Potentially preventable medical hospitalizations among Maryland residents with mental illness, 2005-2010.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to assess the association between mental illness and potentially preventable ambulatory care-sensitive (ACS) hospitalizations among children, adults, and older adults. METHODS: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study that used 2005-2010 Maryland hospital discharge data (N=508,142 hospitalizations). Logistic regression was used to assess the associations between mental illness and ACS hospitalizations. RESULTS: Any mental illness diagnosis was associated with heightened odds of ACS hospitalization in all three age groups. Any mental illness diagnosis was associated with 84% higher odds of ACS hospitalization among children, 32% higher odds of ACS hospitalization among adults, and 30% higher odds of ACS hospitalization among older adults. CONCLUSIONS: Mental illness was associated with increased odds of ACS hospitalization across the life span. Future research should examine the potential for integrated medical and behavioral health care models to address the poorly controlled somatic conditions that lead to ACS hospitalizations among persons with mental illness.

Abortion and long-term mental health outcomes: a systematic review of the evidence.

Claims that women who have elective abortions will experience psychological distress have fueled much of the recent debate on abortion. It has been argued that the emotional sequelae of abortion may not occur until months or years after the event. Despite unclear evidence on such a phenomenon, adverse mental health outcomes of abortion have been used as a rationale for policy-making. We systematically searched for articles focused on the potential association between abortion and long-term mental health outcomes published between January 1, 1989 and August 1, 2008 and reviewed 21 studies that met the inclusion criteria. We rated the study quality based on methodological factors necessary to appropriately explore the research question. Studies were rated as Excellent (no studies), Very Good (4 studies), Fair (8 studies), Poor (8 studies), or Very Poor (1 study). A clear trend emerges from this systematic review: the highest quality studies had findings that were mostly neutral, suggesting few, if any, differences between women who had abortions and their respective comparison groups in terms of mental health sequelae. Conversely, studies with the most flawed methodology found negative mental health sequelae of abortion.