Publications

BACKGROUND

Ecological momentary assessments (EMA) are data collection approaches that characterize behaviors in real-time. However, EMA is underutilized in alcohol and substance use research among men who have sex with men (MSM). The aim of this analysis is to explore the correlates of engagement in EMA text messages among substance-using MSM in San Francisco.

METHODS

The present analysis uses data collected from the Project iN pilot study (n=30). Over a two-month period, participants received and responded to EMA daily text messages inquiring about their study medication, alcohol, and methamphetamine use. Baseline characteristics including demographics, alcohol use, and substance use were examined as potential correlates of engagement in EMA text messages in logistic regression and proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

Participants had a 74% response rate to EMA text messages over the study period. MSM of color had significantly lower adjusted odds of responding to EMA texts 80% of the time or more, compared to white MSM (adjusted odds ratio=0.05, 95%CI=0.01-0.38). College-educated MSM had a lower adjusted hazard of week-long discontinuation in EMA texts (adjusted hazard ratio=0.12, 95%CI=0.02-0.63). Older MSM had a higher adjusted hazard of week-long discontinuation in EMA texts (adjusted hazard ratio=1.15, 95%CI=1.01-1.31).

CONCLUSION

Differences in engagement in EMA text prompts were discovered for MSM with different racial/ethnic backgrounds, ages, and education levels. Substance use variables were not correlated with engagement in text messages, suggesting that EMA may be a useful research tool among actively substance-using MSM in San Francisco.

Several genome-wide association studies have been conducted to investigate the influence of genetic polymorphisms in the development of allergic diseases, but few of them have included the X chromosome. The aim of present study was to perform an X chromosome-wide association study (X-WAS) for asthma symptoms. The study included 1307 children of which 294 were asthma cases. DNA was genotyped using 2.5 HumanOmni Beadchip from Illumina. Statistical analyses were performed in PLINK 1.9, MACH 1.0 and Minimac2. The variant rs12007907 (g.29483892C>A) in IL1RAPL gene was suggestively associated with asthma symptoms in discovery set (odds ratio (OR)=0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.37-0.67; P=3.33 × 10). This result was replicated in the ProAr cohort in men only (OR=0.45, 95% CI: 0.21-0.95; P=0.038). Furthermore, investigating the functional role of the rs12007907 on the production a Th2-type cytokine, IL-13, we found a negative association between the minor allele A with IL-13 production in the discovery set (P=0.044). Gene-based analysis revealed that NUDT10 was the most consistently associated with asthma symptoms in discovery sample. In conclusion, the rs12007907 variant in IL1RAPL gene was negatively associated with asthma and IL-13 production in our study and a sex-specific association was observed in one of the validation samples. It suggests an effect on asthma susceptibility and may explain differences in severe asthma frequency between women and men.

KIR3DL2 is a recently discovered marker of the malignant clonal cell population in Sézary syndrome. We intended to evaluate the expression of KIR3DL2 on blood T cells as a diagnostic, prognostic, and follow-up marker of Sézary syndrome. Sixty-four patients diagnosed with Sézary syndrome were included in this monocentric study. We collected the percentage of KIR3DL2 cells among CD3 T cells, obtained by flow cytometry, and other classical diagnostic criteria for Sézary syndrome at diagnosis and during the follow-up. Compared with the classical diagnostic factors, KIR3DL2 was the most sensitive diagnostic factor for Sézary syndrome. Univariate and multivariate analyses established that an eosinophil cell count >700/mm and a percentage of KIR3DL2 cells within the CD3 T cells >85% at diagnosis were associated with a significantly reduced disease-specific survival. Moreover, KIR3DL2 immunostaining allowed the assessment of treatment efficiency and specificity toward tumor cells, the detection of the residual disease following treatment, and the occurrence of relapse, even though patients clinically experienced complete remission and/or undetectable circulating Sézary cells by cytomorphologic analysis. We show that KIR3DL2 expression is the most sensitive diagnostic criterion of Sézary syndrome when compared with all other available biological criteria. It also represents the best independent prognostic factor for Sézary syndrome-specific death and the most relevant feature for the follow-up of Sézary syndrome, showing the invasion of the functional lymphocytes pool by Sézary cells. KIR3DL2 therefore represents a valuable tool for routine use as a clinical parameter at diagnosis, for prognosis and during patient follow-up. .