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Objective: To assess the impact of resilience, the ability to withstand and bounce back from adversity, on measures of well-being, self-reported stress, and mental health diagnoses. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey of participants seen at an executive health practice at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, from January 2012 through September 2016. Participants completed an anonymous survey that included demographic information and 3 validated survey instruments—the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the 12-item Linear Analogue Self-Assessment Scale (LASA), and the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Self-reported history of mental health diagnoses was also collected. CD-RISC scores were used to stratify participants into lower (<30), medium (30–34), or higher (≥35) resilience categories. Participants’ LASA scores, PSS scores, and self-reported mental health diagnoses were compared among resilience categories. Results: Of the 2,027 eligible participants, 1,954 met the study inclusion criteria as currently employed corporate-sponsored executive or business professionals (self-designated) who completed the CD-RISC survey. Most participants (62.5%) were aged 40 to 59 years. The majority were male (78.3%), white (95.3%), educated (86.2%), and in a committed relationship (89.7%). Among participants, 41.7% reported higher resilience, 34.3% had medium resilience, and 24.0% had lower resilience. The quality of life and overall LASA scores were positively associated with higher resilience (P < .001). PSS scores and self-reported mental health diagnoses were negatively associated with higher resilience (P < .001). These associations remained significant after adjusting for patient characteristics. Conclusions: In this cross-sectional survey of a large cohort of corporative executives, the lower-resilience cohort had a 4-fold higher prevalence of depression and an almost 3-fold higher prevalence of anxiety compared with the higher-resilience cohort. High resilience was positively associated with well-being and negatively associated with perceived stress. Our findings suggest that higher resilience in the executive workplace environment is associated with better mental health, reduced stress, and greater well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress and its attendant psychosocial and lifestyle variables have been associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), yet the contribution of socioeconomic status (SES) has not been addressed. The aim of this study is to determine if stress assessment is associated with CAD independent of SES, and is incremental to the Framingham Score. The study group consisted of 325 executive patients undergoing comprehensive health assessment. Stress was assessed utilizing the validated 'Self-Rated Stress' (SRS) instrument. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) served to assess the degree of atherosclerosis, a CAD equivalent and risk assessment tool. The relationship between SRS and CAC was assessed, with adjustment by potential confounders. CAC was modeled by a variety of cut points (>0, ≥5, ≥100, ≥200) for the test of trend across stress levels per Mantel-Haenszel chi-square (1 df) with nonsignificant P values of 0.9960, 0.5242, 0.1692, 0.3233, respectively. A logistic regression model with SRS as a categorically ranked and continuous variable to predict binary outcome of calcification yielded P values of 0.2366 and 0.9644; this relationship, further adjusted by age, fruit and vegetable consumption, exercise, and education, yielded no statistically significant association. No improvement of fit was observed for the established Framingham Score to CAC relation utilizing SRS. The study concluded that SRS did not play a role in early CAD when focusing on a population in higher socioeconomic strata, and SRS did not add predictive value beyond patient age or calculated Framingham risk. Future studies should focus on additional validated instruments of stress to differentiate between subtypes of stress for varying SES strata. ( Population Health Management 2013;16:332-340) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The benefits of a periodic health evaluation remain debatable. The incremental value added by such evaluations beyond the delivery of age appropriate screening and preventive medicine recommendations is unclear. Methods: We retrospectively collected data on a cohort of consecutive patients presenting for their first episode of a comprehensive periodic health evaluation. We abstracted data on new diagnoses that were identified during this single episode of care and that were not trivial (i.e., required additional testing or intervention). Results: The cohort consisted of 491 patients. The rate of new diagnoses per this single episode of care was 0.9 diagnoses per patient. The majority of these diagnoses was not prompted by patients' complaints (71%) and would not have been identified by screening guidelines (51%). Men (odds ratio 2.67; 95% CI, 1.76, 4.03) and those with multiple complaints at presentation (odds ratio 1.12; 95% CI, 1.05, 1.19) were more likely to receive a clinically relevant diagnosis at the conclusion of the visit. Age was not a predictor of receiving a diagnosis in this cohort. Conclusion: The first episode of a comprehensive periodic health evaluation may reveal numerous important diagnoses or risk factors that are not always identified through routine screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author offers information on validation of the CASSANDRA model, a disease predictive system. He mentions research work prediction tool to estimate risk associated with coronary heart disease (CHD), describes the CASSANDRA risk model by comparing estimates of overall event rates using the model with the actual observed rates in the REGICOR population and mentions the uses the CASSANDRA model to accurately predict future CHD.

Objectives: To determine whether autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is associated with adverse fetal outcomes and maternal complications.Methods: We identified a cohort of 146 patients seen for pregnancy and cystic kidney disease at Mayo Clinic from 1975 to 2010. From this cohort, 54 patients met the ultrasound diagnostic criteria for ADPKD (ADPKD group), while the other 92 patients were diagnosed as "Simple Cyst" (control group). We compared the fetal and maternal outcomes of pregnancy and long-term maternal prognoses between these two groups.Results: Overall, the fetal complication rates were similar between the ADPKD and control groups. Rates of spontaneous abortion (15.1% versus 14%, p = 0.77) and premature birth (11.1% versus 6.8%, p = 0.44) were comparable between groups, while the rate of fetal distress (3.4% versus 0.7%, p < 0.01) was increased in the ADPKD group. The rate of preeclampsia in the patients with simple cysts (2%) was similar to that of the general population. In contrast, the pregnant ADPKD patients had higher risks for hypertension, proteinuria, edema, urinary tract infection, renal dysfunction and preeclampsia during their pregnancies.Conclusion: ADPKD is associated with increased maternal complications during pregnancy, but only has a slight potential of increased rates of fetal complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adherence to recommended preventive services and immunizations in adults is suboptimal and often associated with socioeconomic status, race, and access to care. The aim of this study is to evaluate adherence in a cohort without these barriers to ascertain realistically optimal adherence rates and to examine remaining barriers among relatively advantaged individuals. Specifically, it employed a sample of 6889 patients presenting for executive health care from 2005 to 2009. Adherence varied across colorectal cancer screening (79%), mammography (89%), cervical cancer screening (91%), tetanus immunization (82%), and pneumococcal vaccination (62%). Multivariate logistic regressions revealed that age, education, alcohol use concerns, and being married were positively associated with adherence to certain services. Individuals without the usual barriers to care have variable, less-than-ideal rates of adherence to preventive services, which correlate with some health behaviors and demographics. Understanding the predictors of adherence may inform quality improvement processes aimed at optimizing disease prevention. ( Population Health Management 2012;15:65-70) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]