HJNO Sep/Oct 2023

40 SEP / OCT 2023  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   Healthcare Briefs Institute in the top 2.5% of thoracic surgery pro- grams in the United States and Canada. Study: Loneliness is a Heartbreaker for Diabetics “Do you have a best friend?” That might not sound like an appropriate ques- tion for a doctor’s visit, but it may be a lifesaver. A new Tulane University study finds that loneli- ness is a bigger risk factor for heart disease in patients with diabetes than diet, exercise, smok- ing, and depression. The research was published in European Heart Journal , a publication of the European Society of Cardiology. “The quality of social contact appears to be more important for heart health in people with diabetes than the number of engagements,” said study author Lu Qui, MD, PhD, HCA Regents Dis- tinguished Chair and professor at Tulane Univer- sity School of Public Health and Tropical Medi- cine. “We should not downplay the importance of loneliness on physical and emotional health. I would encourage patients with diabetes who feel lonely to join a group or class and try to make friends with people who have shared interests.” Patients with diabetes are at greater risk of car- diovascular disease and are more likely to be lonely than their healthy peers. Previous studies have found that loneliness and social isolation are both related to a higher likelihood of cardiovascu- lar disease in the general population. This study looked at whether diabetics who were lonely or socially isolated were more likely to develop car- diovascular disease than those who were not. The study included 18,509 adults aged 37 to 73 years in the UK with diabetes but no cardio- vascular disease. Loneliness and isolation were assessed with questionnaires. High-risk loneliness features were feeling lonely and never or almost never being able to confide in someone. High- risk social isolation factors were living alone, hav- ing friends and family visit less than once a month, and not participating in a social activity at least once per week. The researchers looked at the association between loneliness, isolation, and incidents of cardiovascular disease after adjusting for other health and lifestyle factors. Over the next decade, 3,247 participants developed cardiovascular disease; 2,771 partici- pants developed coronary heart disease and 701 experienced strokes (some patients had both). The risk of cardiovascular disease was 11 to 26% higher in those with the highest scores for lone- liness compared to those with the lowest scores. Similar results were observed for coronary heart disease, but the association with stroke was not significant. Social isolation scores were not sig- nificantly related to any of the cardiovascular outcomes. The researchers also assessed the relative importance of loneliness, compared with other risk factors, on the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Loneliness showed a weaker influence than kidney function, cholesterol, and BMI, but a stronger influence than depression, smoking, physical activity, and diet. “Loneliness ranked higher as a predisposing factor for cardiovascular disease than several lifestyle habits. We also found that for patients with diabetes, the consequence of physical risk factors (i.e. poorly controlled blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and poor kidney function) was greater in those who were lonely compared to those who were not,” Qi said. “The findings suggest that asking patients with diabetes about loneliness should become part of standard assessment, with referral of those affected to mental health services.” DePaul Community Health Centers’ Harold Ellis Clark is ACS MenWear Pink Ambassador Harold Ellis Clark —DePaul Community Health Center’s (DCHC) vice president for communica- tions, external affairs, and fund development — is supporting the American Cancer Society (ACS) by serving as a 2023 Men Wear Pink ambassador. Clark’s family has been impacted by cancer, and as ambassador, he is striving to raise a minimum of $2,500 for the ACS New Orleans. Harold’s Story “Each of us, unfortunately, has been impacted by cancer. Throughout this campaign, I will share how pancreatic cancer has impacted my family. My mother, Virgie, is a colon cancer survivor. My wife, Cherie, was diagnosed with ampullary car- cinoma, a rare form of cancer, on July 9, 2019 (our 31st wedding anniversary), and a year later, after undergoing a nine-hour operation and sev- eral rounds of chemotherapy, was declared can- cer free. “I am also inspired to join the American Can- cer Society’s (ACS) fight against cancer by my cousin, Dr. Cynthia LeBlanc, who served as chair of the National Governing Board of the ACS from 2011-2012. Cynthia has been an ACS volunteer for more than 30 years. In addition to writing about the devastating impact of cancer on my family, I also plan to share a few of the many blessings we received as a result of undergoing some of these experiences.” LSUHealth Nursing Awarded $2.6M to Increase Nurse Practitioners The Health Resources and Services Admin- istration (HRSA) has awarded LSU Health New Orleans’ School of Nursing $2.6 million over four years to increase the number of nurse practitio- ners and nurse midwives trained and prepared to provide equitable, culturally aligned, quality primary care services, mental health and sub- stance use disorder care, and maternal health- care to underrepresented populations in rural, urban, tribal, and underserved areas across the state. The project will establish new partnerships, provide tuition support to a diverse group of stu- dents, and enhance the curriculum. "There is a tremendous need for increasing the number and expanding the distribution of pri- mary care nurse practitioners and nurse midwives to rural areas to address the unmet primary care, mental health care, and maternal health needs of Louisiana," notes Sherry Rivera DNP, ANP-C, FNKF, FAANP, program coordinator of the Adult- Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner con- centration and assistant professor of clinical nurs- ing at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing. “We are recruiting primary care nurse practitio- ners (adult-gerontology primary care, family, pedi- atric, and psych-mental health) and nurse-mid- wifery applicants today.” Sixty-three of Louisiana’s 64 parishes meet the criteria for designation as primary care health professional shortage areas, and those who are there are aging. A lack of primary care providers is a commonly cited cause for limited access to healthcare in rural Louisiana. Similar projections