Tag: statistics

JAMA Health Forum. 2024 Apr 5;5(4):e240302. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0302.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are safe and highly effective for curing hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but their high cost led certain state Medicaid programs to impose coverage restrictions. Since 2015, many of these restrictions have been lifted voluntarily in response to advocacy or because of litigation.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate how the prescribing of DAAs to Medicaid patients changed after states eased access restrictions.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This modified difference-in-differences analysis of 39 state Medicaid programs included Medicaid beneficiaries who were prescribed a DAA from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2019. DAA coverage restrictions were measured based on a series of cross-sectional assessments performed from 2014 through 2022 by the US National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable and the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation.

EXPOSURE: Calendar quarter when states eased or eliminated 3 types of DAA coverage restrictions: limiting treatment to patients with severe liver disease, restricting use among patients with active substance use, and requiring prescriptions to be written by or in consultation with specialists. States with none of these restrictions at baseline were excluded.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Quarterly number of HCV DAA treatment courses per 100 000 Medicaid beneficiaries.

RESULTS: Of 39 states, 7 (18%) eliminated coverage restrictions, 25 (64%) eased restrictions, and 7 (18%) maintained the same restrictions from 2015 to 2019. During this period, the average quarterly use of DAAs increased from 669 to 3601 treatment courses per 100 000 Medicaid beneficiaries. After states eased or eliminated restrictions, the use of DAAs increased by 966 (95% CI, 409-1523) treatment courses per 100 000 Medicaid beneficiaries each quarter compared with states that did not ease or eliminate restrictions.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The results of this study suggest that there was greater use of DAAs after states relaxed coverage restrictions related to liver disease severity, sobriety, or prescriber specialty. Further reductions or elimination of these rules may improve access to a highly effective public health intervention for patients with HCV.

PMID:38578628 | DOI:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0302

JAMA Health Forum. 2024 Apr 5;5(4):e240430. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0430.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Policy changes and the COVID-19 pandemic affected health coverage rates, and the “unwinding” of Medicaid’s continuous coverage provision in 2023 and 2024 may cause widespread coverage loss. Recent coverage patterns in national survey and administrative data can inform these issues.

OBJECTIVE: To assess national and state changes in survey-based Medicaid, private insurance, and uninsured rates between 2019 and 2022, as well as how these changes compare with administrative Medicaid enrollment totals.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study analyzes nationally representative survey data for all US residents in the American Community Survey (ACS) from 2019 to 2022 compared with administrative data on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Data analysis was conducted between June 2023 and January 2024.

EXPOSURES: The COVID-19 pandemic, the Medicaid continuous coverage provision, and policy efforts to increase Marketplace coverage.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Medicaid coverage (self-reported [ACS] and administratively recorded [CMS]), survey-reported uninsured, Medicare, and private insurance status.

RESULTS: A nationally representative sample consisted of 12 506 584 US residents of all ages (survey-weighted 59.7% aged 19-64 years and 50.6% female). CMS statistics showed an increase in Medicaid coverage of 5.2 percentage points as a share of the population from 2019 to 2022. However, changes in the uninsured rate and survey-reported Medicaid were smaller: -1.2 (95% CI, -1.3 to -1.2) percentage points and 1.3 (95% CI, 1.2-1.4) percentage points, respectively. There was a 3.9 percentage point increase in the ACS’s “undercount” of Medicaid enrollment, compared with CMS data, from 2019 to 2022. This undercount was larger among children than adults but smaller in states that recently expanded Medicaid. Rates of additional forms of coverage (such as private insurance) among those in Medicaid also grew during this time.

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study, the uninsured rate declined considerably from 2019 to 2022 but was just one-fourth as large as the growth in administrative Medicaid enrollment under the pandemic continuous coverage provision. Survey-based Medicaid growth was far smaller than administrative growth. This suggests that many people who remained enrolled in Medicaid during the pandemic did not realize that their coverage had continued. These findings have implications for projecting uninsured changes during unwinding, as well as the effect of continuous coverage policies on continuity of care.

PMID:38578627 | DOI:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0430

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2024 Apr 1;65(4):14. doi: 10.1167/iovs.65.4.14.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aims to examine the short-term peripheral choroidal thickness (PChT) response to signed defocus blur, both with and without native peripheral aberrations. This examination will provide insights into the role of peripheral aberration in detecting signs of defocus.

METHODS: The peripheral retina (temporal 15°) of the right eye was exposed to a localized video stimulus in 11 young adults. An adaptive optics system induced 2D myopic or hyperopic defocus onto the stimulus, with or without correcting native peripheral ocular aberrations (adaptive optics [AO] or NoAO defocus conditions). Choroidal scans were captured using Heidelberg Spectralis OCT at baseline, exposure (10, 20, and 30 minutes), and recovery phases (4, 8, and 15 minutes). Neural network-based automated MATLAB segmentation program measured PChT changes from OCT scans, and statistical analysis evaluated the effects of different optical conditions over time.

RESULTS: During the exposure phase, NoAO myopic and hyperopic defocus conditions exhibited distinct bidirectional PChT alterations, showing average thickening (10.0 ± 5.3 µm) and thinning (-9.1 ± 5.5 µm), respectively. In contrast, induced AO defocus conditions did not demonstrate a significant change from baseline. PChT recovery to baseline occurred for all conditions. The unexposed fovea did not show any significant ChT change, indicating a localized ChT response to retinal blur.

CONCLUSIONS: We discovered that the PChT response serves as a marker for detecting peripheral retinal myopic and hyperopic defocus blur, especially in the presence of peripheral aberrations. These findings highlight the significant role of peripheral oriented blur in cueing peripheral defocus sign detection.

PMID:38578621 | DOI:10.1167/iovs.65.4.14

J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2024 Apr 5:ocae067. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocae067. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the consistency and reliability of medication recommendations provided by ChatGPT for common dermatological conditions, highlighting the potential for ChatGPT to offer second opinions in patient treatment while also delineating possible limitations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this mixed-methods study, we used survey questions in April 2023 for drug recommendations generated by ChatGPT with data from secondary databases, that is, Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database and an US medical center database, and validated by dermatologists. The methodology included preprocessing queries, executing them multiple times, and evaluating ChatGPT responses against the databases and dermatologists. The ChatGPT-generated responses were analyzed statistically in a disease-drug matrix, considering disease-medication associations (Q-value) and expert evaluation.

RESULTS: ChatGPT achieved a high 98.87% dermatologist approval rate for common dermatological medication recommendations. We evaluated its drug suggestions using the Q-value, showing that human expert validation agreement surpassed Q-value cutoff-based agreement. Varying cutoff values for disease-medication associations, a cutoff of 3 achieved 95.14% accurate prescriptions, 5 yielded 85.42%, and 10 resulted in 72.92%. While ChatGPT offered accurate drug advice, it occasionally included incorrect ATC codes, leading to issues like incorrect drug use and type, nonexistent codes, repeated errors, and incomplete medication codes.

CONCLUSION: ChatGPT provides medication recommendations as a second opinion in dermatology treatment, but its reliability and comprehensiveness need refinement for greater accuracy. In the future, integrating a medical domain-specific knowledge base for training and ongoing optimization will enhance the precision of ChatGPT’s results.

PMID:38578616 | DOI:10.1093/jamia/ocae067

J Orthop Trauma. 2024 Apr 2. doi: 10.1097/BOT.0000000000002808. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to perform a network meta-analysis (NMA) of level I and II evidence comparing different management techniques to define the optimum treatment method for humeral shaft fractures (HSF).

METHODS: Data Sources: A systematic review of the literature using PRISMA guidelines of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library was screened from 2010-2023.

STUDY SELECTION: Inclusion criteria were evidence level I or II studies comparing nonoperative and/or operative repair techniques including open reduction internal fixation plate osteosynthesis (ORIF-Plate), minimally invasive percutaneous plating (MIPO), and intramedullary nail fixation (IMN) for the management of HSF (AO OTA 12A,B,C).

DATA EXTRACTION: The risk of bias (ROB) and methodologic quality of evidence (MQOE) were assessed according to the guidelines designed by the Cochrane Statistical Methods Group and Cochrane Methods Bias Group.

DATA SYNTHESIS: NMA were conducted with a frequentist approach with a random effects model using the netmeta package version 0.9-6 in R.

RESULTS: A total of 25 studies (1,908 patients) were included. MIPO resulted in the lowest complication rate (2.1%) when compared to ORIF-Plate (16.1%) (OR, 0.13;95%CI,0.04-0.49). MIPO resulted in the lowest nonunion rate (0.65%) compared to all management techniques (OR 0.28; 95%CI, 0.08-0.98), whereas Non-Op resulted in the highest (15.87%) (OR,3.48; 95%CI, 1.98-6.11). MIPO demonstrated the lowest rate of postoperative radial nerve palsy overall (2.2%) and demonstrated a significantly lower rate compared to ORIF-Plate (OR,0.22,95% CI, 0.07-0.71, p=0.02). IMN resulted in the lowest rate of deep infection (1.1%) when compared to ORIF-Plate (8.6%; p=0.013). MIPO resulted in a significantly lower DASH score (3.86±5.2) and higher ASES score (98.2± 1.4) than ORIF-Plate (19.5±9.0 & 60.0±5.4, p<0.05).

CONCLUSION: The results from this study support that surgical management results in better postoperative functional outcomes, leads to higher union rates, reduces fracture healing time, reduces revision rate and decreases malunion rates in patients with HSFs. Additionally, MIPO resulted in statistically higher union rates, lowest complication rate, lowest rate of postoperative radial nerve palsy, and lower intraoperative time, while resulting in better postoperative DASH and ASES scores when compared to nonoperative and operative (ORIF & IMN) treatment modalities.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

PMID:38578605 | DOI:10.1097/BOT.0000000000002808

J Endocrinol Invest. 2024 Apr 5. doi: 10.1007/s40618-024-02352-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Risk factors for developing radioiodine refractory thyroid cancer (RAIR-TC) have rarely been analyzed. The purpose of the present study was to find clinical and pathological features associated with the occurrence of RAIR-disease in differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC) and to establish an effective predictive risk score.

METHODS: All cases of RAIR-DTC treated in our center from 1990 to 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Each case was matched randomly with at least four RAI-avid DTC control patients based on histological and clinical criteria. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the association between RAIR-disease and variables with univariate and multivariate analyses. A risk score was then developed from the multivariate conditional logistic regression model to predict the risk of refractory disease occurrence. The optimal cut-off value for predicting the occurrence of RAIR-TC was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and Youden’s statistic.

RESULTS: We analyzed 159 RAIR-TC cases for a total of 759 controls and found 7 independent risk factors for predicting RAIR-TC occurrence: age at diagnosis ≥ 55, vascular invasion, synchronous cervical, pulmonary and bone metastases at initial work-up, cervical and pulmonary recurrence during follow-up. The predictive score of RAIR-disease showed a high discrimination power with a cut-off value of 8.9 out of 10 providing 86% sensitivity and 92% specificity with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.95.

CONCLUSION: Predicting the occurrence of RAIR-disease in DTC patients may allow clinicians to focus on systemic redifferentiating strategies and/or local treatments for metastatic lesions rather than pursuing with ineffective RAI-therapies.

PMID:38578580 | DOI:10.1007/s40618-024-02352-z

J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2024 Apr 5. doi: 10.1007/s40615-024-01994-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Evidence suggests that racial discrimination causes stress among non-Hispanic Black women, and some Black women may cope with exposure to vicarious racial discrimination by engaging in maladaptive eating behaviors.

METHODS: We examined eating behaviors among Black women (N = 254) before and after Freddie Gray’s death while in police custody. Maladaptive eating behaviors were assessed using the three-factor eating questionnaire. Our independent variables included the following: (1) time period and (2) geographic proximity to the event. Three two-way analysis of covariance tests were conducted to assess potential effects of geographic proximity (close, distant), time period in relation to unrest (before, after unrest), and their interaction on emotional eating, uncontrolled eating, and cognitive restraint controlling for participant age.

RESULTS: There was a statistically significant main effect of proximity to the unrest on emotional eating, F (1, 252) = 5.64, p = .018, and partial η2 = .022 such that women living in close geographic proximity to the unrest reported higher mean levels of emotional eating as compared to those living more distant to the unrest. There was also a borderline statistically significant interaction between geographic proximity and time period on cognitive restraint, F (1, 252) = 3.89, p = .050, and partial η2 = .015.

CONCLUSION: Our study found a relationship between vicarious racial discrimination and maladaptive eating behaviors among Black women. Future work should examine stress related to vicarious racial discrimination and maladaptive eating behaviors longitudinally.

PMID:38578573 | DOI:10.1007/s40615-024-01994-2

Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2024 Apr 5. doi: 10.1007/s00404-023-07362-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Nifedipine is a calcium channel blocker with smooth muscle relaxing properties. This study set out to investigate the efficacy of nifedipine administered orally before embryo transfer (ET) on the improvement of the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcome. This randomized, double-blind, comparator-controlled, was carried out between 2019 and 2020 in the infertility center of Babol, Iran. 200 women candidates for ICSI and recipients of frozen-thawed ET aged 18-40 years were randomly assigned in the ratio 1:1 to an intervention group that received nifedipine 20 mg tablets orally 30 min before ET (n = 100) or to a group of placebo (n = 100). A randomization center in Babol University of Medical Science used computer-generated numbers to allocate treatments. The allocation treatment was blind to the participants, the sonographer of endometer monitoring, the staff of the ICSI laboratory, and the outcome assessor. The primary analysis was based on the intention-to-treat principle done on 200 participants, (n = 100), comparing chemical pregnancy rates in the two comparing groups at 14 days’ follow-up after ET. Implantation rate and clinical pregnancy were considered secondary outcomes.

RESULT: 200 participants were analyzed. There is no significant difference in the number of oocytes and the quality of embryos in the nifedipine and placebo groups. Despite a numerical increase in the rate of chemical pregnancy, there were no statistical differences in the study group versus the comparison group (24% vs 14%, P = 0.1, rate ratio 0.88, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.01), respectively. Also, no significant increase in clinical pregnancy was found compared with the placebo (17% vs 8%, P = 0.26, rate ratio 0.90, 0.81 to 1.00).

CONCLUSION: Nifedipine administered orally 30 min before embryo transfer did not improve the chemical pregnancy rate, and clinical pregnancy rate in infertile women undergoing ICSI. This trial has been registered on the Iranian Clinical Trials Registration Site (IRCT) with the number IRCT20180417039338N3.

PMID:38578543 | DOI:10.1007/s00404-023-07362-5

Clin Transl Oncol. 2024 Apr 5. doi: 10.1007/s12094-024-03411-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Retrospective data suggest an association between bevacizumab efficacy and the incidence of arterial hypertension (AHT). Additionally, epigenetic mechanisms have been related to AHT.

METHODS: This prospective observational study conducted by GEICAM Spanish Breast Cancer Research Group included metastatic breast (MBC) or colorectal (mCRC) cancer patients treated with bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy as first-line treatment. Blood pressure (BP) levels were measured (conventional and 24-h Holter monitoring) at baseline and up to cycle 3. Primary endpoint assessed BP levels increase as predictive factor for progression-free survival (PFS). Germline DNA methylation profile was explored in pre-treatment blood samples; principal component analysis was used to define an epigenetic predictive score for increased BP levels.

RESULTS: From Oct-2012 to Jul-2016, 143 (78 MBC and 65 mCRC) patients were included. The incidence of AHT according to guidelines was neither predictive of PFS nor of best overall tumor response (BOR). No statistically significant association was observed with systolic BP nor diastolic BP increment for PFS or BOR. Grade 3 and 4 adverse events were observed in 37 and 5% of patients, respectively. We identified 27 sites which baseline methylation status was significantly associated to BP levels increase secondary to bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS: Neither the frequency of AHT nor the increase of BP levels were predictive of efficacy in MBC and mCRC patients treated with bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01733628.

PMID:38578537 | DOI:10.1007/s12094-024-03411-w

J Immigr Minor Health. 2024 Apr 5. doi: 10.1007/s10903-024-01589-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Discrimination is detrimental to health. Little is known about perceived discrimination among Somali immigrants. We examined whether age or proportion of lifetime in the United States was associated with perceived discrimination among Somali immigrants. Guided by Intersectionality, we described a secondary analysis of Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) survey data from the Healthy Immigrant Community study. Younger participants ( ≤40 years) experienced more discrimination than older participants ( >40 years). Higher education, being male, and earning $20,000-$39,999 was associated with more perceived discrimination. These findings suggest that Somali immigrants who are younger, more formally educated, male, and/or earn $20,000-$39,000 report more discrimination than their counterparts. Possible explanations include exposure to discrimination outside the Somali community or more awareness about racism. Alternatively, the EDS may not capture the discrimination experienced by Somali women or older adults. Further research is needed to address the discrimination experienced by Somali immigrants. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT05136339, November 29,2021.

PMID:38578534 | DOI:10.1007/s10903-024-01589-3