medical research Tag
14 May Breast Cancer Subtypes Vary By Race, Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Helmneh Sineshaw, MD, MPH
Senior Epidemiologist, Health Services Researcher
American Cancer Society
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Sineshaw: We found that non-Hispanic black women had nearly twofold higher odds of being diagnosed with triple-negative (TN) breast cancer subtype than did their white counterparts, regardless of their socioeconomic group. We also found higher odds of presenting with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)-overexpressing breast cancer in Asian/Pacific Islander women compared with white women at every level of socioeconomic status.
14 May Evolocumab for LDL Cholesterol Reduction in Statin-Treated Patients
Medi
calResearch.com Interview with:
Jennifer G. Robinson, MD, MPH
Professor ,Departments of Epidemiology & Medicine
Director, Prevention Intervention Center
Department of Epidemiology
College of Public Health
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242-2007
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Robinson: The PCSK9 antibody, evolocumab, reduced LDL (or bad) cholesterol by about 65-70% regardless of the dose or type of statin used. This is a greater percentage reduction than ezetimibe, another drug used to lower LDL cholesterol in statin-treated patients, which lowered LDL cholesterol 15-20%. Side effects of evolocumab were similar to those for ezetimibe or placebo.
14 May Brief Exercise Before Meals May Improve Blood Sugar Control
MedicalResearch Interview with: Monique Francois Teaching Fellow & Research Assistant at the University of Otago School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that small 'snacks' of interval exercise before the three main meals lowered postprandial blood glucose and contributed to a lower blood glucose across the day. Whereas 30 minutes of continuous moderate exercise before dinner did not lower postprandial blood glucose nor mean glucose levels the exercise day or the following day, compared to exercise snacking. Six one minute intervals as walking or a combination of walking and resistance 3x per day (before the three main meals) improved glycaemic control in individuals with insulin resistance.14 May Stroke Risk Reduced by Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
MedicalResearch Interview with: Dr. Yan Qu Qingdao Municipal hospital Fruits and Vegetables Consumption and Risk of Stroke A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Reply: First, both fruits and vegetables were found inversely associated with risk of stroke, and the relationships might be linear. Second, the inverse association of fruits and vegetables consumption with risk of stroke is consistent across subgroup analysis by outcome (stroke incidence and stroke mortality), location where the study was conducted (USA, Europe and Asia), sex (male and female), and stroke subtypes (ischemic and hemorrhagic). Third, citrus fruits, leafy vegetables and apples/pears were found inversely associated with risk of stroke. Fourth, very similar results were found in the subgroup analysis by status [yes: 0.78 (0.71-0.86) or no: 0.79 (0.74-0.85)] of adjusting for 6 or more of the 7 covariates (smoking, alcohol, blood pressure/hypertension, serum cholesterol, physical activity, body mass index, ≥3 dietary variables). These findings generally indicated that the association of fruits and vegetables consumption with the reduced risk of stroke may not be the result of confounding by the known factors.14 May Post Heart Attack: Insulin Based Diabetes Control and Improved Longevity
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Viveca Ritsinger MD Karolinska Institute, Department of Medicine, Cardiology Unit, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm Unit for Research and Development Kronoberg County Council, Växjö, Sweden MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Ritsinger: This is a long-term follow-up of the Swedish DIGAMI 1 study where patients with acute myocardial infarction and diabetes were randomized to either intensified insulin-based glycaemic control or to standard glucose lowering treatment. Patients and controls were followed for mortality for over 20 years and 90% of the patients died during follow up. Survival improved during a period of about 8 years. Intensified insulin-based glycaemic control increased survival time by an average of 2.3 years.14 May Appendix Tumors Demonstrate All Cancers Are Not the Same
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Gregory J. Tsongalis, PhD, HCLD, CC, FNACB
Professor of Pathology
Director, Molecular Pathology
Co-Director, Translational Research Program
Department of Pathology
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and
The Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Lebanon, NH 03756
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Tsongalis: This was the first study of its kind looking at multiple genes and multiple mutations in tumors of the appendix. Many of the identified mutations may be clinically actionable with respect to response to therapy or selection of therapy.
13 May Schizophrenia: Impact of Estradiol on Psychosis Symptoms
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Professor Jayashri Kulkarni MBBS, MPM, FRANZCP, PhD
Monash University
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Professor Kulkarni: Persistent schizophrenia is difficult and unfortunately common, despite advances over the past years in antipsychotic drug development. New treatment approaches are urgently needed. Also, a specific focus for women with schizophrenia is still somewhat lacking and there is a need to consider the special issues facing women with schizophrenia.
Over many years, we have been conducting clinical trials to develop the role of adjunctive estradiol use to treat symptoms of schizophrenia. This study is the largest clinical trial in the world of this type and we found that in an 8 week, three arm, double blind, placebo-controlled, adjunctive trial of transdermal estradiol (200mcg v 100mcg v placebo) in 183 women with schizophrenia, that the women who received either 200mcg or 100mcg transdermal estradiol made a better recovery. The women who received 200mcg transdermal estradiol made a slightly better recovery than women receiving 100mcg transdermal estradiol. Both estradiol groups were significantly better than the group who received adjunctive transdermal placebo.
13 May Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status Impact On Medicare Rating for Heart Failure
Posted at 21:48h
in AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Health Care Systems, Hospital Readmissions, Medicare
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Alex Blum, MD MPH FAAP
Chief Medical Officer
Evergreen Health, Baltimore MD 21211
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Blum: Accounting for the social risk of patients using a measure of neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), did not alter the hospital rankings for congestive heart failure (CHF) readmission rates.
13 May Multifaceted Approach Required to Improve Self-Care, Reduce Hospital Readmissions
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Aaron L. Leppin, MD
Knowledge and Evaluation Research Unit
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Leppin: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials assessing the effectiveness of hospital discharge interventions on reducing 30-day readmission rates. We identified 47 trials, 42 of which contributed to the primary meta-analysis.
Overall, the interventions that have been tested to reduce early hospital readmissions reduce them by about 20%.
The ones that are most effective, though, reduce them by almost 40% and use a consistent but complex approach. These interventions make a robust effort to fully understand the patient’s post-discharge context, often by visiting the patient’s home. They focus on identifying all the things the patient needs to do to be well—whether that’s organizing medications, getting a ride to the clinic, or paying the electric bill—and they determine whether the patient has the necessary resources and capacity to pull it all off. When limitations are found, these interventions have a strategy in place to support the patient through the post-discharge period.
13 May Male Circumcision: Rate of Adverse Events
MedicalResearch Interview with:
Charbel El Bcheraoui, PhD, MSc
Acting Assistant Professor, Global Health
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98121
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. El Bcheraoui: We found a low rate of adverse events associated with male circumcision from U.S. hospital settings, especially if the procedure is performed within the first year of life. The rate of adverse events increased about 10 - 20 times if the procedure was performed later in life.
13 May Pregnancy and Risk of Serious Car Crash
Dr. Donald Redelmeier, MD
Professor, Full SGS Member
Director, Clinical Epidemiology Unit
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Toronto, ON
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Redelmeier: We identified every woman in Ontario, Canada, who gave birth to a newborn baby between 2006 and 2011 and then evaluated each driver for the months before, during, and after pregnancy. This amounted to about half a million women who accounted for almost 8000 serious crashes that sent the driver to hospital. We found that the second trimester of pregnancy led to a 42% increase in the risk of a serious motor vehicle crash. The increased risk included diverse populations, distinct obstetrical cases, different crash characteristics. The risk equated to about twice the population norm but was still below male drivers at this age.
13 May Suicide A Risk Factor for Mental Health Issues, Suicide in Bereaved
MedicalResearch.com interview with:
Dr Alexandra Pitman MBBS MRC Psych
MRC Clinical Research Fellow,
UCL Division of Psychiatry, UCL (University College London
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: We conducted a systematic review of all published research comparing the experience of suicide bereavement with bereavement due to other causes, in which we considered the evidence from 57 studies evaluating the effect of bereavement on death, mental health, and social functioning of family members, friends, and other close contacts of the deceased. These studies showed that parents and children bereaved by suicide were at higher risk of mental health problems after the loss than parents and children bereaved by other causes, and that spouses and mothers bereaved by suicide were at higher risk of suicide than spouses and mothers bereaved by other causes. We also found some evidence that people from a range of kinship groups bereaved by suicide report more rejection and shame than people bereaved by other violent deaths, and that feeling stigmatised by the death is commonly experienced after any violent bereavement. It seemed that people bereaved by violent deaths, for example due to accidental death, homicide, drug-related death, motor vehicle crash, undetermined death or suicide, shared a sense of feeling blamed for the death or tainted by their association with the deceased.
13 May Calcium Supplements in Women: Is there an Increased Risk of Stroke or Heart Disease?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Julie Paik, MD MPH MSc
Instructor, Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women's Hospital
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Paik: Many women in the United States take calcium supplements. One study found that over 60% of women aged 60 and over in the United States were taking calcium supplements. However, the medical community is still not certain of the effects of calcium supplements in women, particularly on cardiovascular disease risk. For this reason, we studied 74,245 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study over a 24-year follow-up period for their risk of developing cardiovascular disease (heart disease or stroke). We found that there was no increased risk of heart disease or stroke among women taking calcium supplements during the 24-year follow-up period. Our paper has several distinct strengths compared to prior studies including the large sample size, long follow-up period, cases of cardiovascular disease that were confirmed by medical record review, detailed and repeated assessment of calcium supplement use, and detailed information about other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
12 May Socioeconomic Disparities in Prevalence of Childhood Food Allergies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Julie Wang, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Allergy and Immunology
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, NY 10029
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Wang: The results of this study demonstrate that differences in prevalence of reported food allergies exist in elementary schools representing diverse socioeconomic and racial/ethnic characteristic. In this study, we conducted a survey at 4 elementary schools in New York City, 2 private schools that had a predominantly White student body with over 80% of families having paid a full tuition of over $35,000 per year and 2 public charter schools that had a primarily Black and Hispanic student body where over 90% of students qualified for free or reduced price school lunch. The results show a high rate of reported food allergy, with rates significantly higher in the private school population as compared to the public charter school population.
12 May Intermittent Fasting: Effects on Hunger and Weight Gain
MedicalResearch Interview with: Alicia J. Kowaltowski, MD, PhD Professor of Biochemistry Departamento de Bioquímica, IQ, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, SP, Brazil MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Kowaltowski: Intermittent fasting (24 hour cycles of all-you-can-eat followed by 24 fasting) is often used as a way to control excessive weight gain in laboratory animals, despite the fact that these animals overeat on the days they get food, and end up ingesting total quantities of food very similar to animals that eat every day. We show here that although lower weight gain occurs with intermittent fasting and there are some health benefits in adopting this diet, there are also some undesirable consequences. One such consequence is that this diet changes the control of hunger in the hypothalamus within the brain, making the rats hungry all the time, even when they are eating.12 May Chronic Hepatitis C: Clinical Outcome Tool
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Adriaan J van der Meer
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Erasmus MC, University Medical Center
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. J van der Meer: The main finding of our study is that the prognosis of patients with compensated HCV-induced advanced liver disease can be adequately assessed by risk scores which merely include objective variables that are readily available in daily practice. Our analyses resulted in two separate prognostic scores by which the individual patient's risk of mortality or clinical disease progression (defined as occurence of Hepatitis C Cirrhosis (HCC), liver failure, liver transplantation or death) can be assessed.
10 May Melanoma: How Many Lymph Nodes Should Be Excised?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Carlo Riccardo Rossi, MD
Melanoma and Sarcoma Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology
Surgery Branch, Department of Surgery
Oncology, and Gastroenterology, University of Padova,
Padova, Italy
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Rossi: A total of 90% patients undergone lymph node dissection for melanoma had 12, 7, 14, 6 and 13 excised lymph nodes (10th percentile of the distribution) after 3 level axillary, 3 level or less neck, 4 level or more neck, inguinal, or ilio-inguinal dissections, respectively.
10 May Flu Vaccination During Pregnancy and Infant Outcomes
MedicalResearch Interview: Dr Nicoline van der Maas MD Epidemiologist National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Centre for Infectious Disease Control Epidemiology and Surveillance The Netherlands MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. van der Maas: The main finding, presented at the ESPID, is that we found no difference in growth, development and infection related contact rates with the general practitioner after the first year of life between infants of unvaccinated mothers and infants of mothers, vaccinated with an adjuvanted Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine during the second and third trimester of pregnancy. The offer of a H1N1 vaccination to pregnant women in their second and third trimester did not have a negative impact on infants’ health during the first year of life.09 May Prevention of Tick Bites With Insect Shield Clothing
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Meagan F. Vaughn, PhD
Postdoctoral Trainee
Department of Epidemiology
Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Vaughn: Outdoor workers are at high-risk for tick-borne diseases. Adherence to recommended tick-bite prevention methods is poor. While permethrin treatment of clothing is highly protective against many arthropod vectors, the need for frequent reapplication lessens adherence. A double-blind randomized intervention was conducted to determine the effectiveness of long-lasting permethrin-impregnated uniforms for tick bite prevention among outdoor workers from North Carolina. Treatment group uniforms were factory-impregnated with long-lasting permethrin by Insect Shield, while control group uniforms received sham treatment. Participants completed weekly tick bite logs during two tick seasons. 130 participants reported 1,045 work-related tick bites over 5,251 person-weeks of follow-up. The effectiveness of long-lasting permethrin impregnated uniforms for prevention of work-related tick bites was 82% (p<0.001) for the first year and 34% (p=0.38) for the second year. These results indicate that long-lasting permethrin impregnated uniforms are highly effective for at least one year against tick bites among North Carolina outdoor workers.
09 May Vaccination Mortality No Different For Boys or Girls
MedicalResearch.com Interview with
Tessa Schurink-van 't Klooster
Epidemioloog Rijksvaccinatieprogramma
Epidemiologie en Surveillance
RIVM - Centrum Infectieziektebestrijding
3720 BA Bilthoven
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: The main finding of this study was that we observed no differences in mortality rate ratios for females compared to males related to the type of last offered vaccination in DTP- and MMR-eligible age groups.
09 May Standardizing Medical Care By Patient Complexity Grouping
Posted at 10:53h
in Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Mayo Clinic, Outcomes & Safety
MedicalResearch Interview with:
Dr. David Cook MD
Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology
Division of Cardiovascular Anesthesiology
Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Rochester, Minnesota.
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Cook: The main finding of the study was that segmentation of a population of surgical patients into groups of higher and lower complexity allowed us to apply a standardized practice, focused factory model to surgical care delivery. A standardized care model improved care process measures such as time on mechanical ventilation or duration of a bladder catheter indwelling. The model reduced resource utilization, decreasing patient time in all care environments (operating room, ICU and on ?the floor?). The care model improved outcomes at 30 days and reduced the costs overall and in every care environment. In addition to the absolute improvements in quality and in cost, the standardized care model reduced variation in all measured variables. That reduction in variation may be even more important than the improved outcomes or reduced costs because we now know it is possible to make the health care experience predictable for these patients. That predictability is critically important to patients and providers, but it also has implications for health care metrics and payment models.
09 May Does Marijuana Increase Stroke Risk in Young Adults?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tara Dutta M.D. Vascular Neurology Fellow University of Maryland Medical Center MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Dutta: We analyzed data from the Stroke Prevention in Young Adults Study in order to evaluate for an association between self-reported marijuana use and ischemic stroke. 1,101 cases and 1,154 age, gender, and race-matched controls, aged 15-49 years old, were recruited from the greater Baltimore-Washington area between 1992 and 2008. Interviews were conducted to assess for various potential stroke risk factors, including illicit drug, alcohol, and tobacco use. Individuals reporting use of vasoactive illicit drugs, including cocaine and amphetamines, were excluded, yielding 751 cases and 813 controls. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between marijuana use and ischemic stroke, adjusting for age, gender, race, current tobacco use, current alcohol use, hypertension, and diabetes. We did not find a positive association between marijuana use and ischemic stroke risk in our population of young-onset stroke patients compared to matched controls, even after controlling for current tobacco and alcohol use, hypertension, and diabetes. A statistically significant inverse relationship was observed between remote use (defined as any use over one year ago) and stroke risk (adjusted OR 0.77, CI 0.61-0.98, p = 0.03). We also looked to see whether recent use (in the past 30 days), and particularly recent heavy use, was associated with ischemic stroke risk as has been suggested in the medical literature. Though our data did not show this association, the number of patients reporting recent use in our study was very small.09 May Hepatitis C: Patient Reported Outcomes After Treatment
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Zobair Younossi, MD, MPH
Chairman, Department of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Hospital
Vice President for Research, Inova Health System
Falls Church, Virginia, USA
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Younossi: We conducted the analysis of the patient reported outcomes (PROs) data that were systematically collected during clinical trials of sofosbuvir-containing regimens. The highlights of our findings are as follows:
- Patients with Hepatitis C (HCV) have a significant impairment of their health related quality of life including those related to activity and fatigue. Their work productivity is also impaired.
- Cirrhosis can add additional negative impact on some of these patient reported outcomes.
- During treatment, patients with cirrhosis who were treated with an interferon-free sofosbuvir and ribavirin containing regimen did experience mild decline in their patient related outcome scores. However, this decline was similar for HCV patients with or without cirrhosis.
- On the other hand, patients with cirrhosis who were treated with an interferon-containing regimen showed a significant decline in their patient reported outcomes scores compared to those with Hepatitis C and without cirrhosis.
- Nevertheless, at the end of week 12 follow up, there was no longer a significant deficit in PROs noted regardless of the treatment arm for patients with cirrhosis.
- Furthermore, for the patients (HCV and cirrhosis) who achieved a sustained virologic response at 12 weeks, there were significant improvements (compared to baseline) in some PRO scores.
- During treatment, changes in patient reported outcomes scores were similar between cirrhotics and non-cirrhotics for both treatment regimens (all p>0.05).
08 May Cannabis Further Impairs Functioning In College Students With Psychiatric Disorders
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Meesha Ahuja, MD
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior of the
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Young Adult Behavioral Health Program at Rhode Island Hospital
Mentors: Laura Whiteley, MD and Larry Brown, MD
MedicalResearch: Why did you decided to study this topic?
Dr. Ahuja: Severe mental illness is more common among college students than it was a decade ago, and the number of college students presenting for psychiatric care both on and off campus has dramatically increased. The rates of cannabis use have also been increasing among college students in the United States since the mid-1990s. The concomitant use of cannabis and other substances among general samples in psychiatric treatment has been linked to poorer clinical outcomes including increased hospitalizations, increased symptomatology, poorer treatment adherence, higher treatment resistance. However, before doing this study, there was no research that examined the effect of cannabis and other substance use disorders on the scholastic and general functioning of college students in psychiatric care.
08 May Bilateral Mastectomy Rates Higher In Hospitals Where Immediate Reconstruction Available
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Judy C. Boughey, MD
Chair, Division of Surgery Research
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Boughey: Rates of bilateral mastectomy are higher in hospitals with immediate breast reconstruction available. Bilateral mastectomy rates were highest in hospitals with high volumes of immediate breast reconstruction. Large, teaching, urban, and Northeastern hospitals were more likely to have higher immediate breast reconstruction volumes.
08 May Snacking Between Meals May Increase Liver and Belly Fat
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Mireille Serlie, MD PhD
Academic Medical Center
University of Amsterdam
Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
MedicalResearch What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Serlie: We studied the effects of hypercaloric high sugar or high fat/high sugar drinks consumed with the 3 main meals (representing an increase in meal size) or in between the 3 main meals (representing an increase in meal frequency or snacking). All subjects gained a similar amount of body weight but only the ones that snacked showed an increase in liver and abdominal fat. This suggests that besides caloric content and diet composition, eating pattern independently contributes to liver and abdominal fat accumulation. We also observed a trend for a decrease in hepatic insulin sensitivity in the high fat/high sugar frequency group only.
08 May Maintaining Physical Activity Important For Healthy Aging
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Luisa Soares-Miranda, PhD
Research Center in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure
Faculty of Sport, University of Porto
Rua Dr. Plácido Costa,
Porto PORTUGAL
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Soares-Miranda: Modest physical activity, such as the distance and pace of walking, is important for the heart’s electrical well being of older adults. In our study, older adults that increased their walking pace or distance had a better heart rate variability when compared with those that decreased their walking pace or distance. Our results suggest not only that regular physical activity later in life is beneficial, but also that certain beneficial changes that occur may be reduced when physical activity is reduced. This supports the need to maintain modest physical activity throughout the aging process. Even small increases can lead to a better health, while reducing physical activity has the opposite effect. So, any physical activity is better than none, and more is better.
07 May Prostate Cancer: Low Testosterone Levels Linked to Aggressive Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Ignacio F. San Francisco
Departamento de Urología, Facultad de Medicina,
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: Increasingly, men with low-risk prostate cancer are undergoing a close monitoring regimen called active surveillance, instead of moving forward immediately with treatment. However it is still unclear which men will develop evidence for worsening or more aggressive disease during active surveillance. In this study of 154 men with Gleason 6 prostate cancer followed for 38 months, we found that low levels of free testosterone were significantly associated with increased risk of developing more aggressive disease. We found no significant association with total testosterone concentrations, although there was a general trend towards increased risk with lower levels.
07 May Mortality Dropped After Massachusetts Health Care Reform
Posted at 10:28h
in Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Health Care Systems
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Benjamin D. Sommers, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Health Policy & Economics
Harvard School of Public Health / Brigham & Women's Hospital
Boston, MA 02115
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Sommers: We find that over the first four years since Massachusetts' 2006 comprehensive health reform law, all-cause mortality in the state fell by 2.9%, compared to a similar population of adults living in counties outside Massachusetts that did not expand insurance during this period. We also found that the law reduced the number of adults in Massachusetts without insurance, reduced cost-related barriers to care, increased use of outpatient visits, and led to improvement in self-reported health. Overall, we estimate that the health reform law prevented over 320 deaths per year in the state - or one life saved per 830 adults gaining health insurance. Mortality rates declined primarily due to fewer deaths from causes amenable to health care, such as cancer, infections, and heart disease. We also found that the health benefits were largest for people living in poor counties in the state, areas with higher percentage of uninsured adults before the law was passed, and for minorities.