Large Integrated Health Plan Research Articles

Predictors of hepatitis A immunity in adults in California in order to better utilize hepatitis A vaccine

BackgroundHepatitis A vaccine recommendations now include homelessness, illegal drug use, and HIV, as well as traditional risk factors and travel to areas endemic for hepatitis A. We examined a large diverse population for predictors of Hepatitis A immunity in order to better utilize Hepatitis A vaccine. MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional descriptive study of members of a large integrated health plan with a test for Hepatitis A Immunoglobulin G (IgG) between January 1st, 2007, and December 31st, 2017. Exclusion criteria included age <18 years, <6 months of continuous enrollment, and Hepatitis A vaccine prior to Hepatitis A test. Variables of interest were age, gender, primary language spoken, ethnicity/race, neighborhood household income, and history of travel or history of jaundice. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association of risk factors on Hepatitis A immunity. ResultsOf the 318,170 persons ≥ 18 years tested for Hepatitis A immunity, 155, 842 persons had a reactive Hepatitis A IgG test (49%). The lowest prevalence was for Whites at 28.1% followed by Blacks at 35.8%. Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders had prevalence rates of 63% and 68.2% respectively. In adjusted analyses, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanics and Blacks were 5.17, 3.44 and 1.42 times more likely to have Hepatitis A immunity than Whites. Those that spoke Spanish or language other than English or Spanish as their primary preferred language were 6.11 and 3.27 time more likely to have immunity than English speakers. Known travel history conferred a 2.16 likelihood of Hepatitis A immunity. ConclusionsPersons of Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander background as well as persons with a preferred spoken language other than English have a high prevalence of Hepatitis A immunity. Testing for Hepatitis A immunity prior to vaccination should be considered for these groups.

Impact of Social Determinants of Health and Demographics on Refill Requests by Medicare Patients Using a Conversational Artificial Intelligence Text Messaging Solution: Cross-Sectional Study.

BackgroundNonadherence among patients with chronic disease continues to be a significant concern, and the use of text message refill reminders has been effective in improving adherence. However, questions remain about how differences in patient characteristics and demographics might influence the likelihood of refill using this channel.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an SMS-based refill reminder solution using conversational artificial intelligence (AI; an automated system that mimics human conversations) with a large Medicare patient population and to explore the association and impact of patient demographics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, language) and social determinants of health on successful engagement with the solution to improve refill adherence.MethodsThe study targeted 99,217 patients with chronic disease, median age of 71 years, for medication refill using the mPulse Mobile interactive SMS text messaging solution from December 2016 to February 2019. All patients were partially adherent or nonadherent Medicare Part D members of Kaiser Permanente, Southern California, a large integrated health plan. Patients received SMS reminders in English or Spanish and used simple numeric or text responses to validate their identity, view their medication, and complete a refill request. The refill requests were processed by Kaiser Permanente pharmacists and support staff, and refills were picked up at the pharmacy or mailed to patients. Descriptive statistics and predictive analytics were used to examine the patient population and their refill behavior. Qualitative text analysis was used to evaluate quality of conversational AI.ResultsOver the course of the study, 273,356 refill reminders requests were sent to 99,217 patients, resulting in 47,552 refill requests (17.40%). This was consistent with earlier pilot study findings. Of those who requested a refill, 54.81% (26,062/47,552) did so within 2 hours of the reminder. There was a strong inverse relationship (r10=−0.93) between social determinants of health and refill requests. Spanish speakers (5149/48,156, 10.69%) had significantly lower refill request rates compared with English speakers (42,389/225,060, 18.83%; X21 [n=273,216]=1829.2; P<.001). There were also significantly different rates of refill requests by age band (X26 [n=268,793]=1460.3; P<.001), with younger patients requesting refills at a higher rate. Finally, the vast majority (284,598/307,484, 92.23%) of patient responses were handled using conversational AI.ConclusionsMultiple factors impacted refill request rates, including a strong association between social determinants of health and refill rates. The findings suggest that higher refill requests are linked to language, race/ethnicity, age, and social determinants of health, and that English speakers, whites, those younger than 75 years, and those with lower social determinants of health barriers are significantly more likely to request a refill via SMS. A neural network–based predictive model with an accuracy level of 78% was used to identify patients who might benefit from additional outreach to narrow identified gaps based on demographic and socioeconomic factors.

Development of an algorithm to identify inpatient opioid-related overdoses and oversedation using electronic data.

PurposeTo facilitate surveillance and evaluate interventions addressing opioid‐related overdoses, algorithms are needed for use in large health care databases to identify and differentiate community‐occurring opioid‐related overdoses from inpatient‐occurring opioid‐related overdose/oversedation.MethodsData were from Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW), a large integrated health plan. We iteratively developed and evaluated an algorithm for electronically identifying inpatient overdose/oversedation in KPNW hospitals from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2014. Chart audits assessed accuracy; data sources included administrative and clinical records.ResultsThe best‐performing algorithm used these rules: (1) Include events with opioids administered in an inpatient setting (including emergency department/urgent care) followed by naloxone administration within 275 hours of continuous inpatient stay; (2) exclude events with electroconvulsive therapy procedure codes; and (3) exclude events in which an opioid was administered prior to hospital discharge and followed by readmission with subsequent naloxone administration. Using this algorithm, we identified 870 suspect inpatient overdose/oversedation events and chart audited a random sample of 235. Of the random sample, 185 (78.7%) were deemed overdoses/oversedation, 37 (15.5%) were not, and 13 (5.5%) were possible cases. The number of hours between time of opioid and naloxone administration did not affect algorithm accuracy. When “possible” overdoses/oversedations were included with confirmed events, overall positive predictive value (PPV) was very good (PPV = 84.0%). Additionally, PPV was reasonable when evaluated specifically for hospital stays with emergency/urgent care admissions (PPV = 77.0%) and excellent for elective surgery admissions (PPV = 97.0%).ConclusionsAlgorithm performance was reasonable for identifying inpatient overdose/oversedation with best performance among elective surgery patients.

Case-centered Analysis of Optic Neuritis After Vaccines.

We evaluated the risk of optic neuritis (ON) after vaccines, using a case-centered analysis, comparing the time since vaccination for the patients with ON with that for all similar vaccinees in a large integrated health plan population. We did not detect any association between ON and receipt of any type of vaccine.

Abstract P2-09-26: Women without significant claus model breast cancer risks may warrant breast MRI when a pathogenic/likely-pathogenic variant (PV/LPV) is detected in a hereditary cancer moderate risk gene

Abstract Background: Hereditary cancer gene panel testing can assess breast cancer risk for women with significant family histories. The Claus risk model is another method to determine which women qualify for annual breast MRIs based on family history, and can be used for those with BRCA negative status or for those who do not qualify for BRCA testing. In July 2014, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, a large integrated health plan, began using hereditary cancer panels comprised of moderate and high-risk breast cancer genes (GeneDx). At the time of implementation, no clinical management guidelines existed for patients with PV/LPV in moderate risk genes. In March 2015, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) amended the Genetic/Familial High Risk Assessment Breast and Ovarian guidelines to include breast cancer surveillance for patients with PV/LPV in moderate risk genes including ATM, CHEK2 and PALB2. Objective: To determine if the identification of PV/LPV in moderate risk genes versus Claus model calculation increases the number of women warranting breast MRI in a managed care setting. Methods: We performed a retrospective query of our gene panel results from 6/2014 to 5/2015 to identify patients with ATM, CHEK2 and PALB2 PV/LPV. Personal and family histories were obtained from the test requisitions. Patients with personal histories of breast cancer were excluded from analysis. We calculated the lifetime breast cancer risk using the Claus model for all eligible female patients with a moderate risk gene PV/LPV. To calculate the risk, the Claus model included family history of breast cancer in first and second-degree relatives. A lifetime breast cancer risk of &amp;gt;20% indicates "high" risk. Results: A total of 19 female patients without breast cancer had a PV/LPV detected in a moderate risk gene (ATM, CHEK2, and PALB2. Claus model calculation was feasible in 12 patients. Of these 12, 4 had a PV/LPV in ATM, 6 in CHEK2 and 2 in PALB2. Only one out of these 12 women was identified with &amp;gt;20% risk of breast cancer based on the Claus model, and was recommended a breast MRI. A review of electronic medical records (EMR) notes to date (June 1, 2015) revealed that breast MRI was recommended for 10 of the 12 patients above, and completed in 6. MRI identified a suspicious breast lesion in one patient. Follow-up tests and lumpectomy revealed atypical ductal hyperplasia and she will be followed with annual MRI and mammogram. The remaining 2 of12 women had no mention of MRI in their EMR, and will be flagged for follow-up to determine MRI status. Conclusions: Eleven out of 12 women with a PV/LVP in a moderate risk gene would not have been identified as having an increased breast cancer risk by the Claus model. In our small sample, utilization of a High/Moderate Risk Gene Panel identified more patients potentially warranting enhanced breast cancer surveillance with annual breast MRI than the Claus model. This finding suggests that the use of hereditary cancer gene panel testing may impact the medical management of women with a familial risk for breast cancer. Larger studies with outcome data are needed to determine optimal surveillance guidelines. Citation Format: Alvarado M, Tiller GE, Kershberg H, Solomon SR, Mullineaux L, Haque R. Women without significant claus model breast cancer risks may warrant breast MRI when a pathogenic/likely-pathogenic variant (PV/LPV) is detected in a hereditary cancer moderate risk gene. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-09-26.

Prevalence of migraine in a diverse community--electronic methods for migraine ascertainment in a large integrated health plan.

The growing availability of electronic health data provides an opportunity to ascertain diagnosis-specific cases via systematic methods for sample recruitment for clinical research and health services evaluation. We developed and implemented a migraine probability algorithm (MPA) to identify migraine from electronic health records (EHR) in an integrated health plan. We identified all migraine outpatient diagnoses and all migraine-specific prescriptions for a five-year period (April 2008-March 2013) from the Kaiser Permanente, Northern California (KPNC) EHR. We developed and evaluated the MPA in two independent samples, and derived prevalence estimates of medically-ascertained migraine in KPNC by age, sex, and race. The period prevalence of medically-ascertained migraine among KPNC adults during April 2008-March 2013 was 10.3% (women: 15.5%, men: 4.5%). Estimates peaked with age in women but remained flat for men. Prevalence among Asians was half that of whites. We demonstrate the feasibility of an EHR-based algorithm to identify cases of diagnosed migraine and determine that prevalence patterns by our methods yield results comparable to aggregate estimates of treated migraine based on direct interviews in population-based samples. This inexpensive, easily applied EHR-based algorithm provides a new opportunity for monitoring changes in migraine prevalence and identifying potential participants for research studies.

Effectiveness of a pharmacist-based gout care management programme in a large integrated health plan: results from a pilot study

ObjectivesThe study objective was to determine the feasibility of using a pharmacist-staffed, protocol-based structured approach to improving the management of chronic, recurrent gout.SettingThe study was carried out in the outpatient...

PS2-5: Prevalence of Migraine in a Diverse Community - Electronic Methods for Migraine Ascertainment in a Large Integrated Health Plan

Background/Aims Migraine, a common neurological disorder, is among the top 20 causes of disability worldwide. One-year prevalence of migraine in the US is estimated to range from 8–15%, with women affected at approximately three times the rate of men. Current methods for migraine ascertainment from headache clinics and surveys are costly, affected by clinic-ascertainment bias, and do not work in situations where patient contact is not feasible. With the growing use of electronic medical records (EMR), new methods must be developed for identifying and tracking migraine prevalence over time. We sought to develop an EMR algorithm, to identify migraine, and to characterize its prevalence in Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC).

Changes in adherence to statins and subsequent lipid profiles during and following breast cancer treatment

Breast cancer tends to arise in older women who are also burdened with comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). Increasing numbers of breast cancer survivors and an aging population warrant a better understanding of CVD management and adherence to preventive therapies. We estimated adherence to statins and therapeutic goal lipid values during the year before breast cancer diagnosis or baseline, treatment period, and in subsequent years of clinical management among breast cancer survivors. We sampled women from an existing cohort of 4,221 women diagnosed with incident early stage (I, II) invasive breast cancer from 1990 to 2008 and enrolled in a large integrated group practice health plan. Among prevalent statin users (N = 1,393), medication adherence and persistence were measured by medication possession ratio (MPR), % adherent (MPR < 0.80), and discontinuation rates. Laboratory data on LDL and HDL were obtained for the coinciding periods. Mean MPR for statin use (0.78 vs. 0.68; P < 0.001) and proportion adherent (67.0 vs. 51.9 %; P < 0.001) declined from baseline to the treatment period. Mean LDL (143 mg/dL baseline vs. 150 mg/dL treatment period; P < 0.001) and proportion not at LDL goal (60.1 vs. 70.8 %; P < 0.001) coincided with decreases in adherence. During treatment, non-adherent statin users had the highest mean LDL (160.4 mg/dL) and proportion not at goal LDL (91.8 %) overall. Adherence did not return to baseline in subsequent years following treatment although LDL levels did. HDL did not differ by periods of interest or adherence levels. Adherence to statins in this population was poor, particularly in the treatment period, and lagged in returning to baseline. Understanding the influence of life events such as cancer diagnosis and treatment on management of comorbidities and adherence to preventive therapies are important to the growing population of breast cancer survivors.

Trends and Characteristics of Culture-Confirmed Staphylococcus aureus Infections in a Large U.S. Integrated Health Care Organization

Infections due to Staphylococcus aureus present a significant health problem in the United States. Between 1990 and 2005, there was a dramatic increase in community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), but recent reports suggest that MRSA may be declining. We retrospectively identified S. aureus isolates (n = 133,450) that were obtained from patients in a large integrated health plan between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2009. Trends over time in MRSA were analyzed, and demographic risk factors for MRSA versus methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) were identified. The percentage of S. aureus isolates that were MRSA increased from 9% to 20% between 1998 and 2001 and from 25% to 49% between 2002 and 2005 and decreased from 49% to 43% between 2006 and 2009. The increase in MRSA was seen in blood and in other bacteriological specimens and occurred in all age and race/ethnicity groups, though it was most pronounced in persons aged 18 to <50 years and African-Americans. Hospital onset infections were the most likely to be MRSA (odds ratio [OR], 1.58; confidence interval [CI], 1.46 to 1.70, compared to community-associated cases), but the largest increase in MRSA was in community-associated infections. Isolates from African-Americans (OR, 1.73; CI, 1.64 to 1.82) and Hispanics (OR, 1.11; CI, 1.06 to 1.16) were more likely to be MRSA than those from whites. After substantial increases between 1998 and 2005 in the proportion of S. aureus isolates that were MRSA, the proportion decreased between 2006 and 2009. Hospital onset S. aureus infections are disproportionately MRSA, as are those among African-Americans.

Synergistic Effect of Statins and Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy in the Prevention of Skeletal Fractures in Elderly Women

To examine the role of concurrent 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (statin) use and postmenopausal hormone therapy on osteoporosis-related fractures. Case-control study. Data Source. Large integrated health plan in New Mexico. Patients. Case patients were 1001 women with incident fractures of the hip, wrist, forearm, or spine that occurred between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2005, and controls were 2607 women without fractures during the same time frame; both groups were selected from the same population of women aged 50 years or older who utilized health plan services during the study time frame. Postmenopausal hormone therapy use was classified as "current" (12 mo before index date) or "never or past." The risk of fractures was ascertained among continuous (> or = 80% medication possession ratio during 12 mo before the index date) and current (3 mo before index date) statin users relative to patients without hyperlipidemia who did not use lipid-lowering drugs. The interaction between statins and hormone therapy was examined in multivariable logistic regression. The association between statin use and fractures was examined separately among current and never or past hormone therapy users after controlling for other risk factors. Nineteen percent of the study participants were current hormone therapy users; 9.5% were current and 4.8% were continuous statin users. No association between continuous statin use and fractures was observed among never or past hormone therapy users (odds ratio [OR] 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53-1.22). In contrast, a strong protective effect (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.04-0.87) was observed among women who concurrently used statins and hormone therapy for 1 year, independent of age; corticosteroid, bisphosphonate, thiazide diuretic, calcitonin, methotrexate, or antiepileptic drug use; chronic kidney disease; and Charlson comorbidity index. Concurrent statin use and hormone therapy may have a synergistic protective effect on skeletal fractures beyond the additive effect of each individual therapy.

Body size, IGF and growth hormone polymorphisms, and colorectal adenomas and hyperplastic polyps

Objective We examined the risk of colorectal polyps in relation to body size factors and candidate polymorphisms in selected genes of insulin-like growth factor ( IGF1) (rs5742612), IGF1 receptor ( IGF1R) (rs2229765), IGF binding protein 3 ( IGFBP3) (rs2854746) and growth hormone (GH1) (rs2665802). Design Cases with colorectal adenomas ( n = 519), hyperplastic polyps ( n = 691), or both lesions (n = 227), and controls ( n = 772), aged 20–74 years, were recruited from patients who underwent colonoscopy between December 2004 and September 2007 at a large integrated-health plan in Washington state. Subjects participated in a 45-minute telephone interview to ascertain body size and physical activity, and provided a buccal DNA sample for genetic analysis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multivariable polytomous regression. Results Compared to those of normal weight, higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with elevated risk of colorectal adenomas (OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.22-2.25 BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2, p-trend = 0.002) and both lesions (OR = 2.15, 95% CI 1.43-3.22 BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2, p-trend = 0.003), but there was no relationship with hyperplastic polyps. Obesity at age 18 and a weight gain of ≥ 21 kg since age 18 were also significantly associated with an increased risk of colorectal adenomas and both lesions, but not hyperplastic polyps. There was a reduced risk of colorectal adenomas (OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.42-0.94) and hyperplastic polyps (OR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.5–0.9) associated with the homozygous variant genotype for GH1. Few meaningful results were evident for the other polymorphisms. Conclusions There is an increased risk of colorectal adenomas and presence of both adenomas and hyperplastic polyps in relation to increasing body size. Some genetic variation in GH1 might contribute to a reduced risk of colorectal adenomas and hyperplastic polyps.

Integrating depression and chronic disease care among patients with diabetes and/or coronary heart disease: The design of the TEAMcare study

Diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD) are two of the most prevalent medical illnesses in the US population and comorbid depression occurs in up to 20% of these patients. Guidelines for management of diabetes and CHD overlap for healthy lifestyle and disease-control recommendations. However, the majority of patients with these medical illnesses have been shown to have inadequate control of key risk factors such as blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, or blood sugar. Comorbid depression has been shown to adversely affect self-care of diabetes and CHD, and is associated with an increased risk of complications and mortality. Interventions that have improved quality and outcomes of depression care alone in patients with diabetes and CHD have not demonstrated benefits in self-care, improved disease control or morbidity and mortality. This paper describes the design and development of a new biopsychosocial intervention (TEAMcare) aimed at improving both medical disease control and depression in patients with poor control of diabetes and/or CHD who met the criteria for comorbid depression. A team approach is used with a nurse interventionist who receives weekly psychiatric and primary care physician caseload supervision in order to enhance treatment by the primary care physician. This intervention is being tested in an NIMH-funded randomized controlled trial in a large integrated health plan.

PS2-21: The Return on Investment of a Laboratory Program to Decrease Adverse Events of ACE Inhibitors and ARBs

Introduction: The efficiency of patient safety interventions is not well studied, including laboratory monitoring for drug therapy. Although 30% of patients receiving inhibitors of rennin-angiotensin system (RAS i.e. ACEI and ARB medications) are not monitored according to guidelines, knowledge of the efficiency of decreasing adverse drug events through monitoring programs above usual care is lacking. Methods: We focused on laboratory monitoring of new users of RAS inhibitors to help prevent adverse events of hyperkalemia and acute renal failure. We used a probabilistic decision model to synthesize multiple data sources to inform how increasing monitoring above usual practice changes cost and outcomes from the payer perspective. We accounted for differential timing of costs and benefits and discounted at a 5% rate. Costs included the monitoring program, offsets from reduced care (e.g., hospitalization) and litigation costs. Data from a large integrated health plan were used to estimate the community-based probability of adverse events. The potential to reduce adverse events was estimated from chart review. We examined cost-effectiveness at $30K and $100K per QALY in the overall population, patients with diabetes, and patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Results: Adverse events were most common in those with CKD; their cumulative incidence rate was 0.041 (95% CI, 0.047 to 0.037) compared to 0.016 (0.017 to 0.014) and 0.010 (0.011 to 0.010) in the diabetes and overall populations, respectively. Intervening on all new users or the subset with diabetes was cost saving <1% of the time. A monitoring program restricted to patients with CKD was cost saving with a probability of 95% in the base case. In CKD patients, if the program was only half as effective, the probability of cost savings was 65%; if the program had a lower uptake rate (49% instead of 82%) the probability of cost-savings was 30%. Intervening on all patients, or the subset with diabetes, was never cost-effective with a probability exceeding 5%. Intervening on patients with CKD was cost-effective at least 65% of the time even under the most pessimistic scenario. Discussion: Our findings illustrate that, for laboratory monitoring to be cost-effective using commonly accepted definitions, the patient population must be at high enough baseline risk of adverse events. Further inquiry into the willingness to pay for patient safety interventions is needed.

Ethnic Disparities in Accessing Treatment for Depression and Substance Use Disorders in an Integrated Health Plan

This study examined ethnic differences in accessing treatment for depression and substance use disorders (SUDs) among men and women in a large integrated health plan, and explored factors potentially contributing to health care disparities. Participants were 22,543 members ages 20 to 65 who responded to health surveys in 2002 and 2005. Survey questions were linked to provider-assigned diagnoses, electronic medication, psychiatry, and chemical dependency program records. Among women diagnosed with depression, Latinas (p < .01) and Asian-Americans (p < .001) were less likely than Whites to fill an antidepressant prescription. Among men diagnosed with depression, African Americans (p < .01) were less likely than Whites to do so. Among women diagnosed with an SUD, African Americans (p < .05) were less likely than Whites to have one or more chemical dependency program visits. Results demonstrated ethnic differences in accessing depression and SUD treatment among patients diagnosed with these disorders, which persisted after controlling for education, income, having a regular health care provider and length of health plan enrollment. Findings highlight potential gender differences in ethnic disparities, lower antidepressant utilization among Asian Americans, and the effects of co-occurring disorders in accessing behavioral health care.

Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin-D and Risk of Colorectal Adenomas and Hyperplastic Polyps

Abstract Background: Colorectal adenomas are clear precursors of cancer; hyperplastic polyps have recently been hypothesized to also have malignant potential. However, these two distinct colorectal lesions are probably on different molecular pathways to neoplasia. An inverse association between vitamin D and adenoma risk has been reported, but this is the first study, to our knowledge, that examines circulating 25(OH)D in relation to risk of hyperplastic polyps. Methods: We conducted a colonoscopy-based case-control study of adenomas and hyperplastic polyps among 474 members of a large integrated health plan. Self-administered questionnaires provided data on demographics and colorectal polyp risk factors, and we assayed plasma samples donated by participants at the time of the colonoscopy for total 25-hydroxyvitamin-D (25(OH)D) concentration. Polytomous regression was used to estimate separate odds ratios for adenomas (n = 153) and hyperplastic polyps (n = 91) by tertile of 25(OH)D. Results: An inverse association between 25(OH)D and adenomas was observed (comparing upper to lower tertiles: adjusted OR [95%CI]: 0.60 [0.34-1.08]). After restriction of the analyses to study participants with no history of polyps, this OR estimate moved further from the null and became statistically significant (adjusted OR [95%CI]: 0.43 [0.20-0.96]). In comparison, no statistically significant association between hyperplastic polyps and 25(OH)D was observed among the full study participants (adjusted OR [95%CI]: 1.12 [0.59-2.13]) nor among those without prior polyps (adjusted OR [95%CI]: 1.27 [0.57-2.35]). Conclusions: There is no evidence in our study that the established inverse association between circulating 25(OH)D and colorectal adenoma applies to hyperplastic polyps.

Preferred modes of travel among older adults: What factors affect the choice to walk instead of drive?

Introduction There are many factors that influence older adults' travel choices. This paper explores the associations between mode of travel choice for a short trip and older adults' personal characteristics. Methods This study included 406 drivers over the age of 64 who were enrolled in a large integrated health plan in the United States between 1991 and 2001. Bivariate analyses and generalized linear modeling were used to examine associations between choosing to walk or drive and respondents' self-reported general health, physical and functional abilities, and confidence in walking and driving. Results Having more confidence in their ability to walk versus drive increased an older adult's likelihood of walking to make a short trip by about 20% (PR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.06-1.40), and walking for exercise increased the likelihood by about 50% (PR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.22-1.91). Reporting fair or poor health decreased the likelihood of walking, as did cutting down on the amount of driving due to a physical problem. Discussion Factors affecting a person's decision to walk for exercise may not be the same as those that influence their decision to walk as a mode of travel. It is important to understand the barriers to walking for exercise and walking for travel to develop strategies to help older adults meet both their exercise and mobility needs. Impact on Industry: Increasing walking over driving among older adults may require programs that increase confidence in walking and encourage walking for exercise.

Incidence of endometrial hyperplasia

The objective of the study was to estimate the age-specific incidence of endometrial hyperplasia: simple, complex, and atypical, in order of increasing likelihood of progression to carcinoma. Women aged 18-90 years with endometrial pathology specimens (1985-2003) at a large integrated health plan were identified using automated data. Incidence rates were obtained by dividing the number of cases by the estimated number of female health plan enrollees who retained a uterus. Endometrial hyperplasia peak incidence was: simple, 142 per 100,000 woman-years, complex, 213 per 100,000 woman-years, both in the early 50s; and atypical, 56 per 100,000 woman-years in the early 60s. Age-adjusted incidence decreased over the study period, especially for atypical hyperplasia. Endometrial hyperplasia incidence without and with atypia peaks in the early postmenopausal years and in the early 60s, respectively. Given that some cases of endometrial hyperplasia likely go undiagnosed, the figures provided should be viewed as minimum estimates of the true incidence.

Hepatic Effects of Lovastatin Exposure in Patients with Liver Disease

Little is known about the potential adverse hepatic effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors ('statins') in patients with existing liver disease; therefore, we examined the risk of liver toxicity with lovastatin exposure in these patients. A retrospective cohort study was performed using data from a large integrated health plan in Northern California, USA. Patients with laboratory or clinical evidence of liver disease were identified and their exposure to lovastatin was determined. The primary outcome was a pattern of liver-test abnormalities associated with a poor prognosis among patients with drug-induced liver disease, based on Hy's Rule. Secondary outcomes included liver injury (defined as moderate or severe, depending on the degree of ALT level elevations) or the development of either clinical cirrhosis or liver failure. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated and multivariate analyses conducted using extended Cox models. A total of 93 106 patients met the entry criteria. Lovastatin exposure was associated with a lower incidence of all endpoints, including the primary outcome (IRR = 0.28, 95% CI 0.12, 0.55), moderate liver injury (IRR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.47, 0.65), severe liver injury (IRR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.29, 0.81) and the occurrence of either cirrhosis or liver failure (IRR = 0.29, 95% CI 0.21, 0.38); adjustment for age and sex resulted in some attenuation of this reduction in incidence. The observed effects were generally consistent across a range of baseline liver-disease diagnoses and greater cumulative lovastatin exposure was associated with fewer outcome events for some endpoints. In this retrospective analysis, exposure to lovastatin was not associated with an increased risk of adverse hepatic outcomes. These results do not support concern regarding lovastatin-related hepatotoxicity in patients with existing liver disease.