Recruiting Indigenous Patients Into Clinical Trials: A Circle of Trust.

The Circle of Trust is a new conceptual model that can help investigators and the American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) community work together to promote inclusion of AI/AN populations in clinical trials to improve health outcomes. Racial/ethnic minority groups remain underrepresented in clinical trials and this creates the need and opportunity for novel approaches. Indigenous populations are particularly underrepresented in clinical trials. Studies show that AI/AN have the lowest representation of race/ethnic groups in the United States. American Indian/Alaska Natives suffer from significant health disparities with higher rates of morbidity and mortality and lower rates for preventative measures and access to health services. A variety of barriers to recruitment of minority patients exist at several levels including the system/institutional, interpersonal, and the individual. The authors, experts in AI/AN health and recruitment of minorities into research, collaborated to modify the currently existing and published "trust triangle" model that focuses on minority recruitment to include participants, researcher, and trusted entity. We advocate for expanding the trust triangle into a circle of trust inclusive of community. The "circle of trust" is a new conceptual model that can help investigators and the AI/AN community work together to promote inclusion of AI/AN populations in clinical trials to improve health outcomes.

Body composition among adults at a healthy body mass index and association with undetected non-alcoholic fatty liver.

BACKGROUND: Adults with a healthy Body Mass Index but elevated body fat are at risk for a variety of undetected metabolic problems. It is unclear whether non-alcoholic fatty liver is associated with this body type. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS: Associations between elevated body fat and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among adults with a healthy Body Mass Index (18.5-24.9) were assessed. A cohort of healthy BMI, non-pregnant, adults without history of liver disease or recent heavy drinking was constructed from the NHANES 2017-2018 survey. Body fat percentages were determined from whole-body DXA scans. Liver ultrasound transient elastography indicated the presence of hepatic steatosis. RESULTS: A significantly larger proportion of adults with an elevated body fat % (46.2%) than those with a healthy body fat % (25.1%) (p = 0.002) had undiagnosed NAFLD. In a logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and exercise, hepatic steatosis was associated with an elevated body fat percentage within the cohort of adults with a healthy BMI (OR 3.51; 95% CI 2.11-5.86). CONCLUSION: The usefulness of alternative body composition measures should be considered when screening for NAFLD.

External Validation of the COVID-NoLab and COVID-SimpleLab Prognostic Tools.

Our objective was to externally validate 2 simple risk scores for mortality among a mostly inpatient population with COVID-19 in Canada (588 patients for COVID-NoLab and 479 patients for COVID-SimpleLab). The mortality rates in the low-, moderate-, and high-risk groups for COVID-NoLab were 1.1%, 9.6%, and 21.2%, respectively. The mortality rates for COVID-SimpleLab were 0.0%, 9.8%, and 20.0%, respectively. These values were similar to those in the original derivation cohort. The 2 simple risk scores, now successfully externally validated, offer clinicians a reliable way to quickly identify low-risk inpatients who could potentially be managed as outpatients in the event of a bed shortage. Both are available online (https://ebell-projects.shinyapps.io/covid_nolab/ and https://ebell-projects.shinyapps.io/COVID-SimpleLab/).

An Electronic Tool to Support Patient-Centered Broad Consent: A Multi-Arm Randomized Clinical Trial in Family Medicine.

PURPOSE: Patients are frequently asked to share their personal health information. The objective of this study was to compare the effects on patient experiences of 3 electronic consent (e-consent) versions asking patients to share their health records for research. METHODS: A multi-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted from November 2017 through November 2018. Adult patients (n = 734) were recruited from 4 family medicine clinics in Florida. Using a tablet computer, participants were randomized to (1) a standard e-consent (standard), (2) an e-consent containing standard information plus hyperlinks to additional interactive details (interactive), or (3) an e-consent containing standard information, interactive hyperlinks, and factual messages about data protections and researcher training (trust-enhanced). Satisfaction (1 to 5), subjective understanding (0 to 100), and other outcomes were measured immediately, at 1 week, and at 6 months. RESULTS: A majority of participants (94%) consented to future uses of their health record information for research. No differences in study outcomes between versions were observed at immediate or 1-week follow-up. At 6-month follow-up, compared with the standard e-consent, participants who used the interactive e-consent reported greater satisfaction (B = 0.43; SE = 0.09; P <.001) and subjective understanding (B = 18.04; SE = 2.58; P <.001). At 6-month follow-up, compared with the interactive e-consent, participants who used the trust-enhanced e-consent reported greater satisfaction (B = 0.9; SE = 1.0; P <.001) and subjective understanding (B = 32.2; SE = 2.6, P <.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who used e-consents with interactive research details and trust-enhancing messages reported higher satisfaction and understanding at 6-month follow-up. Research institutions should consider developing and further validating e-consents that interactively deliver information beyond that required by federal regulations, including facts that may enhance patient trust in research.

Patient-Provider Discussion About Cancer Treatment Costs and Out-of-Pocket Spending: Implications for Shared Decision Making in Cancer Care.

OBJECTIVES: Patient-provider discussion about treatment costs has been recognized as a key component of shared clinical decision making in cancer care. This study examined the association of patient-provider cost discussion with out-of-pocket spending among cancer survivors. METHODS: Using data from the 2016-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Experiences with Cancer Survivorship Supplement, cancer survivors in the United States who reported having a detailed discussion about treatment costs were identified. Multivariable generalized linear model with gamma distribution and log-link was fitted to analyze average total out-of-pocket spending between those who had the discussion and those who did not. We also examined whether having the cost discussion is associated with the likelihood of reporting receipt of all cancer care they believed was necessary using a multivariable logistic regression model. All analyses controlled for patient socioeconomic and health-related characteristics. RESULTS: Among 1525 individuals, representing 14.6 million cancer survivors in the United States (mean age, 65.5 years; 59% women; 80.4% white), only 10.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.7%-12.1%) reported having the detailed cost discussion with their providers during their cancer care. Having a cost discussion was associated with a -33.8% reduction in (95% CI, -38.2% to -29.6%; an absolute difference of -$478) average total out-of-pocket spending. The probability of receiving all necessary patient-reported cancer care was not different between those who had the discussion and those who did not. CONCLUSION: Detailed patient-provider cost discussions were associated with lower average total out-of-pocket spending. Patients who had detailed cost discussions with providers did not seem to sacrifice the appropriate utilization of necessary cancer treatments.

Development and Validation of a County-Level Social Determinants of Health Risk Assessment Tool for Cardiovascular Disease.

PURPOSE: Social determinants of health (SDoH) have been linked to a variety of health conditions, but there are no multivariate measures of these determinants to estimate the risk of morbidity or mortality in a community. We developed a score derived from multivariate measures of SDoH that predicts county-level cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. METHODS: Using county-level data from 3,026 US counties, we developed a score considering variables of neighborhood socioeconomic status, food/lifestyle environment, and health care resource availability and accessibility to predict the 3-year average (2015-2017) age-adjusted county-level mortality rate for all CVD. We used one 50% random sample to develop the score and the other to validate the score. A Poisson regression model was developed to estimate parameters of variables while accounting for intrastate correlation. RESULTS: The index score was based on 7 SDoH factors: percentage of the population of minority (nonwhite) race, poverty rate, percentage of the population without a high school diploma, grocery store ratio, fast-food restaurant ratio, after-tax soda price, and primary care physician supply. The area under the curve for the development and validation groups was similar, 0.851 (95% CI, 0.829-0.872) and 0.840 (95% CI, 0.817-0.863), respectively, indicating excellent discriminative ability. The index had better predictive performance for CVD burden than other area-level indexes: poverty only (area under the curve= 0.808, P <.001); the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index (CDC-SVI) (area under the curve =0.786, P <.001); and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Socioeconomic Status (AHRQ-SES) index (area under the curve =0.835, P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Our validated multivariate SDoH index score accurately classifies counties with high CVD burden and therefore has the potential to improve CVD risk prediction for vulnerable populations and interventions for CVD at the county level.

Use of Social Media in Health Communication: Findings From the Health Information National Trends Survey 2013, 2014, and 2017.

The number of social media users has increased substantially in the past decade, creating an opportunity for health-care professionals and patients to leverage social media for health communication. This study examines the recent use and predictors of social media for health communication in a nationally representative sample of US adults over time. We used 2013, 2014, and 2017 National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey to identify respondents' use of social media for sharing health information or exchanging medical information with a health-care professional. We conducted bivariate analysis using the Pearson χ2 test to assess the association of respondents' basic demographic characteristics as well as health status and the use of social media for health communication. We performed multivariable logistic regression models to examine factors associated with the use of social media for health communication. We identified 4242 respondents (weighted sample size: 343 465 241 [2-year pooled sample]) who used social media for sharing health information and 4834 respondents (weighted sample size: 354 419 489 [2-year pooled sample]) who used social media for exchanging medical information. Multivariable analyses indicated the proportion of respondents who used social media for sharing health information has decreased (odds ratio [OR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49-0.85, P = .002), while the use of social media for exchanging medical information with a health-care professional has increased (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.09-3.26, P = .025). The younger population had significantly higher odds of using social media for health communication. The study found no racial/ethnic disparities in the use of social media for health communication. Use of social media for sharing health information has declined, while exchanging medical information with health-care professionals has increased. Future research is needed to determine how to engage the population in social media-based health interventions, particularly for older adults.

Perception of Risk of Developing Diabetes Among Patients With Undiagnosed Prediabetes: The Impact of Health Care Provider Advice.

IN BRIEF Patient awareness of prediabetes and an increased diabetes risk is crucial to diabetes prevention. This article reports on a study investigating perceptions of diabetes risk among U.S. adults with prediabetes and the role of physician communication about risks in influencing patient perceptions. This study demonstrates that few patients with undiagnosed prediabetes are even told that they are at high risk for diabetes. This study provides further evidence that diabetes prevention requires improved patient-centered care, which likely begins with the delivery of adequate information to patients.

Impact of preventive primary care on children's unplanned hospital admissions: a population-based birth cohort study of UK children 2000-2013.

BACKGROUND: Universal health coverage (UHC) aims to improve child health through preventive primary care and vaccine coverage. Yet, in many developed countries with UHC, unplanned and ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) hospital admissions in childhood continue to rise. We investigated the relation between preventive primary care and risk of unplanned and ACS admission in children in a high-income country with UHC. METHODS: We followed 319,780 children registered from birth with 363 English practices in Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to Hospital Episodes Statistics, born between January 2000 and March 2013. We used Cox regression estimating adjusted hazard ratios (HR) to examine subsequent risk of unplanned and ACS hospital admissions in children who received preventive primary care (development checks and vaccinations), compared with those who did not. RESULTS: Overall, 98% of children had complete vaccinations and 87% had development checks. Unplanned admission rates were 259, 105 and 42 per 1000 child-years in infants (aged < 1 year), preschool (1-4 years) and primary school (5-9 years) children, respectively. Lack of preventive care was associated with more unplanned admissions. Infants with incomplete vaccination had increased risk for all unplanned admissions (HR 1.89, 1.79-2.00) and vaccine-preventable admissions (HR 4.41, 2.59-7.49). Infants lacking development checks had higher risk for unplanned admission (HR 4.63, 4.55-4.71). These associations persisted across childhood. Children who had higher consulting rates with primary care providers also had higher risk of unplanned admission (preschool children: HR 1.17, 1.17-1.17). One third of all unplanned admissions (62,154/183,530) were for ACS infectious illness. Children with chronic ACS conditions, asthma, diabetes or epilepsy had increased risk of unplanned admission (HR 1.90, 1.77-2.04, HR 11.43, 8.48-15.39, and HR 4.82, 3.93-5.91, respectively). These associations were modified in children who consulted more in primary care. CONCLUSIONS: A high uptake of preventive primary care from birth is associated with fewer unplanned and ACS admissions in children. However, the clustering of poor health, a lack of preventive care uptake, and social deprivation puts some children with comorbid conditions at very high risk of admission. Strengthening immunisation coverage and preventive primary care in countries with poor UHC could potentially significantly reduce the health burden from hospital admission in children.

Impact of Provider Participation in ACO Programs on Preventive Care Services, Patient Experiences, and Health Care Expenditures in US Adults Aged 18-64.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the impact of accountable care organization (ACO) on US adults aged 18-64. OBJECTIVES: To examine whether having a usual source of care (USC) provider participating in an ACO affects receipt of preventive care services, patient experiences, and health care expenditures among nonelderly Americans. RESEARCH DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis of the 2015 Medical Organizations Survey linked with the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. SUBJECTS: Survey respondents aged 18-64 with an identified USC and continuous health insurance coverage during 2015. MEASURES: Preventative care services (routine checkup, flu vaccination, and cancer screening), patient experiences with health care (access to care, interaction quality with providers, and global satisfaction), and health care expenditures (total and out-of-pocket expenditures) for respondents with USC by ACO and non-ACO provider groups. RESULTS: Among 1563, nonelderly Americans having a USC, we found that nearly 62.7% [95% confidence interval (CI), 58.6%-66.7%; representing 15,722,208 Americans] were cared for by ACO providers. Our analysis showed no significant differences in preventive care services or patient experiences between ACO and non-ACO groups. Adjusted mean total health expenditures were slightly higher for the ACO than non-ACO group [$7016 (95% CI, $4949-$9914) vs. $6796 (95% CI, $4724-$9892)]; however, this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.250). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that having a USC provider participating in an ACO is not associated with preventive care services use, patient experiences, or health care expenditures among a nonelderly population.

Creating a Centralized Infrastructure to Facilitate Medical Education Research.

PURPOSE: Building research capacity and increasing scholarly productivity are identified needs of the specialty of family medicine. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has increased the scholarly requirements for residency programs, placing even more pressure on faculty to be productive in the scholarly realm. The Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance (CERA) was created by volunteer members of the specialty with shared interests in overcoming barriers and increasing scholarly production. METHODS: CERA has developed the infrastructure and expertise to regularly conduct omnibus surveys of key family medicine educational leaders. Proposals are centrally collected and competitively chosen. The omnibus survey process includes collaboration with experienced mentors, centralized institutional review board clearance, pilot testing, and centralized data collection. The survey results are disseminated back to research teams for presentation and publication of the findings. RESULTS: To date, over 115 research teams have had their projects included in CERA omnibus surveys. Projects have been led by research teams from across the country and with a wide variety of research experience. This collaborative work has resulted in more than 75 scientific presentations and over 55 peer-reviewed papers in the medical literature. The raw data are now available online and serve as a repository for future secondary analysis and as an educational resource. CONCLUSIONS: The CERA infrastructure has allowed a large number of research teams to conduct meaningful scholarship at a fraction of the typical cost in terms of time and energy. CERA has expanded family medicine research by removing barriers for teams with limited experience or resources.

Prevalence and Risk of Penile Human Papillomavirus Infection: Evidence From The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2014.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of penile human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is not well understood. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of penile HPV infection in the United States. METHODS: We analyzed a nationally representative sample of civilian noninstitutionalized US men from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013-2014. Penile swab samples were collected from men aged 18-59 years. For detection of HPV types, a Roche Linear Array test was performed. We used NHANES sampling weights to estimate the population prevalence of penile HPV infection. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of any HPV infection was 45.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 41.3%-49.3%). The prevalence of any high-risk HPV types and low-risk HPV types (mutually exclusive of high-risk HPV) was 30.5% (95% CI, 28.0%-33.0%) and 14.8% (95% CI, 12.7%-17.2%), respectively. Overall HPV prevalence increased with increasing age: the prevalence was lowest among 18- to 24-year-old men (33.8%) and highest among 55- to 59-year-old men (53.4%). HPV types 16 and 18 were detected in 4.3% (95% CI, 3.2%-5.7%) and 1.7% (95% CI, 1.1%-2.6%) of men, respectively. The prevalence of any HPV infection was almost 80% among men who reported having ≥16 lifetime sexual partners and using condoms intermittently. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that penile HPV is common among men in the United States. Almost one-third of all men are infected with high-risk HPV. Prevalence of penile HPV infection increases with increasing age.

Up-to-Date on Preventive Care Services Under Affordable Care Act: A Trend Analysis From MEPS 2007-2014.

BACKGROUND: The utilization of preventive care services has been less than optimal. As part of an effort to address this, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandated that private health insurance plans cover evidence-based preventive services. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether the provisions of ACA have increased being up-to-date on recommended preventive care services among privately insured individuals aged 18-64. RESEARCH DESIGN: Multivariate linear regression models were used to examine trends in prevalence of being up-to-date on selected preventive services, diagnosis of health conditions, and health expenditures between pre-ACA (2007-2010) and post-ACA (2011-2014). Adjusted difference-in-difference analyses were used to estimate changes in those outcomes in the privately insured that differed from changes in the uninsured (control group). RESULTS: After the passage of ACA, up-to-date rates of routine checkup (2.7%; 95% confidence interval, 0.8%-4.7%; P=0.007) and flu vaccination (5.9%; 95% confidence interval, 4.2%-7.6%; P<0.001) increased among those with private insurance, as compared with the control group. Changes in blood pressure check, cholesterol check and cancer screening (pap smear test, mammography, and colorectal cancer screening) were not associated with the ACA. Prevalence in diagnosis of health conditions remained constant. Slower uptrends in adjusted total health care expenditures and downtrends in adjusted out-of-pocket costs were observed during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: The provisions of the ACA have resulted in trivial increases in being up-to-date on selected preventive care services. Additional efforts may be required to take full advantage of the elimination of cost-sharing under the ACA.

Design of a cluster-randomized minority recruitment trial: RECRUIT.

BACKGROUND: Racial/ethnic minority groups remain underrepresented in clinical trials. Many strategies to increase minority recruitment focus on minority communities and emphasize common diseases such as hypertension. Scant literature focuses on minority recruitment to trials of less common conditions, often conducted in specialty clinics and dependent on physician referrals. We identified trust/mistrust of specialist physician investigators and institutions conducting medical research and consequent participant reluctance to participate in clinical trials as key-shared barriers across racial/ethnic groups. We developed a trust-based continuous quality improvement intervention to build trust between specialist physician investigators and community minority-serving physicians and ultimately potential trial participants. To avoid the inherent biases of non-randomized studies, we evaluated the intervention in the national Randomized Recruitment Intervention Trial (RECRUIT). This report presents the design of RECRUIT. Specialty clinic follow-up continues through April 2017. METHODS: We hypothesized that specialist physician investigators and coordinators trained in the trust-based continuous quality improvement intervention would enroll a greater proportion of minority participants in their specialty clinics than specialist physician investigators in control specialty clinics. Specialty clinic was the unit of randomization. Using continuous quality improvement, the specialist physician investigators and coordinators tailored recruitment approaches to their specialty clinic characteristics and populations. Primary analyses were adjusted for clustering by specialty clinic within parent trial and matching covariates. RESULTS: RECRUIT was implemented in four multi-site clinical trials (parent trials) supported by three National Institutes of Health institutes and included 50 associated specialty clinics from these parent trials. Using current data, we have 88% power or greater to detect a 0.15 or greater difference from the currently observed control proportion adjusting for clustering. We detected no differences in baseline matching criteria between intervention and control specialty clinics (all p values > 0.17). CONCLUSION: RECRUIT was the first multi-site randomized control trial to examine the effectiveness of a trust-based continuous quality improvement intervention to increase minority recruitment into clinical trials. RECRUIT's innovations included its focus on building trust between specialist investigators and minority-serving physicians, the use of continuous quality improvement to tailor the intervention to each specialty clinic's specific racial/ethnic populations and barriers to minority recruitment, and the use of specialty clinics from more than one parent multi-site trial to increase generalizability. The effectiveness of the RECRUIT intervention will be determined after the completion of trial data collection and planned analyses.

Family Medicine-Specific Practice-Based Research Network Productivity and Clinical and Translational Sciences Award Program Affiliation.

OBJECTIVE: Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are groups of practices that work together to conduct research. Little is known about the degree to which PBRNs may be achieving success. This is the first general survey of family medicine-based PBRN directors in the United States and Canada to examine research productivity outcomes of PBRNs and explore the association between Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program affiliation and PBRN outcomes. METHODS: The Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance conducted the survey and e-mailed it to 102 PBRN directors from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's registration. RESULTS: A total of 54 (56%) PBRN directors responded to the survey. PBRNs with an affiliation with a CTSA program were more likely to report completion of quality improvement research and participation in multiple PBRN collaboration research projects. PBRNs affiliated with CTSA programs were less likely to report maintaining funding as a significant barrier. CONCLUSIONS: CTSA involvement with PBRNs results in family physician scientists' completing research and disseminating this research through publication. Also, PBRNs with CTSA partnerships have more funding availability. PBRN partnership with a CTSA is beneficial in furthering research in family medicine.

Prevalence of Prediabetes and Abdominal Obesity Among Healthy-Weight Adults: 18-Year Trend.

PURPOSE: Trends in sedentary lifestyle may have influenced adult body composition and metabolic health among individuals at presumably healthy weights. This study examines the nationally representative prevalence of prediabetes and abdominal obesity among healthy-weight adults in 1988 through 2012. METHODS: We analyzed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (1988-1994) and NHANES for the years 1999 to 2012, focusing on adults aged 20 years and older who have a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.99 and do not have diabetes, either diagnosed or undiagnosed. We defined prediabetes using glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level ranges from 5.7% to 6.4%, as specified by the American Diabetes Association. Abdominal obesity was measured by waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio. RESULTS: The prevalence of prediabetes among healthy-weight adults, aged 20 years and older and without diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes, increased from 10.2% in 1988-1994 to 18.5% in 2012. Among individuals aged 45 years and older, the prevalence of prediabetes increased from 22.0% to 33.1%. The percentage of adults aged 20 years and older with an unhealthy waist circumference increased from 5.6% in 1988-1994 to 7.6% in 2012. The percentage of individuals with an unhealthy waist-to-height ratio increased from 27.2% in 1988-1994 to 33.7% in 2012. Adjusted models found that measures of abdominal obesity were not independent predictors of prediabetes among adults with a healthy BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Among individuals within a healthy BMI range, the prevalence of prediabetes and abdominal obesity has substantially increased. Abdominal obesity does not appear to be the primary cause of the increase.

Elevated transferrin saturation, health-related quality of life and telomere length.

We sought to examine the relationship between elevated transferrin saturation (TS) and measures of health status (telomere length and patient-reported health-related quality of life) to assess whether elevated TS is associated with negative patient outcomes beyond increased risk for morbidity and mortality, using a cross-sectional analysis of the Hemochromatosis and Iron Overload Screening Study supplemented with assays for leukocyte telomere length in adults ≥25 years old (n = 669). Among individuals with elevated TS (≥45 % for women and ≥50 % for men), who also had a usual source of care, only 5.2 % reported ever being told by a doctor that they had an elevated iron condition. In a fully adjusted general linear regression model controlling for demographic characteristics as well as health conditions associated with iron overload, elevated TS versus non-elevated TS was associated with worse general health status (60.4 vs. 63.8, P < 0.05), mental health status (76.5 vs. 82.2, P < 0.0001) and shorter telomere length (241.4 vs. 261.3, P < 0.05). Increased surveillance of elevated TS may be in order as elevated TS is associated with decreased health status and very few patients with elevated TS are aware of their condition.

Comparison of traditional and nontraditional weight loss methods: an analysis of the national health and nutrition examination survey.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the real-world use of various weight loss techniques and to compare the effectiveness of nontraditional methods with diet and exercise in helping nongeriatric adults lose weight. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis of the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was performed. Adult, nonpregnant participants aged 20 to 65 years with a body mass index of ≥ 18.5 who tried to lose weight in the previous year were analyzed (weighted n = 53,570,979). Outcome measures included the proportion of patients who used nontraditional weight loss methods and a comparison of weight loss between those who used diet and exercise and those who used nontraditional methods. RESULTS: During the previous year, 56.9% (95% confidence interval 54.5-59.4) of participants used nontraditional methods (nonexclusive of diet and exercise) as their attempted weight loss methods. Overall, individuals gained a mean (standard error) of 4.9 (0.3) lb in the 12 months preceding the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey questionnaire. Only 19.6% (95% confidence interval 18.0-21.2) of the sample lost weight within the previous 12 months. Those who used nontraditional methods gained more weight during the previous year than those who used diet and exercise only (for body mass index ≥ 18.5, 5.5 vs 3.5 lb; P < 0.01) in the overall sample, but there was no difference in the obese subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians need to reaffirm that diet and exercise are better methods for weight loss, and they need to advise their patients to avoid other methods when attempting to lose weight because they do not enhance weight loss attempts.