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S Dee Melnyk,
Leah L Zullig,
Felicia McCant,
Susanne Danus,
Eugene Oddone,
Lori Bastian,
Maren Olsen, Karen M Stechuchak,
David Edelman,
Susan Rakley,
Miriam Morey,
Hayden B Bosworth
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ABSTRACT: Patients with co-occurrence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Comprehensive programs addressing both tailored patient self-management and pharmacotherapy are needed to address barriers to optimal cardiovascular risk reduction. We are examining a Clinical pharmacy specialist-, telephone-administered intervention, relying on home monitoring, with a goal of providing tailored medication and behavioral intervention to Veterans with CVD risk.
Randomized controlled trial including patients with hypertension (blood pressure >150/100 mm Hg) or elevated low density liporotein (>130 mg/dL). Longitudinal changes in CVD risk profile and improvement in health behaviors over time will be examined.
Given the national prevalence of CVD and the dismal rates of risk factor control, intensive but easily disseminated interventions are required to treat this epidemic. This study will be an important step in testing the effectiveness of a behavioral and medication intervention to improve CVD control among Veterans.
American heart journal 04/2013; 165(4):501-8. · 4.65 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: PURPOSEIt is unclear why racial differences exist in the frequency of surgery for lung cancer treatment. Comorbidity is an important consideration in selection of patients for lung cancer treatment, including surgery. To assess whether comorbidity contributes to the observed racial differences, we evaluated racial differences in the prevalence of comorbidity and their impact on receipt of surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODSA total of 1,314 patients (1,135 white, 179 black) in the Veterans Health Administration diagnosed with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer in 2007 were included. The effect of comorbidity on surgery was determined by using generalized linear models with a logit link accounting for patient clustering within Veterans Administration Medical Centers.ResultsCompared with whites, blacks had greater prevalence of hypertension, liver disease, renal disease, illicit drug abuse, and poor performance status, but lower prevalence of respiratory disease. The impact of most individual comorbidities on receipt of surgery was similar between blacks and whites, and comorbidity did not influence the race-surgery association in a multivariable analysis. The proportion of blacks not receiving surgery as well as refusing surgery was greater than that among whites. CONCLUSION
Blacks had a greater prevalence of several comorbid conditions and poor performance status; however, the overall comorbidity score did not differ by race. In general, the effect of comorbidity on receipt of surgery was similar in blacks and whites. Racial differences in comorbidity do not fully explain why blacks undergo lung cancer surgery less often than whites.
Journal of Clinical Oncology 12/2012; · 18.37 Impact Factor
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Jennifer L Strauss,
Jennifer B Zervakis, Karen M Stechuchak,
Maren K Olsen,
Jeffrey Swanson,
Marvin S Swartz,
Morris Weinberger,
Christine E Marx,
Patrick S Calhoun,
Daniel W Bradford,
Marian I Butterfield,
Eugene Z Oddone
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ABSTRACT: Consumers' satisfaction with inpatient mental health care is recognized as a key quality indicator that prospectively predicts functional and clinical outcomes. Coercive treatment experience is a frequently cited source of dissatisfaction with inpatient care, yet more research is needed to understand the factors that influence consumers' perceptions of coercion and its effects on satisfaction, including potential "downstream" effects of past coercive events on current treatment satisfaction. The current study examined associations between objective and subjective indices of coercive treatments and patients' satisfaction with care in a psychiatric inpatient sample (N = 240). Lower satisfaction ratings were independently associated with three coercive treatment variables: current involuntary admission, perceived coercion during current admission, and self-reported history of being refused a requested medication. Albeit preliminary, these results document associations between patients' satisfaction ratings and their subjective experiences of coercion during both current and prior hospitalizations.
Community Mental Health Journal 09/2012; · 1.03 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To determine whether brief cognitive screening tests perform as well as a longer screening test in diagnosis of cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) or dementia.
A cross-sectional comparison of cognitive screening tests to an independent criterion standard evaluation using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria. Performance of the cognitive screening tests for identifying dementia, and separately for identifying dementia or CIND, was characterized using sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratios.
Three Department of Veterans Affairs primary care clinics.
Of 826 independently living veterans aged 65 and older without a prior diagnosis of dementia, 639 participated and 630 were assigned a research diagnosis.
Screening tests included the modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS; average time to administer, 17 minutes) and three brief instruments: the Memory Impairment Screen (MIS; 4 minutes), the Mini-Cog (3 minutes), and a novel two-item functional memory screen (MF-2; 1.5 minutes).
Participants were aged 74.8 on average and were mostly white or black. They were mostly male (92.9%) and had been prescribed a mean of 7.7 medications for chronic conditions. The prevalence of dementia and CIND was 3.3% and 39.2%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for dementia were 86% and 79% for the 3MS, 76% and 73% for the Mini-Cog, 43% and 93% for the MIS, and 38% and 87% for the MF-2, respectively.
In individuals without a prior diagnosis of cognitive impairment, the prevalence of dementia was low, but the prevalence of CIND was high. The 3MS and Mini-Cog had reasonable performance characteristics for detecting dementia, but a definitive diagnosis requires additional evaluation.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 05/2012; 60(6):1027-36. · 3.74 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To examine demographic, relationship, and smoking history factors related to expected positive and negative support for quitting smoking among chronically ill veterans.
Data for this report comes from baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of a support-based smoking cessation intervention for veterans with chronic diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). We used separate multiple linear regression models to analyze relationships between positive and negative support and variables selected for model entry.
Veterans in our sample expected high positive and negative support for quitting. Veterans who were married/living as married, had some college education, were female, or named a female support person expected higher levels of positive support. Veterans who named a female or a nonsmoker as a support person expected higher levels of negative support. Males and non-Caucasians also reported higher levels of expected negative support.
Individual differences that influence perceptions of expected support are likely to influence intervention participation and engagement. Thus, understanding factors associated with expected positive and negative support is necessary to optimize future implementation of support-based cessation interventions through better treatment matching.
Addictive behaviors 01/2012; 37(1):135-8. · 2.25 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Missing data, e.g. patient attrition, are endemic in sleep disorder clinical trials. Common approaches for dealing with this situation include complete-case analysis (CCA) and last observation carried forward (LOCF). Although these methods are simple to implement, they are deeply flawed in that they may introduce bias and underestimate uncertainty, leading to erroneous conclusions. There are alternative principled approaches, however, that are available in statistical software namely mixed-effects models and multiple imputation. In this paper we introduce terminology used to describe different assumptions about missing data. We emphasize that understanding reasons for missingness is a critical step in the analysis process. We describe and implement both linear mixed-effects models and an inclusive multiple imputation strategy for handling missing data in a randomized trial examining sleep outcomes. These principled strategies are compared with "complete-case analysis" and LOCF. These analyses illustrate that methodologies for accommodating missing data can produce different results in both direction and strength of treatment effects. Our goal is for this paper to serve as a guide to sleep disorder clinical trial researchers on how to utilize principled methods for incomplete data in their trial analyses.
Sleep Medicine 12/2011; 13(2):123-32. · 3.40 Impact Factor
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Jack D Edinger,
James K Wyatt,
Edward J Stepanski,
Maren K Olsen, Karen M Stechuchak,
Colleen E Carney,
Ambrose Chiang,
M Isabel Crisostomo,
Margaret D Lineberger,
Melanie K Means,
Rodney A Radtke,
William K Wohlgemuth,
Andrew D Krystal
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ABSTRACT: Distinctive diagnostic classification schemes for insomnia diagnoses are available, but the optimal insomnia nosology has yet to be determined.
To test the reliability and validity of insomnia diagnoses listed in the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-IV-TR and the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, second edition (ICSD-2).
Multitrait-multimethod correlation design.
Two collaborating university medical centers, with recruitment from January 2004 to February 2009.
A total of 352 adult volunteers (235 of whom were women) who met research diagnostic criteria for insomnia disorder.
Goodness-of-fit ratings of 10 DSM-IV-TR and 37 ICSD-2 insomnia diagnoses for each patient. Ratings were provided by 3 clinician pairs who used distinctive assessment methods to derive diagnostic impressions. Correlations computed within and across clinician pairs were used to test reliability and validity of diagnoses.
Findings suggested that the best-supported DSM-IV-TR insomnia categories were insomnia related to another mental disorder, insomnia due to a general medical condition, breathing-related sleep disorder, and circadian rhythm sleep disorder. The category of primary insomnia appeared to have marginal reliability and validity. The best-supported ICSD-2 categories were the insomnias due to a mental disorder and due to a medical condition, obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, idiopathic insomnia, and circadian rhythm sleep disorder-delayed sleep phase type. Psychophysiological insomnia and inadequate sleep hygiene received much more variable support across sites, whereas the diagnosis of paradoxical insomnia was poorly supported.
Both the DSM-IV-TR and ICSD-2 provide viable insomnia diagnoses, but findings support selected subtypes from each of the 2 nosologies. Nonetheless, findings regarding the frequently used DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of primary insomnia and its related ICSD-2 subtypes suggest that their poor reliability and validity are perhaps due to significant overlap with comorbid insomnia subtypes. Therefore, alternate diagnostic paradigms should be considered for insomnia classification.
Archives of general psychiatry 06/2011; 68(10):992-1002. · 12.26 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Existing cross-sectional quality measures for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening do not assess longitudinal adherence and thus may overestimate the quality of care. Our goal was to evaluate the adherence to repeated yearly fecal occult blood tests (FOBTs) in order to better understand the extent to which longitudinal adherence may impact screening quality.
This was a retrospective cohort analysis of 1,122,645 patients aged 50-75 years seen at any of the 136 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers across the United States in 2000 and followed through 2005. The primary outcome was receipt of adequate CRC screening as defined by receipt of FOBTs in at least 4 out of 5 years or receipt of any number of FOBTs in addition to at least one colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, or double-contrast barium enema. In a predefined subset of patients receiving exclusively FOBT, adherence with repeated testing was determined over the 5-year study period.
Only 41.1% of men and 43.6% of women received adequate screening. Of the 384,527 men who received exclusively FOBT, 42.1% received a single FOBT, 26.0% received 2 tests, 17.8% received 3 tests, and only 14.1% were documented to have received at least 4 tests during the study period. Among the 10,469 female veterans receiving FOBT alone, rates were similar with only 13.7% completing at least 4 FOBTs in the 5-year study period.
Adherence to repeated FOBT is low, suggesting that cross-sectional measurements of quality may overestimate the programmatic success of CRC screening.
The American Journal of Gastroenterology 02/2011; 106(6):1125-34. · 7.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A robust association between sexual trauma and trading sex has been documented in civilian samples but has not been examined in veterans. Women veterans experience high rates of sexual victimization across the lifespan, including during military service (military sexual trauma [MST]). Associations between MST and trading sex were examined in 200 women enrolled in a crosssectional study of HIV risks and seroprevalence among women receiving outpatient mental health care at a Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center. Each woman completed an assessment interview composed of validated measures that queried childhood sexual trauma; substance use; and risk behaviors, including trading sex for money, drugs, shelter, food, or other things. History of MST was derived from mandated VA screening results and chart notes. Overall, 19.7% reported a history of trading sex. Those who reported trading sex had a higher rate of MST than those who did not report trading sex (87.2% vs. 62.9%, respectively). A multivariable logistic regression model examined the relationship between trading sex and MST, controlling a priori for substance abuse and childhood sexual trauma (both associated with trading sex in civilian samples) and education, which was associated with trading sex in our sample. In this adjusted model, MST was associated with trading sex: odds ratio = 3.26, p = .025, 95% confidence interval = [1.16, 9.18]. To our knowledge, this is the 1st report of an association between MST and trading sex. Results extend previously observed associations between sexual trauma and trading sex in civilian cohorts and underscore the pernicious influence of sexual victimization across the lifespan.
Journal of Trauma & Dissociation 01/2011; 12(3):290-304. · 1.23 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This study compared recalled average pain, assessed at the end of the day, with the average of real-time pain ratings recorded throughout the day among patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Participants (N = 157) with hand, hip, or knee OA completed electronic pain diaries on 1 weekend day and 1 weekday. Diaries included at least 7 pain ratings per day, immediately after waking and every 2 hours following, using a visual analog scale (VAS) scored as 1 to 100 (scores not seen by participants). At the end of each diary day, participants rated their average pain that day on the same VAS. Pearson correlations examined associations between recalled average pain and the average of real-time pain ratings that day. Mixed models, including interaction terms, examined whether associations between recalled and actual average pain ratings differed according to the following patient characteristics: joint site, age, race, gender, study enrollment site, and pain catastrophizing. Correlations between recalled and actual average pain ratings were r = .88 for weekdays and r = .86 for weekends (P < .0001). In mixed models, there were no significant interaction terms for any patient characteristics. In summary, patients with OA accurately recalled their average pain over a 1-day period, and this did not differ according to any patient characteristics examined. PERSPECTIVE: This study showed that patients with OA accurately recalled their average pain over a single-day period, and this did not differ according to patient characteristics. Results of this study indicate that end-of-day recall is a practical and valid method for assessing patients' average pain during a day.
The journal of pain: official journal of the American Pain Society 06/2010; 11(6):522-7. · 3.78 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Although obese individuals utilize health care at higher rates than their normal weight counterparts, they may be less likely to receive certain preventive services. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of veterans with visits to 136 national Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinics in the United States in the year 2000. The cohort included 1,699,219 patients: 94% men, 48% white, and 76% overweight or obese. Overweight and obese patients had higher adjusted odds of receiving each of the targeted clinical preventive services as recommended over 5 years compared with normal weight patients. The odds for receiving vaccinations increased linearly with BMI category: influenza (men: odds ratio (OR) = 1.13 for overweight to OR = 1.42 for obese class 3; women: OR = 1.15 for overweight to OR = 1.61 for obese class 3) and pneumococcus (men: OR = 1.02 for overweight to OR = 1.15 for obese class 3; women: OR = 1.08 for overweight to OR = 1.28 for obese class 3). The odds for receiving the cancer screening services typically peaked in the mild-moderately obese categories. The highest OR for prostate cancer screening was in obese class 2 (OR = 1.29); for colorectal cancer, obese class 1 (men: OR = 1.15; women OR = 1.10); for breast cancer screening, obese class 2 (OR = 1.19); and for cervical cancer screening, obese class 2 (OR = 1.06). In a large national sample, obese patients received preventive services at higher, not lower, rates than their normal weight peers. This may be due to the VA health service coverage and performance directives, a more homogeneous patient demographic profile, and/or unmeasured factors related to service receipt.
Obesity 03/2010; 18(9):1827-1835. · 4.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Although obese individuals utilize health care at higher rates than their normal weight counterparts, they may be less likely to receive certain preventive services. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of veterans with visits to 136 national Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinics in the United States in the year 2000. The cohort included 1,699,219 patients: 94% men, 48% white, and 76% overweight or obese. Overweight and obese patients had higher adjusted odds of receiving each of the targeted clinical preventive services as recommended over 5 years compared with normal weight patients. The odds for receiving vaccinations increased linearly with BMI category: influenza (men: odds ratio (OR) = 1.13 for overweight to OR = 1.42 for obese class 3; women: OR = 1.15 for overweight to OR = 1.61 for obese class 3) and pneumococcus (men: OR = 1.02 for overweight to OR = 1.15 for obese class 3; women: OR = 1.08 for overweight to OR = 1.28 for obese class 3). The odds for receiving the cancer screening services typically peaked in the mild-moderately obese categories. The highest OR for prostate cancer screening was in obese class 2 (OR = 1.29); for colorectal cancer, obese class 1 (men: OR = 1.15; women OR = 1.10); for breast cancer screening, obese class 2 (OR = 1.19); and for cervical cancer screening, obese class 2 (OR = 1.06). In a large national sample, obese patients received preventive services at higher, not lower, rates than their normal weight peers. This may be due to the VA health service coverage and performance directives, a more homogeneous patient demographic profile, and/or unmeasured factors related to service receipt.
Obesity 03/2010; 18(9):1827-35. · 4.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) against a sleep hygiene education control therapy in patients with primary or comorbid insomnia.
Randomized, parallel-group, clinical trial conducted at a single Veterans Affairs medical center, with recruitment from March 2001 to June 2005.
Eighty-one adults (n = 11 women; mean age, 54.2 years) with chronic primary (n = 40) or comorbid insomnia associated predominantly with mixed psychiatric disorders (n = 41).
Patients, screened via structured interviews and diagnostic polysomnography, were randomly assigned to receive CBT (sleep education, stimulus control, and time-in-bed restrictions; 20 patients with primary and 21 with comorbid insomnia), or sleep hygiene (SH: education about aspects of lifestyle and the bedroom environment that affect sleep; 20 patients with primary and 20 with comorbid insomnia). Outpatient treatment included 4 biweekly sessions with a posttreatment assessment and a follow-up conducted at 6 months.
Participants completed actigraphy and sleep diaries for 2 weeks prior to therapy, during a 2-week posttreatment assessment, and during 2 weeks at follow-up. They also completed questionnaires measuring global insomnia symptoms, general sleep quality, and sleep-disruptive beliefs before treatment, immediately following treatment, and at the follow-up time point. Consistent with previous studies, CBT outperformed sleep hygiene across several study outcome measures for the sample as a whole. Statistical analyses showed no significant 3-way interaction of treatment group, time, and insomnia type for any of the sleep or questionnaire measures, suggesting the benefits of CBT over sleep hygiene were comparable for patients with primary insomnia and comorbid insomnia. Moreover, only 1 of several indexes of clinically notable improvement suggested a significantly better response to CBT by patients with primary insomnia, as compared with those with comorbid insomnia.
A fixed 4-session "dose" of CBT produced similar benefits for patients with primary and those with comorbid insomnia across most measures examined. Thus, CBT appears to be a viable psychological insomnia therapy both for those with primary insomnia and for groups composed mainly of patients with insomnia and nonpsychotic psychiatric conditions.
Sleep 05/2009; 32(4):499-510. · 5.05 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In the current system of allocation, patients awaiting orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) remain at risk of developing de novo hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and removal from the waiting list. Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database, we calculated the rate and identified predictors of de novo HCC in patients listed for OLT between February 2002 and December 2004. Among 8566 patients, 1167 (13.6%) developed de novo HCC. Predictors of increased odds of de novo HCC were older age, male gender, Asian race, other race, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B. A sensitivity analysis of 2067 patients waiting at least 6 months found that 16.2% developed de novo HCC. Older age [odds ratio (OR) 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03, 1.07], male gender (OR 2.01; 95% CI 1.49, 2.71), Asian race (OR 2.39; 95% CI 1.20, 4.76), other race (OR 1.94; 95% CI 1.40, 2.68), hepatitis C (OR 2.36; 95% CI 1.76, 3.16), and hepatitis B (OR 1.96; 95% CI 1.19, 3.23) remained predictors of increased odds of de novo HCC, and alcoholic liver disease (OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.06, 1.86) emerged as a predictor of increased odds of de novo HCC. A significant proportion of patients listed for OLT develop de novo HCC. Identifying predictors of HCC in these patients may facilitate timely HCC screening and diagnosis.
Liver Transplantation 03/2008; 14(2):228-34. · 3.39 Impact Factor
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Radiology 08/2007; 244(1):317-8, author reply 318-9. · 5.73 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The present study examined the prevalence of war zone exposure, interpersonal trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans with primary schizophrenia hospitalized on a VA inpatient psychiatric unit. Data were collected on a sample of male veterans (N=165) with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, who were consecutively admitted to a VAMC inpatient psychiatric unit. The prevalence of interpersonal trauma exposure and comorbid PTSD were assessed. Analyses also explored differences between those patients who had been identified with PTSD to those who screened positive but had not been previously identified as having PTSD. Ninety-six percent of the sample endorsed interpersonal trauma or exposure to a war zone. The prevalence of PTSD was 47% (n=78), although only 14% (n=11) of those who screened positive for PTSD had a diagnosis of PTSD in their medical record. Among those screening positive, having a chart diagnosis of PTSD was associated with more severe PTSD symptoms and combat exposure. Results suggest that PTSD is highly prevalent and under-diagnosed among veterans with schizophrenia. Increased assessment of trauma and PTSD in this population is warranted.
Schizophrenia Research 04/2007; 91(1-3):210-6. · 4.75 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Managed care restrictions on resource use may affect communication between patients and health care professionals.
To characterize negotiations between primary care physicians and patients with expectations for new medications, tests, or referrals, this observational study combined survey data with audiotape recordings of clinical encounters. Fifty-five physicians from 20 randomly selected primary care practices in a managed care network and 211 patients who voiced specific expectations in a previsit survey were included. From the recorded clinic visits we determined modes of negotiation of patient expectations and requests. From the surveys we determined patient previsit expectations, postvisit fulfillment of expectations, satisfaction, and trust.
Two-hundred fifty-six self-reported expectations were captured in 200 audiotape-recorded encounters. Of the previsit expectations, 97.3% were discussed during the encounter. Expectations were expressed by direct patient request (40.6%), mentioning of symptoms related to request (29.7%), or physician-initiated discussion (27.0%). Most expectations were met (66.8%); physicians suggested an alternative 21.6% of the time. Expectations for medications and tests were met more frequently than expectations for referrals (75.6% and 71.4% vs 40.8%). Patient satisfaction and trust remained high regardless of whether expectations were met. Physicians reported that they would not have ordered 62 (44.9%) of 138 requests had the patients not directly asked, and they were uncomfortable filling 8 requests (12.9%).
Previsit expectations for medications, tests, or referrals were discussed at the visit, and physicians met or offered alternatives for nearly 90%. Patients generally received what they asked for and altered physician behavior nearly half of the time.
Archives of Internal Medicine 04/2007; 167(5):445-52. · 11.46 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Previous research reports that 48% of veterans regularly experience and express concern over pain. Outpatient service use is higher for veterans with pain than for veterans without pain. Our study objective was to identify differences in outpatient utilization between men and women veterans with chronic pain.
We identified all men and women veterans at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center in fiscal year (FY) 2002 between the ages of 21 and 60 that had two visits for the same pain location at least 6 weeks apart as determined by ICD-9 coding. Men and women were age-matched at a 2:1 ratio. We then compared the number of outpatient visits between genders in FY 2003.
We identified 406 female and 812 male veterans. The mean number of clinic visits for women was 25.2 (SD 30.2) and for men 17.6 (SD 24.1). After adjusting for multiple pain sites, psychiatric diagnoses, age, and comorbidities, women veterans had a 27% higher rate of outpatient visits than men (incidence rate ratio [RR] 1.27, 95% confidence [CI] 1.15 to 1.41). Specifically, women had higher rates of visits to primary care (RR 1.36, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.50), physical therapy (RR 1.67, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.33), and other clinics (RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.44), and had a higher rate of visits to address pain (RR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.30) than men.
This is the first study to examine gender differences in chronic pain and utilization in the veteran population. Women veterans with chronic pain may need more resources to adequately manage chronic pain conditions as well as associated comorbidities and psychiatric disease.
Journal of General Internal Medicine 03/2007; 22(2):228-33. · 2.83 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This study is among the first to examine knowledge about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and behavioral risks for HIV transmission among veterans with severe mental illness (SMI), a group at high risk for HIV infection. This study examined associations between accuracy of HIV knowledge, risk behaviors, and clinical and demographic characteristics in a sample of male veteran psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with SMI (N = 353). Results showed high rates of inaccurate HIV knowledge, with > 40% of patients demonstrating some inaccuracies, particularly those related to the progression and symptoms of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Inaccurate HIV knowledge was associated with older age, minority status, education level, marital status, no homelessness within the previous 6 months, and no reported history of illicit intranasal drug use. There is a need for more effective HIV prevention interventions for persons with SMI.
Military medicine 04/2006; 171(4):325-30. · 0.92 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Hospital admissions consume a large proportion of costs for the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) program in the United States. We investigated whether a physician diagnosis of depression increases the risk for hospitalization or death in patients with ESRD receiving long-term hemodialysis (HD), independent of medical comorbidities.
Centralized Veterans Affairs (VA) databases were used to identify a population-based prevalence cohort of 1,588 male patients with ESRD receiving long-term HD in VA facilities between September 1, 2000, and September 30, 2000. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes were used to identify comorbidities and depression diagnosis. Negative binomial regression models were used to examine the association between depression diagnosis and number of hospitalizations and cumulative hospital days in a 2-year observation period. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between depression diagnosis and hospitalization, death, and death or hospitalization.
The prevalence of physician-diagnosed depression was 14.7%. Patients with a depression diagnosis were more likely to be white and have more comorbidities. Depression diagnosis was associated with increased hospital days (rate ratio for adjusted model, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 1.66) and increased number of hospitalizations (rate ratio for adjusted model, 1.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.11 to 1.52). Depression diagnosis was not statistically associated with death or the composite of death or hospitalization in adjusted models.
Physician-diagnosed depression was associated significantly with both increased hospitalization rate and length of stay in patients with ESRD receiving outpatient HD in VA facilities, independent of demographics and comorbidities. Prospective studies should be conducted to assess whether treatment of depression will decrease hospitalization in these patients.
American Journal of Kidney Diseases 11/2005; 46(4):642-9. · 5.43 Impact Factor
