A new study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine found that a simple urine test performed on deceased kidney donors could help doctors make better transplant decisions, giving more people access to successful kidney transplants while reducing the number of deceased donor kidneys that go unused.

In this ecological cohort study, low neighborhood opportunity was associated with a higher county-level concentration of fatal police pursuit incidents. These patterns persisted above and beyond residence, demographic characteristics, and violent crime rates. These findings document the geographic concentration of fatal police pursuit incidents and identify low-opportunity communities as disproportionately affected. As data on total pursuit frequency become available, future research should examine whether the observed concentration of fatal pursuit incidents in low-opportunity communities reflects differences in pursuit frequency, pursuit lethality, or both.

In this study, GLP-1 RA initiation was associated with lower mortality and cardiovascular events compared to SGLT2 inhibitor initiation, with greater absolute reductions in SMI. Benefits were evident within 1 year, consistent across SMI subgroups, and driven by semaglutide and tirzepatide. Prospective randomized trials are warranted.

More walkable neighborhoods in New York City were associated with a lower risk of developing postpartum type 2 diabetes among women who had gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), according to a new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. However, the association varied depending on individual and neighborhood socioeconomic circumstances, including Medicaid coverage and neighborhood economic deprivation.

New research found that adverse childhood experiences, particularly negative relationships between a child and parent, were linked to more frequent drinking during periods of extreme heat.

University of Kansas researcher Tera Fazzino is investigating whether “hyperpalatable” foods marketed to Americans — foods formulated with artificially high amounts of fat, salt and carbohydrates — have traits commonly associated with addictive substances. She recently earned a $2.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to test the idea using experimental practices standard in the field of regulatory research.