Researcher, Department of Clinical Science
University of Bergen, Norway
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study?Answer: The main findings in this prospective observational cohort study among patients with established coronary artery disease were that a very high intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a reduced risk of acute myocardial infarction in patients with diabetes, but with an increased risk of fatal acute myocardial infarction and with lower glycosylated hemoglobin in those without impaired glucose metabolism.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adrianne Haggins, MD, MS
University of Michigan Health System
Department of Emergency Medicine
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5303
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Haggins: Since the implementation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 1997, the last national health care reform that broadly expanded insurance coverage, adolescent use of primary care and specialty care has increased substantially in comparison to no change seen among the comparison group (young adults, who were not covered). Broadening insurance coverage for adolescents did not result in a decrease in emergency department use, while ED use in the comparison group increased over time. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Gigi Cuckler
Economist
National Health Statistics Group
Office of the Actuary, CMS
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer: Below we provide the major findings, but it’s important to note that these estimates incorporate two substantial changes from prior projections.
First, the estimates incorporate the June 2012 US Supreme Court ruling that made the Medicaid eligibility expansion under health reform optional for states.
Second, unless otherwise stated, the estimates focus on an outlook for spending in which the scheduled Medicare physician payment rate updates under the Sustainable Growth Rate formula do not occur. The following are highlights from our most recent report:
Over the projection period, 2012-22, national health spending is projected to grow at an average rate of 5.8 percent, which is 1.0 percentage point faster than expected average annual growth in the economy over the period. Consequently, the health share of GDP is projected to increase from 17.9 percent in 2011 to 19.9 percent of the economy by 2022.
In the near term of the projection, through 2013, national health spending growth is expected to remain just under 4.0 percent due to the sluggish economic recovery, continued increases in cost-sharing requirements for the privately insured, and low growth for Medicare and Medicaid.
However, in 2014, national health spending growth is projected to accelerate to 6.1 percent, reflecting the expanded insurance coverage that will become available through the Affordable Care Act.
After 2014 through the remainder of the projection period, national health spending is projected to grow 6.2 percent per year on average, largely as a result of the continued implementation of the coverage expansions under reform, faster projected economic growth, the aging of the population, and the end of the sequester.
While projected health spending growth is faster compared to recent experience, it is still slower than the growth experienced over the longer-term history. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview withProfessor Stefan Priebe, Dipl.-Psych., Dr. med. habil., FRCPsych
Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry
WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development
Queen Mary, University of London
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer: Offering modest financial incentives can help patients to achieve better adherence to anti-psychotic maintenance medication. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Dr. med. Jelena Kornej
Department of Electrophysiology, Heart Center, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany & University of Birmingham Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, City Hospital,
Birmingham, United Kingdom
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer:The main finding of our analysis was that thromboembolic events after atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation are rare, but all three stroke risk stratification scores, i.e. CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, and R2CHADS2 were associated with thromboembolic risk in anticoagulated population. Furthermore, patients with AF recurrences had increased risk for thromboembolic complications.
(more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. Kees-Jan Kan PhD
Department of Biological Psychology, VU University
Department of Psychological Methods, University of Amsterdam
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer: We asked ourselves how well theories of intelligence actually predict empirical results. To this end, we reviewed and scrutinized the predictions from intelligence theories and collected relevant results that have been published in the scientific literature over the last decades. The results pertained to intelligence test scores from thousands of subjects across the world. We found that on essential aspects the empirical results were opposite of the predictions from the mainstream theories of intelligence, in which intelligence is interpreted as a biological trait. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Saul Blecker, MD, MHS
Department of Population Health, NYU School of Medicine
Department of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Blecker: Inpatient quality of care has focused primarily on patients with acute heart failure, commonly identified by principal discharge diagnosis code. However, patients with heart failure are commonly hospitalized for other causes and should benefit from many of the same treatments.
We found that in our sample, as compared to patients with a principal diagnosis of heart failure, heart failure patients hospitalized with a non–heart failure diagnosis had lower rates of guideline-concordant care, including assessment of left ventricular function and prescription for an ACE inhibitor or ARB, at time of discharge. This is important as our study suggests that these therapies were associated with reduced mortality for patients hospitalized with heart failure, regardless of the reason for hospitalization.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Jussi Naukkarinen, M.D., Ph.D
Research Scientist
Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM)
Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine
Helsinki Finland
and National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
Division of Welfare and Health Promotion
Public Health Genomics Unit
and University of Helsinki
School of Medicine Dept. of Medical Genetics
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer: We found in this sample of relatively young, Finnish twins that there are clearly two different kinds of obesity. While most individuals with BMIs in the "obese" category will go on to develop the usual pathologies associated with obesity (namely diabetes, hypertensio, dyslipidemia), a fraction of the obese population seems to be spared. These "metabolically healthy obese" individuals displayed a number of features that were associated with a healthy metabolic profile despite considerable overweight: a capacity for hyperplasia of the adipose tissue (as opposed to just hypertrophy) seemed to be associated with maintained mitochondrial function, lack of inflammation and liver fat. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview withStephan Zipfel MD
Professor of Medicine & Dean of Medical Education
Head Department of Internal Medicine VI
(Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy)
University Medical Hospital Tuebingen
President of the German College of Psychosomatic Medicine (DKPM)
Co-Director of the centre for nutritional Medicine Tuebingen-Hohenheim
72076 Tuebingen / Germany
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Prof. Zipfel: Outpatient treatment of adults with anorexia nervosa by either enhanced cognitive-behaviour therapy, focal psychodynamic therapy, or optimised treatment as usual led to relevant weight gains and a decrease in general and eating disorder-specific psychopathology during the course of treatment. These positive effects continued beyond treatment until 12-month follow-up. Most patients completed treatment and the acceptance of both specific therapy approaches was high among both patients and therapists.
(more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Eva Aagaard, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Assistant Dean for Lifelong Learning, Director of the Academy of Medical Educators, Director of the Center for Advancing Professional Excellence, and Director of Faculty Development in General Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Aagaard: We obtained feedback on, and assessed the construct validity and perceived feasibility and utility of, draft Internal Medicine Milestones for Patient Care and Systems-Based Practice used a mixed methods study involving competency committee members in Internal Medicine residency programs. An initial survey assessed participant and program demographics; focus groups obtained feedback on the draft milestones and explored their perceived utility in resident assessment, and an exit survey elicited input on the value of the draft milestones in resident assessment. Thirty-four participants from 17 programs completed surveys and participated in 1 of 6 focus groups. Overall, the milestones were perceived as useful in formative and summative assessment of residents. Participants raised concerns about the length and complexity of some draft milestones and suggested specific changes. The focus groups also identified a need for faculty development. In the exit survey, most participants agreed that the Patient Care and Systems-Based Practice Milestones would help competency committees assess trainee progress toward independent practice.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Richard A. Oram, BMBCh, BA(hons), MRCP
NIHR Exeter Clinical Research Facility
University of Exeter Medical School, Barrack Road, Exeter, UK
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer:Historically people with Type 1 diabetes were thought to progress to make absolutely none of their own insulin. Modern assays allow us to measure very low levels of insulin, and using these we can find very tiny amounts of insulin production in most people with Type 1 diabetes even if they have had the disease for many years. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com interview with: Kesava Reddy, PhD, MHA
University Cancer and Diagnostic Centers, Houston, Tex
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Reddy: Crude oil spills affect the human health through their exposure to the inherent hazardous chemicals such as para-phenols and volatile benzene. Evidence show that oil spill exposure is associated with multiple adverse health effects and increased cancer risk. In this study, we assessed the adverse health effects of the Gulf oil spill exposure in subjects participating in the clean-up operation along the coast of Louisiana. The findings were compared with those not exposed to the oil spill. We found that platelet counts were notably decreased in the oil spill exposed group. In addition, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels were substantially lower in the exposed group, while hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were increased compared to the unexposed subjects. Furthermore, considered indicators of hepatic damage, the serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), levels in the exposed subjects were also elevated. Participants in the oil spill cleanup activity also reported somatic symptoms, with headache reported most frequently, followed by shortness of breath, skin rash, cough, dizzy spells, fatigue, painful joints, night sweats, and chest pain.
(more…)
MedicalResearch.com:
Prof. Dr. Gunnar Brix
Division of Medical and Occupational Radiation Protection
Federal Office for Radiation Protection
Institut für Med. Strahlenhygiene
85764 Neuherberg
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer: We investigated the cumulative radiation exposure and cancer risk of more than 1200 patients with ischemic heart diseases (IHD) from diagnostic and therapeutic imaging procedures performed 3 month before and 12 month after the date of diagnosis. The major findings were:
87% of patient exposure resulted from heart catheter procedures.
The average cumulative effective dose was 13.3 mSv in males and 10.3 mSv in females. The highest dose was nearly 100 mSv.
The estimated average attributable life-time risk of male and female patients to develop a radiation-induced cancer in their remaining life was 0.09 % and 0.07 %, respectively. This correspond to 1 excess cancer in about 1100 male and 1400 female IHD patients. The highest risk was 0.9 %.
The effective dose is inadequate to characterize individual radiation risks, since neither the age nor the sex of the patient is taken into account. According to our results, cancer risks can vary by a factor of more than 10 for comparable values of the effective dose. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Dr. Elizabeth V. Asztalos, MD, M.Sc., FRCPC
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
2075 Bayview Ave., Room M4 230
Toronto, ON M4N 3M5
MedicalResearch.com What are the main findings of the study?Answer: This study was focused to see if there were differences in the main neurodevelopmental outcomes of children whose mothers had participated in the original MACS trial. We found that there were no differences in the main outcomes of the trial as it related to the aspects of death and/or developmental. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar PhD, MD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, Oakland, California
University of Washington
Department of Epidemiology Health Sciences
Seattle, WA 98195
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of your study?Answer: We found that the magnitude of increased risk of fever and seizures
following immunization with the first dose of measles-containing
vaccines during the second year of life depends on age. Specifically,
the risk of seizures attributable to the vaccine during the 7 to 10 days
following vaccination was significantly greater among children 16-23
months of age (9.5 excess cases per 10,000 doses) than among children
12-15 months of age (4.0 excess cases per 10,000 doses). (more…)
Dr. Mitchell S. Roslin, MD
Lenox Hill Hospital Manhattan Minimally Invasive & Bariatric Surgery
186 E 76th Street, 1st Floor New York, NY 10021.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Roslin: The cornerstone of medical management for weight loss and to prevent weight gain is to regulate glucose and insulin and prevent wide fluctuation. Yet, Gastric bypass, widely considered the gold standard operation, accentuates these fluctuations. The purpose of our study was to compare glucose tolerance of gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and a modified version of duodenal switch that preserves adequate intestine. We found that all operations improve insulin resistance, but that duodenal switch normalizes the curve, whereas gastric bypass causes wide spikes in insulin and glucose.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Christian K. Roberts
Exercise and Metabolic Disease Research Laboratory,
Translational Sciences Section, School of Nursing
University of California, Los Angeles, CA
MedicalResearch.com: How would you best summarize the main findings/results of this study?Answer: Our main finding was that HDL functioned better in its antioxidant role in subjects who participated in resistance exercise training (i.e. weight training) a minimum of 4 days a week, regardless of their weight—one group was lean (BMI <25) and the other overweight/obese (BMI >27) —than those who didn’t exercise (overweight, BMI >27, and untrained). In addition, HDL had similar effectiveness as an antioxidant in the overweight-trained group as in the as lean-trained group. Although indices of weight were associated with dysfunctional HDL, differences in fitness may be a better measure of who has healthier functioning HDL.
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MedicalResearch.com with:Professor Djillali Annane MD, PhD
Raymond Poincaré Hospital, Garches, France
CH d’Etampes, Etampes, France
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer: The CRISTAL trial was designed in 2002 to clarify whether correction of acute hypovolemia in critically ill patients with colloids may increase the risk of death as compared to resuscitation with crystalloids. The trial has enrolled 2857 patients in 57 ICUs in France, Belgium, Canada and North Africa. The relative risk of death was at 28 day of 0.96 (95% CI: 0.88 to 1.04; P=0.26), and at 90 day of 0.92 (95%CI: 0.86 to 0.99; P=0.03) in favor of colloids. Colloids-treated patients had more days alive and off mechanical ventilation and off vasopressor both within 7 days and 28 days of randomization. There was no evidence for increased risk of kidney injury with colloids.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Abhishek Sharma, M.B.B.S.
Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer: Evidence from RCT's and observational studies suggests a significantly increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) requiring hospitalization, but no increase in risk of stroke or cardiovascular mortality with the use of bisphosphonate. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Dr. Liora Lazar
The Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes National Center for Childhood Diabetes
Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel
14 Kaplan St., Petah Tikva 49202, Israel
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Lazar: The study aims to assess the reproductive outcome and social adjustment of former Central precocious puberty (CPP) women between the 3rd and 5th decades of life.
The main findings of this study are:
1. Clinical hyperandrogenism was more prevalent among former CPP women, both treated and untreated, as compared to controls.
2. Fertility problems were more prevalent only among untreated–CPP women.
3. Educational achievements and marital status were similar in former CPP women and their controls. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Marieke de Groot, PhD
Senior Researcher
University of Groningen/University Medical Center Groningen
VU University Amsterdam, department of Clinical Psychology
The EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research (EMGO+)
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer: We investigated the long term course of bereavement through suicide in a community-based sample of 153 first-degree relatives and spouses of 74 suicide cases. Outcome measures were complicated grief, depression and suicide ideation. We found that outcomes are mutually strongly associated over the 8-10 years course. A history of attempted suicide predicts a increased risk of suicide ideation during the bereavement course. Depression is more likely predicted by factors generally associated with a increased risk of depression such as female gender and low mastery, whereas complicated grief is more likely predicted by the trauma of losing a child due to suicide. No significant associations were found between outcomes and the use of help resources except for mutual (or peer) support, which is associated with a increased risk of complicated grief. Time is the only factor (included in this study) predicting decrease of the risk of depression and complicated grief.
(more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Mila Ju, MD
Resident, Division of Vascular Surgery
Northwestern University
676 N. Saint Clair St., Ste 650
Chicago, IL 60611
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Ju: By using combined data from Hospital Compare, American Hospital Association, and Medicare claims databases, we found that better hospital venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis adherence rates were weakly associated with worse risk-adjusted VTE event rates. Moreover, hospitals with higher intensity of detecting VTE with imaging studies (such as venous duplex, chest computer tomography, etc.) had more VTE events (13.5 in highest VTE imaging quartile vs 5.0 in lowest VTE imaging quartile) per 1000 discharges. Our study suggests that VTE rates might be influenced by surveillance bias and not reflecting the true quality of care provided by the hospitals.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Lisen Arnheim Dahlström, Associate Professor (Docent)
Institutionen för medicinsk epidemiologi och biostatistik
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Karolinska Institutet
171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer:This is a Swedish/Danish population-based study comparing serious disease outcomes in girls immunized with the quadrivalent HPV vaccine against the unvaccinated population.
The main finding of this study was that none of the 53 outcomes included in the study were more common in the vaccinated population compared to the non-vaccinated population.
(more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Ankur Pandya PhD
Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Division of Health Policy
Department of Public Health at Weill Cornell Medical College
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Pandya: Our study looked at the impact of some of the future risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the United States. Using nine National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey waves from 1973 to 2010 we forecasted disease risk and prevalence from 2015 to 2030. We found that despite continued improvements in the disease’s treatment and declining smoking rates, increasing obesity rates, the aging population, and declining mortality from the disease should cause a rise in health care costs, disability, and reductions in the quality of life associated with increased disease prevalence.
(more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
David Goldenberg MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery and Oncology
Director of Head and Neck Surgery
Associate Director of Surgical Services- Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute
Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
The Pennsylvania State UniversityThe Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA 17033
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study?Dr. Goldenberg: The incidence of thyroid cancer is on the rise and has nearly tripled in the last thirty years.
Some authors have attributed this increase in incidence to improved sensitivity of diagnostic techniques and imaging allowing for diagnosis of small insignificant thyroid cancers. Others do not agree and state that is a real rise in this disease.
Many patients have their cancer discovered by accident when they undergo a diagnostic study for some other reason- such as trauma, neck pain, or carotid artery studies (for clogged arteries).
We aimed to compare incidentally discovered versus non incidentally discovered thyroid cancers to determine whether the thyroid cancers in both groups harbor different characteristics.
(more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Timothy Salthouse
Brown-Forman Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4400
MedicalResearch.com: What prompted this work?Prof. Salthouse:I think it is noteworthy that the research originated as an undergraduate project by Arielle Mandell. Ms. Mandell was supported by a University of Virginia Harrison Undergraduate Research Award while she was doing the research, and a report of the research served as her Distinguished Major Thesis.
The research was prompted by the observation that according to self-reports, tip-of-the-tongue experiences occur more and more frequently with increased age, and often seem to be associated with concerns about memory decline and possibly impending dementia. We wondered
1) whether these self-reports are valid, and
2) if they are valid, do they truly indicate age-related failures of the type of memory used in the diagnosis of dementia.
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Dr. Rebecca Todd
Assistant Professor
University of British Columbia
Department of Psychology
Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability
4342A-2260 West Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer:What we found, in essence, is that some individuals are genetically predisposed to see the world more darkly than others. We find that a common gene variant is linked to perceiving emotional events --especially negative ones --¬ more vividly than others. This gene variant has been previously linked (by other researchers) to emotional memory and the likelihood of experiencing intrusive, or “flashback” memories following traumatic experience. Our findings suggest that in healthy young adults this enhanced emotional memory may be because individuals are more likely to perceive what’s emotionally relevant in the first place. We've all heard of rose colored glasses, but this is more like gene-colored glasses, tinted a bit darkly. (more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Dr. S. Wassertheil-Smoller PhD
Distinguished University Professor Emerita
Department of Epidemiology & Population Health
Principal Investigator, Women's Health Initiative
Albert Einstein College of Medicine |
1300 Morris Park Avenue Bronx, NY 10461
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer: We studied 7728 older women who developed invasive breast cancer during their participation in the Women’s Health Initiative, known as WHI. This study found that women with invasive breast cancer who are users of multivitamin and mineral supplements had a 30% lower risk of dying from their breast cancer compared to non-users. This protective effect was observed to be independent of a large number of factors which affect breast cancer outcomes and which account for differences between users and non-users. The women we studied were ages 50-79 when they started the WHI.
(more…)
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kaitlin Toner, Ph.D.
Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment
Vanderbilt Climate Change Research Network
Nashville, TN 37240
Dr. Kaitlin Toner, is a postdoctoral researcher at Vanderbilt University.
The study was conducted colleagues Mark Leary, Michael Asher, and Katrina Jongman-Sereno while Dr. Toner was a graduate student at Duke University.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Toner:The take home message is that people who hold more extreme attitudes also tend to feel superior about those attitudes, whereas people with moderate attitudes aren't as convinced of the superiority of their own beliefs. Although it might seem that this connection between attitude extremity and superiority seems reasonable, there’s no logical reason why people who hold moderate, middle-of-the-road attitudes should not think that their moderate attitudes are superior to other people’s. But they don’t tend to do that; it’s the people with extreme attitudes who are inordinately convinced that they are right.
These findings are important because it sheds some light on how people become so polarized in their opinions: they don't just take a side, but they believe everyone who disagrees with that view must be wrong. Importantly, it's not just one political party who thinks this way, as previous research had suggested, but rather that it happens for both liberal and conservative attitudes. And, given the stalemate in Washington, understanding why people become so entrenched in their views – even when there is often not an objectively correct answer – is more important than ever. (more…)
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