Development of an Algorithm to Classify Colonoscopy Indication from Coded Health Care Data.

Introduction: Electronic health data are potentially valuable resources for evaluating colonoscopy screening utilization and effectiveness. The ability to distinguish screening colonoscopies from exams performed for other purposes is critical for research that examines factors related to screening uptake and adherence, and the impact of screening on patient outcomes, but distinguishing between these indications in secondary health data proves challenging. The objective of this study is to develop a new and more accurate algorithm for identification of screening colonoscopies using electronic health data.

Follow-up and clinical significance of unsatisfactory liquid-based Papanicolaou tests.

Background: To the authors' knowledge, few studies to date have examined adherence to recommended guidelines for follow-up and outcomes after an unsatisfactory Papanicolaou (Pap) test (UPT) with liquid-based technologies.

Methods: Within 4 US health plans, the median time to follow-up and the percentage of patients with follow-up testing by 120 days was calculated after a UPT. Multivariable analyses evaluated the association between clinical factors and follow-up testing.

Impact of hypertension on healthcare costs among children.

Objectives: Despite the significant prevalence of elevated blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI) in children, few studies have assessed their combined impact on healthcare costs. This study estimates healthcare costs related to BP and BMI in children and adolescents.

Study Design: Prospective dynamic cohort study of 71,617 children aged 3 to 17 years with 208,800 child years of enrollment in integrated health systems in Colorado or Minnesota between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2011.

Severe obesity in children: prevalence, persistence and relation to hypertension.

Background: Newer approaches for classifying gradations of pediatric obesity by level of body mass index (BMI) percentage above the 95th percentile have recently been recommended in the management and tracking of obese children. Examining the prevalence and persistence of severe obesity using such methods along with the associations with other cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension is important for characterizing the clinical significance of severe obesity classification methods.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in an integrated healthcare delivery system to characterize obesity and obesity severity in children and adolescents by level of body mass index (BMI) percentage above the 95th BMI percentile, to examine tracking of obesity status over 2-3 years, and to examine associations with blood pressure.

Approaches for classifying the indications for colonoscopy using detailed clinical data.

Background: Accurate indication classification is critical for obtaining unbiased estimates of colonoscopy effectiveness and quality improvement efforts, but there is a dearth of published systematic classification approaches. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of data-source and adjudication on indication classification and on estimates of the effectiveness of screening colonoscopy on late-stage colorectal cancer diagnosis risk.

Methods: This was an observational study in members of four U.

Body mass and weight change in adults in relation to mortality risk.

Using data from the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, we evaluated the influence of adulthood weight history on mortality risk. The National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study is an observational cohort study of US men and women who were aged 50-71 years at entry in 1995-1996. This analysis focused on 109,947 subjects who had never smoked and were younger than age 70 years.

Geographic variation in cardiovascular procedure use among Medicare fee-for-service vs Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.

Importance: Little is known about how different financial incentives between Medicare Advantage and Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement structures influence use of cardiovascular procedures.

Objective: To compare regional cardiovascular procedure rates between Medicare Advantage and Medicare FFS beneficiaries.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cross-sectional study of Medicare beneficiaries older than 65 years between 2003-2007 comparing rates of coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery across 32 hospital referral regions in 12 states.

Effects of transitioning from conventional methods to liquid-based methods on unsatisfactory Papanicolaou tests: results from a multicenter US study.

Background: Papanicolaou (Pap) testing has transitioned from conventional preparations (CPs) to liquid-based preparations (LBPs) because of the perceived superiority of LBPs. Many studies conclude that LBPs reduce unsatisfactory Pap tests; however, some believe that the evidence substantiating this claim is weak. The authors studied the effect of the transition from CPs to LBPs on the proportion of unsatisfactory Pap tests in 4 health care systems in the United States participating in the National Institutes of Health-funded Screening Effectiveness and Research in Community-Based Healthcare (SEARCH) project.

Body mass index at different adult ages, weight change, and colorectal cancer risk in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Cohort.

The authors investigated the relations of body mass index at different ages and adult weight change to incident colorectal cancer risk in the prospective National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study (1995-1996), using a subcohort with repeated recall weights (273,679 participants; mean baseline age = 62.8 years). During 2,509,662 person-years follow-up, 4076 incident colorectal cancers were ascertained.

Cancer incidence and mortality after gastric bypass surgery.

Despite weight loss recommendations to prevent cancer, cancer outcome studies after intentional weight loss are limited. Recently, reduced cancer mortality following bariatric surgery has been reported. This study tested whether reduced cancer mortality following gastric bypass was due to decreased incidence.

The combined relations of adiposity and smoking on mortality.

Background: Smoking and high adiposity are strong independent health risk factors but are also interrelated. Smoking is related to a lower body mass index (BMI) but not necessarily with a smaller waist circumference. Smoking cessation is associated with increased body weight and a substantial increase in waist circumference.

Body size and renal cell cancer incidence in a large US cohort study.

Renal cell cancer (RCC) incidence has increased in the United States over the past three decades. The authors analyzed the association between body mass index (BMI) and invasive RCC in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-AARP Diet and Health Study, a large, prospective cohort aged 50-71 years at baseline initiated in 1995-1996, with follow-up through December 2003. Detailed analyses were conducted in a subcohort responding to a second questionnaire, including BMI at younger ages (18, 35, and 50 years); weight change across three consecutive age intervals; waist, hip, and waist-to-hip ratio; and height at age 18 years.

Physical activity during adulthood and adolescence in relation to renal cell cancer.

Evidence for a relation between physical activity and renal cell cancer has been inconsistent. The authors examined physical activity in relation to renal cell cancer in a large, prospective US cohort study of 482,386 participants (289,503 men and 192,883 women) aged 50-71 years at baseline (1995-1996). At baseline, participants reported their frequency of exercise of at least 20 minutes' duration, intensity of daily routine activity, and frequency of physical activity during adolescence.

Waist circumference and mortality.

The authors examined the association between waist circumference and mortality among 154,776 men and 90,757 women aged 51-72 years at baseline (1996-1997) in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Additionally, the combined effects of waist circumference and body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) were examined. All-cause mortality was assessed over 9 years of follow-up (1996-2005).

Adiposity, adult weight change, and postmenopausal breast cancer risk.

Background: Obesity is a risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer, but the role of the timing and amount of adult weight change in breast cancer risk is unclear.

Methods: We prospectively examined the relations of adiposity and adult weight change to breast cancer risk among 99 039 postmenopausal women in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. Anthropometry was assessed by self-report in 1996.

Body mass and colorectal cancer risk in the NIH-AARP cohort.

In most studies, body mass index (BMI) has been associated with increased risk of colorectal or colon cancer in men, but the relation is weaker and less consistent for women, possibly because of interactions with age or hormone replacement therapy. The authors examined the relation between BMI and colorectal cancer incidence in a large, prospective US cohort of 307,708 men and 209,436 women from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. During follow-up of the cohort from 1995 to 2000, 2,314 cases of colorectal cancer were observed in men and 1,029 in women.

Overweight, obesity, and mortality in a large prospective cohort of persons 50 to 71 years old.

Background: Obesity, defined by a body-mass index (BMI) (the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) of 30.0 or more, is associated with an increased risk of death, but the relation between overweight (a BMI of 25.0 to 29.

Soy protein containing isoflavones does not decrease colorectal epithelial cell proliferation in a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Soy isoflavones have numerous biological properties that suggest that they may protect against colorectal cancer. Colorectal epithelial cell proliferation has been used extensively as an intermediate endpoint biomarker for colorectal neoplasia.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that supplementation with soy protein containing isoflavones decreases colorectal epithelial cell proliferation.

Soy isoflavones do not modulate prostate-specific antigen concentrations in older men in a randomized controlled trial.

Mortality rates for prostate cancer are low in Asia but high in the West. One explanation is the high level of soy consumption in Asia. Soy isoflavones reduce prostate tumor growth in many, but not all, animal models.

Soy isoflavones do not modulate circulating insulin-like growth factor concentrations in an older population in an intervention trial.

Insulin-like growth factors (IGF) are essential for normal growth and maintenance of lean muscle mass; however, high insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and low IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) levels are also associated with several cancers. To test the hypothesis that long-term soy isoflavone supplementation decreases circulating IGF-I concentrations, we conducted a controlled, parallel-arm, double-blind intervention study with 150 participants (85% men), 50-80 y old. Participants were randomly assigned to consume a soy beverage powder daily for 12 mo.