Inequality in mortality between Black and White Americans by age, place, and cause and in comparison to Europe, 1990 to 2018.

Although there is a large gap between Black and White American life expectancies, the gap fell 48.9% between 1990 and 2018, mainly due to mortality declines among Black Americans. We examine age-specific mortality trends and racial gaps in life expectancy in high- and low-income US areas and with reference to six European countries. Inequalities in life expectancy are starker in the United States than in Europe. In 1990, White Americans and Europeans in high-income areas had similar overall life expectancy, while life expectancy for White Americans in low-income areas was lower. However, since then, even high-income White Americans have lost ground relative to Europeans. Meanwhile, the gap in life expectancy between Black Americans and Europeans decreased by 8.3%. Black American life expectancy increased more than White American life expectancy in all US areas, but improvements in lower-income areas had the greatest impact on the racial life expectancy gap. The causes that contributed the most to Black Americans' mortality reductions included cancer, homicide, HIV, and causes originating in the fetal or infant period. Life expectancy for both Black and White Americans plateaued or slightly declined after 2012, but this stalling was most evident among Black Americans even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. If improvements had continued at the 1990 to 2012 rate, the racial gap in life expectancy would have closed by 2036. European life expectancy also stalled after 2014. Still, the comparison with Europe suggests that mortality rates of both Black and White Americans could fall much further across all ages and in both high-income and low-income areas.

Expectation management of policy leaders: Evidence from COVID-19.

This paper studies how the communication of political leaders affects the expectation formation of the public. Specifically, we examine the expectation management of the German government regarding COVID-19-related regulatory measures during the early phase of the pandemic. We elicit beliefs about the duration of these restrictions via a high-frequency survey of individuals, accompanied by an additional survey of firms. To quantify the success of policy communication, we use a regression discontinuity design and study how beliefs about the duration of the regulatory measures changed in response to three nationally televised press conferences by former Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Ministers of the German federal states. We find that the announcements of Angela Merkel and her colleagues significantly prolonged the expected duration of restrictions, with effects being strongest for individuals with higher ex-ante optimism.

Knowledge as a Predictor of Insurance Coverage Under the Affordable Care Act.

BACKGROUND: The Affordable Care Act established policy mechanisms to increase health insurance coverage in the United States. While insurance coverage has increased, 10%-15% of the US population remains uninsured. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether health insurance literacy and financial literacy predict being uninsured, covered by Medicaid, or covered by Marketplace insurance, holding demographic characteristics, attitudes toward risk, and political affiliation constant. RESEARCH DESIGN: Analysis of longitudinal data from fall 2013 and spring 2015 including financial and health insurance literacy and key covariates collected in 2013. SUBJECTS: A total of 2742 US residents ages 18-64, 525 uninsured in fall 2013, participating in the RAND American Life Panel, a nationally representative internet panel. MEASURES: Self-reported health insurance status and type as of spring 2015. RESULTS: Among the uninsured in 2013, higher financial and health insurance literacy were associated with greater probability of being insured in 2015. For a typical uninsured individual in 2013, the probability of being insured in 2015 was 8.3 percentage points higher with high compared with low financial literacy, and 9.2 percentage points higher with high compared with low health insurance literacy. For the general population, those with high financial and health insurance literacy were more likely to obtain insurance through Medicaid or the Marketplaces compared with being uninsured. The magnitude of coefficients for these predictors was similar to that of commonly used demographic covariates. CONCLUSIONS: A lack of understanding about health insurance concepts and financial illiteracy predict who remains uninsured. Outreach and consumer-education programs should consider these characteristics.

Intermuscular technique for implantation of the subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator: long-term performance and complications.

AIMS: The subcutaneous cardioverter defibrillator was designed to overcome electrode complications of transvenous defibrillation systems. While largely achieved, pocket complications have increased. Subcutaneous implantation of the pulse generator leaves it prone to erosion, extrusion, discomfort, and poor cosmesis. METHODS AND RESULTS: We use a demonstration electrode and pulse generator with fluoroscopy, prior to prepping and draping, to maximize the left ventricular mass between them. We adapted a submuscular abdominal ICD technique to implant the S-ICD intermuscularly between the anterior surface of serratus anterior and the posterior surface of latissimus dorsi. Surgery in our patients beyond the subcutaneous tissue was bloodless, as muscle layers were carefully separated but not incised, which also protected the long thoracic nerve. Two layers of muscle protect the pulse generator. We have implanted 82 consecutive patients with this technique, taking ∼65 min. All patients were converted with 65 J standard polarity shock during induced arrhythmia conversion testing, with six (7.3%) patients requiring a repositioning of the pulse generator prior to successful conversion. Seven spontaneous episodes of ventricular fibrillation were detected in three (3.6%) patients, all successfully converted back to sinus rhythm. Long-term patient outcomes have been good with low complication rates over the mean ± standard deviation 3.6 ± 1.2 years. CONCLUSION: Our intermuscular technique and implant methodology is successful for placement of the subcutaneous defibrillator pulse generator. Our technique leads to an excellent cosmetic result and high levels of patient satisfaction. Rates of first shock conversion during defibrillation testing, inappropriate shocks, and complications during follow-up compare favourably with previous published case series. There were no left arm movement limitations post-operatively.

Heterogeneous Effects of a Nonlinear Price Schedule for Outpatient Care.

Nonlinear price schedules generally have heterogeneous effects on health-care demand. We develop and apply a finite mixture bivariate probit model to analyze whether there are heterogeneous reactions to the introduction of a nonlinear price schedule in the German statutory health insurance system. In administrative insurance claims data from the largest German health insurance plan, we find that some individuals strongly react to the new price schedule while a second group of individuals does not react. Post-estimation analyses reveal that the group of the individuals who do not react to the reform includes the relatively sick. These results are in line with forward-looking behavior: Individuals who are already sick expect that they will hit the kink in the price schedule and thus are less sensitive to the co-payment. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Preparedness of Americans for the Affordable Care Act.

This paper investigates whether individuals are sufficiently informed to make reasonable choices in the health insurance exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We document knowledge of health reform, health insurance literacy, and expected changes in healthcare using a nationally representative survey of the US population in the 5 wk before the introduction of the exchanges, with special attention to subgroups most likely to be affected by the ACA. Results suggest that a substantial share of the population is unprepared to navigate the new exchanges. One-half of the respondents did not know about the exchanges, and 42% could not correctly describe a deductible. Those earning 100-250% of federal poverty level (FPL) correctly answered, on average, 4 out of 11 questions about health reform and 4.6 out of 7 questions about health insurance. This compares with 6.1 and 5.9 correct answers, respectively, for those in the top income category (400% of FPL or more). Even after controlling for potential confounders, a low-income person is 31% less likely to score above the median on ACA knowledge questions, and 54% less likely to score above the median on health insurance knowledge than a person in the top income category. Uninsured respondents scored lower on health insurance knowledge, but their knowledge of ACA is similar to the overall population. We propose that simplified options, decision aids, and health insurance product design to address the limited understanding of health insurance contracts will be crucial for ACA's success.

Insulation failure and externalized conductor of a single-coil Kentrox lead: an ongoing story?

Conductor externalization is a frequent complication with the St. Jude Medical Riata lead. Single case reports also reported externalization of conductors for dual-coil Biotronik leads. Up to now, conductor externalization has not yet been reported for any single coil leads. We report for the first time an externalization of conductors in a Biotronik Kentrox single-coil implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) lead.

Do they know what is at risk? Health risk perception among the obese.

The perception of health risks and risky health behaviors are closely associated. In this paper, we investigate the accuracy of health risk perceptions among obese individuals, aged 50-62 years. We compare subjective risk perceptions for various diseases elicited in the American Life Panel to individual's objective risks of the same diseases. We find that obese individuals significantly underestimate their 5-year risks of arthritis or rheumatism and hypertension, whereas they systematically overestimate their 5-year risks of a heart attack and a stroke. Obese individuals are thus aware of some but not all obesity-related health risks. For given diseases, we document substantial heterogeneities in the accuracy of expectations across individuals.

Subcutaneous cardioverter defibrillator implanted intermuscularly in patients with end-stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis: 5-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term safety and effectiveness of the subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) when implanted intermuscularly in patients with end-stage renal disease and hemodialysis. METHODS: This study is a retrospective analysis of 21 consecutive patients implanted with S-ICDs at three experienced centers in Germany with comorbid renal insufficiency requiring hemodialysis, as well as being at risk of sudden cardiac death. The S-ICD was placed intermuscularly in all patients. Follow-ups (FUs) were performed every 6 months. RESULTS: The mean ± standard deviation FU duration was 60.0 ± 11.4 months, with a range of 39 to 78 months. There were no deaths due to arrhythmia, or device-associated infections and complications. Four patients (19.1%) died during FU due to respiratory insufficiency during dialysis, systolic heart failure, septic infection of the urogenital tract, and colorectal cancer, respectively. There were six non-device-related hospitalizations with a duration of 12.7 ± 5.1 days and a hospitalization rate of 4.1 per 100 patient years. CONCLUSIONS: In the long-term FU of this small population of seriously compromised hemodialysis patients at risk of sudden cardiac death, the intermuscularly implanted S-ICD system was safe and effective. No arrhythmic complications, device-associated infections, or complications compromised survival. These data are encouraging and support testing in a larger group of similarly compromised patients.

Are anchoring vignettes ratings sensitive to vignette age and sex?

Anchoring vignettes are commonly used to study and correct for differential item functioning and response bias in subjective survey questions. Self-assessed health status is a leading example. A crucial assumption of the vignette methodology is 'vignette equivalence': The health status of the person described in the vignette must be perceived by all respondents in the same way. We use data from a survey experiment conducted with a sample of almost 5000 older Americans to validate this assumption. We find weak evidence that respondents' vignette ratings may be sensitive to the sex and, for older respondents, also to the age (implied by the first name) of the person described in the vignette. Our findings suggest that vignette equivalence may not hold, at least if the potentially subtle connotations of vignette persons' names are not fully controlled.

Per-period co-payments and the demand for health care: evidence from survey and claims data.

When health insurance reforms involve non-linear price schedules tied to payment periods (for example, fees levied by quarter or year), the empirical analysis of its effects has to take the within-period time structure of incentives into account. The analysis is further complicated when demand data are obtained from a survey in which the reporting period does not coincide with the payment period. We illustrate these issues using as an example a health care reform in Germany that imposed a per-quarter fee of €10 for doctor visits and additionally set an out-of-pocket maximum. This co-payment structure results in an effective 'spot' price for a doctor visit that decreases over time within each payment period. Taking this variation into account, we find a substantial reform effect-especially so for young adults. Overall, the number of doctor visits decreased by around 9% in the young population. The probability of visiting a physician in any given quarter decreased by around 4 to 8 percentage points.

Case Report: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with recurrent episodes of ventricular fibrillation and concurrent sinus arrest.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a serious hereditary cardiomyopathy. It is characterized morphologically by an increased left ventricular wall thickness and mass and functionally by enhanced global chamber function and myocellular contractility, diastolic dysfunction, and myocardial fibrosis development. Typically, patients with HCM experience atrial fibrillation (AF), syncope, and ventricular fibrillation (VF), causing severe symptoms and cardiac arrest. In contrast, sinoatrial node (SAN) arrest in the setting of HCM is uncommon. In particular, during VF, it has not been described so far. Case summary: In this study, we report an 18-year-old woman patient with sudden cardiac arrest due to VF and successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation as the first clinical manifestation of non-obstructive HCM. Subsequently, a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was implanted for secondary VF prophylaxis. However, additional episodes of VF occurred. During these, device interrogation revealed a combined occurrence of VF, bradycardia, and SAN arrest, requiring a device exchange into a dual-chamber ICD. A heterozygous, pathogenic variant of the MYH7 gene (c.2155C>T; p.Arg719Trp) was identified as causative for HCM. Discussion: First published in 1994, the particular MYH7 variant (p.Arg719Trp) was described in HCM patients with a high incidence of premature cardiac death and a reduced life expectancy. Electrophysiological studies on HCM patients are mainly performed to treat AF and ventricular tachycardia. Further extraordinary arrhythmic phenotypes were reported only in a few HCM patients. Taken together, the present case with documented co-existing VF and SAN arrest is rare and also emphasizes addressing the presence of SAN arrest (in particular, during VF episodes) in HCM patients when a distinct ICD device is considered for implantation.

The challenge of estimating the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 interventions - Toward an integrated economic and epidemiological approach.

Decisions on public health measures to contain a pandemic are often based on parameters such as expected disease burden and additional mortality due to the pandemic. Both pandemics and non-pharmaceutical interventions to fight pandemics, however, produce economic, social, and medical costs. The costs are, for example, caused by changes in access to healthcare, social distancing, and restrictions on economic activity. These factors indirectly influence health outcomes in the short- and long-term perspective. In a narrative review based on targeted literature searches, we develop a comprehensive perspective on the concepts available as well as the challenges of estimating the overall disease burden and the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 interventions from both epidemiological and economic perspectives, particularly during the early part of a pandemic. We review the literature and discuss relevant components that need to be included when estimating the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The review presents data sources and different forms of death counts, and discusses empirical findings on direct and indirect effects of the pandemic and interventions on disease burden as well as the distribution of health risks.

Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators for the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death: Pediatric Single-Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: The subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) was developed as an alternative to the transvenous ICD, to prevent lead-related complications associated with the latter. The absence of intravascular or intracardiac components offers potential advantages to pediatric patients. AIMS: The aim of the study is to present an overview of our experience with S-ICDs in the pediatric center that, currently, has performed the largest number of implantations in children in Poland. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of data from medical history, qualification, implantation procedure, and S-ICD post-implantation observations in 11 pediatric patients were performed. RESULTS: S-ICDs were implanted in 11 patients, 8 boys and 3 girls, aged 12-17 years. The S-ICD was implanted for primary prevention in seven patients: four with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), two with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), and one with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). It was implanted for secondary prevention in four patients: two with sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in the course of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF), one with long QT syndrome (LQTS) after probable SCA, and one with Brugada syndrome after SCA. In all patients, the device was implanted intramuscularly. One patient did not have a defibrillation test performed due to the presence of an intracardiac thrombus. In one patient, during screening, it was decided to implant an electrode on the right side of the sternum. There were no early or late complications with any of the procedures. So far, no inadequate discharges have been observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our results prove the efficacy of the S-ICD treatment option along with technically simple surgery, which supports its further and more widespread application in children.

[Autopneumonectomie. A Forgotten Disease]. / Autopneumonektomie. Ein vergessenes Krankheitsbild.

HISTORY: An 80-year old female was referred to our hospital with left internal carotid artery stenosis and a childhood history of hemoptysis. INVESTIGATIONS AND DIAGNOSIS: The ECG showed 2nd degree Mobitz atrio-ventricular block. The chest x-ray and computerized tomography identified a shift of the mediastinum and the heart to the left. The left lung was completely destroyed whilst the right lung was enlarged and crossed the midline. Pulmonary function tests revealed a moderate restrictive ventilation disorder. The diagnosis of autopneumonectomy was based on patient history together with radiological findings. TREATMENT AND COURSE: A pacemaker was implanted with two stimulation electrodes via a left cephalic venous cutdown. A carotid endarterectomy was also performed without any complication. CONCLUSION: After autopneumonectomy, postpneumonectomy like syndrome may occur in very rare cases, whereupon operative treatment is mandatory. Any respiratory infections should be treated with antibiotics. Pacemaker electrode placement via the subclavian vein is contraindicated due to the risk of a catastrophic pneumothorax.

Are health risk attitude and general risk attitude associated with healthcare utilization, costs and working ability? Results from the German KORA FF4 cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Risk attitudes influence decisions made under uncertainty. This paper investigates the association of risk attitudes with the utilization of preventive and general healthcare services, work absence and resulting costs to explore their contribution to the heterogeneity in utilization. METHODS: Data of 1823 individuals (56.5 ± 9.5 years), participating in the German KORA FF4 population-based cohort study (2013/2014) were analyzed. Individuals' general and health risk attitude were measured as willingness to take risk (WTTR) on 11-point scales. Utilization of preventive and medical services and work absence was assessed and annual costs were calculated from a societal perspective. Generalized linear models with log-link function (logistic, negative-binomial and gamma regression) adjusted for age, sex, and height were used to analyze the association of WTTR with the utilizations and costs. RESULTS: Higher WTTR was significantly associated with lower healthcare utilization (physician visits, physical therapy, and medication intake), work absence days and indirect costs. Regarding preventive services, an overall negative correlation between WTTR and utilization was examined but this observation remained non-significant except for the outcome medical check-up. Here, higher WTTR was significantly associated with a lower probability of participation. For all associations mentioned, Odds Ratios ranged between 0.90 and 0.79, with p < 0.05. Comparing the two risk attitudes (general and regarding health) we obtained similar results regarding the directions of associations. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that variations in risk attitudes contribute to the heterogeneity of healthcare utilization. Thus, knowledge of their associations with utilization might help to better understand individual decision-making - especially in case of participation in preventive services.