Summary: Physicians developed an innovative in-office hemoglobin A1C testing program to improve blood sugar control for patients with diabetes. This program aimed to provide timely results and immediate treatment adjustments to reduce diabetic complications. Research showed its effectiveness in reducing blood sugar levels among patients with poorly controlled diabetes. The study was published on January 13, 2025, in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Southern California Permanente Medical Group authors: Mingsum Lee MD, PhD; SeungYoung Han PhD; John P. Martin MD; and Reynaldo H. Alonso, MD.

Summary: By studying parks, researchers aim to understand how these public spaces enhance community health, encourage active lifestyles, and assess their effects on overall well-being. The story outlines 25 years of park research: From early efforts to boost physical activity among youth to today’s evidence-based studies transforming public parks to underscore the vital role these spaces play in community health.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California researchers featured: Deborah Cohen, MD, MPH; Deborah Young, PhD, MBA; and Bing Han, PhD.

Summary: Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center has established itself as a leader in clinical trial innovation. Under the direction of Vivienne Hau, MD, PhD—a medical and surgical vitreoretinal specialist—a comprehensive retinal research center has been successfully developed. Her initiatives, encompassing advancements in gene-editing and innovative stem cell delivery techniques, are contributing to significant progress in ophthalmology worldwide and fostering optimism among patients and their families.

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Southern California Permanente Medical Group physician featured: Vivienne Hau, MD, PhD.

Summary: A study of adults aged 65 and older at Kaiser Permanente Southern California found that receiving 2 doses of the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) was significantly linked to a reduced risk of developing dementia. The doses, given 4 weeks to 6 months apart, were associated with this protective effect against all-cause dementia. The study was published Dec. 23, 2025, in Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

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Southern California Kaiser Permanente authors: Emily Rayens, PhD; Lina Sy, MPH;  Lei Qian, PhD: Bradley Ackerson, MD; Julia Tubert, MS; Yi Luo, MS; Punam Modha, MPH; Raul Calderon, BS; Hung Fu Tseng, PhD.

Summary: After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued opioid prescribing guidelines in 2016, Kaiser Permanente was among the first health systems to implement programs for safer opioid tapering. Against this backdrop, a new Kaiser Permanente study showed that of patients with long-term high-dose opioid use, those who gradually reduced their dose within 3 months had a lower risk of overdose within a year than those who did not reduce their dose. The study was published in December 2025 in AJPM Focus.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Katherine J. Pak, MS; Fagen Xie, PhD; Deborah S. Ling Grant, PhD; Joanna L. Barreras, PhD, MSW; Patricia L. Gray, PharmD; Craig K. Chang, MD, and Steven G. Steinberg, MD

Summary: People who engaged in higher levels of physical activity from preconception through pregnancy had significantly less weight retention a year after giving birth compared to those who didn’t exercise as much. These findings underscore the importance of sustained physical activity during the perinatal period as an effective strategy for reducing long-term postpartum weight retention and mitigating associated health risks. The study was published November 12, 2025, in Obesity.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors on this study include Deborah Rohm Young,  PhD, MBA; Margo A. Sidell, PhD; and Botao Zhou, MS.

Summary: There has been limited information about how breast cancer treatments affect the development of cardiovascular disease, so researchers developed a new risk calculation model to help predict the risks of heart problems for breast cancer survivors. The study was published October 23, 2025, in JAMA Oncology.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Lie Hong Chen, DrPH; Jiaxiao Shi, PhD; Amrita Mukherjee, PhD; and Reina Haque, PhD.

Summary: This Kaiser Permanente study compared how well 4 different types of glucose-lowering medications reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke for patients with type 2 diabetes. The study showed that sustained use of GLP-1 receptor agonists offered the most protection against heart attacks and strokes, while SGLT2 inhibitors were the second most effective. The study published October 15, 2025, in JAMA Network Open.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California author: Jaejin An, PhD.

Summary: Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors face significantly higher risks of developing chronic medical conditions compared to their peers without cancer, according to a new study published Oct. 15, 2025, in Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society. The study found that cancer survivors had a 2-fold increased risk of being diagnosed with any chronic medical condition, and the risk was even higher for survivors of hematologic cancers.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Erin E. Hahn, PhD, MS; Eric C. Haupt, ScM, and Chun Chao PhD, MS.

Summary: Researchers assessed  the electronic health records of nearly 14,000 people who experienced tinnitus (ringing in the ears) from inpatient, emergency department, and outpatient settings between September 2023 and March 2024 to determine that the COVID-19 vaccine does not increase the risk of developing tinnitus. The study was published August 30, 2025, in Vaccine.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Stanley Xu, PhD; Lina S. Sy, MPH; Vennis Hong, MPH; Lei Qian, PhD; Kimberly J. Holmquist, MPH; Katia J. Bruxvoort, PhD; Bing Han, PhD, and Bruno Lewin, MD.

Summary: Breast cancer survivors have a higher risk of developing other cancers if they have other preexisting health conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. What this research means for patients and health care providers is that paying attention to health conditions in addition to cancer and keeping on top of those health care appointments is important. The study was published in August 2025 in Cancer Epidemiology.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Amrita Mukherjee, PhD; Zheng Gu, MPH; Lie Hong Chen, DrPH, and Reina Haque, PhD, MPH.

Summary: Little has been known previously about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on post-treatment surveillance for patients with breast cancer. This Kaiser Permanente study showed that fewer breast cancer survivors received recommended annual breast cancer imaging in the time after the COVID-19 pandemic period compared to before the pandemic. The study was published July 17, 2025, in JAMA Oncology.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Erin E. Hahn, PhD, M Sarah Eng, MPH; Aiyu Chen, MPH; Eric C. Haupt, ScM; Corrine E. Munoz-Plaza, MPH; Huong Q. Nguyen, PhD, RN; Michael K. Gould, MD, MS, and Ernest Shen, PhD.

Summary: About 16% of breast cancer survivors continued to use opioid pain medications after their cancer treatment was complete. Risk of death was 84% higher among these survivors who continued to use opioids. The study was published June 12, 2025, in JNCI Cancer Spectrum.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Rulin Hechter, MD, PhD; Reina Haque,  PhD; Lie Hong Chen, DrPH; Jiaxiao Shi, PhD, and Zheng Gu, MPH.

Summary: Young cancer survivors were more likely to be on long-term opioid therapy when compared to their counterparts without cancer. However, among those on long-term opioid therapy, young cancer survivors were less likely to develop opioid use disorder than their peers without cancer. The study was published May 13, 2025, in Cancer.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Chun R. Chao,  PhD, MS: Hui Zhou, PhD; Katherine J. Pak, MS; Zheng Gu, MS, and Rulin C. Hechter, MD, PhD.

Summary: People born in countries with a high burden of tuberculosis (TB) and living in the United States have higher rates of TB disease, and may need more focused screening, according to a study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases in March 20, 2025. The study also found higher rates of TB among patients with certain high-risk medical conditions.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Southern California Permanente Medical Group authors:  Sara Y. Tartof, PhD, MPH; Katia J. Bruxvoort, PhD,  Heidi Fischer, PhD, Lei Qian, PhD, Sally F. Shaw, DrPH; Brigitte Spence, and Bradley K. Ackerson, MD.

Summary: Most individuals in the United States who are pregnant are not getting the vaccines that could protect them — and their babies — from COVID-19, flu, and whooping cough. This is especially true among those who are on Medicaid. The nationwide study on vaccination during pregnancy was published in March 2025 in the American Journal of Public Health.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California author: Annette Regan, PhD, MPH.

Summary: Eye specialists within Kaiser Permanente Southern California studied whether using a standardized testing criteria among younger adults could improve care, reduce unnecessary testing, and potentially reduce blindness from glaucoma. The study published February 6, 2025 in JAMA Network Open.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Southern California Permanente Medical Group authors: Grace Richter, MD;  John Shan, MD, and Jennifer Louie, BS.

Summary: Both Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy bariatric surgeries help reduce health care costs for people with Type 2 diabetes 5.5 years after surgery. The study was published January 28, 2025, in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Aniket Kawatkar, PhD; Aileen Baecker, PhD, and Karen J. Coleman, PhD.

Summary: Young people who frequently used electronic media, such as computers, television, and social media, had less physical activity, more stress, and modest cognitive challenges. The study was published in January 2025 in Preventive Medicine.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California authors: Deborah Cohen, MD;  Erika Estrada, MPH: Haoyuan Zhong, MS, and Bing Han, PhD.