Racial-ethnic differences in the associations between functional disabilities and subsequent depression among community-dwelling midlife and older adults in the US.

Background: The intersection of race/ethnicity with disability is a critical dimension of mental health outcomes in later ages that remains under-investigated.

Objective: We examined the role of race-ethnicity in moderating the associations between functional disabilities and subsequent depression among Americans 51 and older and stratified into the two age-groups of midlife (51-64) and older adults (≥65).

Methods: Using a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling Americans (≥51; n = 7475) in the 2016-2018 Health and Retirement Study, we conducted bivariate and multivariable regression analyses.

Older Adult Falls in the Community: Does Unsafe Home Environment Have a Risk Role Through the Mediating Effect of Functional Limitations?

Background And Objectives: Fall incidents from unsafe home environments are frequent in older-adult homes but the literature is ambiguous whether it is the presence/absence, or the interplay of such conditions and physical functioning that is of salience. We therefore estimated whether unsafe home environment is adversely associated with subsequent falls among older adults and what proportion of this association was mediated through limitations in daily and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL).

Research Design And Methods: Using a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries (≥65 years) in the 2018-2019 National Health and Aging Trends Study (n = 2,599), we conducted bivariate and multivariable analyses.

Treatment for Insomnia Symptoms is Associated with Reduced Depression Among Older Adults: A Propensity Score Matching Approach.

Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the effect of utilization of treatment for insomnia symptoms on the prevalence of major depressive disorder among older adults in India.

Methods: We used the data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), 2017-18. The sample included 10,911 older individuals who reported insomnia symptoms.

Mediation of pain in the association of sleep problems with falls among older adults in India.

Body pain, sleep problems and falls are commonly reported among the elderly population. This study aimed to explore the mediating role of pain in the association of sleep problems with fall-outcomes (falls, fall-injury, and multiple falls) among older adults. Cross-sectional data from the baseline survey of Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI), 2017-18 were used.

Risk Factors of Fall-Related Emergency Department Visits by Fall Location of Older Adults in the US.

Introduction: Prior evidence indicates that predictors of older adult falls vary by indoor-outdoor location of the falls. While a subset of United States' studies reports this finding using primary data from a single geographic area, other secondary analyses of falls across the country do not distinguish between the two fall locations. Consequently, evidence at the national level on risk factors specific to indoor vs outdoor falls is lacking.

Interpreting COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents in the US: The changing role of facility quality over time.

A report published last year by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) highlighted that COVID-19 case counts are more likely to be high in lower quality nursing homes than in higher quality ones. Since then, multiple studies have examined this association with a handful also exploring the role of facility quality in explaining resident deaths from the virus. Despite this wide interest, no previous study has investigated how the relation between quality and COVID-19 mortality among nursing home residents may have changed, if at all, over the progression of the pandemic.

Opioid and Nonopioid Analgesic Prescriptions for Dental Visits in the Emergency Department, 2015-2017 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Introduction: Prescription and nonprescription opioid misuse and the rising number of dental visits in emergency departments (EDs) are growing public health concerns in the US. Our study objective was to examine the relationship between prescription analgesics (opioids and nonopioids) and the type of ED visits (dental and nondental) at the national level.

Methods: We used data from the 2015-2017 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to examine the association between opioid, nonopioid, and combination of opioid and nonopioid analgesic prescriptions and dental and nondental visits in the ED.

Emergency department use for nontraumatic dental conditions among children and adolescents: NEDS 2014-2015.

Objectives: Despite great efforts to improve paediatric dental care access in the last two decades, the use of emergency departments (ED) for dental conditions among children that are more appropriately addressed in dental offices remains a public health concern in the United States. We examined factors associated with ED visits for nontraumatic dental conditions or NTDCs and ED visits for any other reason among children and adolescents.

Methods: A retrospective secondary data analysis of ED visits was conducted using the 2014-2015 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) data.

Associations between living alone, depression, and falls among community-dwelling older adults in the US.

Social isolation is closely linked to depression and falls in late life and are common among seniors. Although the literature has highlighted age-related variations in these three geriatric conditions, evidence on heterogeneities across older adult age categories is lacking. To address this gap, we present cross-sectional analyses using indicators of social isolation, depression, and falls of older adults constructed from the most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data.

Opioid prescriptions in emergency departments: Findings from the 2016 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

In the past decade, there has been a rising trend in the emergency department (ED) visits in the US and these visits carry a significant burden of prescription opioids. This study utilized the latest available data from the 2016 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) and examined the factors associated with opioid prescriptions in the ED. The outcome variable was receipt of opioid prescription, and the primary variable of interest was the type of visit (dental/non-dental).

Dental visits and associated emergency department-charges in the United States: Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, 2014.

Background: Use of hospital emergency department (ED) for dental care is on the rise. This study estimates the total ED dental visits and determines mean charges by the type of disease and other patient characteristics.

Methods: Using the first-listed diagnosis from the 2014 National Emergency Department Sample, the number and types of dental visits in the ED were identified and descriptive statistics were summarized.

Hours Lost to Planned and Unplanned Dental Visits Among US Adults.

Introduction: Poor oral health is associated with lost hours at work or school, which may affect a person's productivity. The objective of our study was to estimate work or school hours lost to dental visits among adults aged 18 and older by the types of visits (emergency or unplanned; routine, planned, or orthodontic; or cosmetic) and to determine the factors associated with hours lost.

Methods: We used the most recent Oral Health Supplement data, from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), to estimate the total hours lost at work or school for dental visits among adults in the United States.

Evidence of horizontal and vertical interactions in health care spending in the Philippines.

This article examines whether within a decentralized system of health care spending, local government units in developing countries have any incentive to compete with one another. The existence of spatial competition, whether horizontal or vertical, is tested in the case of Philippines using local government health expenditures data. Results indicate that health spending is characterized by a strong positive interaction between municipalities, consistent with the existence of a horizontal fiscal interaction.

Fiscal competition in health spending among local governments in the Philippines.

The Philippines is one of several Asian countries that has decentralized the provision of health care to its local governments in recent decades. In the context of decentralization, a few studies have previously examined the issue of fiscal competition among local governments in the developing world. This report presents a summary of a published study that examined the existence of inter-jurisdictional competition in health-care spending in the Philippines.