To What Extent Do Local Nursing Home Prescribing Patterns Relate to Psychotropic Prescribing in Assisted Living?

ObjectiveIn nursing homes (NHs), psychoactive medication use has received notable attention, but less is known about prescribing in assisted living (AL). This study examined how antipsychotic and antianxiety medication prescribing in AL compares with NHs.DesignObservational, cross-sectional AL data linked to publicly reported NH measures.Setting and ParticipantsRandom sample of 250 AL communities and the full sample of 3371 NHs in 7 states.MethodsWe calculated the percentage of residents receiving antipsychotics and antianxiety medications. For each AL community, we calculated the distance to NHs in the state. Linear models estimated the relationship between AL prescribing and that of the closest and farthest 5 NHs, adjusting for AL characteristics and state fixed effects.ResultsThe prescribing rate of potentially inappropriate antipsychotics (i.e., excluding for persons with recorded schizophrenia and Tourette syndrome) and of antianxiety medications (excluding for those on hospice) in AL was 15% and 21%, respectively. Unadjusted mean antipsychotic prescribing rates were nominally higher in AL than NHs (14.8% vs 14.6%; P = .056), whereas mean antianxiety prescribing was nominally lower in AL (21.2% vs 22.6%; P = .032). In adjusted analyses, AL rates of antipsychotic use were not associated with NH rates. However, being affiliated with an NH was associated with a lower rate of antipsychotic use [b = −0.03; 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.50 to −0.001; P = .043], whereas antianxiety rates were associated with neighboring NHs’ prescribing rates (b = 0.43; 95% CI 0.16–0.70; P = .002).Conclusions and ImplicationsThis study suggests reducing antipsychotic medication use in NHs may influence AL practices in a way not accounted for by local NH patterns. And, because antianxiety medications have not been the focus of national campaigns, they may be more subject to local prescribing behaviors. It seems advantageous to consider prescribing in AL when efforts are implemented to change NH prescribing, as there seems to be related influence whether by affiliation or region.     

Defining the Core Skills and Activities of the Attending Physician in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care

The American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (ABPLM) contracted with a psychometric firm to perform a 3-phase Job Analysis following best practices. Literature was reviewed, a task force of subject matter experts was convened, a survey was developed and sent via Survey Monkey to attending physicians practicing in post-acute and long-term care settings (PALTC). The task force refined a comprehensive list of the tasks, knowledge, and medical knowledge needed in the role of attending physician in PALTC. These items were written as statements and edited until consensus was reached on their accuracy, conciseness, and lack of overlap. Task statements described distinct, identifiable, and specific practice-related activities relevant across multiple care settings. Knowledge statements described previously acquired information considered necessary to effectively perform such tasks. The survey consisted of 260 items, including 21 demographic questions, 115 task statements, 73 knowledge statements, and 72 medical knowledge statements. The survey was disseminated via e-mail invitations to Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (AMDA) members and through an online link available through ABPLM’s website. A total of 389 respondents participated. Survey data were analyzed with statistical analysis software SPSS. For each task and knowledge statement, an Overall Task Rating and Knowledge Rating were developed by combining the importance rating weighted at 65% and (for task) the frequency rating or (for knowledge) the cognitive level weighted at 35%. One task statement and 1 medical knowledge statement had a mean importance rating lower than 2.5 and were dropped from further review, resulting in a final count of 114 task, 73 knowledge, and 71 medical knowledge statements (258 total). The results of this Job Analysis highlight the unique and specific nature of medical care provided by attending physicians across a range of PALTC settings. These findings lay a foundation for Focused Practice Designation or Subspecialty in PALTC and changes in practice and policy.     

中国社区老年人脑认知相关生活方式对早期认知功能下降的影响

目的 了解中国社区老年人脑认知相关生活方式的分布特征,并探讨其综合评分对早期认知功能下降的影响。方法 研究对象来自老年期重点疾病预防和干预项目。纳入2015年基线调查及2017年随访调查均完成认知功能状况评定,且基线未患痴呆的2 537名≥60岁的社区老年人。通过问卷调查收集其脑认知相关生活方式信息（体育锻炼、社会交往、脑力休闲活动、睡眠质量、吸烟状况与饮酒状况）并计算综合评分。通过多因素logistic回归模型分析脑认知相关生活方式综合评分与早期认知功能下降的关联。结果 2 537名社区老年人群中,评分5~6分者占28.7%,6项脑认知相关生活方式因子均健康者仅占4.8%。男性与女性的健康生活方式因子分布存在差异。多因素logistic回归模型结果显示,与评分0~3分组相比,评分4分和5~6分组早期认知功能下降的风险降低（OR=0.683,95%CI：0.457~1.019;OR=0.623,95%CI：0.398~0.976;趋势P=0.030）。在女性中,与评分0~3分组相比,评分4分和5~6分组的早期认知功能下降的风险降低（OR=0.491,95%CI：0.297~0.812;OR=0.556,95%CI：0.332~0.929;趋势P=0.024）。结论 脑认知相关综合健康生活方式与早期认知功能下降风险降低密切相关,在女性群体中尤为显著。     

不同类别研究生对《临床流行病学》的认知、学习习惯及学习效果的调查研究

目的 调查中国人民解放军总医院研究生对临床流行病学课程的认知和学习习惯情况,评价其学习效果并分析其可能的影响因素,为改进教学方式、提高学习效果提供相关数据。方法 采用横断面研究设计方法,以中国人民解放军总医院2020级全体研究生为研究对象,采用自填问卷方式收集调查资料。分析不同类别研究生对课程认知情况、学习习惯的差异,探讨影响学习效果的相关因素。连续变量组间差异比较采用t检验或Mann-WhitneyU检验,分类变量组间差异比较采用卡方检验或McNemar检验。结果 共纳入652名研究生进行分析,硕士研究生409人（62.7％）,博士研究生243人（37.3％）。博士研究生听说过临床流行病学（χ²=19.99,P<0.001）、之前学过临床流行病学（χ²=9.20,P=0.002）、对本课程感兴趣（χ²=11.41,P=0.001）、认为本课程重要（χ²=10.71,P=0.001）、课前预习（χ²=11.21,P=0.001）、课后复习（χ²=3.29,P=0.001）及课堂积极讨论（χ²=11.64,P=0.001）的比例高于硕士研究生,差异有统计学意义。授课前全体研究生测验题总分平均为（5.50±1.62）,授课后总分平均为（7.47±1.90）,差异有统计学意义（t=-23.49,P<0.001）。统招研究生授课后成绩提高程度高于在职研究生,硕士群体中差异有统计学意义（t=4.41,P<0.001）,博士群体中差异无统计学意义（t=0.94,P=0.351）。结论 不同类别研究生对临床流行病学知识点掌握程度在授课后均得到提升。但仍需针对不同类别研究生学习基础及短板的差异,改进相应的教学模式及过程,包括采用不同的教学方式和规范学习习惯等,从而提升研究生的课程学习效果。     

APOE interacts with age to modify rate of decline in cognitive and brain changes in Alzheimer's disease

ObjectiveTo determine (1) whether age-standardized cognitive declines and brain morphometric change differ between Young-Old patients with Alzheimer's disease (YOAD) and Very-Old patients with Alzheimer's disease (VOAD), and (2) whether the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype modifies these neuropsychological and morphometric changes.MethodsBaseline and 12-month follow-up neuropsychological and morphometric measures were examined for healthy control subjects and patients with AD. The two AD groups were divided further into subgroups on the basis of the presence of at least one APOE ε4 allele.ResultsThe YOAD group showed more severe deficits and steeper declines in cognition than the VOAD group. Moreover, the presence of an APOE ε4 allele had a more deleterious effect on the YOAD group than the VOAD group on cognition and brain structure both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.ConclusionsResults underscore the importance of integrating an individual's age and genetic susceptibility—and their interaction—when examining neuropsychological and neuroimaging changes in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.     

简短戒烟干预研究的Meta分析

目的 采用Meta分析评价简短戒烟干预的有效性.方法 计算机检索2000年1月至2014年9月中外生物医学数据库(The Cochrane Library、Medline、EMbase、中文期刊全文数据库、万方电子期刊数据库、维普中文科技期刊数据库和中国生物医学文献数据库)中有关简短戒烟干预随机对照试验,采用Revman 5.1软件进行Meta分析.结果 最终纳入9篇文献,随机效应模型合并RR值(95%CI)=1.57(1.01～2.44) .与未进行干预的吸烟者相比,接受了简短戒烟干预的吸烟者,其戒烟的可能性提高了57%.研究对象为孕妇和就诊患者,干预时间≤10 min的亚组更易戒烟,但各亚组分析结果之间的差异均无统计学意义.结论 简短戒烟干预可提高戒烟率,但该结论尚需纳入更多高质量大样本的随机对照试验加以证实.