AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION INJECTION FREQUENCY: Effects of Distance Traveled and Travel Support.

PURPOSE: Although efficacious, intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy regimens for neovascular age-related macular degeneration can prove difficult for patients to adhere to because of high cost and burden of transportation. METHODS: Analysis of electronic health record data from the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center eye clinic (January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2019) was performed, extracting demographic data, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injection history, and enrollment in the SFVA travel benefit program. Two-tailed P -values were calculated for Poisson regression examining average number of injections per year as the outcome and distance traveled as the primary predictor. Travel benefit was evaluated as a modifying effect on the distance-injection relationship. RESULTS: Three hundred and eighteen patients who received intravitreal injection for treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration were included in the analysis. Median (interquartile range) distance to clinic was 31.5 miles (7.4-69.4 miles). Driving distance in miles was inversely associated with average number of injections per year. Among all 318 patients, for every additional 100 miles a patient lived from our clinic, the patient received on average 2.5 fewer injections per year ( distance = -0.0025, P < 0.001), but this was not the case for patients with travel benefits ( distance = -0.0011, P = 0.362). CONCLUSION: The greater the distance from a patient's eye clinic, the lower the average number of injections per year. However, travel benefits mitigated this relationship, highlighting opportunities for improving patient's adherence through assistance programs.

The Danish-American Research Exchange (DARE): a cross-sectional study of a binational research education program.

BACKGROUND: Most medical educational programs emphasize clinical observation or clinical skill acquisition, fewer focus upon research. The Danish-American Research Exchange (DARE) program, sponsored by the Lundbeck Foundation, is unique in that the medical student initiates biomedical research collaboration between Danish and US medical institutions. To achieve this, Danish medical students (DARE students) conduct binational mentored research projects while based in the United States for 10 months. In addition, DARE students are introduced to interdisciplinary thinking about how to develop ultra-low-cost healthcare interventions through the '$10 Challenge'. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of DARE alumni over five consecutive years (2015-2020, n = 24). Research metrics included completion of a research project, primary authorship, and co-authorship of publications. The number of publications, prior to and after the DARE program were enumerated. For the first four cohorts, graduation from medical school and acceptance or intention to enter a joint MD-PhD program also were assessed. Two focus groups were conducted using constructivist grounded theory. Discussions were transcribed, redacted, and coded using Dedoose software. RESULTS: DARE Medical students were 31.2 years (range 24-35), the majority were women (67%;16/24). The majority (17/24;71%) completed a first author publication in a peer-reviewed journal with a median of 3.9 per DARE alumnus. DARE alumnus reported increased proficiency in biostatistics, epidemiology, coding and public speaking as well as stronger research qualities in creativity, critical thinking, comfort in approaching scientist in both the US and Denmark (p < 0.001 for all). Qualitative key themes included: increased confidence, a deepening of research inquiry and linkage to a research network. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminarily, this study suggests that medical students can initiate binational collaboration in medicine. Benefits include research productivity, intention to pursue academic medical careers, as well as positive impacts on motivation. This medical student-initiated research model lays the groundwork for using this model across other country pairs to promote binational collaboration.

Social Innovation For Health Research: Development of the SIFHR Checklist.

BACKGROUND: Social innovations in health are inclusive solutions to address the healthcare delivery gap that meet the needs of end users through a multi-stakeholder, community-engaged process. While social innovations for health have shown promise in closing the healthcare delivery gap, more research is needed to evaluate, scale up, and sustain social innovation. Research checklists can standardize and improve reporting of research findings, promote transparency, and increase replicability of study results and findings. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The research checklist was developed through a 3-step community-engaged process, including a global open call for ideas, a scoping review, and a 3-round modified Delphi process. The call for entries solicited checklists and related items and was open between November 27, 2019 and February 1, 2020. In addition to the open call submissions and scoping review findings, a 17-item Social Innovation For Health Research (SIFHR) Checklist was developed based on the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) Checklist. The checklist was then refined during 3 rounds of Delphi surveys conducted between May and June 2020. The resulting checklist will facilitate more complete and transparent reporting, increase end-user engagement, and help assess social innovation projects. A limitation of the open call was requiring internet access, which likely discouraged participation of some subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: The SIFHR Checklist will strengthen the reporting of social innovation for health research studies. More research is needed on social innovation for health.

A Randomized Study to Assess the Effect of Including the Graduate Record Examinations Results on Reviewer Scores for Underrepresented Minorities.

Whether requiring Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) results for doctoral applicants affects the diversity of admitted cohorts remains uncertain. This study randomized applications to 2 population-health doctoral programs at the University of California San Francisco to assess whether masking reviewers to applicant GRE results differentially affects reviewers' scores for underrepresented minority (URM) applicants from 2018-2020. Applications with GRE results and those without were randomly assigned to reviewers to designate scores for each copy (1-10, 1 being best). URM was defined as self-identification as African American/Black, Filipino, Hmong, Vietnamese, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American/Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. We used linear mixed models with random effects for the applicant and fixed effects for each reviewer to evaluate the effect of masking the GRE results on the overall application score and whether this effect differed by URM status. Reviewer scores did not significantly differ for unmasked versus masked applications among non-URM applicants (ß = 0.15; 95% CI: -0.03, 0.33) or URM applicants (ß = 0.02, 95% CI: -0.49, 0.54). We did not find evidence that removing GREs differentially affected URM compared with non-URM students (ß for interaction = -0.13, 95% CI: -0.55, 0.29). Within these doctoral programs, results indicate that GRE scores neither harm nor help URM applicants.

Feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of an online training and support program for caregivers of people with dementia in India: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Internet-based interventions involving elements of cognitive behavior therapy, psychoeducation, relaxation and skills training for caregivers of people with dementia have been found to be promising in Western countries. Given these outcomes, the adapted version of a multi-component online caregiver skills training and support program of the World Health Organization, called iSupport, was tested for feasibility and preliminary effectiveness in India. METHODS: One hundred fifty-one caregivers of family members with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or dementia were randomized to either the intervention arm (iSupport; n = 74) or to the control group (an education-only e-book program; n = 77). Participants were assessed using self-rated measures of depression and perceived burden, which were the primary outcome measures, at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Person-centered attitude, self-efficacy, mastery and self-rated health were also assessed. RESULTS: Fifty-five caregivers (29 in the iSupport group and 26 in the control condition) completed the study. The recruitment and retention rate of the study were 44.67% and 36.42% respectively. No significant differences were found between the two groups at 3-month follow-up on the primary outcomes. Among the secondary outcomes, significant improvement was only seen in caregivers' person-centered attitude towards persons with dementia in the iSupport group (t = 2.228; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Despite efforts to recruit and retain participants to the online program, this study had a low recruitment and retention rate, which require closer attention and indicates a need for further adaptations of the Indian version of the iSupport program to improve its acceptability and accessibility. The lessons learned from this study will guide the further development of caregiver training and support interventions in India. The trial was registered with the Clinical Trials Registry-India (Trial Registration No. CTRI/2017/02/007876).

Using best subset regression to identify clinical characteristics and biomarkers associated with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.

Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) is a complex clinical disorder associated with inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and dysregulated coagulation. With standard regression methods, collinearity among biomarkers may lead to the exclusion of important biological pathways in a single final model. Best subset regression is an analytic technique that identifies statistically equivalent models, allowing for more robust evaluation of correlated variables. Our objective was to identify common clinical characteristics and biomarkers associated with sepsis-associated AKI. We enrolled 453 septic adults within 24 h of intensive care unit admission. Using best subset regression, we evaluated for associations using a range of models consisting of 1-38 predictors (composed of clinical risk factors and plasma and urine biomarkers) with AKI as the outcome [defined as a serum creatinine (SCr) increase of ≥0.3 mg/dL within 48 h or ≥1.5× baseline SCr within 7 days]. Two hundred ninety-seven patients had AKI. Five-variable models were found to be of optimal complexity, as the best subset of five- and six-variable models were statistically equivalent. Within the subset of five-variable models, 46 permutations of predictors were noted to be statistically equivalent. The most common predictors in this subset included diabetes, baseline SCr, angiopoetin-2, IL-8, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-1, and urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin. The models had a c-statistic of ∼0.70 (95% confidence interval: 0.65-0.75). In conclusion, using best subset regression, we identified common clinical characteristics and biomarkers associated with sepsis-associated AKI. These variables may be especially relevant in the pathogenesis of sepsis-associated AKI.

Perspectives on Components of an Online Training and Support Program for Dementia Family Caregivers in India: A Focus Group Study.

OBJECTIVES: There is a considerable need for support interventions for caregivers of people with dementia in developing countries, such as India. The purpose of the study was to identify the components and understand the acceptability of an online training and support program for dementia caregivers in India. METHODS: Three focus group discussions were carried out with dementia caregivers (2) and health professionals (1) to understand the requirements of an online training and support program from their perspective. The commonly recurring themes were identified and defined using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: The expectations from an online training and support program were wide-ranging from information about identification and management of dementia to support caregiver well-being. Use of simple language, cultural relevance, and an interactive design were suggestions to facilitate the use of the support program. Lack of time, difficulty in accessing the internet, lack of awareness about the portal, difficulty in reaching the rural population were anticipated as challenges in using the program. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the requisite components of a first of its kind online training and support program in India by integrating the experiences, motivations, challenges, and expectations of caregivers and professionals involved in dementia care. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The focus group discussions in the current study provide a road map for the development of an online caregiver training and support program underlying the perspectives of the stakeholders for the consolidation of an effective dementia care program for lower resourced settings.

Systematic review of dementia prevalence and incidence in United States race/ethnic populations.

OBJECTIVE: To identify incidence and prevalence of dementia in racial and ethnic populations in the United States. METHODS: A systematic review of literature. RESULTS: A total of 1215 studies were reviewed; 114 were included. Dementia prevalence rates reported for age 65+ years from a low of 6.3% in Japanese Americans, 12.9% in Caribbean Hispanic Americans, 12.2% in Guamanian Chamorro and ranged widely in African Americans from 7.2% to 20.9%. Dementia annual incidence for African American (mean = 2.6%; SD = 1%; range, 1.4%-5.5%) and Caribbean Hispanic populations were significantly higher (mean, 3.6%; SD, 1.2%; range, 2.3%-5.3%) than Mexican American and Japanese Americans and non-Latino white populations (0.8%-2.7%), P < .001. CONCLUSIONS: Data are needed for American Indian, most Asian, and Pacific Islander populations. Disaggregation of large race/ethnic classifications is warranted due to within-population heterogeneity in incidence and prevalence. African American and Caribbean Hispanic studies showed higher incidence of dementia. A nationwide approach is needed to identify communities at high risk and to tailor culturally appropriate services accordingly.

Systematic Motorcycle Management and Health Care Delivery: A Field Trial.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether managed transportation improves outreach-based health service delivery to rural village populations. METHODS: We examined systematic transportation management in a small-cluster interrupted time series field trial. In 8 districts in Southern Zambia, we followed health workers at 116 health facilities from September 2011 to March 2014. The primary outcome was the average number of outreach trips per health worker per week. Secondary outcomes were health worker productivity, motorcycle performance, and geographical coverage. RESULTS: Systematic fleet management resulted in an increase of 0.9 (SD = 1.0) trips to rural villages per health worker per week (P < .001), village-level health worker productivity by 20.5 (SD = 5.9) patient visits, 10.2 (SD = 1.5) measles immunizations, and 5.2 (SD = 5.4) child growth assessments per health worker per week. Motorcycle uptime increased by 3.5 days per week (P < .001), use by 1.5 days per week (P < .001), and mean distance by 9.3 kilometers per trip (P < .001). Geographical coverage of health outreach increased in experimental (P < .001) but not control districts. CONCLUSIONS: Systematic motorcycle management improves basic health care delivery to rural villages in resource-poor environments through increased health worker productivity and greater geographical coverage.

Investigating the Impacts of a Modified Mindfulness Practice on Minoritized College Students' Chronic Stress.

Context: Students of color in the United States experience elevated stress across the entire spectrum of education, spanning from early stages of K-12 to the more advanced stages of postgraduate studies. This sustained state of chronic stress decreases learning and curtails opportunities, especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (ST EM) fields, where stress levels are considered exceptionally high. Mindfulness-based practices such as MBSR have a proven effective for stress reduction in college students. However, to date, mindfulness practices have yet to be designed to support the unique needs of minoritized students with intersectional identities (e.g., poor, English as second language learners, and sexual/gender minorities) that are stigmatized in ST EM. Objectives: This article describes the development of an online, eight-week modified mindfulness practice (MMP) for minoritized students adapted from traditional MBSR. The MMP was purposely designed to be culturally inclusive and anti-racist, with the goal to reduce stress in undergraduate students of color in ST EM. Methods: In this pilot study, we assessed the impact of MMP using both biological and perceived stress measures. Specifically, cortisol was measured from donated biospecimen hair samples, the Perceived Stress Scale measured perceived stress, and key informant interviews were conducted to understand student stressors and coping strategies before and after the intervention. Results: While the observed decrease biological and perceived stress before and after the intervention was not statistically significant due to the small sample size of this pilot study, we see a dramatic positive change in student coping strategies. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of providing minoritized students with options for stress reduction that are relevant and accessible.

Virtual BUILD Research Collaboratory: A biomedical data science training using innovative pedagogy to address structures of racism and inequitable stress for undergraduates of color.

OBJECTIVE: The unprecedented events of 2020 required a pivot in scientific training to better prepare the biomedical research workforce to address global pandemics, structural racism, and social inequities that devastate human health individually and erode it collectively. Furthermore, this pivot had to be accomplished in the virtual environment given the nation-wide lockdown. METHODS: These needs and context led to leveraging of the San Francisco Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (SF BUILD) theories of change to innovate a Virtual BUILD Research Collaboratory (VBRC). The purpose of VBRC was to train Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students to apply their unique perspectives to biomedical research. These training activities were evaluated using a pre-post survey design that included both validated and new psychosocial scales. A new scale was piloted to measure culturally relevant pedagogy. RESULTS: VBRC scholars increased science identity on two items: thinking of myself as a scientist (+1point, p = 0.006) and belonging to a community of scientists (+1point, p = 0.069). Overall, scholars perceived stress also decreased over VBRC (-2.35 points, p = 0.02). Post VBRC, scholars had high agency scores (µ = 11.02, Md = 12, range = 6-12, σ = 1.62) and cultural humility scores (µ = 22.11, Md = 23, range = 12-24, σ = 2.71). No notable race/ethnic differences were found in any measures. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our innovative approach to data science training for BIPOC in unprecedented times shows promise for better preparing the workforce critically needed to address the fundamental gaps in knowledge at the intersection of public health, structural racism, and biomedical sciences.

Prediction of recovery, dependence or death in elders who become disabled during hospitalization.

BACKGROUND: Many older adults become dependent in one or more activities of daily living (ADLs: dressing, bathing, transferring, eating, toileting) when hospitalized, and their prognosis after discharge is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To develop a prognostic index to estimate one-year probabilities of recovery, dependence or death in older hospitalized patients who are discharged with incident ADL dependence. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: 449 adults aged ≥ 70 years hospitalized for acute illness and discharged with incident ADL dependence. MAIN MEASURES: Potential predictors included demographics (age, sex, race, education, marital status), functional measures (ADL dependencies, instrumental activities of daily living [IADL] dependencies, walking ability), chronic conditions (e.g., congestive heart failure, dementia, cancer), reason for admission (e.g., neurologic, cardiovascular), and laboratory values (creatinine, albumin, hematocrit). Multinomial logistic regression was used to develop a prognostic index for estimating the probabilities of recovery, disability or death over 1 year. Discrimination of the index was assessed for each outcome based on the c statistic. KEY RESULTS: During the year following hospitalization, 36 % of patients recovered, 27 % remained dependent and 37 % died. Key predictors of recovery, dependence or death were age, sex, number of IADL dependencies 2 weeks prior to admission, number of ADL dependencies at discharge, dementia, cancer, number of other chronic conditions, reason for admission, and creatinine levels. The final prognostic index had good to excellent discrimination for all three outcomes based on the c statistic (recovery: 0.81, dependence: 0.72, death: 0.78). CONCLUSIONS: This index accurately estimated the probabilities of recovery, dependence or death in adults aged 70 years or older who were discharged with incident disability following hospitalization. This tool may be useful in clinical settings to guide care discussions and inform decision-making related to post-hospitalization care.

Traditional Healers as Health Care Providers for the Latine Community in the United States, a Systematic Review.

Background: Due to structural barriers to accessing the biomedical health care system, traditional healers (THs) often serve as the first point of contact for health care by Latine individuals in the United States. A recent assessment of the extent of use of THs by the Latine community is lacking. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature published between 2000 and 2020, to assess the prevalence of use of THs by U.S. Latine individuals, health conditions for which care was sought, reasons for their use, and extent of TH use and dual use that is of biomedical health care and TH together. Primary inclusion criteria for studies included: (1) published in English, (2) focus on THs, (3) pertained to Latine individuals residing in the United States, and (4) published since 2000. Results: Eighty-five studies were reviewed; 33 met inclusion criteria. Under the overarching term of curanderos, 4 subtypes of THs were identified: sobadores, yerberos, espiritualistas, and hueseros. The lifetime prevalence of TH use varied from 6% to 67.7% depending on the demographic differences among the Latine individuals in these studies. Primary reasons for seeking care from THs were accessibility/convenience, affordability, and linguistic and cultural congruence. Discussion: The use of THs is highly prevalent for Latine community residing in the United States because they are accessible, affordable, and provide culturally and linguistically compatible care, indicating that they offer an alternative that addresses systemic structural barriers to biomedical health care. Further research on the efficacy and safety of the treatments rendered by THs and how their care might be optimally coordinated with biomedical health care, could improve health equity and access to care among Latine individuals in the United States.

Diné Navajo Resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To date, there are no studies of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the Navajo Nation, US. The primary objective of this manuscript is to understand whether counties with a higher proportion of Navajo (Diné) population also had higher cases and deaths of COVID-19 and whether these dropped with vaccination. METHOD: We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of county level data from March 16, 2020-May 11, 2021. Data were obtained from public repositories and the US Census for the Navajo Nation, including northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico. The primary outcome measure is the number of individuals with confirmed cases or deaths of COVID-19. A secondary outcome was COVID-19 vaccinations. RESULTS: The 11 counties in Navajo Nation have a wide variation in the percent Navajo population, the resources available (ICU beds and occupancy), and COVID-19 outcomes. Overall, there was a substantial increase in the number of cases from March 16 -July 16, 2020 (the height of the pandemic) with a doubling time of 10.12 days on Navajo Nation. The percent Navajo population was a strong predictor of COVID-19 cases and deaths per million population. COVID-19 vaccinations were inversely associated with COVID-19 cases and deaths in these counties. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic on the Navajo Nation is a story of resilience. Navajo Nation was one of the hardest hit areas of the United States, with peak cases and deaths due to COVID-19. With an aggressive vaccination effort, these cases and deaths were strikingly curtailed, showing the resilience of the Navajo (Diné) people.

Research Beyond the Ivory Tower: Partnering with Safety-Net Health Systems for Equity.

Safety-net health systems serve primarily low-income, racially/ethnically diverse patients who bear a disproportionate burden of disease and high social needs. Many safety-net institutions are publicly funded and are under-resourced to deliver high-quality and timely care. Further, little clinical and translational research includes safety-net populations due to lack of funding, structure to support research, and low prioritization. However, we argue that US health care as a whole will lose key insights across all levels of translational medicine-T1-T4 research, if safety-net health systems do not participate in research. Solutions such as targeted funds for safety-net research, consortium arrangements for research infrastructure, and increasing ways for clinician-researchers to have their primary home in safety-net settings are suggested to fill this gap. Achieving health equity in the U.S. is contingent upon safety-net inclusion in research to advance knowledge and develop, test, and evaluate innovations applicable across all patient populations.

Adaptation of an online training and support program for caregivers of people with dementia to Indian cultural setting.

Support for caregivers of people with dementia has been identified as an action area in the Global Action Plan on the Public Health Response to Dementia 2017-2025 by the World Health Organization (WHO). As a step towards that, WHO developed iSupport - an online program to provide support and training for caregivers of people with dementia. To address the need of caregivers in India, the iSupport program was adapted to the Indian cultural setting. The process of adaptation consisted of four phases: (a) information gathering (review of literature and focus group discussions), (b) preliminary adaptation design (modifications using an adaptation guide), (c) preliminary adaptation tests (face-to-face interviews and online test run), and (d) adaptation refinement (final modifications to the intervention and study process). The initial adaptation was carried out by effecting changes in words, names, resources, caregiving scenarios and audio files to make the English version of iSupport suitable to the Indian cultural context. The results of the qualitative adaptation tests provided additional recommendations like changing the links to India specific websites, revising the eligibility criterion for caregiving duration, re-wording of e-mail texts, inclusion of a time estimate required to complete the assessments and decreasing the numbers of screens that the caregivers had to navigate in the program, which were incorporated in the final phase. Preliminary data showed that the caregivers who participated in the adaptation process found the changes acceptable. Translation of iSupport to different Indian languages could be undertaken after initial effectiveness of the program is established.

Effects of integrated economic and health interventions with women's groups on health-related knowledge, behaviours and outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Economic groups, such as microfinance or self-help groups are widely implemented in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Women's groups are voluntary groups, which aim to improve the well-being of members through activities, such as joint savings, credit, livelihoods development and/or health activities. Health interventions are increasingly added on to existing women's economic groups as a public health intervention for women and their families. Here, we present the protocol for a mixed-methods systematic review we will conduct of the evidence on integrated economic and health interventions on women's groups to assess whether and how they improve health-related knowledge, behaviour and outcomes in LMICs. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search seven electronic databases for published literature, along with manual searches and consultation. The review will include (1) randomised trials and non-randomised quasiexperimental studies of intervention effects of integrated economic and health interventions delivered through women's groups in LMICs, and (2) sibling studies that examine factors related to intervention content, context, implementation processes and costs. We will appraise risk of bias and study quality using standard tools. High and moderate quality studies will be grouped by health domain and synthesised without meta-analysis. Qualitative evidence will be thematically synthesised and integrated into the quantitative synthesis using a matrix approach. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This protocol was reviewed and deemed exempt by the institutional review board at the American Institutes for Research. Findings will be shared through peer-reviewed publication and disseminated with programme implementers and policymakers engaged with women's groups. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020199998.

Patterns of torture among forcibly displaced Eritrean men in California: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: This study was conducted to address a lack of information in the literature regarding the frequency and consequences of specific types of torture and abuse among Eritreans seeking asylum in the United States. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of Eritreans seeking asylum in the United States presenting to a human rights clinic for forensic medical and psychological evaluations based on Istanbul Protocol. Reports were eligible for inclusion if subjects: 1) immigrated from Eritrea 2) reported torture and abuse in Eritrea, 3) were 18 or older. 59 reports met inclusion criteria. Demographic features of individuals, reported history and specific types of torture, and physical and psychological sequelae were analyzed. RESULTS: Over 300 instances of torture were reported, an average of about 6 per person. The primary forms of torture reported were beating (87.7%) and forced positioning (57.9%). 90% of asylum seekers examined had physical findings which were consistent with the torture they reported, some of which had clinical as well as forensic significance. 86% of asylum seekers met diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. CONCLUSION: Eritreans seeking asylum in the United States bear a high burden of post-traumatic physical and psychological morbidity.

Secondhand smoke, vascular disease, and dementia incidence: findings from the cardiovascular health cognition study.

Recent studies have found that smoking is associated with an increased risk of dementia, but the effects of secondhand smoke (SHS) on dementia risk are not known to have previously been studied. The authors used Cox proportional hazards marginal structural models to examine the association between self-reported lifetime household SHS exposure and risk of incident dementia over 6 years among 970 US participants in the Cardiovascular Health Cognition Study (performed from 1991 to 1999) who were never smokers and were free of clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD), dementia, and mild cognitive impairment at baseline. In addition, because prior studies have found that SHS is associated with increased risk of CVD and that CVD is associated with increased risk of dementia, the authors tested for interactions between SHS and measures of clinical and subclinical CVD on dementia risk. Moderate (16-25 years) and high (>25 years) SHS exposure levels were not independently associated with dementia risk; however, subjects with >25 years of SHS exposure and >25% carotid artery stenosis had a 3-fold increase (hazard ratio = 3.00, 95% confidence interval: 1.03, 9.72) in dementia risk compared with subjects with no/low (0-15 years) SHS exposure and < or =25% carotid artery stenosis. High lifetime SHS exposure may increase the risk of dementia in elderly with undiagnosed CVD.

Impact of cognitive impairment on screening mammography use in older US women.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated mammography rates for cognitively impaired women in the context of their life expectancies, given that guidelines do not recommend screening mammography in women with limited life expectancies because harms outweigh benefits. METHODS: We evaluated Medicare claims for women aged 70 years or older from the 2002 wave of the Health and Retirement Study to determine which women had screening mammography. We calculated population-based estimates of 2-year screening mammography prevalence and 4-year survival by cognitive status and age. RESULTS: Women with severe cognitive impairment had lower rates of mammography (18%) compared with women with normal cognition (45%). Nationally, an estimated 120,000 screening mammograms were performed among women with severe cognitive impairment despite this group's median survival of 3.3 years (95% confidence interval = 2.8, 3.7). Cognitively impaired women who had high net worth and were married had screening rates approaching 50%. CONCLUSIONS: Although severe cognitive impairment is associated with lower screening mammography rates, certain subgroups with cognitive impairment are often screened despite lack of probable benefit. Given the limited life expectancy of women with severe cognitive impairment, guidelines should explicitly recommend against screening these women.