The housing foreclosure crisis was harmful to the financial well-being of many households. In the present study, we investigated the health effects of the housing foreclosure crisis on glycemic control within a population of patients with diabetes. We hypothesized that an increase in the neighborhood foreclosure rate could worsen glycemic control by activating stressors such as higher neighborhood crime, lower housing prices, and erosion of neighborhood social cohesion. To test this, we linked public foreclosure records at the census-block level with clinical records from 2006 to 2009 of patients with diabetes. We specified individual fixed-effects models and controlled for individual time-invariant confounders and area-level time-varying confounders, including housing prices and unemployment rate, to estimate the effect of the foreclosure rate per census-block group on glycated hemoglobin. We found no statistically significant relationship between changes in the neighborhood foreclosure rate per block group in the prior year and changes in glycated hemoglobin. There is no evidence that increased foreclosure rates worsened glycemic control in this continuously insured population with diabetes. More research is needed to inform our knowledge of the role of insurance and health-care delivery systems in protecting the health of diabetic patients during times of economic stress.

Background

Data-sharing is encouraged to fulfill the ethical responsibility to transform research data into public health knowledge, but data sharing carries risks of improper disclosure and potential harm from release of individually identifiable data.

Methods

The study objective was to develop and implement a novel method for scientific collaboration and data sharing which distributes the analytic burden while protecting patient privacy. A procedure was developed where in an investigator who is external to an analytic coordinating center (ACC) can conduct original research following a protocol governed by a Publications and Presentations (P&P) Committee. The collaborating investigator submits a study proposal and, if approved, develops the analytic specifications using existing data dictionaries and templates. An original data set is prepared according to the specifications and the external investigator is provided with a complete but de-identified and shuffled data set which retains all key data fields but which obfuscates individually identifiable data and patterns; this" scrambled data set" provides a "sandbox" for the external investigator to develop and test analytic code for analyses. The analytic code is then run against the original data at the ACC to generate output which is used by the external investigator in preparing a manuscript for journal submission.

Results

The method has been successfully used with collaborators to produce many published papers and conference reports.

Conclusion

By distributing the analytic burden, this method can facilitate collaboration and expand analytic capacity, resulting in more science for less money.

Objectives

Electronic health record systems are increasingly used to send messages to physicians, but research on physicians' inbox use patterns is limited. This study's aims were to (1) quantify the time primary care physicians (PCPs) spend managing inboxes; (2) describe daily patterns of inbox use; (3) investigate which types of messages consume the most time; and (4) identify factors associated with inbox work duration.

Materials and methods

We analyzed 1 month of electronic inbox data for 1275 PCPs in a large medical group and linked these data with physicians' demographic data.

Results

PCPs spent an average of 52 minutes on inbox management on workdays, including 19 minutes (37%) outside work hours. Temporal patterns of electronic inbox use differed from other EHR functions such as charting. Patient-initiated messages (28%) and results (29%) accounted for the most inbox work time. PCPs with higher inbox work duration were more likely to be female (P < .001), have more patient encounters (P < .001), have older patients (P < .001), spend proportionally more time on patient messages (P < .001), and spend more time per message (P < .001). Compared with PCPs with the lowest duration of time on inbox work, PCPs with the highest duration had more message views per workday (200 vs 109; P < .001) and spent more time on the inbox outside work hours (30 minutes vs 9.7 minutes; P < .001).

Conclusions

Electronic inbox work by PCPs requires roughly an hour per workday, much of which occurs outside scheduled work hours. Interventions to assist PCPs in handling patient-initiated messages and results may help alleviate inbox workload.

Objective

To compare associations between neighborhood deprivation and measures of BMI change among adults with type 2 diabetes.

Research design and methods

Using data from the Kaiser Permanente Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE) survey, we estimated the association between neighborhood deprivation and two measures of BMI change over 3 years: 1) a continuous measure and 2) a categorical measure of clinically substantive BMI loss or gain (≥7% of baseline BMI) versus stable BMI. The sample included 13,609 adults.

Results

On average, there was little change in BMI (-0.12, SD 3.07); 17.0 and 16.1% had clinically substantive BMI loss or gain, respectively, at follow-up. There was a positive association between neighborhood deprivation and BMI change for adults in the most versus least-deprived quartile of neighborhood deprivation (β = 0.22, P = 0.02) in adjusted models. In addition, relative to the least-deprived quartile (Q1), adults in more-deprived quartiles of neighborhood deprivation were more likely to experience either substantive BMI loss (Q2 relative risk ratio 1.19, 95% CI 1.00-1.41; Q3 1.20, 1.02-1.42; Q4 1.30, 1.08-1.55) or gain (Q2 1.25, 1.04-1.49; Q3 1.24, 1.04-1.49; Q4 1.45, 1.20-1.75).

Conclusions

Greater neighborhood deprivation was positively associated with BMI change among adults with diabetes as well as with clinically substantive BMI loss or gain. Findings stress the importance of allowing for simultaneous associations with both gain and loss in future longitudinal studies of neighborhood deprivation and weight change, which may be particularly true for studies of patients with diabetes for whom both weight loss and gain have health implications.

We examined whether residing within 2 miles of a new supermarket opening was longitudinally associated with a change in body mass index (BMI). We identified 12 new supermarkets that opened between 2009 and 2010 in 8 neighborhoods. Using the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Diabetes Registry, we identified members with type 2 diabetes residing continuously in any of these neighborhoods 12 months prior to the first supermarket opening until 10 months following the opening of the last supermarket. Exposure was defined as a reduction (yes/no) in travel distance to the nearest supermarket as a result of a new supermarket opening. First difference regression models were used to estimate the impact of reduced supermarket distance on BMI, adjusting for longitudinal changes in patient and neighborhood characteristics. Among patients in the exposed group, new supermarket openings reduced travel distance to the nearest supermarket by 0.7 miles on average. However, reduced distance to nearest supermarket was not associated with BMI changes. Overall, we found no evidence that reduced supermarket distance was associated with reduced levels of obesity for residents with type 2 diabetes.

Objectives

To assess changes in medication use after a diagnosis of dementia in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Design

Difference-in-differences analysis of changes in the number of dispensed chronic medications between individuals with and without newly diagnosed dementia.

Setting

Integrated healthcare delivery system, Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Participants

Individuals aged 50 and older without prevalent dementia with type 2 diabetes mellitus enrolled in a baseline survey. During 5 years of follow-up, 193 individuals with a new diagnosis of dementia were identified, and risk-set sampling was used to randomly select five reference subjects per case matched on 5-year age categories and sex (965 matched participants), resulting in an analytical sample of 1,158.

Measurements

The exposure was new diagnosis of dementia. The primary outcome was change in number of current chronic medications (total, cardiovascular (blood pressure and lipid control), diabetes mellitus) at three times: 1 year before index date (preindex date), date of diagnosis of dementia or matched reference date (index date), and up to 1 year after index date or end of follow-up if censored before 1 year (postindex date).

Results

After adjustment, the number of chronic medications and the subset of cardiovascular medications declined after a dementia diagnosis in the overall cohort and in age-, sex-, and time-matched reference individuals, but the decline was significantly greater in the group with dementia (0.71 medications fewer than the reference group, P = .02). The number of diabetes mellitus medications declined in both groups, but the declines were not statistically different (0.18 medications fewer than the reference group, P = .008).

Conclusions

Use of cardiometabolic medications fell after a diagnosis of dementia, as recommended in national guidelines.

Little is known about how neighborhood crime may relate to health in diabetes patients. We examined associations between individuals' perceptions of neighborhood safety or violent crime and stress, physical activity, body mass index (BMI) or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in a sample (n=721) of adults (mean age:63) with diabetes. Self-reported neighborhood safety, violent crime, physical activity, and stress were collected and linked to clinical measures of BMI and HbA1c. Approximately 54% and 15% of patients reported neighborhood safety concerns and violent crimes, respectively. Any neighborhood safety concerns (β=1.14, 95% C.I. 0.04-2.24) and violent crime (β=2.04, 95% C.I. 0.34-3.73) were associated with BMI in adjusted analysis. Any violent crime was associated with class II-III obesity (BMI≥35) (OR=1.34, 95% C.I.: 1.02, 1.75). There were no significant associations between neighborhood safety concerns or violent crime with stress, physical activity, or HbA1c. Neighborhood safety is associated with BMI and obesity. Further studies, including longitudinal designs, are needed to study how people with diabetes may be influenced by a sense of poor personal safety in their neighborhoods.

Introduction

Decreasing unnecessary cranial computed tomography (CT) use in pediatric head trauma patients remains important for emergency departments (EDs) across the US. Our study evaluated CT use in children with minor blunt head trauma in 21 community EDs within an integrated health-care system.

Methods

We studied all children younger than 18 years old presenting to 21 community EDs between 2016 through 2018 with acute minor blunt head trauma, defined by an algorithm of ED chief complaints and diagnoses. We excluded patients with traumatic brain injuries diagnosed in the prior year, a CT within 24 hours prior to the ED visit, or an ED Glasgow Coma Scale score of less than 14.

Results

Among 39,792 pediatric minor head trauma ED visits, the aggregate CT use proportion across all EDs was 12.9% [95% confidence interval (CI), 12.6-13.3%; facility-level range, 5.4-21.6%]. The 7 facilities that had previously received a clinical decision support system intervention implementing the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network rules during 2013 through 2014 had an aggregate mean CT ordering rate of 11.2% (95% CI, 10.7-11.7%; facility-level range, 5.4-14.3%) compared to 14.1% (95% CI, 13.6-14.5%; facility-level range, 7.3-21.6%) for the nonintervention facilities.

Conclusion

CT use for children with minor blunt head trauma in the community EDs of an integrated health-care system was low and stable across facilities from 2016 through 2018. This may be indicative of the safe stewardship of resources in the system, including the absence of financial or medicolegal incentives to scan very low-risk patients as well the availability of resources for close patient follow-up.

While stress has been linked to poor health outcomes, little is known about the impact of objective measures of neighborhood crime on stress in patients with chronic disease. Using the Kaiser Permanente Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE), we examined associations between police-recorded crime (2005-2007) and stress (Perceived Stress Scale-4) in four large Northern California cities (Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Jose). We performed stratified analysis by gender and race/ethnicity using generalized linear regression models. In our study sample (n = 3188, mean age 59, range 30-77), 10 % reported high stress. In adjusted analyses, higher neighborhood all crimes rate was associated with modest increase in high stress for African-American (OR = 1.10; 95 % CI 1.02-1.22) and Latina women (OR = 1.36; 95 % CI 1.10-1.67) and property crime showed similar associations with stress for these groups of women. Visible crime was associated with stress only for Latina women (OR = 1.43; 95 % CI 1.14-1.78). We found no association between crime and stress among men or other racial/ethnic groups of women. High crime levels may disproportionately impact health among certain subpopulations. Studies using additional measures of stress are necessary to differentiate the health impact of crime-related stress from other forms of stressors among individuals living with diabetes.

Background

A significant proportion of US Latinos with diabetes have limited English proficiency (LEP). Whether language barriers in health care contribute to poor glycemic control is unknown.

Objective

To assess the association between limited English proficiency (LEP) and glycemic control and whether this association is modified by having a language-concordant physician.

Design

Cross-sectional, observational study using data from the 2005-2006 Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE). Patients received care in a managed care setting with interpreter services and self-reported their English language ability and the Spanish language ability of their physician. Outcome was poor glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin A1c > 9%).

Key results

The unadjusted percentage of patients with poor glycemic control was similar among Latino patients with LEP (n = 510) and Latino English-speakers (n = 2,683), and higher in both groups than in whites (n = 3,545) (21% vs 18% vs. 10%, p < 0.005). This relationship differed significantly by patient-provider language concordance (p < 0.01 for interaction). LEP patients with language-discordant physicians (n = 115) were more likely than LEP patients with language-concordant physicians (n = 137) to have poor glycemic control (27.8% vs 16.1% p = 0.02). After controlling for potential demographic and clinical confounders, LEP Latinos with language-concordant physicians had similar odds of poor glycemic control as Latino English speakers (OR 0.89; CI 0.53-1.49), whereas LEP Latinos with language-discordant physicians had greater odds of poor control than Latino English speakers (OR 1.76; CI 1.04-2.97). Among LEP Latinos, having a language discordant physician was associated with significantly poorer glycemic control (OR 1.98; CI 1.03-3.80).

Conclusions

Language barriers contribute to health disparities among Latinos with diabetes. Limited English proficiency is an independent predictor for poor glycemic control among insured US Latinos with diabetes, an association not observed when care is provided by language-concordant physicians. Future research should determine if strategies to increase language-concordant care improve glycemic control among US Latinos with LEP.