"Efficacy and Safety of OnabotulinumtoxinA for the Treatment of Platysma Prominence: A Randomized Phase 2 Dose-Ranging Study".

BACKGROUND: With aging, repetitive contraction of the platysma leads to an increase in platysma prominence (PP) characterized by the accentuation of vertical neck bands and blunting of the jawline's contour. METHODS: This multicenter, double-blind, phase 2 study evaluated onabotulinumtoxinA (onabotA) treatment in adults with Moderate to Severe PP. Participants were randomized to receive 1 treatment of onabotA low dose (LD), onabotA high dose (HD), or placebo, and were followed for 4 months. Efficacy endpoints were the achievement of a ≥ 1-grade improvement on both the left and right sides at Day 14 at maximum contraction as assessed by the investigator (primary) or by participants (secondary) using validated scales. Safety was evaluated throughout. RESULTS: Participants in the modified intent-to-treat population (N = 164) had a mean age of 50 years; 95.1% were female and 93.9% were White. The primary endpoint was met for both onabotA groups, with investigator-assessed ≥ 1-grade improvement in 77.8% (LD) and 88.2% (HD) vs 12.0% (placebo) of participants on Day 14 (P < 0.0001 vs placebo). Based on participant self-assessment, 75.9% (LD) and 88.2% (HD) vs 18.0% (placebo) achieved ≥ 1-grade improvement on Day 14 (P < 0.0001 vs placebo). Most treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were procedure-related, transient, and mild in severity. The most frequent onabotA-related AE was neck muscle weakness, reported in the HD group. CONCLUSIONS: OnabotA was effective in improving the appearance of PP based on both investigators' and participants' ratings. Treatment was well tolerated.

Does electronic prescribing of controlled substances deter controlled substance prescribing in emergency departments?

Objective: To examine the association between electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) and controlled substance prescription patterns in U.S. emergency departments (ED). Materials and methods: We conducted cross-sectional analysis at both the ED level and visit level, using the 2016-2017 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys. Results: The sample included 24,296 visits to 316 EDs, 45% of which utilized EPCS. Pain-related visits were associated with significantly higher odds of prescriptions for any controlled substances (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.32-1.75; p < 0.001) and Schedule II substances (OR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.80-2.52; p < 0.001). Conditional on pain-related visits, EPCS was significantly associated with higher odds of any (OR 1.31; 95% CI: 1.08-1.59; p = 0.006) and Schedule III (OR 1.38; 95% CI: 1.03-1.85; p = 0.031) controlled substance prescriptions. For non-pain related visits, EPCS was not associated with changes in controlled substance prescriptions. Discussion: While EPCS transmits prescriptions directly to pharmacies in order to reduce drug diversion problems, the results indicated no significant association between EPCS use and prescriptions for Schedule II drugs which include opioids. As many states move towards mandating EPCS use in order to curb the opioid epidemic, future studies should examine the barriers to the effective implementation of EPCS, in the context of other systems such as Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs. Conclusion: EPCS does not appear to deter Schedule II controlled substances prescription including opioids in an ED visit. It may facilitate any and Schedule III controlled substance prescriptions when pain was involved in an ED visit.

It Is About Trust: Trust in Sources of Tobacco Health Information, Perceptions of Harm, and Use of E-Cigarettes.

INTRODUCTION: Recent research has highlighted disparities in people who perceive as trustworthy sources of e-cigarette health information. Research has yet to examine if trusting a particular source of information is associated with use of e-cigarettes or perceptions of e-cigarette harm. We use a nationally representative survey of American adults to address these gaps in knowledge. METHODS: This study used data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (N = 3738). Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds of ever using e-cigarettes and perceived health harm of e-cigarettes. Trust in seven different sources of e-cigarette health information served as the independent variables. Models accounted for confounders. RESULTS: Trusting religious organizations "a lot" as sources of e-cigarette health information was associated with lower odds of ever using e-cigarettes and with lower odds of perceiving e-cigarettes as less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Trusting e-cigarette companies "a lot" as sources of e-cigarette health information was associated with lower odds of viewing e-cigarettes as harmful to health. CONCLUSION: Trusting health information about e-cigarettes from sources in the medical or public health field was not associated with lower use of e-cigarettes or viewing e-cigarettes as more harmful. Trusting health information from e-cigarette companies yielded perceptions of e-cigarette harm that are consistent with messaging provided by these companies. IMPLICATIONS: As use of e-cigarettes continues to climb, leveraging different modes of health communication will be critical to both discourage e-cigarette use among never-smokers and, potentially, to encourage use of e-cigarettes as an option to achieve smoking cessation or reduce the harm of tobacco products. Our findings suggest that religious organizations may be helpful in communicating anti-e-cigarette messages.

Associations of Social Media Use With Physical Activity and Sleep Adequacy Among Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents' use of social media, which has increased considerably in the past decade, has both positive and negative influences on adolescents' health and health behaviors. As social media is the most prominent communication tool of choice for adolescents, it is important to understand the relationship between the frequency of social media use and health behaviors among this population. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to examine the associations between the frequency of social media use and physical activity and sleep adequacy among middle and high school students. METHODS: We used data from the Monitoring the Future survey (2014 and 2015), a nationally representative, annual, cross-sectional survey of American 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students (N=43,994). Health behaviors examined were frequency of vigorous physical activity and frequency of getting 7 hours of sleep (never/seldom, sometimes, and every day/nearly every day). We measured frequency of social media use using a Likert-like scale (never, a few times a year, 1-2 times a month, once a week, or every day). Multivariable generalized ordered logistic regressions examined the association of social media use with different levels of physical activity and sleep. We estimated marginal effects (MEs) for the main independent variable (social media use frequency) by holding all other variables at their observed values. RESULTS: The study population comprised 51.13% (21,276/42,067) female students, 37.48% (17,160/43,994) from the South, and 80.07% (34,953/43,994) from a metropolitan area, with 76.90% (33,831/43,994) reporting using social media every day. Among physically active students, frequent social media use was associated with a higher likelihood of vigorous daily exercise (ME 50.1%, 95% CI 49.2%-51.0%). Among sedentary students, frequent social media use was associated with a lower likelihood of vigorous daily exercise (ME 15.8%, 95% CI 15.1%-16.4%). Moderately active students who used social media once or twice a month had the highest likelihood of reporting vigorous daily exercise (ME 42.0%, 95% CI 37.6%-46.3%). Among those who normally got adequate sleep, daily social media users were least likely to report adequate sleep (ME 41.3%, 95% CI 40.4%-42.1%). Among those who were usually sleep deprived, daily social media users were more likely to report adequate sleep (ME 18.3%, 95% CI 17.6%-19.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Regular social media use every day was associated with a reinforcement of health behaviors at both extremes of health behaviors, whereas a medium intensity of social media use was associated with the highest levels of physical activity and lowest sleep adequacy among those with moderate health behaviors. Hence, finding an optimal level of social media use that is beneficial to a variety of health behaviors would be most beneficial to adolescents who are in the middle of the health behavior spectrum.

Role of provider encouragement on patient engagement via online portals.

OBJECTIVE: The study sought to examine whether provider encouragement is associated with improvements in engaging patients with their healthcare processes using online portals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the Health Information National Trends Survey 2017 (N = 2, 670), we conducted an exploratory factor analysis with varimax orthogonal rotation and derived 3 outcome variables on patient engagement: (1) information access score, (2) care convenience score, and (3) patient engagement score. Multivariable linear regression on each outcome variable was conducted with provider encouragement as the main predictor, controlling for patient demographics. RESULTS: Women (60%), white participants (69%), and those with a college degree (49%) were more likely to report receiving provider encouragement. Those who were encouraged to use patient portals scored higher on all 3 outcome measures compared with those who were not encouraged (B = 0 .80 vs B = 0.11 for information access, B = 1.13 vs B = 0.13 for care convenience, and B = 0.44 vs B = 0.05 for patient engagement; all P < .001). For every additional 100 patients receiving encouragement, 65 more information access tasks, 94 more care convenience tasks, and 40 more patient engagement tasks would be performed. DISCUSSION: Provider encouragement was most influential concerning care convenience tasks and least influential on complex decision-making tasks. This may be due to portal design and the content available to patients, which merit consideration in future studies. CONCLUSIONS: Provider encouragement is associated with more patient engagement, as indicated by significantly higher utilization of patient portals for accessing information, participating in routine care processes, and making complex healthcare decisions.

Comparing the Income Elasticity of Health Spending in Middle-Income and High-Income Countries: The Role of Financial Protection.

BACKGROUND: As middle-income countries become more affluent, economically sophisticated and productive, health expenditure patterns are likely to change. Other socio-demographic and political changes that accompany rapid economic growth are also likely to influence health spending and financial protection. METHODS: This study investigates the relationship between growth on per-capita healthcare expenditure and gross domestic product (GDP) in a group of 27 large middle-income economies and compares findings with those of 24 high-income economies from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) group. This comparison uses national accounts data from 1995-2014. We hypothesize that the aggregated income elasticity of health expenditure in middle-income countries would be less than one (meaning healthcare is a normal good). An initial exploratory analysis tests between fixed-effects and random-effects model specifications. A fixed-effects model with time-fixed effects is implemented to assess the relationship between the two measures. Unit root, Hausman and serial correlation tests are conducted to determine model fit. Additional explanatory variables are introduced in different model specifications to test the robustness of our regression results. We include the out-of-pocket (OOP) share of health spending in each model to study the potential role of financial protection in our sample of high- and middle-income countries. The first-difference of study variables is implemented to address non-stationarity and cointegration properties. RESULTS: The elasticity of per-capita health expenditure and GDP growth is positive and statistically significant among sampled middle-income countries (51 per unit-growth in GDP) and high-income countries (50 per unit-growth in GDP). In contrast with previous research that has found that income elasticity of health spending in middle-income countries is larger than in high-income countries, our findings show that elasticity estimates can change if different criteria are used to assemble a more homogenous group of middle-income countries. Financial protection differences between middle- and high-income countries, however, are not associated with their respective income elasticity of health spending. CONCLUSION: The study findings show that in spite of the rapid economic growth experienced by the sampled middleincome countries, the aggregated income elasticity of health expenditure in them is less than one, and equals that of high-income countries.

The impact of the 2008 financial crisis on food security and food expenditures in Mexico: a disproportionate effect on the vulnerable.

OBJECTIVE: The present paper investigated the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on food security in Mexico and how it disproportionally affected vulnerable households. DESIGN: A generalized ordered logistic regression was estimated to assess the impact of the crisis on households' food security status. An ordinary least squares and a quantile regression were estimated to evaluate the effect of the financial crisis on a continuous proxy measure of food security defined as the share of a household's current income devoted to food expenditures. Setting Both analyses were performed using pooled cross-sectional data from the Mexican National Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2008 and 2010. SUBJECTS: The analytical sample included 29,468 households in 2008 and 27,654 in 2010. RESULTS: The generalized ordered logistic model showed that the financial crisis significantly (P<0·05) decreased the probability of being food secure, mildly or moderately food insecure, compared with being severely food insecure (OR=0·74). A similar but smaller effect was found when comparing severely and moderately food-insecure households with mildly food-insecure and food-secure households (OR=0·81). The ordinary least squares model showed that the crisis significantly (P<0·05) increased the share of total income spent on food (ß coefficient of 0·02). The quantile regression confirmed the findings suggested by the generalized ordered logistic model, showing that the effects of the crisis were more profound among poorer households. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that households that were more vulnerable before the financial crisis saw a worsened effect in terms of food insecurity with the crisis. Findings were consistent with both measures of food security--one based on self-reported experience and the other based on food spending.

The cost of screening esophageal varices: traditional endoscopy versus computed tomography.

OBJECTIVE: Under current guidelines, patients diagnosed with cirrhosis are to undergo initial and continued screening endoscopy for esophageal varices throughout the course of disease. Recent literature suggests that computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen is adequately sensitive for detecting grade 3 varices, those in need of immediate intervention. This study presents a cost comparison of traditional endoscopy versus CT of the abdomen. METHODS: Using TreeAge Pro software, a budget impact cost model was created for a hypothetical managed care organization covering 1 million lives over a 10-year period. Incidence figures for cirrhosis and the progression of esophageal varices were applied to the patient population. National Medicare reimbursement costs were used to compare screening with traditional endoscopy versus CT. Costs utilizing screening with combined endoscopy and CT were also examined. RESULTS: The results of comparing screening paradigms under a budget impact cost model results in an outcome measure termed "per-member, per-month" (PMPM) cost of implementing a new strategy. Computed tomography was the least expensive modality with an average 10-year cost per screened patient of $1097.30 and PMPM of $0.03. Endoscopy was the most expensive modality with an average 10-year cost per screened patient of $1464.89 and PMPM of $0.04. CONCLUSION: Computed tomography has been shown to be sensitive in detecting esophageal varices and now less costly to implement in screening. The cost of esophageal rupture in endoscopy and the less costly risk of contrast reaction as well as radiation exposure in CT of the abdomen should be considered when developing a screening paradigm.

The effects of food advertising and cognitive load on food choices.

BACKGROUND: Advertising has been implicated in the declining quality of the American diet, but much of the research has been conducted with children rather than adults. This study tested the effects of televised food advertising on adult food choice. METHODS: Participants (N = 351) were randomized into one of 4 experimental conditions: exposure to food advertising vs. exposure to non-food advertising, and within each of these groups, exposure to a task that was either cognitively demanding or not cognitively demanding. The number of unhealthy snacks chosen was subsequently measured, along with total calories of the snacks chosen. RESULTS: Those exposed to food advertising chose 28% more unhealthy snacks than those exposed to non-food-advertising (95% CI: 7% - 53%), with a total caloric value that was 65 kcal higher (95% CI: 10-121). The effect of advertising was not significant among those assigned to the low-cognitive-load group, but was large and significant among those assigned to the high-cognitive-load group: 43% more unhealthy snacks (95% CI: 11% - 85%) and 94 more total calories (95% CI: 19-169). CONCLUSIONS: Televised food advertising has strong effects on individual food choice, and these effects are magnified when individuals are cognitively occupied by other tasks.