The impact of cigarette smoking on cognitive processing speed and brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) and disability worsening. The relationship between smoking, cognitive processing speed, and brain atrophy remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To quantify the impact of smoking on processing speed and brain volume in MS and to explore the longitudinal relationship between smoking and changes in processing speed. METHODS: A retrospective study of MS patients who completed the processing speed test (PST) between September 2015 and March 2020. Demographics, disease characteristics, smoking history, and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were collected. Cross-sectional associations between smoking, PST performance, whole-brain fraction (WBF), gray matter fraction (GMF), and thalamic fraction (TF) were assessed using multivariable linear regression. The longitudinal relationship between smoking and PST performance was assessed by linear mixed modeling. RESULTS: The analysis included 5536 subjects of whom 1314 had quantitative MRI within 90 days of PST assessment. Current smokers had lower PST scores than never smokers at baseline, and this difference persisted over time. Smoking was associated with reduced GMF but not with WBF or TF. CONCLUSION: Smoking has an adverse relationship with cognition and GMF. Although causality is not demonstrated, these observations support the importance of smoking cessation counseling in MS management.

A Medicaid-Funded Statewide Diabetes Quality Improvement Collaborative: Ohio 2020‒2022.

We used a collective impact model to form a statewide diabetes quality improvement collaborative to improve diabetes outcomes and advance diabetes health equity. Between 2020 and 2022, in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Medicaid, Medicaid Managed Care Plans, and Ohio's seven medical schools, we recruited 20 primary care practices across the state. The percentage of patients with hemoglobin A1c greater than 9% improved from 25% to 20% over two years. Applying our model more broadly could accelerate improvement in diabetes outcomes. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(12):1254-1257. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307410).

Comparative Effectiveness of Stereotactic Electroencephalography Versus Subdural Grids in Epilepsy Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to compare the outcomes of subdural electrode (SDE) implantations versus stereotactic electroencephalography (SEEG), the 2 predominant methods of intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) performed in difficult-to-localize drug-resistant focal epilepsy. METHODS: The Surgical Therapies Commission of the International League Against Epilepsy created an international registry of iEEG patients implanted between 2005 and 2019 with ≥1 year of follow-up. We used propensity score matching to control exposure selection bias and generate comparable cohorts. Study endpoints were: (1) likelihood of resection after iEEG; (2) seizure freedom at last follow-up; and (3) complications (composite of postoperative infection, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, or permanent neurological deficit). RESULTS: Ten study sites from 7 countries and 3 continents contributed 2,012 patients, including 1,468 (73%) eligible for analysis (526 SDE and 942 SEEG), of whom 988 (67%) underwent subsequent resection. Propensity score matching improved covariate balance between exposure groups for all analyses. Propensity-matched patients who underwent SDE had higher odds of subsequent resective surgery (odds ratio [OR] = 1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05, 1.84) and higher odds of complications (OR = 2.24, 95% CI 1.34, 3.74; unadjusted: 9.6% after SDE vs 3.3% after SEEG). Odds of seizure freedom in propensity-matched resected patients were 1.66 times higher (95% CI 1.21, 2.26) for SEEG compared with SDE (unadjusted: 55% seizure free after SEEG-guided resections vs 41% after SDE). INTERPRETATION: In comparison to SEEG, SDE evaluations are more likely to lead to brain surgery in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy but have more surgical complications and lower probability of seizure freedom. This comparative-effectiveness study provides the highest feasible evidence level to guide decisions on iEEG. ANN NEUROL 2021;90:927-939.

Adoption of Health System Innovations: Evidence of Urban-Rural Disparities from the Ohio Primary Care Marketplace.

BACKGROUND: Accountable care organizations (ACOs), patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs), and the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) generated particular attention during the last decade. Translating these reforms into meaningful increases in population health depends on improving the quality and clinical integration of primary care providers (PCPs). However, if these innovations spread more quickly among PCPs in urban and wealthier areas, then they could potentially worsen existing geographic disparities in health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To determine the market penetration of Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACOs, PCMHs, and the meaningful use of EHRs among PCPs across urban and rural counties in Ohio. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational study of the percent of PCPs in a county who are affiliated with PCMH, ACO, and meaningful use (MU) of EHR. PARTICIPANTS: PCPs in all of Ohio's 88 counties from 2011 to 2015. MAIN MEASURES: Primary care market penetration of ACO, PCMH, and meaningful use of EHR KEY RESULTS: In 2015, the Ohio primary care market penetration of PCMH was 23.4%, ACO was 27.7%, MU stage 1 was 55.8%, and MU stage 2 was 26.6%. During the study period, PCMH and ACO market penetration increased faster in urban counties relative to rural counties, and market penetration of meaningful use of EHR increased faster in rural counties. CONCLUSIONS: Market penetration of PCMH and ACOs increased faster in urban markets compared to rural markets. However, the adoption of EHRs increased faster in rural markets. The results are a cause for optimism as well as a call to action: although recent efforts to increase PCMH and ACO adoption were less effective among the rural population in Ohio, federal programs to accelerate adoption of EHRs were overwhelmingly successful in rural areas.

Improving Regional Blood Pressure Control: a Positive Deviance Tiered Intensity Approach.

BACKGROUND: Accelerated translation of real-world interventions for hypertension management is critical to improving cardiovascular outcomes and reducing disparities. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a positive deviance approach would improve blood pressure (BP) control across diverse health systems. DESIGN: Quality improvement study using 1-year cross sections of electronic health record data over 5 years (2013-2017). PARTICIPANTS: Adults ≥ 18 with hypertension with two visits in 2 years with at least one primary care visit in the last year (N = 114,950 at baseline) to a primary care practice in Better Health Partnership, a regional health improvement collaborative. INTERVENTIONS: Identification of a "positive deviant" and dissemination of this system's best practices for control of hypertension (i.e., accurate/repeat BP measurement; timely follow-up; outreach; standard treatment algorithm; and communication curriculum) using 3 different intensities (low: Learning Collaborative events describing the best practices; moderate: Learning Collaborative events plus consultation when requested; and high: Learning Collaborative events plus practice coaching). MAIN MEASURES: We used a weighted linear model to estimate the pre- to post-intervention average change in BP control (< 140/90 mmHg) for 35 continuously participating clinics. KEY RESULTS: BP control post-intervention improved by 7.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 6.0-9.1], from 67% in 2013 to 74% in 2017. Subgroups with the greatest absolute improvement in BP control included Medicaid (12.0%, CI 10.5-13.5), Hispanic (10.5%, 95% CI 8.4-12.5), and African American (9.0%, 95% CI 7.7-10.4). Implementation intensity was associated with improvement in BP control (high: 14.9%, 95% CI 0.2-19.5; moderate: 5.2%, 95% CI 0.8-9.5; low: 0.2%, 95% CI-3.9 to 4.3). CONCLUSIONS: Employing a positive deviance approach can accelerate translation of real-world best practices into care across diverse health systems in the context of a regional health improvement collaborative (RHIC). Using this approach within RHICs nationwide could translate to meaningful improvements in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

A cluster randomized trial evaluating a teachable moment communication process for tobacco cessation support.

INTRODUCTION: This study examines the uptake of a clinician-focused teachable moment communication process (TMCP) and its impact on patient receipt of tobacco cessation support. The TMCP is a counseling method that uses patient concerns to help clinicians guide behavior change discussions about tobacco. We evaluate the added value of the TMCP training in a health system that implemented an Ask-Advise-Connect (AAC) systems-based approach. METHODS: A stepped wedge cluster randomized trial included eight community health centers. Training involved a web module and onsite skill development with standardized patients and coaching. Main outcome measures included contact and enrollment in cessation services among patients referred for counseling, prescription of cessation medications and quit attempts. RESULTS: Forty-four of 60 eligible clinicians received the TMCP training. Among TMCP-trained clinicians 68% used a TMCP approach (documented by flowsheet use) one or more times, with the median number of uses being 15 (IQR 2-33). Overall, the TMCP was used in 661 out of 8198 visits by smokers (8%). There was no improvement in any of the tobacco cessation assistance outcomes for the AAC + TMCP vs. the AAC only period. Visits where clinicians used the TMCP approach were associated with increased ordering of tobacco cessation medications, (OR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.9, 3.5) and providing advice to quit OR 3.2 (95% CI 2.2, 4.7). CONCLUSIONS: Despite high fidelity to the training, uptake of the TMCP approach in routine practice was poor, making it difficult to evaluate the impact on patient outcomes. When the TMCP approach was used, ordering tobacco cessation medications increased. IMPLICATIONS: Tobacco cessation strategies in primary care have the potential to reach a large portion of the population and deliver advice tailored to the patient. The poor uptake of the approach despite high training fidelity suggests that additional implementation support strategies, are needed to increase sustainable adoption of the TMCP approach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov #NCT02764385 , registration date 06/05/2016.

12-Month Evaluation of an EHR-Supported Staff Role Change for Provision of Tobacco Cessation Care in 8 Primary Care Safety-Net Clinics.

SIGNIFICANCE: Guidelines urge primary care practices to routinely provide tobacco cessation care (i.e., assess tobacco use, provide brief cessation advice, and refer to cessation support). This study evaluates the impact of a systems-based strategy to provide tobacco cessation care in eight primary care clinics serving low-income patients. METHODS: A non-randomized stepped wedge study design was used to implement an intervention consisting of (1) changes to the electronic health record (EHR) referral functionality and (2) expansion of staff roles to provide brief advice to quit; assess readiness to quit; offer a referral to tobacco cessation counseling; and sign the referral order. Outcomes assessed from the EHR include performance of tobacco cessation care tasks, referral contact, and enrollment rates for the quitline (QL) and in-house Freedom from Smoking (FFS) program. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) methods were used to compute odds ratios contrasting the pre-implementation vs. 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month post-implementation periods. RESULTS: Of the 176,061 visits, 26.1% were by identified tobacco users. All indicators significantly increased at each time period evaluated post-implementation. In comparison with the pre-intervention period, assessing smoking status (26.6% vs. 55.7%; OR = 3.7, CI = 3.6-3.9), providing advice (44.8% vs. 88.7%; OR = 7.8, CI = 6.6-9.1), assessing readiness to quit (15.8% vs. 55.0%; OR = 6.2, CI = 5.4-7.0), and acceptance of a referral to tobacco cessation counseling (0.5% vs. 30.9%; OR = 81.0, CI = 11.4-575.8) remained significantly higher 12 months post-intervention. For the QL and FFS, respectively, there were 1223 and 532 referrals; 324 (31.1%) and 103 (24.7%) were contacted; 241 (74.4%) and 72 (69.6%) enrolled; and 195 (80.9%) and 14 (19.4%) received at least one counseling session. CONCLUSIONS: This system change intervention that includes an EHR-supported role expansion substantially increased the provision of tobacco cessation care and improvements were sustained beyond 1 year. This approach has the potential to greatly increase the number of individuals referred for tobacco cessation counseling.

Long-term reduction of health care costs and utilization after epilepsy surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To assess long-term direct medical costs, health care utilization, and mortality following resective surgery in persons with uncontrolled epilepsy. METHODS: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study of Medicaid beneficiaries with epilepsy from 2000 to 2008. The study population included 7,835 persons with uncontrolled focal epilepsy ages 18-64 years, with an average follow-up time of 5 years. Of these, 135 received surgery during the study period. To account for selection bias, we used risk-set optimal pairwise matching on a time-varying propensity score, and inverse probability of treatment weighting. Repeated measures generalized linear models were used to model utilization and cost outcomes. Cox proportional hazard was used to model survival. RESULTS: The mean direct medical cost difference between the surgical group and control group was $6,806 after risk-set matching. The incidence rate ratio of inpatient, emergency room, and outpatient utilization was lower among the surgical group in both unadjusted and adjusted analyses. There was no significant difference in mortality after adjustment. Among surgical cases, mean annual costs per subject were on average $6,484 lower, and all utilization measures were lower after surgery compared to before. SIGNIFICANCE: Subjects that underwent epilepsy surgery had lower direct medical care costs and health care utilization. These findings support that epilepsy surgery yields substantial health care cost savings.

Electronic health records and quality of diabetes care.

BACKGROUND: Available studies have shown few quality-related advantages of electronic health records (EHRs) over traditional paper records. We compared achievement of and improvement in quality standards for diabetes at practices using EHRs with those at practices using paper records. All practices, including many safety-net primary care practices, belonged to a regional quality collaborative and publicly reported performance. METHODS: We used generalized estimating equations to calculate the percentage-point difference between EHR-based and paper-based practices with respect to achievement of composite standards for diabetes care (including four component standards) and outcomes (five standards), after adjusting for covariates and accounting for clustering. In addition to insurance type (Medicare, commercial, Medicaid, or uninsured), patient-level covariates included race or ethnic group (white, black, Hispanic, or other), age, sex, estimated household income, and level of education. Analyses were conducted separately for the overall sample and for safety-net practices. RESULTS: From July 2009 through June 2010, data were reported for 27,207 adults with diabetes seen at 46 practices; safety-net practices accounted for 38% of patients. After adjustment for covariates, achievement of composite standards for diabetes care was 35.1 percentage points higher at EHR sites than at paper-based sites (P<0.001), and achievement of composite standards for outcomes was 15.2 percentage points higher (P=0.005). EHR sites were associated with higher achievement on eight of nine component standards. Such sites were also associated with greater improvement in care (a difference of 10.2 percentage points in annual improvement, P<0.001) and outcomes (a difference of 4.1 percentage points in annual improvement, P=0.02). Across all insurance types, EHR sites were associated with significantly higher achievement of care and outcome standards and greater improvement in diabetes care. Results confined to safety-net practices were similar. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the premise that federal policies encouraging the meaningful use of EHRs may improve the quality of care across insurance types.

Risk factors for contact lens-induced papillary conjunctivitis associated with silicone hydrogel contact lens wear.

BACKGROUND: Contact lens-induced papillary conjunctivitis (CLPC) continues to be a major cause of dropout during extended wear of contact lenses. This retrospective study explores risk factors for the development of CLPC during extended wear of silicone hydrogel lenses. METHODS: Data from 205 subjects enrolled in the Longitudinal Analysis of Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lens study wearing lotrafilcon A silicone hydrogel lenses for up to 30 days of continuous wear were used to determine risk factors for CLPC in this secondary analysis of the main cohort. The main covariates of interest included substantial lens-associated bacterial bioburden and topographically determined lens base curve-to-cornea fitting relationships. Additional covariates of interest included history of adverse events, time of year, race, education level, gender, and other subject demographics. Statistical analyses included univariate logistic regression to assess the impact of potential risk factors on the binary CLPC outcome and Cox proportional hazards regression to describe the impact of those factors on time-to-CLPC diagnosis. RESULTS: Across 12 months of follow-up, 52 subjects (25%) experienced CLPC. No associations were found between the CLPC development and the presence of bacterial bioburden, lens-to-cornea fitting relationships, history of adverse events, gender, or race. Contact lens-induced papillary conjunctivitis development followed the same seasonal trends as the local peaks in environmental allergens. CONCLUSIONS: Lens fit and biodeposits, in the form of lens-associated bacterial bioburden, were not associated with the development of CLPC during extended wear with lotrafilcon A silicone hydrogel lenses.

Engagement in Integrative and Nonpharmacologic Pain Management Modalities Among Adults with Chronic Pain: Analysis of the 2019 National Health Interview Survey.

Objective: To examine variables associated with engagement in (1) integrative health and medicine (IHM) and (2) nonpharmacologic modalities rather than opioids among United States adults with chronic pain. Methods: Using the 2019 National Health Interview Survey, we examined sociodemographic, pain, and mental health predictors of (1) the sum of IHM modalities (ie, chiropractic care, yoga/Tai Chi, massage, or meditation/guided imagery) used to manage pain and (2) exclusive engagement in nonpharmacologic pain management modalities (ie, IHM, a chronic pain self-management program, support groups, or physical, rehabilitative, occupational, or talk therapy) or opioids in the past 3 months. Results: Metropolitan residency, higher family income, higher education levels, increased number of pain locations, and increased frequency of pain limiting life/work activities were associated with increased odds of IHM engagement. Older age, male sex, non-Hispanic Black/African American race/ethnicity, and daily opioid use were associated with decreased odds of IHM engagement. Older age, male sex, and increased depressive symptoms were associated with decreases in the count of IHM modalities used to manage pain. Metropolitan residency, higher family income, and higher education levels were associated with increased odds of exclusive nonpharmacologic modality engagement. Older age and increasing frequency of pain limiting life/work activities were associated with decreased odds of exclusive nonpharmacologic modality engagement. Conclusions: We identified several contrasts between factors prevalent among individuals with chronic pain and factors associated with engagement in nonpharmacologic and IHM modalities. These results support efforts to address barriers to accessing these modalities among subpopulations of adults with chronic pain (eg, older adults, individuals identifying as Black/African American, rural residents, and those with lower levels of education and income).

Hyperuricaemia, chronic kidney disease, and outcomes in heart failure: potential mechanistic insights from epidemiological data.

AIM: To determine if the association between hyperuricaemia and poor outcomes in heart failure (HF) varies by chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS AND RESULTS: Of the 2645 systolic HF patients in the Beta-Blocker Evaluation of Survival Trial with data on baseline serum uric acid, 1422 had hyperuricaemia (uric acid ≥6 mg/dL for women and ≥8 mg/dL for men). Propensity scores for hyperuricaemia, estimated for each patient, were used to assemble a matched cohort of 630 pairs of patients with and without hyperuricaemia who were balanced on 75 baseline characteristics. Associations of hyperuricaemia with outcomes during 25 months of median follow-up were examined in all patients and in those with and without CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate of <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2)). Hyperuricaemia-associated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause mortality and HF hospitalization were 1.44 (1.12-1.85, P = 0.005) and 1.27 (1.02-1.58, P = 0.031), respectively. Hazard ratios (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality among those with and without CKD were 0.96 (0.70-1.31, P = 0.792) and 1.40 (1.08-1.82, P = 0.011), respectively (P for interaction, 0.071), and those for HF hospitalization among those with and without CKD were 0.99 (0.74-1.33, P = 0.942) and 1.49 (1.19-1.86, P = 0.001), respectively (P for interaction, 0.033). CONCLUSION: Hyperuricaemia has a significant association with poor outcomes in HF patients without CKD but not in those with CKD, suggesting that hyperuricaemia may predict poor outcomes when it is primarily a marker of increased xanthine oxidase activity, but not when it is primarily due to impaired renal excretion of uric acid.

Evaluation of Restrictions on Tobacco Sales to Youth Younger Than 21 Years in Cleveland, Ohio, Area.

Importance: Tobacco 21 (T21) policies raise the minimum legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 years to curb youth access to tobacco products. While some studies have found that T21 is associated with reducing prevalence of youth tobacco use, little is known about the impact it may have on youth of different racial and ethnic identities. Objective: To evaluate the association of T21 policy with the prevalence of high school youth tobacco use across sex, race, and ethnicity. Design, Setting, and Participants: This survey study used representative survey data collected from the local biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2013 to 2017 comparing Cleveland, Ohio (which has a T21 policy), to proximal jurisdictions in the first-ring suburbs in Cuyahoga County (which do not have T21 policies). Within-Cleveland demographic information was also collected for 2013 to 2019. Overall high school youth tobacco use rates were compared between Cleveland and the first-ring suburbs and then examined within Cleveland among Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic White high school students. Percentage data were adjusted to more closely align with local population demographics. Data were analyzed from January to June 2022. Exposures: T21 was implemented in Cleveland in 2016 and not adopted in proximal jurisdictions or at the state and federal level until at least 1 year later. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were prevalence of past 30-day cigarette, cigar product, or e-cigarette use, measured using geographically representative high school youth survey data from 2013 to 2015 (prelegislation) and 2017 to 2019 (postlegislation) and compared using a difference-in-differences analysis. Results: The unweighted sample included 12 616 high school students (27.0% [95% CI, 26.9%-28.0%] in 10th grade; 50.9% [95% CI, 50.3%-51.6%] females) participating in 1 or more Youth Risk Behavior Surveys from 2013 to 2019, including 7064 students in Cleveland and 5552 students in the first-ring suburbs. Compared with the first-ring suburbs, Cleveland had a greater proportion of younger students (1623 [28.5%] ninth grade students vs 2179 [34.0%] ninth grade students) and Hispanic students (436 students [1.1%] vs 1433 students [12.6%]) and non-Hispanic Black students (2000 students [53.1%] vs 3971 students [75.1%]). Cigars were the most commonly used tobacco product in Cleveland, with use reported by 6201 students (19.8%) in 2013, 5877 students (21.3%) in 2015, and 5784 students (16.8%) in 2019. Compared with the first-ring suburbs, there was a greater decline in prevalence of use of cigars in Cleveland (ß = 0.18 [SE, 0.05]; P < .001). The disparity across race, ethnicity, and sex decreased for all current tobacco product use. For example, the maximum difference between demographic subpopulations in current cigarette use was 11.6 (95% CI, 9.5-13.7) percentage points in 2013 between White females (16.1% [95% CI, 11.3%-20.8%]) and Black males (4.5% [95% CI, 3.5%-5.4%]). This maximum difference in current cigarette use decreased significantly to 5.1 (95% CI, 3.5-6.7) percentage points in 2019 between White females (6.9% [95% CI, 3.4%-10.3%]) and Black females (1.8% [95% CI, 0.7%-2.8%]). Conclusions and Relevance: This survey study found that there was a decline in youth-reported tobacco use across every tobacco product category from 2013 to 2019. This decline changed the trajectory of use among several demographic groups and brought the youth populations with the highest tobacco product use to similar rates of others.

Comparison of cold and warm ischemia during partial nephrectomy in 660 solitary kidneys reveals predominant role of nonmodifiable factors in determining ultimate renal function.

PURPOSE: Factors that determine renal function after partial nephrectomy are not well-defined, including the impact of cold vs warm ischemia, and the relative importance of modifiable and nonmodifiable factors. We studied these determinants in a large cohort of patients with a solitary functioning kidney undergoing partial nephrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1980 to 2009, 660 partial nephrectomies were performed at 4 centers for tumor in a solitary functioning kidney under cold (300) or warm (360) ischemia. Data were collected in institutional review board approved registries and followup averaged 4.5 years. Preoperative and postoperative glomerular filtration rates were estimated via the Chronic Kidney Disease-Epidemiology Study equation. RESULTS: At 3 months after partial nephrectomy median glomerular filtration rate decreased by equivalent amounts with cold or warm ischemia (21% vs 22%, respectively, p = 0.7), although median cold ischemic times were much longer (45 vs 22 minutes respectively, p <0.001). On multivariable analyses increasing age, larger tumor size, lower preoperative glomerular filtration rate and longer ischemia time were associated with decreased postoperative glomerular filtration rate (p <0.05). When percentage of parenchyma spared was incorporated into the analysis, this factor and preoperative glomerular filtration rate proved to be the primary determinants of ultimate renal function, and duration of ischemia lost statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: This nonrandomized, comparative study suggests that within the relatively strict parameters of conventional practice, ie predominantly short ischemic intervals and liberal use of hypothermia, ischemia time was not an independent predictor of ultimate renal function after partial nephrectomy. Long-term renal function after partial nephrectomy is determined primarily by the quantity and quality of renal parenchyma preserved, although type and duration of ischemia remain the most important modifiable factors, and warrant further study.

Measuring disparities: bias in the Short Form-36v2 among Spanish-speaking medical patients.

BACKGROUND: Many national surveys have found substantial differences in self-reported overall health between Spanish-speaking Hispanics and other racial/ethnic groups. However, because cultural and language differences may create measurement bias, it is unclear whether observed differences in self-reported overall health reflect true differences in health. OBJECTIVES: This study uses a cross-sectional survey to investigate psychometric properties of the Short Form-36v2 for subjects across 4 racial/ethnic and language groups. Multigroup latent variable modeling was used to test increasingly stringent criteria for measurement equivalence. SUBJECTS: Our sample (N=1281) included 383 non-Hispanic whites, 368 non-Hispanic blacks, 206 Hispanics interviewed in English, and 324 Hispanics interviewed in Spanish recruited from outpatient medical clinics in 2 large urban areas. RESULTS: We found weak factorial invariance across the 4 groups. However, there was no evidence for strong factorial invariance. The overall fit of the model was substantially worse (change in Comparative Fit Index >0.02, root mean square error of approximation change >0.003) after requiring equal intercepts across all groups. Further comparisons established that the equality constraints on the intercepts for Spanish-speaking Hispanics were responsible for the decrement to model fit. CONCLUSIONS: Observed differences between SF-36v2 scores for Spanish-speaking Hispanics are systematically biased relative to the other 3 groups. The lack of strong invariance suggests the need for caution when comparing SF-36v2 mean scores of Spanish-speaking Hispanics with those of other groups. However, measurement equivalence testing for this study supports correlational or multivariate latent variable analyses of SF-36v2 responses across all the 4 subgroups, as these analyses require only weak factorial invariance.

Relationship between stage of kidney disease and incident heart failure in older adults.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and incident heart failure (HF) remains unclear. METHODS: Of the 5,795 community-dwelling adults ≥65 years in the Cardiovascular Health Study, 5,450 were free of prevalent HF and had baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR: ml/min/1.73 m(2)) data. Of these, 898 (16%) had CKD 3A (eGFR 45-59 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) and 242 (4%) had CKD stage ≥3B (eGFR <45 ml/min/1.73 m(2)). Data on baseline proteinuria were not available and 4,310 (79%) individuals with eGFR ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) were considered to have no CKD. Propensity scores estimated separately for CKD 3A and ≥3B were used to assemble two cohorts of 1,714 (857 pairs with CKD 3A and no CKD) and 557 participants (148 CKD ≥3B and 409 no CKD), respectively, balanced on 50 baseline characteristics. RESULTS: During 13 years of follow-up, centrally-adjudicated incident HF occurred in 19, 24 and 38% of pre-match participants without CKD (reference), with CKD 3A [unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.40; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20-1.63; p < 0.001] and with CKD ≥3B (HR 3.37; 95% CI 2.71-4.18; p < 0.001), respectively. In contrast, among matched participants, incident HF occurred in 23 and 23% of those with CKD 3A and no CKD, respectively (HR 1.03; 95% CI 0.85-1.26; p = 0.746), and 36 and 28% of those with CKD ≥3B and no CKD, respectively (HR 1.44; 95% CI 1.04-2.00; p = 0.027). CONCLUSIONS: Among community-dwelling older adults, CKD is a marker of incident HF regardless of stage; however, CKD ≥3B, not CKD 3A, has a modest independent association with incident HF.