Publications by authors named "Judith Lichtman"
Background: An alternative patient-centered appointment-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program has led to significant improvements in health outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease. However, less is known about the effects of this approach on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), particularly for women.
Objective: We examined the effects of a patient-centered appointment-based CR program on HRQoL by sex and examined predictors of HRQoL improvements specifically for women.
Introduction: Despite evidence supporting the benefits of marriage on cardiovascular health, the impact of marital/partner status on the long-term readmission of young acute myocardial infarction (AMI) survivors is less clear. We examined the association between marital/partner status and 1-year all-cause readmission and explored sex differences among young AMI survivors.
Methods: Data were from the VIRGO study (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients), which enrolled young adults aged 18-55 years with AMI (2008-2012).
Background: Medicaid serves as a safety net for low-income US Medicare beneficiaries with limited assets. Approximately 7.7 million Americans aged ≥65 years rely on a combination of Medicare and Medicaid to obtain critical medical services, yet little is known about whether these patients have worse outcomes after stroke than patients with Medicare alone.
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- There is a critical lack of knowledge regarding the long-term outcomes of trauma systems, leading to expanded efforts to assess postdischarge quality metrics, but their application remains unclear.
- This study aims to explore the effectiveness of using these postdischarge quality metrics as a composite score and to compare its effectiveness with in-hospital mortality indicators for evaluating hospital performance.
- The research involved analyzing Medicare claims for over 573,000 older adults hospitalized for trauma-related issues, revealing that several quality metrics, particularly readmission rates and patient recovery time, significantly influenced hospital performance evaluations.
Article Synopsis
- The VIRGO study analyzed 3,572 young adults (ages 18-55) who experienced an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), focusing on the effects of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on health outcomes, particularly by sex.
- About 49% of patients were identified as high risk for OSA, but only 4.7% had a prior diagnosis, highlighting a significant gap in awareness.
- Women at high risk for OSA showed significantly worse physical and mental health outcomes compared to their male counterparts, suggesting they are more adversely affected by the condition following an AMI.
Background Stress experienced in a marriage or committed relationship may be associated with worse patient-reported outcomes after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but little is known about this association in young adults (≤55 years) with AMI. Methods and Results We used data from VIRGO (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients), an observational cohort study that enrolled individuals aged 18 to 55 years with AMI (2008-2012). Marital stress was self-reported 1 month after AMI using the Stockholm Marital Stress Scale (categorized as absent/mild, moderate, and severe).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Whether stroke patients treated at hospitals with better short-term outcome metrics have better long-term outcomes is unknown. We investigated whether treatment at US hospitals with better 30-day hospital-level stroke outcome metrics was associated with better 1-year outcomes, including reduced mortality and recurrent stroke, for patients after ischemic stroke.
Methods: This cohort study included Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged ≥65 years discharged alive from US hospitals with a principal diagnosis of ischemic stroke from 07/01/2015 to 12/31/2018.
Introduction: Despite evidence supporting the benefits of marriage on cardiovascular health, the impact of marital/partner status on the long-term readmission of young acute myocardial infarction (AMI) survivors is less clear. We aimed to examine the association between marital/partner status and 1-year all-cause readmission, and explore sex differences, among young AMI survivors.
Methods: Data were from the VIRGO study (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients), which enrolled young adults aged 18-55 years with AMI (2008-2012).
Background: In light of previous studies that profiled breed-specific traits or used genome-wide association studies to refine loci associated with characteristic morphological features in dogs, the field has gained tremendous genetic insights for known dog traits observed among breeds. Here we aim to address the question from a reserve perspective: whether there are breed-specific genotypes that may underlie currently unknown phenotypes. This study provides a complete set of breed-specific genetic signatures (BSGS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Younger women experience worse health status than men after their index episode of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, whether women have a higher risk for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular hospitalizations in the year after discharge is unknown.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine sex differences in causes and timing of 1-year outcomes after AMI in people aged 18 to 55 years.
Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a powerful risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), conferring a greater relative risk in women than men. We sought to examine sex differences in cardiometabolic risk factors and management in the contemporary cohort represented by the Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE).
Research Design And Methods: GRADE enrolled 5047 participants (1837 women, 3210 men) with T2DM on metformin monotherapy at baseline.
Aims: Little is known about the relationship between marital/partner status and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) following myocardial infarction (MI). We conducted a systematic review/meta-analysis and explored potential sex differences.
Methods And Results: We searched five databases (Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, and PsycINFO) from inception to 27 July 2022.
Importance: Among younger adults, the association between Black race and postdischarge readmission after hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is insufficiently described.
Objectives: To examine whether racial differences exist in all-cause 1-year hospital readmission among younger adults hospitalized for AMI and whether that difference retains significance after adjustment for cardiac factors and social determinants of health (SDOHs).
Design, Setting, And Participants: The VIRGO (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients) study was an observational cohort study of younger adults (aged 18-55 years) hospitalized for AMI with a 2:1 female-to-male ratio across 103 US hospitals from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2012.
Background: Long-term exposure to air pollutants is associated with increased stroke incidence, morbidity, and mortality; however, research on the association of pollutant exposure with poststroke hospital readmissions is lacking.
Methods: We assessed associations between average annual carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O), particulate matter 2.5, and sulfur dioxide (SO) exposure and 30-day all-cause hospital readmission in US fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries age ≥65 years hospitalized for ischemic stroke in 2014 to 2015.
Introduction: Marital/Partner support is associated with lower mortality and morbidity following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke. Despite an increasing focus on the effect of patient-centered factors on health outcomes, little is known about the impact of marital/partner status on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).
Objective: To synthesize evidence of the association between marital/partner status and PROMs after AMI and stroke and to determine whether associations differ by sex.
Background: There have been important advances in secondary stroke prevention and a focus on healthcare delivery over the past decades. Yet, data on US trends in recurrent stroke are limited. We examined national and regional patterns in 1-year recurrence among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for ischemic stroke from 2001 to 2017.
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- The study aims to introduce three innovative quality metrics for assessing the health outcomes of older trauma patients after they leave the hospital—these include mortality rates, readmission rates, and the average number of healthy days at home.
- Traumatic injuries significantly affect older adults, so improving the assessment of their health post-discharge is crucial for enhancing care quality.
- Analysis of Medicare claims from over 785,000 trauma admissions reveals that these new metrics provide a more comprehensive view of patient outcomes than relying solely on in-hospital mortality rates, with many hospitals showing differing performance rankings based on the new measures.
Background Relatively greater increases in hypertension prevalence among US rural residents may contribute to geographic disparities in recurrent stroke. There is limited US information on poststroke antihypertensive medication use by rural/urban residence. We assessed antihypertensive use and lifestyle characteristics for US rural compared with urban stroke survivors and residence-based trends in use between 2005 and 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWomen face a disproportionate burden of stroke mortality and disability. Biologic sex and sociocultural gender both contribute to differences in stroke risk factors, assessment, treatment, and outcomes. There are substantial differences in the strength of association of stroke risk factors, as well as female-specific risk factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe relationship between cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVD-RFs) and health care utilization may differ by sex. We determined whether having more CVD-RFs was associated with all-cause emergency department (ED) visits and all-cause hospitalizations for women and men with prior stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA). In this cross-sectional study, we used nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2012-2015) data for persons aged ≥18 years with a prior stroke/TIA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite evidence-based guidelines, stroke rehabilitation remains underutilized, particularly among women and minorities. Telerehabilitation is a promising alternative to traditional in-person rehabilitation and offers a novel strategy to overcome access barriers, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. A broadband connection is a prerequisite for its wide adoption but its availability varies across the United States (https://broadbandnow.
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- The study investigates the impact of health care reforms in the US Military Health System, which will transition over 1.9 million beneficiaries from military treatment facilities to civilian hospitals in the coming years.
- It compares the quality of care received by MHS beneficiaries in military facilities (Direct Care) versus civilian hospitals (Purchased Care) using specific quality metrics, examining differences in mortality, morbidity, and patient safety.
- Findings indicate that, on average, MHS beneficiaries treated in military facilities receive better inpatient care and patient safety than those treated in local civilian hospitals, suggesting potential quality declines as the reforms are implemented.
Aims: Known racial, ethnic, age, and socioeconomic disparities in video telemedicine engagement may widen existing health inequities. We assessed if telemedicine disparities were alleviated among patients of high-video-use providers at a large cardiovascular practice.
Methods And Results: All telemedicine visits from 16 March to 31 October 2020 and patient demographics were collected from an administrative database.
Objective: The aim of this study was to critically evaluate whether admission at the beginning versus end of the academic year is associated with increased risk of major adverse outcomes.
Summary Background Data: The hypothesis that the arrival of new residents and fellows is associated with increases in adverse patient outcomes has been the subject of numerous research studies since 1989. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of July Effect studies published before December 20, 2019, looking for differences in mortality, major morbidity, and readmission.