Adherence to practice parameters in Medicare beneficiaries with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: Physician adherence to evidence-based clinical practice parameters impacts outcomes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. We sought to investigate compliance with the 2009 practice parameters for treatment of ALS patients in the United States, and sociodemographic and provider characteristics associated with adherence. METHODS: In this population-based, retrospective cohort study of incident ALS patients in 2009-2014, we included all Medicare beneficiaries age ≥20 with ≥1 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification ALS code (335.20) in 2009 and no prior years (N = 8,575). Variables of interest included race/ethnicity, sex, age, urban residence, Area Deprivation Index (ADI), and provider specialty (neurologist vs. non-neurologist). Outcomes were use of practice parameters, which included feeding tubes, non-invasive ventilation (NIV), riluzole, and receiving care from a neurologist. RESULTS: Overall, 42.9% of patients with ALS received neurologist care. Black beneficiaries (odds ratio [OR] 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.47-0.67), older beneficiaries (OR 0.964, 95% CI 0.961-0.968 per year), and those living in disadvantaged areas (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.61-0.80) received less care from neurologists. Overall, only 26.7% of beneficiaries received a feeding tube, 19.2% NIV, and 15.3% riluzole. Neurologist-treated patients were more likely to receive interventions than other ALS patients: feeding tube (OR 2.80, 95% CI 2.52-3.11); NIV (OR 10.8, 95% CI 9.28-12.6); and riluzole (OR 7.67, 95% CI 6.13-9.58), after adjusting for sociodemographics. These associations remained marked and significant when we excluded ALS patients who subsequently received a code for other diseases that mimic ALS. CONCLUSIONS: ALS patients treated by neurologists received care consistent with practice parameters more often than those not treated by a neurologist. Black, older, and disadvantaged beneficiaries received less care consistent with the practice parameters.

Neuroinflammation and white matter alterations in occupational manganese exposure assessed by diffusion basis spectrum imaging.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate in-vivo neuroinflammation and white matter (WM) microstructural integrity in occupational manganese (Mn) exposure. METHODS: We assessed brain inflammation using Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging (DBSI) in 26 Mn-exposed welders, 17 Mn-exposed workers, and 26 non-exposed participants. Cumulative Mn exposure was estimated from work histories and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor subsection 3 (UPDRS3) scores were completed by a movement specialist. Tract-based Spatial Statistics allowed for whole-brain voxel-wise WM analyses to compare WM DBSI-derived measures between the Mn-exposed and non-exposed groups. Exploratory grey matter region of interest (ROI) analyses examined the presence of similar alterations in the basal ganglia. We used voxelwise general linear modeling and linear regression to evaluate the association between cumulative Mn exposure, WM or basal ganglia DBSI metrics, and UPDRS3 scores, while adjusting for age. RESULTS: Mn-exposed welders had higher DBSI-derived restricted fraction (DBSI-RF), higher DBSI-derived nonrestricted fraction (DBSI-NRF), and lower DBSI-derived fiber fraction (DBSI-FF) in multiple WM tracts (all p < 0.05) in comparison to less-exposed workers and non-exposed participants. Basal ganglia ROI analyses revealed higher average caudate DBSI-NRF and DBSI-derived radial diffusion (DBSI-RD) values in Mn-exposed welders relative to non-exposed participants (p < 0.05). Caudate DBSI-NRF was also associated with greater cumulative Mn exposure and higher UPRDS3 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Mn-exposed welders demonstrate greater DBSI-derived indicators of neuroinflammation-related cellularity (DBSI-RF), greater extracellular edema (DBSI-NRF), and lower apparent axonal density (DBSI-FF) in multiple WM tracts suggesting a neuroinflammatory component in the pathophysiology of Mn neurotoxicity. Caudate DBSI-NRF was positively associated with both cumulative Mn exposure and clinical parkinsonism, indicating a possible dose-dependent effect on extracellular edema with associated motor effects.

A predictive algorithm to identify ever smoking in medical claims-based epidemiologic studies.

PURPOSE: To develop and validate an algorithm to estimate probability of ever smoking using administrative claims. METHODS: Using population-based samples of Medicare-aged individuals (121,278 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey respondents and 207,885 Medicare beneficiaries), we developed a logistic regression model to predict probability of ever smoking from demographic and claims data. We applied the model in 1,657,266 additional Medicare beneficiaries and calculated area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) using presence or absence of a tobacco-specific diagnosis or procedure code as our "gold standard." We used these "gold standard" and lung/laryngeal cancer codes to over-ride predicted probability as 100%. We calculated Spearman's rho between probability from this full algorithm and smoking assessed in prior Parkinson disease studies, by substituting our observed and prior ("true") smoking-Parkinson disease odds ratios into the attenuation equation. RESULTS: The predictive model contained 23 variables, including basic demographics, high alcohol consumption, asthma, cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors, selected cancers, and indicators of routine medical usage. The AUC was 67.6% (95% confidence interval 67.5%-67.7%) comparing smoking probability to tobacco-specific diagnosis or procedure codes. Spearman's rho for the full algorithm was 0.82. CONCLUSIONS: Ever smoking might be approximated in administrative data for use as a continuous, probabilistic variable in epidemiologic analyses.

Incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in older adults.

INTRODUCTION/AIMS: We investigated the age- and sex-specific incidence and survival of Medicare beneficiaries with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in patients 66 to 90 years of age. METHODS: We identified all incident ALS cases within a population-based sample of Medicare beneficiaries in 2009 (total: 22 000 177 person-years at risk for ALS). We calculated age- and sex-specific incidence in 2009 according to multiple, progressively more stringent case definitions. Our most inclusive definition required one ALS code, whereas the most restrictive definition required at least one additional ALS code more than 6 months after the first code, including one from a neurologist. We identified associated imaging studies and electrodiagnostic testing and followed all cases through the end of 2014 to determine survival. RESULTS: The overall incidence for our most inclusive definition was 22.84 per 100 000 person-years for men and 16.05 per 100 000 person-years for women. The overall incidence was 5.72 per 100 000 person-years for men and 3.99 per 100 000 person-years for women for our most restrictive definition. For our most inclusive definition, fewer than 39.7% of cases ever had an ALS diagnosis from a neurologist, more than 50% had an electrodiagnostic test or imaging study, and 40.1% survived less than 1 year after diagnosis, with 25.5% of these cases surviving no more than 6 months. Cases not meeting the most restrictive definition were more likely than those who did meet the restrictive definition to be older, black, or Asian. DISCUSSION: The oldest and marginalized Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with ALS are less likely to be included in epidemiological studies with restrictive definitions, but future studies will need to assess the accuracy of diagnosis.

Validation of Parkinson's Disease-Related Questionnaires in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: There are very few epidemiological studies investigating Parkinson's disease (PD) in Africa. The hundreds of local languages and dialects make traditional screening and clinical evaluation tools difficult to use. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to validate two commonly used PD questionnaires in an African population. METHODS: The PD Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ) and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) were modified and translated into Afrikaans, Setswana, and isiZulu and administered to a sample of healthy local residents. We assessed the internal consistencies and cluster characteristics of the questionnaires, using a Cronbach's alpha test and exploratory factor analysis. The questionnaires were then administered to a population-based sample of 416 research participants. We evaluated the correlations between the questionnaires and both a timed motor task and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor subsection 3 (UPDRS3), using locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) regression analysis and Spearman's rank correlation. RESULTS: Both questionnaires had high overall internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86 and 0.95, respectively). The modified PDQ-39 had evidence of five subscales, with Factor 1 explaining 57% and Factor 2 explaining 14%, of the variance in responses. The PDSQ and PDQ-39 scores were correlated with the UPDRS3 score (ρ = 0.35, P < 0.001; and ρ = 0.28, P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The translated PDSQ and PDQ-39 questionnaires demonstrated high internal consistency and correlations with clinical severity of parkinsonism and a timed motor task, suggesting that they are valid tools for field-based epidemiological studies.

Validation of a Parkinson Disease Predictive Model in a Population-Based Study.

Parkinson disease (PD) has a relatively long prodromal period that may permit early identification to reduce diagnostic testing for other conditions when patients are simply presenting with early PD symptoms, as well as to reduce morbidity from fall-related trauma. Earlier identification also could prove critical to the development of neuroprotective therapies. We previously developed a PD predictive model using demographic and Medicare claims data in a population-based case-control study. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) indicated good performance. We sought to further validate this PD predictive model. In a randomly selected, population-based cohort of 115,492 Medicare beneficiaries aged 66-90 and without PD in 2009, we applied the predictive model to claims data from the prior five years to estimate the probability of future PD diagnosis. During five years of follow-up, we used 2010-2014 Medicare data to determine PD and vital status and then Cox regression to investigate whether PD probability at baseline was associated with time to PD diagnosis. Within a nested case-control sample, we calculated the AUC, sensitivity, and specificity. A total of 2,326 beneficiaries developed PD. Probability of PD was associated with time to PD diagnosis (p < 0.001, hazard ratio = 13.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 10.6-17.3 for the highest vs. lowest decile of probability). The AUC was 83.3% (95% CI 82.5%-84.1%). At the cut point that balanced sensitivity and specificity, sensitivity was 76.7% and specificity was 76.2%. In an independent sample of additional Medicare beneficiaries, we again applied the model and observed good performance (AUC = 82.2%, 95% CI 81.1%-83.3%). Administrative claims data can facilitate PD identification within Medicare and Medicare-aged samples.

Well Water and Parkinson's Disease in Medicare Beneficiaries: A Nationwide Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Well water frequently is considered a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD), but few studies were designed appropriately to test whether geographic factors affect PD risk. OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of PD in relation to residential use of private well water. METHODS: In a nationwide, population-based case-control study, we identified all incident PD cases (N = 89,790) and all comparable controls (N = 21,549,400) age 66-90 who solely relied on Medicare coverage in the U.S. in 2009. We estimated the probability of use of private well water using zip code of residence at diagnosis/reference and U.S. Census data on household water source. We modeled this exposure linearly in logistic regression to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of PD risk in relation to well water use. We adjusted for age, sex and race/ethnicity, and verified that smoking and use of medical care did not confound results. We repeated analyses with a 2-year exposure lag and separately within each U.S. state. RESULTS: Use of well water was inversely associated with PD risk (OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.85-0.89). We confirmed this association in a Cox survival analysis in which we followed controls for 5 years, death or PD diagnosis. There was little evidence that well water use increased risk of PD in any individual state. CONCLUSIONS: Although it remains possible that exposures in well water in more narrow geographic regions increase PD risk, in general these results suggest that exposures more common in urban/suburban areas might also be relevant.

Herpesvirus Infections and Risk of Parkinson's Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Herpesviruses might play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. We sought to examine a possible association between alpha herpesvirus infections and Parkinson's disease. METHODS: We conducted a population-based case-control study of incident Parkinson's disease in 2009 Medicare beneficiaries age 66-90 years (89,790 cases, 118,095 randomly selected comparable controls). We classified beneficiaries with any diagnosis code for "herpes simplex" and/or "herpes zoster" in the previous 5 years as having had the respective alpha herpesviruses. In beneficiaries with Part D prescription coverage, we also identified those prescribed anti-herpetic medications. We calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI between alpha herpesvirus diagnosis/treatment and Parkinson's disease with logistic regression, with adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking, and use of medical care. RESULTS: Parkinson's disease risk was inversely associated with herpes simplex (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.74-0.84), herpes zoster (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.85-0.91), and anti-herpetic medications (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.80-0.96). CONCLUSION: Herpesvirus infection or treatment might reduce risk of Parkinson's disease, but future studies will be required to explore whether this inverse association is causal.

Transplant and risk of Parkinson disease.

INTRODUCTION: The pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unclear, but growing evidence supports a role of neuroinflammation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between tissue transplantation and PD risk, given the importance of immunosuppressants in post-transplant management. METHODS: We performed a case-control study among Medicare beneficiaries age 66-90 using claims from 2004 to 2009. We used International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition (ICD-9) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes to identify PD (89,790 incident cases, 118,095 population-based controls) and history of tissue transplant (kidney, heart, liver, lung, and bone marrow). We investigated risk of PD in relation to tissue transplant in logistic regression models, adjusting for age, sex, race, smoking, and overall use of medical care. RESULTS: Beneficiaries who had received a tissue transplant at least five years prior to PD diagnosis or reference had a lower risk of PD (odds ratio [OR] 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53, 0.75) than those without tissue transplant. This inverse association was observed for kidney (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.47, 0.84), heart (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.40, 0.83), lung (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.21, 0.77), and bone marrow (OR 0.57, 95% 0.38, 0.85) transplants. Associations were attenuated, but remained, following adjustment for indications for the respective type of transplant. Liver transplant was not associated with PD risk. CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing tissue transplant may have a lower risk of developing PD than the general population. Further studies are needed to determine if this association is causal and if immunosuppressants mediate this association.