) to account for potential variations in gear efficiencies. Fish species richness and abundance increased with increasing proportions of natural shoreline, which can be contrasted with stronger (i.e., steeper slope) decreases as proportions of bulkhead shorelines increased. The results show strong evidence for the negative effects of shoreline armouring of freshwater ecosystems and are consistent with those shown in coastal ecosystems studies. As cities continue to encroach on freshwater systems, greater emphasis on maintaining natural riparian shorelines and ecoengineering hardscapes will increasingly be important for freshwater conservation.

Chicago Area Archaeological Collections at the Field Museum

Abstract From surface finds to excavated collections, the Field Museum cares for thousands of archaeological items from the Chicago area. The collections reflect those put together by several key antiquarians in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, materials recovered by early archaeologists starting in the 1920s using the Chicago Field Method, and material resulting from a pre–cultural resource management salvage excavation in the 1950s. The collections also include donations in the twentieth century by private individuals. This article contextualizes the history of these archaeological collections and their impact on recent studies and descendant communities, including the Hočąk, Baxoje, Nutachi, Jiwere, Myaamia, Kickapoo, Kaskaskia, and Potawatomi. In so doing, we outline how the provenance of these collections reflects temporal trends of museum archaeology and curation and how various epistemologies are being brought to bear by recent work of archaeologists and Indigenous artists and craftspeople.

The Acceptability and Feasibility of Self-Collected HPV Testing for Cervical Cancer Screening Among Black and Latinx Women in Chicago: Perspectives from the Community.

Cervical cancer disproportionally affects Black and Latinx women in Chicago. Black and Latinx women have a higher incidence of cervical cancer diagnosis and lower rates of cervical cancer screening than non-Latinx White women. Self-collected high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing has been proposed as a method to address these barriers to screening and prevent cervical cancer. This study aimed to understand the feasibility and acceptability of self-collected HPV testing as a novel approach to address barriers to cervical cancer screening for Black and Latinx women in Chicago. Semistructured interviews with 17 Black and Latinx community members of the greater Chicago area were conducted. Thematic analysis using inductive and deductive coding was completed. Findings from qualitative interviews indicate strong support for self-collected HPV testing among community members. They expressed a preference for self-collected HPV testing due to the comfort, control, and reduced anxiety it offers. Financial constraints, prioritization of other life demands, and past trauma were identified as substantial barriers to traditional cervical screening. Self-collected HPV testing could address barriers to cervical cancer screening by providing a less-invasive, patient-centered alternative to traditional methods. Self-collected HPV testing should be made accessible, be integrated into existing cervical cancer screening programs, and be covered by health insurance.

Lessons learned from eDNA adoption in the management of bigheaded carps in Chicago IL USA Area Waterways

AbstractThe Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) connects the Great Lakes watershed with the Mississippi watershed via canals that withdraw water from Lake Michigan. From 2009 through 2011, collaborators and I provided research, development, and application of eDNA to invasive species management in the CAWS in cooperation with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The research team's approach was a high‐stakes test of a novel combination of proven technologies (field sampling techniques and laboratory genetics). In the first application of eDNA to a large scale, urgent management goal, we quickly discovered eDNA of two species of bigheaded carps in parts of the waterway where traditional tools had not captured fish. The central research question was whether the sensitivity (probability of detecting a fish when it was present) of eDNA was higher than that of traditional fish sampling tools (e.g., nets, electrofishing). The effort was part of what became a very large, complex, on‐going initiative to reduce access by invasive species to Lake Michigan. This immediately garnered much attention, initiating a dialog about the reliability of eDNA, public discussion about the benefits and costs of the CAWS, and skepticism from industries that use the CAWS. Government agencies formed the Asian Carp Rapid Response Workgroup, which eventually became the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ICRCC). The ICRCC continues its coordinating role on the use of eDNA and other management responses in the CAWS. With the benefit of hindsight, I draw several lessons from the experience that may help in other settings where eDNA is now being deployed with increasing confidence and acceptance; evaluate the on‐going CAWS surveillance and management effort; and recommend strengthening the current approach by broadening and deepening participation in a collaborative governance approach. Stronger public‐private partnerships would accelerate research, development, commercialization, and application of eDNA analysis to the benefit of society.

A modeling pipeline to relate municipal wastewater surveillance and regional public health data

As COVID-19 becomes endemic, public health departments benefit from improved passive indicators, which are independent of voluntary testing data, to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 in local communities. Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater has the potential to be a powerful passive indicator. However, connecting measured SARS-CoV-2 RNA to community prevalence is challenging due to the high noise typical of environmental samples. We have developed a generalized pipeline using in- and out-of-sample model selection to test the ability of different correction models to reduce the variance in wastewater measurements and applied it to data collected from treatment plants in the Chicago area. We built and compared a set of multi-linear regression models, which incorporate pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) as a population biomarker, Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) as a recovery control, and wastewater system flow rate into a corrected estimate for SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration. For our data, models with BCoV performed better than those with PMMoV, but the pipeline should be used to reevaluate any new data set as the sources of variance may change across locations, lab methods, and disease states. Using our best-fit model, we investigated the utility of RNA measurements in wastewater as a leading indicator of COVID-19 trends. We did this in a rolling manner for corrected wastewater data and for other prevalence indicators and statistically compared the temporal relationship between new increases in the wastewater data and those in other prevalence indicators. We found that wastewater trends often lead other COVID-19 indicators in predicting new surges.

Evaluation of Antibiotic Allergy in the Ambulatory Setting Using a Standardized Questionnaire

Patients are sometimes mislabeled as having an immune-mediated antibiotic allergy in their medical records. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of subjects with non-immune mediated reactions to antibiotics using a standardized questionnaire. Subjects aged 18 years and older with a documented antibiotic allergy were identified and recruited from 2 outpatient clinics in the greater Chicago area. Subjects completed a standardized questionnaire during a single visit regarding their previous adverse reaction to an antibiotic. For subjects with multiple documented antibiotic allergies, 1 questionnaire was filled out for each antibiotic allergy. Investigators subsequently evaluated the questionnaire responses to determine whether the adverse reaction was a true immune-mediated allergic reaction or an adverse drug reaction. A total of 98 subjects were recruited with completion of 159 questionnaires. Eighteen subjects (18.37%, 95% CI: 10.7%, 26.3%) had antibiotic allergy labels with no corresponding immune-mediated reaction history. There were 35 allergy labels (22.0%, 95% CI: 14.7%, 29.4%) that were unlikely to be immune-mediated. Antibiotics with the highest percentage of clinical histories that were unlikely to be immune-mediated were macrolides (8 of 11 subjects), nitrofurantoin (1 of 2 subjects), and amoxicillin/clavulanate (2 of 8 subjects). The most common antibiotic allergy labels were penicillin (43 of 159 subjects), sulfonamides (25 of 159 subjects), and fluoroquinolones (21 of 159 subjects). Identification of adverse reactions to antibiotics that are unlikely to be immune-mediated can be accomplished using a standardized questionnaire in the outpatient setting. Improved identification of low-risk antibiotic allergy labels can guide de-labeling initiatives to improve antibiotic prescribing.

Invasive Round goby Neogobius melanostomus distribution, relative abundance, and establishment in pools of the Illinois Waterway following 30 years of invasion

Round goby Neogobius melanostomus – a small, benthic fish native to Eurasia – was first introduced to North America in the 1980s through ballast water of cargo ships. In 1990, the Round goby was first discovered in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin and rapidly spread through all Great Lakes from 1993 to 1998. The Round goby is an aggressive, prolific, and efficient egg predator that subsequently displaced native fishes from their preferred habitats and resources in the Great Lakes, where they are well established and abundant. From Lake Michigan, Round goby moved south into the Chicago Area Waterway System in 1993 and slowly progressed down the Illinois Waterway to the Mississippi River from 2004 to 2019, where less is known about their abundance, establishment, and impact. The goal of this study was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the first large river invasion by Round goby in the Mississippi River Basin by leveraging Round goby capture data from 2019 to 2022 on all pools of the Illinois Waterway. We describe their current distribution, relative abundance (i.e., catch-per-unit-effort), frequency of occurrence, and establishment (i.e., presence of young-of-year and adults) status throughout the Illinois Waterway. Results show that catch-per-unit-effort, frequency of occurrence, and the proportion of sites where multiple life stages are present are considerably higher in the upstream pools relative to more downstream pools of the Illinois Waterway. Our data support that the Round goby has established self-sustaining populations in the Chicago Area Waterway System, the upper Illinois River (i.e. Dresden Island Pool downstream through Starved Rock Pool), and a portion of the lower Illinois River (i.e. Peoria Pool downstream through Alton Pool) of the Illinois Waterway. In the lower Illinois River, Round gobies appear to only be established in Peoria Pool, with captures occurring infrequently in La Grange Pool, and no Round gobies being captured in Alton Pool.

Why do Chicago buildings not retrofit?

Retrofitting buildings undeniably offers opportunities to lower energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. However, choosing particular retrofit techniques is complex and needs planning. Several techniques exist for modifying buildings to use nearly zero energy. Chicago is world‐famous for its downtown skyscrapers, neighbourhood bungalows and leafy suburbs. Still, behind their façades, Chicago‐area buildings conceal an embarrassing and expensive reality: they use too much energy. By strategically combining available resources and existing knowledge, the Chicago area can make its physical structure more energy efficient, bringing environmental and economic benefits to the eight million people in this region. Therefore, the main focus of this study is to explore pertinent solutions, analyse the impact of such solutions on building energy efficiency and suggest renewable energy technologies. Extensive research involving numerical simulations or experiments is necessary to assess the feasibility of implementing these techniques in the specific climatic conditions of Chicago.

An Ephemeral Look at Russian Anarchist Life in the United States

Abstract: In September 1915, San Francisco resident Ernest Kundy received a picture postcard from an unnamed correspondent. Produced by the Anarchist Red Cross of Detroit, the postcard featured a depiction of the Bloody Sunday massacre which sparked Russia’s 1905 revolution and served as one of the most important episodes in the history of revolutionary martyrdom. By examining every aspect of the postcard this article reveals, layer by layer, its connections to Russian anarchist life in the United States. The article begins by analysing the image on the front, explaining how illustrations like the one in question by Fortunino Matania were turned into widely disseminated postcards that spread revolutionary messages well beyond Russian borders. Turning to the information on the back, the article next explores the history of the Anarchist Red Cross in the US and the role that it played in keeping anarchism alive for recent immigrants from Russia. Then the links between the sender’s handwritten message and an area of Chicago that features prominently in histories of immigrant life, the settlement movement and the US labour movement — Halsted Street — are considered. Finally, the connections between the recipient’s family and a 1915 bank robbery in California serve as a window into the history of Russian anarchist circles on the American West Coast.

Transnational Remittance Practices Among Latinos: Analyzing Differences Based on Nativity, Generational Status, and Social Capital

Using data from the Chicago Area Survey (CAS), our study explores the impact of individual characteristics and factors linked to assimilation and ethnic attachment on the financial behaviors of Latinos in the United States. We particularly examine generational variations in the amount and determinants of remittance behavior among Latinos in the Chicago Metropolitan area. Our findings reveal distinct generational patterns in remittance practices as a transnational activity. While second-generation Latinos engage in remittance activities comparably to their foreign-born parents, a significant decrease is observed in third and subsequent generations. Interestingly, remittance behavior appears to be inversely related to traditional assimilation measures. Contradicting straightforward assimilation theories and aligning more with a transnational viewpoint, our multivariate models suggest a positive correlation between remittance activities and various integration indicators for both foreign-born and U.S.-born Latinos in the Chicago area. While a generational decline in remittance behavior supports assimilation theory, the positive ties between socioeconomic status or assimilation indicators and remittance activities prompt a reevaluation of the assimilation model's dominance. Our results suggest a complex interplay between assimilation processes and remittance behavior, indicating that the latter doesn't necessarily decrease as the former progresses. This calls for more research into the intricate relationship between these two dynamics.

Utilization of at-home tests for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers in Chicago.

To describe utilization of at-home coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing among healthcare workers (HCW). Serial cross-sectional study. HCWs in the Chicago area. Serial surveys were conducted from the Northwestern Medicine (NM HCW SARS-CoV-2) Serology Cohort Study. In April 2022, participants reflected on the past 30 days to complete an online survey regarding COVID-19 home testing. Surveys were repeated in June and November 2022. The percentage of completed home tests and ever-positive tests were reported. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to calculate prevalence rate ratios (PRR) and univariate analysis was used for association between participant characteristics with home testing and positivity. Overall, 2,226 (62.4%) of 3,569 responded to the survey in April. Home testing was reported by 26.6% of respondents and 5.9% reported having at least one positive home test. Testing was highest among those 30-39 years old (35.9%) and nurses (28.3%). A positive test was associated (P < .001) with exposure to people, other than patients with known or suspected COVID-19. Home testing increased in June to 36.4% (positivity 19.9%) and decreased to 25% (positivity 13.5%) by November. Our cohort findings show the overall increase in both home testing and ever positivity from April to November - a period where changes in variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 were reported nationwide. Having an exposure to people, other than patients with known or suspected COVID-19 was significantly associated with both, higher home testing frequency and ever-test positivity.

How Final Is Your Final Resting Place: Chicago Area Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Cemeteries

How Final Is Your Final Resting Place: Chicago Area Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Cemeteries

NEIGHBORHOOD AND DEPRESSION AMONG US CHINESE OLDER IMMIGRANTS: THE MEDIATION EFFECTS OF COPING

Abstract Studies have shown that neighborhood environment shapes older Americans’ aging experience and health. However, it remains largely unknown whether and how neighborhood environment influences the well-being of older Asian Immigrants. Guided by the neighborhood stress process model, this study aims to investigate (a) the associations between neighborhood environmental stressors and depression among Chinese older immigrants and (b) the potential mediation effects of intrapersonal (sense of mastery and sense of hopefulness) and interpersonal coping (social engagement) resources in such associations. This study analyzed data collected from 2,801 Chinese older immigrants in the greater Chicago area. Structural equation modeling with bootstrap resampling was used to fit path models on neighborhood environmental stressor, intra- and interpersonal coping resources, and depression. Findings showed that neighborhood social disintegration and physical disorder were associated with more depressive symptoms directly and indirectly via lower intra- and interpersonal coping resources. Specifically, older immigrants living in neighborhoods with greater social disintegration reported lower sense of mastery and social engagement, which in turn were associated with more depressive symptoms (partial mediation). Older immigrants living in neighborhoods with greater physical disorder reported lower sense of hopefulness and mastery, which subsequently were associated with more depressive symptoms (full mediation). The findings showed that neighborhood environmental stressors are risk factors for mental health of Chinese older immigrants, and coping resources may serve as pathways of the associations. The findings have implications for practice as they are helpful to inform the development of tailored psychosocial interventions to enhance coping resources in older immigrants.

Correlation of wastewater surveillance data with traditional influenza surveillance measures in Cook County, Illinois, October 2022–April 2023

Influenza is a respiratory illness that can result in serious outcomes, particularly among persons who are immunocompromised, aged <5 years or aged >65 years. Traditional influenza surveillance approaches rely upon syndromic surveillance of emergency departments and public health reporting from clinicians and laboratories. Wastewater surveillance infrastructure developed to monitor SARS-CoV-2 is being used for influenza surveillance in the Chicago area. The goal was to evaluate timeliness and correlations between influenza virus detected through wastewater surveillance and traditional influenza surveillance measures to assess utility of wastewater surveillance for influenza at the county level. Specifically, we measured correlations between influenza virus gene copies in wastewater samples and 1) the number of intensive care unit admissions associated with a diagnosis of influenza, 2) the percentage emergency department (ED) visits for influenza-like-illness, and 3) the percentage of ED visits with influenza diagnosis at discharge22Note: Visits may represent individual patients more than once. in Cook County. Influenza concentrations in wastewater were strongly correlated with traditional influenza surveillance measures, particularly for catchment areas serving >100,000 residents. Wastewater indicators lagged traditional influenza surveillance measures by approximately one week when analyzed in cross-correlations. Although wastewater data lagged traditional influenza surveillance measures in this analysis, it can serve as a useful surveillance tool as a complement to syndromic surveillance; it is a form of influenza surveillance that does not rely on healthcare-seeking behavior or reporting by healthcare providers.

The association of burnout with work absenteeism and the frequency of thoughts in leaving their job in a cohort of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, high levels of burnout were reported among healthcare workers. This study examines the association of work absenteeism and frequency of thoughts in leaving current job with burnout among a cohort of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey of healthcare workers was conducted from April-May, 2022 on healthcare workers from 10 hospitals, 18 immediate care centers, and 325 outpatient practices in the Chicago area and surrounding Illinois suburbs. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association of burnout scores (Oldenburg Burnout Inventory-OLBI) and its sub-scores (exhaustion and disengagement scores) with work absenteeism and thoughts of leaving work. One-fifth and 60% of respondents (n = 1,825) reported unplanned absenteeism and thoughts of leaving their job, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, higher burnout scores, especially exhaustion scores, were associated with increased odds of unplanned absenteeism (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.08). Burnout scores and both sub-scores were also positively associated with the frequency of thoughts of leaving work, e.g., each unit increase in the OLBI burnout score was associated with 1.39 (95% CI: 1.34-1.43) times higher odds of thinking about leaving work "a lot/constantly" vs. "never". Overall, this study cohort showed a positive association between burnout scores and unplanned work absenteeism (and frequency of thoughts in leaving job) during the COVID-19 pandemic. More research is needed to support healthcare worker well-being during times of stress and direct solutions to addressing unplanned absenteeism in the light of a pandemic.

Evaluation of multiple data sources for predicting increased need for HIV prevention among cisgender women: understanding missed opportunities for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

BackgroundCiswomen constitute a disproportionately low percentage of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention (PrEP) users compared to men. Despite PrEP’s effectiveness, women are 5.25 times less likely to take PrEP than men. Identifying women who have increased reasons for HIV prevention and educating and offering PrEP to these women is crucial to reducing HIV transmission and overall health equity. However, the best method of identifying women at highest risk of acquiring HIV remains unknown. This study aimed to identify common HIV risk factors and data sources for identifying these common factors (e.g., electronic medical record data, open source neighborhood data), as well as potential intervention points and missed opportunities for PrEP linkage.MethodsWe conducted an evaluation of multiple data sources: semi-structured qualitative interviews, electronic medical record (EMR) chart abstraction, and open source data abstraction. We accessed EMRs for enrolled participants and all participants signed a standard release of medical information (ROI) form for all institutions at which they had received medical care for the five-year period preceding their HIV diagnosis. Data were abstracted using a standardized procedure. Both structured and unstructured fields (i.e., narrative text of free notes) within the EMR were examined and included for analysis. Finally, open data sources (e.g., STI cases, HIV prevalence) were examined by community area of Chicago. Open data sources were used to examine several factors contributing to the overall Economic Hardship Index (EHI) score. We used these calculated scores to assess the economic hardship within participants’ neighborhoods.ResultsA total of 18 cisgender women with HIV participated in our study. Participants were mostly Black/African American (55.6%) and young (median age of 34). Our analysis identified two main themes influencing HIV risk among participants: contextual factors and relationship factors. Further, potential pre-diagnosis intervention points and missed opportunities were identified during reproductive health/prenatal visits, behavioral/mental health visits, and routine STI testing. Our evaluation of multiple data sources included investigating the presence or absence of information in the EMR (STI history, HIV testing, substance use, etc.) as well as whether pertinent information could be gathered from open access sources.ConclusionCiswomen recently diagnosed with HIV identified many shared experiences, including syndemic conditions like mental illness and substance abuse, sex with men who have sex with men, and frequent moving in areas with high HIV incidence prior to their diagnosis. It is imperative that providers ask patients about social history, information about partners, and other key variables, in addition to the standardized questions. Findings can be used to better recognize ciswomen most vulnerable to HIV and offer PrEP to them, reducing HIV transmission.

The Impact of Air Pollutants on a Chicagoland Cohort of Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Background Outcomes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can be impacted by cytogenetic/molecular features along with environmental factors such as previous exposure to cytotoxic therapy and county-level income. Our group previously identified structural racism, defined as systemic disadvantage experienced by certain groups of people, as a mediator of disparities within a cohort of 822 patients (pts) diagnosed with AML in the Chicagoland area even when accounting for genetic features of disease (Abraham et al, Blood 2022). Air pollution disproportionately impacts racial-ethnic minorities and has been demonstrated to impact DNA methylation patterns in pts which in turn influence disease biology (Tessum et al, Sci Advances 2021; Rider et al, Clin Epigenetics 2019). With that in mind we aimed to investigate the impact of air pollutant exposures that have been associated with both leukemia development/mortality and with air pollution disparities in historically redlined cities. Methods Adult AML (non-APL) pts diagnosed between 2012 and 2018 at six academic cancer centers in the Chicago area were included. Pts' census tracts were joined with measures of pollution obtained from the Center for Disease Control National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network and the 2014 National Air Toxics Assessment: 1,3-butadiene, benzene, diesel particulate matter (PM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic organic matter (PAHPOM), and PM 2.5 µm (2014 averaged daily census tract measures). Pollutant exposures by racial/ethnic groups were determined using a Kruskall-Wallis rank sum test and pairwise Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Univariate logistic regressions for each pollutant were performed for 2010 European Leukemia Net (ELN) AML criteria and TP53 mutation status. Survival among pts in the most and least polluted census block quartiles for each pollutant was compared using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results Our multi-center database contained 789 pts with AML with census tract data, allowing for air pollutant data collection. Median age of diagnosis was 62 years old. In addition, 59.9% of pts were non-Hispanic White (NHW), 15.3% were non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and 15% of pts were Hispanic. Additional characteristics are summarized in Table 1. There was significantly higher median exposure to 1,3-butadiene, benzene, diesel PM, PAHPOM, and PM2.5 in NHB and Hispanic pts when compared to NHW pts. Hispanic pts had significantly median higher exposure to 1,3-butadiene and benzene when compared to NHB pts while NHB pts had significantly higher median exposure to PM2.5 ( Table 2). With univariate analysis, no pollutant exposure was found to be significantly associated with ELN 2010 risk category or with TP53 mutation status. We also compared median OS (mOS) from AML diagnosis between the quartile with the lowest exposure (Q1) and quartile with the highest exposure (Q4). For 1,3-butadiene mOS was 2.52 years (Q1) vs. 2.96 years (Q4) (p=0.75), for benzene it was 2.65 years vs 3.0 years (p=0.38), for diesel PM it was 2.56 years vs 2.96 years (p=0.56), for PAHPOM it was 2.76 years vs. 2.96 years (p=0.31), and for PM2.5 it was 2.92 years vs. 2.70 years (p=0.32). Conclusions We analyzed the impact of 1,3-butadiene, benzene, diesel PM, PAHPOM, and PM2.5 on outcomes in pts with AML in the Chicagoland area. While there were significant differences in median exposure to pollutants by race/ethnicity, there was no significant association between pollutant exposure and ELN 2010 risk category or TP53 mutation analysis. We also analyzed overall survival between Q1 and Q4 of exposure for each pollutant and found no significant difference. While pollutant exposure disproportionately impacts racial-ethnic minorities, individual pollutants did not appear to be a major driver of outcomes in AML. Limitations include the source of our air pollutant data, where misclassification of pollutants may exist and impact the ability to detect true associations.

Urban Versus Lake Impacts on Heat Stress and Its Disparities in a Shoreline City.

Shoreline cities are influenced by both urban-scale processes and land-water interactions, with consequences on heat exposure and its disparities. Heat exposure studies over these cities have focused on air and skin temperature, even though moisture advection from water bodies can also modulate heat stress. Here, using an ensemble of model simulations covering Chicago, we find that Lake Michigan strongly reduces heat exposure (2.75°C reduction in maximum average air temperature in Chicago) and heat stress (maximum average wet bulb globe temperature reduced by 0.86°C) during the day, while urbanization enhances them at night (2.75 and 1.57°C increases in minimum average air and wet bulb globe temperature, respectively). We also demonstrate that urban and lake impacts on temperature (particularly skin temperature), including their extremes, and lake-to-land gradients, are stronger than the corresponding impacts on heat stress, partly due to humidity-related feedback. Likewise, environmental disparities across community areas in Chicago seen for skin temperature are much higher (1.29°C increase for maximum average values per $10,000 higher median income per capita) than disparities in air temperature (0.50°C increase) and wet bulb globe temperature (0.23°C increase). The results call for consistent use of physiologically relevant heat exposure metrics to accurately capture the public health implications of urbanization.

High Prevalence of Diabetes and Kidney Disease in Areas of Chicago Historically Subjected to Housing Discrimination Laws (Redlining)

High Prevalence of Diabetes and Kidney Disease in Areas of Chicago Historically Subjected to Housing Discrimination Laws (Redlining)

Social-spatial network structures among young urban and suburban persons who inject drugs in a large metropolitan area

BackgroundRecent studies underscore the significance of adopting a syndemics approach to study opioid misuse, overdose, hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV infections, within the broader context of social and environmental contexts in already marginalized communities. Social interactions and spatial contexts are crucial structural factors that remain relatively underexplored. This study examines the intersections of social interactions and spatial contexts around injection drug use. More specifically, we investigate the experiences of different residential groups among young (aged 18-30) people who inject drugs (PWID) regarding their social interactions, travel behaviors, and locations connected to their risk behaviors. By doing so, we aim to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the multidimensional risk environment, thereby facilitating the development of informed policies. MethodsWe collected and examined data regarding young PWID's egocentric injection network and geographic activity spaces (i.e., where they reside, inject drugs, purchase drugs, and meet sex partners). Participants were stratified based on the location of all place(s) of residence in the past year i.e., urban, suburban, and transient (both urban and suburban) to i) elucidate geospatial concentration of risk activities within multidimensional risk environments based on kernel density estimates; and ii) examine spatialized social networks for each residential group. ResultsParticipants were mostly non-Hispanic white (59%); 42% were urban residents, 28% suburban, and 30% transient. We identified a spatial area with concentrated risky activities for each residential group on the West side of Chicago in Illinois where a large outdoor drug market area is located. The urban group (80%) reported a smaller concentrated area (14 census tracts) compared to the transient (93%) and suburban (91%) with 30 and 51 tracts, respectively. Compared to other areas in Chicago, the identified area had significantly higher neighborhood disadvantages. Significant differences were observed in social network structures and travel behaviors: suburban participants had the most homogenous network in terms of age and residence, transient participants had the largest network (degree) and more non-redundant connections, while the urban group had the shortest travel distance for all types of risk activities. ConclusionDistinct residential groups exhibit varying patterns of network interaction, travel behaviors, and geographical contexts related to their risk behaviors. Nonetheless, these groups share common concentrated risk activity spaces in a large outdoor urban drug market area, underscoring the significance of accounting for risk spaces and social networks in addressing syndemics within PWID populations.