RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The magnitude of the relationship between ambulatory care fragmentation and subsequent total health care costs is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between ambulatory care fragmentation and total health care costs. RESEARCH DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis of 15 years of data (2004-2018) from the national Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, linked to Medicare fee-for-service claims. SUBJECTS: A total of 13,680 Medicare beneficiaries who are 65 years and older. MEASURES: We measured ambulatory care fragmentation in each calendar year, defining high fragmentation as a reversed Bice-Boxerman Index ≥0.85 and low as <0.85. We used generalized linear models to determine the association between ambulatory care fragmentation in 1 year and total Medicare expenditures (costs) in the following year, adjusting for baseline demographic and clinical characteristics, a time-varying comorbidity index, and accounting for geographic variation in reimbursement and inflation. RESULTS: The average participant was 70.9 years old; approximately half (53%) were women. One-fourth (26%) of participants had high fragmentation in the first year of observation. Those participants had a median of 9 visits to 6 providers, with the most frequently seen provider accounting for 29% of visits. By contrast, participants with low fragmentation had a median of 8 visits to 3 providers, with the most frequently seen provider accounting for 50% of visits. High fragmentation was associated with $1085 more in total adjusted costs per person per year (95% CI $713 to $1457) than low fragmentation. CONCLUSIONS: Highly fragmented ambulatory care in 1 year is independently associated with higher total costs the following year.
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Planos de Pagamento por Serviço Prestado , Medicare , Humanos , Estados Unidos , Feminino , Idoso , Masculino , Custos de Cuidados de Saúde , Gastos em Saúde , Assistência AmbulatorialRESUMO
BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether highly fragmented ambulatory care (i.e., care spread across multiple providers without a dominant provider) increases the risk of an emergency department (ED) visit. Whether any such association varies with race is unknown. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether highly fragmented ambulatory care increases the risk of an ED visit, overall and by race. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: We analyzed data for 14,361 participants ≥ 65 years old from the nationwide prospective REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort study, linked to Medicare claims (2003-2016). MAIN MEASURES: We defined high fragmentation as a reversed Bice-Boxerman Index ≥ 0.85 (≥ 75th percentile). We used Poisson models to determine the association between fragmentation (as a time-varying exposure) and ED visits, overall and stratified by race, adjusting for demographics, medical conditions, medications, health behaviors, psychosocial variables, and physiologic variables. KEY RESULTS: The average participant was 70.5 years old; 53% were female, and 33% were Black individuals. Participants with high fragmentation had a median of 9 visits to 6 providers, with 29% of visits by the most frequently seen provider; participants with low fragmentation had a median of 7 visits to 3 providers, with 50% of visits by the most frequently seen provider. Overall, high fragmentation was associated with more ED visits than low fragmentation (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29, 1.34). The magnitude of this association was larger among Black (aRR 1.48, 95% CI 1.44, 1.53) than White participants (aRR 1.23, 95% CI 1.20, 1.25). CONCLUSIONS: Highly fragmented ambulatory care was an independent predictor of ED visits, especially among Black individuals.
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Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência , Medicare , Idoso , Humanos , Estados Unidos/epidemiologia , Feminino , Masculino , Estudos de Coortes , Estudos Prospectivos , Assistência AmbulatorialRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Allostatic load (AL) is the physiologic "wear and tear" on the body from stress. Yet, despite stress being implicated in the development heart failure (HF), it is unknown whether AL is associated with incident HF events. METHODS: We examined 16,765 participants without HF at baseline from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort. The main exposure was AL score quartile. AL was determined according to 11 physiologic parameters, whereby each parameter was assigned points (0-3) based on quartiles within the sample, and points were summed to create a total AL score ranging from 0-33. The outcome was incident HF event. We examined the association between AL quartile (Q1-Q4) and incident HF events using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for demographics, socioeconomic factors, and lifestyle. RESULTS: The mean age was 64 ± 9.6 years, 61.5% were women, and 38.7% were Black participants. Over a median follow up of 11.4 years, we observed 750 incident HF events (635 HF hospitalizations and 115 HF deaths). Compared to the lowest AL quartile (Q1), the fully adjusted hazards of an incident HF event increased in a graded fashion: Q2 HR 1.49 95% CI 1.12-1.98; Q3 HR 2.47 95% CI 1.89-3.23; Q4 HR 4.28 95% CI 3.28-5.59. The HRs for incident HF event in the fully adjusted model that also adjusted for CAD were attenuated, but remained significant and increased in a similar, graded fashion by AL quartile. There was a significant age interaction (p-for-interaction < 0.001), whereby the associations were observed across each age stratum, but the HRs were highest among those aged < 65 years. CONCLUSION: AL was associated with incident HF events, suggesting that AL could be an important risk factor and potential target for future interventions to prevent HF.
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Alostase , Insuficiência Cardíaca , Acidente Vascular Cerebral , Humanos , Feminino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Idoso , Masculino , Fatores Raciais , Insuficiência Cardíaca/diagnóstico , Insuficiência Cardíaca/epidemiologia , Insuficiência Cardíaca/etiologia , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/diagnóstico , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/epidemiologia , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/complicações , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: We sought to better understand patterns of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) from the Beers criteria among older adults hospitalized with heart failure (HF). This observational study of hospitalizations was derived from the geographically diverse REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke cohort. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined participants aged 65 years and older with an expert-adjudicated hospitalization for HF. The Beers criteria medications were abstracted from medical records. The prevalence of PIMs was 61.1% at admission and 64.0% at discharge. Participants were taking a median of 1 PIM (interquartile range [IQR] 0-1 PIM) at hospital admission and a median of 1 PIM (IQR 0-2 PIM) at hospital discharge. Between admission and discharge, 19.1% of patients experienced an increase in the number of PIMs, 15.1% experienced a decrease, and 37% remained on the same number between hospital admission and discharge. The medications with the greatest increase from admission to discharge were proton pump inhibitors (32.6% to 38.6%) and amiodarone (6.2% to 12.2%). The strongest determinant of potentially harmful prescribing patterns was polypharmacy (relative risk 1.34, 95% confidence interval 1.16-1.55, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: PIMs are common among older adults hospitalized for HF and may be an important target to improve outcomes in this vulnerable population.
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Insuficiência Cardíaca , Lista de Medicamentos Potencialmente Inapropriados , Idoso , Insuficiência Cardíaca/tratamento farmacológico , Insuficiência Cardíaca/epidemiologia , Hospitalização , Humanos , Prescrição Inadequada , PrescriçõesRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The relationship between psychological stress and heart failure (HF) has not been well studied. We sought to assess the relationship between perceived stress and incident HF. METHODS: We used data from the national REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a large prospective biracial cohort study that enrolled community-dwellers aged 45 years and older between 2003 and 2007, with follow-up. We included participants free of suspected prevalent HF who completed the Cohen 4-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4). Our outcome variables were incident HF event, HF with reduced ejection fraction events, and HF with preserved ejection fraction events. We estimated Cox proportional hazard models to determine if PSS-4 quartiles were independently associated with incident HF events, adjusting for sociodemographics, social support, unhealthy behaviors, comorbid conditions, and physiologic parameters. We also tested interactions by baseline statin use, given its anti-inflammatory properties. RESULTS: Among 25,785 participants with a mean age of 64 ± 9.3 years, 55% were female and 40% were Black. Over a median follow-up of 10.1 years, 1109 ± 4.3% experienced an incident HF event. In fully adjusted models, the PSS-4 was not associated with HF or HF with reduced ejection fraction. However, PSS-4 quartiles 2-4 (compared with the lowest quartile) were associated with incident HF with preserved ejection fraction (Q2 hazard ratio 1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.00-1.88; Q3 hazard ratio 1.42, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.95; Q4 hazard ratio 1.41, 95% confidence interval 1.04-1.92). Notably, this association was attenuated among participants who took a statin at baseline (P for interactionâ¯=â¯.07). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated perceived stress was associated with incident HF with preserved ejection fraction but not HF with reduced ejection fraction.
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Insuficiência Cardíaca , Inibidores de Hidroximetilglutaril-CoA Redutases , Idoso , Estudos de Coortes , Feminino , Insuficiência Cardíaca/diagnóstico , Insuficiência Cardíaca/epidemiologia , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Prospectivos , Fatores de Risco , Estresse Psicológico/epidemiologia , Volume Sistólico/fisiologiaRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to describe how the relationship between waist circumference and incident coronary heart disease (CHD) is influenced by individual and neighborhood factors in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study. METHODS: REGARDS is a cohort study of 30,239 US adults. The primary exposure was sex-specific quartiles of waist circumference. Individual covariates included sociodemographic characteristics, health status, health behavior, and usual source of care. Neighborhood (ie, zip code-level) covariates included access to primary care, poverty, rurality, and racial segregation. The main outcome was incident CHD from baseline (2003) through 2017. We used descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier curves, and Cox proportional hazard models to analyze the overall sample and race-sex subgroups. RESULTS: During the study period, 23,042 study participants had 1,499 CHD events. We found a higher risk of incident CHD in the upper quartile of waist circumference compared with the first quartile in all 4 race-sex subgroups except African American men, among whom we found no relationship between waist circumference and incident CHD. Covariates did not attenuate these relationships. CONCLUSION: In all groups except African American men, waist circumference in the highest quartile was associated with increased risk of incident CHD. Individual and neighborhood factors did not influence the relationship between waist circumference and development of CHD but differentially influenced incident CHD among race-sex subgroups.
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Doença das Coronárias , Acidente Vascular Cerebral , Adulto , Estudos de Coortes , Doença das Coronárias/epidemiologia , Feminino , Humanos , Incidência , Masculino , Fatores Raciais , Fatores de Risco , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/complicações , Acidente Vascular Cerebral/epidemiologia , Circunferência da CinturaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Home care workers (HCWs) are increasingly caring for patients with heart failure (HF). Previous studies have shown that they contribute to HF patients' care, but how their preparedness and their relationship with patients (mutuality) influence caregiving is unknown, as well as the role of HCWs' self-efficacy. OBJECTIVE: Guided by the Situation-Specific Theory of Caregiver Contribution to HF Self-Care, we investigated the influence of HCWs' preparedness and mutuality on HCWs' contribution to HF self-care and the mediating effect of HCWs' self-efficacy in the process. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of HCWs who cared for patients with HF. The survey included the Caregiver Preparedness Scale, Mutuality Scale, Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of HF Index, and Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Contributing to Self-Care Scale. We performed structural equation modeling and a mediation analysis. RESULTS: A total of 317 HCWs employed by 22 unique home care agencies across New York, NY, completed the survey. They had a median age of 50 years, 94% were women, and 44% were non-Hispanic Black. Results demonstrated that mutuality had a direct influence on HCW contribution to self-care and preparedness influenced their contribution to self-care, but only through the mediation of self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: Home care workers' preparedness, mutuality, and self-efficacy have important roles in influencing their contribution to HF self-care. As a workforce increasingly involved in the care of patients with HF, knowing the mechanisms underpinning HCWs' contribution to self-care may illuminate future interventions aimed at improving their contributions and HF patient outcomes.
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Insuficiência Cardíaca , Serviços de Assistência Domiciliar , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Insuficiência Cardíaca/terapia , Humanos , Análise de Classes Latentes , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Autocuidado , Autoeficácia , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet pattern has shown some promise for preventing heart failure (HF), but studies have been conflicting. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the DASH diet pattern was associated with incident HF in a large biracial and geographically diverse population. METHODS AND RESULTS: Among participants in the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort study of adults aged ≥45 years who were free of suspected HF at baseline in 2003-2007, the DASH diet score was derived from the baseline food frequency questionnaire. The main outcome was incident HF defined as the first adjudicated HF hospitalization or HF death through December 31, 2016. We estimated hazard ratios for the associations of DASH diet score quartiles with incident HF, and incident HF with reduced ejection fraction and HF with preserved ejection fraction using the Lunn-McNeil extension to the Cox model. We tested for several prespecified interactions, including with age. Compared with the lowest quartile, individuals in the second to fourth DASH diet score quartiles had a lower risk for incident HF after adjustment for sociodemographic and health characteristics: quartile 2 hazard ratio, 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56-0.85); quartile 3 hazard ratio, 0.71 (95% CI, 0.58-0.87); and quartile 4 hazard ratio, 0.73 (95% CI, 0.58-0.92). When stratifying results by age, quartiles 2-4 had a lower hazard for incident HF among those age <65 years, quartiles 3-4 had a lower hazard among those age 65-74, and the quartiles had similar hazard among those age ≥75 years (Pinteractionâ¯=â¯.003). We did not find a difference in the association of DASH diet with incident HF with reduced ejection fraction vs HF with preserved ejection fraction (Pâ¯=â¯.11). CONCLUSIONS: DASH diet adherence was inversely associated with incident HF, specifically among individuals <75 years old.
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Abordagens Dietéticas para Conter a Hipertensão , Insuficiência Cardíaca , Adulto , Idoso , Estudos de Coortes , Dieta , Insuficiência Cardíaca/epidemiologia , Insuficiência Cardíaca/prevenção & controle , Humanos , IncidênciaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that highly fragmented ambulatory care increases the risk of subsequent hospitalization, but those studies used claims only and were not able to adjust for many clinical potential confounders. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the association between fragmented ambulatory care and subsequent hospitalization, adjusting for demographics, medical conditions, medications, health behaviors, psychosocial variables, and physiological variables. DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis of data (2003-2016) from the nationwide REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, linked to Medicare fee-for-service claims. SUBJECTS: A total of 12,693 Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older from the REGARDS study who had at least 4 ambulatory visits in the first year of observation and did not have a hospitalization in the prior year. MEASURES: We defined high fragmentation as a reversed Bice-Boxerman score above the 75th percentile. We used Cox proportional hazards models to determine the association between fragmentation as a time-varying exposure and incident hospitalization in the 3 months following each exposure period. RESULTS: The mean age was 70.4 years; 54% were women, and 33% were African American. During the first year of observation, participants with high fragmentation had a median of 8 ambulatory visits with 6 providers, whereas participants with low fragmentation had a median of 7 visits with 3 providers. Over 11.8 years of follow-up, 6947 participants (55%) had a hospitalization. High fragmentation was associated with an increased hazard of hospitalization (adjusted hazard ratio=1.18; 95% confidence interval: 1.12, 1.24). CONCLUSION: Highly fragmented ambulatory care is an independent risk factor for hospitalization.
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Assistência Ambulatorial/estatística & dados numéricos , Hospitalização/estatística & dados numéricos , Fatores Etários , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Continuidade da Assistência ao Paciente/estatística & dados numéricos , Planos de Pagamento por Serviço Prestado , Feminino , Comportamentos Relacionados com a Saúde , Humanos , Estudos Longitudinais , Masculino , Medicare/estatística & dados numéricos , Modelos de Riscos Proporcionais , Grupos Raciais , Fatores de Risco , Fatores Sexuais , Fatores Socioeconômicos , Estados UnidosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Highly fragmented ambulatory care (i.e., care spread across many providers without a dominant provider) has been associated with excess tests, procedures, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. Whether fragmented care is associated with worse health outcomes, or whether any association varies with health status, is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether fragmented care is associated with the risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) events, overall and stratified by self-rated general health. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted a secondary analysis of the nationwide prospective Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort study (2003-2016). We included participants who were ≥ 65 years old, had linked Medicare fee-for-service claims, and had no history of CHD (N = 10,556). MAIN MEASURES: We measured fragmentation with the reversed Bice-Boxerman Index. We used Cox proportional hazards models to determine the association between fragmentation as a time-varying exposure and adjudicated incident CHD events in the 3 months following each exposure period. KEY RESULTS: The mean age was 70 years; 57% were women, and 34% were African-American. Over 11.8 years of follow-up, 569 participants had CHD events. Overall, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the association between high fragmentation and incident CHD events was 1.14 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.92, 1.39). Among those with very good or good self-rated health, high fragmentation was associated with an increased hazard of CHD events (adjusted HR 1.35; 95% CI 1.06, 1.73; p = 0.01). Among those with fair or poor self-rated health, high fragmentation was associated with a trend toward a decreased hazard of CHD events (adjusted HR 0.54; 95% CI 0.29, 1.01; p = 0.052). There was no association among those with excellent self-rated health. CONCLUSION: High fragmentation was associated with an increased independent risk of incident CHD events among those with very good or good self-rated health.
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Doença das Coronárias , Medicare , Idoso , Estudos de Coortes , Doença das Coronárias/diagnóstico , Doença das Coronárias/epidemiologia , Atenção à Saúde , Feminino , Humanos , Incidência , Masculino , Estudos Prospectivos , Fatores de Risco , Estados Unidos/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Objectives. To determine the prevalence and predictors of US home health care workers' (HHWs') self-reported general, physical, and mental health. Methods. Using the 2014-2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we analyzed the characteristics and health of 2987 HHWs (weighted n = 659 000) compared with 2 similar low-wage worker groups (health care aides and health care support workers, not working in the home). We conducted multivariable logistic regression to determine which characteristics predicted HHWs' health. Results. Overall, 26.6% of HHWs had fair or poor general health, 14.1% had poor physical health, and 20.9% had poor mental health; the prevalence of each outcome was significantly higher than that of the comparison groups. Among HHWs, certain factors, such as low household income, an inability to see a doctor because of cost, and a history of depression, were associated with all 3 aspects of suboptimal health. Conclusions. HHWs had worse general, physical, and mental health compared with low-wage workers not in home health. Public Health Implications. Increased attention to the health of HHWs by public health experts and policymakers is warranted. In addition, targeted interventions appropriate to their specific health needs may be required. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(12):2239-2250. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306512).
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Nível de Saúde , Visitadores Domiciliares/estatística & dados numéricos , Saúde Mental/estatística & dados numéricos , Adulto , Pessoal Técnico de Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Sistema de Vigilância de Fator de Risco Comportamental , Feminino , Visitadores Domiciliares/psicologia , Humanos , Renda , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estresse Ocupacional/epidemiologia , PrevalênciaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: More fragmented ambulatory care (i.e., care spread across many providers without a dominant provider) has been associated with more subsequent healthcare utilization (such as more tests, procedures, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations) than less fragmented ambulatory care. It is not known if race and socioeconomic status are associated with fragmented ambulatory care. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal analysis of data from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, using the REGARDS baseline visit plus the first year of follow-up. We included participants ≥65 years old, who had linked fee-for-service Medicare claims, and ≥ 4 ambulatory visits in the first year of follow-up. We used Tobit regression to determine the associations between race, annual household income, and educational attainment at baseline and fragmentation score in the subsequent year (as measured with the reversed Bice-Boxerman Index). Covariates included other demographic characteristics, medical conditions, medication use, health behaviors, and psychosocial variables. Additional analyses categorized visits by the type of provider (primary care vs. specialist). RESULTS: The study participants (N = 6799) had an average age of 73.0 years, 53% were female, and 30% were black. Nearly half had low annual household income (<$35,000) and 41% had a high school education or less. Overall, participants had a median of 10 ambulatory visits to 4 providers in the 12 months following their baseline study visit. Participants in the highest quintile of fragmentation scores had a median of 11 visits to 7 providers. Black race was associated with an absolute adjusted 3% lower fragmentation score compared to white race (95% confidence interval (2% lower to 4% lower; p < 0.001). This difference was explained by blacks seeing fewer specialists than whites. Income and education were not independent predictors of fragmentation scores. CONCLUSIONS: Among Medicare beneficiaries, blacks had less fragmented ambulatory care than whites, due to lower utilization of specialty care. Future research is needed to determine the effect of fragmented care on health outcomes for blacks and whites.
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Assistência Ambulatorial , Medicare , Idoso , Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência , Planos de Pagamento por Serviço Prestado , Feminino , Hospitalização , Humanos , Masculino , Estados Unidos/epidemiologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Few published articles have focused on identifying the gaps in care that follow a malnutrition diagnosis and their effects on length of stay (LOS) and 90-day readmission. We hypothesized that length of stay and readmission were associated with these gaps in care. METHODS: Two registered dietitians retrospectively reviewed charts of 229 adult malnourished patients admitted to a medicine unit to determine their system level gap in care: communication, test delay, or discharge planning. In this secondary analysis, both readmission and length of stay were regressed on each gap in care. RESULTS: Any system level gap was associated with a greater length of stay (ß: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.15-1.91) and specifically the gap related to procedure/testing (ß: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.62-2.47) resulted in a two-fold increase in length of stay. There was no association between 90-day readmission and any of the gaps in care. CONCLUSIONS: There was a strong association between those who had any gap in their care and increased length of stay. Mitigating gaps in care may decrease length of stay and, in turn, result in less risk of infection and could potentially lead to reduced healthcare costs.
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Atenção à Saúde/normas , Tempo de Internação/estatística & dados numéricos , Desnutrição/terapia , Readmissão do Paciente/estatística & dados numéricos , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Feminino , Custos de Cuidados de Saúde , Hospitalização/estatística & dados numéricos , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Alta do Paciente , Estudos RetrospectivosAssuntos
Infecções por Coronavirus/epidemiologia , Infecções por Coronavirus/fisiopatologia , Pneumonia Viral/epidemiologia , Pneumonia Viral/fisiopatologia , Idoso , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Infecções por Coronavirus/terapia , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Cidade de Nova Iorque/epidemiologia , Obesidade/complicações , Pandemias , Pneumonia Viral/terapia , Respiração Artificial , Estudos Retrospectivos , SARS-CoV-2Assuntos
Infecções por Coronavirus/epidemiologia , Obesidade/epidemiologia , Pneumonia Viral/epidemiologia , Insuficiência Respiratória/virologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Betacoronavirus , Índice de Massa Corporal , COVID-19 , Estudos de Coortes , Feminino , Mortalidade Hospitalar , Hospitalização , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Cidade de Nova Iorque/epidemiologia , Pandemias , Insuficiência Respiratória/epidemiologia , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fatores de Risco , SARS-CoV-2 , Adulto JovemRESUMO
The association between depression and ambulatory care utilization is unclear. The authors sought to determine the association between untreated depression and ambulatory care utilization, including the extent to which care is fragmented, or spread across providers. The authors conducted a longitudinal study using data from the nationwide REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study linked to Medicare fee-for-service claims (N = 1412). They categorized participants into three study groups, based on self-reported depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale score ≥ 4) and a medication inventory for antidepressants: Symptomatic Untreated (SU), Symptomatic Treated (ST), and Asymptomatic Treated (AT). The authors used descriptive statistics to characterize ambulatory care patterns by study group. They determined the association between the study group and fragmentation score (with high fragmentation defined as a reversed Bice-Boxerman Index ≥ 0.85) using multivariable logistic regression. All groups had similar numbers of primary care visits, but the SU group had the fewest specialist visits. The SU group had the lowest proportion of participants who received care from a psychiatrist (3.4% vs. 10.7% for ST and 11.9% for AT, pairwise P-values < 0.001). The SU group was the least likely to have highly fragmented care (adjusted odds ratio 0.68; 95% confidence interval 0.48, 0.95, compared with the ST group). These results suggest that older adults with untreated depression are not engaged in excess care-seeking behaviors. Rather, the results suggest undertreatment of depression in primary care and underutilization of psychiatric care.
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Background: Social determinants of health (SDOH) have been associated with diabetes risk; however, their association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in individuals with diabetes is poorly described. We hypothesized that a greater number of SDOH among individuals with diabetes would be associated with a higher risk of CVD events. Methods: The REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study is a national, biracial cohort of 30,239 individuals ≥45 years old recruited in 2003-2007. We included 6,322 participants with diabetes at baseline, defined as healthcare professional diagnosis, diabetes medication use, or blood glucose values. Seven SDOH that were individually associated with CVD events were included (P<0.20). The outcome was CVD events, a composite of expert-adjudicated myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death. We estimated Cox proportional hazard models to examine associations between number of SDOH (0, 1, 2, ≥3) and CVD events. Results: In an age and sex adjusted model, the presence of multiple SDOH significantly increased the risk of any CVD event (hazard ratio [HR], 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26 to 1.74 for two SDOH; HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.43 to 1.96 for ≥3 SDOH). This finding was attenuated but remained statistically significant in a fully adjusted model (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.40 for two SDOH; HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.50 for ≥3 SDOH). Conclusion: Having multiple SDOH was independently associated with an increased risk of CVD events, a finding driven by cardiovascular death. Identifying individuals with diabetes who have multiple SDOH may be helpful for detecting those at higher risk of experiencing or dying from CVD events.
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BACKGROUND: There is no standardised approach to screening adults for social risk factors. The goal of this study was to develop mortality risk prediction models based on the social determinants of health (SDoH) for clinical risk stratification. METHODS: Data were used from REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a national, population-based, longitudinal cohort of black and white Americans aged ≥45 recruited between 2003 and 2007. Analysis was limited to participants with available SDoH and mortality data (n=20 843). All-cause mortality, available through 31 December 2018, was modelled using Cox proportional hazards with baseline individual, area-level and business-level SDoH as predictors. The area-level Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was included for comparison. All models were adjusted for age, sex and sampling region and underwent internal split-sample validation. RESULTS: The baseline prediction model including only age, sex and REGARDS sampling region had a c-statistic of 0.699. An individual-level SDoH model (Model 1) had a higher c-statistic than the SVI (0.723 vs 0.708, p<0.001) in the testing set. Sequentially adding area-level SDoH (c-statistic 0.723) and business-level SDoH (c-statistics 0.723) to Model 1 had minimal improvement in model discrimination. Structural racism variables were associated with all-cause mortality for black participants but did not improve model discrimination compared with Model 1 (p=0.175). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, SDoH can improve mortality prediction over 10 years relative to a baseline model and have the potential to identify high-risk patients for further evaluation or intervention if validated externally.
Assuntos
Mortalidade , Determinantes Sociais da Saúde , Humanos , Feminino , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Idoso , Mortalidade/tendências , Estudos Longitudinais , Medição de Risco , Estados Unidos/epidemiologia , Modelos de Riscos Proporcionais , Negro ou Afro-Americano/estatística & dados numéricos , População Branca/estatística & dados numéricos , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with high and low "voice"-or level of input in patient care decisions-among home care workers (HCWs), an often marginalized workforce that provides care in the home to older adults and those with chronic conditions. DESIGN: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional survey assessing experiences of HCWs in caring for adults with heart failure. The survey measured HCWs' voice using a validated, 5-item instrument. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The survey was conducted virtually from June 2020 to July 2021 in partnership with the 1199 Service Employees International Union (1199SEIU) Training and Employment Funds, a union labor management fund. English- or Spanish-speaking HCWs employed by a certified or licensed home care agency in New York, NY, were eligible. METHODS: HCW voice was the main outcome of interest, which we assessed by tertiles (low, medium, and high, with medium as the referent group). Using multinominal logistic regression, we calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for the relationship between participant characteristics and low and high levels of voice. RESULTS: The 261 HCWs had a mean age of 48.4 years (SD 11.9), 96.6% were female, and 44.2% identified as Hispanic. A total of 38.7% had low voice, 37.9% had medium voice, and 23.4% had high voice. In the adjusted model, factors associated with low voice included Spanish as a primary language (OR 3.71, P = .001), depersonalization-related burnout (OR 1.14, P = .04), and knowing which doctor to call (OR 0.19, P < .001). Factors associated with high voice included Spanish as a primary language (OR 2.61, P = .04) and job satisfaction (OR 1.22, P = .001). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Organizational factors such as team communication practices-including among non-English speakers-may play an important role in HCW voice. Improving HCW voice may help retain HCWs in the workforce, but future research is needed to evaluate this.
Assuntos
Visitadores Domiciliares , Humanos , Feminino , Masculino , Estudos Transversais , Visitadores Domiciliares/psicologia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Adulto , Inquéritos e Questionários , Insuficiência Cardíaca/terapiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: One-third of people living with dementia (PLWD) have highly fragmented care (i.e., care spread across many ambulatory providers without a dominant provider). It is unclear whether PLWD with fragmented care and their caregivers perceive gaps in communication among the providers involved and whether any such gaps are perceived as benign inconveniences or as clinically meaningful, leading to adverse events. We sought to determine the frequency of perceived gaps in communication (coordination) among providers and the frequency of self-reported adverse events attributed to poor coordination. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in the context of a Medicare accountable care organization (ACO) in New York in 2022-2023. We included PLWD who were attributed to the ACO, had fragmented care in the past year by claims (reversed Bice-Boxerman Index ≥0.86), and were in a pragmatic clinical trial on care management. We used an existing survey instrument to determine perceptions of care coordination and perceptions of four adverse events (repeat tests, drug-drug interactions, emergency department visits, and hospital admissions). ACO care managers collected data by telephone, using clinical judgment to determine whether each survey respondent was the patient or a caregiver. We used descriptive statistics to summarize results. RESULTS: Of 167 eligible PLWD, surveys were completed for 97 (58.1%). Of those, 88 (90.7%) reported having >1 ambulatory visit and >1 ambulatory provider and were thus at risk for gaps in care coordination and included in the analysis. Of those, 23 respondents were patients (26.1%) and 64 were caregivers (72.7%), with one respondent's role missing. Overall, 57% of respondents reported a problem (or "gap") in the coordination of care and, separately, 18% reported an adverse event that they attributed to poor care coordination. CONCLUSION: Gaps in coordination of care for PLWD are reported to be very common and often perceived as hazardous.