Newsletter

Volume 6, Issue 3

July 2019 – September 2019


Check out the current issue of URBAN ARCH News, the quarterly newsletter bringing you news on the latest URBAN ARCH and related research.


URBAN ARCH: Summer 2019 & Beyond!

Check out what we have been up to this summer in our photo collage and the updates below!


In the News


Spotlight on…Kara Magane

In this issue, we interview Kara Magane, the Director of Research Operations in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health.

 

 


On The Ground

Click on the buttons to see what the URBAN ARCH Cohorts and Cores have been working on.



Article Spotlight

Heavy Alcohol Use Associated With Inflammatory Biomarkers Among People Living With HIV

Russia ARCH investigators recently evaluated the association between heavy alcohol use* and biomarkers of monocyte activation (soluble CD14 [sCD14]), inflammation (interleukin-6 [IL-6]), and altered coagulation (D-dimer) among 350 antiretroviral therapy-naive people living with HIV (PLWH). Alcohol consumption was measured by self-report augmented by phosphatidylethanol (PEth), an alcohol biomarker. Participants’ baseline characteristics were: 71% male; mean age of 34 years; 87% self-reported hepatitis C; and 86% had current smoking. They were assessed at baseline, 12, and 24 months.

  • Compared with non-heavy alcohol use, heavy alcohol use was associated with higher sCD14 (adjusted mean difference, 125 ng/mL), IL-6 (ratio of means, 1.35 pg/mL), and D-dimer (ratio of means, 1.20 ug/mL) across the two-year follow-up.

* Defined as consumption of >4 standard drinks in a day (or >14 standard drinks/week) for men and >3/day (or >7/week) for women. PEth threshold = ≥80 ng/mL.

Comments: Among PLWH, heavy alcohol use was associated with elevated inflammatory biomarkers over time. Since these biomarkers are associated with mortality, interventions to mitigate effects of heavy drinking on these immune processes merit consideration.

Reference: So-Armah KA, Cheng DM, Freiberg MS, et al. Association between alcohol use and inflammatory biomarkers over time among younger adults with HIV-The Russia ARCH Observational Study. PLOS One. 2019;14(8):e0219710. PMCID: PMC6705834


Selected NIH Notices and Funding Opportunities   

Click here for more funding announcements related to HIV and alcohol research.


Events and Conferences

Please email Natalia Gnatienko if you will be attending any of these meetings, so we can connect you with our investigators.

Click here for more events and conferences.