Health Care Utilization After Nonfatal Firearm Injuries.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the high incidence of firearm injuries, little is known about health care utilization after nonfatal childhood firearm injuries. This study aimed to describe health care utilization and costs after a nonfatal firearm injury among Medicaid and commercially insured youth using a propensity score matched analysis. METHODS: We conducted a propensity score matched cohort analysis using 2015 to 2018 Medicaid and Commercial Marketscan data comparing utilization in the 12-months post firearm injury for youth aged 0 to 17. We matched youth with a nonfatal firearm injury 1:1 to comparison noninjured youth on demographic and preindex variables. Outcomes included inpatient hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) visits, and outpatient visits as well as health care costs. Following propensity score matching, regression models estimated relative risks of the health care utilization outcomes, adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates. RESULTS: We identified 2110 youth with nonfatal firearm injury. Compared with matched noninjured youth, firearm injured youth had a 5.31-fold increased risk of inpatient hospitalization (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.93-7.20), 1.49-fold increased risk of ED visit (95% CI 1.37-1.62), and 1.06-fold increased risk of outpatient visit (95% CI 1.03-1.10) 12-months postinjury. Adjusted 12-month postindex costs were $7581 (95% CI $7581-$8092) for injured youth compared with $1990 (95% CI $1862-2127) for comparison noninjured youth. CONCLUSIONS: Youth who suffer nonfatal firearm injury have a significantly increased risk of hospitalizations, ED visits, outpatient visits, and costs in the 12 months after injury when compared with matched youth. Applied to the 11 258 US youth with nonfatal firearm injuries in 2020, estimates represent potential population health care savings of $62.9 million.

Vitamin D from different sources is inversely associated with Parkinson disease.

An inverse association between Parkinson disease (PD) and total vitamin D levels has been reported, but whether vitamin D from different sources, that is, 25(OH)D2 (from diet and supplements) and 25(OH)D3 (mainly from sunlight exposure), all contribute to the association is unknown. Plasma total 25(OH)D, 25(OH)D2, and 25(OH)D3 levels were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in PD patients (n = 478) and controls (n = 431). Total 25(OH)D was categorized by clinical insufficiency or deficiency; 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 were analyzed in quartiles. Vitamin D deficiency (total 25[OH]D < 20 ng/mL) and vitamin D insufficiency (total 25[OH]D < 30 ng/mL) are associated with PD risk (odds ratio [OR] = 2.6 [deficiency] and 2.1 [insufficiency]; P < 0.0001), adjusting for age, sex, and sampling season. Both 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 levels are inversely associated with PD (P(trend) < 0.0001). The association between 25(OH)D2 and PD risk is largely confined to individuals with low 25(OH)D3 levels (P(trend) = 0.0008 and 0.12 in individuals with 25[OH]D3 < 20 ng/mL and 25[OH]D3 ≥ 20 ng/mL, respectively). Our data confirm the association between vitamin D deficiency and PD, and for the first time demonstrate an inverse association of 25(OH)D2 with PD. Given that 25(OH)D2 concentration is independent of sunlight exposure, this new finding suggests that the inverse association between vitamin D levels and PD is not simply attributable to lack of sunlight exposure in PD patients with impaired mobility. The current study, however, cannot exclude the possibility that gastrointestinal dysfunction, a non-motor PD symptom, contributes to the lower vitamin D2 levels in PD patients.