JAMA

09 Dec

Posted at 16:29h in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Global Health, JAMA, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52391" align="alignleft" width="135"]Emily Parker Hyle, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Emily Parker Hyle[/caption] Emily Parker Hyle, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We found that many children who were planning to travel internationally were eligible for MMR vaccination prior to departure but often did not receive it - especially if they were aged 6 months to 6 years. That is because most children do not routinely receive their first dose of MMR till 12-15 months of age and their second dose of MMR till 4-6 years of age. However, ACIP recommendations are different for children who are traveling internationally. The risk of being infected with measles is much higher outside of the US, so it is recommended that children older than 1 year have had 2 MMR vaccinations and that children 6-12 months receive 1 MMR vaccination prior to travel. MMR vaccination is a safe and effective way to greatly reduce the risk of measles infection. 

02 Dec

Posted at 21:31h in Author Interviews, Education, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52334" align="alignleft" width="150"]Lynn Blewett, PhD Mayo Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management Director, State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) University of Minnesota Dr. Blewett[/caption] Lynn Blewett, PhD Mayo Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management Director, State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) University of Minnesota MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We used a new set of questions about patient's perspectives of cultural competence of their providers that was added to the National Health Interview Survey and accessed through the Minnesota Population Center IPUMS Health Surveys.   MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Response: Most patients (97%) report being treated with respect by their providers. BUT we also found important disparities.  Black or Hispanic (vs White), uninsured (vs insured), and low income (vs >200% FPL) individuals reported being treated with respect less often, viewed a shared culture as more important, and saw providers who shared culture less often.

30 Nov

Posted at 20:33h in Author Interviews, Depression, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52326" align="alignleft" width="200"]Karina Pereira-Lima, PhD Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil Dr. Pereira-Lima[/caption] Karina Pereira-Lima, PhD Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Questions regarding the magnitude and direction of the associations between physician depressive symptoms and medical errors remain open in recent literature. By pooling data from 11 studies involving 21,517 physicians, we were able to verify that depressive symptoms among physicians were associated with increased risk of reporting medical errors (RR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.63 – 2.33).

30 Nov

Posted at 20:22h in Author Interviews, Education, ENT, Hearing Loss, JAMA, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_36161" align="alignleft" width="180"]Dr. Carlijn M. P. le Clercq, MD Speech and Language Pathology, Pediatrics, Otolaryngology Erasmus MC , Rotterdam  Dr. Carlijn M. P. le Clercq[/caption] Dr. Carlijn M. P. le Clercq, MD Speech and Language Pathology, Pediatrics, Otolaryngology Erasmus MC, Rotterdam MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Recently, more reports have been publishes about the prevalence of slight to mild hearing loss among children in the general population. These studies showed that slight hearing loss is common, also within our population-based cohort in the Netherlands. Slight hearing loss is often scored as “not relevant”. We wanted to examine if we could find associations of hearing thresholds in children with performance scores in everyday life.

27 Nov

Posted at 21:24h in Aging, Author Interviews, JAMA, Opiods
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52316" align="alignleft" width="107"]Yong-Fang Kuo, PhD Professor and Director, Office of Biostatistics Don W. and Frances Powell Professor in Aging Research Dr. Yong-Fang Kuo[/caption] Yong-Fang Kuo, PhD Professor and Director, Office of Biostatistics Don W. and Frances Powell Professor in Aging Research [caption id="attachment_52317" align="alignleft" width="124"]Mukaila Raji, MD, MS, FACP Professor & Director Edgar Gnitzinger Distinguished Professorship in Aging Dr. Mukaila Raji[/caption] Mukaila Raji, MD, MS, FACP Professor & Director Edgar Gnitzinger Distinguished Professorship in Aging Preventive Medicine and Population Health UTMB Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Medicare beneficiaries who qualified because of disability constitute a growing population of patients hospitalized for opioid/heroin overdose. Although the CDC regularly generates reports of opioid overdose deaths by demographics and states, studies on policy actionable predictors of overdose mortality (e.g., clusters of medical and psychiatric conditions, types of disabling conditions) are lacking in this population. 

27 Nov

Posted at 15:03h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Opiods
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52264" align="alignleft" width="174"]Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH Director Emeritus and Senior Advisor, Center on Society and Health Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Distinguished Chair in Population Health and Health Equity Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine Richmond, Virginia 23298-0212 Dr. Woolf[/caption] Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH Director Emeritus and Senior Advisor, Center on Society and Health Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Distinguished Chair in Population Health and Health Equity Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine Richmond, Virginia 23298-0212 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Life expectancy in the US has decreased for three years in a row, the first time this has occurred in this country since the Spanish flu epidemic a century ago. Meanwhile, life expectancy in other countries continues to climb. Our study found that the trend is being driven by an increase in death rates among working-age adults (ages 25-64 years), which began as early as the 1990s. The increase has involved deaths from drug overdoses—a major contributor—but also from alcoholism, suicides, and a long list of organ diseases. We found increases in 35 causes of death. We analyzed the trends across the 50 states and discovered that the trend is concentrated in certain regions, especially the Industrial Midwest (Rust Belt) and Appalachia, whereas other regions like the Pacific states were least affected. Increases in midlife mortality in four Ohio Valley states (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky) accounted for one third of the excess deaths between 2010 and 2017.

27 Nov

Posted at 14:51h in Author Interviews, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: James S. Goodwin, M.D. George and Cynthia Mitchell Distinguished Chair in Geriatric Medicine University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, TX  77555-0177James S. Goodwin, M.D. George and Cynthia Mitchell Distinguished Chair in Geriatric Medicine University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, TX  77555-0177 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Full time hospital doctors, called hospitalists, now provide the medical care for most patients hospitalized in the US. Depending on the hospital and also the hospitalist group, the working schedules of hospitalists can have vary greatly. For example, some might work 8 AM to 5PM for seven days followed by seven days off. Others might work 24 hours on and 72 hours off. Depending on the schedule of the hospitalists proving care, a patient  might have one or two or three or more different doctors proving care during their stay. Some patients see a new doctor each day. Our goal was to see if patients who received care from hospitalists who tended to work several days in a row did better than those who were cared for many different hospitalists with intermittent schedules.

27 Nov

Posted at 00:26h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Pain Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52310" align="alignleft" width="133"]Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Christoph Schankin Consultant Head University Headache Clinic Department of Neurology Inselspital, Bern University Hospital University of Bern Dr. Schankin[/caption] Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Christoph Schankin Consultant Head University Headache Clinic Department of Neurology Inselspital, Bern University Hospital University of Bern MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Visual snow syndrome is a debilitating disorder with a continuous TV snow-like visual disturbance that persists over years. Patients have additional visual problems, such as severe afterimages, floaters or photophobia. The syndrome is associated with migraine and migraine aura, but the interaction between the two remains unclear.

26 Nov

Posted at 23:52h in Aging, Dermatology, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52300" align="alignleft" width="159"]Christian Sell, PhD Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Drexel University College of Medicine Dr. Sell[/caption] Christian Sell, PhD Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Drexel University College of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In terms of background, the drug rapamycin targets a pathway that scientists know is critical for growth and development but is also a key regulator of lifespan in many model organisms such as worms, flies, and mice. This pathway is known as the mTOR pathway. Rapamycin is already in use clinically, it is given to people who have received organ transplants to prevent rejection and is also in trials to treat some forms of cancer, at very high doses. Many studies in mice have shown that rapamycin delays aging and prevents age-related disorders such as the decline in heart function and cognitive function. Based on this work, there is a strong expectation that these results will translate into humans, but no studies have been done due to concerns regarding potential side effects of rapamycin when the drug is given orally to prevent rejection. Our previous studies have shown that a very low dose of rapamcyin can reduce the aging of human cells and improve cell growth, while the high does used for organ transplant patients actually block cell growth.  We decided to test the impact of low dose rapamycin on aging in the skin because we could treat people safely. Previous studies have shown that the drug does not get into the blood stream when high doses were given topically to people with a rare genetic disorder, so we knew that the low doses used in our study would not get into the bloodstream and would be safe for the patients.

26 Nov

Posted at 23:41h in Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52250" align="alignleft" width="200"]Brian S. Alper, MD, MSPH, FAAFP, FAMIA Board Certifications: Family Medicine, Clinical Informatics Founder of DynaMed Vice President of Innovations and Evidence-Based Medicine Development EBSCO Health Dr. Alper[/caption] Brian S. Alper, MD, MSPH, FAAFP, FAMIA Board Certifications: Family Medicine, Clinical Informatics Founder of DynaMed Vice President of Innovations and Evidence-Based Medicine Development EBSCO Health  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We often use clinical practice guidelines as a “source of truth” for decision support for healthcare professionals and even as a standard of care for medical legal considerations.  However our experience evaluating guidelines for clinical reference support finds they are often inconsistent.  We picked one of the most common conditions managed in healthcare (ie hypertension, or high blood pressure) and sought out the top clinical practice guidelines that guide care around the world.   We systematically evaluated these guidelines against 70 specific recommendations to see how often the guidelines agreed or disagreed.

26 Nov

Posted at 21:06h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Osteoporosis
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52292" align="alignleft" width="150"]Pamela L. Lutsey, PhD Associate Professor Division of Epidemiology and Community Health University of Minnesota School of Public Health Minneapolis Dr. Lutsey[/caption] Pamela L. Lutsey, PhD Associate Professor Division of Epidemiology and Community Health University of Minnesota School of Public Health Minneapolis MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Warfarin is prescribed to atrial fibrillation (AF) patients for the prevention of cardioembolic complications. However, whether it adversely impacts bone health is controversial. With the availability of alternate direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) options, it is now possible to evaluate the comparative safety of warfarin in relation to fracture risk.

26 Nov

Posted at 00:42h in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Colon Cancer, JAMA, Omega-3 Fatty Acids
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52246" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Song[/caption] MINGYANG SONG, MD, ScD Assistant Professor, Epidemiology Harvard T.H. Chan School Of Public Health Assistant Professor of Medicine Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit Massachusetts General Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Increasing data indicate that high intake of omega-3 fatty acid may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Since effects of nutritional factors on risk of cancer, a slow-developing disease, typically emerge only after several years, it is useful to study the effect of preventive agents on cancer precursors such as colorectal polyps. Colorectal polyps are small growths on the lining of the colon or rectum. Most polyps are harmless, but some can become cancerous.

26 Nov

Posted at 00:38h in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cannabis, JAMA, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52232" align="alignleft" width="158"]Bertha K. Madras PhD Director, Laboratory of Addiction Neurobiology Psychobiologist, Substance Use Disorders Division, Basic Neuroscience Division Professor of Psychobiology, Department of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School Dr. Madras[/caption] Bertha K. Madras PhD Director, Laboratory of Addiction Neurobiology Psychobiologist, Substance Use Disorders Division, Basic Neuroscience Division Professor of Psychobiology, Department of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Parent use of marijuana is rising, and I wondered whether this could be associated with offspring use of specific substances and across several substances
  • Several fathers have confided in me that they used marijuana to bond with their sons. They became horrified after witnessing their sons progress to using other drugs, especially heroin.
  • In general, living with a parent using substances or having substance use disorders is an explicit risk for use of substances among young offspring. Yet, few studies have directly examined whether parental marijuana use elevates the risk for opioid misuse among adolescent and young adults living with parents.  Most importantly and to the best of our knowledge, none of the existing research  simultaneously explored frequency of  parental marijuana use and whether it related to adolescent and young adult offspring’s marijuana, tobacco, alcohol use, and opioid misuse.

21 Nov

Posted at 16:31h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amy L. Nyman, MA Research Associate Georgia State University, School of Public Health Atlanta, GA 30303 Coauthors: Nyman, Huang, Weaver, Eriksen MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Though the negative health consequences of smoking combustible cigarettes have been well-established and widely accepted, there has been significant public debate about the health effects of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) use, and the extent to which use of ENDS may present less health risk to smokers than smoking combustible cigarettes. Many tobacco control researchers and scientists believe that ENDS use is safer than combustible cigarette smoking, though recent news of an expansive outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses and deaths has led to continued speculation. A prior study of perceived comparative harm of combustible cigarettes and ENDS revealed the proportion of US adults perceiving ENDS to be as harmful as, or more harmful than combustible cigarettes increased substantially between 2012 and 2017. Given recently proposed regulations and the escalating focus on the impact of ENDS use on youth in the past few years, our study assessed changes in perceived comparative harm of combustible cigarettes and ENDS among US adults since the prior study, between 2017 and 2018. 

17 Nov

Posted at 12:46h in Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, Melanoma
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52150" align="alignleft" width="143"]Jennifer M. Gardner, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology University of Washington School of Medicine Dr. Gardner[/caption] Jennifer M. Gardner, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology University of Washington School of Medicine  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: This study looked at age-specific differences of melanoma incidence in the United States. It was an observational study looking at population-based registry data extracted from the combined National Program of Cancer Registries-Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results United States Cancer Statistics (NPCR-SEER) database. The overall take home message from this study is that though melanoma incidence has continued to climb in the past decade for both men and women, most of the increase is seen in adults greater than age 40 years of age.  In contrast, melanoma incidence decreased in adolescents (ages 10-19 years of age) and young adults (ages 20-29) after peaking around 2004-2005. Melanoma is more common in males in older individuals (older than 50 years of age) but in younger individuals (<50 years of age), melanoma is more common in females.  According to a recently published JAMA-Otolaryngology paper by Bray and colleagues, there may be a subset of younger individuals where males are at a higher risk than females in regard to head and neck melanoma, and after that study was published we noted this to be true in our numbers, as well (we didn’t publish this in our study), further identifying a possibly “at risk” demographic within the younger age groups in addition to young women.

15 Nov

Posted at 14:39h in Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JAMA, Mammograms
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52174" align="alignleft" width="300"]Mammograms showing a normal breast (left) and a breast with cancer (right, white arrows). Wikipedia Image Mammograms showing a normal breast (left) and a breast with cancer (right, white arrows). Wikipedia Image[/caption] Dr. Elham Kharazmi, MD, PhD Co-Leader, Risk Adapted Prevention (RAD) Group Division of Preventive Oncology National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Germany MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer death in American women, exceeded only by lung cancer. Available evidence suggests that implementation of a screening program can decrease breast cancer mortality. Reductions in breast cancer mortality in Europe over the past two decades have been associated at least in part with the implementation of screening programs. Screening enables the detection of tumors at an early stage, when more treatment options are feasible and most effective. However, screening is associated with substantial risks, such as over-diagnosis, false-positive results, and physical and psychological harms, particularly when large numbers of women with low risk are frequently screened.

13 Nov

Posted at 20:59h in Author Interviews, Education, Gender Differences, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52133" align="alignleft" width="200"]Shannon Ruzycki, MD, MPH, FRCPC, (she/hers) General Internist & Clinical Lecturer Department of Medicine Department of Community Health Sciences Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary Dr. Ruzycki[/caption] Shannon Ruzycki, MD, MPH, FRCPC, (she/hers) General Internist & Clinical Lecturer Department of Medicine Department of Community Health Sciences Cumming School of Medicine University of Calgary MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: After hearing about the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine 2018 report to congress on sexual harassment of women in academia, our Department Head asked myself and Dr. Aleem Bharwani to study experiences of gender inequity or equity in our Department. We conducted an in-depth, 18-month mixed methods study of women and men in our Department, including semi-structured interviews and survey.

09 Nov

Posted at 21:19h in Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cost of Health Care, Dermatology, JAMA, Rheumatology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Emily S. Ruiz, MD, MPH Director, High-Risk Skin Cancer Clinic, Dana Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, Dermatology Brigham And Women's Faulkner Hospital  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Innovation in oncology has led to increased development and market entry of anticancer drugs. For example, from 2009 to 2013, the US FDA approved 51 oral and systemic anticancer drugs for 63 indications. Prices for anticancer drugs have risen faster than inflation over time, especially for older drugs, and prices in the US have largely been set by market forces rather than novelty or efficacy. Understanding the evolving cancer economic landscape requires consideration of annual and cumulative rates of change for key metrics, such as total spending, drug cost per beneficiary, out-of-pocket cost, and utilization. This study sought to weigh the proportional impacts of rising drug costs and utilization on increased Medicare Part D spending for a cohort of oral anticancer drug utilized from 2013-2017. 

09 Nov

Posted at 21:11h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Sexual Health, STD, Technology, UCSD
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52020" align="alignleft" width="200"]Alicia Nobles, PhD, MS Research Fellow Department of Medicine UC San Diego Dr. Nobles[/caption] Alicia Nobles, PhD, MS Research Fellow Department of Medicine UC San Diego  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are at record-high rates according to the Centers for Disease Control. Between STDs being highly stigmatized infections and people lacking access to health care, people may elect to turn to social media to connect with others. This is precisely why social media sites are so popular - because they do allow for people to talk with others rapidly. Reddit, a social media site that rivals Twitter with 330 million active users and is the 6th most visited website in the United States, is organized into online communities, many of which discuss health topics. We monitored all r/STD (www.reddit.com/r/STD/) posts, where users can find “anything and everything STD related,” from its inception in November 2010 through February 2019.  

07 Nov

Posted at 15:33h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, HPV, JAMA, OBGYNE
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rachel L. Winer, PhD Professor Department of Epidemiology School of Public Health HPV Research Group University of Washington Seattle, WARachel L. Winer, PhD Professor Department of Epidemiology School of Public Health HPV Research Group University of Washington Seattle, WA  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In the U.S., 25% of women do not receive recommended cervical cancer screening. Increasing screening participation is a high priority, because over half of the 12,000 cervical cancers diagnosed each year in the U.S. are in women who are underscreened. Currently available options for cervical cancer screening in the U.S. include Pap testing or HPV testing, either alone or in combination. HPV self-sampling is an emerging option for screening because HPV tests – unlike Pap tests – can be performed on either clinician- or self-collected samples, with similar accuracy. Internationally, several countries (including Australia and the Netherlands) include HPV self-sampling as a cervical cancer screening option for underscreened women. 

05 Nov

Posted at 20:50h in Author Interviews, Beth Israel Deaconess, Emergency Care, Health Care Systems, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura Burke, MD, MPH Department of Emergency Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA 02215Laura Burke, MD, MPH Department of Emergency Medicine Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA 02215  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There has been a lot of attention to the growing intensity and costs of emergency care, but relatively little study of how outcomes have changed in recent years for patients using the ED. We examined 30-day mortality rates for traditional Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older using the emergency department (ED) from 2009-2016 and also examined how their rates of hospitalization have changed over time.  

04 Nov

Posted at 16:13h in Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Pediatrics, Schizophrenia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Henriette Thisted Horsdal Senior Researcher Department of Economics and Business Economics AARHUS University Henriette Thisted Horsdal PhD Senior Researcher Department of Economics and Business Economics AARHUS University  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Recent studies have suggested that exposure to nitrogen dioxide during childhood is associated with elevated risk of subsequently developing schizophrenia. We know that schizophrenia has a genetic component, and that individuals with higher genetic loading for schizophrenia tend to live in more densely urban areas. It is not known whether the increased risk associated with exposure to nitrogen dioxide during childhood is owing to a greater genetic liability among those exposed to highest nitrogen dioxide levels. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide during childhood and genetic liability (as measured by a polygenic risk score) for schizophrenia were independently associated with increased schizophrenia risk. 

03 Nov

Posted at 05:26h in Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52044" align="alignleft" width="160"]Joyce Nanjinga Mbekeani Dr. Mbekeani[/caption] Joyce Nanjinga Mbekeani, M.B.B.S. Associate Professor Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The United States has the highest incidence of gun violence, of all affluent, OECD countries. Thus, firearms are a major public health concern, ranking second among causes of pediatric trauma-related injuries that result in significant morbidity and mortality. However, most scientific reports addressing pediatric firearm-related eye injuries have evaluated non-powder (recreational) firearm injuries. Our study used the large National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) to study firearm-related eye injuries for all types of firearms from all intentions of injury. The NTDB collects de-identified submissions of trauma admissions from over 900 facilities in the US. 

02 Nov

Posted at 12:41h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Gender Differences, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51995" align="alignleft" width="191"]Nina Niu Sanford, M.D.  Assistant Professor Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care UT Southwestern Department of Radiation Oncology Dallas TX Dr. Nina Niu Sanford[/caption] Nina Niu Sanford, M.D. Assistant Professor Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care UT Southwestern Department of Radiation Oncology Dallas TX MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Minority racial/ethnic groups present at later stages of cancer and have worse stage-specific survival rates.  Cultural competency represents a single element within the dynamic and trans-disciplinary field of health disparities, but is an important modifiable factor for both providers and health organizations that could be associated with disparities in cancer outcomes. There have been longstanding initiatives and training requirements in medical education specifically designed to improve provider cultural competency over the past couple of decades, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has recently outlined goals for improving cultural competency within its policy statement on cancer disparities. Moreover, ASCO health disparity policies have recently highlighted the association between racial/ethnic disparities in cancer outcomes and a “lack of access to high-quality care that is understanding and respectful of diverse traditions and cultures plays a significant role.”  Given the above, we wished to assess access to culturally competent providers among patients with cancer by race/ethnicity.

02 Nov

Posted at 12:29h in Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA, Ophthalmology
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Jeremy A. Guggenheim School of Optometry & Vision Sciences Cardiff University, UKProfessor Jeremy A. Guggenheim School of Optometry & Vision Sciences Cardiff University, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Near-sightedness (myopia) usually develops during childhood and necessitates the use of glasses or contact lenses to correct blurry distance vision. It is also a risk factor for sight-threatening disorders such as glaucoma, retinal detachment and macular degeneration. Promising treatments designed to slow the progression of myopia are becoming available. Building on previous research suggesting that some individuals are genetically predisposed to near-sightedness, we investigated whether a genetic test could identify children at risk of developing myopia. 

01 Nov

Posted at 13:30h in Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, JAMA
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51983" align="alignleft" width="133"]Rena M. Conti, PhD, Associate Professor Department of Markets, Public Policy and Law Questrom School of Business Boston University Boston, MA 02215 Dr. Conti[/caption] Rena M. Conti, PhD, Associate Professor Department of Markets, Public Policy and Law Questrom School of Business Boston University Boston, MA 02215 Co-Authors: Sayeh S. Nikpay, PhD Melinda B. Buntin, PhD Vanderbilt University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The federal 340B program provides deep discounts on the acquisition cost of prescription drugs for participating hospitals and places no limits on what hospitals charge patients and insurers.  Congress intended 340B profits generated from hospital participation to subsidize the provision of safety net care for patients residing in the community. This study is the first to estimate the size of profits hospitals participating in the 340B drug discount program collect from Medicare patients for the outpatient clinic administration of prescription drugs.

01 Nov

Posted at 13:24h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Osteoporosis, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Radhika Seimon, PhD Research Fellow at the University of Sydney Amanda Salis, PhD - Professor of Obesity Research at the University of Sydney Senior Research Fellow National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Total meal replacement diets are severely energy-restricted diets that involve replacing all or almost all foods with nutritionally replete meal replacement products such as shakes, soups, or bars (i.e. total diet replacement). They are the most effective dietary treatment for obesity, resulting in greater short- and long-term weight loss compared with conventional food-based diets. However, there are concerns that total meal replacement diets may adversely affect body composition, notably lean mass and bone mineral density.

30 Oct

Posted at 21:17h in Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Melanoma, Surgical Research, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Magdalena Taube, PhD Institute of Medicine, Dept of Molecular and Clinical Medicine Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University Wallenberg laboratory Gothenburg Sweden  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Obesity is a cancer risk factor, and bariatric surgery in patients with obesity is associated with reduced cancer risk. However, evidence of an association among obesity, bariatric surgery and skin cancer is limited. In this study we used data from the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study– a prospective controlled intervention trial examining bariatric surgery outcomes – to analyze the impact of bariatric surgery on skin cancer incidence.

29 Oct

Posted at 19:42h in Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51965" align="alignleft" width="133"]Carole Stipelman MD MPH Associate Professor of Pediatrics Physician Informatics Team Medical Director, University Pediatric Clinic Salt Lake City, Utah Dr. STIPELMAN[/caption]   Carole Stipelman MD MPH Associate Professor of Pediatrics Physician Informatics Team Medical Director, University Pediatric Clinic Salt Lake City, Utah     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 
  • Guns are the second leading cause of death in children and adolescents.
  • 6 million children live in homes with at least one gun that is loaded and unlocked.
  • Safe storage of guns increases when physicians speak with parents about how to prevent children from having access to guns. However, these conversations happen infrequently.

28 Oct

Posted at 14:43h in Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease, Hip Fractures, JAMA, Menopause
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_51934" align="alignleft" width="140"]Jean Wactawski-Wende PhD Dean, SUNY Distinguished Professor Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health School of Public Health and Health Professions University of Buffalo Dr. Wactawski-Wende[/caption] Jean Wactawski-Wende PhD Dean, SUNY Distinguished Professor Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health School of Public Health and Health Professions University of Buffalo MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: This study included data from the Women’s Health Initiative, a prospective study of postmenopausal women from across the United States. We assessed physical activity in 77,206 women over an average of 14 years of follow-up. Approximately 1/3 of these women (average age 63.4 years) had at least one fracture occur. Higher physical activity levels were associated with  lower risk of hip and total fracture. Even levels of activity that were moderate, including regular walking and doing household chores, were beneficial.