African Americans' access to healthy food options in South Los Angeles restaurants

OBJECTIVES: We examined availability and food options at restaurants in less affluent (target area) and more affluent (comparison area) areas of Los Angeles County to compare residents' access to healthy meals prepared and purchased away from home. We also considered environmental prompts that encourage the purchase of various foods. METHODS: We designed an instrument to assess the availability, quality, and preparation of food in restaurants. We also assessed advertisements and promotions, cleanliness, and service for each restaurant. We assessed 659 restaurants: 348 in the target area and 311 in the comparison area. RESULTS: The nutritional resource environment in our target area makes it challenging for residents to eat healthy away from home. Poorer neighborhoods with a higher proportion of African American residents have fewer healthy options available, both in food selections and in food preparation; restaurants in these neighborhoods heavily promote unhealthy food options to residents. CONCLUSIONS: Environment is important in understanding health status: support for the healthy lifestyle associated with lower risks for disease is difficult in poorer communities with a higher proportion of African American residents.     

Validity of self-reports of breast cancer treatment in low-income, medically underserved women with breast cancer

Few studies have assessed the agreement between subjects’ self-report and medical records among patients with breast cancer (BC), and none has addressed this issue in low-income women with BC. We assessed the level of agreement between self-report and medical records data for key BC treatment and prognostic characteristics using correct proportion and the Kappa statistic, among 726 low-income BC patients. Unconditional regression was used to investigate the association between accuracy of self-report and potential explanatory factors. Overall agreement between self-report and medical records was 95.3–99.6% for BC treatments including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy (Kappa = 0.79–0.99). Specific agreement was 87–89.5% for surgery type (Kappa = 0.51–0.96); 86.3% for chemotherapy completion (Kappa = 0.46) and 98.7% for radiotherapy completion (Kappa = 0.43); 95.2% for medical oncologist consultation (Kappa = 0.59) and 96% for radiation oncologist consultation; 97.3% for metastasis (Kappa = 0.56); and 93.6% for recurrence (Kappa = 0.30). When accepting answers within 15 days of the medical record date, 78.2% of women correctly reported surgery date, yet only around 55% of women correctly reported the start and/or end date of radiotherapy. Older age, less education, BC recurrence and poor patient–physician communication were associated with the lesser accuracy of patients’ self-report compared to medical records (P < 0.05). The results of this study suggest that self-reporting of key treatment and prognostic information is relatively accurate among low-income women with BC. Self-report seems to be a reliable source for accurate information when medical record review is unavailable or unfeasible. Interventions to enhance patient–physician communication may facilitate more accurate information reporting among vulnerable populations.     

Importance of basic therapy in psoriasis

Die Basistherapie spielt bei Psoriasis vulgaris eine wichtige Rolle. Dies gilt unabhängig vom Schweregrad der Erkrankung oder dem angewendeten Therapiekonzept. Sie trägt dazu bei, Symptome wie Juckreiz und Schuppenbildung zu vermindern, Exazerbationen zu reduzieren und somit die Remission nach einer erfolgreichen Therapie zu verlängern. Entsprechend kann durch eine adäquate Basistherapie auch die stark beeinträchtigte Lebensqualität von Psoriasis‐Patienten positiv beeinflusst werden. Bedauerlicherweise wird jedoch der Stellenwert einer Basistherapie bei Psoriasis noch immer unterschätzt. Im folgenden Review wird anhand von Studiendaten die Effizienz und das Potenzial der Basistherapie aufgezeigt und auf neue Daten und Entwicklungen in diesem Bereich eingegangen.     

PDE4-inhibitors: a novel, targeted therapy for obstructive airways disease

Roflumilast is a selective once daily, oral phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor that has recently been registered in all European Union countries as novel targeted therapy for COPD, while FDA approval for the USA market is expected in 2011. In several phase III trials in patients with moderate to (very) severe COPD and in patients with symptoms of chronic bronchitis and recurrent exacerbations, roflumilast showed sustained clinical efficacy by improving lung function and by reducing exacerbation rates. These beneficial effects have also been demonstrated when added to long-acting bronchodilators (both LABA and LAMA), underscoring the anti-inflammatory activity of roflumilast in COPD. Pooled data analysis showed overall mild to moderate, mostly self-limiting adverse events, mainly consisting of nausea, diarrhea and weight loss. In this review we discuss the results of the 4 registration studies showing promising effects of roflumilast in COPD and provide an overview of the topics that still need to be addressed.