A Qualitative Study on the Barriers to Learning in a Primary Care-Behavioral Health Integration Program in an Academic Hospital: the Family Medicine Perspective.

OBJECTIVE: Integrating behavioral health services into the primary care setting is a recognized approach to improving timely access and building capacity for primary care providers. The aim of this study was to examine barriers to family medicine resident learning in a co-located primary care-behavioral health integration program with psychiatrists in an academic hospital. METHODS: The authors used a descriptive qualitative study design to collect data on participants' learning experiences from focus groups and semi-structured interviews with 5 family medicine residents, 3 psychiatry residents, 5 family physicians, 3 psychiatrists, 2 office coordinators, and 2 educational coordinators. Thematic analysis of transcripts was performed. RESULTS: Three themes were identified with respect to barriers to learning in the program from the family medicine perspective. Organizational barriers encompassed lack of clear vision, goals, roles, and responsibilities. Administrative barriers involved complex appointment bookings and scheduling. Communication and engagement barriers included insufficient communication between team members and lack of patient engagement in the program. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings highlight the importance of several factors for the successful implementation of a co-located academic primary care-behavioral health integrated model. This includes the formalization of program structure that encompasses shared vision, goals, roles, and responsibilities; coordinated processes for appointment bookings; team communication and patient engagement; and diverse educational and longitudinal care opportunities. With the growing number of integrated care programs, these results provide guidance for health care leaders involved in the design and management of primary care-behavioral health integration programs.

Mediation analysis with a time-to-event outcome: a review of use and reporting in healthcare research.

BACKGROUND: Mediation analysis tests whether the relationship between two variables is explained by a third intermediate variable. We sought to describe the usage and reporting of mediation analysis with time-to-event outcomes in published healthcare research. METHODS: A systematic search of Medline, Embase, and Web of Science was executed in December 2016 to identify applications of mediation analysis to healthcare research involving a clinically relevant time-to-event outcome. We summarized usage over time and reporting of important methodological characteristics. RESULTS: We included 149 primary studies, published from 1997 to 2016. Most studies were published after 2011 (n = 110, 74%), and the annual number of studies nearly doubled in the last year (from n = 21 to n = 40). A traditional approach (causal steps or change in coefficient) was most commonly taken (n = 87, 58%), and the majority of studies (n = 114, 77%) used a Cox Proportional Hazards regression for the outcome. Few studies (n = 52, 35%) mentioned any of the assumptions or limitations fundamental to a causal interpretation of mediation analysis. CONCLUSION: There is increasing use of mediation analysis with time-to-event outcomes. Current usage is limited by reliance on traditional methods and the Cox Proportional Hazards model, as well as low rates of reporting of underlying assumptions. There is a need for formal criteria to aid authors, reviewers, and readers reporting or appraising such studies.

Reflection impulsivity in binge drinking: behavioural and volumetric correlates.

The degree to which an individual accumulates evidence prior to making a decision, also known as reflection impulsivity, can be affected in psychiatric disorders. Here, we study decisional impulsivity in binge drinkers, a group at elevated risk for developing alcohol use disorders, comparing two tasks assessing reflection impulsivity and a delay discounting task, hypothesizing impairments in both subtypes of impulsivity. We also assess volumetric correlates of reflection impulsivity focusing on regions previously implicated in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Sixty binge drinkers and healthy volunteers were tested using two different information-gathering paradigms: the beads task and the Information Sampling Task (IST). The beads task was analysed using a behavioural approach and a Bayesian model of decision making. Delay discounting was assessed using the Monetary Choice Questionnaire. Regression analyses of primary outcomes were conducted with voxel-based morphometry analyses. Binge drinkers sought less evidence prior to decision in the beads task compared with healthy volunteers in both the behavioural and computational modelling analysis. There were no group differences in the IST or delay discounting task. Greater impulsivity as indexed by lower evidence accumulation in the beads task was associated with smaller dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and inferior parietal volumes. In contrast, greater impulsivity as indexed by lower evidence accumulation in the IST was associated with greater dorsal cingulate and precuneus volumes. Binge drinking is characterized by impaired reflection impulsivity suggesting a deficit in deciding on the basis of future outcomes that are more difficult to represent. These findings emphasize the role of possible therapeutic interventions targeting decision-making deficits.

Impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease: decreased striatal dopamine transporter levels.

OBJECTIVE: Impulse control disorders are commonly associated with dopaminergic therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD). PD patients with impulse control disorders demonstrate enhanced dopamine release to conditioned cues and a gambling task on [(11)C]raclopride positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and enhanced ventral striatal activity to reward on functional MRI. We compared PD patients with impulse control disorders and age-matched and gender-matched controls without impulse control disorders using [(123)I]FP-CIT (2ß-carbomethoxy-3ß-(4-iodophenyl)tropane) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), to assess striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) density. METHODS: The [(123)I]FP-CIT binding data in the striatum were compared between 15 PD patients with and 15 without impulse control disorders using independent t tests. RESULTS: Those with impulse control disorders showed significantly lower DAT binding in the right striatum with a trend in the left (right: F(1,24)=5.93, p=0.02; left: F(1,24)=3.75, p=0.07) compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that greater dopaminergic striatal activity in PD patients with impulse control disorders may be partly related to decreased uptake and clearance of dopamine from the synaptic cleft. Whether these findings are related to state or trait effects is not known. These findings dovetail with reports of lower DAT levels secondary to the effects of methamphetamine and alcohol. Although any regulation of DAT by antiparkinsonian medication appears to be modest, PD patients with impulse control disorders may be differentially sensitive to regulatory mechanisms of DAT expression by dopaminergic medications.

Higher Neighborhood Drivability Is Associated With a Higher Diabetes Risk in Younger Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Toronto, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: Car dependency contributes to physical inactivity and, consequently, may increase the likelihood of diabetes. We investigated whether neighborhoods that are highly conducive to driving confer a greater risk of developing diabetes and, if so, whether this differs by age. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We used administrative health care data to identify all working-age Canadian adults (20-64 years) who were living in Toronto on 1 April 2011 without diabetes (type 1 or 2). Neighborhood drivability scores were assigned using a novel, validated index that predicts driving patterns based on built environment features divided into quintiles. Cox regression was used to examine the association between neighborhood drivability and 7-year risk of diabetes onset, overall and by age-group, adjusting for baseline characteristics and comorbidities. RESULTS: Overall, there were 1,473,994 adults in the cohort (mean age 40.9 ± 12.2 years), among whom 77,835 developed diabetes during follow-up. Those living in the most drivable neighborhoods (quintile 5) had a 41% higher risk of developing diabetes compared with those in the least drivable neighborhoods (adjusted hazard ratio 1.41, 95% CI 1.37-1.44), with the strongest associations in younger adults aged 20-34 years (1.57, 95% CI 1.47-1.68, P < 0.001 for interaction). The same comparison in older adults (55-64 years) yielded smaller differences (1.31, 95% CI 1.26-1.36). Associations appeared to be strongest in middle-income neighborhoods for younger residents (middle income 1.96, 95% CI 1.64-2.33) and older residents (1.46, 95% CI 1.32-1.62). CONCLUSIONS: High neighborhood drivability is a risk factor for diabetes, particularly in younger adults. This finding has important implications for future urban design policies.

The Weight of Place: Built Environment Correlates of Obesity and Diabetes.

In recent decades, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes has risen substantially in North America and worldwide. To address these dual epidemics, researchers and policymakers alike have been searching for effective means to promote healthy lifestyles at a population level. As a consequence, there has been a proliferation of research examining how the "built" environment in which we live influences physical activity levels, by promoting active forms of transportation, such as walking and cycling, over passive ones, such as car use. Shifting the transportation choices of local residents may mean that more members of the population can participate in physical activity during their daily routine without structured exercise programs. Increasingly, this line of research has considered the downstream metabolic consequences of the environment in which we live, raising the possibility that "healthier" community designs could help mitigate the rise in obesity and diabetes prevalence. This review discusses the evidence examining the relationship between the built environment, physical activity, and obesity-related diseases. We also consider how other environmental factors may interact with the built environment to influence metabolic health, highlighting challenges in understanding causal relationships in this area of research.

The uneven impacts of avoiding public transit on riders' access to healthcare during COVID-19.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many urban residents stopped riding public transit despite their reliance on it to reach essential services like healthcare. Few studies have examined the implications of public transit reliance on riders' ability to reach healthcare when transit is disrupted. To understand how shocks to transportation systems impact healthcare access, this study measures the impact of avoiding public transit on the ability of riders to access healthcare and pharmacy services during lockdowns. Methods: We deployed a cross-sectional survey of residents of Toronto and Vancouver in May 2020 through Facebook advertisements and community list-serves. Eligibility criteria included riding transit at least weekly prior to the pandemic and subsequent cessation of transit use during the pandemic. We applied multivariable modified Poisson models to identify socio-demographic, transportation, health-related, and neighborhood predictors of experiencing increased difficulty accessing healthcare and getting prescriptions while avoiding public transit. We also predicted which respondents reported deferring medical care until they felt comfortable riding transit again. Results: A total of 4367 former transit riders were included (64.2% female, 56.1% Toronto residents). Several factors were associated with deferring medical care including: being non-White (Toronto, APR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.00-1.29; Vancouver, APR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.26-1.84), having a physical disability (Toronto, APR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.00-1.45; Vancouver, APR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.08-1.87), having no vehicle access (Toronto, APR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.51-2.00; Vancouver, APR, 2.74; 95% CI, 2.20-3.42), and having low income (Toronto, APR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.44-2.17; Vancouver, APR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.06-2.14). Discussion: During COVID-19 in two major Canadian cities, former transit riders from marginalized groups were more likely to defer medical care than other former riders. COVID-19 related transit disruptions may have imposed a disproportionate burden on the health access of marginalized individuals. Policymakers should consider prioritizing healthcare access for vulnerable residents during crises.

Association Between Neighborhood Walkability and Predicted 10-Year Cardiovascular Disease Risk: The CANHEART (Cardiovascular Health in Ambulatory Care Research Team) Cohort.

Background Individuals living in unwalkable neighborhoods appear to be less physically active and more likely to develop obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. It is unclear whether neighborhood walkability is a risk factor for future cardiovascular disease. Methods and Results We studied residents living in major urban centers in Ontario, Canada on January 1, 2008, using linked electronic medical record and administrative health data from the CANHEART (Cardiovascular Health in Ambulatory Care Research Team) cohort. Walkability was assessed using a validated index based on population and residential density, street connectivity, and the number of walkable destinations in each neighborhood, divided into quintiles (Q). The primary outcome was a predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risk of ≥7.5% (recommended threshold for statin use) assessed by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Pooled Cohort Equation. Adjusted associations were estimated using logistic regression models. Secondary outcomes included measured systolic blood pressure, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, prior diabetes mellitus diagnosis, and current smoking status. In total, 44 448 individuals were included in our analyses. Fully adjusted analyses found a nonlinear relationship between walkability and predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risk (least [Q1] versus most [Q5] walkable neighborhood: odds ratio =1.09, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.22), with the greatest difference between Q3 and Q5 (odds ratio=1.33, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.45). Dose-response associations were observed for systolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus risk, while an inverse association was observed with smoking status. Conclusions In our setting, adults living in less walkable neighborhoods had a higher predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risk than those living in highly walkable areas.

The probability of diabetes and hypertension by levels of neighborhood walkability and traffic-related air pollution across 15 municipalities in Southern Ontario, Canada: A dataset derived from 2,496,458 community dwelling-adults.

Individuals' risk for cardiovascular disease is shaped by lifestyle factors such as participation in physical activity. Some studies have suggested that rates of physical activity may be higher in walkable neighborhoods that are more supportive of engaging in physical activity in daily life. However, walkable neighborhoods may also contain increased levels of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). Traffic-related air pollution, often measured through a surrogate marker (e.g. NO2), has been associated cardiovascular disease risk and risk factors [1], [2], [3], [4]. The higher levels of TRAP in walkable neighborhoods may in turn increase the likelihood of developing conditions like hypertension and diabetes. Our recent work assessed how walkability and TRAP jointly affect the odds of diabetes and hypertension in a sample of community-dwelling adults from Southern Ontario, Canada [5]. This article contains additional data on the probability and odds of hypertension and diabetes according to their walkability and TRAP exposures. Data on cardiovascular risk factors were collected using health administrative databases and environmental exposures were assessed using national land use regression models predicting ground level concentrations of NO2 and validated walkability indices. The included data were generated using logistic regression accounting for exposures, covariates, and neighborhood clustering. These data may be used as primary data in future health risk assessments and systematic reviews, or to aid in the design of studies examining interactions between built environment and TRAP exposures (e.g. sample size calculations).

Interaction between neighborhood walkability and traffic-related air pollution on hypertension and diabetes: The CANHEART cohort.

BACKGROUND: Living in unwalkable neighborhoods has been associated with heightened risk for diabetes and hypertension. However, highly walkable environments may have higher concentrations of traffic-related air pollution, which may contribute to increased cardiovascular disease risk. We therefore aimed to assess how walkability and traffic-related air pollution jointly affect risk for hypertension and diabetes. METHODS: We used a cross-sectional, population-based sample of individuals aged 40-74 years residing in selected large urban centres in Ontario, Canada on January 1, 2008, assembled from administrative databases. Walkability and traffic-related air pollution (NO2) were assessed using validated tools and linked to individuals based on neighborhood of residence. Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted associations between exposures and diagnoses of hypertension or diabetes accounting for potential confounders. RESULTS: Overall, 2,496,458 individuals were included in our analyses. Low walkability was associated with higher odds of hypertension (lowest vs. highest quintile OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.32, 1.37) and diabetes (lowest vs. highest quintile OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.22, 1.29), while NO2 exhibited similar trends (hypertension: OR = 1.09 per 10 p.p.b., 95% CI: 1.08, 1.10; diabetes: OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.17). Significant interactions were identified between walkability and NO2 on risk for hypertension (p < 0.0001 and diabetes (p < 0.0001). At higher levels of pollution (40 p.p.b.), differences in the probability of hypertension (lowest vs. highest walkability quintile: 0.26 vs. 0.25) or diabetes (lowest vs. highest walkability quintile: 0.15 vs. 0.15) between highly walkable and unwalkable neighborhoods were diminished, compared to differences observed at lower levels of pollution (5 p.p.b.) (hypertension, lowest vs. highest walkability quintile: 0.21 vs. 0.13; diabetes, lowest vs. highest walkability quintile: 0.09 vs. 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Walkability and traffic-related air pollution interact to jointly predict risk for hypertension and diabetes. Although walkable neighborhoods appear to have beneficial effects, they may accentuate the harmful effects of air pollution on cardiovascular risk factors.

Association between residential self-selection and non-residential built environment exposures.

Studies employing 'activity space' measures of the built environment do not always account for how individuals self-select into different residential and non-residential environments when testing associations with physical activity. To date, no study has examined whether preferences for walkable residential neighborhoods predict exposure to other walkable neighborhoods in non-residential activity spaces. Using a sample of 9783 university students from Toronto, Canada, we assessed how self-reported preferences for a walkable neighborhood predicted their exposure to other walkable, non-residential environments, and further whether these preferences confounded observed walkability-physical activity associations. We found that residential walkability preferences and non-residential walkability were significant associated (ß = 0.42, 95% CI: (0.37, 0.47)), and further that these preferences confounded associations between non-residential walkability exposure and time spent walking (reduction in association = 10.5%). These results suggest that self-selection factors affect studies of non-residential built environment exposures.

Preliminary evidence for human globus pallidus pars interna neurons signaling reward and sensory stimuli.

The globus pallidus pars interna (GPi) is a component of the basal ganglia, a network of subcortical nuclei that process motor, associative, and limbic information. While non-human primate studies have suggested a role for the GPi in non-motor functions, there have been no single-unit studies of non-motor electrophysiological behavior of human GPi neurons. We therefore sought to extend these findings by collecting single-unit recordings from awake patients during functional stereotactic neurosurgery targeting the GPi for deep brain stimulation. To assess cellular responses to non-motor information, patients performed a reward task where virtual money could be won, lost, or neither, depending on their performance while cellular activity was monitored. Changes in the firing rates of isolated GPi neurons after the presentation of reward-related stimuli were compared between different reward contingencies (win, loss, null). We observed neurons that modulated their firing rate significantly to the presentation of reward-related stimuli. We furthermore found neurons that responded to visual-stimuli more broadly. This is the first single-unit evidence of human GPi neurons carrying non-motor information. These results are broadly consistent with previous findings in the animal literature and suggest non-motor information may be represented in the single-unit activity of human GPi neurons.

Neuronal correlates of risk-seeking attitudes to anticipated losses in binge drinkers.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal decision making under risk is associated with a number of psychiatric disorders. Here, we focus on binge drinkers (BD), characterized by repeated episodes of heavy alcohol intoxication. Previous studies suggest a decreased sensitivity to aversive conditioning in BD. Here, we asked whether BD might be characterized by enhanced risk seeking related to decreased sensitivity to the anticipation of negative outcomes. METHODS: Using an anticipatory risk-taking task (40 BD and 70 healthy volunteers) and an adapted version of this task for functional magnetic resonance imaging (21 BD and 21 healthy volunteers), we assessed sensitivity to reward and loss across risk probabilities. RESULTS: In the behavioral task, BD showed a higher number of risky choices in high-risk losses. In the neuroimaging task, the high-risk attitude in the loss condition was associated with greater activity in dorsolateral prefrontal, lateral orbitofrontal, and superior parietal cortices in BD. Explicit exposure of BD to the probability and magnitude of loss, via introduction of feedback, resulted in a subsequent decrease in risky choices. This change in risk attitude in BD was associated with greater activity in inferior frontal gyrus, which also correlated with the percentage of decrease in risky choices after feedback presentation, suggesting a possible role for cognitive control toward risk-seeking attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that a decrease in sensitivity to the anticipation of high-risk negative outcomes might underlie BD behavior. Presentation of explicit feedback of probability and loss in BD can potentially modify risk-taking attitudes, which have important public health implications and suggest possible therapeutic targets.

Increased ventral striatal volume in college-aged binge drinkers.

BACKGROUND: Binge drinking is a serious public health issue associated with cognitive, physiological, and anatomical differences from healthy individuals. No studies, however, have reported subcortical grey matter differences in this population. To address this, we compared the grey matter volumes of college-age binge drinkers and healthy controls, focusing on the ventral striatum, hippocampus and amygdala. METHOD: T1-weighted images of 19 binge drinkers and 19 healthy volunteers were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry. Structural data were also covaried with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. Cluster-extent threshold and small volume corrections were both used to analyze imaging data. RESULTS: Binge drinkers had significantly larger ventral striatal grey matter volumes compared to controls. There were no between group differences in hippocampal or amygdalar volume. Ventral striatal, amygdalar, and hippocampal volumes were also negatively related to AUDIT scores across groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings stand in contrast to the lower ventral striatal volume previously observed in more severe forms of alcohol use disorders, suggesting that college-age binge drinkers may represent a distinct population from those groups. These findings may instead represent early sequelae, compensatory effects of repeated binge and withdrawal, or an endophenotypic risk factor.