Hip fractures and characteristics of living area: a fine-scale spatial analysis in France.

We investigated the association between hip fracture incidence and living area characteristics in France. The spatial distribution of hip fracture incidence was heterogeneous and there was a significant relationship between social deprivation, urbanization, health access, and hip fracture risk. INTRODUCTION: Several studies have shown great disparities in spatial repartition of hip fractures (HF). The aim of the study was to analyze the association between HF incidence and characteristics of the living area. METHODS: All patients aged 50 or older, living in France, who were hospitalized for HF between 2012 and 2014 were included, using the French national hospital discharge database. Standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was calculated for each spatial unit and adjusted on age and sex. An ecological regression was performed to analyze the association between HF standardized incidence and ecological variables. We adjusted the model for neighborhood spatial structure. We used three variables to characterize the living areas: a deprivation index (French-EDI); healthcare access (French standardized index); land use (percentage of artificialized surfaces). RESULTS: A total of 236,328 HF were recorded in the French hospital national database, leading to an annual HF incidence of 333/100,000. The spatial analysis revealed geographical variations of HF incidence with SIR varying from 0.67 (0.52; 0.85) to 1.45 (1.23; 1.70). There was a significant association between HF incidence rates and (1) French-EDI (trend p = 0.0023); (2) general practitioner and nurse accessibility (trend p = 0.0232 and p = 0.0129, respectively); (3) percentage of artificialized surfaces (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The characteristics of the living area are associated with significant differences in the risk of hip fracture of older people.

Breast reconstruction in France, observational study of 140,904 cases of mastectomy for breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES: In France, there are few up-to-date epidemiological data on breast reconstruction after mastectomy for breast cancer. The objective of the present study was to measure immediate and delayed breast reconstruction (IBR and DBR, respectively) rates and thus the proportion of patients not benefiting from any reconstruction. METHODS: We performed an observational study by assessing data from the French nationwide discharge summary database (Programme de Médicalisation des Systèmes d'Information) for the period 2008-2014. All women having undergone a total mastectomy for breast cancer during this period were included. We then searched for reconstructive surgery during the initial or subsequent hospital stays, and recorded the time interval between mastectomy and reconstruction. RESULTS: Among the 140,904 mastectomies included, the IBR rate was 16.1% on average, and increased over the study period. The time interval between mastectomy and DBR was≤3 years in 92% of cases. For patients included in 2008 and 2009, the DBR rate was 17.8%, and the non-reconstruction rate was 66.4%. CONCLUSION: The high proportion of women not undergoing breast reconstruction after mastectomy suggests that access to this procedure should be improved.

A generic method for improving the spatial interoperability of medical and ecological databases.

BACKGROUND: The availability of big data in healthcare and the intensive development of data reuse and georeferencing have opened up perspectives for health spatial analysis. However, fine-scale spatial studies of ecological and medical databases are limited by the change of support problem and thus a lack of spatial unit interoperability. The use of spatial disaggregation methods to solve this problem introduces errors into the spatial estimations. Here, we present a generic, two-step method for merging medical and ecological databases that avoids the use of spatial disaggregation methods, while maximizing the spatial resolution. METHODS: Firstly, a mapping table is created after one or more transition matrices have been defined. The latter link the spatial units of the original databases to the spatial units of the final database. Secondly, the mapping table is validated by (1) comparing the covariates contained in the two original databases, and (2) checking the spatial validity with a spatial continuity criterion and a spatial resolution index. RESULTS: We used our novel method to merge a medical database (the French national diagnosis-related group database, containing 5644 spatial units) with an ecological database (produced by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, and containing with 36,594 spatial units). The mapping table yielded 5632 final spatial units. The mapping table's validity was evaluated by comparing the number of births in the medical database and the ecological databases in each final spatial unit. The median [interquartile range] relative difference was 2.3% [0; 5.7]. The spatial continuity criterion was low (2.4%), and the spatial resolution index was greater than for most French administrative areas. CONCLUSIONS: Our innovative approach improves interoperability between medical and ecological databases and facilitates fine-scale spatial analyses. We have shown that disaggregation models and large aggregation techniques are not necessarily the best ways to tackle the change of support problem.

[Changes in drug management of Alzheimer's disease in nursing homes: Impact of the media campaign against specific drugs for Alzheimer's disease]. / Évolution de la prise en charge médicamenteuse de la maladie d'Alzheimer en EHPAD : impact de la campagne médiatique contre les médicaments spécifiques de la maladie d'Alzheimer.

CONTEXT: Alzheimer's disease is a common disease in nursing homes. Evolution is constantly negative and specific treatments, which are only symptomatic, are subject to controversy. In a context of media exposure, the Transparency Committee of the Haute Autorité de santé (HAS) downgraded their medical service in October 2011, seeing it as weak. AIM: Assess the evolution of the consumption of specific treatments for Alzheimer's disease; assess changes in the quality of monitoring in specific consultation. METHODS: This is a retrospective and descriptive study, cross-sectional in three times (T0 January 2011, T1 October 2011 and T2 June 2012), in 6 nursing homes of Lille and its surroundings. RESULTS: In total, 262 residents with dementia and present at least once during the three times of the study were included. Their mean age was 85.8 years. Among them, 40 % had Alzheimer's disease clearly identified. At T0, 76.7 % of patients present who were supposed to receive a specific treatment of Alzheimer's disease were actually receiving such treatment, 73.6 % at T1 and 71.6 % at T2. After 17 months of observation, the discontinuation rate of anticholinesterase was 34 %, 24 % for anti-glutamate. The monitoring in specific consultations decreased slightly between the three stages. CONCLUSION: Our work did not show major impact of the media campaign against specific drugs for Alzheimer's disease. There is however a trend towards a decrease of their consumption in people with dementia living in nursing homes with no obvious link between monitoring in specific consultation and specific prescription. This trend would ask to be confirmed by a study on a larger scale.

Shift in Hospitalizations for Alzheimer's Disease to Related Dementias in France between 2007 and 2017.

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the first cause of dementia. Diagnostic criteria have evolved: proposals to revise the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria were published in 2007. Our aim was to analyze the evolution in the coding of AD in the French nationwide exhaustive hospital discharge database (PMSI) between 2007 and 2017. METHODS: We analyzed evolution of International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10) coding for AD and AD dementia in the PMSI database from 2008 to 2017 (285,748,938 inpatient stays). RESULTS: We observed a 44% decrease in the number of inpatient stays with a principal diagnosis of AD or AD dementia from 2007 (46,313 inpatient stays) to 2017 (25,856 inpatient stays) in France. Over the same period, we observed a 49% increase in the number of inpatient stays with a principal diagnosis of related dementias (other organic mental disorders or other degenerative disorders). Overall, the number of inpatient stays for dementia remained stable despite the increase in the total number of inpatient stays: 95,377 in 2007 (0.409% of inpatient stays) and 99,190 in 2017 (0.344%). CONCLUSION: We therefore note a shift from AD and AD dementia to other dementia diagnoses since 2007. This study suggests a more accurate use of AD related ICD-10 codes since the revised criteria in 2007.

Vascular dementia encoding in the French nationwide discharge summary database (PMSI): Variability over the 2007-2017 period.

OBJECTIVE: Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second leading cause of dementia. Diagnostic criteria have evolved from the concept of multiple infarctions to different subtypes: acute onset VaD, subcortical VaD, mixed cortical and subcortical VaD. Our aim was to analyze the evolution in the coding of these different subtypes of VaD in the French nationwide exhaustive hospital discharge database (PMSI) between 2007 and 2017. METHOD: We included all principal diagnoses of VaD in the PMSI hospital stays from 2007 to 2017. RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2017, we show a relative decrease in the number of hospital stays for VaD compared to all hospital stays (0.0437% to 0.0404%). The 11,654 hospital stays for VaD in 2017 represent 13.5% of mental organic disorders. Subtype analysis shows a decrease in hospital stays for multiple infarctions between 2007 and 2017 (-50%), an increase for subcortical or mixed VaD (+20%), acute onset VaD (+184%) and an increase in "other VaD" (+85%). CONCLUSION: These data suggest a slight decrease in hospital stays for VaD, possibly related to better control of cardiovascular risk factors. They also suggest that the coding should be consistent with the evolution of diagnostic criteria.

Increased incidence of cholecystectomy related to gallbladder disease in France: Analysis of 807,307 cholecystectomy procedures over a period of seven years.

PURPOSE: Gallstones are one of the most common abdominal reasons for admission to hospital. The aim of this study was to analyze trends and outcomes in patients undergoing cholecystectomy with gallbladder related disease in France from 2008 to 2014. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We carried out a population-based, retrospective cohort study using data extracted from the French nationwide hospital discharge database (PMSI). We included all patients having a cholecystectomy related to gallbladder disease from January 2008 to December 2014. Patients' demographics, primary diagnosis, procedure type, length of stay (LOS), admission in an intensive care unit, discharge disposition, complications, and in-hospital mortality were analyzed. RESULTS: Overall, 807,307 cholecystectomies were performed in France over the study period, with an increase in the national incidence rate from 167.5 (95%CI [166.5; 168.5]) to 182.6 (95%CI [181.6; 183.6]) per 100,000 inhabitants. Females accounted for 66.5% of procedures (P<0.001). The mean age was lower for females than for males: 52.1 versus 60.2 (P<0.001). The ratio of laparoscopic cholecystectomy significantly increased from 90% in 2008 to 94% in 2014 (P<0.001). Average inpatient LOS decreased significantly from 6.5 days in 2008 to 4.7 days in 2014 (P<0.001). Most common complication type was intra-abdominal (23.1%) for laparoscopic procedure (95%CI [22.7; 23.5]), and in-hospital mortality significantly decreased over time from 0.45% in 2008 to 0.38% in 2014 (P<0.005). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the national incidence rate of cholecystectomy related to gallbladder disease increased from 2008 to 2014.

Factors Associated with Alzheimer's Disease: An Overview of Reviews.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a frequent pathology, with a poor prognosis, for which no curative treatment is available in 2018. AD prevention is an important issue, and is an important research topic. In this manuscript, we have synthesized the literature reviews and meta-analyses relating to modifiable risk factors associated with AD. Smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, physical inactivity, depression, head trauma, heart failure, bleeding and ischemic strokes, sleep apnea syndrome appeared to be associated with an increased risk of AD. In addition to these well-known associations, we highlight here the existence of associated factors less described: hyperhomocysteinemia, hearing loss, essential tremor, occupational exposure to magnetic fields. On the contrary, some oral antidiabetic drugs, education and intellectual activity, a Mediterranean-type diet or using Healthy Diet Indicator, consumption of unsaturated fatty acids seemed to have a protective effect. Better knowledge of risk factors for AD allows for better identification of patients at risk. This may contribute to the emergence of prevention policies to delay or prevent the onset of AD.

Irisin levels in LMNA-associated partial lipodystrophies.

AIM: The adipo-myokine irisin regulates energy expenditure and fat metabolism. LMNA-associated familial partial lipodystrophy (FPLD2) comprises insulin resistance, muscle hypertrophy and lipoatrophy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether irisin could be a biomarker of FPLD2. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This case control study included 19 FPLD2 subjects, 13 obese non-diabetic (OND) patients and 19 healthy controls (HC) of normal weight (median BMI: 26, 39 and 22 kg/m2, respectively). Serum irisin and leptin levels, body composition (DXA/MRI) and metabolic/inflammatory parameters were compared in these three groups. RESULTS: BMI and MRI intra-abdominal fat significantly differed among these three groups, whereas DXA total fat mass and leptin levels were higher in the OND group, but did not differ between HC and FPLD2. Lipodystrophy patients had higher intra-abdominal/total abdominal fat ratios than the other two groups. Irisin levels were higher in FPLD2 and OND patients than in HC (medians: 944, 934 and 804 ng/mL, respectively). However, irisin/leptin ratios and lean body mass percentages were strikingly higher, and lean mass indices lower, in FPLD2 and HC than in the OND (median irisin/leptin ratios: 137, 166 and 21, respectively). In the entire study group, irisin levels positively correlated with BMI, lean body mass and index, intra-abdominal/total abdominal fat ratio, triglyceride, cholesterol, insulin, glucose and HbA1c levels. Also, intra-abdominal/total abdominal fat ratio and lean body mass better differentiated the three groups only in female patients. CONCLUSION: Circulating irisin is similarly increased in FPLD2 and OND patients, who are characterized by higher lean body mass regardless of their clearly different fat mass. However, irisin/leptin ratios, strikingly higher in FPLD2 than in OND patients, could help to make the diagnosis and prompt genetic testing in clinically atypical cases.

From adverse drug event detection to prevention. A novel clinical decision support framework for medication safety.

BACKGROUND: Errors related to medication seriously affect patient safety and the quality of healthcare. It has been widely argued that various types of such errors may be prevented by introducing Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSSs) at the point of care. OBJECTIVES: Although significant research has been conducted in the field, still medication safety is a crucial issue, while few research outcomes are mature enough to be considered for use in actual clinical settings. In this paper, we present a clinical decision support framework targeting medication safety with major focus on adverse drug event (ADE) prevention. METHODS: The novelty of the framework lies in its design that approaches the problem holistically, i.e., starting from knowledge discovery to provide reliable numbers about ADEs per hospital or medical unit to describe their consequences and probable causes, and next employing the acquired knowledge for decision support services development and deployment. Major design features of the framework's services are: a) their adaptation to the context of care (i.e. patient characteristics, place of care, and significance of ADEs), and b) their straightforward integration in the healthcare information technologies (IT) infrastructure thanks to the adoption of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and relevant standards. RESULTS: Our results illustrate the successful interoperability of the framework with two commercially available IT products, i.e., a Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) and an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, respectively, along with a Web prototype that is independent of existing healthcare IT products. The conducted clinical validation with domain experts and test cases illustrates that the impact of the framework is expected to be major, with respect to patient safety, and towards introducing the CDSS functionality in practical use. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates an important potential for the applicability of the presented framework in delivering contextualized decision support services at the point of care and for making a substantial contribution towards ADE prevention. Nonetheless, further research is required in order to quantitatively and thoroughly assess its impact in medication safety.

Robust lossless watermarking based on circular interpretation of bijective transformations for the protection of medical databases.

In this paper, we adapt the image lossless watermarking modulation proposed by De Vleeschouwer et al., based on the circular interpretation of bijective modulations, to the protection of medical relational databases. Our scheme modulates the numerical attributes of the database. It is suited for either copyright protection, integrity control or traitor tracing, being robust to most common database attacks, such as the addition and removal of tuples and the modification of attributes' values. Conducted experiments on a medical database of inpatient hospital stay records illustrate the overall performance of our method and its suitability to the requirements of the medical domain.

Lossless watermarking of categorical attributes for verifying medical data base integrity.

In this article, we propose a new lossless or reversible watermarking approach that allows the embedding of a message within categorical data of relational database. The reversibility property of our scheme is achieved by adapting the well known histogram shifting modulation. Based on this algorithm we derive a system for verifying the integrity of the database content, it means detecting addition, removal or modification of any t-uples or attributes. Such a content integrity check is independent of the manner the database is stored or structured. We illustrate the overall capability of our method and its constraints of deployment considering one medical database of inpatient hospital stay records. Especially, we reversibly watermark ICD-10 diagnostic codes.