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Several US states have expanded Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), extending Medicaid coverage to millions of previously uninsured low-income individuals[2] including those with non-dialysis-dependent kidney disease.[3] The goal of this study was to determine whether Medicaid expansion was associated with changes in Medicaid coverage for pre-emptive living-donor KT (LDKT) and deceased-donor KT (DDKT) in the US. After Medicaid expansion, Medicaid-covered pre-emptive KT recipients from expansion states were more likely to be minorities and to be employed than those from non-expansion states (Table 1). To account for different calendar dates of Medicaid expansion, results are presented as the number of quarters before and after a standardized Medicaid expansion date, where the date of Medicaid expansion is set to equal zero. [Extracted from the article]

Importance: Recent reports have described the increasing use of nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulators, which have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to enhance appearance and performance. The composition and purity of such products is not known.Objective: To determine the chemical identity and the amounts of ingredients in dietary supplements and products marketed and sold through the internet as selective androgen receptor modulators and compare the analyzed contents with product labels.Design and Setting: Web-based searches were performed from February 18, 2016, to March 25, 2016, using the Google search engine on the Chrome and Internet Explorer web browsers to identify suppliers selling selective androgen receptor modulators. The products were purchased and the identities of the compounds and their amounts were determined from April to August 2016 using chain-of-custody and World Anti-Doping Association-approved analytical procedures. Analytical findings were compared against the label information.Exposures: Products marketed and sold as selective androgen receptor modulators.Main Outcomes and Measures: Chemical identities and the amount of ingredients in each product marketed and sold as selective androgen receptor modulators.Results: Among 44 products marketed and sold as selective androgen receptor modulators, only 23 (52%) contained 1 or more selective androgen receptor modulators (Ostarine, LGD-4033, or Andarine). An additional 17 products (39%) contained another unapproved drug, including the growth hormone secretagogue ibutamoren, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-δ agonist GW501516, and the Rev-ErbA agonist SR9009. Of the 44 tested products, no active compound was detected in 4 (9%) and substances not listed on the label were contained in 11 (25%). In only 18 of the 44 products (41%), the amount of active compound in the product matched that listed on the label. The amount of the compounds listed on the label differed substantially from that found by analysis in 26 of 44 products (59%).Conclusions and Relevance: In this limited investigation involving chemical analyses of 44 products marketed as selective androgen receptor modulators and sold via the internet, most products contained unapproved drugs and substances. Only 52% contained selective androgen receptor modulators and many were inaccurately labeled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: County-level patterns in mortality rates by cause have not been systematically described but are potentially useful for public health officials, clinicians, and researchers seeking to improve health and reduce geographic disparities.Objectives: To demonstrate the use of a novel method for county-level estimation and to estimate annual mortality rates by US county for 21 mutually exclusive causes of death from 1980 through 2014.Design, Setting, and Participants: Redistribution methods for garbage codes (implausible or insufficiently specific cause of death codes) and small area estimation methods (statistical methods for estimating rates in small subpopulations) were applied to death registration data from the National Vital Statistics System to estimate annual county-level mortality rates for 21 causes of death. These estimates were raked (scaled along multiple dimensions) to ensure consistency between causes and with existing national-level estimates. Geographic patterns in the age-standardized mortality rates in 2014 and in the change in the age-standardized mortality rates between 1980 and 2014 for the 10 highest-burden causes were determined.Exposure: County of residence.Main Outcomes and Measures: Cause-specific age-standardized mortality rates.Results: A total of 80 412 524 deaths were recorded from January 1, 1980, through December 31, 2014, in the United States. Of these, 19.4 million deaths were assigned garbage codes. Mortality rates were analyzed for 3110 counties or groups of counties. Large between-county disparities were evident for every cause, with the gap in age-standardized mortality rates between counties in the 90th and 10th percentiles varying from 14.0 deaths per 100 000 population (cirrhosis and chronic liver diseases) to 147.0 deaths per 100 000 population (cardiovascular diseases). Geographic regions with elevated mortality rates differed among causes: for example, cardiovascular disease mortality tended to be highest along the southern half of the Mississippi River, while mortality rates from self-harm and interpersonal violence were elevated in southwestern counties, and mortality rates from chronic respiratory disease were highest in counties in eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia. Counties also varied widely in terms of the change in cause-specific mortality rates between 1980 and 2014. For most causes (eg, neoplasms, neurological disorders, and self-harm and interpersonal violence), both increases and decreases in county-level mortality rates were observed.Conclusions and Relevance: In this analysis of US cause-specific county-level mortality rates from 1980 through 2014, there were large between-county differences for every cause of death, although geographic patterns varied substantially by cause of death. The approach to county-level analyses with small area models used in this study has the potential to provide novel insights into US disease-specific mortality time trends and their differences across geographic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore how a single master alarm system affects drivers' responses when compared with multiple, distinct warnings.Background: Advanced driver warning systems are intended to improve safety, yet inappropriate integration may increase the complexity of driving, especially in high workload situations. This study investigated the effects of auditory alarm scheme, reliability, and collision event type on driver performance.Method: Using a 2 x 2 x 4 mixed factorial design, we investigated the impact of two alarm schemes (master vs. individual) and two levels of alarm reliability (high and low) on distracted drivers' performance across four collision event types (frontal collision warnings, left and right lane departure warnings, and warnings for a fast-approaching following vehicle).Results: Participants' reaction times and accuracy rates were significantly affected by the type of collision event and alarm reliability. The use of individual alarms, rather than a single master alarm, did not significantly affect driving performance in terms of reaction time or response accuracy.Conclusion: Even though a master alarm is a relatively uninformative warning, it produced statistically no different reaction times or accuracy results when compared with information-rich auditory icons, some of which were spatially located. In addition, unreliable alarms negatively impacted driver performance, regardless of event type or alarm scheme.Application: These results have important implications for the development and implementation of multiple driver warning systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buprenorphine-naloxone is an office-based opioid agonist released in 2003 in the United States for the maintenance of heroin- and other opioid-dependent patients. Concern has been raised that the medication will distract or otherwise inhibit patients from participating in a holistic recovery program or abstinence-based counseling. Using a retrospective chart review, the first thirty opioid-dependent patients induced on buprenorphine maintenance therapy in an inpatient detoxification unit were compared to thirty age- and gender-matched patients who underwent detoxification (with a tramadol taper) and referral to intensive outpatient treatment. The clinical outcomes were a comparison of completion rates for an intensive outpatient program (IOP) and retention in treatment after twelve weeks of aftercare therapy. Patients induced on buprenorphine maintenance over three days had similar relief of withdrawal symptoms to patients detoxified from opioids over five days with tramadol. Patients maintained on buprenorphine had a markedly increased initiation of IOP and remained in outpatient treatment longer than patients who were detoxified (8.5 wks vs. 0.4 wks, p < 0.001). This study indicates that induction and maintenance on buprenorphine may be more effective than detoxification for engaging and retaining patients in abstinence-based comprehensive outpatient addiction treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the impact of supply and demand factors on filled positions for pharmacists and pharmacist extenders (pharmacist technicians and aides) and assess differences across states through analysis of state-level pharmacist labor market data.Design: Cross-sectional analysis.Setting: United States.Participants: Not applicable.Interventions: Not applicable.Main Outcome Measures: State-level counts of filled pharmacist and pharmacist-extender positions, wages, and various available demographic, health, policy, and other factors related to the pharmacist labor market.Results: Across states, the total population and the number of community pharmacy prescriptions were very accurate predictors (R2 = 0.99) of the number of pharmacist and pharmacist-extender positions, and all other variables were insignificant after these two variables were controlled for. Pharmacists and pharmacist-extenders were positively correlated, and the ratio of the two was not related to observable policy-related variables. Outlying states, in terms of simple pharmacist-to-population ratios, were difficult to categorize.Conclusion: Future changes in prescriptions are likely to affect the pharmacist and pharmacist-extender labor markets. Across states, pharmacists and extenders relate as complements rather than substitutes. The number of pharmacist graduates and state-level regulations regarding technician-to-pharmacist ratios appears to have a small effect on filled positions across states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

U.S. Army Combat Medic serves as both Soldier and provider of combat casualty care, often in the heat of battle and with limited resources. Yet little is known about their help-seeking behavior and perceived stigma and barriers to care. Participants were three groups of U.S. Army Combat Medics surveyed at 3- and 12-months postdeployment from assignment with line units vs. those Medics who had never deployed to combat. The primary data source was surveys of mental health service utilization, perceived stigma and barriers to care, and depression and post-traumatic stress disorder screens. Medics who received help in the past year from a mental health professional ranged from 18% to 30%, with 18% to 30% seeking mental health assistance from other sources. Previously deployed Medics were more likely to obtain assistance than those who never deployed. Those meeting a mental health screening criteria were more likely to report associated stigma and barriers to care. Findings indicate that Medics in need of assistance report greater perceived barriers to mental health care, as well as stigma from seeking treatment, and that depression may be a salient issue for Medics. The longitudinal nature of the ongoing study will help determine the actual trajectory and onset of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]