Alcohol exposure and health services utilization in older veterans

The objective of this study was to determine if increased alcohol exposure is associated with greater use of health services among older veterans. A total of 129 older veterans (> or =65 years old), receiving longitudinal care in a Veterans' Administration primary care clinic, were followed retrospectively for up to 42 months. Subjects were screened at baseline for problem drinking with the CAGE or the quantity-frequency questions from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (QF-AUDIT), and stratified by exposure into three categories: abstainers, social drinkers, and problem drinkers. Outcomes included total outpatient clinic visits, laboratory tests, radiologic and other technologic procedures, as well as acute care hospitalizations. For all subjects (N = 129), no association was found between alcohol exposure and use of any outpatient services. Among CAGE-screened (n = 62) abstainers, social drinkers, and problem drinkers, significant differences were found in the median number of laboratory tests (7.3 vs. 3.4 vs. 7.1, P = 0.004) and hospitalizations (0.3 vs. 0.0 vs. 0.3, P = 0.001) per patient year of follow-up. No exposure-outcome associations were present, however, among QF-AUDIT-screened subjects (n = 67). We were unable to demonstrate a consistent relationship between alcohol exposure and health services utilization. The effects of alcohol on older veterans' use of health services varied with the method used to measure alcohol exposure. Additional studies are needed to determine whether multiple, or possibly new, measures can more precisely define the health effects of alcohol in older populations.     

Who is Hispanic? Implications for epidemiologic research in the United States

The most recent U.S. Census reported that Hispanics are now the nation's largest minority group. At the same time, increasing attention has focused on the inherent heterogeneity of the U.S. Hispanic population. Such a rapidly growing but heterogeneous minority poses potential challenges to population-based research. To understand those challenges better, we first considered the history of the demographers' question: "Who is Hispanic?" We then considered the implications of differing Hispanic identity criteria for disease surveillance. Although relevant to political and socioeconomic considerations, the Hispanic ethnic category may not be specifically useful for understanding most disease processes. For epidemiologic studies, there is need for more transparent criteria to classify subpopulations. Those criteria must be regularly subjected to analysis and validation.     

Utility of sweat patch testing for drug use monitoring in outpatient treatment for opiate dependence

We evaluated the utility of sweat testing for monitoring of drug use in outpatient clinical settings and compared sweat toxicology with urine toxicology and self-reported drug use during a randomized clinical trial of the efficacy of buprenorphine for treatment of opioid dependence in primary care settings. All study participants (N = 63) were opiate-dependent, treatment-seeking volunteers. The results based on toxicology tests obtained from 188 properly worn and unadulterated patches (out of 536 applied) show that the level of agreement between positive sweat test results and positive urine results was 33% for opiates and 92% for cocaine. The findings of this study, that there is a low acceptability of sweat patch testing by patients (only 54.3% were brought back attached to the skin) and that weekly sweat testing is less sensitive than weekly urine testing in detecting opiate use, suggest limited utility of sweat patch testing in outpatient clinical settings.     

Exercise adherence in a randomized trial of exercise on aromatase inhibitor arthralgias in breast cancer survivors: the Hormones and Physical Exercise (HOPE) study

Purpose

Up to 50 % of postmenopausal breast cancer survivors taking aromatase inhibitors (AIs) experience AI-associated arthralgias, or joint pain, which causes many to stop taking AIs and may inhibit exercise, despite known health benefits. We thus evaluated exercise adherence and factors associated with better exercise adherence in breast cancer survivors experiencing AI-induced arthralgia in the (HOPE) year long randomized controlled trial.

Methods

We included 61 HOPE women randomized to exercise (150 min/week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and twice-weekly supervised strength training). Our main outcomes were aerobic exercise measured with daily activity logs, attendance at supervised exercise sessions, and changes in cardiorespiratory fitness, measured maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max). We examined means and standard deviations (SDs) for exercise adherence by demographic and medical characteristics and used the t test for mean differences. We also examined predictors of adherence using linear regression.

Results

On average, at the end of the year long trial, women reported 119 (SD 78)?min/week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and participated in 70 % of supervised exercise training sessions. After adjustment for other factors that influence adherence, at 6 months postrandomization, only baseline VO₂max was associated with higher aerobic exercise levels and at 12 months, only older age predicted better supervised exercise training attendance.

Conclusions

Breast cancer survivors taking AIs and experiencing arthralgia are able to initiate and maintain a year long exercise program, regardless of other factors that influence activity levels.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Breast cancer survivors can exercise at levels that have been shown to improve AI-associated arthralgia.