Factors Associated With Days Away From Home in the Year After Major Surgery Among Community-living Older Persons.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors associated with days away from home in the year after hospital discharge for major surgery. BACKGROUND: Relatively little is known about which older persons are susceptible to spending a disproportionate amount of time in hospitals and other health care facilities after major surgery. METHODS: From a cohort of 754 community-living persons, aged 70+ years, 394 admissions for major surgery were identified from 289 participants who were discharged from the hospital. Candidate risk factors were assessed every 18 months. Days away from home were calculated as the number of days spent in a health care facility. RESULTS: In the year after major surgery, the mean (SD) and median (interquartile range) number of days away from home were 52.0 (92.2) and 15 (0-51). In multivariable analysis, 5 factors were independently associated with the number of days away from home: age 85 years and older, low score on the Short Physical Performance Battery, low peak expiratory flow, low functional self-efficacy, and musculoskeletal surgery. Based on the presence versus absence of these factors, the absolute mean differences in the number of days away from home ranged from 31.2 for age 85 years and older to 53.5 for low functional self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: The 5 independent risk factors can be used to identify older persons who are particularly susceptible to spending a disproportionate amount of time away from home after major surgery, and a subset of these factors can also serve as targets for interventions to improve quality of life by reducing time spent in hospitals and other health care facilities.

Association Between Daily Average of Mobility Achieved During Physical Therapy Sessions and Hospital-Acquired or Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia among Critically Ill Patients.

PURPOSE: Hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated pneumonias (HAP and VAP) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Immobility is a risk factor for developing ICU-acquired weakness (ICUAW). Early mobilization is associated with improved physical function, but its association with hospital-acquired (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonias (VAP) is unknown. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between daily average of highest level of mobility achieved during physical therapy (PT) and incidence of HAP or VAP among critically ill patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study of progressive mobility program participants in the medical ICU, we used a validated method to abstract new diagnoses of HAP and VAP. We captured scores on a mobility scale achieved during each inpatient physical therapy session and used a Bayesian, discrete time-to-event model to evaluate the association between daily average of highest level of mobility achieved and occurrence of HAP or VAP. RESULTS: The primary outcome of HAP/VAP occurred in 55 (26.8%) of the 205 participants. Each increase in the daily average of highest level of mobility achieved during PT (0-6 mobility scale) exhibited a protective association with occurrence of HAP or VAP (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.61; 95% CI 0.44, 0.85). Age, baseline ambulatory status, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, and previous day's mechanical ventilation (MV) status were not significantly associated with the occurrence of HAP/VAP. CONCLUSIONS: Among critically ill patients in a progressive mobility program, a higher daily average of highest level of mobility achieved during PT was associated with a decreased risk of HAP or VAP.

Association Between Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Decline in Function, Cognition, and Mental Health After Critical Illness Among Older Adults : A Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Older adults admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) are at risk for developing impairments in function, cognition, and mental health. It is not known whether socioeconomically disadvantaged older persons are at greater risk for these impairments than their less vulnerable counterparts. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between socioeconomic disadvantage and decline in function, cognition, and mental health among older survivors of an ICU hospitalization. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of a longitudinal cohort study. SETTING: Community-dwelling older adults in the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). PARTICIPANTS: Participants with ICU hospitalizations between 2011 and 2017. MEASUREMENTS: Socioeconomic disadvantage was assessed as dual-eligible Medicare-Medicaid status. The outcome of function was defined as the count of disabilities in 7 activities of daily living and mobility tasks, the cognitive outcome as the transition from no or possible to probable dementia, and the mental health outcome as the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 score in the NHATS interview after ICU hospitalization. The analytic sample included 641 ICU hospitalizations for function, 458 for cognition, and 519 for mental health. RESULTS: After accounting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, dual eligibility was associated with a 28% increase in disability after ICU hospitalization (incidence rate ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.64); and nearly 10-fold greater odds of transitioning to probable dementia (odds ratio, 9.79; 95% CI, 3.46 to 27.65). Dual eligibility was not associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety after ICU hospitalization (incidence rate ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 0.99 to 1.79). LIMITATION: Administrative data, variability in timing of baseline and outcome assessments, proxy selection. CONCLUSION: Dual-eligible older persons are at greater risk for decline in function and cognition after an ICU hospitalization than their more advantaged counterparts. This finding highlights the need to prioritize low-income seniors in rehabilitation and recovery efforts after critical illness and warrants investigation into factors leading to this disparity. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Institute on Aging.

Time-Varying Effect Models for Examining Age-Dynamic Associations in Gerontological Research.

OBJECTIVES: Dynamic processes unfolding over later adulthood are of prime interest to gerontological researchers. Time-varying effect modeling (TVEM) accommodates dynamic change trajectories, but its use in gerontological research is limited. We introduce and demonstrate TVEM with an empirical example based on the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). METHODS: We examined (a) age-varying prevalence of past month elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety and (b) age-varying associations between older adults' elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety and needing help with basic activities of daily living and educational attainment. RESULTS: The proportion of participants reporting elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety in the past month increased gradually from 23-29% across the ages 70-92. Individuals needing help with ADLs had higher odds of reporting elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety, however the association was strongest for those in their 60s versus 80s. Across all ages, adults with lower education levels had higher odds of reporting elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety, an association that also varied by age. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated TVEM's value for studying dynamic associations that vary across chronological age. With the recent availability of free, user-friendly software for implementing TVEM, gerontological researchers have a new tool for exploring complex change processes that characterize older adults' development.

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Disability After Critical Illness.

OBJECTIVES: Factors common to socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, such as low availability of transportation, may limit access to restorative care services for critical illness survivors. Our primary objective was to evaluate whether neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with an increased disability burden after critical illness. Our secondary objective was to determine if the effect differed for those discharged to the community compared with those discharged to a facility. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study with linked Medicare claims data. SETTING: United States. PATIENTS: One hundred ninety-nine older adults, contributing to 239 ICU admissions, who underwent monthly assessments of disability for 12 months following hospital discharge in 13 different functional tasks from 1998 to 2017. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Neighborhood disadvantage was assessed using the area deprivation index, a 1-100 ranking evaluating poverty, housing, and employment metrics. Those living in disadvantaged neighborhoods (top quartile of scores) were less likely to self-identify as non-Hispanic White compared with those in more advantaged neighborhoods. In adjusted models, older adults living in disadvantaged neighborhoods had a 9% higher disability burden over the 12 months following ICU discharge compared with those in more advantaged areas (rate ratio, 1.09; 95% Bayesian credible interval, 1.02-1.16). In the secondary analysis adjusting for discharge destination, neighborhood disadvantage was associated with a 14% increase in disability burden over 12 months of follow-up (rate ratio, 1.14; 95% credible interval, 1.07-1.21). Disability burden was 10% higher for those living in disadvantaged neighborhoods and discharged home as compared with those discharged to a facility, but this difference was not statistically significant (interaction rate ratio, 1.10; 95% credible interval, 0.98-1.25). CONCLUSIONS: Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with a higher disability burden in the 12 months after a critical illness. Future studies should evaluate barriers to functional recovery for ICU survivors living in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Reaction time asymmetries provide insight into mechanisms underlying dominant and non-dominant hand selection.

Handedness is often thought of as a hand "preference" for specific tasks or components of bimanual tasks. Nevertheless, hand selection decisions depend on many factors beyond hand dominance. While these decisions are likely influenced by which hand might show performance advantages for the particular task and conditions, there also appears to be a bias toward the dominant hand, regardless of performance advantage. This study examined the impact of hand selection decisions and workspace location on reaction time and movement quality. Twenty-six neurologically intact participants performed targeted reaching across the horizontal workspace in a 2D virtual reality environment, and we compared reaction time across two groups: those selecting which hand to use on a trial-by-trial basis (termed the choice group) and those performing the task with a preassigned hand (the no-choice group). Along with reaction time, we also compared reach performance for each group across two ipsilateral workspaces: medial and lateral. We observed a significant difference in reaction time between the hands in the choice group, regardless of workspace. In contrast, both hands showed shorter but similar reaction times and differences between the lateral and medial workspaces in the no-choice group. We conclude that the shorter reaction times of the dominant hand under choice conditions may be due to dominant hand bias in the selection process that is not dependent upon interlimb performance differences.

Functional Effects of Intervening Illnesses and Injuries After Hospitalization for Major Surgery in Community-living Older Persons.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the functional effects of intervening illnesses and injuries, that is, events, in the year after major surgery. BACKGROUND: Intervening events have pronounced deleterious effects on functional status in older persons, but have not been carefully evaluated after major surgery. METHODS: From a cohort of 754 community-living persons, aged 70+ years, 317 admissions for major surgery were identified from 244 participants who were discharged from the hospital. Functional status (13 activities) and exposure to intervening hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) visits, and restricted activity were assessed each month. Comprehensive assessments (for covariates) were completed every 18 months. RESULTS: In the year after major surgery, exposure rates (95% CI) per 100-person months to hospitalizations, ED visits, and restricted activity were 10.0 (8.0-12.5), 3.9 (2.8-5.4), and 12.3 (10.2-14.8) for functional recovery and 7.2 (6.1-8.5), 2.5 (1.9-3.2), 11.2 (9.8-12.9) for functional decline. Each of the 3 intervening events were independently associated with reduced recovery, with adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) of 0.20 (0.09-0.47), 0.35 (0.15-0.81), and 0.57 (0.36-0.90) for hospitalizations, ED visits, and restricted activity. For functional decline, the corresponding odds ratios (95% CI) were 5.68 (3.87-8.33), 1.90 (1.13-3.20), and 1.30 (0.96-1.75). The effect sizes for hospitalizations and ED visits were larger than those for the covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Intervening illnesses/injuries are common in the year after major surgery, and those leading to hospitalization and ED visit are strongly associated with adverse functional outcomes, with effect sizes larger than those of traditional risk factors.

Functional Effects of Intervening Illnesses and Injuries After Critical Illness in Older Persons.

OBJECTIVES: Intervening illnesses and injuries have pronounced deleterious effects on functional status in older persons, but have not been carefully evaluated after critical illness. We set out to evaluate the functional effects of intervening illnesses and injuries in the year after critical illness. DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal study of 754 nondisabled community-living persons, 70 years old or older. SETTING: Greater New Haven, CT, from March 1998 to December 2018. PATIENTS: The analytic sample included 250 ICU admissions from 209 community-living participants who were discharged from the hospital. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Functional status (13 activities) and exposure to intervening illnesses and injuries leading to hospitalization, emergency department visit, or restricted activity were assessed each month. Comprehensive assessments (for covariates) were completed every 18 months. In the year after critical illness, recovery of premorbid function was observed for 169 of the ICU admissions (67.6%), and the mean (sd) number of episodes of functional decline (from 1 mo to the next) was 2.2 (1.6). The adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) for recovery were 0.18 (0.09-0.39), 0.46 (0.17-1.26), and 0.75 (0.48-1.18) for intervening hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and restricted activity, respectively. For functional decline, the corresponding odds ratios (95% CI) were 2.06 (1.56-2.73), 1.78 (1.12-2.83), and 1.25 (0.92-1.69). The effect sizes for hospitalization and emergency department visit were larger than those for any of the covariates. CONCLUSIONS: In the year after critical illness, intervening illnesses and injuries leading to hospitalization and emergency department visit are strongly associated with adverse functional outcomes, with effect sizes larger than those of traditional risk factors. To improve functional outcomes, more aggressive efforts will be needed to prevent and manage intervening illnesses and injuries after critical illness.

Predicting 6-Month Mortality for Older Adults Hospitalized With Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Cohort Study.

Background: Older adults with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have higher prevalence of functional impairments, including deficits in cognition, strength, and sensory domains, than their younger counterparts. Objective: To develop and evaluate the prognostic utility of a risk model for 6-month post-AMI mortality in older adults that incorporates information about functional impairments. Design: Prospective cohort study. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01755052). Setting: 94 hospitals throughout the United States. Participants: 3006 persons aged 75 years or older who were hospitalized with AMI and discharged alive. Measurements: Functional impairments were assessed during hospitalization via direct measurement (cognition, mobility, muscle strength) or self-report (vision, hearing). Clinical variables associated with mortality in prior risk models were ascertained by chart review. Seventy-two candidate variables were selected for inclusion, and backward selection and Bayesian model averaging were used to derive (n = 2004 participants) and validate (n = 1002 participants) a model for 6-month mortality. Results: Participants' mean age was 81.5 years, 44.4% were women, and 10.5% were nonwhite. There were 266 deaths (8.8%) within 6 months. The final risk model included 15 variables, 4 of which were not included in prior risk models: hearing impairment, mobility impairment, weight loss, and lower patient-reported health status. The model was well calibrated (Hosmer-Lemeshow P > 0.05) and showed good discrimination (area under the curve for the validation cohort = 0.84). Adding functional impairments significantly improved model performance, as evidenced by category-free net reclassification improvement indices of 0.21 (P = 0.008) for hearing impairment and 0.26 (P < 0.001) for mobility impairment. Limitation: The model was not externally validated. Conclusion: A newly developed model for 6-month post-AMI mortality in older adults was well calibrated and had good discriminatory ability. This model may be useful in decision making at hospital discharge. Primary Funding Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Assessing elderly's functional balance and mobility via analyzing data from waist-mounted tri-axial wearable accelerometers in timed up and go tests.

BACKGROUND: Poor balance has been cited as one of the key causal factors of falls. Timely detection of balance impairment can help identify the elderly prone to falls and also trigger early interventions to prevent them. The goal of this study was to develop a surrogate approach for assessing elderly's functional balance based on Short Form Berg Balance Scale (SFBBS) score. METHODS: Data were collected from a waist-mounted tri-axial accelerometer while participants performed a timed up and go test. Clinically relevant variables were extracted from the segmented accelerometer signals for fitting SFBBS predictive models. Regularized regression together with random-shuffle-split cross-validation was used to facilitate the development of the predictive models for automatic balance estimation. RESULTS: Eighty-five community-dwelling older adults (72.12 ± 6.99 year) participated in our study. Our results demonstrated that combined clinical and sensor-based variables, together with regularized regression and cross-validation, achieved moderate-high predictive accuracy of SFBBS scores (mean MAE = 2.01 and mean RMSE = 2.55). Step length, gender, gait speed and linear acceleration variables describe the motor coordination were identified as significantly contributed variables of balance estimation. The predictive model also showed moderate-high discriminations in classifying the risk levels in the performance of three balance assessment motions in terms of AUC values of 0.72, 0.79 and 0.76 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The study presented a feasible option for quantitatively accurate, objectively measured, and unobtrusively collected functional balance assessment at the point-of-care or home environment. It also provided clinicians and elderly with stable and sensitive biomarkers for long-term monitoring of functional balance.

Factors Associated With Functional Recovery Among Older Survivors of Major Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the current study were 2-fold: first, to evaluate the incidence and time to recovery of premorbid function within 6 months of major surgery and second, to identify factors associated with functional recovery among older persons who survive a major surgery with increased disability. BACKGROUND: Most older persons would not choose a surgical treatment resulting in persistently increased postsurgical disability, even if survival was assured. Potential predictors of functional recovery after major surgery have, however, not been well-studied among geriatric patients. METHODS: It is a prospective longitudinal study of 754 community-living persons 70 years or older. The analytic sample included 266 person-admissions in which participants survived major surgery with increased disability and were monitored on a monthly basis for 6 months. RESULTS: Of the 266 person-admissions assessed, 174 (65.4%) recovered to their presurgical level of function, with median time to recovery of 2 months (interquartile range, 1-3), whereas 16 (6.0%) died. Two factors were significantly associated with an increased likelihood of functional recovery: being nonfrail (hazard ratio 1.60; 95% confidence interval 1.03-2.51; P = 0.038) and having elective surgery (hazard ratio 1.72; 95% confidence interval 1.14-2.59; P = 0.009). Three factors were associated with a reduced likelihood of functional recovery: hearing impairment, greater increase in postsurgical disability in the month after hospital discharge, and years of education. CONCLUSIONS: Among older persons, nonfrailty and elective surgery were positively associated with functional recovery, whereas hearing impairment, greater increases in postsurgical disability, and years of education were associated with higher risk of protracted disability.

Association between treatment of superficial bladder cancer and 10-year mortality in older adults with multiple chronic conditions.

BACKGROUND: Multiple chronic conditions (MCC) are common among older patients with cancer; however, the exclusion of these patients from clinical trials has resulted in scarce knowledge concerning outcomes, resulting in variations in treatment. Superficial bladder cancer (SBC) disproportionately affects older adults, yet to the authors' knowledge few studies to date have examined whether treatment improves long-term survival. In the current study, the authors evaluated the association between treatment of SBC and 10-year mortality in medically complex older adults. METHODS: The authors identified 1800 older (aged ≥60 years) patients with SBC (American Joint Committee on Cancer stage ≤I) from 2 community-based health systems who received treatment (bladder instillation and/or transurethral resection) or observation. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed adjusting for age, sex, race, health system, stage of disease/grade, and MCC (≥2 baseline chronic conditions). Propensity score analysis using stabilized inverse probability of treatment weights was used to compare 10-year mortality in the 2 treatment groups with adjustment for covariates. RESULTS: Overall, 1485 patients (82.5%) and 315 patients (17.5%) received treatment and observation, respectively. In unweighted multivariable analysis, treatment was associated with a 30% reduction in death (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.70; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.58-0.85 [P<.01]) and MCC with a 72% increase in death (adjusted HR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.44-2.05 [P<.01]). Weighted analysis with adjustment (doubly robust) also demonstrated a survival benefit for treatment (adjusted HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.52-0.84 [P<.01]). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study demonstrated a clinically meaningful association between cancer treatment and survival benefit in older, medically complex patients with SBC, even after adjustment for medical complexity. These data provide a foundation for future work aimed at personalizing the treatment guidance of older patients with cancer with MCC.

Factors Associated with Functional Recovery among Older Intensive Care Unit Survivors.

RATIONALE: Most of the 1.4 million older adults who survive the intensive care unit (ICU) annually in the United States face increased disability, but little is known about those who achieve functional recovery. OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were twofold: to evaluate the incidence and time to recovery of premorbid function within 6 months of a critical illness and to identify independent predictors of functional recovery among older ICU survivors. METHODS: Potential participants included 754 persons aged 70 years or older who were evaluated monthly in 13 functional activities (1998-2012). The analytic sample included 218 ICU admissions from 186 ICU survivors. Functional recovery was defined as returning to a disability count less than or equal to the pre-ICU disability count within 6 months. Twenty-one potential predictors were evaluated for their associations with recovery. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Functional recovery was observed for 114 (52.3%) of the 218 admissions. In multivariable analysis, higher body mass index (hazard ratio [HR], 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.12) and greater functional self-efficacy (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.08), a measure of confidence in performing various activities, were associated with recovery, whereas pre-ICU impairment in hearing (HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.22-0.66) and vision (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.37-0.95) were associated with a lack of recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Among older adults who survived an ICU admission with increased disability, pre-ICU hearing and vision impairment were strongly associated with poor functional recovery within 6 months, whereas higher body mass index and functional self-efficacy were associated with recovery. Future research is needed to evaluate whether interventions targeting these factors improve functional outcomes among older ICU survivors.

Mortality among patients with pleural effusion undergoing thoracentesis.

Of the 1.5 million people diagnosed with pleural effusion in the USA annually, ~178 000 undergo thoracentesis. While it is known that malignant pleural effusion portends a poor prognosis, mortality of patients with nonmalignant effusions has not been well studied.This prospective cohort study evaluated 308 patients undergoing thoracentesis. Chart review was performed to obtain baseline characteristics. The aetiology of the effusions was determined using standardised criteria. Mortality was determined at 30 days and 1 year.247 unilateral and 61 bilateral thoracenteses were performed. Malignant effusion had the highest 30-day (37%) and 1-year (77%) mortality. There was substantial patient 30-day and 1-year mortality with effusions due to multiple benign aetiologies (29% and 55%), congestive heart failure (22% and 53%), and renal failure (14% and 57%, respectively). Patients with bilateral, relative to unilateral, pleural effusion were associated with higher risk of death at 30 days and 1 year (17% versus 47% (hazard ratio (HR) 2.58, 95% CI 1.44-4.63) and 36% versus 69% (HR 2.32, 95% CI 1.55-3.48), respectively).Patients undergoing thoracentesis for pleural effusion have high short- and long-term mortality. Patients with malignant effusion had the highest mortality followed by multiple benign aetiologies, congestive heart failure and renal failure. Bilateral pleural effusion is distinctly associated with high mortality.

Association of cumulative dose of haloperidol with next-day delirium in older medical ICU patients.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between cumulative dose of haloperidol and next-day diagnosis of delirium in a cohort of older medical ICU patients, with adjustment for its time-dependent confounding with fentanyl and intubation. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study. SETTING: Medical ICU at an urban, academic medical center. PATIENTS: Age 60 years and older admitted to the medical ICU who received at least one dose of haloperidol (n = 93). Of these, 72 patients were intubated at some point in their medical ICU stay, whereas 21 were never intubated. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Detailed data were collected concerning time, dosage, route of administration of all medications, as well as for important clinical covariates, and daily status of intubation and delirium using the confusion assessment method for the ICU and a chart-based algorithm. Among nonintubated patients, and after adjustment for time-dependent confounding and important covariates, each additional cumulative milligram of haloperidol was associated with 5% higher odds of next-day delirium with odds ratio of 1.05 (credible interval [CI], 1.02-1.09). After adjustment for time-dependent confounding and covariates, intubation was associated with a five-fold increase in odds of next-day delirium with odds ratio of 5.66 (CI, 2.70-12.02). Cumulative dose of haloperidol among intubated patients did not change their already high likelihood of next-day delirium. After adjustment for time-dependent confounding, the positive associations between indicators of intubation and of cognitive impairment and next-day delirium became stronger. CONCLUSIONS: These results emphasize the need for more studies regarding the efficacy of haloperidol for treatment of delirium among older medical ICU patients and demonstrate the value of assessing nonintubated patients.

Associations between provider designation and female-specific cancer screening in women Veterans.

BACKGROUND: In 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (VA) implemented policy to provide Comprehensive Primary Care (for acute, chronic, and female-specific care) from designated Women's Health providers (DWHPs) at all VA sites. However, since that time no comparisons of quality measures have been available to assess the level of care for women Veterans assigned to these providers. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the associations between cervical and breast cancer screening rates among age-appropriate women Veterans and designation of primary-care provider (DWHP vs. non-DWHP). RESEARCH DESIGN: Cross-sectional analyses using the fiscal year 2012 data on VA women's health providers, administrative files, and patient-specific quality measures. SUBJECTS: The sample included 37,128 women Veterans aged 21 through 69 years. MEASURES: Variables included patient demographic and clinical factors (ie, age, race, ethnicity, mental health diagnoses, obesity, and site), and provider factors (ie, DWHP status, sex, and panel size). Screening measures were defined by age-appropriate subgroups using VA national guidelines. RESULTS: Female-specific cancer screening rates were higher among patients assigned to DWHPs (cervical cytology 94.4% vs. 91.9%, P<0.0001; mammography 86.3% vs. 83.3%, P<0.0001). In multivariable models with adjustment for patient and provider characteristics, patients assigned to DWHPs had higher odds of cervical cancer screening (odds ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.47; P<0.0001) and breast cancer screening (odds ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.10-1.39; P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: As the proportion of women Veterans increases, assignment to DWHPs may raise rate of female-specific cancer screening within VA. Separate evaluation of sex neutral measures is needed to determine whether other measures accrue benefits for patients with DWHPs.

Functional status after critical illness: agreement between patient and proxy assessments.

BACKGROUND: assessment of baseline functional status of older patients during and after intensive care unit (ICU) admission is often hampered by challenges related to the critical illness such as cognitive dysfunction, neuropsychological morbidity and pain. To explore the reliability of assessments by carefully chosen proxies, we designed a discriminating selection of proxies and evaluated agreement between patient and proxy responses by assessing activities of daily living (ADLs) at 1 month post-ICU discharge. METHODS: patients ≥60 years old admitted to the medical ICU were enrolled in a prospective parent cohort studying delirium. Proxies were carefully screened at ICU admission to choose the best available respondent. Follow-up interviews, including instruments for ADLs, were conducted 1 month after ICU discharge. We examined 179 paired patient-proxy follow-up interviews. Kappa statistics assessed inter-observer agreement, and McNemar's exact test assessed response differences. RESULTS: patients averaged 73.3 ± 8.1 years old with 29% having evidence of cognitive impairment. Proxies were most commonly spouses (38%) or children (39%). Overall, there was substantial (κ ≥ 0.6) to excellent agreement (κ ≥ 0.8) between patients and proxies on assessment of all but one basic and one instrumental ADL. CONCLUSION: proxies carefully chosen at ICU admission show high levels of inter-observer agreement with older patients when assessing current functional status at 1 month post-ICU discharge. This motivates further study of proxy assessments that could be used earlier in critical illness to assess premorbid functional status.

A longitudinal, observational study with many repeated measures demonstrated improved precision of individual survival curves using Bayesian joint modeling of disability and survival.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: It has not been previously demonstrated whether Bayesian joint modeling (BJM) of disability and survival can, under certain conditions, improve precision of individual survival curves. METHODS: A longitudinal, observational study wherein 754 initially nondisabled community-dwelling adults in greater New Haven, Connecticut, were observed on a monthly basis for over 10 years. RESULTS: In this study, BJM exploited many monthly observations to demonstrate, relative to a separate survival model with adjustment, improved precision of individual survival curves, permitting detection of significant differences between survival curves of two similar individuals. The gain in precision was lost when using only those observations from intervals of 6, 9, or 12 months. CONCLUSION: When there are many repeated measures, BJM of longitudinal functional disability and interval-censored survival can potentially increase the precision of individual survival curves relative to those from a separate survival model. This may facilitate the identification of significant differences between individual survival curves, a useful result usually precluded by the large variability inherent to individual-level estimates from stand-alone survival models.

Baseline cluster membership demonstrates positive associations with first occurrence of multiple gerontologic outcomes over 10 years.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: The potential of cluster analysis (CA) as a baseline predictor of multivariate gerontologic outcomes over a long period of time has not been previously demonstrated. METHODS: Restricting candidate variables to a small group of established predictors of deleterious gerontologic outcomes, various CA methods were applied to baseline values from 754 nondisabled, community-living persons, aged 70 years or older. The best cluster solution yielded at baseline was subsequently used as a fixed explanatory variable in time-to-event models of the first occurrence of the following outcomes: any disability in four activities of daily living, any disability in four mobility measures, and death. Each outcome was recorded through a maximum of 129 months or death. Associations between baseline ordinal cluster level and first occurrence of all three outcomes were modeled over a 10-year period with proportional hazards regression and compared with the associations yielded by the analogous latent class analysis (LCA) solution. RESULTS: The final cluster-defining variables were continuous measures of cognitive status and depressive symptoms, and dichotomous indicators of slow gait and exhaustion. The best solution yielded by baseline values of these variables was obtained with a K-means algorithm and cosine similarity and consisted of three clusters representing increasing levels of impairment. After adjustment for age, sex, ethnic group, and number of chronic conditions, baseline ordinal cluster level demonstrated significantly positive associations with all three outcomes over a 10-year period that were equivalent to those from the corresponding LCA solution. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that baseline clusters based on previously established explanatory variables have potential to predict multivariate gerontologic outcomes over a long period of time.