Deborah E. Welsh

Journal reading habits of internists

We assessed the reading habits of internists with and without epidemiological training because such information may help guide medical journals as they make changes in how articles are edited and formatted. In a 1998 national self-administered mailed survey of 143 internists with fellowship training in epidemiology and study design and a random sample of 121 internists from the American Medical Association physician master file, we asked about the number of hours spent reading medical journals per week and the percentage of articles for which only the abstract is read. Respondents also were asked which of nine medical journals they subscribe to and read regularly. Of the 399 eligible participants, 264 returned surveys (response rate 66%). Respondents reported spending 4.4 hours per week reading medical journal articles and reported reading only the abstract for 63% of the articles; these findings were similar for internists with and without epidemiology training. Respondents admitted to a reliance on journal editors to provide rigorous and useful information, given the limited time available for critical reading. We conclude that internists, regardless of training in epidemiology, rely heavily on abstracts and prescreening of articles by editors.

Quality of Care for Cardiovascular Disease-related Conditions in Patients with and without Mental Disorders

ObjectiveWe compared the quality of care for cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related risk factors for patients diagnosed with and without mental disorders.MethodsWe identified all patients included in the fiscal year 2005 (FY05) VA External Peer Review Program’s (EPRP) national random sample of chart reviews for assessing quality of care for CVD-related conditions. Using the VA’s National Psychosis Registry and the National Registry for Depression, we assessed whether patients had received diagnoses of serious mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other psychoses) or depression during FY05. Using multivariable logistic regression and generalized estimating equation analyses, we assessed patient and facility factors associated with receipt of guideline concordant care for hypertension (total N = 24,016), hyperlipidemia (N = 46,430), and diabetes (N = 10,943).ResultsOverall, 70% had good blood pressure control, 90% received a cholesterol (hyperlipidemia) screen, 77% received a retinal exam for diabetes, and 63% received recommended renal tests for diabetes. After adjustment, compared to patients without SMI or depression, patients with SMI were less likely to be assessed for CVD risk factors, notably hyperlipidemia (OR = 0.58; p < 0.001), and less likely to receive recommended follow-up assessments for diabetes: foot exam (OR = 0.68; p < 0.001), retinal exam (OR = 0.65; p < 0.001), or renal testing (OR = 0.64; p < 0.001). Patients with depression were also significantly less likely to receive adequate quality of care compared to non-psychiatric patients, although effects were smaller than those observed for patients with SMI.ConclusionsQuality of care for major chronic conditions associated with premature CVD-related mortality is suboptimal for VA patients with SMI, especially for procedures requiring care by a specialist.

Variation in outcomes in Veterans Affairs intensive care units with a computerized severity measure.

Objective:To quantify the variability in risk-adjusted mortality and length of stay of Veterans Affairs intensive care units using a computer-based severity of illness measure. Design:Retrospective cohort study. Setting:A stratified random sample of 34 intensive care units in 17 Veterans Affairs hospitals. Participants:A consecutive sample of 29,377 first intensive care unit admissions from February 1996 through July 1997. Interventions:Standardized mortality ratio (observed/expected deaths) and observed minus expected length of stay (OMELOS) with 95% confidence intervals were estimated for each unit using a hierarchical logistic (standardized mortality ratio) or linear (OMELOS) regression model with Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. We adjusted for patient characteristics including age, admission diagnosis, comorbid disease, physiology at admission (from laboratory data), and transfer status. Measurements and Main Results:Mortality across the intensive care units for the 12,088 surgical and 17,289 medical cases averaged 11% (range, 2–30%). Length of stay in the intensive care units averaged 4.0 days (range, mean unit length of stay 3.0–5.9). Standardized mortality ratio of the intensive care units varied from 0.62 to 1.27; the standardized mortality ratio and 95% confidence interval were <1 for four intensive care units and >1.0 for seven intensive care units. OMELOS of the intensive care units ranged from −0.89 to 1.34 days. In a random slope hierarchical model, variation in standardized mortality ratio among intensive care units was similar across the range of severity, whereas variation in length of stay increased with severity. Standardized mortality ratio was not associated with OMELOS (Pearson’s r = .13). Conclusions:We identified intensive care units whose indicators for mortality and length of stay differ substantially using a conservative statistical approach with a severity adjustment model based on data available in computerized clinical databases. Computerized risk adjustment employing routinely available data may facilitate research on the utility of intensive care unit profiling and analysis of natural experiments to understand process and outcome links and quality efforts.

Rates of Clinical Depression Diagnosis, Functional Impairment, and Nursing Home Placement in Coexisting Dementia and Depression

OBJECTIVE Depression is commonly found as a coexisting condition in dementia. An earlier retrospective study by the authors found that patients with coexisting dementia and depression (CDD) were high utilizers of inpatient and nursing home care. The current prospective study was designed to investigate specific factors that might contribute to outcomes such as nursing home placement by examining the detection and course of CDD subjects as compared with subjects with either disorder alone. METHODS Eighty-two subjects (N=29 with CDD, N=27 with Depression Alone, and N=26 with Dementia Alone) were recruited and reassessed at 3, 6, and 12 months after baseline assessment. RESULTS Lower rates of depression detection by treating (non-study) physicians were found in CDD subjects. Only 35% of the CDD group were correctly diagnosed and receiving adequate treatment for their depression. Although the CDD group did not differ in baseline dementia stage or cognitive functioning as compared with the dementia-only group, they had significantly higher levels of functional impairment. CDD subjects used nursing home care at significantly higher rates; nursing home placement correlated significantly with baseline severity of functional impairment and mood measures, but not with other factors, including dementia stage and medical burden. CONCLUSIONS Undetected, untreated, or inadequately treated depression may result in higher rates of nursing home placement in patients with dementia by increasing their functional disability. Aggressive outpatient treatment of depression could improve the course of coexisting dementia and depression.

Access to and satisfaction with care comparing patients with and without serious mental illness.

Objectives: We compared perceived access to and satisfaction with health care between patients diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI: schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) and among those with no SMI diagnosis. Method: We conducted a national, cross-sectional study of VA patients in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 (N=7,187) who completed the VAs Large Health Survey of Veteran Enrollees (LHSV) section on access and satisfaction and either received a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or did not and were randomly selected from the general non-SMI VA patient population (non-SMI group). We compared the probability of perceived poor access and dissatisfaction using multivariable logistic regression adjusting for patient covariates. Results: Compared to non-SMI patients, patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder were more likely to report difficulty in receiving care they needed (adjusted OR =1.36, p < .05) or seeing a specialist (adjusted OR=1.44, p < .001). Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were more likely to report dissatisfaction, including thoroughness by their provider (adjusted OR=1.37, p < .001) and the providers explanation of problems (adjusted OR=1.54, p < .001) compared to non-SMI patients. Conclusions: Patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder reported greater problems with access to health care, while those diagnosed with schizophrenia were less satisfied with the process of care.

Quality of general medical care among patients with serious mental illness: Does colocation of services matter?

OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to determine whether patients with serious mental illness receiving care in Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health programs with colocated general medical clinics were more likely to receive adequate medical care than patients in programs without colocated clinics based on a nationally representative sample. METHODS The study included all VA patients with diagnoses of serious mental illness in fiscal year (FY) 2006-2007 who were also part of the VAs External Peer Review Program (EPRP) FY 2007 random sample and who received care from VA facilities (N=107 facilities) with organizational data from the VA Mental Health Program Survey (N=7,514). EPRP included patient-level chart review quality indicators for common processes of care (foot and retinal examinations for diabetes complications; screens for colorectal health, breast cancer, and alcohol misuse; and tobacco counseling) and outcomes (hypertension, diabetes blood sugar, and lipid control). RESULTS Ten out of 107 (10%) mental health programs had colocated medical clinics. After adjustment for organizational and patient-level factors, analyses showed that patients from colocated clinics compared with those without colocation were more likely to receive foot exams (OR=1.87, p<.05), colorectal cancer screenings (OR=1.54, p<.01), and alcohol misuse screenings (OR=2.92, p<.01). They were also more likely to have good blood pressure control (<140/90 mmHg; OR=1.32, p<.05) but less likely to have glycosylated hemoglobin <9% (OR=.69, p<.05). CONCLUSIONS Colocation of medical care was associated with better quality of care for four of nine indicators. Additional strategies, particularly those focused on improving diabetes control and other chronic medical outcomes, might be warranted for patients with serious mental illness.

Recognition of co-occurring medical conditions among patients with serious mental illness.

We determined whether patients with serious mental illness (SMI) were less likely than non-SMI to self-report having a medical condition that was recorded in their medical record. We included all patients from the VA National Psychosis Registry diagnosed with SMI and a random sample of non-SMI patients in fiscal year 1999 who completed the Large Health Survey of Veteran Enrollees (N = 35,837). Among patients with diagnoses for any of 11 conditions recorded in administrative data, we evaluated whether patients reported having that same condition in the survey, using multivariable logistic regression and generalized estimating equations. Among patients diagnosed with a given condition, those with SMI were less likely to report being told by providers that they had seven of the 11 conditions examined: heart disease (OR = 0.68, p < 0.001), arthritis (OR = 0.79, p < 0.001), cancer (OR = 0.69, p < 0.001), diabetes (OR = 0.79, p < 0.001), back pain (OR = 0.81, p < 0.001), congestive heart failure (OR = 0.71, p < 0.001), and hypertension (OR = 0.77, p < 0.001). Patients with SMI were less aware of co-occurring medical conditions.

Eight-Year Trends of Cardiometabolic Morbidity and Mortality in Patients with Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE We examined cardiometabolic disease and mortality over 8 years among individuals with and without schizophrenia. METHOD We compared 65,362 patients in the Veteran Affairs (VA) health system with schizophrenia to 65,362 VA patients without serious mental illness (non-SMI) matched on age, service access year and location. The annual prevalence of diagnosed cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, obesity, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality was compared for fiscal years 2000-2007. Mean years of potential life lost (YPLLs) were calculated annually. RESULTS The cohort was mostly male (88%) with a mean age of 54 years. Cardiometabolic disease prevalence increased in both groups, with non-SMI patients having higher disease prevalence in most years. Annual between-group differences ranged from <1% to 6%. Annual mortality was stable over time for schizophrenia (3.1%) and non-SMI patients (2.6%). Annual mean YPLLs increased from 12.8 to 15.4 in schizophrenia and from 11.8 to 14.0 for non-SMI groups. CONCLUSIONS VA patients with and without schizophrenia show increasing but similar prevalence rates of cardiometabolic diseases. YPLLs were high in both groups and only slightly higher among patients with schizophrenia. The findings highlight the complex population served by the VA while suggesting a smaller mortality impact from schizophrenia than previously reported.

Clinical and demographic factors associated with homelessness and incarceration among VA patients with bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVES We assessed the association between homelessness and incarceration in Veterans Affairs patients with bipolar disorder. METHODS We used logistic regression to model each participants risk of incarceration or homelessness after we controlled for known risk factors. RESULTS Of 435 participants, 12% reported recent homelessness (within the past month), and 55% reported lifetime homelessness. Recent and lifetime incarceration rates were 2% and 55%, respectively. In multivariate models, current medication adherence (based on a 5-point scale) was independently associated with a lower risk of lifetime homelessness (odds ratio [OR] = 0.80 per point, range 0-4; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.66, 0.96), and lifetime incarceration increased the risk of lifetime homelessness (OR = 4.4; 95% CI = 2.8, 6.9). Recent homelessness was associated with recent incarceration (OR = 26.4; 95% CI = 5.2, 133.4). Lifetime incarceration was associated with current substance use (OR = 2.6; 95% CI = 2.7, 6.7) after control for lifetime homelessness (OR = 4.2; 95% CI = 2.7, 6.7). CONCLUSIONS Recent and lifetime incarceration and homelessness were strongly associated with each other. Potentially avoidable or treatable correlates included current medication nonadherence and substance use. Programs that better coordinate psychiatric and drug treatment with housing programs may reduce the cycle of incarceration, homelessness, and treatment disruption within this vulnerable patient population.

The relationship between religious involvement and clinical status of patients with bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE Religion and spirituality are important coping strategies in depression but have been rarely studied within the context of bipolar disorder. The present study assessed the association between different forms of religious involvement and the clinical status of individuals treated for bipolar disorder. METHODS A cross-sectional observation study of follow-up data from a large cohort study of patients receiving care for bipolar disorder (n = 334) at an urban Veterans Affairs mental health clinic was conducted. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the association between public (frequency of church attendance), private (frequency of prayer/meditation), as well as subjective forms (influence of beliefs on life) of religious involvement and mixed, manic, depressed, and euthymic states when demographic, anxiety, alcohol abuse, and health indicators were controlled. RESULTS Multivariate analyses found significant associations between higher rates of prayer/meditation and participants in a mixed state [odds ratio (OR) = 1.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.10-1.52, chi square = 9.42, df = 14, p < 0.05], as well as lower rates of prayer/meditation and participants who were euthymic (OR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.72-0.99, chi square = 4.60, df = 14, p < 0.05). Depression and mania were not associated with religious involvement. CONCLUSIONS Compared to patients with bipolar disorder in depressed, manic, or euthymic states, patients in mixed states have more active private religious lives. Providers should assess the religious activities of individuals with bipolar disorder in mixed states and how they may complement/deter ongoing treatment. Future longitudinal studies linking bipolar states, religious activities, and treatment-seeking behaviors are needed.