Alcohol, But Not Depression or IPV, Reduces HIV Adherence Among South African Mothers Living with HIV Over 5 Years.

Alcohol, depression, and intimate partner violence (IPV) are endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. This article examines whether and how these conditions affect mothers living with HIV (MLH), compared to mothers without HIV (MWOH). In particular, we assess the influence of these comorbidities on engagement in HIV care and adherence to antiretroviral therapies (ARV) among MLH.

Maternal patterns of antenatal and postnatal depressed mood and the impact on child health at 3-years postpartum.

Objective: The consequences of maternal depressed mood on children's growth, health, and cognitive and language development are examined over the first 3 years of life.

Method: Pregnant women in 24 periurban township neighborhoods in Cape Town, South Africa (N = 1,238 mothers) were randomized by neighborhood to a home visiting intervention or a standard care condition. Reassessments were conducted for 93%-85% of mothers at 2-weeks, 6-, 18-, and 36-months postbirth.

Patterns of Alcohol Abuse, Depression, and Intimate Partner Violence Among Township Mothers in South Africa Over 5 Years.

Alcohol is a major contributor to the global burden of disease. In South Africa, alcohol abuse is hypothesized to correlate with women's HIV status, mental health, and partner relationships over time. All pregnant women in 12 urban, low-income, Cape Town neighborhoods were interviewed at baseline, post-birth, and at 6, 12, 36, and 60 months following delivery with retention rates from 82.

Costs of care for lung and colon cancer patients receiving chemotherapy following FDA policy changes.

Purpose: Use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in US cancer care declined amidst post-marketing evidence of adverse effects and the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) addition of a "black-box" warning to product labeling in March 2007. Because reduced ESA use may have led to more transfusions or increased anemia-related health care needs, we measured the policy's impact on health care costs of lung and colon cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study of 13,630 lung and 3,198 colon cancer patients in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) between 2002 and 2008, we calculated anemia treatment (ESA and transfusion), cancer- and non-cancer-related, and total health care costs for the chemotherapy episode of care.

Hemoglobin levels triggering erythropoiesis-stimulating agent therapy in patients with cancer: the shift after United States Food and Drug Administration policy changes.

Study Objective: To determine whether the hemoglobin level at which health care providers prescribed erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) therapy (trigger hemoglobin level) for their patients receiving chemotherapy was lower after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated a black-box warning in March 2007.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Data Source: U.

Reduced overall and event-free survival among colon cancer patients using dual system care.

Background: Many veterans have dual Veterans Administration (VA) and Medicare healthcare coverage. We compared 3-year overall and cancer event-free survival (EFS) among patients with nonmetastatic colon cancer who obtained substantial portions of their care in both systems and those whose care was obtained predominantly in the VA or in the Medicare fee-for-service system.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of patients older than 65 years with stages I to III colon cancer diagnosed from 1999 to 2001 in VA and non-VA facilities.

Trends in anemia management in lung and colon cancer patients in the US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2002-2008.

Purpose: In 2007, growing concerns about adverse impacts of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in cancer patients led to an FDA-mandated black box warning on product labeling, publication of revised clinical guidelines, and a Medicare coverage decision limiting ESA coverage. We examined ESA therapy in lung and colon cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in the VA from 2002 to 2008 to ascertain trends in and predictors of ESA use.

Methods: A retrospective study employed national VA databases to "observe" treatment for a 12-month period following diagnosis.