Racial discrimination, knowledge, and health outcomes: The mediating role of hepatitis B-related stigma among patients with chronic hepatitis B.

It is well described in current literature that Hepatitis B virus (HBV) affects Asian Americans more than any other racial group in the United States and that there is a stigma attached to this condition. The effects of stigma can be lasting, penetrating physiologically and psychologically, yet few studies have focused on the consequences of this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of stigma in the effect of racial discrimination and knowledge (of HBV sequelae) on health status of Korean Americans with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Three hundred sixty-five CHB patients were recruited and enrolled from two clinics in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Question-9 (PHQ-9), physical health via self-rated health survey and stigma via hepatitis B quality of life (HBQOL)-stigma survey. Perceived racial discrimination and knowledge of CHB sequelae were independent variables. The cohort had an average age of 60.1 years (range 19-84, SD 10.7), 56% were male and 94% were born in South Korea. Mediational analysis found that stigma was a significant mediator between both racial discrimination (indirect effect = .037, Bootstrap 95% CI = [.010-.064]) and sequelae knowledge (indirect effect = .097, Bootstrap 95% CI = [.018-.176]) and depressive symptoms. Stigma also had a direct effect on depressive symptoms (ß = .136, p < .01) and self-rated health (ß = .018, p < .05). In addition, age, gender, education and employment were related to health outcomes. The findings of this study indicate that HBV-related stigma is an important mediator of mental health outcomes in this population. Future studies should identify other psychosocial factors to develop effective intervention programs to reduce stigma and improve quality of life among CHB patients.

Bone and renal safety profile at 72 weeks after switching to tenofovir alafenamide in chronic hepatitis B patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) has been efficacious in treating chronic hepatitis B (CHB), but long-term use is accompanied by a decline in renal function and bone mineral density (BMD). Tenofovir alefanamide (TAF) is a prodrug of tenofovir, with similar efficacy in CHB but with fewer side effects than TDF. Recent studies on patients who underwent the switch from TDF to TAF have shown improved bone and renal profiles from 24 to 48 weeks of follow-up. METHODS: This study provides follow-up at 72 weeks in a real-world cohort of 61 Asian CHB patients who were switched from TDF to TAF. All patients had been treated with TDF for at least 12 months with hepatitis B virus DNA <21 IU/mL prior to switch. RESULTS: Improvements in proximal tubular function, measured by urine beta-2-microglobulin to creatinine and retinol-binding protein to creatinine ratios, were sustained at 72 weeks (P < 0.01). Renal function showed decline at 72 weeks compared to baseline (GFRCG 90.9 vs 96.3 mL/min, P < 0.01). Improvement in hip BMD was sustained at 72 weeks (mean % change of 17.7% from baseline, P < 0.01). However, spine BMD showed discordance, with initial improvement at 24 weeks (3.3% from week 0, P < 0.01) but regression at 72 weeks (-0.6% from week 0, P = NS). Interestingly, there was a slight increase in weight and BMI after 72 weeks (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: CHB patients who switch from long-term TDF to TAF therapy show sustained improvement in proximal tubular function and hip BMD. Weight gain was noted, and long-term studies are needed to evaluate its effect on patient outcomes.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Chronic Hepatitis C Among Asian Americans Are Distinct From Other Ethnic Groups.

GOAL: The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) among Asian Americans compared with other ethnicities. BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects an estimated 2.7 million in the United States, but there are limited data on HCV among Asian Americans. STUDY: A total of 3,369,881 adults over the age of 18 who were patients of the integrated health care system in Southern California and 4903 Asian participants at community hepatitis screenings were included in a cross-sectional study. Variables included HCV serology, HCV genotype, comorbidities, and coinfections. RESULTS: The prevalence of CHC was 1.3% in the general population (8271 adults) and 0.6% among Asians. The prevalence of CHC was significantly higher in the 1945-1965 birth cohort with 2.7% (5876) in the general population and 1.0% (313) among Asians (P<0.001). Asians had the highest rates of hepatitis B coinfection (2.9% vs. 0.2%, P<0.001). The distribution of genotypes among Asians differed from the general population with the most common genotype being 1b (27.5%) and a higher presence of genotype 6 (9.5%) (P<0.001). The presence of cirrhosis was 17.6% in Asians. Disaggregated Asian data showed that CHC was highest among Vietnamese and Cambodian and that genotype 6 was predominant among these 2 subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of chronic HCV was significantly lower in Asians compared with other ethnicities. However, disaggregated data among Asians showed the highest prevalence rates among adults from Vietnam and Cambodia.

High Prevalence of Chronic Viral Hepatitis and Liver Fibrosis Among Mongols in Southern California.

BACKGROUND: Mongolia is a highly endemic region for chronic hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis delta (HDV), and hepatitis C (HCV) infections. Aim of this study was to comprehensively characterize chronic viral hepatitis among Mongols living in Southern California. METHODS: Three screening events were conducted between August and November 2018, with 528 adult Mongols tested for HBV and HCV. HBsAg (+) individuals (CHB) underwent additional testing for HDV RNA and anti-HDV. Liver tests, platelet count, and FibroScan™ were performed on CHB and chronic HCV (CHC) individuals. RESULTS: Fifty-one out of 534 were HBsAg reactive (9.7%), and all were foreign-born. Mean age of CHB individuals was 37.8 (range 18-69) years. Forty-six out of 51 were HBeAg (-). HBV genotypes were exclusively D2 or A1. Twenty-one out of 51 (41.2%) were anti-HDV (+) and 17/51 (33.3%) were HDV RNA (+). HDV RNA (+) individuals had significantly higher ALT, fibrosis-4 score, and liver stiffness compared to HDV RNA (-) individuals. Incidence of advanced fibrosis was higher in HDV RNA (+) individuals (57% vs. 13%, p = 0.013). Forty-eight (9.1%) individuals were anti-HCV (+) and 19 (3.6%) were HCV RNA (+). Mean age of CHC individuals was 40.2 (range 28-71) years. Prevalence of anti-HCV (+) was higher among those born between 1945 and 1965 versus those born after 1965 (18.8% vs. 7.9%, p = 0.025). Genotype 1b was predominant. Incidence of cirrhosis was 7% among all participants. CONCLUSIONS: Mongols living in the USA are at high risk for CHB and CHC infections. One-third of CHB individuals had CHD superinfection with advanced fibrosis. Universal screening for viral hepatitis in Mongols in the USA is mandatory.

Precision Medicine and the Practice of Trichiatry: Adapting the Concept.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) aims for the ideal that healthcare professionals make conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision-making. It seeks to assess the strength of the evidence for benefits of diagnostic tests and treatments, using techniques from science, engineering, and statistics, such as the systematic review of medical literature, meta-analysis, risk-benefit analysis, and randomized controlled trials. The limited success rate of EBM therapies suggests that the complex nature of hair loss may be inadequately served by the present levels of evidence, and that physicians treating hair loss may have fallen short of adequately researching a robust evidence to underpin their practices. Against this backdrop, the concept of precision medicine (PM) is evolving. PM refers to the customization of medical care to the patient's individual characteristics based on the patient's genetic background and other molecular or cellular analysis, while classifying patients into subpopulations that differ in their susceptibility to a particular medical condition, in the biology or prognosis of those medical conditions, or in their response to a specific treatment. With the advances in hair research, the powerful tools of molecular biology and genetics, and innovative technologies, we have the robust scientific data and tools to adapt the concept of PM to the practice of trichiatry. Finally, databases pertaining to the development and efficacy of PM must be analyzed and be used to form the basis of evidence-based personalized trichiatry.

The Medication Risk of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis in Asians: The Major Drug Causality and Comparison With the US FDA Label.

Specific ethnic genetic backgrounds are associated with the risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome / toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) especially in Asians. However, there have been no large cohort, multiple-country epidemiological studies of medication risk related to SJS/TEN in Asian populations. Thus, we analyzed the registration databases from multiple Asian countries who were treated during 1998-2017. A total 1,028 SJS/TEN cases were identified with the algorithm of drug causality for epidermal necrolysis. Furthermore, those medications labeled by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as carrying a risk of SJS/TEN were also compared with the common causes of SJS/TEN in Asian countries. Oxcarbazepine, sulfasalazine, COX-II inhibitors, and strontium ranelate were identified as new potential causes. In addition to sulfa drugs and beta-lactam antibiotics, quinolones were also a common cause. Only one acetaminophen-induced SJS was identified, while several medications (e.g., oseltamivir, terbinafine, isotretinoin, and sorafenib) labeled as carrying a risk of SJS/TEN by the FDA were not found to have caused any of the cases in the Asian countries investigated in this study.

Effect of Achieving Minimal Disease Activity on the Progression of Subclinical Atherosclerosis and Arterial Stiffness: A Prospective Cohort Study in Psoriatic Arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of achieving minimal disease activity (MDA) on the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS: A total of 101 consecutive patients with PsA were recruited for this prospective cohort study. All patients received protocolized treatment targeting MDA for a period of 2 years. High-resolution carotid ultrasound and arterial stiffness markers were assessed annually. The primary outcome measure was the effect of achieving MDA at 12 months (MDA group) on the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis over a period of 24 months. Secondary objectives were to compare the changes in arterial stiffness markers over 24 months between the MDA and non-MDA groups, as well as the changes in subclinical atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness markers in patients who achieved MDA at each visit from month 12 through month 24 (sustained MDA [sMDA]). RESULTS: Ninety PsA patients (mean ± SD age 50 ± 11 years, 58% male [n = 52]) who completed 24 months of follow-up were included in this analysis. Fifty-seven patients (63%) had achieved MDA at 12 months. Subclinical atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness outcomes were similar between the MDA and non-MDA groups. Forty-one patients (46%) achieved sMDA. As shown by multivariate analysis, achieving sMDA had a protective effect on plaque progression (odds ratio 0.273 [95% confidence interval 0.088-0.846], P = 0.024), and less of an increase in total plaque area, mean intima-media thickness, and augmentation index values after adjustment for covariates. CONCLUSION: Our results support the recommendation that once MDA is achieved, it should ideally be maintained for a prolonged period in order to prevent progression of carotid atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness in patients with PsA.

Improvement of bone mineral density and markers of proximal renal tubular function in chronic hepatitis B patients switched from tenofovir disoproxil fumarate to tenofovir alafenamide.

Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is a novel prodrug that reduces tenofovir plasma levels by 90% compared to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), resulting in decreased bone mineral density (BMD) loss and renal toxicity. We aimed to study changes in BMD and markers of renal function of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients previously treated with TDF who were switched to TAF in as early as 12 weeks. This was a prospective single-arm open-label study of 75 CHB patients treated with TDF 300 mg daily who were switched to TAF 25 mg daily and followed for 24 weeks. All patients had been treated with TDF for at least 12 months and had HBV DNA <21 IU/mL at the time of switch. BMD and markers of renal function were taken on the day of switch and repeated after 12 and 24 weeks of TAF treatment. Hip and spine bone mineral density significantly increased from baseline to week 12 (+12.9% and +2.4%, respectively, P < 0.01). There were significant decreases in urinary beta-2-microglobulin to creatinine and retinol-binding protein to creatinine ratios by week 12 (P < 0.01 for both). Mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) did not change. Tubular reabsorption of phosphate was decreased at week 24 (P < 0.05). In conclusion, CHB patients previously treated with TDF experienced significant improvement in bone density and some markers of renal tubular function and as early as 12 weeks after switching to TAF. Bone density changes associated with TDF may not be entirely related to renal handling of phosphate.

Graft-vs-Host Disease Colitis After Lung Transplant.

Graft-vs-host disease, characteristically a major complication of allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, is rare after solid organ transplantation. We report a 50-year-old man who presented with abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea shortly after bilateral lung transplantation. Colonoscopy with biopsy revealed diffuse severe active colitis with ulceration and crypt apoptosis consistent with graft-vs-host disease colitis. The diagnosis was confirmed by the presence of donor lymphocytes in the peripheral blood. His symptoms were refractory to corticosteroids but responded to the addition of infliximab and extracorporeal photophoresis. He remained in remission 17 months later.

Trichologist, Dermatotrichologist, or Trichiatrist? A Global Perspective on a Strictly Medical Discipline.

Few dermatologic problems carry as much emotional overtones as the complaint of hair loss. The best way to alleviate the distress related to hair loss is to effectively treat it. In fact, one of the oldest medical professions is the Egyptian physician who specialized on diseases of the head. And yet, from ancient Egypt down to modern times, human hair has been the object of superstition and mystery. Remarkably and despite the genuine advances in effective medical treatments, hair cosmetics, and surgical procedures, phony hair loss solutions continue to be marketed with an amazing success. In 1860, a quasi-scientific interest in hair loss and hair care originated in a London barbershop and became known as trichology, with the Institute of Trichologists being founded. Other corporations successively followed internationally, but it was only in 2010 that the term dermatotrichologist was proposed for board-certified dermatologists dealing with the scientific study of the hair and scalp, in contrast to the trichologist who is rather associated with laity and cosmetics than with medical professionalism, or - worse - offers opportunities to possible imposters with a primary commercial interest. The new term "trichiatrist" is proposed, literally meaning the "medical treatment of the hair," to designate the strictly medical professional dealing with the hair and scalp in health and disease. Trichiatrists differ from trichologists by virtue of being physicians. The quality and stringency of their graduate medical training is identical to that of other physicians.

Underestimation of Risk of Carotid Subclinical Atherosclerosis by Cardiovascular Risk Scores in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To test the performances of established cardiovascular (CV) risk scores in discriminating subclinical atherosclerosis (SCA) in patients with psoriatic arthritis. METHODS: These scores were calculated: Framingham risk score (FRS), QRISK2, Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk algorithm (ASCVD) from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association, and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)-recommended modified versions (by 1.5 multiplication factor, m-). Carotid intima-media thickness > 0.9 mm and/or the presence of plaque determined by ultrasound were classified as SCA+. RESULTS: We recruited 146 patients [49.4 ± 10.2 yrs, male: 90 (61.6%)], of whom 142/137/128/118 patients were eligible to calculate FRS/QRISK2/SCORE/ASCVD. Further, 62 (42.5%) patients were SCA+ and were significantly older, with higher systolic blood pressure and higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (all p < 0.05). All CV risk scores were significantly higher in patients with SCA+ [FRS: 7.8 (3.9-16.5) vs 2.7 (1.1-7.8), p < 0.001; QRISK2: 5.5 (3.1-10.2) vs 2.9 (1.2-6.3), p < 0.001; SCORE: 1 (0-2) vs 0 (0-1), p < 0.001; ASCVD: 5.6 (2.6-12.4) vs 3.4 (1.4-6.1), p = 0.001]. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test revealed moderate goodness of fit for the 4 CV scores (p ranged from 0.087 to 0.686). However, of the patients with SCA+, those identified as high risk were only 44.1% (by FRS > 10%), 1.8% (QRISK2 > 20%), 10.9% (SCORE > 5%), and 43.6% (ASCVD > 7.5%). By applying the EULAR multiplication factor, 50.8%/14.3%/14.5%/54.5% of the patients with SCA+ were identified as high risk by m-FRS/m-QRISK2/m-SCORE/m-ASCVD, respectively. EULAR modification increased the sensitivity of FRS and ASCVD in discriminating SCA+ from 44% to 51%, and 44% to 55%, respectively. CONCLUSION: All CV risk scores underestimated the SCA+ risk. EULAR-recommended modification improved the sensitivity of FRS and ASCVD only to a moderate level.

Increased prevalence of coronary plaque in patients with psoriatic arthritis without prior diagnosis of coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate coronary atherosclerosis in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and control subjects using coronary CT angiography (CCTA). METHODS: Ninety consecutive patients with PsA (male: 56(62.2%); 50.3±11.1 years) were recruited. 240 controls (male: 137(57.1%); 49.6±10.7 years) without known cardiovascular (CV) diseases who underwent CCTA due to chest pain and/or multiple CV risk factors were recruited for comparison. RESULTS: Patients with PsA and controls were matched in age, gender and traditional CV risk factors (all p>0.2). The prevalence of overall plaque (54(60%)/84(35%), p<0.001), calcified plaque (CP) (29(32%)/40(17%), p=0.002), mixed plaque (MP) (20(22%)/18(8%), p<0.001), non-calcified plaque (NCP) (39(43%)/53(22%), p<0.001) and combined MP/NCP (46(51%)/62(26%), p<0.001) were all significantly higher in patients with PsA. Three-vessel disease was diagnosed in 12(13%) patients with PsA and 7(3%) controls (p<0.001), while obstructive plaques (>50% stenosis) were observed in 8(9%) patients with PsA and 7(3%) controls (p=0.033). After adjusting for traditional CV risk factors, PsA remained an independent explanatory variable for all types of coronary plaques (OR: 2.730 to 4.064, all p<0.001). PsA was also an independent explanatory variable for three-vessel disease (OR: 10.798, p<0.001) and obstructive plaque (3.939, p=0.024). In patients with PsA, disease duration was the only disease-specific characteristic associated with more vulnerable plaques (MP/NCP) in multivariate analysis (1.063, p=0.031). The other independent explanatory variables were age ≥55 years (5.636, p=0.005) and male gender (8.197, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PsA have increased prevalence, burden and severity of coronary atherosclerosis as documented by CCTA. Longer disease duration was independently associated with the presence of vulnerable MP/NCP plaques in patients with PsA. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02232321.

Durability of Hepatitis B e Antigen Seroconversion in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Treated with Entecavir or Tenofovir.

INTRODUCTION: Loss of HBeAg and development of anti-HBe (seroconversion) is seen as a milestone and endpoint in the treatment of HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Among patients treated with nucleos(t)ide analogs (NA), recurrent viremia is common after discontinuation of therapy. Entecavir (ETV) and tenofovir (TDF) are highly potent NA. The durability of virological response and HBeAg seroconversion in patients treated with these agents is not well studied. METHODS: We retrospectively studied the outcomes of 54 HBeAg-positive CHB patients who were treated with either ETV (n = 30) or TDF (23) or both (n = 1) that achieved virological response and underwent seroconversion and consolidation therapy before cessation of treatment. RESULTS: Only 4 (7%) patients had sustained virological, serological, and biochemical remission. Thirteen patients (24%) continued to have HBV DNA levels below 2000 IU/mL and normal alanine aminotransferase activity (ALT). Thirty-seven patients (69%) developed HBV DNA >2000 IU/mL, with 20 having elevated ALT. Among these 37 patients, 23 (62%) remained HBeAg negative/anti-HBe positive, 12 (32%) became HBeAg positive, and 2 (5%) were HBeAg and anti-HBe negative. Duration of consolidation therapy did not correlate with low versus high level of virological relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Durability of HBeAg seroconversion associated with ETV or TDF was not superior to that reported in patients treated with less potent NA. Our results, aggregated with others, suggest HBeAg seroconversion should not be considered as a treatment endpoint for most HBeAg-positive patients treated with NA. Future updates of treatment guidelines should reconsider HBeAg seroconversion as an endpoint to therapy.

A case study of a hepatitis B screening and blood pressure assesment program in Los Angeles County, 2012-2013.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health teamed with a culturally tailored, community-based organization to augment their hepatitis B screening program with blood pressure assessments. During 6 months, 2,298 people were served by the program; descriptive statistics and models were generated to describe demographics and screening and assessment results. Despite the program having good reach, sustainability was challenging. This experience draws attention to the need for invested desire to change at both the organizational and patient levels to sustain interdisciplinary provision of clinical preventive services.

Long-term treatment with tenofovir in Asian-American chronic hepatitis B patients is associated with abnormal renal phosphate handling.

BACKGROUND: Increased risk of defective urinary phosphate reabsorption and osteoporosis has been reported in HIV and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). AIMS: Goals of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of renal phosphate wasting and abnormal bone mineral density in CHB patients taking TDF compared to CHB patients treated with entecavir (ETV) and untreated CHB patients. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 146 consecutive Asian-American CHB patients who were treatment naïve (n = 60) or treated with either TDF (n = 42) or ETV (n = 44). Proximal tubular handling of phosphate was assessed by the maximal rate of tubular reabsorption of phosphate (TmPO4) divided by glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (TmPO4/GFR). Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using dual X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: TmPO4/GFR was similar among CHB patients treated with TDF compared to untreated patients and patients taking ETV. However, among patients treated with ≥18 months of TDF or ETV, prevalence of abnormal TmPO4/GFR was higher among patients treated with TDF compared to ETV (48.5 % (16/33) vs. 12.5 % (3/24), p = 0.005). Overall prevalence of osteoporosis in this cohort of CHB patients was 14 %, with no significant difference between the three groups. Renal phosphate handling did not correlate with osteoporosis. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic hepatitis B patients treated with ≥18 months of TDF experienced an increased risk of proximal tubular dysfunction. TDF did not increase the risk of osteoporosis. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Automated identification of surveillance colonoscopy in inflammatory bowel disease using natural language processing.

BACKGROUND: Differentiating surveillance from non-surveillance colonoscopy for colorectal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using electronic medical records (EMR) is important for practice improvement and research purposes, but diagnosis code algorithms are lacking. The automated retrieval console (ARC) is natural language processing (NLP)-based software that allows text-based document-level classification. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and accuracy of ARC in identifying surveillance and non-surveillance colonoscopy in IBD using EMR. METHODS: We performed a split validation study of electronic reports of colonoscopy pathology for patients with IBD from the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. A gastroenterologist manually classified pathology reports as either derived from surveillance or non-surveillance colonoscopy. Pathology reports were randomly split into two sets: 70 % for algorithm derivation and 30 % for validation. An ARC generated classification model was applied to the validation set of pathology reports. The performance of the model was compared with manual classification for surveillance and non-surveillance colonoscopy. RESULTS: A total of 575 colonoscopy pathology reports were available on 195 IBD patients, of which 400 reports were designated as training and 175 as testing sets. Within the testing set, a total of 69 pathology reports were classified as surveillance by manual review, whereas the ARC model classified 66 reports as surveillance for a recall of 0.77, precision of 0.80, and specificity of 0.88. CONCLUSIONS: ARC was able to identify surveillance colonoscopy for IBD without customized software programming. NLP-based document-level classification may be used to differentiate surveillance from non-surveillance colonoscopy in IBD.

Cancer risk related to gastrointestinal diagnostic radiation exposure.

Exposure to ionizing radiation is associated with an increased risk of cancer. With the growing use of diagnostic imaging studies, there is concern for increasing the risk of radiation associated malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract. The purpose of this review is to summarize the existing literature for risk of gastrointestinal malignancy after ionizing radiation exposure from diagnostic imaging studies. Estimates of organ specific effective doses of radiation vary widely based on the method of measurement and patient factors. Most of the current data are based on calculations of organ effective doses from anthropomorphic phantoms and estimated cancer risk based on radiation exposure from environmental sources. Radiation associated cancer risk is dependent on both the cumulative radiation dose and the radiosensitivity of the particular organ. The majority of radiation exposure and risk associated with gastrointestinal malignancy comes from CT scans, especially of the abdomen/pelvis. Of the abdominal organs, the colon carries the highest lifetime attributable risk of radiation associated malignancy. The attributable risk of malignancy for an individual diagnostic imaging study is low, but measurable, and therefore imaging studies without radiation such as MRI and ultrasound should be considered, especially in patients who require repeated imaging studies. There is a shortage of epidemiological data and an absence of prospective data with adequate follow-up to describe accurate risk estimates of gastrointestinal cancers after diagnostic imaging. More studies are needed to better determine the risks of malignancy from diagnostic imaging.

Increase in body size is associated with an increased incidence of advanced adenomatous colon polyps in male veteran patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Our aim was to determine how weight change influences the development of advanced adenomas. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of patients with adenomatous polyps (APs) on an index colonoscopy, and who also had a follow-up colonoscopy 3-5 years later. APs were evaluated for advanced features (i.e. size ≥1 cm in diameter and/or villous component and/or high-grade dysplasia). Patients were divided into 2 groups: those with no change or a reduction in their body mass index (BMI) during the interval between colonoscopies and those with an increase in BMI during the interval between colonoscopies. RESULTS: 925 patients with a history of APs were identified. Univariate analysis showed that patients with an increase in BMI had more advanced APs (28 vs. 23%, p = 0.04), and a larger mean AP size (8.0 vs. 6.8 mm, p = 0.03) than those with a no change or decreased BMI. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that a decrease in BMI between colonoscopies was associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing advanced APs (OR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.37-0.5, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: An increase in weight in male veterans appears to be strongly associated with the development of clinically advanced AP lesions, even after adjustment for other known polyp risk factors.