ABSTRACT
Anti-Asian and anti-immigrant sentiment has surged in the country in the last 3 years. Food insecurity is also on the rise; in our local needs assessment of n = 1,270 Asian American adults in New York City, accessing food was cited as the number 1 priority among those who needed help. Finally, racial discrimination and food access are related to fear of being attacked-driving feelings of safety and therefore willingness to travel for food. To combat these narratives and leveraging pivots by our community partners, we implemented a community-supported agriculture pilot program (n = 38) to assess whether culturally appropriate food access can improve diet and foster cross-cultural learning among immigrant families in Brooklyn, NY. Over a 20-week period from June to October 2022, participants received Chinese-specific produce and nutrition education. Participants reported eating more and a greater variety of vegetables and had higher vegetable intake measured via skin carotenoid scores. This pilot may inform the adaptation of nutrition interventions to reduce inequities in chronic diseases in immigrant communities.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Limited data exist on prediction of adverse outcomes in patients with acute lower GI bleeding (LGIB). The purpose of our study was to compare the ability of existing validated clinical risk scores to predict relevant outcomes in LGIB. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational study of patients admitted with LGIB who underwent colonoscopy at a single center between April 2016 and September 2017. Seven risk scores were calculated at admission (Strate, NOBLADS, Sengupta, Oakland, Blatchford, AIMS65, and Charlson Comorbidity Index). The risk of severe LGIB was determined via univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis was used to compare the scores. RESULTS: We included 170 patients admitted with LGIB requiring colonoscopy. Fifty-two percent (n = 89) fit criteria for severe bleeding. Patients with severe bleeding had lower admission hemoglobin levels (8.6 g/dL vs 11.1 g/dL; P = .0001), were more likely to have blood transfusions (85% vs 36%; P < .0001), intensive care unit stays (49% vs 19%; P < .0001), and had a longer length of stay (6 days vs 4 days; P = .0009). The Oakland score was best for prediction of severe bleeding (AUC, .74), Blatchford score for blood transfusion (AUC, .87), and Strate score for in-hospital recurrent bleeding (AUC, .66) and endoscopic intervention (AUC, .62). The strongest individual predictors of severe bleeding were low admission hemoglobin (odds ratio, 1.28 per 1-g/dL decrease; P = .0015; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.49) and low albumin (odds ratio, 2.56 per 1-g/dL decrease; P = .02; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-5.56). CONCLUSION: Admission albumin and hemoglobin levels were the strongest predictors of severe bleeding. No singular clinical risk tool had the best predictive ability across all outcomes.
