Category: Nevin Manimala

Age Ageing. 2024 Jul 2;53(7):afae162. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afae162.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Intrinsic capacity refers to a broad range of health traits, including the physiological and psychological changes brought on by aging. Previous research has shown that intrinsic capacity, as an independent emerging construct, is a highly effective predictor of several health outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to summarise the predictive effect of intrinsic capacity at baseline on health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults.

DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PARTICIPANTS: Middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS: We systematically searched up to 3 April 2024 in 10 electronic databases. Studies investigating the predictive effect of baseline composite intrinsic capacity and health outcomes were included. Publications that had reported hazard ratios (HRs) or odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as effect size were considered.

RESULTS: A total of 23 publications were included. The sample size ranged from 100 to 17 031. The results of the meta-analysis showed statistically significant prediction of adverse health outcomes such as disability (OR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.68-2.03, I2 = 41%, Pheterogeneity=.10), falls (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.19-1.60, I2 = 45%, Pheterogeneity=.11), hospitalisation (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.17-4.3, I2 = 68%, Pheterogeneity=.08), mortality (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.54-1.91, I2 = 32%, Pheterogeneity=.12) and frailty (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.45-1.70, I2 = 2%, Pheterogeneity=.31) by the baseline composite intrinsic capacity.

CONCLUSIONS: Declined intrinsic capacity has potential predictive value for adverse health outcomes, further high-quality study is needed to validate these findings and strengthen their cumulative impact. Attention to health outcomes should also focus on both breadth and category precision.

PMID:39058916 | DOI:10.1093/ageing/afae162

Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Jul 26;103(30):e38996. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000038996.

ABSTRACT

In patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a massive inflammatory response is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Inflammatory markers are prognostic indicators of disease severity and the ultimate clinical outcome. Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between serum levels of neopterin, which can be an immune system marker, disease severity, and poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Our study aimed to determine the diagnostic significance of neopterin in conjunction with routinely measured inflammatory markers in patients with severe COVID-19. Serum neopterin, C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin levels, and complete blood count were determined in 39 patients with severe COVID-19 and 30 healthy individuals. Demographic characteristics, serum neopterin levels, and other laboratory data were compared between patients and healthy volunteers and statistically analyzed. High neopterin levels were observed in patients with severe COVID-19 compared to healthy volunteers. Furthermore, albumin levels were decreased, while CRP levels were increased in patients, statistically significantly. Also, positive correlations were shown between serum neopterin levels and serum CRP levels, while negative correlations were shown between serum neopterin levels and serum albumin levels. Systemic inflammation markers, CRP/albumin ratio, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, and platelet/lymphocyte ratio were significantly higher, while lymphocyte/monocyte ratio was also significantly lower in patients with severe COVID-19 than in healthy volunteers. However, serum neopterin levels were not linked to the CRP/albumin ratio, the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, or the platelet/lymphocyte ratio. On the other hand, they were linked negatively to the lymphocyte/monocyte ratio. Our findings highlight the association between high neopterin levels and patients with severe COVID-19. Neopterin is correlated with traditional inflammatory biomarkers and may indicate general immune and inflammatory activation in patients with severe COVID-19.

PMID:39058886 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000038996

Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Jul 26;103(30):e39067. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000039067.

ABSTRACT

An increasing body of evidence supports the involvement of inflammation and immune responses in the occurrence and development of keratoconus (KC). However, the causal relationship between inflammatory factors and KC remains unclear. We employed a 2-way Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to investigate the interaction between KC and inflammatory factors. Instrumental variables for 41 circulating inflammatory regulators and 12 matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were selected from genome-wide association studies of European ancestry. Summary statistics for KC were obtained from a genome-wide association study comprising 2116 cases and 24,626 controls of European ancestry. The primary analytical method for assessing causality was the inverse-variance weighted method. Two additional MR methods (MR-Egger and weighted median) were employed to complement the inverse-variance weighted results. In addition, several sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate heterogeneity, horizontal pleiotropy, and stability. Our findings indicated that genetically predicted higher levels of macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (odds ratio = 1.126, 95% confidence interval: 1.029-1.232, P = .01) and MMP-13 (odds ratio = 1.211, 95% confidence interval: 1.070-1.371, P = .003) were positively associated with an elevated risk of KC. Conversely, genetically predicted KC was associated with increased levels of interferon-gamma, interleukin-4, and MMP-1. Our current study provided suggestive evidence supporting causal associations of macrophage inflammatory protein-1β and MMP-13 with the risk of KC. In addition, KC appeared to affect the expression of interferon-gamma, interleukin-4, and MMP-1.

PMID:39058875 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000039067

Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Jul 26;103(30):e39054. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000039054.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to observe the effects of local infiltration analgesia (LIA) or erector spinae plane block (ESPB) methods, which we applied preemptively in patients who were scheduled for surgery with a lumbotomy surgical incision and on intraoperative remifentanil consumption, and to compare the postoperative numerical rating scale (NRS), morphine demand, consumption, and pain degrees.

METHODS: Sixty American Society of Anesthesiologists I to III patients aged 18 to 75 years who were due to be operated on with a lumbotomy surgical incision were included in the study. The present study was conducted via prospective, randomized controlled, double-blind trials. After the induction of standard anesthesia, LIA was applied to 30 patients and ESPB was applied to 30 patients preemptively. The dose of remifentanil consumed in the intraoperative period was measured, and the hemodynamic parameters were measured every 5 minutes. Morphine bolus treatment with the postoperative patient-controlled analgesia and rescue analgesia with paracetamol were planned for the patients. Postoperative morphine and additional analgesia consumption, NRS, hemodynamic parameters, and complications were recorded for 48 hours.

RESULTS: There was no difference between the groups in terms of demographic and hemodynamic data. The mean consumption of remifentanil was measured as 455 ± 165.23 µg in the intraoperative ESPB group and 296.67 ± 110.59 µg in the LIA group, and a statistical difference was observed (P = .001). In the postoperative follow-ups, the ESPB group drug consumption and NRS score averages were significantly lower at all times (P = .01; patient-controlled analgesia-morphine, 41.93 ± 14.47 mg vs 57.23 ± 15.5 mg and additional analgesic-paracetamol: 2.1 ± 1.06 vs 4.27 ± 1.14 g). The mean duration of additional analgesic intake of the groups was 10.6 ± 8.1 in the LIA group, while it was 19.33 ± 8.87 in the ESPB group, a significant difference. The patient satisfaction questionnaire was also significantly in favor of ESPB (P = .05).

CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, it has been shown that the intraoperative LIA method is more effective in terms of remifentanil consumption and in controlling pain in operations performed with a flank incision, but the ESPB method provides longer and more effective pain control in postoperative follow-ups.

PMID:39058874 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000039054

Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Jul 26;103(30):e39059. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000039059.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy and safety between glucocorticoids combined with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) versus glucocorticoids combined with cyclophosphamide (CTX) for henoch schonlein purpura nephritis (HSPN) in children.

METHODS: Databases including PubMed, EMbase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang database were searched from the inception to April 5th, 2024. Eligible studies comparing glucocorticoids combined with MMF versus glucocorticoids combined with CTX for HSPN in children were included. Data were analyzed using Review Manager Version 5.3.

RESULTS: Ten studies were included in the meta-analysis. Six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 4 non-randomized studies involving 675 patients were identified. Compared with CTX therapeutic schedule, MMF therapeutic schedule had a higher complete remission (CR) within the 6 months (OR 1.61, 95%CI 1.16-2.22, P = .004) and CR within the 12 months (OR 1.73, 95%CI 1.00-2.97, P = .05). However, there was no significant difference between MMF and CTX therapeutic schedule concerning total remission (TR) within the 6 months (OR 1.54, 95%CI 0.82-2.92, P = .18) and TR within the 12 months (OR 2.08, 95%CI 0.86-5.01, P = .10). In addition, incidences of gastrointestinal discomfort (OR 0.33, 95%CI 0.19-0.56, P < .0001), liver function injury (OR 0.28, 95%CI 0.09-0.87, P = .03), myelosuppression (OR 0.15, 95%CI 0.06-0.41, P = .0001), alopecia (OR 0.25, 95%CI 0.07-0.91, P = .03) in MMF therapeutic schedule were all lower than CTX therapeutic schedule. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 therapeutic schedules concerning infection (OR 0.90, 95%CI 0.50-1.61, P = .72), rash (OR 0.38, 95%CI 0.07-2.04, P = .26).

CONCLUSION: Glucocorticoids combined with MMF had a higher CR and lower incidence of adverse effects compared with glucocorticoids combined with CTX in the treatment of HSPN in children.

PMID:39058868 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000039059

J Prim Care Community Health. 2024 Jan-Dec;15:21501319241266108. doi: 10.1177/21501319241266108.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To examine factors associated with hospitalization among Mexican Americans aged 75 years and older with diabetes (with and without complications) and without diabetes over 12 years of follow up.

METHODS: Participants (N = 1454) were from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (2004/2005-2016) residing in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Measures included socio-demographics, medical conditions, falls, depressive symptoms, cognitive function, disability, physician visits, and hospitalizations. Participants were categorized as no diabetes (N = 1028), diabetes without complications (N = 180), and diabetes with complications (N = 246).

RESULTS: Participants with diabetes and complications had greater odds ratio (1.56, 95% Confidence Interval = 1.23-1.98) over time of being admitted to the hospital in the prior year versus those without diabetes. Participants with diabetes had greater odds of hospitalization if they had heart failure, falls, amputation, and insulin treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: In Mexican American older adults, diabetes and diabetes-related complications increased the risk of hospitalization.

PMID:39058533 | DOI:10.1177/21501319241266108

J Psychiatr Pract. 2024 Jul 1;30(4):292-296. doi: 10.1097/PRA.0000000000000792.

ABSTRACT

There has been an ongoing debate regarding grief, whether it may be at times pathological, and whether it is different from depression. This article addresses those questions by tracking the changing course of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals of Mental Disorders (DSMs) since DSM-III and by reviewing the debate concerning grief and depression. At the time when DSM-III was being prepared in the late 1970s (it was published in 1980), there was a concern that normal bereavement (or grief) was being diagnosed as major depression. To address this concern, the editors of DSM-III added a category of “uncomplicated bereavement.” The fourth edition of the DSM (DSM-IV), published in 1994, then followed by a minor change. However, the editors of DSM-5 decided to eliminate the bereavement exclusion entirely. Their concern was simply whether the individual did or did not suffer from major depression. Since an individual might not warrant a diagnosis of major depression but might still be experiencing grief, the DSM discussion leads directly into the question of whether grief-later called prolonged grief disorder-and depression are separate conditions. Advocates for prolonged grief disorder maintained that grief is different from depression but that patients may present with a mix of grief and depressive symptoms that are clinically difficult to distinguish. Advocates of separate conditions have in fact developed an inventory of symptoms that identify prolonged grief disorder. However, inasmuch as a typical grief presentation will include depressive symptoms, the clinical challenge is to distinguish prolonged grief disorder and major depression, as well as to distinguish both from normal grief. Given the temporal limits of an average consultation, this article argues that making the required distinctions is an unrealistic expectation. Finally, researchers have developed specific treatment programs for prolonged grief disorder, but a conflict between the 2 primary researchers involved and the generalities in which the programs are phrased have led to the suggestion of a different approach to treatment that replaces generalities with a person-centered approach.

PMID:39058529 | DOI:10.1097/PRA.0000000000000792

Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2024 Jul 26. doi: 10.55563/clinexprheumatol/cv6z35. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of uric acid (UA) in prognosis of pulmonary artery involvement (PAI) in patients with Takayasu’s arteritis (TAK).

METHODS: A total of 166 TAK patients were enrolled in the study, including 76 with PAI and 90 without. Outcomes of 144 TAK patients were followed up and recorded. The possible associations between serum UA levels and incidence of PAI in TAK and PAI-related prognosis of TAK patients were examined using different statistical models.

RESULTS: The serum UA levels were significantly higher in TAK patient with PAI than TAK patients without PAI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that serum UA level ≥284.5 umol/L was associated with an increasing incidence of PAI in TAK (OR: 2.108, 95% CI: 1.063 to 4.180; p=0.033). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that TAK patients with serum UA level ≥328.1 umol/L had a significantly higher cumulative incidence of PAI-related adverse events compared to TAK patients with serum UA level <328.1 umol/L (p=0.008). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis revealed that serum UA level ≥328.1 umol/L (HR: 2.595, 95% CI: 1.198 to 5.622; p=0.016) was a PAI-related prognostic risk factor for TAK.

CONCLUSIONS: Elevation of serum UA level was associated with an increasing risk of PAI and PAI-related adverse event in patients with TAK, indicating its potential as a predictor for identification of PAI onset and worsening in TAK patients.

PMID:39058515 | DOI:10.55563/clinexprheumatol/cv6z35

JAMA Health Forum. 2024 Jul 5;5(7):e241920. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.1920.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: The US Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan, a nasal spray formulation of naloxone, for sale as an over-the-counter (OTC) medication in March 2023. The purpose of OTC approval was to improve naloxone accessibility to reduce opioid overdoses; however, research has not yet evaluated whether naloxone’s availability and cost changed since this policy was implemented.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the accessibility and cost of naloxone at North Carolina community pharmacies changed after OTC naloxone became available and whether cost and availability varied by pharmacy type and urbanicity.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This longitudinal telephone-based secret shopper survey study included a stratified sample of 202 North Carolina community pharmacies, including health department, independent, and chain pharmacies. There were 2 separate data collection efforts from March to April 2023 (before OTC naloxone could be sold at pharmacies) and November 2023 to January 2024 (after OTC naloxone was sold at pharmacies).

EXPOSURE: OTC naloxone first became available for sale at community pharmacies in September 2023.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The main outcomes were same-day availability of naloxone without a clinician-issued prescription and the quoted out-of-pocket cost for cash-paying patients.

RESULTS: Data were collected from 192 pharmacies. Same-day naloxone availability increased from 42.2% (81 of 192) before OTC naloxone availability to 57.8% (111 of 192) after (P < .001). The mean (SD) quoted out-of-pocket cost decreased from $90.93 ($42.6) pre-OTC availability to $62.67 ($41.0) post-OTC availability (P < .001). Independent pharmacies had higher mean (SD) costs than chain pharmacies in both the pre-OTC phase ($109.47 [$37.90] vs $86.40 [$35.70]; P < .001) and post-OTC phase ($77.59 [$38.90] vs $57.74 [$35.90]; P = .004). Out-of-pocket costs did not differ by urbanicity in the pre-OTC phase; however, mean (SD) costs were higher at suburban ($88.67 [$66.80]) and rural ($65.43 [$35.00]) pharmacies compared with urban pharmacies ($53.58 [$29.00]) in the post-OTC phase (P = .003).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of OTC naloxone nasal spray contributed to an increase in pharmacy-based availability of naloxone and a reduction of its cost for cash-paying patients. Cost was higher at independent pharmacies compared with chain pharmacies and lower in urban pharmacies compared with suburban and rural pharmacies.

PMID:39058509 | DOI:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.1920

JAMA Health Forum. 2024 Jul 5;5(7):e242014. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.2014.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Transitions in insurance coverage may be associated with worse health care outcomes. Little is known about insurance stability for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD).

OBJECTIVE: To examine insurance transitions among adults with newly diagnosed OUD in the 12 months after diagnosis.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Longitudinal cohort study using data from the Massachusetts Public Health Data Warehouse. The cohort includes adults aged 18 to 63 years diagnosed with incident OUD between July 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014, who were enrolled in commercial insurance or Medicaid at diagnosis; individuals diagnosed after 2014 were excluded from the main analyses due to changes in the reporting of insurance claims. Data were analyzed from November 10, 2022, to May 6, 2024.

EXPOSURE: Insurance type at time of diagnosis (commercial and Medicaid).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the cumulative incidence of insurance transitions in the 12 months after diagnosis. Logistic regression models were used to generate estimated probabilities of insurance transitions by insurance type and diagnosis for several characteristics including age, race and ethnicity, and whether an individual started medication for OUD (MOUD) within 30 days after diagnosis.

RESULTS: There were 20 768 individuals with newly diagnosed OUD between July 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. Most individuals with newly diagnosed OUD were covered by Medicaid (75.4%). Those with newly diagnosed OUD were primarily male (67% in commercial insurance, 61.8% in Medicaid). In the 12 months following OUD diagnosis, 30.4% of individuals experienced an insurance transition, with adjusted models demonstrating higher transition rates among those starting with Medicaid (31.3%; 95% CI, 30.5%-32.0%) compared with commercial insurance (27.9%; 95% CI, 26.6%-29.1%). The probability of insurance transitions was generally higher for younger individuals than older individuals irrespective of insurance type, although there were notable differences by race and ethnicity.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study found that nearly 1 in 3 individuals experience insurance transitions in the 12 months after OUD diagnosis. Insurance transitions may represent an important yet underrecognized factor in OUD treatment outcomes.

PMID:39058507 | DOI:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.2014