The clinical outcomes and healthcare resource utilization in IgG4-related disease: a claims-based analysis of commercially insured adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) can affect nearly any organ and is often treated with glucocorticoids, which contribute to organ damage and toxicity. Comorbidities and healthcare utilization in IgG4-RD are poorly understood. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study using claims data from a United States managed care organization. Incident IgG4-RD cases were identified using a validated algorithm; general population comparators were matched by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and index date. The frequency of 21 expert-defined clinical outcomes associated with IgG4-RD or its treatment and healthcare-associated visits and costs were assessed 12 months before and 36 months after the index date (date of earliest IgG4-RD-related claim). RESULTS: There were 524 cases and 5,240 comparators. Most cases received glucocorticoids prior to (64.0%) and after (85.1%) the index date. Nearly all outcomes, many being common glucocorticoid toxicities, occurred more frequently in cases vs comparators. During follow-up, the largest differences between cases and comparators were seen for gastroesophageal reflux disease (prevalence difference: +31.2%, p< 0.001); infections (+17.3%, p< 0.001); hypertension (+15.5%, p< 0.01); and diabetes mellitus (+15.0%, p< 0.001). The difference in malignancy increased during follow-up from +8.8% to + 12.5% (p< 0.001). 17.4% of cases used pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy during follow-up. Over follow-up, cases were more often hospitalized (57.3% vs 17.2%, p< 0.01) and/or had an ER visit (72.0% vs 36.7%, p< 0.01); all costs were greater in cases than comparators. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with IgG4-RD are disproportionately affected by adverse outcomes, some of which may be preventable or modifiable with vigilant clinician monitoring. Glucocorticoid-sparing treatments may improve these outcomes.

Maternal race and intergenerational preterm birth recurrence.

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth is a complex disorder with a heritable genetic component. Studies of primarily White women born preterm show that they have an increased risk of subsequently delivering preterm. This risk of intergenerational preterm birth is poorly defined among Black women. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate and compare intergenerational preterm birth risk among non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White mothers. STUDY DESIGN: This was a population-based retrospective cohort study, using the Virginia Intergenerational Linked Birth File. All non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White mothers born in Virginia 1960 through 1996 who delivered their first live-born, nonanomalous, singleton infant ≥20 weeks from 2005 through 2009 were included. We assessed the overall gestational age distribution between non-Hispanic Black and White mothers born term and preterm (<37 weeks) and their infants born term and preterm (<37 weeks) using Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survivor functions. Mothers were grouped by maternal gestational age at delivery (term, ≥37 completed weeks; late preterm birth, 34-36 weeks; and early preterm birth, <34 weeks). The primary outcomes were: (1) preterm birth among all eligible births; and (2) suspected spontaneous preterm birth among births to women with medical complications (eg, diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia and thus higher risk for a medically indicated preterm birth). Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate odds of preterm birth and spontaneous preterm birth by maternal race and maternal gestational age after adjusting for confounders including maternal education, maternal age, smoking, drug/alcohol use, and infant gender. RESULTS: Of 173,822 deliveries captured in the intergenerational birth cohort, 71,676 (41.2%) women met inclusion criteria for this study. Of the entire cohort, 30.0% (n = 21,467) were non-Hispanic Black and 70.0% were non-Hispanic White mothers. Compared to non-Hispanic White mothers, non-Hispanic Black mothers were more likely to have been born late preterm (6.8% vs 3.7%) or early preterm (2.8 vs 1.0%), P < .001. Non-Hispanic White mothers who were born (early or late) preterm were not at an increased risk of early or late preterm delivery compared to non-Hispanic White mothers born term. The risk of early preterm birth was most pronounced for Black mothers who were born early preterm (adjusted odds ratio, 3.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.77-6.02) compared to non-Hispanic White mothers. CONCLUSION: We found an intergenerational effect of preterm birth among non-Hispanic Black mothers but not non-Hispanic White mothers. Black mothers born <34 weeks carry the highest risk of delivering their first child very preterm. Future studies should elucidate the underlying pathways leading to this racial disparity.

Neighborhood context and birth outcomes: Going beyond neighborhood disadvantage, incorporating affluence.

•Neighborhood affluence protects against the risk of poor birth outcome. •The protective effect of affluence holds for Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians. •Mediation of these pathways by prenatal smoking varies by racial group. •The discourse on neighborhoods and birth outcomes should include affluence.