Despite increasing incidence of stroke among younger adults, the associations of social determinants of health (SDOH) and stroke among younger adults are not well known.

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Dr. Kristine Yaffe co-authored a study that investigates the associations between SDOH from early adulthood and stroke in a prospective longitudinal cohort.

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The study was published in Stroke, a medical journal of the American Heart Association.

According to the World Health Organization, the 2026 Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is the largest and fastest-growing outbreak of this Ebola strain on record, with over 7,200 confirmed cases and 3,477 deaths.

Dr. Dan Kelly co-authored a longitudinal cohort study that examined cross-reactive antibody responses to BDBV following vaccination with the licensed Ebola virus vaccine. This publication furthered the use of the vaccine via trials which in turn could eventually be incorporated into the outbreak response.

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The study was published in the medical journal Science Direct. You can read it here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673626016089

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This is not Kelly’s first foray in combating Ebola. He established an Ebola response coalition during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Read more about his infectious disease research in the NCIRE Focus on Research article, “From Ebola to Covid and RSV, Getting a Handle on Emerging and Concerning Viral Infections”, here:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/focus-research-from-ebola-covid-rsv-getting-handle-emerging-concerning-loz8c/?trackingId=NESA8JrmQW2n0pwULA995w%3D%3D

Veterans have a unique health profile and risk for substance use, but few studies compare cannabis use patterns among U.S. military Veterans and non-Veteran civilians.

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Drs. Salomeh Keyhani and Alison Rustagi co-authored a cross-sectional analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2016 to 2023, which included 907,136 adults aged 18 to 80 years with complete data on self-reported Veteran status and cannabis use. While overall cannabis use was lower among Veterans than non-Veterans, age-specific patterns differed.

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The results of the analysis were published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Does impact of killing (IOK) treatment improve psychosocial functioning and mental health for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury?

 

Drs. Shira Maguen and Deborah E. Barnes addressed this quandary using a randomized clinical trial including 100 Veterans. Findings suggest that those receiving IOK or present-centered therapy (PCT) improved functioning posttreatment and those in IOK demonstrated significantly greater improvement on the Sheehan Disability Scale and measures of PTSD and moral injury. 

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The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry.

Congratulations to Dr. Kristine Yaffe on receiving the National Academy of Medicine’s 2026 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health!

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This prestigious honor recognizes Dr. Yaffe’s pioneering research in cognitive aging and dementia prevention, including her landmark work identifying modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia. She will be presented with a medal and $20,000 at the NAM Annual Meeting on October 18.

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Dr. Yaffe is the Scola Endowed Chair, Epstein Endowed Chair, and Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, and a distinguished professor of psychiatry, neurology, and epidemiology, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is the Director of the UCSF Center for Population Brain Health. Yaffe is also the Director of the Memory Evaluation Clinic and a staff physician at the San Francisco VA Health Care System. NCIRE is proud to recognize Dr. Yaffe, a valued member of our Board of Directors, for this outstanding achievement.

Postoperative delirium is common in older adults, yet some of its long-term consequences remain debated.

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While its association with adverse outcomes is well established—including longer hospital stays, functional decline, institutionalization, and mortality—a more challenging question is whether delirium itself contributes to later cognitive decline or if it mainly identifies patients who already have frailty, have a health record that is medically complex, and are likely to become ill again. 

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A study co-published by Dr. Alexander K. Smith, titled "Cognition After Postoperative Delirium—The Confusion Has Cleared but All Is Not Well” provides data that advances this debate.

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The study was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.